. -- newsday. the main coal at this hearing today. -- newsday. the main goal at this hearing, _ hearing today. -- newsday. the main goal at this hearing, i _ hearing today. -- newsday. the main goal at this hearing, i think, - hearing today. -- newsday. the main goal at this hearing, i think, was - to persuade those watching that donald trump knew he had failed to achieve victory in the 2020 presidential election by continued nonetheless to try and subvert democracy and remain in power, and the committee heard today from a variety of former aides, including campaign managers, members of the us justice department, family members, and as you just heard there, from the former attorney general bill barr, all of whom at one point or another try to persuade donald trump that he had lost the election, but he continued to persist with contrary stories. we heard a little from bill barr, and his testimony, he talked about having to fend off all sorts of different increasingly wild conspiracy theories. he sai

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme, while the supergroup bts are taking a break after nine years together. there was a bomb in the city centre. a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. army bomb experts were examining a suspect van when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the foundation of apartheid by abolishing the population registration act, which, for 40 years, forcibly classified each citizen according to race. just a day old, and the royal baby is tonight sleeping in his cot at home. early this evening, the new prince was taken by his mother and father to their apartment in kensington palace. germany's parliament, i the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government - from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into i the night, but the decision was greeted with shock in bonn. the real focus of attention today was valentina tereshkova, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what do you think of the russian woman i

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 6am in singapore, ”pm in london, and 6pm in washington — where lawmakers have been hearing searing testimony from the victims and families of those caught up several recent mass shootings. among them was an 11—year—old girl, mia cerrillo. a student at the robb elementary school in texas, she described how she smeared herself in blood and played dead to avoid being killed along with 19 other children and two teachers. the shooting, carried out by an 18—year—old gunman, has provoked a nation—wide debate about the sale of firearms. our north america editor sarah smith has more from washington — this is the last photograph of lexi rubio, getting a school prize just hours before she was shot dead, the last time her parents saw her. we don't want you to think of lexi as just a number. she was intelligent, compassionate and athletic. she was quiet, shy, unless she had a point to make. when she knew was right, as she so often was, she stood her ground. kimberly rubio is d

it's newsday. it's 6am in singapore, and ”pm in london — where queen elizabeth has greeted a huge crowd from the balcony of buckingham palace — the climax of four days of events celebrating her 70 years as monarch. more than 10,000 people, including the military, performers and key workers, took part in the parade, which depicted the highlights from each decade of her 70—year reign. sir cliff richard and ed sheeran were among the celebrities taking part. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, was watching. cheering. the closing moments of a memorable jubilee celebration. back on to the palace balcony came the queen accompanied by prince charles and the duchess of cornwall and the cambridges. 0ne current and three future monarchs, charles, william and george. it was the image which the crowd had been hoping to see, an image which emphasises the institution's continuity. a monarch who has reigned for 70 years looking to the future and offering reassurance. the national anthem was sung wi

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. queen elizabeth has overseen a fly—past of 70 aircraft on the first day of events to mark her platinum jubilee. the 96—year—old british monarch wasjoined on the buckingham palace balcony by family members for the aerial display. she also attended the lighting of beacons at her residence, windsor castle. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell was there. for all that she wants thejubilee to be about local communities creating their own special memories, in the end, it's all about her. after all, there wouldn't be a platinum jubilee if there weren't a monarch who served for 70 years. it was her that the crowds had come to see. the queen appeared on the balcony of buckingham palace, but for the first time in her reign, she did not attend trooping the colour herself. that's just too physically demanding for her now. earlier, it had been the prince of wales who'd led the royal party from buckingham palace down to horse guards. also riding on horseback behind charles were prince wil

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. israels�*s prime minister, naftali bennett is to step down from his post and dissolve parliament — triggering a fresh election. the current foreign minister, yair lapid, will temporarily take over. mr bennett has been in thejob forjust over a year and has struggled to stabilise his increasingly fragile governing coalition. translation: i held a series of talks with officials - and i realised that in ten days were the expiration of the west bank regulations, israel will experience serious security damages and legal chaos. we spared no efforts to galvanise whomever was needed to pass the regulations, but our efforts bore no fruit. therefore, my friend the foreign minister and i decided to act together to dissolve parliament and set an agreed—upon date for elections. for more on the political situation in israel, i have been speaking to the chief political correspondent of thejerusalem post — gil hoffman. it came to this because they had another ten days to pass a bill that had t

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: much more on the queens platinum jubilee. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, bya signal given, the great guns of the tower. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali, who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely outfought, ali transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was three times world champion. he was a good fighter. he fought all the way to the end, even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles' lp, sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm arunoday mukharji in singapore. our headlines — us presidentjoe biden addresses the american people, saying something has to be done about the country's shocking level of gun violence. in front

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm arunoday mukharji in singapore. 0ur headlines — the us announces another $1 billion in security assistance for kyiv and urges allies to increase the delivery of weapons to help ukraine battle russian forces. the uk prime minister borisjohnson�*s ethics adviser has resigned. lord geidt gave no details other than to say that he felt it was the right thing to do. getting you news from afghanistan now, where more breaking news now coming in that brazilian police searching for two missing men that british man dom phillips and brazilian guide bruno pereira, they have found human remains. they have not had a forensic investigation and they will have a news conference in the next hour or so in our correspondent is there we will keep you up—to—date with any updates to come out of that news conference here on bbc world news. getting you news from afghanistan now, where more than a million children are facing severe levels of malnutrition as the country struggles with an economic cri

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 6am in singapore, and 6pm in washington — where three republican state officials have been describing the direct pressure they were put under by donald trump and his team to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. they were giving evidence to a congressional committee, describing threats of violence directed at them from trump supporters when they refused to bow to the pressure. we have various groups come by, and they have had video panel trucks with videos of me, proclaiming me to be a paedophile and a pervert, and corrupt politician. and blaring loudspeakers in my neighbourhood, and leaving literature both on my property and arguing and threatening with neighbours, and with myself. one gentleman that had the three bars on his chest, and he had a pistol and was threatening my neighbour — not with the pistol, but just vocally — when i saw the gun, i knew i had to get close. we had a daughter who was gravely ill, who was upset by what was happening outside. and my w

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. a devastating earthquake in afghanistan has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, and left many more injured. the quake measured 6.1 in magnitude, damaging thousands of homes in one of the poorest countries in the world. the country, which is governed by the militant islamist taliban, is already in the grip of a humanitarian disaster, with millions facing famine. the taliban have asked for international aid. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani is in sharana, the capital of paktika province, where casualties from the earthquake are being cared for. a desperate search for survivors. hundreds of homes, entire communities, wiped out in a single dreadful moment in the middle of the night. "everything here has been destroyed," says the man filming this video. the villages worst affected by this earthquake are in remote south—eastern afghanistan. with no paved roads, helicopters were used to transport some of the injured to hospital. "there was a rumbling, and my bed began to shake,"

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the hollywood actor ben stiller praises the spirit of the ukrainian people, after meeting preisdent zelensky, and visiting the city of irpin. members of the neo—nazi resistance movement stormed the world trade centre, armed with pistols and shotguns. we believe that, according to international law, that we have a right to claim certain parts of this country as ourland. i take pride in the words "ich bin ein berliner". cheering as the uk woke up to the news that it is to exit the european union, leave campaigners began celebrating. in total, 17.4 million people voted for the uk to leave the eu. the medical research council has now advised the government that the great increase in lung cancer is due mainly to smoking tobacco. it was closing time for checkpoint charlie which, for 29 years, has stood on the border as a mark of allied determination to defend the city. welcome back to newsday on the bbc with me, arunoday mukharji, in singapore. a look at ou

this is newsday on the bbc. our headlines. standing together — world leaders at the g—seven summit call for unity to help ukraine defeat russia. in ukraine — residents reel from the latest act of russian aggression — as kyiv is struck by a barrage of missiles. at least four people are killed — after a wooden grandstand collapsed at a bullfighting festival in colombia. let's bring you the latest on a developing story in the uk — a house in birmingham in central england has been destroyed by an explosion. it's unclear what caused the blast but there are reports of casualties, and residents nearby have been evacuated from their homes. nearby have been evacuated six fire crews and ambulance staff remain at the scene and police have cordoned off the area and some surrounding roads. simonjones is following this from oui’ london newsroom. have passed it on sunday evening saying that they heard a huge explosion in many of them raised on to see what it happened and they were greeted with a sign of absolute devastation. wh

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm arunoday mukharji in singapore. 0ur headlines: the us announces another $1 billion in security assistance for kyiv and urges allies to increase the delivery of weapons to help ukraine battle russian forces. let's stay with that main story. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale has been given rare access to the us military base in germany where they're co—ordinating supplies of military aid. western weapons have been arriving in ukraine and are being used to deadly effect. more recently, they've been sending more heavy equipment... ..artillery guns like this, but ukraine says it's still not enough. and they're vastly outgunned by russia. but from this us military base in stuttgart, germany, western nations are working hard to keep the weapons flowing. and the us commander of this highly sensitive operation insists ukraine is getting what it needs. we are giving the ukrainians what they need. we're co—ordinating with them daily. we have a liaison officer here, it's a three—

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: focusing on ukraine, how three volunteers are helping evacuate the frail and the elderly from their homes. we follow them for a day. the day the british liberated the falklands. and by tonight, british troops have begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, this was gorbymania at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who, for them, has raised great hopes for an end to the division of europe. it happened as the queen moved toward horse guards parade for the start of tropping the colour. the queen looks worried, but recovers quickly. as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll goi out there and take him down the hills. - what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it feels pretty neat. it feels marvellous, really. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm arunoday mukharji in singapore. our headlines... us politicians are considering new laws in the wake of the texas shooting, includ

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. russian forces are tightening their grip on the region of the donbas. president zelensky has called again for western allies to provide advanced missile defence systems for the ukrainian army — to stop the steady russian advance. the russians now control almost all of the strategic city of severodonetsk. the final bridge to the city has been destroyed, trapping ukrainian troops and thousands of civilians. the russians are also bombarding the neighbouring city of lysychansk, where civilians are still trying to flee. our international correspondent orla guerin sent this report from the donbas. radio bleeps max speed. we're told to drive at maximum speed on the exposed road to lysychansk. a dark horizon greets us. munitions explode residents praying for salvation, as russia lays waste. man whistles and shouts ukrainian troops call for help... ..to take away one more victim of russian shelling. nearby, the rush to evacuate civilians... ..who have to duck for cover. a panicked departure

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 6am in singapore, and 2.30am in afghanistan — where humanitarian agencies are scrambling to organise emergency shelter and food aid, following an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people. un staff say medical teams and supplies have been despatched to the worst—hit province, paktika. hundreds of houses there were destroyed by the magnitude 6.1 event, and hundreds of homeless families are facing a powerful storm and very heavy rain. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani is in sharana, the capital of paktika province, where casualties from the earthquake are being cared for. a desperate search for survivors. hundreds of homes, entire communities, wiped out in a single dreadful moment in the middle of the night. "everything here has been destroyed," says the man filming this video. the villages worst affected by this earthquake are in remote south—eastern afghanistan. with no paved roads, helicopters were used to transport some of the injured to hospital. "there was a rumbli

it's newsday. welcome to newsday. it's six in the morning in singapore, and six in the evening in washington dc, where a group of 20 senators from both sides of the us political divide have announced proposals for limited measures aimed at curbing gun violence. the developments come after the tragic mass shootings in texas and new york. ten republican senators have backed the legislation — potentially enough numbers for this to be voted into law. let's have a closer look at what's in the guns proposal. the framework agreement includes support for state "red flag" laws, where guns could be kept from those who might pose a danger. also included, tougher background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. there would also be measures to prevent what's known as straw purchases — where people buy guns for others who are restricted from purchasing them. but what's not included are measures that the democrats and presidentjoe biden had advocated, such as raising the age for buying semi—automatic rifles to 21 or new l

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm suranjana tewari in singapore. 0ur headlines: at least 13 people are killed after a shopping centre in ukraine is hit by a russian missile. president zelensky calls it "a brazen terrorist attack." at least three people are dead, and many more injured, after a train derailed in the us state of missouri. this friday marks the 25th anniversary of the handover of hong kong from uk to chinese rule. china promised to protect democratic freedoms for 50 years, but new laws introduced in 2020, have effectively silenced all criticism in the territory. bbc panorama has spent the last year with young journalists and protesters as they live through the most turbulent period in hong kong's recent history, facing arrests and prison sentences. danny vincent reports. i don't smoke. ijust hope that in jail, you can use these cigarettes as currency. jennifer is 24 years old and she's preparing for prison. so, i got a pack of this, and i'm trying to see if i can use these as money in jail, but i'm st

it's newsday. it's six in the morning in singapore and 6pm in washington, where the us supreme court has issued another landmark ruling — this time limiting the government's ability to regulate emissions from power plants. it marks a victory for the coal industry, but the united nations has described it as "a setback in our fight against climate change". the us is the world's second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, and the decision is a major blow to president biden�*s plan to reduce emissions. from washington, here's our north america editor, sarah smith. in california today, wildfires burning out of control is a vivid reminder of the urgent need to take are a vivid reminder of the urgent need to take action on climate change. america is a large part of the problem, the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after china. but also a victim. you can see from the water line above the vast lake how much it has shrunk in recent years, impacting the water supply for millions of

welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoday mukharji. the headlines. borisjohnson survives as britain's prime minister, but he suffers a substantial rebellion among conservative mps in tonight's confidence vote. the vote in favour of having confidence in borisjohnson as leader was 211 votes and the vote against was 148 votes. and therefore, i can announce that the parliamentary party does have confidence. the result means that over 40% of the parliamentary party declared a lack of confidence in their leader. but mrjohnson is defiant. i think it's a convincing result, _ i think it's a convincing result, decisive results and what — result, decisive results and what it_ result, decisive results and what it means is as a government we can move on and focus _ government we can move on and focus on _ government we can move on and focus on the stuff i think really— focus on the stuff i think really matters. also in the programme... ukraine's president zelensky visits frontline troops in the donbas. his officials say their troops have repelled a wave of ru

it's newsday. it's 6am in the morning in singapore, and midnight in france where president emmanuel macron looks set to lose his parliamentary majority. he now faces the prospect of having to work out deals with other parties to get his reforms through. but it was a good day for the far right and the far left — they both apear to have made large gains. our correspondent lucy williamson has more. emmanuel macron�*s presidency just got tougher. early projections suggest his centrist coalition has lost a third of its seats tonight. it is now more than 50 seats short of a majority. just look at the mood. translation: the situation is unprecedented. _ the national assembly has never seen a configuration of this type in the fifth republic. this situation constitutes a risk for our country, considering the challenges that we have to face. this is now president macron�*s main opposition, a new alliance of green and left—wing parties dominated by far left mps, tonight celebrating their new status as

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm arunoday mukharji, in singapore. 0ur headlines: the first flight due to deport asylum seekers from britain to rwanda has been grounded, after a series of legal challenges. the government say they're disappointed but undeterred. investigating whether war crimes been committed in kharkiv — the international criminal court's chief prosecutor visits ukraine's second—largest city. the duke and duchess of cambridge have laid a wreath at the foot of grenfell tower in west london as people marked the fifth anniversary of the fire which claimed 72 lives. survivors called forjustice for the bereaved and more immediate action to tackle the threat posed by flammable cladding which still affects tower blocks across britain. here's more from our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. now in their honour, we will observe a 72—second silence. the people who called grenfell home were scattered by the disaster. they returned today — alongside them, neighbours and supporters — to

you have been watching newsday. a quick reminder of our top story, the taliban authorities have called off the search for survivors and the afghan province worst hit by a devastating earthquake which is thought to have killed more than 1000 people. many of the victims were reported to be children. it had been feared that many were still trapped in the rubble of their homes and villages following the earthquake in the early hours of wednesday. the acting governor of the province told the bbc that rescuers had reached all areas. we are checking that story closely, but that's all for the moment. thanks for watching. hello there. showers have been making their way northwards through the night accompanied by the odd rumble of thunder. not as warm for the day ahead, and there will be some sunshine around certainly, but equally a rash of showers will develop as the day goes, that's because we got low pressure moving into the west now and throwing bands of rain or showers our way. we're are also seeking some misty, low clou

it's tuesday. —— it's newsday. it's seven in the morning in singapore, and 2a.m. in central ukraine — where around a thousand people are thought to have been inside a shopping centre — when it was hit by a russian missile. so far at least 13 people have been killed, and more than 50 injured — but it's feared the death toll could climb significantly. g7 leaders have said attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime. the attack happened in kremenchuk in central ukraine — a long way from the front line. the governor of the city said it was unlikely many survivors would be found in the rubble, because the fire was so big. our correspondent nick beake hasjust arrived in kremenchuk and has this update. this is the smoldering wreckage of russia's latest attack — a shopping centre, although it's barely recognisable, tonight. as those g7 leaders were meeting, president putin was sending his own message, and his missiles were hitting ukrainian civilians. i've got to warn you there are some flashing images a

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm monica miller, in singapore. 0ur headlines: a former white house aide tells a congressional committee that president trump wanted to join the capitol hill rioters. ghislaine maxwell is sentenced, in new york, to 20 years for helping jeffrey epstein abuse young girls. the campaigner dame deborahjames has died of bowel cancer, at the age of a0. she had been receiving end—of—life care at home and had raised millions to help others affected by cancer. dame deborah was host of the bbc�*s you, me and the big c podcast and was honoured in recognition of her fundraising work. rachel burden looks back at her life. my name is deborahjames. i'm a mum to two kids and a dog called winston. three years ago, at the age of 35, i was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and i have been living with cancer ever since. she was young, she was vibrant, with an infectious sense of fun. for deborahjames, cancer was a devastating blow. but she was determined to share her story, in the hope it woul

it's newsday. . it's 8:00 in the morning here in singapore, and 3:00am in ukraine, where it's reported that a russian air strike has hit a chemical plant in the embattled city of severodonetsk, releasing a cloud of dangerous gas. residents have been told to stay in bomb shelters to avoid the fumes. the ukrainians say russian forces now control most of severodonetsk, the main focus of the russian offensive in the donbas region. the local governor said the city wasn't surrounded, but continuous shelling was making it impossible to bring in supplies or evacuate the remaining civilians. and russian troops are pushing deeper into the region. this is the city of slovyansk, where three people have been killed in a russian missile strike. ukraine's president zelensky has been talking about the situation in the donbas in his daily address. translation: the direction of the situation in the donbas is very complicated. given the presence of large—scale chemical production intranets, the russian army strikes t

it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. the inquiry into the riot at the us capitol last year has been hearing dramatic testimony from a former white house aide. cassidy hutchinson said donald trump knew supporters had weapons when he urged them to march to congress. she also said senior officials had warned repeatedly that mr trump's rally on that day, to try to overturn joe biden�*s victory, could spiral out of control. our north america editor, sarah smith, has more. a surprise witness. her appearance, kept secret until today, delivered explosive testimony. describing how trump had been informed that many in the crowd on the 6th of january were carrying weapons. yet he was furious about security measures. metal detectors were used to find guns and knives. he wanted the screenings stopped to let more people in, ms hutchinson told the committee in previously recorded testimony. i overheard the president says something to the effect of, "i don't care they have weapons. "they're not here to hurt me. "take the effing mags a

it's newsday. . it's 8am in singapore and 2am in germany, where leaders from the g7 group of nations have held their first day of talks in what will be a key week for diplomacy over the war in ukraine. borisjohnson says ukraine should not be forced into a peace settlement with russia, if that means losing territory. and president biden has been calling for western unity to hold, to defeat russia. our political editor chris mason reports from bavaria in germany. the leaders of the world paul mcgregor is gathered to find out what to do next with ukraine, they begin out what to do next with ukraine, they begin by out what to do next with ukraine, they begin by mocking president putin. the canadian prime minister suggest they should the russian leader, by riding bareback on a horse, like he has done, but beyond the drugs there is an emphasis on the approach, on how much and for how long ukraine should be helped. the uk insists it must be in for the long—haul. the prime minister though acknowledges some

it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. the only survivor of the terror cell behind the november 2015 paris attacks has been found guilty of murder. salah abdeslam has been sentenced to life in jail. of the other 19 men standing trial, all but one were found guilty of terrorism charges. the attacks left 130 people dead. our correspondent in paris, hugh schofield, has more. in his opening remarks, the providing judge said of the 20 in the dock, 19 had all the charges upheld against them. only one of them has the terrorist qualification only one of them had the terrorist qualification of his crime removed. but in the case of all 19 others, all the charges — and remember most of them are facing four or five different charges — were upheld. very interestingly, the judge said that a key piece of evidence in the case was that his suicide belt had been found by scientist to be defective. salah abdeslam told the court no more than once that he had a change of heart, that he should not be found guilty and should not be given a v

you have been watching newsday. stay with us. hello there. we're going to see a mixture of sunshine and showers over the next few days. coupled with some stronger winds as well. the reason for all that is this large area of low pressure and it's actually an ex tropical storm and that is going to get steered to the northwest of scotland and bring the strongest winds into scotland in the next few days. now, during thursday, we have cloud pushing across the uk. didn't bring an awful lot of rain, mind you. and following on from that cloud, we saw clearer skies turning to move in from the west and those clearer skies are pushing into many parts of the country overnight. so, if you're heading out first thing in the morning, these are the temperatures, typically 12 to 15 degrees. not a good day for hay fever sufferers on friday because we've got very high grass pollen levels quite widely across england and wales. we could start the day with some cloudy damp weather to clear away first thing from the southeast of england. otherwise, plenty of sunshin

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 6am in the morning in singapore and midnight in brussels, where the us defense secretary has said he will move heaven and earth to ensure ukraine receives the weapons it needs to combat russia's invasion. lloyd austin was speaking at a nato meeting and called on allied countries to urgently increase deliveries of arms during a pivotal moment in the war. here's a glimpse of what secretary austin had to say. we cannot afford to let up, and we cannot lose steam. the stakes are too high. ukraine is facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield. and we are seeing what presidency zelensky warned us about after failing to take kyiv and reassessing its combat aims, russia has shifted its combat aims, russia has shifted its focus to the donbas. and we cannot underestimate the challenge that ukraine faces. a little earlier, president biden announced that the united states will give an extra $1 billion in security assistance to help ukraine fight the russian invasion. our defence correspondent

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: as novak djokovic eases into the third round at wimbledon, andy murray and emma raducanu say goodbye to the tournament. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge fireworks display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. tennis balls thwack cheering and applause challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 3h years, and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm monica miller i

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. taliban officials in afghanistan say the main search for survivors from wednesday's devastating earthquake in the south—east of the country has ended. more than 1,,000 people are thought to have been killed in the remote part of the country. doctors say many children may be among the victims. relief efforts have been hampered by the destruction of already poor road and communication networks in paktika province, the worst—hit area. entire villages have been destroyed with survivors saying they are finding it difficult to bury their dead. our afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani is there and has this report. homes reduced to rubble, lives reduced to memories. "these were my son's shoes," says agha jan. his three young children were killed in the earthquake as they slept, as well as his two wives. and when the roof fell down, what did you do? "i ran toward my family, "so i couldn't do anything. i shouted to my cousins, but when we took my family out, they were already dead. it