In desperate need of shelter and safe water in haiti after saturday s earthquake claimed nearly 2,000 lives. And the plague is still a killer in parts of the world now a new vaccine could consign it to history once and for all. Live from our studio in singapore. This is bbc news. Welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. We begin in kabul in afghanistan, where taliban leaders, who ve never been seen in public before, have been making theirfirst statements on afghan soil, to a world still shocked by their lightning victory. They hope to have calmed a worried nation and international community, with assurances that those afghans who assisted international forces would come to no harm, that media freedoms would be protected, and that women would be allowed to study and work, within islamic principles. With the story of how the taliban claims it will rule, here s our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. The republic has fallen. Its leaders
Now on bbc news, hardtalk. I m stephen sackur. In the end, it wasn t about fire power or troop numbers. In afghanistan, the taliban had a vital asset, which the us and her allies lacked strategic patience. Two decades after they were expelled from kabul, the islamists are back in power. Us and british troops are scrambling to complete a humiliating evacuation. My guest is british conservative mp and former soldier tobias ellwood. This looks like an historic defeat for western power. How damaging could the consequences be? tobias ellwood, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you for having me. I am sure that you, like the rest of us, have been watching the scenes of chaos, of fear in kabul over the last few hours and days fear particularly seen at kabul airport. When you watch those scenes, what are your feelings? well, personally, i had a journey of discovery with afghanistan. Back in 2002, my brother was killed in the bali bombing and i really couldn t understand what happened, that why som