like to see — ireland's peace accord. i would not like to see -- _ ireland's peace accord. i would not like to see -- i _ ireland's peace accord. i would not like to see -- i would _ ireland's peace accord. i would not like to see -- i would like - ireland's peace accord. i would not like to see -- i would like to - ireland's peace accord. i would not like to see -- i would like to see i like to see —— i would like to see in the irish courts, having a co—reporter again. we'll have the latest from new york and washington, dc. also on newsday. .. pakistan's prime minister, imran khan, has been speaking to the bbc about afghanistan, laying out what the taliban need to do before he'll recognise their government. and in the canary islands, another village on la palma is evacuated as the volcano destroys a new area. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's six in the morning in singapore and six in the evening in new york, where more than a hundred world leaders are attending this year's un general assembly. in his first address to the body as president, joe biden called for countries to work together as never before. but the secretary general of the un used the gathering to highlight the issues that currently face the world — superpowers are at odds with each other, there's been a spike in violent seizures of power, and there is an unrelenting climate crisis. the bbc�*s barbara plett usher has been following the day's events and starts our coverage. his excellency, joseph r bidenjunior, president of the united states... this was president biden�*s chance to show that america is back at the table. we stand, in my view, at an inflection point in history. he called for unity to face growing global threats at a time when many allies are sceptical about america's leadership, especially after his largely unilateral decision to withdraw from afghanistan. we've ended 20 years of conflict in afghanistan, and as we close this period of relentless war, we're opening a new era of relentless diplomacy. a constant theme was us tensions with china, framed as a defensive democracy versus autocracy, although he never called beijing out by name. we are not seeking a new cold war or a world divided in the rigid blocks. the united states is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to shared challenges, even if we have intense disagreement in other areas, because we'll all suffer the consequences of our failure. mr biden�*s debut was seen as a test of american credibility after the confrontational years of donald trump, and by that standard, he offered reassurance. as we look ahead, we will lead. we will lead on all the greatest challenges of our time, from covid to climate, peace and security, human dignity and human rights, but we will not go alone. this is an opportunity for a reset, but us action on covid and climate change will be crucial for convincing the world that america really is back. barbara plett usher, bbc news, new york. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has arrived at the white house for his meeting with president biden. the two men briefly spoke in front of the media. they were asked about a number of things. what grabbed our attention was when president biden was asked what he thought about the ongoing row between the uk and the european union over customs checks for goods going in and out of northern ireland. the potentialfor it going in and out of northern ireland. the potential for it to read lead to the re—imposition of a hard border. take a listen. we spent an enormous amount of time and effort in the united states. it was a major bipartisan effort made, and i would not at all like to see, nor would my dad and many of my republican colleagues like to see, a change in the iris courts with the end result climbing aboard her —— irish courts. end result climbing aboard her -- irish courte— irish courts. and on that point, joe. irish courts. and on that point, joe, we irish courts. and on that point, joe. we are _ irish courts. and on that point, joe, we are completely - irish courts. and on that point, joe, we are completely at - irish courts. and on that point, joe, we are completely at one. joe, we are completely at one. nobody— joe, we are completely at one. nobody wants to see anything that interrupts or unbalances the belfast -ood interrupts or unbalances the belfast good friday accord. boris interrupts or unbalances the belfast good friday accord.— good friday accord. boris johnson and joe good friday accord. boris johnson and joe biden- — i'm joined now by our north america correspondent, gary o'donoghue, who is outside the white house. great to have you on newsday. on that irish border, president biden has repeatedly warned that the uk not damage the peace process amid continuing issues over the northern ireland protocol. what do you make of the latest comments from the two? i think it's interesting, joe biden chose that moment in the oval office. he knows that is an issue on which borisjohnson is having some difficulty with the european union over the border down the irish sea. joe biden does care very much about it. he's often described himself as irish, and he said in the past, he would be very upset if anything would be very upset if anything would sign that could recut —— disrupt the peace agreements and lead to a hard border. i'm not surprised he's raised this. this is one of the things where the british will listen to what the americans say, and they know he means it in this case. having said all that, there are a number of wins boris johnson can take away from this. we see the extra money on climate change. we've seen the changes to the travel ban and we've seen britain becoming part of this nuclear powered submarine deal with australia and the united states, which also is a prestige project for the british as well. i think boris johnson will be pretty intense, even though there was a warning shot there over the northern ireland situation, and the other big thing where he didn't get any movement was the question of a long—term trade deal with the us, which is essential for britain outside the eu.— for britain outside the eu. right, ga , on for britain outside the eu. right, gary. on the _ for britain outside the eu. right, gary, on the climate _ for britain outside the eu. right, gary, on the climate finance - for britain outside the eu. right, - gary, on the climate finance pledge, more money from president biden in the united states. how significant is this and is it enough?— the united states. how significant is this and is it enough? well, he's doubfinu is this and is it enough? well, he's doubling what _ is this and is it enough? well, he's doubling what he _ is this and is it enough? well, he's doubling what he already - is this and is it enough? well, he's doubling what he already doubled l doubling what he already doubled before, so it's now up to $11 billion. borisjohnson is trying to get together this hundred billion dollar fund get together this hundred billion dollarfund for get together this hundred billion dollar fund for the developing world so that they can spend half of it on renewable energy and half of it onto a mitigation for the impact of the developed world. so, that is a big step forward. he wasn't necessarily hoping that would happen, and that would be a big boost ahead of the glasgow summit. so, it takes them a lot near to it. they would have to be approved here and that isn't all that much money, but in terms of the american budget, it's not that much. certainly a lot of money for you and me. thanks so much forjoining us on newsday. china's president xi jinping also brought up tackling climate change in his speech to the un general assembly, which was pre—recorded. his country is estimated to have emitted 27% of the world's greenhouse gases in 2019. mr xi restated china's for taking action, but did make one more commitment. translation: china will strive to downside emissions before 2030, and achieve carbon_ emissions before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality 42060. —— before 2060 _ carbon neutrality 42060. —— before 2060 this — carbon neutrality 42060. —— before 2060. this requires tremendous hard work and _ 2060. this requires tremendous hard work and we — 2060. this requires tremendous hard work and we will make every effort to achieve these goals. china will step up— to achieve these goals. china will step up support for other countries in developing green and low carbon energy. _ in developing green and low carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired _ energy, and will not build new coal—fired projects abroad. so, no commitment from mr xi to accelerate china's previously stated timeline for reducing carbon emissions, and they could even continue to rise for the rest of this decade. and while an end to building new coal—fired power stations overseas will be welcomed by environmentalists, there was nothing about decommissioning some of the more than a thousand such sites in china itself, more than half of the global total of coal plants. carbon emissions are of course going to be a big part of the debate at the forthcoming cop26 summit in october and november in glasgow. and you can read much more about that summit in a special section on our website. just log on to bbc.com/news or download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the british government says it will meet the full operating costs of a fertiliser plant in the uk, which had been closed due to rising gas prices. the plant plays a vital role in producing carbon dioxide as a by—product. the gas is widely used in food production. ministers say they believe the subsidy will help protect against shortages of co2. a third russian man is facing charges over his alleged involvement in the salisbury poisonings three years ago, which left one woman dead and three others critically ill. security sources believe denis sergeev, led the team on the ground in salisbury, when novichok poison was used against sergei skripal, a former russian spy, and his daughter, yulia. the family of the teenager, harry dunn, who died when his motorbike was struck by a car in northamptonshire, england in 2019, say they've reached a settlement in a claim for damages against the wife of an american diplomat. anne sacoolas was able to leave the uk shortly after the crash, claiming diplomatic immunity and refused to return. still to come a bit later in the programme — spectacular pictures from spain's canary islands, where the la palma volcano is continuing to erupt. but first. . .. pakistan's prime minister imran khan has said preventing women from accessing education in neighbouring afghanistan would be un—islamic. he called for the leadership to be inclusive and to respect human rights. in an interview with our world affairs editor, johns simpson, mr khan laid out the conditions that would need to be met for pakistan to formally recognise the new taliban government. in peshawar, on pakistan's north west frontier, afghanistan feels very close. the streets are thronged with afghan refugees. in the 1990s, the taliban had their origins in the afghan refugee camps here, and pakistan has always been accused of setting up the taliban and helping them take power in afghanistan — something pakistan denies. but when the taliban were thrown out in 2001, pakistan's influence in afghanistan fizzled out for 20 years. in our interview, imran khan clearly didn't want to seem to be too close to the taliban, but he was careful not to be too critical of them either, over the question of the rights of afghan women, for instance. the women are very strong. i feel, give them time. they will assert their rights. how much time? years? a year, two years, three years. three years? but at the moment, john, it's just too early to say anything, because it has barely been a month. after 20 years of civil war, they have come back into power. the taliban — the word just means islamic students — originally owed their existence as a movement to religious schools in pakistan like this one, the zuberia in peshawar, where they were recruited and radicalised. the main teacher, sheikh rahimullah, even helped the taliban to distribute the weapons they captured from american soldiers. "the previous taliban government didn't understand the system," he says. "this time, they do understand politics "and international relations. "they're not as harsh now as they were before." the new taliban leaders in afghanistan are certainly trying to give the outside world the impression that they've changed. imran khan hopes they have. it is very encouraging. they have said they will have an inclusive government. they have said that women can work, can have education. they will give amnesty to everyone. the soil won't be used for terrorism by anyone. you know, these are encouraging statements. so, you are approving the way the taliban operating? no, i'm approving of what they have said. no one can tell where afghanistan goes from here, but what we hope and pray, that finally, after 40 years, the people of afghanistan will have peace and stability. but the taliban didn't bring peace and stability before and there's no evidence they can do it this time. in that case, it wouldn'tjust be afghanistan that suffered, it would be pakistan as well. john simpson, bbc news, islamabad. if you want to get in touch with me on any of the stories you've seen on newsday, that interview with pakistan's prime minister, for instance, i'm on twitter and i look forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... lots of promises made at the unga by world leaders on climate change, but will it be enough for those on the climate change front line? we get the view from a nation that's in danger of disappearing. benjohnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice was served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions alongj here have been strengthened, presumably in case i the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world, and so the british government has no option but to continue this action, even after any adverse judgment in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... president biden makes his debut in front of world leaders at the un, promising a new era of �*relentless diplomacy�* to replace relentless war. a busy day for president biden — while hosting the british prime minister at the white house — he outlined the importance of ireland�*s peace accord. we�*ve been hearing in the programme about what the world�*s two superpowers, china and america, have committed to do to fight climate change. but will these pledges help the countries that are literally on the front line of climate change? tuvalu is an island nation in the pacific ocean that has suffered due to increased temperatures and rising sea levels. i�*m joined now by the tuvalu ambassador to the united nations, samuelu laloniu. how urgent is the situation in tuvalu right now, with regards to climate change and rising sea waters? great to have you. well, thank you for having me. i have to say that tuvalu is the most vulnerable country is them —— and i say that with conviction because we are already living the impacts of climate change as we speak. secondly, it�*s the very fact that our vulnerability to sea level rise will mean that we have in the very near future to ask very difficult questions on our sovereignty, our statehood, our rights. so, these are issues that we have... statehood, our rights. so, these are issues that we have. . ._ statehood, our rights. so, these are issues that we have... when you talk about those — issues that we have... when you talk about those sorts _ issues that we have... when you talk about those sorts of _ issues that we have... when you talk about those sorts of issues, - issues that we have... when you talk about those sorts of issues, they're l about those sorts of issues, they�*re now being expressed hopefully by the pledge we�*ve heard from president biden. does that go far enough? it will help, but international community has committed $100 billion in the us will help in that direction, but we need a lot more assistance to our developing states. i think our adaptations cost much, much more than 100 billion that�*s been committed to. much more than 100 billion that's been committed to. ambassador, what is the risk, been committed to. ambassador, what is the risk. or— been committed to. ambassador, what is the risk, or what's _ been committed to. ambassador, what is the risk, or what's at _ been committed to. ambassador, what is the risk, or what's at stake _ been committed to. ambassador, what is the risk, or what's at stake if - is the risk, or what�*s at stake if these countries that have pledged to put money into this fund don�*t end “p put money into this fund don�*t end up sticking to their promises? paint is a picture of what that means for countries like yours. for is a picture of what that means for countries like yours.— countries like yours. for countries like ours, countries like yours. for countries like ours. we _ countries like yours. for countries like ours, we really— countries like yours. for countries like ours, we really very _ countries like yours. for countries like ours, we really very much - like ours, we really very much depend on global solidarity because we need every hand on board. if the $100 billion is not met, that means we will not be able to carry out our adaptations, and like i said before, we are already living the future impact of climate change as we speak. my country is one of the top nations in the world, no more than two metres above sea level. the last report estimated that we will be submerged in 100 years. so, if we cannot adapt to climate change or countries are not able to commit, then we are talking about our statehood. this is the reality. just briefl , statehood. this is the reality. just briefly. we've _ statehood. this is the reality. just briefly, we've heard from china briefly, we�*ve heard from china today as well, the china�*s commitments go far enough to help? the theme for the... the general assembly�*s hope, we take whatever thatis assembly�*s hope, we take whatever that is pledged, committed, but we hope that these things are transform into real actions, that we can see things on the table, and funds transferred. there is one thing about pledging funds and the other challenge we have continued to face is accessing those funds. it�*s a very complicated process of. is accessing those funds. it's a very complicated process of. indeed. thank ou very complicated process of. indeed. thank you so — very complicated process of. indeed. thank you so much, _ very complicated process of. indeed. thank you so much, ambassador - very complicated process of. indeed. thank you so much, ambassador of l thank you so much, ambassador of tuvalu to the united nations, samuelu, forjoining us. let�*s take a look at some other stories in the headlines. us officials say they will investigate reports of abuse at the us—mexico border in recent days. images widely shared on social media show border agents on horseback driving migrants, who are mainly haitian, back to a river. the democratic senator chuck schumer described the images as �*horrible�*. the german chancellor, angela merkel, has been out on the campaign trail for her first election campaign appearance beside armin laschet, the man she hopes will succeed her. opinion polls suggest the conservatives are gaining ground on the social democrats, but are still trailing by three points ahead of voting on sunday. more people have been forced to flee their homes after the eruption of a volcano on the spanish island of la palma. there are fears that lava flows could trigger toxic gases and explosions when they reach the sea. the volcano began erupting on sunday, shooting lava hundreds of metres into the air. danjohnson has the latest from la palma. we�*ve had this amazing natural fireworks show for three days and three nights now. it is absolutely mesmerising. it�*s hard to take your eyes off it, but of course, it is destructive, because you can see the lava flowing downhill there. that has scarred landscape and it�*s torched everything in its path, and there have been more earth tremors and further lava flows, which suggest this spectacular show won�*t be over any time soon. today, we were in the village of todoque, which is right down at the head of the lava, just before that village got smothered. on la palma�*s volcanic hillsides, it�*s time to move. more families and more communities are packing up and getting out. "i don�*t even know where to take my things," this woman says. the village is being cleared in a last dash for people to grab whatever they can. the flames and the lava are really close. that�*s why there�*s such a risk to these properties, and why people are making every effort to get out. being here forjust a couple of minutes, you get a sense of the risk, because there�*s ash falling on my clothes — i can taste it in the air — and the whole time, there�*s the thunderous rumble of the volcano in the background, so that is why people are loading up and going. but leaving is painful, and there�*s a sense of panic here at times. this man desperately helping his dad, antonio, who�*s lived here for over 40 years, who can�*t believe it�*s ending like this. translation: i am angry with the authorities. - we could have done this without so much stress, without running. i don�*t know where i�*m going to live, and now what? this is what — more homes destroyed, more communities that will have to be abandoned. and here�*s the molten lava that�*s on the move, a slow—motion menace inching relentlessly downhill. this is a live geology lesson in nature�*s unstoppable forces. it�*s not just property. everything here is being shaken. danjohnson, bbc news, la palma. that�*s all that we have time for on newsday this hour. stay with us. hello there. it will be another warm day in the offing for many with spells of sunshine once the early mist and patchy, dense fog clears away. the early mist and patchy, however, further north we do have a different complexion to the weather for the day ahead. some cloudy skies with some rain, heavy to start rain, heavy to start and the risk of an autumnal gales just on cue for the autumn equinox. that�*s all being brought by this advancing area of clouds, it�*s a low pressure system. we do have a weaker weather front ahead of it. so, in contrast, it will be quite a mild start in the north while we could see whilst it could be a little bit more cloud for england and wales and the odd spot of drizzle first thing, but that clears away. this is the main rain player through the day, the northwest highlands and the islands initially. it will tend to turn a little bit lighter as it pushes southward, some brightness ahead of it and some brighter weather with showers following behind. but a breezy day even in the south as well, and the winds to escalate towards the evening. so, temperature wise, a cooler day, we are into cooler air behind that weather front but as recent days, 22 to possibly 23 in the spots in the south and east. through the evening overnight look at those showers packing in, the winds really strengthen, there is a risk of gales across the far north and west and a cooler field. while further south, our weather front starts to introduce a bit more cloud, ao it will be milder here as we start our thursday morning. a little bit of mistiness around and the odd patch of fog. we still got that high—pressure close by, but you can see that deep area of low pressure whisking away toward scandinavia. behind it is just introducing that cooler airfor a time. our weather front, however, just bringing the increased risk of drizzly, cloudy weather into northern and western areas. so, temperaturesjust a degree or so down on those that we are going to see through the day ahead. but then the wind turns back to the southwest in fact, by the weekend it�*s turning towards the south actually. so, dragging that warmer air back to all parts. and some fairly settled weather but always the risk of some showery rain out towards the west. as ever, there�*s more on our website. this is bbc news, the headlines. president biden has used his first address at the united nations general assembly — to promise a new era of "relentless diplomacy" instead of "relentless war". he said that battling climate change and coronavirus will not be defeated by a force of arms. borisjohnson is meeting president biden at the white house, as they seek to improve relations damaged by the chaotic withdrawal of foreign troops from afghanistan. mrjohnson has welcomed the us relaxation of covid—related restrictions on arriving british citizens. the british government says it will meet the full operating costs of a fertiliser plant in the uk, which had been closed due to rising gas prices. the plant plays a vital role in producing carbon dioxide, which is widely used in food production. authorities in la palma, in the canaries, are stepping up evacuation efforts as a volcano on the island continues to erupt. at least 100 homes have already been destroyed —