Welcome, everyone. Taliban forces meeting little resistance in their rapid advance across afghanistan as fears increase that the capital, kabul, could soon be in their sights. In just a matter of days, the taliban have claimed more than a dozen cities. The militants now controlling half of the countrys provincial capitals. The speed of the offensive catching u. S. Officials off guard. The Pentagon Spokesman says Afghan Forces should have the advantage. What we couldnt predict was the lack of resistance they were going to get from Afghan Forces on the ground. As you heard the president speak just a couple of days ago, whats really needed is for political and military leadership in afghanistan. No outcome here has to be inevitable. What has been disconcerting to see is there hasnt been that will, that political leadership, the military leadership, and the ability to push back on the taliban as theyve advanced because quite frankly, the Afghan Forces have all the advantages they need. The
both shot by police, both unarmed. i want them to say to the whole world learn to love one another again. what happened to our humanity? these cases coming as the nation prepares for the conclusion of derek chauvin s murder trial in minneapolis. the jury soon tasked with deciding the fate of the former city cop caught on camera with his knee on george floyd s neck. and tonight, news concerning some members of congress that are bound to fan the flames. congresswoman marjorie taylor-greene now trying to distance herself from new reporting that she, along with her republican congressman paul gosar are helping to turn america to quote, anglo-saxon roots. it would be called the america first caucus. a serve-page document first outlining the plans first reported by punchbowl news. america is a nation with a border and a culture strengthened by a common respect for uniquely anglo-saxon political traditions. congresswoman greene is blaming the media for taking the story out of co
week of major development in the fight against covid. as families, friends, and worshipers gather in the days leading up to christmas president biden used a speech from the whitehouse this afternoon to assure the nation that there is a plan to fight the surge in covid cases and quickly spreading omicron variant and that his administration is up to the task. in just a moment we will speak with one of the administration s top health officials cdc director dr. rochelle walensky specifically about the substance of that speech and what the administration is promising, including half a billion free at home testing kits and more aid to over burdened hospitals. and the guidance from the president that the vaccinated should not change their holiday plans. today the president appeared defensive over the persistent problems in testing and also told the tens of millions of unvaccinated americans that getting the life saving shots was their, quote, patriotic duty. if there was one thing h
live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news it s newsday. welcome to the programme. the police in texas are facing criticism for how they responded to the mass school shooting in uvalde on tuesday. some parents say officers appeared hesitant to confront the teenage gunman after he barricaded himself inside a classroom and that led to a delay in tackling the shooter. but at a news conference a texas police official said special equipment and negotiators were required and officers also had to evacuate the rest of the school. the attacker killed 19 children and two teachers in the space of up to an hour, before he was himself shot dead. our north america editor sarah smith sent us this report. all of the 19 children who were killed in the same school class. this boy s family had to wait 12 hours before they were told he was dead. this girl had been given a phone for her tenth birthday and she used it to try to call the police. jackie had just celebrated herfirst commun
superstar. so here isjeff serenading you, chris, in the style of andrew lloyd webber. # chris mason newscaster # do you think you re what they say you are? # chris mason, editor. # do you think you re what they say you are? five stars. brilliant. well done, jeff. oh, that s a work of musical genius, that is. i m blushing, jeff. i m blushing. that is blooming marvellous. thank you. and jeff also did one for katya, which is called the jellicle katya, which is the only way you can make me like cats. did he do one for you? no. that s fine. because i think i d be like the narrator character. you could be ma adam butterfly. i mean, it s a bit operatic. that s very highbrow. it is quite highbrow. i don t even know what that is. too much for you? yes. exactly. at least it s not les miserables, which would be what you d talk about if it was a musical about energy prices, which is what we re going to discuss on this episode of newscast. newscast from the bbc. hello. it s adam in the st