Newshour

The Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says that her country needs democracy rather than an oil deal. But a US State Department spokesman tells Newshour that the agreement involved "a very transparent process".Also in the programme: Indonesia battles huge wildfires as toxic haze spreads across southeast Asia; and we mark the legacy of the American feminist icon, Gloria Steinem.(Photo: Oil drilling platforms at Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Credit: Reuters)

The Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is under pressure over his government's handling of influx of 72,000 migrants in the exclave of Ceuta.On Wednesday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in marches backed by opposition parties against the Spanish government's handling of the migrant crisis.Also in the programme: New warnings on the supersized El Nino; a voice from flood-lashed Tibet; and a rare mission to Mercury.(Photo shows Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a session at the parliament in Madrid, Spain on 3 September 2026. Credit: Susana Vera/Reuters)

Washington and Caracas have signed an agreement which gives a US-led company rights over Venezuelan oilfields amounting to about a fifth of the country's reserves. Also in the programme: growing discontent in Spain at the government's handling of the sudden arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa; and as the British Museum launches its exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestry, why does it still speak to us almost a millennium after it was made?(Photo: Venezuelan acting president dolce Rodriguiz talking to the US energy secretary. Credit: Shutterstock)

Iran and the US trade strikes in the most intense round of attacks in weeks. Iran says the US struck a wedding party killing four people including children, and retaliates with strikes on US bases in the Gulf. The US responded by denying it attacks civilians.Also in the programme: we speak to a friend of Joshua Wong, the face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, who has just pleaded guilty to foreign collusion; and in football, the English Premier League transfer window breaks another spending record.(IMAGE: A view of the destroyed remains of a building which was hosting a wedding ceremony following a US airstrike, in the city of Sirak, Bandar Abbas province, southern Iran, 02 September 2026. The Iranian Red Crescent says four people, including a child, were killed when shrapnel from a US missile hit the building / CREDIT: Handout picture made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society)

The death toll in Nepal from devastating floods on the border with Tibet has crossed 1,000, according to the country's disaster agency.Also on the programme, a special report from within Afghanistan looking at the thousands who have fled since the 2021 Taliban takeover; and we hear from the former girlfriend of Freddy Mercury, who stayed by his side until the end of his life.(Photo: Relatives of Nakul Sharma, 36, who lost his life in the deadly flash floods and a mudslide, mourn during his cremation rituals on the premises of Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 1, 2026. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)

Millions of Afghans have in recent decades fled across the borders to Pakistan and Iran, seeking refuge or employment. But as the numbers leaving Afghanistan have risen, especially since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, so have deportation efforts by Pakistan and Iran. We have a special report by the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, who has been to the main border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan.Also in the programme: as a new law comes into force in Austria banning girls under the age of 14 from wearing a headscarf in schools, we hear from the government, and a critic of the ban; shares in the ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein have plunged on their first day of public trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; and the population of New Zealand's critically endangered flightless parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in decades.(Photo: Trucks carrying returnees parked along the highway near the Torkham border crossing, October 2025. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

The authorities say they have made progress using controlled explosions and heavy machinery to access the hydropower tunnels. Nepal says that at least nine-hundred people have died in the floods, and more than four-thousand are still missing.Also on the programme, football legend Lionel Messi retires from international competitions. British fashion designer, John Galliano, has withdrawn from a planned exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Met had come in for severe criticism for hosting the exhibition, Galliano was arrested in Paris in 2011 for antisemitic insults and hateful remarks he made against Jews and Asian people at a bar near his home in the city. And the Nomad Games get underway in Kyrgyzstan, featuring sports like Kok Boru (polo but played with a dead goat instead of a mallet). We'll hear from a fan in attendance.(Picture: Rescue workers in Nepal. Credit: Reuters)

As the death toll continues to rise and rescue teams try to reach people still trapped by Wednesday's flash floods in the Himalayas, a senior Nepalese MP tells us the search for survivors is still very much on, along with a major effort to identify bodies and carry out burials.Also in the programme: as Tim Cook prepares to step down after 15 years in charge of Apple, we assess his legacy; and how late is too late for a top tennis player to be playing a match?(IMAGE: An undated handout photo of rescue workers taking part in a rescue operation near the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, following deadly flash floods and mudslides, in Rasuwa, Nepal. / CREDIT: Nepal Army/Handout via REUTERS)

The crew and captain of a ferry have been taken into custody after the vessel capsized off the northern coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Eight people have been confirmed dead with a further 17 still missing. Also on the programme: Spain asks for help from the EU to process hundreds of migrants who crossed into its North African territory of Ceuta; and the director of a new biopic about Charles de Gaulle tells us how the general's self-belief persuaded Winston Churchill that Free France could fight back against the Nazis. (Image: Survivors arrive on shore after being rescued from the sea following a boat capsize off northern Cyprus, August 30, 2026. Credit REUTERS/Stringer)

Rescue teams battling dangerous conditions after Wednesday's flash flooding in Nepal have deployed heavy machinery, in preparation to enter hydroelectric tunnels where more than a hundred workers may be trapped. Overnight, rain and rising river levels impaired efforts early on Sunday before conditions eased. Also in the programme: NASA successfully launches a telescope; and a new film on Charles de Gaulle.(Photo: A person crosses a damaged suspension bridge following flash floods along the banks of the Trishuli River in Dhading district, Nepal, 30 August 2026. CREDIT: EPA/Shutterstock)

In Ukraine a Russian airstrike detonated munitions in a warehouse in a residential area outside Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killing 37 people. We hear from a BBC correspondent who has been behind the security perimeter.Also on the programme: Nepal has called for a "global effort" to address climate change after devastating floods; and we ask what next for cycling great Tadej Pogacar after crashing out of the Vuelta a España.(Picture: A view of a street after a Russian drone strike on storage facilities in the village of Myla near Kyiv, 29 August 2026 Credit: Mykola Tymchenko/EPA/Shutterstock)

Bad weather is hampering rescue operations after the devastating flash flooding which tore through border areas of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday. Officials say rain and fog are making access much harder. About 3,000 people are missing, with almost 700 bodies found so far -- some of them swept many kilometres downstream in India.Also in the programme: Huge explosions at a warehouse after an overnight strike in Kyiv; and polls open in Iceland's referendum on whether to reopen talks on joining the European Union.(Photo: Rescuers transport an elderly woman rescued from an old age home, Nuwakot district, Nepal. Credit: Narendra Shrestha, EPA/Shutterstock)

Officials in Nepal say the number of confirmed deaths in Wednesday's huge floods and landslides has now risen to 579, and the number of those unaccounted for has also increased to nearly 2,000. Chinese state media say five people have died and hundreds are missing in Tibet. We hear from a Nepalese climate envoy and a BBC China analyst.Also on the programme: a Sudanese businessman tells us about life in Khartoum as a state of emergency is lifted; and a musical memorial to the father of modern computing, Alan Turing.(Photo: People run during a rescue operation by a Nepal Army helicopter in the aftermath of flash floods, in Hatigauda village, Nuwakot district, Nepal, 28 August 2026. Credit: Narendra Shrestha, EPA/Shutterstock)

The death toll in Nepal has risen to 547, officials say, after Wednesday's flash flooding devastated the Himalayan border region. Chinese officials say that search and rescue operations have reached a 'critical stage', as a lake dammed by a landslide is at risk of overflowing. Also in the programme: Norway has a new monarch, after the death of King Harald; and how climate change is affecting cheese makers in the French Alps. (Photo: Aftermath of flash floods and mudslide at Trishuli Bazaar army training centre in Nuwakot, Nepal, August 28, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas)

Why information can be hard to come by after the disastrous flash floods that have had hit Nepal and neighbouring Tibet, especially on the Chinese side of the border.Also in the programme: Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander who oversaw the worst atrocities in Europe since the Second World War, has died in prison in The Hague; the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - is finally given a trial date, in June 2028; and how climate change-related heatwaves in the Alps and Jura are likely to change the flavour of some prized French cheeses.(IMAGE: Flood survivor return to home following a flash flood in Devighat Village, Nuwakot district, Nepal, 27 August 2026 / CREDIT: Narendra Shrestha / EPA / Shutterstock)

Rescuers in China and Nepal are searching for about 1,300 people who are missing after a flash flood hit the two countries.At least 359 people have died in Nepal, with three confirmed deaths in China. We'll hear from both countries.Also in the programme: Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb commander who was convicted of genocide, has died in prison - we hear from the journalist Allan Little who covered him for the BBC and Hasan Hasanovic, a survivor of Srebrenica massacre; why some species of bats are able to live so long; and we'll remember the Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, whose struggles with her mental health fuelled her work:(Photo shows flood survivors in Devighat Village, Nuwakot district, Nepal on 27 August 2026. Credit: Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

The social media giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to restrict American teenagers' use of its platforms as part of an $18bn settlement with states that accused it of harming children. We hear from a former Meta insider. Also on the programme: how climate change is increasing the likelihood of avalanches and flooding in the Himalayas; and we look back on the life of Rocky Horror Picture Show star Tim Curry.(Photo: The Meta logo is displayed on a mobile phone in Liverpool, Britain, 09 June 2026. Credit: ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA/Shutterstock)

Hundreds of people are missing, including at least 291 foreign tourists, after a flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border.At least 18 people are confirmed dead in Nepal; Chinese state media is also reporting "major casualties" in Tibet, which is controlled by China. We'll hear how this incident is affecting people on the ground.Also in the programme: Tragedy at one of Pakistan's main hospitals, where at least 14 newborn babies have been killed in a fire; new research shows a new shingles vaccine can lower the risk of heart disease; and we'll reflect on the wisdom and humour of country music icon Dolly Parton, who died yesterday. (Photo shows a satellite image of the valleys near the Nepal-China border, after the devastating floods on26 August 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Reuters)

The country music legend Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80 in Nashville, Tennessee. In a seven-decade career, she won 10 Grammy awards, sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and wrote in excess of 3,000 songs. We'll be looking back at her life and legacy.Also in the programme: the United Nations and the Red Cross have called for urgent negotiations to restrict the use of autonomous weapons; and why the Indian government is sending onions across the country.(Photo: The American country music star, Dolly Parton, performs on the Pyramid Stage during the Glastonbury Festival June 29, 2014. Reuters/Cathal McNaughton.)

China has vowed to protect its interests after the US announced plans to widen economic sanctions against Iran and its trading partners, which include Beijing. Will China scupper the squeeze on Iran?Also in the programme: the UN and Red Cross call for urgent new laws to police fully autonomous weapons, an at-home test kit for cervical cancer. and can Australia keep AI out of music?(Photo: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a press conference to outline further sanctions against Iran,in Washington DC on 24 August 2026. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has unveiled a wave of sanctions aimed at isolating Iran's economy and says that other countries will be pressured to comply. But will the US deliver on its threats?Also in the programme: a group of cricket legends urges Pakistan to give the former prime minister, Imran Khan, proper medical care; and the edible cookie made from plastic waste. (Photo: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference to outline further sanctions against Iran in Washington, August 24, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein.)

The US treasury secretary has threatened Iran with "the single greatest financial offensive ever", claiming the US-Israel war with Iran was "entering its endgame".Scott Bessent said the US would sever all economic ties with the country in "an economic D-Day" and that any nation partnering with Iran financially would also be isolated. Will it work?Also in the programme: A blueprint for new weapons for Ukraine; the Taliban answers questions about its treatment of women; and the rare British bird on the rise.(Photo shows US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to reporters in Washington, DC, USA on 20 August 2026. Credit: Shawn Thew/EPA)

Iran's currency, the rial, has hit a record low, trading at over 2 million rials to the dollar on unofficial markets. The devaluation comes a day before the United States is due to impose what US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant described as “the toughest sanctions in history” on Tehran. Iran was struggling financially even before the start of its ongoing conflict with the US and Israel, nearly six months ago.Also in the programme: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns against holding wartime elections, following repeated calls from his sacked defence minister to hold a nationwide vote; Syria's foreign minister says he expects peace talks with Israel to resume soon; and we hear from the director of London's Natural History Museum, where a gallery which has remained hidden from view since World War Two is about to reopen.(Photo: Iranian woman buys vegetables at a street market in Tehran, Iran, 22 August 2026. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock)

Ukraine's popular former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov tells the BBC he still wants nationwide elections, despite his country being at war. We hear a response from a supporter of President Zelensky. Also in the programme: how the Trump White House has turned one of the US's big sporting occasions into a political event; and diplomatic conflict between the UK and Russia, as Moscow apparently withdraws its ambassador from London.(IMAGE: Mykhailo Fedorov, who was at the time Ukraine's minister of defence, speaks at a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 1, 2026 / CREDIT: REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo)

Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, has confirmed he'll impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States next month, saying trade talks collapsed because Washington made unacceptable demands.Also on the programme, the editor-in-chief and a reporter from the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes have been fired for 'insubordination', South Korea's first container ship to trial the much shorter and safer route to Europe via the Arctic has begun its journey, and a look at the event dubbed the "Robot Olympics".Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with the news media after he suspended trade negotiations with the United States, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada August 22, 2026. REUTERS/Chris Tanouye

Rescuers in the central city of Kryvyi Rih are continuing to search for survivors of Friday's daytime drone attack on a shopping centre. We hear from the EU ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, about what the EU can do following a week of Russian attacks. Also on the programme: we hear about how sharks are inhaling caffeine; and the music video maker Tim Pope on his life putting rock stars on film.

Weather experts are warning that a developing El Niño weather system could become the strongest since modern records began. The effects of El Niño on weather patterns are already being felt.Also in the programme: Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has been returned to prison after being in hospital; and a new book on the violent career of Carlos the Jackal.(Picture: Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in Indonesia. A severe dry season, intensified by El Nino has fueled wildfires. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

Weather experts describe the developing climate system as an unprecedented event. Temperatures in the Pacific Ocean could climb more than three degrees above normal.Also in the programme: the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen speaks to Newshour about the legal case against Facebook's parent company for improperly collecting and using children's personal data; and dramatising the colourful life of the British economist John Maynard Keynes.(Photo: Mexico says mass bird deaths likely caused by El Nino's hotter waters. Credit: Mexican Government/Handout via Reuters)

15 people were killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv today, and the Ukrainian government has made an urgent request for more interceptor missiles. We hear from the BBC's correspondent on the ground in the capital. Also on the programme: a new batch of 70,000 vaccines is being sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo to try to contain the fastest-spreading outbreak of Ebola on record. And the 26-year-old car salesman who has been recognised as Belgian royalty after a DNA test proved he was the son of Prince Laurent. (Image: Smoke rises in Kyiv during a Russian drone strike, August 20, 2026 Credit: REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak)

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has told the BBC that Ukraine needs more help from its partners to protect civilians, after another intense Russian bombardment overnight.Also in the programme: a court in China has sentenced the founder of the collapsed property firm Evergrande to life in jail; and we ask why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are coming back to live in the UK. (Photo: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko visits the site of a building damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, March 25, 2024. Credit: Reuters /Gleb Garanic.)

In a rare move the Israeli military has opened a criminal investigation into how its soldiers opened fire on a car carrying a five-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, and a separate incident in which fifteen aid and emergency workers were killed in Rafah in 2025. Also on the programme: a second man is arrested on suspicion of bombing the Nord Stream pipeline, and why thousands of jellyfish are washing up on Europe's coastlines.(Photo: Hind Rajab, who was killed along with six relatives in Gaza in 2024 poses for a photograph in this undated handout picture. Credit:  FAMILY/Reuters)

Ukraine's former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov has called for elections - which are barred in wartime under Ukrainian law. A representative of the Presidential Office has told the BBC that it would be bizarre to plan elections amidst missiles and drones. Earlier, around two hundred protestors gathered outside Ukraine's parliament, in protest against the swearing in of the new defence minister, who replaces Mr Fedorov. Also in the programme: Prime Minister Andy Burnham sets out homelessness plan; and what is the future for humanoid robots? (Photo: Ukraine's ousted Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, August 18, 2026. CREDIT: Mykhailo Fedorov/Handout via REUTERS)

A landmark trial has begun in California with the tech giant Meta accused of deliberately making Facebook and Instagram addictive to children. We'll hear the case for the prosecution and the defence. Also on the programme: a court in Damascus sentences to death a cousin of the deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad; and how short-sighted tree-shrews could be a big help to humans. (Photo: A woman holds a smartphone with a Facebook logo in front of a displayed logo for Meta in this illustration picture taken on October 28, 2021. Credit: Reuters)

Nine people have been killed and 23 injured, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on Russia, local officials have said. Russian attacks on Ukraine also killed at least seven people and injured more than 39 on Saturday night. We hear from Kyiv and Moscow. Also on the programme: Pakistan's Supreme Court orders authorities to move former prime minister Imran Khan to hospital from jail for health check-ups, we hear from his adviser; and, how thieves made off with valuable works by Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina.(Photo: Ukrainian servicemen repair anti-drone nets damaged by recent Russian strikes Credit: Tommaso Fumagalli/EPA/Shutterstock)

Lengthy talks between President Trump's envoy, Jared Kushner, and the Israeli Prime Minister have failed to achieve a breakthrough on the Gaza peace proposals. We'll hear from Israel and from a former Hamas official in Gaza. Also on the programme: a prominent Russian anti-war politician, Lev Shlosberg, has been sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony; and the best-selling author Annie Jacobsen tells us what governments are missing when it comes to the threat of biological weapons. (Photo: US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on August 17, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

President Trump's Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner, has met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he seeks Israeli backing for the US-backed Gaza peace plan. Mr Netanyahu has rejected the proposals. Israeli officials said today's meeting focused on elements that could be agreed.Also on the programme: Mr Trump says he's scaling back joint military exercises with South Korea, describing them as "inappropriate and hostile" towards the North; after nearly three decades, opening statements are due to begin later today (Monday) in the trial of the only man ever charged with the murder of the American rapper Tupac Shakur; and and the appeal of the Ferrari without the trademark roar! (Photo credit: Getty Images)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has promised Brazilians he will not stop fighting to secure them a better future as he launched his campaign for re-election. In a speech in a Sao Paulo stadium, the 80 year-old said he understood his fellow countrymen much better than more privileged people - a dig at his main rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of the former president. The right-wing candidate kicked off his campaign on Copacabana Beach in Rio by promising to get tough on crime.Also in the programme: The 'polar silk road'- a new weekly service that will transit the Arctic passage and bypass the Middle East; and we meet a street performer in Colombia who entertains people with spinning tops. Now he has become an earthquake rescuer, digging people out of the rubble.(Photo: A supporter of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends the launch of his re-election campaign. Brazil, August 16, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Adriano Machado)

About 5000 people have been displaced on Indonesia's Flores island, after an earthquake hit the region, followed by hundreds of aftershocks. Many families spent the night in makeshift shelters outside their collapsed homes. They say they are not receiving enough help from Jakarta.Also in the programme: New South Wales is launching a gun buyback scheme; and President Lula da Silva launches his re-election campaign in Brazil.(Photo: Evacuees affected by an earthquake stay in temporary shelters in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, 16 August 2026. CREDIT: EPA/Shutterstock)

The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have been celebrating the fifth anniversary of their return to power in Kabul. But they continue to face allegations of severe repression of women and girls, who are now virtually excluded from all public life. The BBC's Lyse Doucet has an assessment of life under the Taliban and she talks to two former BBC Afghan journalists who managed to escape rule under the Taliban.Also in the programme: Israel has defended its deadly strikes across southern Lebanon, saying they were in retaliation for a Hezbollah attack on its occupying forces. We find out why the Lebanese president has cast doubts on Israel's sincerity in peace negotiations. And we hear from the soul backing trio, the Womack sisters who've finally released their self-titled debut album this week. (Photo: Members of the Taliban participate in a rally to mark five years in power, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Sayed Hassi.)

The Taliban is celebrating 5 years since they seized-back control of Afghanistan - with parades and events that women are banned from joining. The BBC's Lyse Doucet joins us live from Kabul with an assessment of life under the Taliban, and why so many women fear for their safety with the extremists back in charge.Also in the programme: We'll have the latest on the Indonesian earthquake; we'll discuss what impact Ukrainian attacks are having on Russian civilians; and we'll hear from the musician still playing jazz at 100.(Photo shows members of the Taliban attending a rally to mark five years in power in Kabul, Afghanistan on 15 August 2026. Credit: Mohammad Yunus Yawar/Reuters)

The BBC's Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet, returns to Afghanistan to report on the state of the country after five years of Taliban rule. She also brings us an interview with Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Later, we hear from the American four-star general David Petraeus, who led US forces in Afghanistan for a year. Also in the programme: Colombian Vice-President Jose Manuel Restrepo on how his country has handled the aftermath of last week's earthquake; and the BBC Proms festival of classical music celebrates the legacy of the Motown musician Marvin Gaye.(Photo: An Afghan boy sells flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Taliban's return to power. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

This week marks five years since the Taliban swept into Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, seizing back power. In those five years, girls' and women's rights have drastically worsened, as has the country's humanitarian situation. We hear from the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, who has been travelling to Afghanistan for many years and has returned again now to report on life under Taliban rule, five years on from the 2021 Taliban takeover.Also in the programme: extreme rainfall in Japan has led to the deaths of several people and caused major travel disruption near Tokyo; new research by the artificial intelligence giant Anthropic finds autonomous AI agents engage in “turf wars” when pitted against each another; and builders renovating a building in Belgium have struck gold, after they discovered a stash of treasure sealed into the walls of its cellar.(Photo: women walk through a market in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 4 August 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)