The prime suspect in the high-profile case of Madeleine McCann's disappearance has declined to be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police, the force has said.

The Met said an international letter of request was sent to Christian Brückner, ahead of his imminent release for a separate offence, for him to speak with them which he later rejected.

German national Brückner, 49, has never been charged in the McCann case and denies involvement.

Madeleine vanished in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007, shortly after she was left sleeping by her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, who went for dinner in a nearby restaurant.

Brückner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of an elderly 72-year-old woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005.

He could potentially be released on Wednesday.

Det Ch Insp Mark Cranwell said Brückner remains a suspect in the Met Police's own investigation into Madeline's disappearance.

"We have requested an interview with this German suspect but, for legal reasons, this can only be done via an International Letter of Request which has been submitted," Det Ch Insp Cranwell said.

"It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry.

"We can provide no further information while the investigation is ongoing."

Almost two decades since Madeleine's disappearance, it has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world.

Earlier this year, German prosecutors pointed to evidence suggesting Brückner may have been in the area when Madeleine disappeared.

Elsewhere in June, Portuguese and German police conducted a fresh search of land in Lagos - between where the McCanns had been staying and addresses linked to Brückner, but this yielded no breakthroughs.

Brückner was not identified as a suspect in her disappearance until 2020.

Due to differences in legal systems, German authorities suspect Brückner of murder in relation to Madeleine, while British police continue to treat her disappearance as a missing persons case.

However, no charges have ever been brought against Brückner in the case of Madeleine, and the full details of the alleged evidence have never been released.

In 2023, investigators carried out searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.

Brückner spent time in the Praia da Luz area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.

In October last year, Brückner was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

The funding given to the Met's investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, titled Operation Grange, has totalled more than £13.2m since 2011. A further £108,000 was secured from the government in April.

Warning: Contains disturbing content and graphic descriptions of sexual acts

A man running a sex ring operating out of Dubai's most glamorous neighbourhoods, and exploiting vulnerable women, has been identified by a BBC investigation.

Charles Mwesigwa, who says he is a former London bus driver, told our undercover reporter he could provide women for a sex party at a starting price of $1,000 (£740), adding that many can do "pretty much everything" clients want them to.

Rumours of wild sex parties in the UAE emirate have circulated for years. The hashtag #Dubaiportapotty, which has been viewed more than 450 million times on TikTok, links to parodies and speculative exposés of women accused of being money-hungry influencers secretly funding their lifestyles by fulfilling the most excessive of sexual requests.

Our BBC World Service investigation was told the reality is even darker.

Young Ugandan women told us they had not expected to have to undertake sex work for Mr Mwesigwa. In some cases, they believed they were travelling to the UAE to work in places like supermarkets or hotels.

At least one of Mr Mwesigwa's clients regularly asks to defecate on the women, according to "Mia", whose name we have changed to protect her identity, and who says she was trapped by Mr Mwesigwa's network.

Mr Mwesigwa denies the allegations. He says he helps women find accommodation through landlords, and that women follow him to parties because of his wealthy Dubai contacts.

We have also discovered that two women linked to Mr Mwesigwa have died, having fallen from high-rise apartments. Although their deaths were ruled as suicides, their friends and family feel the police should have investigated further.

Mr Mwesigwa said the incidents were investigated by the Dubai police and asked us to contact them for information. They did not reply to our request.

One of the women who lost her life, Monic Karungi, arrived in Dubai from western Uganda.

She found herself sharing a flat with dozens of other women working for Mr Mwesigwa, according to one of the women, who we are calling Keira, who says she lived with Monic there in 2022.

"[His] place was like a market… There were like 50 girls. She was not happy because what she expected is not what she got," Keira told us.

Monic thought the job in Dubai was going to be in a supermarket, according to her sister Rita.

"He [Mr Mwesigwa] was violent when I told him I wanted to go back home," says Mia, who also knew Monic in Dubai. She says that, when she first arrived, he told her she already owed him £2,000 ($2,711) and that within two weeks that debt had doubled.

"Money for air tickets, for your visa, for where you're sleeping, food," says Mia.

"That means you have to work hard, hard, hard, pleading for men to come and sleep [with] you."

Monic owed Mr Mwesigwa more than $27,000 (£19,918) after several weeks, according to what a relative of hers we are calling Michael says she told him. He adds that he received tearful voice notes from her.

Mia told us that clients were mostly white Europeans, and included men with extreme fetishes.

"There's this one client, he poops on girls. He poops and he tells them to eat the shit," she explained quietly.

Another woman we are calling Lexi, who says she was tricked by a different network, echoed Mia's story, saying "porta potty" requests were frequent.

"There was a client who said: 'We pay you 15,000 Arab Emirates Dirham ($4,084, £3,013) to gang-rape you, pee in your face, beat you, and add in 5,000 ($1,361, £1,004)'" for being recorded eating faeces.

Her experiences have led her to believe there is a racial element to this extreme fetish.

"Every time I said that I wouldn't want to do that, it seemed to get them more interested. They want somebody who is going to cry and scream and run. And that somebody [in their eyes] should be a black person."

Lexi says she tried to get help from the only people she thought could intervene - the police. But she says they told her: "You Africans cause problems for each other. We don't want to get involved. And they would hang up."

We put this allegation to the Dubai police and they did not reply.

Lexi eventually escaped back to Uganda and now helps to rescue and support women in similar situations.

Finding Charles Mwesigwa wasn't easy. We could only find one picture of him online - and it was taken from behind. He also uses multiple names across social media.

But through a combination of open-source intelligence, undercover research, and information from a former member of his network, we traced him to a middle class neighbourhood in Dubai - Jumeirah Village Circle.

To corroborate what sources had told us about his business - supplying women for degrading sex acts - we sent in an undercover reporter posing as an event organiser sourcing women for high-end parties.

Mr Mwesigwa appeared calm and confident when speaking about his business.

"We've got like 25 girls," he said. "Many are open-minded… they can do pretty much everything."

He explained the cost - from $1,000 (£738) per girl per night, but more for "crazy stuff". He invited our reporter for a "sample night".

When asked about "Dubai porta potty" he replied: "I've told you, they are open-minded. When I say open-minded… I will send you the craziest I have."

In the course of the conversation, Mr Mwesigwa said he used to be a London bus driver. We have seen evidence he put that occupation down on an official document in east London in 2006.

He went on to tell our reporter that he loved this business.

"I could win the lottery, a million pounds, but I would still do it… it's become part of me."

Troy, a man who says he used to act as operations manager for Mr Mwesigwa's network, gave us more information about how he says it is run.

He says Mr Mwesigwa pays off security at various nightclubs so they will let his women in to find clients.

"I've heard about types of sex that I've never seen in my life. It doesn't matter what you go through as long as his rich men are happy… [the women] have no escape route…They see musicians, they see footballers, they see presidents."

Mr Mwesigwa has been able to get away with running this operation, Troy claims, because Troy and others are not just used as drivers. He says their names are also used by Mr Mwesigwa to hire cars and apartments, so that his own name never appears on the paperwork.

On 27 April 2022, Monic posted a selfie from Al Barsha - a residential neighbourhood popular with expats in Dubai. Four days later, she was dead. She had been in the emirate for just four months.

According to Mia, Monic and Mr Mwesigwa had been regularly arguing in the period before she left. Mia says Monic had been refusing to comply with Mr Mwesigwa's demands and had found a way out of his network.

"She had got some kind of job. She was very excited. She thought she was gonna get free, she was going to get her life back because now that was a real job, no sleeping with men," Mia says.

Monic moved out to a different apartment about 10 minutes' walk away. It was from this apartment's balcony that she fell on 1 May 2022.

Monic's relative Michael, who was in the UAE at the time she died, says he tried to get answers.

Police told him they stopped their investigation, having found drugs and alcohol in the apartment Monic had fallen from, and only her fingerprints on the balcony, he says.

He obtained a death certificate for Monic from a hospital, but it did not say how she had died. And her family were unable to obtain a toxicology report for her.

But a Ghanaian man living in the apartment building was more helpful, he says, taking him to another block to meet the man he said was Monic's boss.

Michael describes the scene when he got there and saw where the women were housed.

He says through the cloud of shisha smoke in the living room, he made out what looked like cocaine on the table and women having sex on chairs with clients.

He claims he found the man we had previously identified as Charles Mwesigwa in bed with two women, and that when he tried to drag him to the police Mr Mwesigwa replied: "I have spent 25 years in Dubai. Dubai is mine… There is no way you are going to report me… Embassy is me, I'm the embassy.

"[Monic's] not the first to die. And she won't be the last," he added, according to Michael.

Mia and Keira both independently say they witnessed this conversation and both confirm its wording. When we asked Mr Mwesigwa what he meant by this, he denied having said it.

Monic's death shares haunting similarities with that of Kayla Birungi, another Ugandan woman who lived in the same neighbourhood as her, and died in 2021 after falling from a Dubai high-rise apartment which we have evidence to suggest was managed by Charles Mwesigwa.

The phone number for her landlord, shared with us by Kayla's family, turned out to be one of Mr Mwesigwa's numbers. Troy also confirms that Mr Mwesigwa managed the apartment, as do four other women we spoke to for this investigation.

Kayla's relatives say that they - like Monic's family - heard Kayla's death had been linked to alcohol and drugs. But a toxicology report seen by the BBC shows none were present in her system at the time of her death.

While Kayla's family was able to repatriate her body and hold a burial, Monic's remains were never returned.

Our investigation found she was likely buried in a section of Dubai's Al Qusais Cemetery known as "The Unknown". It features rows and rows of unmarked graves, typically thought to belong to migrants whose family couldn't repatriate their bodies.

Monic and Kayla were part of a wider, unofficial pipeline connecting Uganda to the Gulf.

As Uganda wrestles with rising youth unemployment, moving to work abroad - mainly in the Gulf states - has become a huge industry that contributes $1.2bn (£885m) of tax revenue to the country each year.

But these opportunities can carry a risk.

Mariam Mwiza, a Ugandan activist against exploitation, says she has helped rescue more than 700 people from around the Gulf.

"We get cases of people who have been promised to work, let's say, in a supermarket. Then [that person] ends up sold as a prostitute," she told us.

For Monic's family, grief is now tangled with fear. Fear for other families who could suffer the same loss they have, if nothing is done.

"We are all looking at Monica's death," her relative Michael told us. "But who is there for the girls still alive? They're still there. Still suffering."

The BBC asked Charles "Abbey" Mwesigwa to respond to all the allegations made in our investigation. He denied running an illegal prostitution ring.

He said: "These are all false allegations.

"I told you I am just a party person who invites big spenders on my tables, hence making many girls flock [to] my table. That makes me know many girls and that's it."

He also said: "[Monic] died with her passport meaning no-one was demanding her money for taking her. Prior to her death, I hadn't seen her for over four to five weeks.

"I knew [Monic and Kayla] and [they] were renting with different landlords. If no-one in both flats was arrested or any of the landlords, then there was a reason. Both incidents were investigated by the Dubai police and maybe they can help you."

The BBC contacted Al Barsha Police Station to request to see the case files for Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi. It did not respond to that request or to allegations Monica and Kayla's deaths had not been properly investigated.

The BBC was unable to see any toxicology reports in relation to Monic Karungi, or speak to the landlord of the apartment in which she was living when she died.

• If you have any information to add to this investigation please contact runako@bbc.co.uk

• Details of organisations offering information about or support after sexual abuse or with feelings of despair are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

When lockdown started, college student Sam was living with his mum because his parents were separated.

Then his dad died unexpectedly, leaving him feeling that "something had been stolen" from him.

His experience is one of many being highlighted as the Covid-19 public inquiry prepares to look at the pandemic's impact on children and young people.

A new report - seen exclusively by the BBC - includes individual accounts of 600 people who were under 18 during the pandemic.

They include happy memories of time spent with family, as well as the impact of disruption to schools being moved online, social isolation and the loss of relatives.

The inquiry will start hearing evidence on these issues from Monday 29 September.

'I lost a relationship'

Wigan resident Sam was 12 during the first lockdowns and says he found it hard to understand the rules that prevented him spending more time with his dad.

His dad's death left him struggling with regrets that he had "lost a relationship" because of the isolation before his father's death.

"I do feel deep down that something has been stolen from me," he says.

"But I do know that the procedures that we had to go through were right. It was a bad situation."

Now 17, Sam's resilience has sadly been tested further after the loss of his mum, who recently died from cancer.

But Sam says that strength he built up during Covid has helped give him "the tools to deal with grief alone".

'Trying to catch up on the lost moments'

Kate Eisenstein, who is part of the team leading the inquiry, says the pandemic was a "life-changing set of circumstances" for the children and teenagers who lived through it.

The impact of the pandemic set out in the testimony is hugely varied and includes happier memories from those who flourished in secure homes, enjoying online learning.

Other accounts capture the fears of children in fragile families with no escape from mental health issues or domestic violence.

Some describe the devastating sudden loss of parents or grandparents, followed by online or physically distanced funerals.

Grief for family members lost during the pandemic is an experience shared with some of Sam's college classmates.

Student Ella told the BBC that losing her granddad during Covid had made her value spending more time with her grandma.

It is one of the ways in which Ella says she is trying to "catch up on the lost moments" she missed during Covid.

Living life online

One almost universal experience for children living through the pandemic was much of life shifting to online platforms.

While this allowed family connections and friendships to be maintained, Ms Eisenstein said some children had darker experiences, spending up to 19 hours a day online, leaving them "really anxious".

"Some told us how they started comparing their body image to people online, how video games and social media distracted from their learning," she said.

Most worrying, she said, were the accounts revealing an increased risk of adults seeking to exploit young children online, including sending nude images and inappropriate messages.

The remarkable variety of experiences, both positive and stressful, adds up to what she describes as "an unprecedented insight into children's inner world".

Aaliyah, a student at Winstanley College near Wigan, says the social isolation she experienced aged 11 led to her spending hours looking at social media, which began altering her self-confidence.

"With the content I was seeing online, I'd start to look in the mirror and go, 'I could change that about myself,' or 'I don't really like that about myself,'" she says.

Lasting effects

The inquiry is also expected to hear about the experiences of children still living with long Covid, like Avalyn, now 16, who became ill with the virus in October 2021.

While schools were beginning to return to normal, Avalyn was struggling with a deep and debilitating fatigue, and eventually left school for home education.

It took a year to get a formal diagnosis of long Covid and specialist advice.

"I enjoyed being in school, I enjoyed being social and seeing people, and then suddenly that was taken away from me very quickly," Avalyn says.

Before long Covid, Avalyn says she was sporty at primary school and enjoyed acrobatics.

Like lots of other children her age, Avalyn has shown determination and resilience to achieve the things that might not have been so difficult in other circumstances, and she has now passed four GCSEs.

"I knew I wanted to do GCSEs to prove to myself especially that I still had the ability to do what everyone else was doing," she says.

She still goes to a performing arts group, which allows her to join in as much or as little as she can manage.

Avalyn admits "it's weird to say", but in some ways she is "grateful" to have had long Covid, because of the things she has achieved during her long spells at home.

She has written, illustrated and self-published two children's books and spent more time on her art.

While the path ahead is not straightforward, she says she is optimistic of finding a way to study and get into work.

The inquiry plans to hear evidence on the impact of children and young people across four weeks from 29 September to 23 October.

The UK and US are set to sign a landmark agreement aimed at accelerating the development of nuclear power.

The move is expected to generate thousands of jobs and strengthen Britain's energy security.

It is expected to be signed off during US President Donald Trump's state visit this week, with both sides hoping it will unlock billions in private investment.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the two nations were "building a golden age of nuclear" that would put them at the "forefront of global innovation".

The government has said that generating more power from nuclear can cut household energy bills, create jobs, boost energy security, and tackle climate change.

The new agreement, known as the Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy, aims to make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power stations in both the UK and the US.

It will streamline regulatory approvals, cutting the average licensing period for nuclear projects from up to four years to just two.

'Nuclear renaissance'

The deal is also aimed at increasing commercial partnerships between British and American companies, with a number of deals set to be announced.

Key among the plans is a proposal from US nuclear group X-Energy and UK energy company Centrica to build up to 12 advanced modular nuclear reactors in Hartlepool, with the potential to power 1.5 million homes and create up to 2,500 jobs.

The broader programme could be worth up to £40bn, with £12bn focused in the north east of England.

Other plans include multinational firms such as Last Energy and DP World working together on a micro modular reactor at London Gateway port. This is backed by £80m in private investment.

Elsewhere, Holtec, EDF and Tritax are also planning to repurpose the former Cottam coal-fired plant in Nottinghamshire into a nuclear-powered data centre hub.

This project is estimated to be worth £11bn and could create thousands of high-skilled construction jobs, as well as permanent jobs in long-term operations.

Beyond power generation, the new partnership includes collaboration on fusion energy research, and an end to UK and US reliance on Russian nuclear material by 2028.

Commenting on the agreement, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: "Nuclear will power our homes with clean, homegrown energy and the private sector is building it in Britain, delivering growth and well-paid, skilled jobs for working people."

And US Energy Secretary Chris Wright described the move as a "nuclear renaissance", saying it would enhance energy security and meet growing global power demands, particularly from AI and data infrastructure.

Sir Keir has previously said he wants the UK to return to being "one of the world leaders on nuclear".

In the 1990s, nuclear power generated about 25% of the UK's electricity but that figure has fallen to around 15%, with no new power stations built since then and many of the country's ageing reactors due to be decommissioned over the next decade.

In November 2024, the UK and 30 other countries signed a global pledge to triple their nuclear capacity by 2050.

And earlier this year, the government announced a deal with private investors to build the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk.

Its nuclear programme also includes the UK's first small modular reactors (SMRs), which will be built by UK firm Rolls Royce.

Lethal children's car seats are still appearing for sale on online marketplaces a decade after concerns were first raised by trading standards officers and a well-known consumer group.

Which? warned in 2014 the fabric seats were potentially dangerous to children due to safety defects and were illegal to use in the UK following tests by Surrey Trading Standards, which dubbed the products "killers".

Which? is urging parents not to be tempted into buying cheap seats after it found they are still being sold via online sites including Shein and eBay, both of which said they took safety very seriously.

Regulations state only EU-approved child car seats with R44 or R129 codes can be used in the UK.

Approved seats carry a clear orange label, on which the codes are printed, to indicate they have been put through EU safety testing and can therefore be legally sold on the UK market.

In 2014, Surrey Trading Standards tested a fabric seat which fell to pieces in a 30 mph accident. The crash test dummy of a three-year-old child was flung through the windscreen when the straps securing the seat failed.

Which? said families struggling with living costs could be tempted by the cheaper products, which cost as little as £12.50, compared to the more expensive ones that retail in excess of £80.

Stuart Howarth, a car seat safety advisor at Good Egg Safety, which campaigns on child safety, told BBC News he had seen a child using an unsafe seat that had "no support to the body" and "no way of securing it to the car safely".

"It's just a lethal piece of material," he said.

"You might as well just sit on a settee cushion and hope for the best."

Which? said it found more than a dozen listings of illegal car seats on websites such as eBay, Little Dreams, ManoMano, Shein and Wish.

One listing for a child's car seat on eBay warned against using it in cars despite the product being described as suitable.

The description in the listing read: "It is best not to use it on high-speed cars.

"We recommend that it be used in non-motorized products such as electric vehicles, two-wheelers... Because it is not a child safety seat that complies with traffic."

In response, eBay said consumer safety "is a top priority".

"We swiftly removed these listings and notified buyers, and we continue to strengthen our preventative measures," a spokesperson said.

Which? said stricter rules were needed to "impose a clear and robust duty on online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe products" and called for "strong penalties and rigorous enforcement".

Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, said: "It is appalling that these deadly car seats are reappearing on online marketplaces more than a decade after Which? first exposed them, but it is not surprising."

She said children's lives "will be at risk" until online retailers were forced to comply with product safety regulations.

Which? advised families to look for retailers who can provide guidance and help fit the seat.

It suggested car seats should not be bought secondhand, as they might have been involved in an accident and damage to the seat may be unclear.

Janis James, chief executive of Good Egg Safety, urged parents not to "skimp" on cash when purchasing car seats for children.

In a statement, Shein said it was committed to "offering safe and reliable products to its customers".

The online retail giant said the product Which? found listed on its website had been "mislabelled" by a third-party seller and Shein had "taken action against the seller" after removing it from its platform.

It said vendors were required to comply with the company's rules and "stringent safety standards and must also abide by the relevant laws and regulations of the markets where we operate".

Little Dreams also told the BBC product safety was a "top priority".

ManoMano said its online marketplace was used by third party sellers to sell their own products.

It added: "We rely on our sellers to provide a resolution to any product/fulfilment issues."

When life gets busy and stress levels rise, it's not uncommon to find yourself walking into a room and forgetting why you went there, losing your train of thought mid-sentence or struggling to stay focused on simple tasks.

Especially after the weekend, it can be hard to get back into work or study mode.

This mental cloudiness is often called brain fog and while it isn't a medical condition in itself, it refers to a collection of cognitive symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, and mental slowness.

Common causes of it can include menopause or perimenopause, but it can also strike when you've got too much on your mind.

Medical doctor and Morning Live expert, Dr. Tharaka has these four tips and a special acronym to help cut through the haze.

1. Be kind to yourself

Brain fog can happen to anyone and it's not a personal failing or a sign that you're not coping.

Often, it's simply your brain's way of saying it's tired, stressed or overstretched.

Remind yourself that brain fog is usually temporary and it's okay to slow down, delegate tasks or ask for help when you need it.

If you are concerned then you should contact your GP.

2. Create routines

Reduce decision fatigue by having a set rhythm to your days - a predictable structure can take pressure off your working memory.

Knowing what's coming next stops your brain from constantly asking, "What am I doing today?"

It's worth creating a morning and evening routine and even something as simple as laying out clothes or prepping breakfast ahead of time frees your mind from constant decision-making.

3. Take breaks

It's easy to fill your diary with back-to-back commitments - meetings, social events, errands and daily tasks - without leaving any breathing room.

But constantly jumping from one thing to the next can leave your brain no time to reset, making brain fog more likely.

Try deliberately scheduling short breaks between activities, even just 5–10 minutes to stretch, get a drink, step outside or sit quietly.

Think of these firebreaks like mental buffers: they give your mind a chance to process what you've just done, let go of lingering stress and prepare for what's next.

4. Use calendars and reminders

Trying to hold every appointment, task and reminder in your head can quickly lead to mental clutter and forgetfulness.

Let tech do the remembering for you - use calendars and reminders to free up mental space.

Schedule recurring tasks so they happen automatically - for example, block out lunch in your diary each day or set weekly reminders for bills and chores.

This means you're not constantly thinking, "What do I need to remember next?"

Swans

Alongside these practical daily strategies, Dr T also recommends using his Swans acronym to support brain health and sharpen focus.

Each letter stands for a key habit that can help clear the mental mist and keep your mind performing at its best:

• Sleep: Sleep is non-negotiable - it gives your brain time to rest and consolidate memories. Aim for between seven and nine hours each night.

• Water: Our bodies are about 60% water and even mild dehydration can make you feel unfocused so keep water nearby and sip it regularly

• Activity: Moving your body boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which helps you think more clearly. Try going on short walks, a light jog or regularly stretching

• Nutrition: Nourish your brain with whole foods rather than processed ones. Choline is a nutrient vital for brain health so eating food that is rich in it like eggs, fish and nuts can support concentration and focus.

• Stress: Chronic stress floods the body with cortisol - a hormone that helps regulate your body's response to stress - and that can cloud your thinking. Find ways to lower stress through breathing exercises, mindfulness and hobbies.

Use the NHS website to find out more about brain fog and how to manage it.

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On a scorchingly hot day in the American Midwest, Tim Maxwell is voicing his fears about the future of farming.

The 65-year-old has worked the fields since he was a teenager. He now owns a grain and hog farm near Moscow, Iowa - but he's unsure about its prospects.

"I'm in a little bit of a worried place," says Mr Maxwell, who wears a baseball cap bearing the logo of a corn company.

He is concerned that American farmers aren't able to sell their crops to international markets in the way they could in previous years, in part because of the fallout from President Trump's tariffs.

"Our yields, crops and weather are pretty good - but our [interest from] markets right now is on a low," he says. "It's going to put stress on some farmers."

His fears are not unique. US agricultural groups warn that American farmers are facing widespread difficulty this year, mostly due to economic tensions with China. Since April, the two countries have been locked in a trade war, causing a sharp fall in the number of Chinese orders for American crops.

American farmers are wounded as a result, economists say. The number of small business bankruptcies filed by farmers has reached a five-year high, according to data compiled by Bloomberg in July.

With all this economic pain, rural areas could well have turned against Trump. But that doesn't seem to be happening.

Rural Americans were one of the president's most loyal voting blocs in last year's election, when he won the group by 40 percentage points over Kamala Harris, beating his own margins in 2020 and 2016, according to Pew Research analysis.

Polling experts say that in the countryside, he is still broadly popular.

Mr Maxwell says he is sticking with Trump, despite his own financial worries. "Our president told us it was going to take time to get all these tariffs in place," he says.

"I am going to be patient. I believe in our president."

So why do so many farmers and other rural Americans broadly continue to back Trump even while feeling an economic squeeze that is driven in part by tariffs - the president's signature policy?

Farmers on a 'trade and financial precipice'

If you want a window into rural America, the Iowa State Fair is a good start. The agricultural show attracts more than one million visitors over 10 days.

There is candy floss; deep-fried hot dogs on a stick for $7 (£5) - known as "corn dogs"; an antique tractor show; a competition for the biggest boar.

But when the BBC visited last month, there was another topic of conversation: tariffs.

"A lot of people say he's just using tariffs as a bargaining chip, as a bluff," says Gil Gullickson, who owns a farm in South Dakota and edits an agriculture magazine.

"But I can say: history proves that tariffs don't end well."

In April, what he termed "liberation day", Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on most of the world, including a 145% tariff on China.

In response, China put a retaliatory 125% tariff on American goods - a blow to farmers in the American Midwest, sometimes known as the "corn belt", many of whom sell crops to China.

Last year Chinese companies bought $12.7bn (£9.4bn) worth of soybeans from America, mostly to feed their livestock.

September is harvest season, and the American Soybean Association (ASA) has warned that soybean orders from China are way below where they should be at this point in the year.

Tariffs have fluctuated dramatically since they were introduced - and the uncertainty is proving tough for farmers, says Christopher Wolf, a professor of agricultural economics at Cornell University.

"China is just so big that when they buy things, it matters - and when they don't, it matters."

The cost of fertiliser has rocketed, too - partly because of trade disputes with Canada, which has raised the cost of potash, a salt imported from Canada by American farmers and used in fertiliser.

Jon Tester, a former Democrat Senator of Montana, who is a third-generation farmer, told a US news station earlier this month: "With all these tariffs the president's put on, it's interrupted our supply chain… it's increased the cost of new equipment… and because of the trade and tariffs, a lot of customers have said to heck with the United States…

"The people who are new to agriculture, those young farmers who haven't saved money for times like this, they're going to be in trouble and a lot of those folks are going to go broke.

"And if this continues, a lot of folks like me are going to go broke too."

American farmers already suffer from high levels of stress. They are more than three times more likely than average to die by suicide, according to a paper by a charity, the National Rural Health Association, which analysed a period before Trump's presidency.

In a letter to the White House, Caleb Ragland, president of the ASA, warned of a tipping point: "US soybean farmers are standing at a trade and financial precipice."

Trump: 'Our farmers are going to have a field day'

Supporters of President Trump say that his tariffs will help American farmers in the long run, by forcing countries like China to come to the negotiating table and agree new deals with the US over agriculture.

And they point to other ways this White House has helped farmers. Over the summer, as part of Trump's tax and spend bill, his administration expanded federal subsidies for farmers by $60bn (£44bn), and boosted funding for federal crop insurance.

In his annual speech to Congress in March, Trump warned farmers of a "little bit of an adjustment period" following the tariffs, adding: "Our farmers are going to have a field day… to our farmers, have a lot of fun, I love you."

Sid Miller, commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, is among those who have praised Trump for his "vital support".

"We finally have an administration that is prioritising farmers and ranchers," he wrote in a statement earlier this year. "They advocate for farmers, challenge China ... and ensure America's producers are receiving fair treatment."

And it is possible the president's tariff strategy could eventually work, according to Michael Langemeier, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

But he also worries that uncertainty is inflicting long-term damage. "Your trading partner doesn't know exactly what your position's going to be next year, because it seems like we're changing the goalposts.

"That is a problem."

Tariffs will make us great again

There's an old adage in American politics that says people "vote with their pocketbooks" - and turn against politicians if they appear to harm their finances.

Yet despite financial pressures, the rural Americans we spoke to are firmly sticking with Trump.

Experts say they haven't seen any evidence of meaningful change in support among rural voters since last year. A survey by Pew last month found that 53% of rural Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, far higher than the 38% figure for the country as a whole.

Though a survey by ActiVote earlier this month did find a small decline in Trump's approval among rural voters from 59% in August to 54% in September. Analysts warn not to pay too much attention to those shifts, however, because the number of rural voters included in those polls is so small.

"The data I've seen suggests Trump is still heavily supported in rural communities," says Michael Shepherd, a political science professor at the University of Michigan who focuses on rural politics.

For some farmers at the state fair, the explanation is simple: they believe the US president when he tells them that tariffs will help them in the long run.

"We think the tariffs eventually will make us great again," says John Maxwell, a dairy farmer and cheese producer from Iowa.

"We were giving China a lot, and [previously] we paid tariffs when we sold to them. Let's make it fair. What's good for the goose is good for the other goose."

Some may also hold onto hope that the president will bail farmers out. During Trump's first term he gave farmers a $28bn (£20.7bn) grant amid a tariff dispute with China.

A case of selective blame attribution?

For Nicholas Jacobs, a politics professor at Colby College and author of The Rural Voter, there's a deeper reason at play.

"It's easy for an outsider to ask, 'Why the hell are you still with this guy?'" he says. "But you have to understand that across rural America, the move towards Republicans long predates Donald Trump."

Starting in the 1980s, he says, rural Americans started to feel alienated and left behind while cities benefited from globalisation and technological change.

What he calls a "rural identity" formed, based on a shared grievance and an opposition to urban liberals. The Republicans seemed like their natural champion, while he says the Democrats became "the party of the elite, technocrats, the well-educated, the urbane".

Some repeat that sentiment at the state fair. Joan Maxwell, a dairy farmer from Davenport in Iowa, says that her area is too often viewed as "flyover country".

"We are not looked at very positively for the most part from the media," she says. "We've been called deplorables, uneducated," - a reference to Hillary Clinton's description of half of Trump's supporters as a "basket of deplorables".

Ms Maxwell added: "A lot of times they ignore us or make fun of us."

Prof Shepherd, of Michigan University, believes there's another factor: in his view, America has become so polarised - with voters from both sides entrenched in their camps - that many are willing to forgive much more than they would previously, as long as it's a policy implemented by their own side.

He calls this "selective blame attribution… they might be really angry about some things that are happening, but they're reticent to blame Trump for them."

'We're giving him a chance - there'd better be results'

Mr Wolf has his own view on the "best case scenario" from here. "What I hope happens is that he [Trump] just declares victory and leaves it [tariffs] alone."

But he warns that even if the policy is dropped, the damage to American farmers could be long-term due to the shake-up to supply chains. Some Chinese firms are now buying their soybeans from Brazil rather than America, he says; they may not quickly return.

Many of the analysts we spoke to believe that rural America's support for Trump is not a blank cheque, despite their current support.

Mr Shepherd points to the Great Depression and rural "Dustbowl" of the 1930s, which forced millions of farmers to migrate to American cities, causing a long-term realignment in politics - though nobody expects it to get anywhere near that bad this time. The farm crisis of the 1980s also saw thousands of farms go under.

Back at the state fair, Ms Maxwell, the Iowan dairy farmer, makes this point clear.

"We're giving him the chance to follow through with the tariffs, but there had better be results. I think we need to be seeing something in 18 months or less.

"We understand risk - and it had better pay off."

Additional reporting: Florence Freeman

BBC InDepth is the new home on the website and app for the best analysis and expertise from our top journalists. Under a distinctive new brand, we’ll bring you fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions, and deep reporting on the biggest issues to help you make sense of a complex world. And we’ll be showcasing thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. We’re starting small but thinking big, and we want to know what you think - you can send us your feedback by clicking on the button below.

The Summer I Turned Pretty fans are preparing for this week's series three finale - and many are desperate to know how the season will end.

The Amazon show has been a breakout hit for young viewers and the tech giant is taking no chances of spoiling the story.

For actress Corinna Brown, who plays Gemma, the secrecy began before she even auditioned.

"There were codenames galore," she remembers. "There was a codename for the title of the show, there was a codename for my character.

"I thought up until maybe two days before we started shooting that my character was called Maeve.

"Amazon are very good at keeping it a secret."

So keen are producers to prevent spoilers, BBC News is speaking to Brown under the condition she doesn't discuss the finale, which drops on Prime Video on Wednesday.

Warning: The below may contain spoilers - especially if you haven't watched series three of the show

Millions are gripped by the show's love triangle plot between Isabel 'Belly' Conklin, played by Lola Tung, and brothers Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, played by Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno.

Among the obsessions for fans have been a tiny engagement ring, a two-tier mirror glaze dark chocolate cake with raspberries and that sensual peach scene.

Brown's character Gemma is one of Belly's new friends she meets after her move to Paris. So what was it like to be part of a cultural phenomenon?

"It was so exciting because it's so highly anticipated and everybody wants to know what's going to happen," London-born Brown, 26, says.

"The fan base are so passionate, which is something you don't always get."

She says she "didn't really realise" how big the fandom of the show was until its release.

"So I think that was a good thing, to be fair, because otherwise, from the beginning, I would have been like: 'Oh my God'."

'We all love a bit of romance'

As the show's Paris-era was unlocked, viewers have been introduced to a new supporting cast in Belly's circle in the French capital, including Gemma, who like Belly, is new to Paris.

Brown describes her character as a "kindred spirit" to Belly.

They meet outside a nightclub, when Gemma is being bothered by a man. Belly steps in to help her out and the two become friends.

Brown says it is one of her favourite moments and shows "women supporting each other".

According to Amazon, this season's first episode drew in 25 million global viewers, a 40% increase on the previous season, with Prime Video saying it is its most-watched TV season among women aged 18-34.

Brown thinks the success of the show comes down to the writing by Jenny Han, who wrote the young adult (YA) romance books the TV series is based on.

"She knows what she's doing. She's got everybody hooked from the books," Brown says.

"It's lucky me to be a little part of that."

Brown feels another reason why the show resonates is "because we all go through it".

"We go through friendship, heartache, love, confusion. For the audience that watch this show and love The Summer I Turned Pretty that is a big thing, it's a new thing, it forms so much of your life.

"Being able to watch someone's else experience of that is helpful... and we all love a bit of romance," she says.

Beyond the traditional audience watching on screens, there are countless fan edits and reaction videos posted on social media, which Corinna says have been positive towards her character.

"They've been lovely. I've only seen good things. They say they like Gemma giving her [Belly] straight advice."

Already beloved by YA fans for her turn as Tara Jones in Netflix-hit Heartstopper, Brown is no stranger to the world of teen romance adaptations.

"With any show that's for a young audience, you have to have that awareness of the young minds that you're inspiring, shaping," Brown says.

"And that's an honour in itself."

Amid all the buzz of the show, secrets are tightly guarded and with the finale about to drop we are not allowed to ask Brown what happens in it.

But we can't help but ask what feels to fans like the summer's most pressing question: Are you team Conrad or team Jeremiah?

"I'm going to keep my lips tight on that one," Brown says, smiling.

"But what I will say is I am Team Gemma and Team Belly's friendship forever."

When Shahnaz went into labour, her husband Abdul called a taxi to take them to the only medical facility accessible to them.

"She was in a lot pain," he says.

A 20-minute drive away, the clinic was in Shesh Pol village in Afghanistan's north-eastern Badakhshan province. It was where their two older children were born.

Abdul sat next to Shahnaz comforting her as they drove over gravel tracks to reach help.

"But when we reached the clinic, we saw that it was closed. I didn't know it had shut down," he said, his face crumpling with agony.

Warning: Readers may find some details in this article distressing.

The clinic in Shesh Pol is one of more than 400 medical facilities that closed down in Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, after the Trump administration cut nearly all US aid to the country earlier this year, in a drastic and abrupt move following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

A single-storey structure with four small rooms, white paint peeling off its walls, the Shesh Pol clinic has USAID posters tacked up everywhere with information and guidance for pregnant women and new mothers.

It doesn't look like much but in Badakhshan's mountainous, unforgiving terrain, where a lack of access has been a major reason for historically high maternal mortality rates, the clinic was a critical lifeline, part of a wider programme implemented during the tenure of the US-backed government in the country, to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.

It had a trained midwife who assisted around 25-30 deliveries every month. It had a stock of medicines and injections, and it also provided basic healthcare services.

Other medical facilities are simply too far from Abdul's village, and it was not without risk for Shahnaz to travel on bumpy roads. Abdul also didn't have money to pay for a longer journey - renting the taxi cost 1,000 Afghani ($14.65; £12.70), roughly a quarter of his monthly income as a labourer. So they decided to return home.

"But the baby was coming and we had to stop by the side of the road," Abdul said.

Shahnaz delivered their baby girl in the car. Shortly after, she died, bleeding profusely. A few hours later, before she could be named, their baby also died.

"I wept and screamed. My wife and child could've been saved if the clinic was open," said Abdul. "We had a hard life, but we were living it together. I was always happy when I was with her."

He doesn't even have a photo of Shahnaz to hold on to.

There's no certainty the mother and baby would've survived if they'd been treated at the clinic, but without it, they didn't stand a chance, underlining the undeniable impact of US aid cuts in Afghanistan.

For decades, America has been the largest donor to Afghanistan, and in 2024, US funds made up a staggering 43% of all aid coming into the country.

The Trump administration has justified withdrawing it, saying there were "credible and longstanding concerns that funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including... the Taliban", who govern the country. The US government further added that they had reports stating that at least $11m were "being siphoned or enriching the Taliban".

The report that the US State Department referenced was made by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). It said that $10.9m of US taxpayer money had been paid to the Taliban-controlled government by partners of USAID in "taxes, fees, duties, or utilities".

The Taliban government denies that aid money was going into their hands.

"This allegation is not true. The aid is given to the UN, and through them to NGOs in provinces. They identify who needs the aid, and they distribute it themselves. The government is not involved," said Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Taliban's political office in Doha.

The Taliban government's policies, especially its restrictions on women, the harshest in the world, have meant that after four years in power, it is still not recognised by most of the world. It's also a key reason donors have been increasingly walking away from the country.

The US insists no one has died because of aid cuts. Shahnaz and her baby's deaths are not recorded anywhere. Neither are countless others.

The BBC has documented at least half a dozen first-hand, devastating accounts in areas where USAID-supported clinics have shut down.

Right next to Shahnaz's grave, villagers who had gathered around us pointed to two other graves. They told us both were of women who died in childbirth in the past four months – Daulat Begi and Javhar. Their babies survived.

Not far from the graveyard, we met Khan Mohammad whose wife, 36-year-old Gul Jan, died in childbirth five months ago. Their baby boy Safiullah died three days later.

"When she became pregnant, she would go to the clinic for check-ups. But midway through her pregnancy it shut down. During the delivery she had a lot of pain and blood loss," Khan Mohammad said. "My children are sad all the time. No one can give them the love of a mother. I miss her every day. We had a sweet and loving life together."

A roughly five-hour drive from Shesh Pol, in Cawgani, another village where a USAID-backed clinic closed down, Ahmad Khan, the grief-stricken father of Maidamo showed us the room in their mud and clay home where she died giving birth to baby Karima.

"If the clinic had been open, she might have survived. And even if she had died, we would not have had regrets knowing the medics tried their best. Now we're left with regret and pain. America did this to us," he said, tears rolling down his face.

In another home a few lanes away, Bahisa tells us how terrifying it was to give birth at home. Her three other children were born in the Cawgani clinic.

"I was so scared. In the clinic, we had a midwife, medicines and injections. At home I had nothing, no painkillers. It was unbearable pain. I felt like life was leaving my body. I became numb," she said.

Her baby girl, named Fakiha, died three days after she was born.

The closure of clinics in villages has resulted in a surge of patients at the maternity ward of the main regional hospital in the provincial capital Faizabad.

Getting to it, through Badakhshan's treacherous landscape is risky. We were shown a horrifying photo of a newborn baby, who was delivered on the way to Faizabad, and whose neck snapped before he got to the hospital.

We had visited the hospital back in 2022, and while it was stretched then, the scenes we saw this time were unprecedented.

In each bed, there were three women. Imagine having gone into labour, or just having gone through a miscarriage, and not even having a bed to yourself to lie in.

It's what Zuhra Shewan, who suffered a miscarriage, had to endure.

"I was bleeding severely and didn't even have a place to sit. It was really hard. By the time a bed is free, a woman could die bleeding," she said.

Dr Shafiq Hamdard, the director of the hospital, said: "We have 120 beds in the hospital. Now we've admitted 300 to 305."

While the patient load is swelling, the hospital, too, has faced sharp cuts in its funding.

"Three years ago our annual budget was $80,000. Now we have $25,000," Dr Hamdard said.

By August this year, there had been as many maternal deaths recorded as there were for the whole of last year. Which means that at this rate, maternal mortality could increase by as much as 50% over last year.

Newborn deaths have already increased by roughly a third in the past four months, compared with the start of the year.

Razia Hanifi, the hospital's head midwife, says she's exhausted. "I have been working for the past 20 years. This year is the toughest, because of the overcrowding, the shortage of resources and the shortage of trained staff," she said.

But no reinforcements are coming because of the Taliban government's restrictions on women. Three years ago, all higher education, including medical education was banned for women. Less than a year ago, in December 2024, training for midwives and female nurses was also banned.

At a discreet location, we met two female students who were midway through the training when it was closed. They didn't want to be identified for fear of reprisal.

Anya (name changed) said they both were in graduate courses at university when the Taliban took over. When those were closed in December 2022, they began midwife and nursing training, as it was the only path left to getting an education and a job.

"When that was also banned, I became depressed. I was crying day and night, and I wasn't able to eat. It's a painful situation," she said.

Karishma (named changed) said: "There is already a shortage of midwives and nurses in Afghanistan. Without more being trained, women will be forced to give birth at home which will put them at risk."

We asked the Taliban government's Suhail Shaheen how they can justify bans which effectively curb access to health for half the population.

"It is our internal issue. These are our issues, how to handle them, how to consider them, how to take decisions, this is something internal. That is up to the leadership. Based on the needs of the society, they will take a decision," he said.

With their access to medical services severely restricted, by wave after wave of crushing blows, for Afghanistan's women, their right to health, and life itself, is at grave risk.

Additional reporting, photography and video: Aakriti Thapar, Mahfouz Zubaide, Sanjay Ganguly

Top image shows Abdul with his daughter and son in Shesh Pol.

When Shahnaz went into labour, her husband Abdul called a taxi to take them to the only medical facility accessible to them.

"She was in a lot pain," he says.

A 20-minute drive away, the clinic was in Shesh Pol village in Afghanistan's north-eastern Badakhshan province. It was where their two older children were born.

Abdul sat next to Shahnaz comforting her as they drove over gravel tracks to reach help.

"But when we reached the clinic, we saw that it was closed. I didn't know it had shut down," he said, his face crumpling with agony.

Warning: Readers may find some details in this article distressing.

The clinic in Shesh Pol is one of more than 400 medical facilities that closed down in Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries, after the Trump administration cut nearly all US aid to the country earlier this year, in a drastic and abrupt move following the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

A single-storey structure with four small rooms, white paint peeling off its walls, the Shesh Pol clinic has USAID posters tacked up everywhere with information and guidance for pregnant women and new mothers.

It doesn't look like much but in Badakhshan's mountainous, unforgiving terrain, where a lack of access has been a major reason for historically high maternal mortality rates, the clinic was a critical lifeline, part of a wider programme implemented during the tenure of the US-backed government in the country, to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.

It had a trained midwife who assisted around 25-30 deliveries every month. It had a stock of medicines and injections, and it also provided basic healthcare services.

Other medical facilities are simply too far from Abdul's village, and it was not without risk for Shahnaz to travel on bumpy roads. Abdul also didn't have money to pay for a longer journey - renting the taxi cost 1,000 Afghani ($14.65; £12.70), roughly a quarter of his monthly income as a labourer. So they decided to return home.

"But the baby was coming and we had to stop by the side of the road," Abdul said.

Shahnaz delivered their baby girl in the car. Shortly after, she died, bleeding profusely. A few hours later, before she could be named, their baby also died.

"I wept and screamed. My wife and child could've been saved if the clinic was open," said Abdul. "We had a hard life, but we were living it together. I was always happy when I was with her."

He doesn't even have a photo of Shahnaz to hold on to.

There's no certainty the mother and baby would've survived if they'd been treated at the clinic, but without it, they didn't stand a chance, underlining the undeniable impact of US aid cuts in Afghanistan.

For decades, America has been the largest donor to Afghanistan, and in 2024, US funds made up a staggering 43% of all aid coming into the country.

The Trump administration has justified withdrawing it, saying there were "credible and longstanding concerns that funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including... the Taliban", who govern the country. The US government further added that they had reports stating that at least $11m were "being siphoned or enriching the Taliban".

The report that the US State Department referenced was made by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). It said that $10.9m of US taxpayer money had been paid to the Taliban-controlled government by partners of USAID in "taxes, fees, duties, or utilities".

The Taliban government denies that aid money was going into their hands.

"This allegation is not true. The aid is given to the UN, and through them to NGOs in provinces. They identify who needs the aid, and they distribute it themselves. The government is not involved," said Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Taliban's political office in Doha.

The Taliban government's policies, especially its restrictions on women, the harshest in the world, have meant that after four years in power, it is still not recognised by most of the world. It's also a key reason donors have been increasingly walking away from the country.

The US insists no one has died because of aid cuts. Shahnaz and her baby's deaths are not recorded anywhere. Neither are countless others.

The BBC has documented at least half a dozen first-hand, devastating accounts in areas where USAID-supported clinics have shut down.

Right next to Shahnaz's grave, villagers who had gathered around us pointed to two other graves. They told us both were of women who died in childbirth in the past four months – Daulat Begi and Javhar. Their babies survived.

Not far from the graveyard, we met Khan Mohammad whose wife, 36-year-old Gul Jan, died in childbirth five months ago. Their baby boy Safiullah died three days later.

"When she became pregnant, she would go to the clinic for check-ups. But midway through her pregnancy it shut down. During the delivery she had a lot of pain and blood loss," Khan Mohammad said. "My children are sad all the time. No one can give them the love of a mother. I miss her every day. We had a sweet and loving life together."

A roughly five-hour drive from Shesh Pol, in Cawgani, another village where a USAID-backed clinic closed down, Ahmad Khan, the grief-stricken father of Maidamo showed us the room in their mud and clay home where she died giving birth to baby Karima.

"If the clinic had been open, she might have survived. And even if she had died, we would not have had regrets knowing the medics tried their best. Now we're left with regret and pain. America did this to us," he said, tears rolling down his face.

In another home a few lanes away, Bahisa tells us how terrifying it was to give birth at home. Her three other children were born in the Cawgani clinic.

"I was so scared. In the clinic, we had a midwife, medicines and injections. At home I had nothing, no painkillers. It was unbearable pain. I felt like life was leaving my body. I became numb," she said.

Her baby girl, named Fakiha, died three days after she was born.

The closure of clinics in villages has resulted in a surge of patients at the maternity ward of the main regional hospital in the provincial capital Faizabad.

Getting to it, through Badakhshan's treacherous landscape is risky. We were shown a horrifying photo of a newborn baby, who was delivered on the way to Faizabad, and whose neck snapped before he got to the hospital.

We had visited the hospital back in 2022, and while it was stretched then, the scenes we saw this time were unprecedented.

In each bed, there were three women. Imagine having gone into labour, or just having gone through a miscarriage, and not even having a bed to yourself to lie in.

It's what Zuhra Shewan, who suffered a miscarriage, had to endure.

"I was bleeding severely and didn't even have a place to sit. It was really hard. By the time a bed is free, a woman could die bleeding," she said.

Dr Shafiq Hamdard, the director of the hospital, said: "We have 120 beds in the hospital. Now we've admitted 300 to 305."

While the patient load is swelling, the hospital, too, has faced sharp cuts in its funding.

"Three years ago our annual budget was $80,000. Now we have $25,000," Dr Hamdard said.

By August this year, there had been as many maternal deaths recorded as there were for the whole of last year. Which means that at this rate, maternal mortality could increase by as much as 50% over last year.

Newborn deaths have already increased by roughly a third in the past four months, compared with the start of the year.

Razia Hanifi, the hospital's head midwife, says she's exhausted. "I have been working for the past 20 years. This year is the toughest, because of the overcrowding, the shortage of resources and the shortage of trained staff," she said.

But no reinforcements are coming because of the Taliban government's restrictions on women. Three years ago, all higher education, including medical education was banned for women. Less than a year ago, in December 2024, training for midwives and female nurses was also banned.

At a discreet location, we met two female students who were midway through the training when it was closed. They didn't want to be identified for fear of reprisal.

Anya (name changed) said they both were in graduate courses at university when the Taliban took over. When those were closed in December 2022, they began midwife and nursing training, as it was the only path left to getting an education and a job.

"When that was also banned, I became depressed. I was crying day and night, and I wasn't able to eat. It's a painful situation," she said.

Karishma (named changed) said: "There is already a shortage of midwives and nurses in Afghanistan. Without more being trained, women will be forced to give birth at home which will put them at risk."

We asked the Taliban government's Suhail Shaheen how they can justify bans which effectively curb access to health for half the population.

"It is our internal issue. These are our issues, how to handle them, how to consider them, how to take decisions, this is something internal. That is up to the leadership. Based on the needs of the society, they will take a decision," he said.

With their access to medical services severely restricted, by wave after wave of crushing blows, for Afghanistan's women, their right to health, and life itself, is at grave risk.

Additional reporting, photography and video: Aakriti Thapar, Mahfouz Zubaide, Sanjay Ganguly

Top image shows Abdul with his daughter and son in Shesh Pol.

Charlie Kirk's alleged killer is "not cooperating" with authorities and has not confessed to carrying out the shooting, Utah's governor Spencer Cox has told US media.

Suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, was taken into custody some 33 hours after Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing activist, was shot dead in Orem on Wednesday.

Speaking to ABC News, Cox, a republican, said people around Mr Robinson had been cooperating with the investigation.

Cox appeared on various US news outlets on Sunday morning, where he also reiterated concerns regarding social media in the aftermath of Kirk's death.

The governor was also asked about a New York Times report alleging Mr Robinson had spoken to others after the shooting via the Discord messaging platform, including allegations that he joked about being the gunman.

Cox said told ABC News: "All we can confirm is that those conversations definitely were happening, and they did not believe it was actually him.

"It was, it was all joking until, until he, you know, until he admitted that it actually was him."

Mr Robinson was arrested on Thursday night after surrendering to police.

Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University at an open-air event held by Turning Point USA - the organisation he co-founded - when he was shot and killed.

The event was part of the American Comeback Tour, which was a speaking engagement that took him to several college campuses throughout the US.

Cox previously told the Wall Street Journal that Mr Robinson, a Utah native, was "deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology".

When questioned on it during CNN's State of the Union programme on Sunday, he said the information was offered by the suspect's friends and family.

"There's so much more that we're learning and so much that we will learn," he explained, adding that when official charges are filed, there will be "much more evidence and information available then".

An affidavit from the state of Utah confirms that Mr Robinson was arrested on suspicion of the crimes of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.

He is currently being held without bail at Utah County Jail.

"We're interviewing all kinds of people - everyone that knows him - and trying to learn more about what the motive actually was," Cox said.

The governor said among those cooperating with authorities is Mr Robinson's roommate, who he said was also his partner.

He said the partner did not have have any knowledge about the alleged shooting, had been "incredibly cooperative" and was working with investigators "right now".

He also confirmed that the partner was currently transitioning, but, when asked by CNN, said that authorities do not yet know if that is relevant to the investigation.