Ex-Afghan president defends his decision to flee

Afghanistan's former president has said he fled the country as the Taliban closed in earlier this year to prevent the destruction of Kabul. We'll speak to our regional experts and hear reaction from Afghans inside and outside the country.

All week, we reflect on 2021 with some of the BBC correspondents who have helped us tell the story of the year. The BBC’s Chief International correspondent Lyse Doucet has reported on Afghanistan for three decades and today she talks about covering the Taliban takeover and how the story has evolved since then.

We’ll also look at the guilty verdict of Ghislaine Maxwell and the wider impact the case may have.

(Photo: Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani looks on while attending a Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board meeting (JCMB) at the Afghan presidential palace in Kabul on July 28, 2021. Credit: SAJJAD HUSSAIN /AFP/Getty Images)