this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: the un security council is told that a famine in the ethiopian region of tigray is now affecting more than 400,000 people, and that the situation could rapidly deteriorate. if the parties to the conflict failed to seize this moment, the consequences for the people of ethiopia will be devastating. more fighting, more famine. the last us troops leave bagram, their main military base in afghanistan. the biden administration says it's on course to withdraw completely from the country by the end of august. brazil's prosecutor general wants to investigate president bolsonaro for failing to act on allegations of corruption in the purchase of coronavirus vaccines.

and spain and italy are through to the semi—finals of euro 2020 after beating switzerland and belgium respectively. hello and welcome to bbc news. lots coming up. first — the un security council has met to discuss the crisis in ethiopia's tigray region. eight months of fighting means hundreds of thousands of people are now at risk of starvation. the ethiopian government has denied allegations that it's been blocking aid getting through. this is after tigrayan rebels took control of much of the northern region this week. the un world food programme says it's up and running again but access is still difficult. courtney bembridge has the latest.

an extraordinary moment after months of brittle conflict. celebrations on the streets of tigray�*s capital michele after rebel fighters took over the city. they have declared victory over the government troops —— mekelle. but eight months of fighting has left its mark. ~ ., . months of fighting has left its mark. ., i: i: i: i: i: months of fighting has left its mark. a, ., i: i: i: i: i: , .,, mark. more than 400,000 people are estimated _ mark. more than 400,000 people are estimated to _ mark. more than 400,000 people are estimated to have _ mark. more than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed - are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine. some are suggesting that the numbers are suggesting that the numbers are even higher. 33,000 children are severely malnourished. and moreover, the food insecurity crisis will continue to worsen during the impending rainy season. this will also make _ impending rainy season. this will also make it _ impending rainy season. this will also make it harder — a key bridge used to get humanitarian aid into the area has been destroyed. the ethiopian government has been accused of using hunger as a weapon — like a claimant denies. weapon - like a claimant

denies. , weapon - like a claimant denies-— denies. this week, the government _ denies. this week, the l government unilaterally announced a ceasefire, stating it was doing so for humanitarian purposes. the government must now demonstrate that it truly intends to use the ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe in tigray. if humanitarian catastrophe in tiura . ., tigray. if european prime minister— tigray. if european prime minister ahmed - tigray. if european prime minister ahmed not - tigray. if european prime minister ahmed not long | tigray. if european prime - minister ahmed not long ago awarded the nobel peace prize, now find himself mired in an ugly war which threatens the stability of the entire region —— ethiopian prime minister. courtney bembridge, bbc news. we can now speak to william davison who's senior analyst on ethiopia for the international crisis group, a think tank. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the rouramme. . ~ i. ., ., programme. thank you for having me. we programme. thank you for having me- we have _ programme. thank you for having me. we have been _ programme. thank you for having me. we have been covering - programme. thank you for having me. we have been covering this | me. we have been covering this for the last _ me. we have been covering this for the last eight _ me. we have been covering this for the last eight months - me. we have been covering this for the last eight months and i me. we have been covering this for the last eight months and al for the last eight months and a problem for us and all journalists is getting reliable information out of the region. we had lots more information in the last 24 hours or so. we will come onto the food crisis and the starvation in a second but on the conflict itself and

that war of presentation, on claims and counterclaims between the sides here, how do you assess what is happening right now with the conflict? well, we could be sure about certain things, so let's start with those. we know that there has been an almost complete withdrawal of the federal ethiopian armed forces from tigray. that was the result, all that followed some of the most sustained counter offences by the tigray defence forces in the sort of ten days preceding that, so the most significant gains by tigray�*s former leaders was then followed by this federal exit. that has led to those tigray defence forces and the former rulers of tigray essentially taking back control of the regional government. we also know that generally, eritrea's forces which have been key in the conflict have moved from areas of southern

and central tigray where they were actively engaged two areas to the north. but what we can be clear about. ——to areas. details of the battlefield and just how heavy the losses were for the federal military are still very much in dispute but it is clear that they suffered significant losses and combined with the international pressure, that led them to this drastic change in strategy and the withdrawal from the region. and what consequences do you think that withdrawal now has? what happens next? i think that withdrawal now has? what happens next?— think that withdrawal now has? what happens next? i think the most positive _ what happens next? i think the most positive element - what happens next? i think the most positive element of- what happens next? i think the most positive element of it - what happens next? i think the most positive element of it is l most positive element of it is that for your large numbers of the people who are in such dire conditions, to kelly in central tigray, part of the problem there was the ongoing conflict and error train and if you military control over roads and checkpoints was preventing aid getting into the rebel—held areas of the tigray defence force held areas —— particularly in central tigray.

that problem has now been eliminated, essentially, because of the ethiopian withdrawal and the eritrea and repositioning but now the problem is more about getting aid into tigray and also the provision of basic services in tigray which are needed for a significant successful humanitarian operation and i'm talking about electricity, telecoms and banking, primarily. telecoms and banking, primarily-— telecoms and banking, rimaril . �* ., ., primarily. and what about those warnin . s primarily. and what about those warnings of _ primarily. and what about those warnings of hundreds _ primarily. and what about those warnings of hundreds of- warnings of hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation?- thousands at risk of starvation? ~ f , starvation? well they've been in lace starvation? well they've been in place for — starvation? well they've been in place for weeks. _ starvation? well they've been in place for weeks. the - in place for weeks. the concerns are growing all the time. people are missing the planting season all of the time. they are in dire need of support. the numbers are growing. and so what we really need to see now is everyone focusing on trying to facilitate aid and whether that is the tigray forces, or the ethiopian federal government or the eritrean forces and really, any action that is taken to hamper that operation could result in the loss of tens of

thousands or hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of lives. it thousands or hundreds of thousands of lives.- thousands of lives. it is a desnerate _ thousands of lives. it is a desperate situation. - thousands of lives. it is a i desperate situation. william davison, thank you for coming on and talking us through it. thank you. to afghanistan next. the last american troops have left bagram air base, the us military�*s centre of operations for two decades. their departure is a signal that the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the country is imminent. a taliban spokesperson described the handover of bagram as a positive step. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner has the details. bagram air base, afghanistan. the most strategically vital base in the country. last night, the us military pulled out after nearly 20 years there. it follows a decision by president biden for us forces to leave afghanistan by september 11. we're on track exactly as to where we expected to be, but we just — i wanted to make

sure there was enough, quote, running room that we wouldn't be able to do it all till september. there will still be some forces left, but it's a rational drawdown with our allies. the base has now been handed over to afghan government forces. but all over the country, they're coming under pressure from advancing taliban fighters. without western military support, there are doubts whether they can hold out. translation: the situationl in afghanistan will get worse. it is already chaotic. you see ghorband district falling. there is lots of insecurity. the government does not have all the weapons and equipment. western air support has been crucial, both for transporting troops to the battlefield and carrying out air strikes. without it, more districts are expected to fall to the taliban. yet, in the capital kabul, some are happy to see the americans and other western forces depart. translation: this is good news. the americans have reached an agreement with the taliban

in doha and these agreements must be implemented, and this is for the good of afghanistan. the taliban are certainly delighted to see the us leaving. they've even thanked them for going. critics of the withdrawal deal say the afghan government got little in return, that the west is rushing to the exit, —— little in return, that the west is rushing for the exit, and it's leaving afghanistan on the brink of another civil war. frank gardner, bbc news. brazil's prosecutor general has asked the court to investigate jair bolsonaro for failing to respond to allegations of corruption on a contract for the purchase of covid—19 vaccines. the president is under increasing attack for his handling of the pandemic. more than 500,000 people have died with covid—19 in the country which is home to the world's second deadliest outbreak. with

brazil's death toll soaring, jair bolsonaro is losing support and facing growing pressure. 0n the streets, at a senate enquiry, and now potentially in the courts. he's been accused of turning a blind eye to irregularities and massive overcharging in a contract to acquire a covid—19 vaccine from india. a whistleblower in brazil's health ministry and his lawmaker brother claim to have personally warned the president. he has denied any knowledge and any wrongdoing. mr bolsonaro has been famously dismissive of covid—19 from the start. 0pposing masks and social distancing, which he said was for idiots. his views have not altered, even as cemeteries he had filled with the dead. it's no use staying home crying, he said recently,

more nationwide protests are planned for this weekend. with some brazilians accusing their leader of genocide. 0rla guerin, bbc news. to india now. the number of deaths linked to coronavirus has passed 400,000 as the country tries to speed up its vaccination drive. experts warn that the real number of fatalities may be much higher as many deaths are not officially recorded. 0ur correspondent in delhi, devina gupta, explains the response to the latest figures. well, it's a grim milestone for sure, and i wasjust going through — the number of days it's taken india to cross this is just about over a month. that is 36 days to add over 100,000 loss of lives. for now, there are extreme messages of caution that the government has been giving to the indian public because in pockets of southern states like kerala, the western state of maharashtra and north—eastern states, the daily number of cases

are rising, contributing to this milestone, there have been committees that are set up, excessive surveillance is on, but health experts say that more than that, what's contributing to this number is the lax attitude and covid fatigue of people. because, after a severe lockdown from april and may, some curbs were eased in earlyjune. people were allowed to step out of their homes, go to restaurants with limited capacity, visit shopping malls in certain areas, and that has led to people mixing and transmitting of this virus which is now showing this result. also, another point of caution that's coming at this occasion from scientists is of a worrying case of a delta plus variant that was first reported in india. there have been at least 20 deaths because of this variant in the western state of maharashtra, which is being watched with extreme caution by health committees and experts. devina gupta.

as india battles a second wave of covid, misinformation, pseudo science and a constant battle between modern and traditional medicine are coming in the way of the country's ability to conquer the pandemic. nikhil inamdar with this report. these men are smearing their bodies with cow dung to ward off covid—19. this is a parliamentarian from the ruling bjp telling a crowd that bathing in calgary and has helped her keep covid—19 at bay. and this is a billionaire y°93 bay. and this is a billionaire yoga guru with close links to the government. he has been passing off herbs, dung and you're in is wonder drugs for treatment of the coronavirus, willing to dismiss medicine as a stupid science recently —— you're in. he was asked to keep quiet by the general secretary

at indian public premiere medical association on a debate. doctors even observed a black day of protest against his remarks, urging for his arrest. the government itself has come under fire for often promoting and funding questionable therapies not backed up by adequate evidence to cure covid—19, complicating an already toughjob to cure covid—19, complicating an already tough job that medical doctors are doing. silence. india's science ministry, for instance, is funding trials of ancient hymns in treating the virus in 20 patients. and a body set up under india's ministry for animal husbandry with the purpose of over $60 million for the conservation of cows has claimed that 800 covid—19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms have been cured, a concoction made of dung, milk, gini and good. —— ghee and

curd. gini and good. -- ghee and curd. �* ,, �* �* gini and good. -- ghee and curd. �* . �* �* ., gini and good. -- ghee and curd. �* ,, ~ ~ ., ., curd. translation: are not a surue curd. translation: are not a surge but _ curd. translation: are not a surge but ask _ curd. translation: are not a surge but ask the _ curd. translation: are not a surge but ask the government| curd. translation: are not a | surge but ask the government to look into this. if you don't believe in my intelligence i'm willing to work under your supervision but i invite you to do a peer review of the science which could save humanity. while acknowledging the place of the cow in traditional indian medicine, a raging pandemic is not the time to promote treatments not fully backed up by solid evidence, say leading infectious disease experts. say leading infectious disease ex - erts. ., say leading infectious disease exerts. . experts. the human brain can only focus— experts. the human brain can only focus on _ experts. the human brain can only focus on so _ experts. the human brain can only focus on so many - experts. the human brain can only focus on so many things | only focus on so many things and when you clutter it with a lot of pseudoscience, then you're just setting yourself up for a disaster. for you're just setting yourself up for a disaster.— for a disaster. for now, the government _ for a disaster. for now, the government in _ for a disaster. for now, the government in power - for a disaster. for now, the government in power has . government in power has distanced itself from the often wild claims made by its party men. , , wild claims made by its party men. , _, , ., men. the stray comments that have been _ men. the stray comments that have been made _ men. the stray comments that have been made by _ men. the stray comments that have been made by people - men. the stray comments that i have been made by people across our country, i would say tread with caution and please only do what is trialed and tested. but in a country — what is trialed and tested. but in a country where disinformation spreads like wildfire, this battle of modern

medicine versus pseudoscience and traditional therapies looks like one that will continue for quite some time. nikhil inamdar, bbc news. this is bbc news, the headlines: the un security council has been told that a famine in the eithiopian region of tigray is now affecting more than 400,000 people, and that the situation could rapidly deteriorate. the last us troops have left bagram, their main military base in afghanistan, as the biden administration says it's on course to withdraw completely from the country by the end of august. canada's national holiday has been marked by protests, following the recent discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former schools for indigenous children. thousands of people joined a "cancel canada day" rally. catherine karelli has this. traditionally a day of celebration, but this year, canada has

found itself reckoning with its colonial past. this was the scene in winnipeg, demonstrators pulling down a statue of queen victoria. cheering. across canada, thousands of people took to the streets protesting a dark chapter of their country's history — the residential school system. they murdered thousands of children, hundreds of thousands of children, we don't know yet, but we are here to tell you today that that was wrong. you all know that it was wrong. we are here today to stand with everybody to oppose the ongoing genocide of the canadian government and state against indigenous peoples. between the 1870s and 1990s, more than 150,000 indigenous children were taken from theirfamilies. they were made to attend church—run boarding schools. there, they were forced to abandon their native languages and convert to christianity.

thousands died of disease and malnourishment. some took their own lives. in 2015, canada's truth and reconciliation commission called it cultural genocide. calls to scale back this year's canada day celebrations intensified in recent weeks, following the discovery of almost 1,000 unmarked graves at former residential schools. that number has now gone up. the latest discovery, on the eve of canada day, was here — 182 unmarked graves at st eugene's mission school in british columbia. in his canada day message, prime ministerjustin trudeau said canada needed to face up to its history. the truth is, we've got a long way to go to make things right with indigenous peoples. but if we all pledge ourselves to doing the work, we can achieve reconciliation. to this day,

we don't have a full picture of how many children died in residential schools, and the circumstances of their deaths. indigenous leaders have said that as investigations continue, they expect more graves will be found. catherine karelli, bbc news. here in the uk, one of the government's advisers on coronavirus has warned that ministers are facing a very difficult decision about lifting all of england's restrictions on 19july, given the continuing rise in cases. here's our health editor hugh pym. as more jabs go into arms, officials are confident that vaccines are reducing the risk of serious illness. the office for national statistics says hospital admissions are much lower than they would have been without vaccines. but, even so, the head of the 0ns told me that making the right call on ending restrictions in england won't be straightforward. this decision is the most difficult that the government has to make. we are watching with laser focus every day the data, so that the government

will have all the information it needs in order, absolutely, to mean that it's data, not dates. the 0ns infection survey suggests that last week in the uk, there was a 67% increase in those testing positive. in england, one in 260 had the virus. in scotland, it was one in 150 and in wales, one in 450. in all of which, there were increases. in northern ireland, one in 670 had the virus and the trend was said to be uncertain. scotland's first minister said there was a need to boost vaccine coverage. vaccination is the reason that this surge in cases hasn't led to the reimposition of a strict lockdown. i think it would have done that at any earlier stage in this pandemic. nhs staff will hope that rising covid cases don't bring back the pressures seen over the winter. some in england say they're exhausted and angry they've been offered a 1% pay rise.

the government is set to announce whether that will be raised. senior doctors say if that doesn't happen, members will be consulted on an overtime ban. you have to go back to the 1970s to find the last time this sort of action was taken by consultants. it's highly unusual for them to get involved in a pay dispute, but their union says feelings are running high with pay after inflation having fallen over the last decade. we've had consultants sleeping in offices, working all through the night. in my hospital, you know, we sadly lost three consultant colleagues. it's just been awful — it's like warfare medicine. and to be offered 1% and to have our pay eroded by 30% over the years is just galling. so, another challenge for the new health secretary sajid javid. a spokesman said the government was committed to a pay uplift for nhs staff, unlike other public sector workers, but the scottish government's already agreed a 4% deal with many nhs staff. wales and northern ireland will announce their own offers soon.

hugh pym, bbc news. the german chancellor has held talks with borisjohnson on what's likely to be her last official trip to the uk, before standing down in the autumn. angela merkel also met queen elizabeth at windsor castle. more from our world affairs correspondent caroline hawley. angela, how are you? despite their disagreements over brexit, today was about celebrating and strengthening the german—british relationship in a new era. high on the agenda for borisjohnson, germany's insistence that british travellers quarantine for 14 days, even if they are fully vaccinated. but after a working lunch of english asparagus tart and 0xfordshire beef, angela merkel hinted at good news to come for british holiday—makers. translation: we are seeing a rise of the delta variant - in germany, a significant rise, and, of course, we are regularly

reviewing these travel restrictions and i expect that, in the foreseeable future, double vaccinated people will be able to travel without having to quarantine upon arrival. after england's historic victory against germany on tuesday, angela merkel wished the uk well for the rest of the euros, but she's alarmed by the number of fans being allowed at wembley matches. translation: i see this with grave concern. - i said this to the prime minister. we in germany decided to have less people attend games in the munich stadium. the british government obviously will make its own decision, but i'm very concerned that it's too much. here in the uk, we have now built up a very considerable wall of immunity against the disease by our vaccination programme. borisjohnson is the fifth prime minister angela merkel has dealt with. here she was meeting tony blair back in 2005, when she first became chancellor. germany is britain's second largest trading partner, but it's a measure of angela merkel�*s personal stature

that she was granted, at the end of her final visit to the uk, an audience with the queen. i wanted to take a picture and make history. two women who've played such long roles on the international stage. caroline hawley, bbc news. a boeing 737 cargo aircraft with two crew on board was forced to make an emergency landing in the sea off honolulu after the pilots reported engine trouble. both pilots were rescued, but one is said to be in a critical condition in hospital. we have the results of the first two quarterfinals of euro 2020. spain beat switzerland on penalties, and italy beat belgium. andy swiss watched the action. 0n on paper, it was the tire of the tournament. belgium against italy and didn't disappoint, as italy and didn't disappoint, as italy roared into a 2—0 lead.

the first one wasn't bad, but this one was something else. they were giving the world's top—ranked team the runaround, butjust before the break belgium were back in it, the penalty could be converted by romolo cargo. come the second half, he really should have equalised. how unearthly don't stay out? how on earth did this, as twice belgium went agonisingly close. this was to be italy's nice —— night. a 2—1 win for them and they will take some beating. they will now face spain in the semi—final, but only after a scare. despite having a man sent, switzerland: for a penalty shootout before their nerve finally cracked. spain sealing a dramatic victory, and didn't they enjoy it.

that's it for me, do get me on social media. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news, goodbye. well, it's going to be one of these days where the weather might turn like that, and you'll have to run for cover if you're not prepared. big showers and thunder and lightning on the way. not everywhere — in fact, many of us will miss the storms altogether, but where they occur, they could even bring some flash flooding. now, early in the morning, there will be already some heavy rain spreading across the southern half of the uk, moving northwards. to the north of that, across scotland, it will have been been generally a dry night. a bit fresher here — 11 degrees — but in the south, it's muggy — 16 celsius first thing. now already, that band of rain could bring 30 mm or so in a short space of time, so even with that, there could be a bit of flash flooding here and there. but later in the afternoon, that's when we'll see the really heavy showers and thunderstorms developing.

and the thinking is somewhere in the south—west of england, into western england, we could see this line of storms, mostly inland. in the extreme case, there could be around 80 mm of rain. hence the risk of the flash floods. but the storms will be developing in other parts of the country as well, across the midlands, perhaps the south—east, east anglia and also further north in england, so very hit—or—miss. again, some of us will miss the storms altogether, and it's actually going to be a relatively bright, if not sunny, day. but some of these storms may actually linger into the evening hours as well. how about the other side of the world in the mediterranean? in rome for the football, well, here, of course it's going to be warm and sunny, with temperatures up to 28 celsius. now, here's a look at sunday's weather forecast. and again, showers on the cards, again spread right across the country. you can see how they develop during the course of the afternoon. thunder and lightning possible as well. but again, i think particularly some coastal areas and maybe down towards the south—west may miss the storms altogether. temperatures a little below par — 19 in london,

possibly touching 21 degrees where the sun does pop out for any lengthy period of time. now, into next week, we've got low pressure swinging in off the atlantic. that means strengthening winds across the english channel and possibly the south coast of england as well. and with that also will come a spell of rain, so i think monday and tuesday will be fairly changeable. so here's the outlook for the next few days. i know there's a lot of shower clouds, rain clouds, in the outlook here, but i think at times there will be some sunshine as well, so it's not all bad. enjoy that. bye— bye.

nikhil inamdar, bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines:

the un security council has been warned that a famine in the ethiopian region of tigray is now affecting more than 400,000 people. the meeting was also told that the conflict in the region between tigrayan forces and ethiopian federal troops may rapidly deteriorate. president biden says the withdrawal of us troops from afghanistan is on track but won't be completed in the next few days. he was speaking hours after the us left its main military base in the country, bagram, which served as the hub of us—led operations for almost two decades. brazil's prosecutor general has asked for authorisation to investigate president bolsonaro for failing to act on allegations of corruption in the purchase of coronavirus vaccines. a whistle—blower said government officials had agreed to take bribes to buy 400 million doses of the indian—made jab covaxin. now on bbc news, click.