welcome to bbc news — i'm david eades our top stories: engineers prepare to demolish the partially collapsed apartment block near miami, before a tropical storm endangers the lives of rescuers. this is the scene live in florida. this is the scene live in florida-— this is the scene live in florida. �* , florida. bringing the building down in a _ florida. bringing the building down in a controlled - florida. bringing the building down in a controlled manner| florida. bringing the building i down in a controlled manner is critical to expanding our scope of search in the pale and allowing us to search in the area closest to the building which has currently not been accessible. afg hanistan�*s troops patrol their country alone, as all but a,000 troops pull out after nearly 20 years. south africa's former presidentjacob zuma says he'll defy a court order to hand himself in to start a 15 month jail sentence.

he also said that he was not scared of going to jail, he has been there before, but this time around he refuses to go because he believes that it was an injustice to be sentenced to an injustice to be sentenced to a prison term without having gone to trial. just try counting this lot before you go to sleep. and mesmerising aerialfootage of sheep on the move, goes viral. in miami the demolition of a tower block, which partially collapsed more than a week ago, has been brought forward due to safety fears about storm elsa. 2a people have been confirmed dead so far and search and rescue efforts for 121 people missing have been

suspended. daniella levine cava is the mayor of miami—dade county. as i have said before we will move forward with the demolition as soon as it is safe to do so between 10pm and 3am tonight. bringing the building down in a controlled manner is critical to expanding our scope of search as, you know, in the pile and allowing us to search in the area closest to the building which has currently not been accessible to the teams, given the great risk to our first responders due to the instability of the building. due to the temporary pause of our search and rescue efforts on the scene there have been no changes in the figures that i have reported earlier to you. so as soon as the building is down and once the site is deemed to be secure we will have our first responders back on the pile to immediately resume their work.

our north america correspondent, david willis has been giving me the latest on the situation. they spoke about it for a while but now their hands are being forced, if you like, because officials fear that tropical storm irma which is bearing down on the florida peninsula could bring heavy winds and rain and that could send parts of the debris toppling down on top of rescuers, search and rescue workers below. so they have scheduled a demolition and are using a technique known as energetic felling which relies on a series of small explosions at various parts of the structure and gravity itself to raze the building to the ground. they drilled into the walls over the last 2a hours and packed them with

explosive and we have been told that the demolition will take place between 10pm this evening local time and three o'clock in the morning. i should point out that 121 people are still missing. it is interesting to hear the mayor talk about bringing the building down helping to expand their own scope of search. as a layperson is hard to imagine. and they are very keen, david, that the search and rescue operation should resume as quickly as civil once the demolition has occurred. anything within one hour of that exercise taking place, in fact because they are keen to bring closure to those who have loved ones and family friends and so on, family members missing in the rubble. you are absolutely right. about 200 search and rescue people will be moving back onto that site more or less as soon as the demolition

has taken place. it is hoped as well that the exercise will open up new areas for the search and rescue teams to be looked into, particularly the garage area which has been a focus of their enquiries, more or less, since this incident happened ten days ago. they believe it was prone to flooding and it is possible that water from there corroded the concrete which had some impact on this whole event. there is still much to know about how it all came together. you talk about the energetic felling, the demolition technique. nonetheless it is difficult to imagine it would not cause a lot of disruption for the neighbourhood. absolutely. and the mayor of miami—dade county who we heard from earlier was warning that people in nearby areas should close their doors and windows and switch off their air—conditioning units and so on because there would be a lot

of dust in the area. but there is no forcible evacuation going on of buildings surrounding the stricken complex. that is something but this will happen overnight and it is possible, of course, apart from the noise that those able to sleep through this will awaken to a different landscape in the morning. us presidentjoe for biden has been celebrating the 11th ofjuly holiday — marking the nation's 245th birthday. the president and first lady watching on as quite a firework display lit up the watching on as quite a firework display lit up the night watching on as quite a firework display lit up the night sky over the white house, there were about 1000 people with them at the white house to witness the show in what was missed abided party yet. ——mr biden�*s.

after a holiday in michigan and golfing near his family home in delaware. he said he's looking forward to a rebound from the covid—19 pandemic. this year, july four, today a special celebration where we are emerging from the darkness of a year of pandemic and isolation. a year of pain and fear and heartbreaking loss. just think back to where this nation was one year ago. think back to where you were a year ago. and think about how far we have come. joe biden there. nato's military mission in afghanistan is now all but over. america and its allies, including britain, invaded the country in 2001, following the september 11th attacks. two decades later, the last of the troops are leaving, save around a thousand that will provide security. but as the us withdraws, the taliban is resurgent — and it's warned that if any

international forces including contractors remaining in afghanistan, they will be treated as an occupying force. from kabul, yogita limaye reports. afghan soldiers now managing what used to be america's biggest base. international forces making a quiet, hasty retreat. gains made here over 20 years in threat of being lost. people have voted in elections. 0nce repressed by the taliban, afghan women are in school and work. for this woman, an mp, fears the taliban will be back in power. the women are finished here. it would be like black days for afghan women. notjust women, all the people. there won't be any rights, any freedom, any life here. how do you view international forces leaving afghanistan at this time?

they are leaving so irresponsibly. after 20 years, theyjust went into an agreement with the taliban and said to the taliban that it's ok, you can do whatever you do. it's a failure. 20 years ago, foreign forces arrived here with a fierce push. the moment in 2001 when the hardline islamist taliban regime was driven out of kabul. america's response to the 9/11 attacks, with the uk and other nato allies. the united states military has now begun strikes against al-qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the taliban regime in afghanistan. years of fighting followed in provinces across the country. this is helmand in the south, where some of the fiercest battles were fought. hundreds of british and foreign troops died here. thousands of afghan soldiers.

the taliban were kept at bay. but not defeated. finally, the us signed a deal with the militant group last year. agreeing to fully withdraw foreign forces. they are leaving amidst rising violence. this is one of the roads that leads out of kabul. in the province just beyond, the taliban are battling afghan government forces. that's how close the fighting is to the capital. battles are being fought in more than half of the country's provinces. hundreds are dying every week. thousands being displaced. every day, more areas are falling to the taliban. but the group says there is no violence. it told the bbc that hundreds of afghan soldiers are defecting to the taliban — a claim the government denies. from their political office in doha, a taliban spokesman also told me that residual

foreign troops would be considered an occupying force. all foreign forces should withdraw from the country, whether they are a contractor, adviser or trainers. because they were a part of occupation. that's a violation. we will react. but that reaction will be based on the decision of our leadership. he said embassies and ngos would not be targeted. the foreign war in afghanistan has ended. its legacy will be determined what happens here next. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. christine fair is the professor of security studies at georgetown university. i asked if the withdrawal could be as mission accomplished.

first of all, thank you for having me, and the short answer is no. i have been a very long—standing and vocal critic of just about everything that the united states has done in afghanistan. you know, this was, to call it what it is bluntly, a defeat and it was a defeat that was purchased on the instalment plan. at every point along the way over the last 20 years, we made decisions about what troops would or would not do in afghanistan, how many troops there would be, where they would be, what their mission would be, but at the core of this, israeli pakistan, you know, the taliban are not independent actors, to call this an insurgency, is really, i think, misspoken. it's really a proxy war, and without an effective pakistan policy to punish pakistan for continuing to support the taliban as well as the haqqani network and other militant groups that pakistan uses to prosecute as palestinian afghanistan, we're pretty much doomed to see a return of the taliban.

sorry to interrupt you there, but you probably know, joe biden has said that he sees that the whole thing isjustified in as much as afghanistan can't once again become a base for foreign jihadists to plot against the west, as he put it. honestly, i'm a democrat, i'm really glad that we have a rational president at the helm. but he, like every other president, since george w bush, has really misunderstood the problems that, in this case, afghanistan's already a sanctuary for international terrorist groups, and unlike previous presidents who may or may not have actually known that, i actually think he does know that. back in 2009 when he was vice president, i had the privilege of having a very small dinner with him at his residence and we talked about afghanistan and pakistan's role and he actually

was very clarion on on this issue. but he's always been a supporter of what we would call counter—terrorism operations instead of counter—insurgency. so this was never — this was not a war that he wanted to remain engaged in, so he's basically effectuating the policy of 0bama. is your view, then, that the nato forces, the us forces, should remain in afghanistan at least until a harder line on pakistan is taken and affected? alright, so, this is kind of a chicken and egg problem, because the two countries that really matter most when it comes to pakistan is, quite frankly, the united kingdom and the united states, albeit for very different reasons. neither the united states nor the united kingdom has had any stomach for this, and the reasons are different. in the united kingdom, pakistani britons are an important vote bank.

both the united states and the united kingdom press on fatf to not give pakistan, which is basically this terrorism financial watchdog which is kind of obscure, both have pressed that pakistan not be given the blacklisting it so much deserves, because a blacklisting would mean that it would be cut off from imf funding. so we are in this really strange place where the united states, particularly the united states, has been waging this war in afghanistan, we have been treating pakistan like an ally, even though, while it was taking our money with one hand, it was shifting it to the other hand to give the taliban, and everyone has known this. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: more on those extraordinary pictures. these are the aerial footage shots of a herd of

sheep. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president jiang zemin said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit _ at the start of a new era of cooperation in spacej this cheering and applause challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering the record that had stood for 3h years, and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson

and his crew. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: engineers are preparing to demolish the partially collapsed apartment block near miami — before a tropical storm endangers the lives of rescuers. any foreign troops left in afghanistan after nato's september withdrawal deadline will be at risk as occupiers, the taliban it tells the bbc. the former president of south africa, jacob zuma, has fiercely criticised the judges who sentenced him to fifteen months injail, insisting that he won't turn himself in. he was handed the prison term on tuesday for failing to appear before a corruption inquiry. hundreds of his supporters have

been camping outside his home in kwazulu—natal saying they were protecting him from being arrested. 0ur southern africa correspondent nomsa maseko is there. it has been an eventful day with the spotlight firmly on south africa's former presidentjacob zuma. hundreds of his supporters lined the streets and also gathered at his home saying that they were forming a human shield to prevent him from being arrested. but earlier in the day, there were some confrontations betweenjacob zuma's supporters and police who were trying to prevent supporters from going to his house together because that gathering was illegal and the level four regulations here in south africa aimed at covid—19 infections. ——aimed at curbing covid—19 infections. but later on mr zuma addressed his supporters and said that it would have been a massive confrontation if police had

dared to arrest him. he also said that he was not scared of going to jail, he has been there before. this time around he refuses to go because he believes it was an injustice to be sentenced to a prison term without having gone to trial. so as things stand, mr zuma is not going to hand himself over to authorities because his lawyers have asked the constitutional court to rescind the judgement that they made to say that mr zuma needs to go to jail for 15 months. so as things stand, mr zuma's lawyers will go back to the constitutional court on july 12 where the court has said it is prepared to hear him out. let's get some of the day's other news. the vatican has said pope francis is doing well after intestinal surgery at a rome hospital. it said he responded well to the operation but didn't say how long he'd stay in to recover.

the pope is 84 years old. before going into hospital he gave his sunday blessing to worshippers in st peter's square. the suez canal authority and the owners of a huge container ship that blocked the egyptian waterway earlier this year have reached a deal to release the vessel. after three months of wrangling over compensation, the two sides say the ever given will be allowed to set off on wednesday. the terms of the agreement have not been revealed. chinese regulators have ordered the removal of the country's biggest ride—hailing firm, didi ——didi chuxing, from app stores. they've accused it of violating data collection rules. the company said existing customers could continue to use its app. last week, didi raised billions of dollars when its shares were listed on the new york stock exchange for the first time. a military transport plane has crashed in the southern philippines as it tried to land on the island of holo. 47 people were killed in the crash and 49 were injured. most of those aboard the hercules plane were soldiers who'd just finished their basic training. they were being deployed to fight militants who operate

in the southern philippines. david campa nale reports. a large ball of black smoke was seen above the wreckage of the transport plane, a lockheed c130 hercules, supplied to the philippines by the united states. the head of the armed forces said it had missed the runway — it's not clear why — and then tried to regain power, but had failed and hit the ground. many of those on board were soldiers. they were flying from mindanao to the provincial airport ofjolo when the plane came down in patikul. remarkably, a number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground, sparing them from the explosion caused by the crash, according to an army statement. dozens of soldiers were pulled from the site of the burning wreckage. they're now receiving hospital treatment. the soldiers were part of the military�*s stepped up presence in the southern philippines to combat islamist militants such as the abu sayyaf group. 0fficials there said there was no sign that the aircraft had been attacked,

and an investigation would start once the rescue operation was complete. many of those on board had only recently completed basic military training. david campanale, bbc news. israel says it is talking to other countries to unload its surplus of pfizer biontech covid—19 vaccines. about a million doses are due to expire by the end of the month. a plan to transfer them to the occupied west bank fell through last month and a deal to swap them with the uk is not going ahead. mark lobel reports. israel set the pace on vaccinations last december. it secured early deliveries of the pfizer vaccine, agreeing to share its medical data along the way. but recently, about a million excess doses have built up after a slower youth drive. so who else could they go to?

so far, around 30% of eligible palestinians in the occupied west bank and gaza have received at least one vaccine dose, but last month, the palestinian authority cancelled a deal to receive them, saying they were too close to the expiry date, thought to be july 31. in the past few days, the uk has also turned down a deal to swap them for doses manufactured later on. there's a humanitarian imperative that these vaccines end up in somebody�*s arms, preferably some people who are at high risk of being exposed or dying of covid. 0ne hopes that on the international stage, similarly, the right people will make decisions swiftly. israel says it's in talks with other countries to offload its surplus vaccines and that pfizer would have to approve any deal. a pfizer spokesperson says the company is happy to discuss potential donation requests of the pfizer—biontech covid vaccine between governments on a case—by—case basis, particularly if this helps

ensure the vaccine is used to protect people from this disease. the countries who have the financial muscle to do so have ordered many more doses of vaccine than they actually need, and there is clearly a need for agility in ensuring they don't go to waste when they haven't got people available to give them to. the world health organization has been crying out for donations to the covax facility they organised, which would be one mechanism to ensure these vaccines are swiftly distributed. researchers are considering whether vaccines can be viable for longer, and israel may need some of these vaccines as the more infectious delta variant pushes up case numbers there. but with time running out to find countries with the ability and desire to receive and distribute hundreds of thousands of vaccines in time, there is a growing fear such a valuable resource could simply be thrown away. mark lobel, bbc news.

an israeli photographer has captured an unusual view of sheep. is an aerial shot, time—lapse, of course, shot by a drone above a farm in peace valley in northern israel. the photographer is lior patel from haifa he admits he was shocked when his images went viral on facebook.

we will close with live pictures from surfside, here we are. this is the building that is going to be demolished shortly. we will keep across this on bbc news. hello. sunday evenings showers brought some flash flooding to edinburgh. for example, we had widespread thunderstorms for a time, and it's because we've got low pressure sat on top of the uk and it is with us through the day ahead. we're also watching this developing area of low pressure of low pressure to brinsome more persistent rain in later but still plenty of showers as we get going on monday morning —

perhaps a few in th e south and east as well as those close to the weather system in the north so, needless to say, a pretty mild start to the day but it does look as if we will see more sunshine compared with sunday across the southern half of the uk. still plenty of showery rain across northern england, northern ireland, north wales and scotland as well, some misty low cloud near the coast, and some of those will turn out to be quite heavy, again with some thunder around — can't rule out the odd one further south — but fewer than we saw during sunday. i think quite a lot of dry weatherfor the most part but come the evening, we are going to start to see those clouds thickening and the rain rolling in, and that's really a risk for tuesday as well. wouldn't like to rule out showers wednesday or thursday, but this is the low pressure we're watching. clearly, we've got the scope for some some intense and torrential downpours with some localised flash flooding and then, this system comes in, sweeps its rain and across england and wales across the course of monday evening and overnight, so several hours of quite heavy rain but also some unseasonably windy weather — some gale force winds and gusts

even 40—50 miles an hour inland, so that's unusual for this time of year — and it could well, combined with the rain, cause some disruption further north and west, as you can see. still some showers around on tuesday. that low pressure makes its way into the north sea, we think dragging rain across the east coast of england and scotland with showers following behind, so the pattern remains really quite unsettled. some sunshine in between, 18 or 19, so not quite as high as the day ahead. now, that low pressure then starts to drift and fill further north and east so the isobars open up. not as windy by the time we get to wednesday and thursday — in fact, a ridge of high pressure starts to try to build in, so that will quieten down the shower activity — but there is still some in the forecast even until late in the week. bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines: engineers in florida are preparing to demolish a partially collapsed apartment block near miami. this is the scene live as that demolition awaits. the operation is being carried out because of fears that an approaching tropical storm could bring down debris onto rescuers. more than 120 people are still unaccounted for following the disaster. and there is the demolition, what they have described as energetic felling, the collapse of the remainder of that apartment block, and as we have been saying, the rescuers will resume their efforts to find those who were caught in the initial collapse but some 120 people still unaccounted for as the building itself is demolished.