this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm shaun ley. the taliban are rapidly retaking land across afghanistan, as the us—led mission removes the last of its troops. if the taliban push for a military solution, the outcome is likely to be a long war. police in haiti say 28 foreigners were involved in the president's assassination on wednesday, most of them colombians. coronavirus infections across the uk return to levels not seen since january, as more and more people are forced to self—isolate. and look who's through to the wimbledon final. novak djokovic will bid to match the record of 20 grand slam titles held by federer and nadal.

hello, and welcome if you've just joined us. it's good to have your company. in a major escalation since international troops started withdrawing from afghanistan, the taliban have seized a key border crossing. islaam kalaa is one of the biggest trade gateways into iran, generating around $20 million a month for the kabul government. the defence ministry says security forces are trying to recapture the site. from kabul, our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has more on the situation across afghanistan. these are momentous and deeply uncertain times in afghanistan. for those who don't follow afghanistan closely, what are these details coming in tell us? they tell us the taliban are making rapid advances in all areas

of the country much more quickly than anybody expected. and possibly even the taliban. the latest news is they have taken over this border crossing on the border with iran at islaam kalaa. russian media now reporting tell taliban now control most of the afghan border. there's reports now their territory of the southern province of kandahar and the television network in afghanistan reported east of kabul, the village is also coming under taliban control. while these reports were coming in, the afghan president made his first visit to what was the biggest us military base in the country at bagram. he conceded that the country was now going through a critical transition, but vowed that his government and his security forces would prevail. that is the message we heard last night, afghans heard last night, from the us presidentjoe biden, who emphasised that american

support would not end. and that the afghan political leadership and security forces have the capability to prevent a taliban takeover. but he asked as afghans are asking will they do it. the taliban of course are saying that they are advancing. but in a sign of how they are ever mindful of their international legitimacy, they held a press conference today in the russian capital of moscow. a member of the taliban negotiating team boasted that if they could take 15 districts in a day, they could take over all of the country within two weeks. -- 40-50 —— 40—50 districts in a day. but he says they are not after power. as the taliban make gain an districts, many of our viewers have been asking us what is the mood like in kabul? is kabul also coming under attack? we decided to go to the streets of the city to find out what is the mood here.

the city springs to life. kabul�*s oldest market, one of its busiest. painters, masons, plasterers, they all come here to find a day's work. it's always been tough, but much tougher now. translation: the . foreigners are leaving. we are worried about the war. it's everywhere. people are fleeing into the cities but there is no work here. we are under so much pressure. this fridge. and they sold all their crockery? yes. a street of second—hand goods. nusrat set up shop here when his job ended with the us military. lots of afghans were working with them, now they are jobless. a lot of them are planning to go out of afghanistan

because of their security and because of a lack ofjobs. the americans said it's time to go, it's 20 years, that's enough. for what purpose did they come in for what purpose are they going? what is the conclusion? if they didn't gain something, they didn't build something for us, they didn't make the security for us, why are they coming? tea and treats in the city centre. sweet moments for afghans who can afford them. the kind of life many young afghans here, men and women, want to live. growing insecurity already threatens it. we are hurrying just coming - to the restaurant, coming to a cafe, meeting our friends, just go home. - the taliban say this is a western lifestyle. maybe they say we are acting - like europeans or american people. but i think it's not true. we have the right| to choose our life.

a lot is being knocked out of afghan lives. at this popular bowling alley, we hear notjust worry about the taliban. the government is failing them too, even in promoting sports like this. munir ahmad assafi is a national champion. translation: fewer people are coming here now. - before we used to gather about a0 people, we would divide into teens and hold competitions, but that doesn't happen any more. the changes over the past 20 years in afghanistan have brought new measures of freedom to many living in kabul. it's a life they want to hold onto and now feel they are losing. —— fear they are losing. the departure of international forces is turning into the loss of so much more. for now, the walls keep rising to protect the most powerful, most privileged. the government under pressure to protect its own people.

as the taliban make rapid gains beyond kabul, you feel the rising uncertainty on every street. coronavirus infections in the uk have risen to their highest level for five months. the office for national statistics suggests around 400,000 people would have tested positive for the virus in the last week. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. have you been pinged lately? 26 million people have downloaded the nhs covid app, though it's unclear how many have it switched on. the app uses bluetooth to detect the distance between phones, and if someone tests positive, will ping those who have been in close proximity, within two metres for 15 minutes, and advise them to self—isolate. tonight a source at the app team told the bbc they had been told it might lead to the sensitivity of the app being reduced. as our restrictions change,

of course the app needs to change in line. things like the relaxing of the one—metre—plus for example, on 19july, might well lead to a review of the way the app itself needs to function. but labour says the sensitivity of the app shouldn't be weakened. this feels like taking the batteries out of the smoke detector, and that is never a good idea. that is an important protection. i am equally worried by the stories of people deleting the app altogether. as covid cases have risen, so have the number of app alerts. 360,000 people received one in the last week ofjune. this climbing centre in surrey had to close after nearly all its staff were pinged. i don't even know what's going to happen for the future, but obviously there is an immediate impact on the basis that we're losing income, again. and it's going to hurt. the latest survey from the office for national statistics suggests that around 400,000 people in the uk had covid last week,

up nearly 60% on the previous week. in england, it's estimated that one in 160 people were infected. in scotland, one in 100 had covid. in wales, it was one in 340, and in northern ireland, one in 300. new analysis of covid infection data has confirmed children are at extremely low risk from coronavirus. there were 25 deaths among 12 million under—18s in england. half of those had complex neuro disabilities. there were no deaths in children who had asthma as a single diagnosis, no deaths in children who had cystic fibrosis, no deaths in children who had trisomy 21 or down syndrome, and no deaths in children and young people who had type one diabetes. this research, suggesting a two in a million chance of dying among children,

may persuade some scientists against recommending covid jabs for 12—17—year—olds, a decision that's due very shortly. fergus walsh, bbc news. the united states says it will send law enforcement officers to haiti as soon as possible, after the assassination of president jovenel moeez earlier this week. haitian police say a group of 28 foreign mercenaries were responsible for the killing. several of them are thought to be former colombian soldiers. it's still unclear who organised the attack, or why. but several of the suspected mercenaries were colombian. the bbc�*s daniel pardo is in bogota and told me what more we know about the assassination. we know that they are former military soldiers. very young in their military career, around 40—45 years old, but who retired partly because salaries are not great in the colombian military forces, as well as the fact that escalating, you know, moving up in the colombian

military is very difficult. so, they retire, and then, they have the possibility to enter this huge, very international industry of mercenaries where, for a lot of money, they can get involved in these international operations. we've been hearing about colombian mercenaries being involved in the iraq war, afghanistan, and yemen. so this is part of an industry that has been growing for many decades, really, in columbia after the development of the war on terror and the war on drugs that has been partly financed by the united states. so, these are people who were part of that military that has been trained by the united states, or partly, at least, and are very pro, and have really good skills in this sort of operation. a fire that tore through a food factory near the bangladeshi capital has killed at least 52 people,

with dozens still missing. the fire service said the number of casualties could increase significantly, as many workers are still unaccounted for. the blaze broke out on thursday, when hundreds of people were inside the building, and was still burning nearly 24 hours later. many workers were injured after theyjumped from the upper floors as the fire engulfed the six—storey building. here in the uk, a metropolitan police officer has pleaded guilty to the kidnap, rape and murder of sarah everard, who disappeared from the streets of south london in march. pc wayne couzens snatched the 33—year—old marketing executive as she walked home from a friend's house at around nine at night. it's still not clear what motivated his attack on a complete stranger. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. what happened to sarah everard is what many woman often fear — the fear of walking home alone. sarah was just walking home, and that night the life that she hadn't fully lived ended.

the man responsible, wayne couzens, in the custody of his own force — a policeman, also a kidnapper, rapist and murderer. abusing his police promise to uphold the law, he broke it in the most brutal way. after couzens pleaded guilty today, we can now report more about what happened to the marketing executive originally from york. three days before she disappeared, wayne couzens reserved a vauxhall astra hire car in kent. he also bought a roll of strong self—adhesive film. this is the last picture of sarah, buying wine, heading to a friend's house. just after 9:30 on poynders road, a busy main road in clapham, a bus camera shows that vauxhall astra on the pavement. two people, presumed to be sarah and couzens, are standing there. the hire car then heads out of london to kent. couzens faced allegations of indecent exposure in london three

days before kidnapping sarah and, it was revealed today, similar allegations in 2015 in kent — possible police failures now being investigated. this is where sarah was last seen. when couzens was arrested, he lied and lied. he claimed he owed money to an eastern european gang for underpaying a prostitute and they threatened his family and ordered him to deliver them another girl. he admitted kidnapping sarah but said he had handed her over, alive and unharmed, to the gang when they stopped his car on the way out of london. the truth was that couzens raped and murdered the 33—year—old, hiding her body deep in the kent countryside so it took a week to find her remains. as met police officers searched, the murderer was in their ranks. two days after he'd kidnapped her, couzens had bought two

builder's bags at b&q. her body was found in one. the metropolitan police commissioner looked shaken. in court, she'd satjust feet from the everard family. i was able to speak to them earlier today and say again how very sorry i am for their loss and fortheir pain and their suffering. all of us in the met are sickened, angered and devastated by this man's crimes. they are dreadful, and everyone in policing feels betrayed. shame on you, shame on you, shame on you...! questions for the force how couzens could have been cleared to carry a gun when he would go on to kill. and the police watchdog is now investigating what met officers did when he exposed himself twice just

days before the murder, and what kent officers did about similar allegations six years ago — could he have been stopped? the murder of one woman resonated with thousands of others — demands that the streets must be safe, violence against women must stop, harassment and abuse must be taken more seriously. the everard family had one wish — that sarah would come home safely. but a policeman took her future away. lucy manning reporting. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: thousands of vulnerable syrians are now trapped in border camps. we'll look at the last—minute un deal that allows the continuation of essential cross—border aid.

central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they've pipped the favourite, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated — and celebration parties were cancelled. the man entered the palace l through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom, then _ he asked her for a cigarette — i and, on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, - summoned a footman on duty who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines... in a major escalation, the taliban in afghanistan say they've captured vital border crossings with iran and turkmenistan. coronavirus infections across the uk return to levels not seen since january, as more and more people are forced to self—isolate. the un security council has voted to extend a cross border aid operation into syria from turkey for another year. the mandate for the long—running operation was due to expire on saturday, but a last minute compromise was reached between russia and the us. jean mackenzie reports from turkey—syria border. here was her last resort. it's where she ran to after two of her sons were killed. as millions fled the syrian regime, they found shelter in this corner of the country, outside the government's control. now they're trapped in makeshift

camps, up against the border with turkey, existing on help from outside. just over the border in turkey, trucks are loaded with food, water, and medicine — part of an un agreement to bring crucial aid into a part of the country still controlled by rebels. 1,000 of these trucks go across the border every month carrying vital supplies, and that now includes covid vaccines. this is an absolute lifeline for people in idlib. for many, it's their only lifeline. that lifeline was in danger. russia, syria's key ally, signalled it wanted to close the crossing, preferring aid to come from inside syria instead.

but after a last—minute compromise, all members of the security council voted to keep it open for another year. this has proven to be the safest, the most direct, and the most reliable way of getting aid to people. whatever happens, we must keep this border crossing open. if we can have more crossing points, we would welcome that. for this hospital, where medicines and supplies were already running low, it's avoided a catastrophe. the us ambassador to the un said after the vote that the security council had made the decision to save lives — that millions of syrians can breathe a sigh of relief tonight. jean mackenzie, bbc news, on the turkey—syria border. the covid pandemic is far from over, with lockdowns extended in australia and indonesia, and soaring rates in many parts of africa. but already, there are calls

for the world to come together to make sure we are better prepared for the next pandemic. the world trade organization is calling on g20 leaders to establish a global $10 billion fund to address the future costs of any future pandemics. according to the wto, current public funding of pandemic prevention and preparedness needs to be doubled. but is this feasible, given the amount governments are having to spend on their own covid—19 crises? here's the director general of the world trade organization, ngozi 0konjo—iweala. i think that the $10 billion fund that we are proposing is for the future, for future pandemic preparedness. so, one of the things we're learning from this pandemic is just how unprepared the world is, or was during the pandemic. and the fact that this covid—19 pandemic is like a dress rehearsal forfuture pandemics which may happen every 5—10, or 15 years as the case may be.

so, we are saying in order to be better prepared, we need this $10 billion fund, and the g20 actually, the hosts of the high—level panel who came up with this recommendation of which i'm a member — and we are saying that the global community should pay into this fund, $10 billion every year. it's tiny compared to the trillions that have been spent fighting the pandemic. it'll help the world prepare to have better surveillance so that we can prevent or deal properly with these pandemics. it would help to build health systems, strengthened the health systems which have shown themselves to be very weak, to invest in manufacturing capacity so we can get a better supply of medical goods. and we are also saying that we need better governance. global governance has been missing,

and it's there that you need a multilateral approach that brings together finance and health to deal with this problem. so, we are recommending also a global health support. the men's final is all set for wimbledon, with top seed novak djokovic facing matteo berrettini on sunday. 0ur correspondent chetan pathak was watching the semifinal action at the all england club. ultimately, it's no surprise to see novak djokovic into his seventh wimbledon final. this is a man motivated by numbers. and, win on sunday, and he'll have 20 grand slams — the same number as roger federer and rafael nadal. standing in his way on friday was denis shapovalov, the 22—year—old canadian who's won so many admirers at these championships with the way he plays. and he made djokovic work hard for this. losing in straight sets, yes, but hanging in there in each and every one. from the beginning, when he broke djokovic early,

he showed his intent, and at times, he got tight and nervous — and that was his undoing on this occasion. but he will hope for better in the future. matteo berrettini is who awaits novak djokovic in sunday's final — the first italian man to reach a wimbledon final. he got past hubert her cash in four sets, the polish 14th knocked out roger federer and daniil medvedev. but for hurkacz, he couldn't keep his nerves under control, at least in the first two sets before he battled back to win the third. but berrettini's powerful serve and forehand got him over the line. before the men's final on sunday, we have the women's final on saturday, the world number one ash barty and the eighth seed karolina pliskova playing in their first wimbledon final. for barty, she's the first australian woman to get to a wimbledon final since evonne goolagong in 1980. for pliskova, she had been

written off by many — not a name people were expecting to see in the final, but could she yet pull off a surprise win? a teenage basketball prodigy has become the first african—american to win the scripps national spelling bee in the us, claiming $50,000 in prize money. zaila avant—garde cruised to victory when she correctly spelt the world "murraya", a type of tropical tree. despite practising for up to seven hours a day, zaila says spelling is a side hobby, and dreams of becoming a professional basketball player. let's take a look at her win. murraya. m-u-r-r-a-y-a. that is correct! applause cheering and there is your champ.

you can tell she's a basketball player, she was literallyjumping forjoy. you're watching abc news. -- bbc forjoy. you're watching abc news. —— bbc news. hello there. it's looking unsettled this weekend as well, but it's not going to be raining all the time everywhere. there will be some places staying dry, but the general theme this weekend is for sunny spells and for scattered showers to develop. again, these will be heavy and thundery, and slow—moving as winds will be light. if you look at the pressure chart this afternoon, we've got this weather front across the south, bringing an area of more persistent rain to southern counties. it will continue its journey eastwards through the morning through the channel islands, southern and southeastern counties of england, then clear away in the afternoon. elsewhere, after a dry start, we'll see those showers developing a little bit further westwards this time, affecting wales, west midlands, northwest england and scotland. again, it will be heavy, slow—moving torrential downpours which could lead to localised flooding. those temperatures range from 19—21 degrees. now, those showers will fade away

during saturday evening, and then, overnight, most places will be dry, but rain will start to push into the far west later on, those temperatures in double figures. it's going to be another mild and muggy night for most of us. now, for sunday, a new area of low pressure starts to push in off the atlantic, affecting northern and western areas. it looks like some eastern parts may stay dry altogether with some hazy spells of sunshine. so, most heavy showers on sunday will be across more northern parts of the uk, but wales, northern ireland, the southwest of england will start to see areas of more persistent rain moving in. in the east, with that sunshine, we could see 22—23 celsius, and again, it's going to feel quite humid. so, for wimbledon this weekend, saturday, the early rain will clear away to leave something a bit drier into the afternoon. sunday, mainly dry, but i still can't rule out the odd shower there. and for wembley on sunday, certainly, it's a dry start, but into the evening, we start to see some of that rain in the west pushing its way eastwards. that's because this area of low pressure will be working its way

southwards and eastwards across the country. by monday, this is the position it'll be in. it's going to bring a very unsettled day. most northern and western areas will see sunny spells, some heavy showers. it's england and wales which will see the cloudiest skies and areas of heavy, maybe even thundery rain affecting central and southern areas, which could lead to some issues. the temperatures not quite as high — 19—20 celsius will be the high. the heavy, thundery showers clearing away from the south and east. on tuesday and wednesday, by the mid—latter part of the week, high pressure want to build in, so it'll start turning sunnier, drier and warmer.

this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines: the taliban have told talks in moscow that they've seized key border crossings with iran and turkmenistan. it's seen as a major escalation in their activities since international troops started withdrawing from afghanistan. the bbc has learned that the nhs covid app used for contact tracing in england and wales will be altered to send out fewer isolation alerts. the latest data suggests one in 160 people across the country has the virus. the united states will send law enforcement officers to haiti as soon as possible following the assassination of presidentjovenel moeez earlier this week. haitian police say a group of 28 foreign mercenaries were responsible for the killing. the un security council has voted to extend a cross border aid operation into syria from turkey after a last—minute compromise was reached between russia and the us.