welcome to bbc news — i'm ben boulos. our top stories... burned—out buildings and looting mark the sixth day of chaos in south africa. more than 70 are dead, and the crisis is growing. britney spears wins the right to choose her own lawyer — as she tries to end the 13—year—long arrangement that controls her personal and business affairs. unbelievably bad — former president george w bush delivers his verdict on the us pull—out from afghanistan. it's unbelievable how that society changed from the brutality of the taliban. and now all of a sudden — sadly — i'm afraid afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm. and jadon sancho speaks out — the england footballer says hate will never win — after receiving online racist

abuse over his missed penalty in the euros final. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. south africa has announced a tenfold increase in the number of troops to be deployed in response to widespread violence sparked by the jailing of the former president, jacob zuma. up to 25,000 soldiers are to be sent onto the streets of kwazulu—natal and gauteng provinces. more than 70 people have now died — with the worst violence in years centred on durban and johannesburg. here's our south africa correspondent nomsa maseko. factory after factory after factory, ransacked and burned by looters.

two young men lying dead beside a railway line, 48 hours after they died. this is what six days of looting and rioting in kwazulu—natal and gauteng provinces in south africa looks like. violent protests broke outjust hours after south africa's former president, jacob zuma, was jailed forfailing to comply with a court order to give evidence at a corruption inquiry. however, speculation is rife that even though this may have started out as a pro—zuma protest, it was a well orchestrated plan designed to embarrass the current president, cyril ramaphosa, and to ensure he doesn't get another term in office. but yesterday, amid fear and desperation, a moment of hope. people were screaming, "throw her, throw her, throw her!" and i was scared, i was really scared, but there were people down in the streets. i wasn't. ..

they weren't always panicking. i was trusting anyone for my baby, to take my baby away from me, because the flames were spreading and there was a smoke outside. and today, firefighters lined the streets to start cleaning up. armed with broomsticks, residentsjoined in, chasing away anyone trying to loot whatever is left. not that much remains. is today the first time that you've come to see the trail of devastation that was left here since the rioting started? yeah, it's the first time we came down. we have our driver live next door, so he came two times to see what's going on. the first day, they only came through a small hole in the front and broke and stole a few watches, but later that night, they broke everything open and they looted all the shop. it can't happen again. i can't board up this business again and after six months or a year, it's happening again.

the rioting comes as the country experiences the highest number of covid—i9 cases in africa, with many wondering if south africa's economy will ever recover. nomsa maseko, bbc news, durban. ajudge in los angeles has ruled that britney spears can choose her own lawyer in her ongoing struggle to end her controversial conservatorship. addressing a court for the second time in less than a month, the us pop star demanded once again that her father be removed from the legal agreement that has controlled her affairs for years. 0ur los angeles correspondent david willis has the latest. for the second time in three weeks britney spears gave very emotional testimony. she said that her father's control of her affairs was abusive, and she did succeed in getting her own lawyer to represent her after 13 years in which she's been represented by a court—appointed attorney.

that lawyer, mathew rosengart, said that he plans to file immediately a motion seeking to have britney spears' fatherjamie stripped of his control over her life. he called — mr mathew rosengart — in court forjamie spears to stand down immediately in the interests of his daughter, and said, "you have claimed that you love your daughter so you should step down now from this position," but a lawyer representing jamie spears flatly refused to do so — she called some of the accusations levelled againstjamie spears by his daughter "unsubsta ntiated". david, if we can take a step back and remind people and those coming to this perhaps without so much background knowledge why there was this agreement in place under which britney spears had had so little control — continues to have so little control — over her personal and business affairs. well, this conservatorship —

called a guardianship in some other states — was put in place back in 2008 when you might remember there were some scenes in which britney spears appeared to lose control in public — there were clashes with the paparazzi, at one point of course she shaved her head. now, a conservatorship is something that is supposed to be put in place for a very short period of time until somebody recovers, or is imposed in the case of someone who is unable to deal with their own affairs. now, the point has been made in recent hearings that britney spears is more than able to deal with her own affairs — she has been a judge on a reality tv show and even been on tour in las vegas. there is a lot of contention over her father's role as far as this $60 million estate — which is what her fortune amounts to — going forward. he has been the one solitary figure that has been in control of this vast estate for the last 13 years. it's emerged over recent

months, over the course of the last year, that britney spears does not want that arrangement to continue, and that she clearly has some very real issues with her father. the former us president george w bush has criticised president biden�*s decision to withdraw us troops from afghanistan — stating he believes the consequences are going to be "unbelievably bad". mr bush initially led america into afghanistan in late 2001 after 9/11 attacks on america. here's what the former president had to say to german television. the progress that could be made for young girls and women in afghanistan, it's unbelievable how that society changed from the brutality of the taliban. and now all of a sudden — sadly — i'm afraid afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm. is it a mistake to withdraw? you know, i think it is, yeah.

ithink... because i think the consequences are going to be unbelievably bad. and...i�*m sad. laura and i spent a lot of time with afghan women and. . .and they're scared. and i think about all the interpreters and people that help not only us troops, but nato troops. and therejust... it seems like they're just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people. the warning from former president bush comes as the taliban say they've captured the strategic spin boldak border crossing with pakistan, the second busiest crossing between the countries, which gives afghanistan access to pakistani ports to the south. the afghan government has denied the reports, however videos online show the taliban's white flag flying next to the pakistani flag at the border crossing, with militants chatting to pakistani border guards. controlling the border point would bring the taliban

significant customs revenue and adds to other crossings they've captured along the borders with iran, tajikistan and turkmenistan. the us has charged four iranian nationals with plotting to kidnap a new york—based activist and journalist. while the indictment didn't name the target, a high—profile iranian activist and author, masih alinejad, says she was the intended victim. the usjustice department says a person in the united kingdom and three others in canada were also targets. ?ms alinejad told the bbc how she felt when she learned about the plot. i got angry, i got furious. instead ofjust being scared, it made me furious that this is the nature of the islamic republic — kidnapping people, arresting protesters, killing them, murdering them. but here in america, i was shocked from the beginning when i heard the details, because i didn't know about the details.

i didn't know that they're going to take me with a speedboat to venezuela and kidnap me from there to iran. so although this was not new for us iranians, but it was new that the islamic republic is allowed to have such an operation in the united states of america. that was iranian—american journalist masih alinejad. iran's government says the allegations of a kidnapping plot are "ridiculous and baseless". brazil's presidentjair bolsonaro has been taken to hospital for tests after suffering persistent hiccups. he apologised for hicupping throughout this press conference, saying he'd had them for over a week. he is expected to remain under observation for 2h to 48 hours, but not

necessarily in hospital. a statement by staff said he was "feeling good and doing well". let's get more on this story from dominic phillips, a journalist based in salvador. it is quite unusual, isn't it, so want to be taken to hospital for hiccups? jair bolsonaro has been complaining for about ten days and has been clearly struggling to talk in for media videos taken by his supporters, who we quite often meets at the presidential headquarters. he goes behind the fence and speak to them and he has been clearly struggling to talk and hiccuping quite badly. we should remember in 2018 he was stabbed during his election campaign and sustained damage to his intestines and serious internal bleeding. he was transferred to sao paulo and was treated by the same doctor who was treated after he was stabbed in the stomach. he is undergoing tests to see if he

needs surgery. the hospital say he is being submitted to clinical lab image evaluation to work out if he needs an operation. there is an obstruction in the intestines. a bit more serious than just pick—ups. mil a bit more serious than “ust pick-ups.i a bit more serious than 'ust hick-us. �* ., , ,., pick-ups. all of this comes at a time where _ pick-ups. all of this comes at a time where he _ pick-ups. all of this comes at a time where he is _ pick-ups. all of this comes at a time where he is under - pick-ups. all of this comes at a time where he is under a i a time where he is under a significant amount of pressure and there is a lot of dissatisfaction. we are seeing people out on the streets, protesting against his government and the way he has handled the whole pandemic in brazil. it handled the whole pandemic in brazil. , , , brazil. it is probably the worst moment - brazil. it is probably the worst moment in - brazil. it is probably the worst moment in his - brazil. it is probably the i worst moment in his entire presidency so far. it has been a very tumultuous presidency. his at its lowest, he is under extreme pressure from senate inquiry into his disastrous handling of the pandemic. the inquiry has covered very strong allegations of friction in the case of acquisition of vaccines. it has also found his government ignored a serious of

office of vaccines from pfizer. 0ne office of vaccines from pfizer. one of his original allies when he won the election in 2018 came out in an interview today, a millionaire businessman, said he thinks he is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. as for me campaign director when he won 2018 said he would lucky... we won't even get through the first round, he will be lucky to be voted to be put in charge. he is under massive pressure and has been hiccuping very badly. his supporters have been calling for people to pray for him because he is evangelical and catholic. it is also worth mentioning, and this has been a theme of brazil in social media, thatjair social media, that jair bolsonaro has an uncertain obsession with death. in 2015 he said he hoped his predecessor, who had had a higher attack and got cancer, he said brazil's military dictatorship not kill enough of his opponents. he was seen

making the finger gun assigned. it is a very polarising issue in brazil. there are more and more people falling against jair bolsonaro. not really sure what to make of it, his supporters calling for prayers. thank you very much for that analysis. jair bolsonaro, a journalist based in el salvador. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... the england footballer jadon sancho says hate will never win — after receiving online racist abuse, over his missed penalty in the euros final. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the euro zone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust in the worst crisis to hit the euro zone has been averted. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worst floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed.

broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans, but tonight, it's completely blacked out. it's a timely reminder to all americans of the problems that the energy crisis has brought to them. leaders meet in paris- fora summit on pollution, inflation and third world debt. this morning, theyjoinedl the revolution celebrations for a show of military might on the champs—elysees. . wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge shoal of their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much, they could barely stand. this is bbc news, our top story this hour... south africa is to increase to 25,000 thousand the number of troops deployed in response to widespread violence sparked by the jailing of former presidentjacob zuma. more than 70 people

have been killed. let's get more now on the situation in south africa. i've been speaking to steve bhengu a journalist with east coast radio who's been on the ground in kwazulu—natal during the disturbances. 0bviously, recently, as you are aware, we have seen not only property being burnt to the ground and looted but, even being on the ground, i have also witnessed various elements such as violence and racial profiling, so we have seen the army being deployed, as well. there isn't much visibility, unfortunately, as far as the army is concerned, but we are hoping that somehow we will see things starting to slow down and law and order essentially prevailing. what do you think is motivating the violence, in your assessment? is purely about the jailing of the former president jacob zuma, or was that simply the short—term trigger, the match that struck the tinderbox of discontent for all sorts of other reasons?

it is sort of layered. so initially you had obviously the jailing of the former president jacob zuma. i was there — just 45 minutes before midnight a convoy left his home state of nkandla and took him to the estcourt correctional centre. 0bviously, literally a few hours later, the next morning, he then started having sporadic gatherings under the hashtag #freejacoquma banner. so obviously while these do not gain much momentum, but what started happening was they started losing mandate of the agenda and a focus on the mandate and then essentially started spreading out to becoming events of looting. while, obviously, we live in a country where protesting is quite common and it is quite common that you see business being disrupted — but none thought it would be at this level. so now we are seeing things such as looting, burning of property, dismantling of infrastructure and even loss of life. and what's being said

from the zuma camp on this? are they trying to get people to calm down, are they encouraging it — what are we hearing from them, if anything? it is quite interesting. you have obviously the immediate family of zuma, such as his children, who have shared sentiments that are of support for this. so, for instance, his son duduzane and daughter duduzile, who somehow believe that this is still about freeing their father, and that somehow it will translate to him being released from prison. but obviously what we're seeing now is that this is something completely different. it's essentially given rise to other elements which we have seen... we know that south africa is a very uneven society. we have one of the richest people living right next to one of the poorest people. and obviously it is these poorest of the poorest who now see an opportunity to put more food on the table and essentially that has been the argument, saying, well, you know, we have been

looted for many years through the system — our resources, our energy — and when we try to put food on our table, why are we all of a sudden the bad guys? that is essentially the conversation happening right now. it is certainly far away from freeing jacob zuma or any of the conversations around the former prisoner being incarcerated — it essentially has now become about, look, the poorest of the poor putting something on the table for something to eat. steve bhengu from east coast radio speaking to me from durban in south africa. let's get some of the day's other news. the un says the coronavirus pandemic is leaving millions of children at risk from measles and other deadly diseases. 23 million children missed out on basic vaccines last year, as health services were hit by covid restrictions and many parents shunned vaccination clinics for fear of exposure to the virus. a coronavirus cluster has been found among staff at a japanese hotel that is hosting a number of brazilian olympic athletes.

seven staff members tested positive for the virus. 0lympic officials say that the affected workers have not been in contact with the brazilian delegation, which includes judo athletes. spain's popular holiday islands — ibiza, majorca and menorca — are all being moved on to the british government's amber list, just two weeks after they were approved for quarantine—free travel. from next monday, anyone over 18 who's not fully vaccinated will have to quarantine on return home. colletta smith has the latest. it's more choppy waters for those dreaming of a summer getaway, as the traffic lights have changed colours again. for those about to fly off, it will mean quarantine and more tests when they get home. lots of mental maths with the timing of the test and things...

that means another change of gear at this travel agent. with some customers abroad and plenty heading off in the coming weeks, it's more rules to get their heads round. you were confident enough to reopen the shops this week. demand is there, people want to holiday, but they want to holiday with confidence and they need clarity. that's what we're not getting at the minute. they have shops in england and wales and today's changes only apply to passengers from england. announcements from wales, scotland and northern ireland may follow. there's been a rise in covid cases in tourist hotspots in greece and mainland spain, and the government say cases in the balearic islands have doubled since they were put on the green list, and the changes shouldn't come as a surprise to passengers. everybody who's travelling by now, surely nobody can be thinking we can travel and rely on things not changing. we're not in control of this virus, particularly in how it

affects other countries, their level of vaccinations and level genomic sequencing and testing regimes. those are out of our hands, so when we see things change, for the safety and security of everybody at home, we need to react and act, and we are doing so. it might not be a surprise, but it will be a frantic few days in majorca as some holiday—makers rush to get home before the quarantine rules kick in, and it's more frustration for businesses relying on a wave of young people arriving this summer. people are happy to be here — on the beach this afternoon, loads of people there. the island is relaxed . and content, and i think that this isjust going to be i another spanner in the works, and it's one step forward, five steps back. _ other changes include good news for those travelling to bulgaria and hong kong, which moved to green, and croatia and taiwan moved to the green watchlist. for those shifting to amber, weighing up the extra frustration and expense against the lure of a holiday has become even more complicated.

colletta smith, bbc news. the england footballer jadon sancho has made his first public comments following the racist abuse he received after missing a penalty in the euro 2020 final, saying "hate will never win". it comes as borisjohnson said changes will be made to football banning orders. 0ur deputy political editor vicki young has this report. it was a heartbreaking defeat but post—match analysis has focused on far broader issues than england's abilities on the pitch. 0nline racist abuse aimed at the three players who missed penalties has left the conservative party divided over anti—racism campaigning, and pressure has forced the government to make a hasty announcement about changing the law. i utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings that we saw on sunday night. so what we are doing is today taking practical steps to ensure that the football

banning order regime is changed, so that if you are guilty, mr speaker, of racist abuse online of footballers, then you will not be going to the match. ministers have announced a 12—week consultation, but campaigners want them to go further. boris johnson wants to focus on practicalities, saying he's coming down tough on social media platforms, threatening them with massive fines if they don't remove online abuse. but the conservative party has been on the back foot on this whole issue, as it struggled to explain whether it supports players taking the knee or not. england manager gareth southgate said his team were doing it to highlight racial inequality, and that it was nothing to do with the political organisation black lives matter. the labour leader said the prime minister's promise to act now rang hollow. either the prime minister is with the england players in their stand against racism, or he can defend his own

record, those of his ministers and some of his mps. but he can't have it both ways. tonight, a heartfelt message from jadon sancho, one of the young players subjected to racism. as a society we need to do better, he said, and hold the abusers accountable. hate, he said, will never win. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. after a very scaled—down ceremony last year due to the pandemic, this year's bastille day procession to the pandemic, this year's bastille day procession in paris once again featured the cavalry of the republican guard, members of the foreign legion and an aircraft fly—past. this was the scene a few hours ago at the eiffel tower — fireworks to celebrate france's national day. despite covid restrictions, the fireworks went ahead, and people have been able to attend, but covid rules limited the number of spectators to 10,000, all of whom had to wear masks and produce proof of a vaccination. a spectacular display for the city of light.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @benmboulos. hello, there. sunshine did wonders for the temperatures on wednesday. aboyne in aberdeenshire one of the places that got above 25 degrees with scenes like this. parts of southern england saw similar temperatures, as well. and over the next few days, with more sunshine on the way, those temperatures could have a little further to climb — maybe up into the high 20s in parts of the south over the weekend. but it's not all about sunshine. this is the earlier satellite picture from wednesday. you can see this cloud that spilt in across scotland and northern ireland — that working down into england and wales, as well. so a lot of places having a fair amount of cloud through thursday, maybe even giving the odd light shower in eastern england. but that cloud will tend to break. we will see spells of sunshine. i think the best of those

across parts of northern england, northern ireland and a good part of scotland. and in the sunniest places, temperatures will get up to 25, maybe 26 degrees. but some eastern parts of england will be affected by a keen breeze, and that will feed more cloud in across east anglia and the southeast once again as we head through thursday night into friday. at the same time, cloud will topple in from the northwest, but in between a slice of clear sky and a mild start to friday morning. now, through friday, this area of high pressure continues to establish itself. that means mainly settled conditions, but we do have a frontal system close to the north of scotland, so the closer you are to that frontal system the more cloud you are likely to see. northern and western scotland, parts of northern ireland, too, quite breezy, quite cloudy maybe with the odd spot of drizzle. cloud first thing towards the southeast, that will tend to clear. for most places friday will bring plentiful sunshine and temperatures well up into the middle 20s celsius. and then we get on into saturday. again, more cloud up towards the northwest of scotland. some light and patchy rain is possible in the northwest highlands, but further south it is largely fine with plenty of sunshine

and temperatures likely to peak at 27 degrees. but those temperatures could climb even further by sunday. this area of high pressure is still with us into the second half of the weekend. this frontal system still with us in the north, as well, and that may reinvigorate a little through the day. so we could see some slightly more widespread and heavier rain into the far northwest of scotland later. but elsewhere, some good spells of sunshine, and in the south we are looking at highs of 29 degrees. that's all from me for now.

this is bbc news,

the headlines: south africa is to increase to 25,000 the number of troops deployed in response to widespread violence sparked by the jailing of former presidentjacob zuma. the government has said the unrest had brought shame on the entire country. more than 70 people have been killed. the pop singer britney spears has secured the right to choose her own lawyer, as she tries to end the conservatorship that controls her business affairs. the approval comes three weeks after the singer made an emotional address in which she called the existing arrangement abusive. the former us president george w bush has criticised the withdrawal of nato troops from afghanistan, calling the decision "unbelievably bad" before warning that, in his opinion, civilians were being left to be "slaughtered" by the taliban. president biden insisted soldiers will pull out by september 11th. now on bbc news,

the highlights of wednesday