this is bbc news. our top stories: an olympic sprinter from belarus an olympic sprinterfrom belarus who was ordered home is granted and humanitarian visa by poland, after taking refuge at its embassy in tokyo. i'm sarah mulkerrins with all the latest from the games in tokyo. the first medals of the day have been decided, but we are all waiting the reappearance of us gymnast simone biles to the competition. palestinian families facing eviction from their homes in a neighbourhood in eastjerusalem say they will reject a suggestion but they —— that they rent their properties from a jewish settler organisation. and there are concerns that patellar banner on the verge of taking the capital of helmand

province in afghanistan. —— the taliban are on the verge. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the belarussian sprinter krystsina tsimanouskaya has been granted a humanitarian visa by poland. she sought refuge in the polish embassy in tokyo after saying she'd been ordered to return home from the olympic games in tokyo against her will. her apparent offence was criticising her coaches on social media after they'd entered herfor a race she hadn't been expecting to run. our tokyo correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this was the moment earlier this evening when krystsina tsimanouskaya stepped onto polish soil. safe from the belarusian officials she says were forcing her to leave tokyo against her will. the saga had begun two days earlier with this social media post.

next, ms tsimanouskaya was spotted at tokyo's haneda airport about to board a flight to istanbul. but it's very clear she didn't want to go. the belarusian team says that claim is nonsense, that she was being sent home because of her emotional and psychological state. but the polish government has decided to believe her story and to offer refuge. what's going on here in tokyo has very much the whiff of history about it because back in the days of the cold war, olympic defections were a regular event. the last one i can find was in los angeles in 1984. now we have someone defecting from belarus, a country that's been described as the last dictatorship in europe, and she's going to poland, a country that was once part of the soviet bloc and is now very much the opposite. last year, belarus was rocked

by huge protests demanding an end to the 27—year rule of alexander lukashenko. poland was a vocal supporter of these protests, and it's clear today's offer of refuge to ms tsimanouskaya fits in with warsaw's support for the opposition. "every person who cannot return to belarus for political reasons and wants to come to poland can count on our support," the deputy foreign minister says. "ms tsimanouskaya is under the care of the polish state. she wants to come to poland. we will grant her all support." back injapan, there is relief this drama has been resolved so quickly. but with six more days till the olympics close, tokyo must be a little worried that other athletes could be tempted to follow ms tsimanouskaya's lead. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. well, let's take a look at the olympic sporting action now. i'm joined by sarah

mulkerrins in tokyo. we have had so much action so far. we are currently awaiting the men's 400 metres hurdles finals, but with the big norwegian name coming up, the world record holder, karsten warholm. but no doubt the eyes of the world will be on simone biles later today, she missed some of her events here, she pulled out of the team event after she had done her initial vault, citing those mental health issues she has been battling, and also a case of "the twisties,", where she wasn't quite sure her mind and body were connecting and doing what she wanted them to do. but she is going to be back, her final opportunity for a metal here will come later in the beam final. let's get the view

of somebody who knows the spot well, knows simone biles well. jessica o'byrne is a former gymnast and gymnastics coach. she is here in tokyo. she is also the host of the gymcastic podcaster. i wonder if you are surprised by simone biles deciding to compete in the event, in the beam? i compete in the event, in the beam? . , compete in the event, in the beam? ., ., ., , compete in the event, in the beam? ., ., . , . ~' , beam? i was. it normally takes a while, like, _ beam? i was. it normally takes a while, like, weeks _ beam? i was. it normally takes a while, like, weeks or- beam? i was. it normally takes a while, like, weeks or months| a while, like, weeks or months for the twisties to go away. so for the twisties to go away. so for her to figure out a return that works better in such a short amount of time, i'm very hopeful about it, but i am still surprised.— hopeful about it, but i am still surprised. what work do ou still surprised. what work do you think _ still surprised. what work do you think she _ still surprised. what work do you think she was _ still surprised. what work do you think she was doing - still surprised. what work do you think she was doing over the week? you know, to try and feel ready and prepared? we have been hearing out of it can be for a gymnast to work through an issue like this. yeah, it takes a long time. what she has been doing is, she has been going to a local gym that has a pit, or a resi pit,

a soft space you can landing, and trying her skills. it is a practice gym, and a venue only has a hard surface to work out of. but it's really dangerous when you are working out of something like this, where you don't know where the ground is and you are getting lost in the air. i think she has been able to work through the issues are not in a safe place that she is willing to try this now on the hard surface. we willing to try this now on the hard surface.— willing to try this now on the hard surface. we have seen her in the arena _ hard surface. we have seen her in the arena all _ hard surface. we have seen her in the arena all week— hard surface. we have seen her in the arena all week cheering l in the arena all week cheering on her teammates, no date they will be such vocal supporters of her a little bit later. how much do you think about team bonding will help? i much do you think about team bonding will help?— bonding will help? i think it has been — bonding will help? i think it has been really _ bonding will help? i think it has been really great, - bonding will help? i think it has been really great, and l bonding will help? i think it i has been really great, and the team has really had to bond because she has not been there. so they have still one team silver, we have to olympic champions, and it has been really great to see simone there but also great to see the team really showing up and doing what they are capable of, even though simone is in the

stands. ~ ., even though simone is in the stands. . , ., , . stands. what should we expect from simone _ stands. what should we expect from simone in _ stands. what should we expect from simone in this _ stands. what should we expect from simone in this final? - stands. what should we expect from simone in this final? i - from simone in this final? i know that previously to these olympics we were used to seeing her just turn olympics we were used to seeing herjust turn up and dominate, you know, with ease. will it be different?— different? yeah, i mean, it will be a — different? yeah, i mean, it will be a bit— different? yeah, i mean, it will be a bit different - different? yeah, i mean, it i will be a bit different because she was planning on doing a six five faculty score, but now she has had to downgrade that. her teammate, michaela skinner, who won the silver on vault, said that she is working on a double pipe dismount, so that's easier than what she normally does. it'll take her difficulty down to a 63. the raining, i should say the reigning beam champion here at this meet so far, he qualified in first place, is gwan chenchen, she has a 69 difficulty on beam stop lisa said she is the reason she won the olympic medal. from simone we will see a bit lower

difficulty level but as ownership of the connections together, beam is about connecting your dance and your acrobatics together, that is about how you get your difficulty and bonus score. as long as she does that she will do really well, i think.- do really well, i think. lovely to net do really well, i think. lovely to get your — do really well, i think. lovely to get your thoughts - do really well, i think. lovely to get your thoughts on - do really well, i think. lovely to get your thoughts on that, jessica. that was jessica o'bern jessica. that wasjessica o'bern speaking to us, jessica. that was jessica o'bern speaking to us, host of the gymcastic podcaster, and a former gymnast herself. everybody will be watching simone biles later, but right now the attention is turning to the men's hurdles finalsjust moments away. they are getting ready down on the track. let's take a look at what else day 11 has in store for us. in athletics, the women's 200m and 800m track finals are coming up in the evening session. 100m champion elaine thompson herah going for the double, shelly ann fraser price also going. the first boxing medals will be handed out today, with the men's welterweight division and the women's featherweight coming up.

in the velodrome, it could be a good day for britain's golden couple laura and jason kenny. laura kenny has won the team pursuit at two olympics in a row. and jason kenny has won the team sprint at every games since beijing 2008. and another event makes its olympic debut — sports climbing, which promises to be one of the toughest gold medals to win in tokyo so, lots to look forward to today, rich. let's ta ke let's take a look at the metal table. this is how it is shaping up early on day 11. you will be able to see that the united states has the most overall medals, with 64 all up, but it is china that has more gold medals, with a whopping 29 of those. interesting to know, one interesting note as we look ahead to sport climbing, we have seen other sports with

surfing and skateboarding here at the olympics, the ioc have actually said that five of the most viewed events, five out of the most top ten, have been those new sports. it shows the ioc have wanted to show sports like this to bring younger audiences into protect the future of the olympic games, and it is certainly working with the interest proving to be there. ., , with the interest proving to be there. . , , , ., there. certainly plenty to look forward to _ there. certainly plenty to look forward to in _ there. certainly plenty to look forward to in the _ there. certainly plenty to look forward to in the day - there. certainly plenty to look forward to in the day ahead. l forward to in the day ahead. thanks forjoining us. let's get some of the day's other news. the uk and iran have summoned each other�*s diplomats, in a row over last week's deadly attack on an oil tanker, off the coast of oman. the uk, us and israel blame iran for the attack, in which two crew members — a briton and a romanian — were killed. iran says it had nothing to do with the incident. huge wildfires are burning for a sixth day in turkey, threatening villages and resorts in tourist regions along its southern coasts. eight people have died in the worst blazes in the country in a decade. help has come from azerbaijan, iran, russia, ukraine and the eu. over 100 fires are burning.

all but 10 have been brought under control. an investigation into brazil's president, jair bolsonaro, is to go ahead. the country's top electoral court will examine his statements claiming that there will be fraud in next year's elections. the president, who is expected to seek a second term in 2022, has repeatedly claimed that brazil's electronic voting system is vulnerable to fraud. critics say his unfounded claims are sowing doubts to pave the way for him to deny defeat. palestinian families facing eviction from their homes in a neighbourhood in east jerusalem say they will reject a suggestion that they rent their properties from a jewish settler organisation. the possible compromise, whereby the palestinians can continue to live in sheikh jarrah as protected tenants, was heard by the israeli supreme court. but the palestinian families say they wanted recognition of their ownership of the properties. the issue of sheikh jarrah

contributed to the conflict between israel and hamas in may. nihad awad is a palestinian—american and executive director of the council on american—islamic relations, a muslim civil rights organisation, in washington and hejoins me now. thank you very much for being with us. the supreme court says they have offered a fair compromise. what is your take on that? . , on that? so, rich, i believe this is a _ on that? so, rich, i believe this is a very _ on that? so, rich, i believe this is a very simple - on that? so, rich, i believe this is a very simple issue. | on that? so, rich, i believel this is a very simple issue. it is not complicated. thejust explain it to your viewers. imagine you, richard preston, if somebody shows up at your door any time, if somebody shows up at your doorany time, unexpectedly, door any time, unexpectedly, and doorany time, unexpectedly, and says to you, hey, i am coming from new york, my name, for example, is david goodman, and i would like to take over your home, and obviously you will say no, you can't. and he will say no, you can't. and he will take you to court, to a

jewish court. you may not be able to speak hebrew. and the jewish court will say, ok, there is a compromise. if you want to stay at your own home, you have to pay rent for this new york settler who is coming to your place to claim it is theirs. and obviously you would say, what do you mean a compromise? it is my own! i have been living here! and arguing that god gave david goodman the right thousands of years ago and he is coming after 2000 years doesn't make any since —— sense. and this is exactly what the israeli supreme court has ruled today. it is a system that is built on an apartheid like system that gives an advantage and privilege for dues of the palestinians just because palestinians just because palestinians do not believe in the fate ofjudaism and they are notjewish. ——jews.

the fate ofjudaism and they are not jewish. -- jews. this focuses _ are not jewish. -- jews. this focuses on — are not jewish. -- jews. this focuses on 4 _ are not jewish. -- jews. this focuses on 4 families - are not jewish. -- jews. this focuses on 4 families in - focuses on 4 families in particular. what are those families going to do in the meantime?— families going to do in the meantime? w , , ., meantime? exactly. they are in shock that _ meantime? exactly. they are in shock that they _ meantime? exactly. they are in shock that they have _ meantime? exactly. they are in shock that they have been - shock that they have been there, they have been displaced already in 1948 from another village, and they ended up in eastjerusalem. eastjerusalem, east jerusalem. east jerusalem, for your information, eastjerusalem. eastjerusalem, for your information, is under international law, and the geneva conventions, it is in occupied territory since 1967. and the occupying power, israel, is not allowed, it is prohibited from allowing its citizens or taking its citizens to live on occupied land. the residents of sheikh jarrah are calling on people of conscience, whether in the supreme court or around the world, to put the necessary pressure on the state of israel to treat palestinians with equal dignity and respect and

give them protection, notjust a protected status, so that they become protected tenants in their own homes to pay rent for aliens who claimed that god gave them the right. it is as simple as that. so you can imagine the agony, the anxiety of the sheikh jarrah families who are living through. and by the way, this is the daily occurrence of what is happening to palestinians since 1973. we call it the nakbah, catastrophe, but it has been applied against the palestinian population, whether in israel proper, in the occupied territories of the west bank, orjerusalem, palestinians, because they are notjews, they suffer discrimination on a daily basis. the episode you see today in sheikh jarrah is a microcosm of this suffering that has not been paid attention to, including by our own government in the united states. .,

own government in the united states. . ~ ., ., states. niwad awad from the council on — states. niwad awad from the council on israeli _ states. niwad awad from the council on israeli american . council on israeli american relations, thank you for joining us. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we meet the couple that tries to complete every one of the 96 olympic events, all in the name of charity. the question was whether we wanted to save our people — and japanese as well — and win the war or whether we wanted to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at two o'clock this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly- caught by surprise. we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigour, vitality and enjoyment of life — no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she has achieved this landmark anniversary.

this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: an olympic sprinter from belarus who was ordered home is granted a humanitarian visa by poland, after taking refuge at its embassy in tokyo. 26 gold medals up for grabs on day 11 of the tokyo olympics — which will see the return to competition of us gymnast simone biles. fighting in a major city in afghanistan has been intensifying. there are fears lashkar gah in the southern helmand province could be the first provincial capital to fall to the taliban. a tv station there is reported

to have been seized by the militants, and thousands of people have been fleeing rural areas. the uk and us say the taliban may have commited war crimes. the taliban say those accusations are baseless. ramzan karmali has the details. gunfire. firing on the city of herat, just one of the three provincial capitals coming under fire by the taliban. in kandahar in the south, thousands have been forced to flee, and in lashkar gah in helmand province, the taliban are reported to have seized a local tv station. over the last few months, the taliban have taken over large parts of the countryside, but in recent days fighting has been taking place on the outskirts of the capital kabul. the president of afghanistan is clear who is to blame for the increase in violence. translation: the reason

for our current situation i is that the decision to withdraw was taken abruptly. i told the president of the united states that i respected his decision but i knew it would have some consequences. president ghani said that there was a plan to regain control, but that is giving little comfort to the many who find themselves close to the violence. translation: for me as a herati and a lady, j this war is worrying. the the situation in the city of herat has changed these days and people are scared. there are no women in herat. this is not a good situation and women who usually work in government offices are not going to work. artillery. although nearly all of its military forces have left, the us has continued its air offensive in support of afghan government troops. strikes targeting lashkar gah continued late on monday. the biden administration condemned the actions of the taliban. we've seen the reports of atrocities being committed by the taliban in various places where they are

on the offensive. and these reports are deeply disturbing and totally unacceptable. helmand was the centrepiece of the us and british military campaign, but if lashkar gah were to fall, it would be the first provincial capital won by the taliban in five years and would be a bitter blow to the afghan government. ramzan karmali, bbc news. well, earlier i spoke to michael kugelman, who's deputy director of the asia program and senior associate for south asia at the wilson center, i asked whether he felt the afghan forces were strong enough to repel the taliban attack. unfortunately it will be very difficult. the fact that us air power is about to be removed from the battlefield equation with the withdrawal coming, that means that the afghan air force

is going to have to step up and be providing a very important role security helping ground forces and trying to push taliban fighters out of cities. for many years, one of the many reasons why the taliban has not been able to seize cities is that afghan forces have been able to depend on assistance from nato air power to push them out but now it is going to be a lot different and i do fear that it, we could see a few major cities in afghanistan fall in the coming weeks and the coming months and this is a game changer. for the taliban to be entering cities is a game changer because for many years has been a puddles, in rural areas, but the afghan government maintains control of the cities but we are starting to see that stalemate could be shattered. is there any chance the us will provide additional military support on the ground as well as air force? i think it is unlikely. as was noted, there have been us air strikes, even as us forces are leaving.

but that will end. once the us withdrawal is complete, there won't be any more us airstrikes to assist afghan air forces. instead it will shift to airstrikes or activities, potential activities that are meant to target al-qaeda and isis. that will be the main focus of any us military activities in afghanistan after the withdrawal is completed so unfortunately afghan forces will not be able to count on us forces in fighting the counterinsurgency, especially after the withdrawal is completed in a few weeks. and if the taliban continue to take ground, what risks does it pose for the wider region? well, absolutely. the more violence there is, the more unrest there is and of course the more control, the more the taliban control districts around the country and territory

around the country, there will be impacts. they will be spillover and militant groups elsewhere in the region. especially in iran, they will be emboldened and will replicate the type of thing the taliban in afghanistan has been doing. this is a big concern particularly for pakistan because of the presence of another taliban, the pakistani taliban. it has been degraded in recent years and has been making a comeback. there is reason to fear the pakistani taliban which targets the pakistani state and has been stepping up attacks, this is a group you really have to look out for, that will try to ramp up attacks. it really is a volatile and troubling moment. now, while the games in tokyo are reserved for athletes at the pinnacle of their sport, one couple from oxfordshire in england are aiming

for a gold for effort, if not achievement. they're trying to complete every one of the 96 events in 17 days, most of which they've never tried before. they're doing it all to raise money for a charity close to their hearts. andrew plant has the story. go! they've gone from cycling to synchronised swimming, tried their hands at taekwondo. in fact, they're not missing out a single olympic sport. it was trampolining today, then triathlon tomorrow. their olympic timetable has almost 50 sports, most of which, they've never even tried until now. what's been the hardest one for you so far? this! and bouncing with a back injury isn't helping. have you ever been on a trampoline before? this is my second time ever, and i'm pretty confident to say it will be my second and last. so, we absolutely hated the 50k walk. it was really hard. and i did not like the windsurfing because i have a massive fish phobia and it was on a fishing lake,

and it was alljust very traumatic. and i've absolutely loved trampolining, that was brilliant, loved the rowing. there are so many things that have been great fun. it's all in the race for donations for the motor neurone disease association. the charity which supported stuart's brother spencer, who passed away from the illness. he was 49, he had two boys who were four and seven who he loved unconditionally, as all dads do. he wanted his legacy to be that we would keep raising money and awareness, and we will do that. 60 events down. still more than 30 to go. tomorrow, they'll also take on the 100 metres. aiming fora time under 20 seconds. congratulations. thank you. so, no world records being broken, but they've already won the silver and gold for effort. andrew plant, bbc news.

and best of luck to them. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @richpreston. hello. sunny spells aplenty on tuesday, but there'll be showers around, too. and in fact it's going to stay quite showery for the rest of the week, and, if anything, it'll turn even more unsettled towards the end of the week. now, thejet stream's not on our side. we're on the cool side of the jet. the jet stream separates the cool air from the north and the warm air to the south, and it also sends weather systems in our direction. so, actually much of western and central europe is feeling the effects of that cool air. you can see the yellows there, whereas the hot air is in place across the balkans, greece, turkey and into russia. in excess of 40 degrees there. obviously not for us, not that we'd want it anyway. but this is what it looks like early in the morning on tuesday. a lot of clear weather, sunshine right from the word

go, but quite nippy in the morning in some places. around five degrees in rural spots. so, the weather map for tuesday shows that we're in between weather systems. more weather systems out in the atlantic heading our way, but in between means that we'll see those scattered showers here and there. very light winds as well. now, watch where the showers form, some across the south almost along these distinct lines here. elsewhere, a lot of sunshine around, but if you're caught underneath that area of showers, it could be very, very wet, thunder and lightning as well. but like i say, fine sunny weather for the majority of the uk, and temperatures getting up to around 20 or so. now, the showers could linger into the evening hours for some of us on tuesday. here's a look at wednesday's weather map, and there's a weak weather front approaching from the west. it'll bring some

showers to parts of northern ireland, scotland, too, and there'll be one or two showers breaking out elsewhere. but once again, plenty of sunny spells, so it's really sort of all or nothing really over the next few days. temperatures could get up to around 22 whether you're in the south or the north. now, towards the end of the week, so here's thursday and friday, a low pressure is sitting on top of us. that inevitably means strengthening winds. they could be quite strong and gusty in the south of the country, and they will bring quite changeable weather. so, frequent showers on the way. now, you can see the outlook, really not much changes overall for the foreseeable future. that's it from me. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the belarusian olympic athlete krystina timanovskaya has been granted a humanitarian visa by poland. she sought help from police at tokyo airport on saturday as belarusian officials tried to force her onto a plane home, after she criticised the team's coaches on social media. the american gymnast simone biles will compete in the beam final, after pulling out of previous events at tokyo 2020. it'll be herfinal chance of an individual medal. a total of 26 medals are up for grabs on day eleven of the games. palestinian families facing eviction from their homes in a neighbourhood in eastjerusalem say they will reject a suggestion by the supreme court of israel that they rent their properties from a jewish settler organisation. they were appealing against a lower court ruling and demand recognition of their rights to the properties.

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