welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines — trapped among blasts and street battles — the fight to drive the taliban from afghan cities sparks fears of a humanitarian crisis. translation: we feel very bad. we can hear the gunfire, and just now a bullet hit the truck of a tank. we completely evacuated this area. we have nothing left, and we do not know where to go. president biden says hong kong residents in the us will be granted temporary safe haven as he criticises china's behaviour in the territory. one of the world's great footballers, lionel messi, is leaving barcelona, the club he's been at all his life.

i am sarah mulkerrins live tokyo on day 14, where steven gardiner won 400—metre gold to secure the bahamas' first medal of the games. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. it's 6am in the morning here in singapore and 2:30am in the morning across afghanistan, where the government is mobilizing its forces to try to repel taliban fighters as they move in on several big cities. this map shows you some of the key areas of the fighting — in kandahar, herat and lashkar gah. this is the situation earlier on thursday in herat, with taliban fighters reportedly moving at will in much of the city.

here are the thoughts of some of the residents. translation: the situation is tough. our houses have all been destroyed. people have all fled. there are eight or nine taliban on the roof of our house. if the security force hit there, everything will be destroyed. then where should we go? translation: we feel very bad. our house is in the in the basin area. right now, the taliban came into the area from came into the area from another place. we can hear the gunfire, and just now a bullet hit the truck of a tank. we completely evacuated this area. we have nothing left, and we do not know where to go. there is also fierce fighting in laskhar gah in helmand province, traditionally a stronghold of the taliban. these are members of the afghan army there who've been warning residents to stay away or leave. locals have reported dead bodies in the streets and scarce

supplies of food and water. earlier on bbc news, we spoke to bilal sarwary, an afghan journalist based in kabul. here he is on the latest on the battle for lashkar gah. well, we know that the afghan special forces have tried - their operations in lashkar gah, - but we have to remember the fighting is in the centre of the city. it's a city ofi million people. the taliban have managed to take control of the local _ bazaar as well as shops. speaking to me, a member- of parliament from helmand told me that people needed food and water, that there was no power— and that the taliban _ were using civilian homes by digging walls going from home to home. he said the government was doing the same. i so, it's an incredibly painful and difficult situation - for women and children. we know about shelling, i we know about air strikes, intense ones in the city. so, this will be not. an easy operation for

the afghan special forces. kabul has dispatched its most senior special forces general along - with the elite forces. the thoughts of afghan journalist bilal sarwary. the afghan government says that more than two dozen taliban fighters were killed around lashkar gah on thursday. and the us has been carrying out air strikes in support of afghan special forces, while in some places, afghan warlords have mobilized their own militias to defend their local territory. it's clear the situation is highly volatile, and we'll keep you up to date with all the developments. and you can find more on this story on our website, including a look at where the taliban has been advancing. just log on to bbc.com/news or take a look on the bbc app. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the footballer lionel messi is to leave barcelona after the club announced it was unable to offer him

a new contract which satisfied both sides. barcelona has been stuggling financially and has to reduce its budget in line with spanish league rules. it means messi, seen by many as the world's best player, can join another club for free if they can satisfy his wage demands. he wants to stay but the club is said to him today we cannot afford this. we don't have the money to sign you, the new league rules won't allow it, so sorry, but goodbye. iran's new president, ebrahim raisi, has been sworn into office following his election victory injune. mr raisi is an ultra—conservative and is close to iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei. in the uk, the government has defended changes to the traffic light travel system as an airline has scheduled extra flights to return britons from red—listed mexico. the country has just been moved to that part of the list. it means those returning to the uk will have to quarantine in a designated hotel

at their own expense. still to come a bit later in the programme, we'll have all the latest from tokyo as the olympics enters its last few days. but first — president biden has announced that hong kong residents who are currently in the united states will be granted a temporary safe haven. they'll be allowed to stay for 18 months and find work. in a statement, the american president said china had continued what he called an "assault" on hong kong's autonomy and had undermined its remaining freedoms. he warned that his administration would not "stand idly by" as china "broke its promises". white house press secretary jen psaki explained the motivation behind the decision. in reaction to the steps that have been taken by the prc to crack down

on human rights and frankly make it a place where hong kong's autonomy and the freedoms of people in hong kong are undermined. barbara plett usher is following developments for us. good to have you on the programme, barbara. i want to ask you for this comes against the backdrop... comes against the backdrop of the huawei extradition case we were talking to you about yesterday, adding more pressure to us—china tensions ahead of a planned visit by vice president kamala harris to asia in a few weeks? what is the impact going to be on the relationship between the us and china? ~ . ., , ., china? well, it will certainly add to the pressure _ china? well, it will certainly add to the pressure on _ china? well, it will certainly add to the pressure on the _ china? well, it will certainly add to the pressure on the us- - china? well, it will certainly add | to the pressure on the us- china to the pressure on the us— china relationship, all those things you mentioned, but also hong kong is one of the _ mentioned, but also hong kong is one of the big _ mentioned, but also hong kong is one of the big sources of tension since china _ of the big sources of tension since china imposed that sweeping national security— china imposed that sweeping national security law last year. and the by the administration had already responded to it, to what it called the erosion of the rule of law and the territory. and just last month, it's a _ the territory. and just last month, it's a lot _ the territory. and just last month, it's a lot more sanctions on chinese officials _ it's a lot more sanctions on chinese officials in — it's a lot more sanctions on chinese officials in hong kong and it warned

us companies about the growing risks of doing _ us companies about the growing risks of doing business in hong kong. and that realty— of doing business in hong kong. and that really angered beijing, the chinese — that really angered beijing, the chinese form said this was an attempt — chinese form said this was an attempt to smear the business environment in hong kong and it put its own_ environment in hong kong and it put its own sanctions us officials and organisations and more broadly it says of— organisations and more broadly it says of the — organisations and more broadly it says of the us is trying to demonise it. says of the us is trying to demonise it so _ says of the us is trying to demonise it so that— says of the us is trying to demonise it so that is— says of the us is trying to demonise it. so that is the context of this latest _ it. so that is the context of this latest step on hong kong and as you said it _ latest step on hong kong and as you said it does — latest step on hong kong and as you said it does give hong kong residents who are currently in the us the _ residents who are currently in the us the ability to stay here for an extra _ us the ability to stay here for an extra 18 — us the ability to stay here for an extra 18 months if they are afraid to go— extra 18 months if they are afraid to go back — extra 18 months if they are afraid to go back. so that means people like students and tourists anyone on a temporary visa, and is a temporary measure _ a temporary visa, and is a temporary measure but — a temporary visa, and is a temporary measure but it can be extended indefinitely in the buy demonstration has called it a safe haven _ demonstration has called it a safe haven move. and i think the language of the _ haven move. and i think the language of the announcement in particular is what would — of the announcement in particular is what would really angered china. we president _ what would really angered china. we president bonnett they're talking about— president bonnett they're talking about the ongoing repression by china, _ about the ongoing repression by china, the — about the ongoing repression by china, the assault on hong kong possum — china, the assault on hong kong possum economy and his or her theory of state _ possum economy and his or her theory of state anthony lincoln said that china _ of state anthony lincoln said that china had — of state anthony lincoln said that china had fundamentally altered the

bedrock— china had fundamentally altered the bedrock of the hong kong institutions this is very strong language. with the chinese continue to say— language. with the chinese continue to say can _ language. with the chinese continue to say can continue to insist his interference in their internal affairs — interference in their internal affairs of— interference in their internal affairs of this will add to those tehsiohs _ affairs of this will add to those tensions. �* ., ,., ., y�* affairs of this will add to those tensions. 1, ,., ., j ., affairs of this will add to those tensions. ., j ., ., tensions. barbara, they're on that sto , for tensions. barbara, they're on that story. for us- _ the belarusian athlete krystina timanovskaya says she's "happy to be in safety" in poland, after arriving in the country from tokyo. she'd been competing in the olympics when coaches forced her to pack her bags and tried to put her on a flight back to belarus. our correspondent bethany bell has been talking to her. tired, but happy to be safe in poland. krystina timanovskaya arrived in warsaw from japan via vienna last night. the belarusian athlete has been given a polish humanitarian visa after fears for her safety. while she was at the olympic games in tokyo, the sprinter criticised her coaches on instagram when they entered her into a race without her knowledge.

her coaches threatened her with problems at home unless she left japan immediately. they also come to my room and they say that i have no chance to run 200 metres and i should come back to home and it's not their decision, it's theirjobs to do it. and when i pick out my clothes and go to the car, my grandmother, she calls me and she says, "you can't come back to home because on the tv, they say a lot of bad words about you." today, the ioc says it's still waiting to speak to belarusian team officials. speaking to the bbc, krystina says she now regrets her emotional tone, but not her action. now it's so dangerous for me. i don't know when i can come back to home. i love my country, so i wanted to come back to home. belarus is ruled by president alexander lukashenko, the man often described as europe's last dictator. the opposition politician pavel latushko says krystina

is one of many belarusians to suffer repression. she's only one example of this level of repression in belarus. more than 40,000 belarusian people during last year were arrested on political reasons. krystina says she's not political and hasn't taken part in anti—government protests. it's been a tumultuous few days for krystina. her life has been turned upside down, and she can't go home. she says she wants to continue her sporting career here in poland, but most of all, right now she says she wants to run. krystina's husband fled to ukraine and is now on his way tojoin her in poland. her parents are still back at home in belarus. no—one knows when they'll be able to meet again. bethany bell, bbc news, warsaw.

now let's get an update from the olympics in tokyo, and it's day 1a, which means there's only a few days of competition left before the big closing ceremony. china will look hold on to finish on top of the medal tally. they lead the way with 3a golds ahead of the us with 29. and the hosts japan are in third. let's get an update on all the action. we can now cross live to tokyo with sarah mulkerrins, who is there for us. and what should we be looking forward to today on day 14? i think he will be all eyes on the track a little bit later because we have the american runner allison felix going for an unprecedented tenth olympic medal. she has won six gold already. she is going to go in the 400 metres. the bahamas runner will be up against her and is a defending champion but there is some

injury concerns for her. and also in the 1500 metres on the track, we are going to have the dutch runner in that. she has already won gold in the 5000 metres. she is going for gold in the 1500 metres, and she is also entered into the 10,000 metres will set that's an unprecedented travel that she is going for so that is the action on the track and then we have had one shift in the schedule because the women's football final between sweden and canada was due to be played here at 11am local time. however because of the heat, the organisers have moved that into the evening to 9pm local time and as you can see there, the usa, they won the bronze medal match against australia yesterday. i against australia yesterday. i know ou've against australia yesterday. i know you've been _ against australia yesterday. i know you've been battling _ against australia yesterday. i know you've been battling the _ against australia yesterday. i know you've been battling the heat - against australia yesterday. i know you've been battling the heat for l against australia yesterday. i know| you've been battling the heat for us out there but this is your last news date with us. i have been dying to ask you the whole time that you have been there what had been the highlights for you covering this for

us? �* ., ., ., ., us? i'm going to go with ireland firstlyjust _ us? i'm going to go with ireland firstlyjust because _ us? i'm going to go with ireland firstlyjust because i _ us? i'm going to go with ireland firstlyjust because i can. - us? i'm going to go with ireland firstlyjust because i can. if- us? i'm going to go with ireland firstly just because i can. if the | firstlyjust because i can. if the olympics. they had a brilliant gold. we had a brilliant gold medal in the railing. there is such a great success in such great characters. paul o'donovan and fenton mccarthy. all alone with his brother gary won silver in rio and they gave some great interviews five years ago and they have really encouraged really to become a sport in ireland. they have developed this pathway and success and we have had so many more people to get the sport so it's great to see that translate. another thing i have loved seeing are the mixed relays that we have seen in triathlon and swimming and in the track with the four by 400 m mixed relay. but ijust think it's brilliant when the best men in the mess women can come together in their sport and compete and ijust think it kind of encourages something a little bit more in keeping with the times that we are in and it's great to see them team up, be together and in and it's great to see them team up, be togetherand i in and it's great to see them team up, be together and i think that something that is really reciting

the people around the world as well. i knew it was going to be ireland and for our viewers, don't worry, it was to have a couple of hours left of sarah on newsday so most of the last you will see of her today. sarah there in tokyo for us. if you want to get in touch with me... if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter, @bbckarishma. i'm looking forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme, a watershed moment? we look at how japan views its growing multiethnic population and their role in japanese society. 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 i 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's 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 newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines — trapped among blasts and street battles — the fight to drive the taliban from afghan cities sparks fears

of a humanitarian crisis. president biden says hong kong residents in the us will be granted temporary safe haven as he criticises china's behaviour in the territory. two weeks ago, japan opened the tokyo olympics with a ceremony which featured two mixed—race japanese athletes in very high—profile roles — nba basketball star rui hachimura and tennis champion naomi osaka. in the days since, there has been intense debate over whether this could be a watershed moment in the way japan views its growing multi—ethnic population. from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. it was the crowning moment of the opening ceremony and a big surprise. two of japan's most famous mixed—race athletes given the honour of leading the team and lighting the cauldron. but in the two weeks since,

naomi osaka in particular has been targeted with online abuse, with some questioning whether she's really japanese. it's something arianna morimoto knows as well. back in 2016, she also caused shock here, becoming the first mixed—race women to be crowned miss universe japan. watching the olympic opening ceremony, arianna says she was pretty sceptical. translation: i don't know why they were chosen. - it seems like it was to get good publicity. japan has a lot of mixed—race celebrities and sports stars. biracial people are often held up as being more beautiful, even more intelligent. but arianna says within that, there is still a hierarchy. translation: half-white people are greatly celebrated in japan, . but when it comes to half—black people, it's different.

when i was working as a model, i was told that a lot of japanese wouldn't want the clothes that i wear because my skin colour is very different. so they wouldn't allow me to model their outfits. i kind of look at japan as a... mr mcneil is a writer who has lived injapan for 17 years. he says naomi osaka lighting the olympic cauldron will not change the fact that most japanese still think this is a mono—ethnic society. so, first thing japan would need to do is disperse with that rumour, with that fallacy that they're a homogenous country. it's a misconception, and the fact that they haven't been correcting it is feeding this negativity, the response to naomi osaka and rui hachimura and all these people, because most japanese people don't understand this basic fact, that their country is not homogenous. biracial people are not the only ones who face exclusion and discrimination in japan.

in the southern okinawan islands, there are nearly 1.5 million people who are not even recognised as an official minority despite having their own culture and language. in the far north, there are more people, and then injapan�*s big cities like here, there is the group that perhaps faces the greatest hostility, and those are ethnic koreans. they never mentioned the ethnic koreans in the opening _ ceremony, so where we are... where are we, i mean? his korean grandparents were brought here over 80 years ago. he has never known another home. but that fact means little to japan's right—wing nationalists. mostly, they say, ok, i you are utilising japan, so you guys are taking - all the resources from japanese people, so you should go home. it doesn't matter, like, _ which passport you are, for them, the origin is very important. those who yearn for a more inclusive japan look at the opening ceremony

and wonder whether it really was a sign this country is changing or a pretence, an attempt to make japan look more open than it really is. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. the pandemic has meant that all olympians have faced challenges on their route to tokyo for the games, but one singaporean rower hasjuggled more than most. joan poh was working as a nurse in a singaporean hospital whilst also training for the games. she's been telling me about the challenges of preparing for the biggest competition of her life while also being on the front—line in the fight against the pandemic. training, like, was only ever in an allocated time spot, and you know, it would be like trying to have a very rushed dinner and trying to make sure that i get home as quick as i can before, like, 9:30pm hopefully, and because the next day i have

to get up at 5am again to repeat this. yeah, that sounds absolutely exhausting. how do you think you manage to pull it off? i think it was the drive, me wanting to finish something that i started, and then wanting to prove to myself if i could be olympic material. like, of course, the olympics is different for different people. like, for me, it was a lot of overcoming to get there. like, i was not placed in a system like a conveyor belt system where the country's infrastructure and support would naturally make a world champion or an olympian. like here in singapore, rowing is quite lesser—known and lesser developed, so it was a lot of me trying to gather different various resources and trying to make it work for myself. granted, you know, there was also no predecessor, like, to seek guidance from or coaches, experienced coaches to seek guidance from.

no teams to train side by side, so it was trying to put all of these things together and still trying as hard as i can, like, to get a ticket to the olympics. both the nursing as well as training, and then competing in the olympics. how tough do you need to be, do you think? unless you are doing it or you've been through it, it's very hard to describe it to another person. like, so, you know, the body's natural instinct is to not to want to be subjected to pain and discomfort, right? all of us like to be chilling on a beach chair or, like, comfortable, you know? but it's always like a mental battle in your head, how hard do i go? when you experience pain, how hard do you push? and when you're racing, it's like exposing all the skeletons there is in the cabinet. let's go back to the olympics now and talk to mariko oi, who's

in tokyo for us. today marks the day the us dropped the atomic bomb on hiroshima, and there's been some controversy around the ioc not allowing a minute silence? indeed. it happened at 8:15am local time exactly 76 years ago and thomas bock actually visited hiroshima before — bock actually visited hiroshima before the games started and lawmakers and residents asking whether— lawmakers and residents asking whether the ioc could cause a competition for one minute of silence — competition for one minute of silence to _ competition for one minute of silence to pay respect to those who died because of that bomb. now the ioc died because of that bomb. now the ioc has— died because of that bomb. now the ioc has decided to decline that request, — ioc has decided to decline that request, which has prompted an online _ request, which has prompted an online petition which has been gathering tens of thousands of integers, but as far as i can tell the ioc— integers, but as far as i can tell the ioc will continue the games without— the ioc will continue the games without that move —— moment of silence _ without that move —— moment of silence which of course as you can imagine _ silence which of course as you can imagine has— silence which of course as you can imagine has caused quite a bit of his woman — imagine has caused quite a bit of his woman among the japanese public because _ his woman among the japanese public because of— his woman among the japanese public because of what the olympics are

supposed — because of what the olympics are supposed to symbolise. absolutely. was a hugely _ supposed to symbolise. absolutely. was a hugely important _ supposed to symbolise. absolutely. was a hugely important moment. supposed to symbolise. absolutely. | was a hugely important moment for japan. it is also sadly the last day that we have you on newsday and it is pretty clear you have been having a great time. i know about the olympic nails that you had done for as of the manicure that you had done while you were there. you have to show the audience.— show the audience. that's right. i was asked — show the audience. that's right. i was asked my _ show the audience. that's right. i was asked my favourite _ show the audience. that's right. i was asked my favourite momentl show the audience. that's right. i i was asked my favourite moment and show the audience. that's right. i - was asked my favourite moment and i could _ was asked my favourite moment and i could not— was asked my favourite moment and i could not choose betweenjudo, swimming, skateboarding that we talked _ swimming, skateboarding that we talked about yesterday some i decided — talked about yesterday some i decided to show off my olympic nails as i decided to show off my olympic nails as i said _ decided to show off my olympic nails as i said i_ decided to show off my olympic nails as i said i got my first one done in singapore — as i said i got my first one done in singapore with the five colours of the elliptic rings. and then i got them _ the elliptic rings. and then i got them redone while i was in tokyo when _ them redone while i was in tokyo when i _ them redone while i was in tokyo when i had — them redone while i was in tokyo when i had a day off, so i have got two of— when i had a day off, so i have got two of them... i when i had a day off, so i have got two of them. . ._ two of them. .. i have to jump in two of them. .. i have to “ump in there than i two of them. .. i have to “ump in there that's all h two of them. .. i have to “ump in there that's all we have _ two of them. .. i have to jump in there that's all we have time - two of them. .. i have to jump in there that's all we have time forj there that's all we have time for the programme today although i know the audience really wants to know all about your olympic nails in the next edition and we will make sure to do that. that is it for newsday.

thank you so much forjoining us. hello. lots of talk about heavy showers in this forecast, but it is important to point out it won't be raining all the time. there will be some drier, sunnier moments, to, but, yes, some areas on friday will be dealing with heavy, even intense thundery downpours, particularly across northern parts of the uk. whereas further south, there'll still be some heavy showers to contend with, but they'll tend to move through more quickly. more in the way of sunshine, more of the day dry compared with to the north, because to the southern flank of this area of low pressure which has come in, the winds are strongest, so the showers move through more quickly. but if you're close to the centre of this area of low pressure — that's really across scotland, northern ireland, northern england, north wales, too — the showers just hang around for longer, the rain totals mount and these intense downpours could well caause some flooding and some disruption in some spots. parts of eastern scotland

will be dealing with more persistent rain here. again, rain totals mounting with a risk of flooding. still some sunny spells in between the heavy showers, but with the stronger winds across south wales and southern england — these are average speeds, maybe gusting 40—45 mph — the showers will tend to move through more quickly. and there may be some places that avoid them altogether, and more in a way of sunshine to end the day here as well. up to around 22 in east anglia. most places not getting that high. you can see the swirl of winds and the circulation of the showers around this area of low pressure continuing, then, on through friday night and into saturday morning. temperatures holding up into the mid to low teens. nothing really changes on saturday. for the bulk of the uk, there'll be some sunshine around at times, but there'll be heavy, thundery showers. looks like, though, there is a greater chance of picking up some heavy and thundery showers across southern areas compared with friday. and as for temperatures, well, some spots just creeping into the low 20s, though many won't. and then on sunday, well, the area

of low pressure's still here. it looks to be centred close to scotland. this is where there could well be the most prolonged thundery downpours, but you can see they're flaring up elsewhere across the uk. but it may well be towards south wales and southern england that we're back to a picture of fewer showers and more in the way of sunny spells. this area of low pressure looks to finally get out of the way by tuesday to allow us a couple of fine days before another area of low pressure comes in later next week.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

government forces in afghanistan claim to have pushed back a new taliban offensive on the city of herat. reports also suggest that dozens of taliban fighters have been killed in lashkar gah. president biden says hong kong residents in the us will be granted temporary safe—haven — as he criticises china's behaviour in the territory. they'll be allowed to stay for eighteen months and find work. one of the world's greatest footballers, lionel messi, is leaving barcelona, the club where he's spent his entire career. the club said �*financial and structural obstacles' had prevented a new contract deal with the argentine striker. and in the uk — fully vaccinated people returning from france will no longer need to quarantine from sunday. ministers have defended the changes to the traffic light system. they have been under intense scrutiny in recent days.