this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world with me, alice baxter. as a city in southern afghanistan falls to the taliban, the un's envoy demands the militants end their offensive we have seen a 50% increase in civilian casualties. with the certainty of many more as the cities are attacked. facing the flames, greece issues a nationwide extreme warning, as it faces its worst wildfires in decades. vaccine certificates become mandatory in italy, but restaurants are not happy and neither are some customers. and the online characters

catching people's attention, how virtual youtubers are gaining popularity and earning millions. good to have you with us. can anyone now stop the taliban from rampaging across afghanistan? in the last few hours, their escalating offensive has resulted in the capture of a provincial capital and the assassination of a close aide of the president. now, the un's special envoy has warned the country is facing a possible catastrophe and called on the taliban to halt the violence and take part in meaningful peace talks. here's what she said to the un security council earlier. there had been an expectation, when the us—taliban deal

was signed in february 2020, you will remember, that we would see a reduction of violence. we did not. there had been an expectation when the talks between the afghan republic and the taliban began in september of last year. that we would see a reduction of violence. we have not. there had been an expectation, that when international troops left, we would see a reduction of violence. we did not. instead, despite significant concessions for peace, we have seen a 50% increase, that's 50%, in civilian casualties with the certainty of many more, as the cities are attacked. our correspondent in washington, gary o'donoghue, explained what's being done there to support the

government in kabul. i think, politically, ithink, politically, here, there is not a lot of focus, frankly on afghanistan. i think it would be wrong to suggest there was, the covid—i9 pandemic congress is tied up covid—i9 pandemic congress is tied up over legislation, rows over voting rights and other issues, and there is not really a lot of focus among lawmakers, but i think the administration itself believes it is under some pressure to demonstrate that despite pulling out its troops, it has a commitment to the people of afghanistan and the government and they keep reiterating that. of course, the us government is one of the key sponsors of the inter—afghan dialogue, the talks between the taliban and the government. they say they are not prepared, the us and says they are not prepared to throw in the towel on those talks yes, but that they are trying to create some impetus, but the military realities on the ground make it less likely

the taliban really need to negotiate, if you like at this point in time. i'm joined now from new york by andrew watkins, a senior analyst specialising in afghanistan for the international crisis group. many thanks for speaking to us, mr watkins, in your opinion how significant a move is this for the taliban to size a provincial capital? thank you, alice. the seizure of the provincial capital of nimruz is quite significant, but not because it is the capital of a province, that in fact itself is something the taliban have done before in the past as early as 2015 and they have done in years since. what makes 0ssetia of nimruz so significant is that it is yet another major border crossing connecting afghanistan to the rest of its neighbours. the taliban have been seizing major border crossings for the past several months, in what

now looks like a strategy to both choke off the afghan government from the outside world, and to challenge its authority to man its own borders. �* its authority to man its own harden-— its authority to man its own borders. �* ., u, borders. and what can the un, the us and the wider — borders. and what can the un, the us and the wider international— and the wider international community realistically do to put pressure on the taliban? unfortunately, the options for the international community are limited. there are some that advocate for military pressure, but we have to remember that the war the us, nato partners, as afghan government forces have fought for only 20 years against the taliban, that has been an attempt to pressure that movements with military force. that did not prove successful. peace efforts, likewise, have hit roadblocks, as you have heard, seeing less likely every day. the best chance at this point is for consensus among regional powers and neighbouring states around afghanistan, some of whom are key

members of the un security council to in the meeting. find members of the un security council to in the meeting.— to in the meeting. and if this type of escalation _ to in the meeting. and if this type of escalation and _ to in the meeting. and if this type of escalation and defensive - of escalation and defensive continues, should the peace talks potentially be called off? it is understandable _ potentially be called off? it 3 understandable that the potentially be called off? it 1 understandable that the peace talks are somehow without value —— the net while the violence is raising across the country, but they should not be called off, even if both sides are far away from seeing a paris —— a path ahead, to end the war, there needs to be an open channel of dialogue when events on the ground do evolve and each side recesses whether or not peace in their interest. they might be something there pick up. interest. they might be something there pick um— interest. they might be something there pick up. andrew watkins from there pick up. andrew watkins from the international _ there pick up. andrew watkins from the international crisis _ there pick up. andrew watkins from the international crisis group, - there pick up. andrew watkins from the international crisis group, many thanks for your thoughts. a severe heatwave has caused a series of raging wildfires in greece, with strong winds fanning the flames.

thousands of people have been moved from their homes in the northern suburbs of athens. an extreme fire warning has been issued and the country's prime minister says greece is in the midst of an unprecedented environmental crisis. bethany bell sent this report. bethany bell is in a suburb in northwest athens and she us the latest from there. you can see the big smoke behind me over the mountain, there is a fire burning out of control on the other side of that mountain. the theory is that it is going to come over the mountain and burn this suburb of athens and you can hear the planes above, people are trying to extinguish the fire by dropping water from the sky. people have been told to evacuate this area and we have seen cars of people packing up belongings to get out of here and really, the air at the moment is full of smoke and ash and getting hard to breathe. this is of course after days of heat

here, as fires burn across athens, and people here say they do not know what to do, whether they should leave their houses or get to a place of safety, and some people just say that the government is not doing enough to contain the spread of the fires. pavlos evmorfeedes spent the whole of last night trying to rescue his family home at the town of afidnes, in east attica. he told me he went back to help his father who was fighting the flames alone. i realised he needed help and ijust made a run for it. i had to go protect my home, i knew there was not enough help that was provided from the government and there are a lot of people in danger, they had a lot of people in danger, they had a lot of people to help, and ijust really felt that i had to do my part. as soon as the danger was out of sight, for my home and my neighbours' home, iwent of sight, for my home and my

neighbours' home, i went out personally on a patrol, let's say, and just walking around the neighbourhood or driving around to other areas nearbyjust neighbourhood or driving around to other areas nearby just to neighbourhood or driving around to other areas nearbyjust to check that people were all right and the thing is, people were not ok. there were lots of people who were stranded, lots of animals that were unfortunately left behind, that i took them all in my car, in my small car and returned them back to their owners in the morning. it was stressed a very surreal situation. —— it was just a very surreal situation. neighbours' home burst right into flames right in front of you whilst they are inconsolably crying their eyes out because their livelihoods are burning away in front of them. it was tragic to say the very least. everything just became how on earth by the time it was night—time. became how on earth by the time it was night-time.— was night-time. describing it as hell on earth — was night-time. describing it as hell on earth can _ was night-time. describing it as hell on earth can we _ was night-time. describing it as hell on earth can we have - was night-time. describing it as hell on earth can we have just .

was night-time. describing it as i hell on earth can we have just been showing some of that very powerful footage that you have posted online. so where were you and your family and where are you now staying? share and where are you now staying? are ou safe? and where are you now staying? fife: you safe? yes, at and where are you now staying? six2 you safe? yes, at the moment, and says, we are staying at a hotel, in an area in the centre of athens. we are far away from danger, even though the fires are increasing, in both the degree and the severity, so the problem is farfrom over. the problem is far from over. so what lessons are you hoping can be learned from this latest devastating episode? learned from this latest devastating e - isode? ~ learned from this latest devastating eisode? i , s, episode? when it comes to the committee. — episode? when it comes to the committee. l — episode? when it comes to the committee, ithink— episode? when it comes to the committee, i think people - episode? when it comes to the committee, i think people in i episode? when it comes to the l committee, i think people in the community can be far more aware about the dangers of fires and what they can do in their own home to protect it. a lot of the fires did start because people left a lot of trash, twigs and just general rubbish that can be caught on fire,

and as far as the government is concerned, theyjust need to be a lot more organisation and preparation for summertime. time and time again, we experience the same thing, and even though we have had barely any casualties, on this occasion, in the past, we have had a lot of tragedy experience. let's look at some of the day's other news: the un's emergency relief coordinator says a ceasefire in ethiopia is a glaring necessity to allow aid deliveries into the tigray region. martin griffiths said 100 trucks of supplies a day were needed to save lives. the un estimates that more than five million people are in need of assistance. the latest jobs figures from the united states provide further evidence that its economy is recovering from the worst effects of the pandemic. more than 940,000 jobs were added injuly. president biden said it was proof

that his policies were working. police injapan have arrested a man suspected of stabbing fellow passengers on a commuter train in tokyo. at least nine people were hurt — one is said to have sustained serious injuries. violent crime is extremely rare injapan, and tight security measures are in place in the capital, as it hosts the olympic games. barcelona have announced their all—time top—scorer, lionel messi, will be leaving this summer, after failing to agree the terms of a new contract. during his time there, messi helped the team win more than 30 trophies and forged a reputation as one of the greatest players of all time. now, in italy, venues across the country are introducing an obligatory coronavirus "green pass" from today, meaning access will only be allowed with either a vaccination certificate, a negative test or proof of recovery from the virus. the measure will be extended to universities and transport next month. mark lowen reports.

a night at the opera — tickets, temperature check and, from today, the mandatory green pass — a covid vaccination certificate, negative test or proof of recovery — as italy tightens its rules, from theatres to restaurants, gyms to cafes. well, this is how it will work in practice. i come up to the venue in question... buona sera. ..present my green pass which, in my case, is a vaccination certificate. it's verified. this device doesn't save the data. i present my id card and i'm allowed to enter. it's a big change, and a big challenge, for those involved. nobody told us how to face covid, you know? so at the beginning, we were afraid, we were nervous, we were anxious. then, month by month, we solve new problem, giving new solution. and after 18 months, we built a little of self—confidence. so let's say that now, the situation

is, it is not a problem. this is another problem, regarding covid. verona's arena has already adapted to covid — fewer performers, masks and half—ca pacity. but with the green pass, the drama has now moved offstage too. parliament had to be suspended after protests from far—right mps. and while polls show 70% of italians in favour, vocal demonstrations have broken out across the country. much of the opposition is from restaurateurs, their patience already worn by lockdowns.

translation: we shouldn't have to police this. - it's not ourjob. and we shouldn't deal with sensitive data. the government will make us argue with customers who want to sit inside without a pass. we'll have to comply, but we've already had cancellations. are you no—vax? translation: no, i'm not for or against, i'm a restaurateur. it's got nasty for medics supporting the green pass. samantha grossi received a death threat through whatsapp, evoking the nazi trials at nuremberg. other messages were on facebook, and they came from her colleagues. translation: i really felt in danger. - what upset me most was that the threats were from health workers. they, like us, were heroes of the pandemic, and now some are no vax. i felt broken and thought about giving up everything, but then i realised i must go on and show they're the ones at fault. at the arena too, the show will go

on, though with new checks for the opera lovers. italy is beginning another act in its covid story, but the unity felt last year is fading. applause. mark lowen, bbc news, verona. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: rise of the v—tubers — how anonymous youtubers are winning overfans with their online personas.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: a un special envoy has warned that afghanistan is facing a possible catastrophe after the taliban seized their first provincial capital. an extreme fire warning has been issued in greece as strong winds

reignite fires thought to have been brought under control. heavy rain has led to widespread flooding in north korea, where state tv reports that thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. large areas of farmland are under water and more than 1,000 homes in the country's east coastal region of hamgyong have been destroyed. 0ur correspondent in seoul, laura bicker, has more. images of homestead deluged by water, and crucially, the they also said that also hundreds of agriculture fields had been destroyed by water. that had been what we are watching. in the last few months... kim jong—un has said his country is suffering from a food crisis. this is caused by a series of natural disasters last year. they had successive typhoons and a really heavy monsoon season that wiped out much of last year's vital harvest.

they've also got problems because they closed down their border completely with china, shutting off trade with their main ally. that has meant very little food, very little medicine has made it across the border. we are watching the situation very carefully, the united nations has said that the country is down 860,000 tonnes of food. that is about a couple of month's worth. what we are looking to see is how bad the to see is how bad the next few weeks are. let's catch up now with the day's events at the olympics. and it's been all action on the track late into the evening with the final of the women's four by 100 relay — and favourites jamaica taking gold, usa the silver and team gb the bronze medal in a truly dramatic race. and then it was the men's turn — and a very tight finish saw the italian four by 100 relay team take the gold. they were just a fraction of a second ahead of team gb for the silver and canada for the bronze. an amazing individual

effort by the last man there for italy. lucy hockings has this update from tokyo. a warm welcome to tokyo. let's bring you right up to date on what has been happening in day 1a of these 0lympics. kenya's faith kipyegon has retained the olympic women's 1500—metre title to put an end to dutch athlete sifan hassan�*s bid for an unprecedented track treble. kipyegon broke the 33—year—old 0lympic record set by romanian paula ivan at the seoul games as she clocked three minutes 53.11 seconds. joshua cheptegei has made up for his silver in the 10,000—metres to win the 5000—metre 0lympic title, succeeding two—time champion mo farah. the 24—year—old ugandan world record—holder in the distance timed 12 minutes 58.15 seconds. and in the women's 400 final, shaunae miller—uibo of the bahamas took gold. that's back—to—back 0lympic titles for the 27—year—old after her victory in rio

five years ago. to cycling, and laura kenny has become team gb�*s most decorated female 0lympian as she and team—mate katie archibald won a cycling gold in the women's madison final. and in the women's hockey, the netherlands have beaten argentina 3—1 in the final to take the gold medal. you'll remember they had to settle for silver in rio when team gb won a gold in a thrilling penalty shoot—out. let's update you on another story. two sports coaches from belarus have been stripped of their accreditation and asked to leave the olympic village. this comes, of course, after they allegedly attempted to force one of their athletes to return home early. the belarusian sprinter, krystina timanovskaya, who is now safe in poland, said she was taken to the airport against her will. thomas bach, president of the ioc, called her treatment deplorable. the ioc is not in a position to change the political system in a country.

and this is also not our mission, and it is not our aim. and this is true for this case and many other issues. what our responsibility and our remit is is to protect the athletes as much and as far as we can and then to sanction those or to keep those out of the games who are infringing there on our values. a new kind of content creator is emerging on youtube. so—called virtual youtubers are people who use 3d character models to engage with their audience anonymously on the video—sharing site.

these "v—tubers", as they're called, are becoming more and more popular with some reportedly earning millions. 0ur reporter miles emmanuel spoke to two of them using their online personas. hello. you are watching the bbc. meet veepaii and apricot — two british women, aged 22 and 23, who work as online content creators and use animated avatars to replace their identity. some virtual youtubers, �*vtubers', use body tracking technology, like this, to animate their characters, while others have a much simpler set up. but the industry only started in 2016 and some need convincing it's a viable career choice. she didn't understand what i was doing at first and she was definitely not very happy about me leaving university to pursue my career online. i took a year off of university and that is when my career blew up. with a host of colourful characters, accessibility and anonymity can play key parts in streamers deciding to take the digital plunge. for vee, it was after she contracted

a viral infection which ruptured her spleen and left her bedridden for six months that she decided to stream online. any disability you may have, it definitely works around it. you don't need to deal with harassment from people. you would probably deal with it if you had your camera up. they assume that everybody who chooses this career, having their face as a cartoon character, or anime girl, theyjust instantly assume that everyone is overweight orjust some guy, and it's really not the case. 0r catfishing! vtubers are now amongst the highest—earning content creators, with some receiving up to around £2 million in the last 1.5 years. now, major companies are looking into using 3d mascots for customer—facing roles. if you are asking if this is the future of things,

i see us moving towards it as these art styles are being seen as engaging and more attractive to them, right? you do not have to hire make—up artists or crazy video to have someone talking about your wares. you canjust run a game engine and have it fully rendered. and although vtubers, like many content creators, can be subject to abusive and sometimes sexist comments, veepaii and apricot say their careers have allowed them to learn important life skills. i grew out of my social anxiety through being a vtuber. i used to be really shy. i would be afraid to speak in english classes. ifa kid has a dream of their own or a goal in mind, i think everyone should try to pursue that. miles emmanuel, bbc news. and finally, another record breaker is celebrating a major milestone , as edith murway prepares to turn 100. she holds the title of oldest competitive female powerlifter.

and has collected some impressive trophies since she took up the sport ten years ago. the former dancer is looking forward to celebrating with her family good evening. it's been a funny old kind of day today. yes, some of us have seen some sunshine, but the shower cloud never too far away, waiting in the wings if you stepped outside without an umbrella just to catch you out. low pressure certainly has been the dominant feature through the day today and will remain so as we go into the weekend, with the heaviest of the rain through scotland, northern ireland and north west england. in fact, by the middle part of the day, there was a significant cluster of thundery downpours which passed through belfast, and it brought some localised flooding in places. now, those showers, they're set to continue through this evening and overnight, circulating around that low. and just take a look at what's happening across wales and south west england. quite an organised line of showers overnight tonight, with some sharper ones potentially

threatening the kent coast as well. it will be a relatively mild start to the weekend with double digits, but, unfortunately, the thundery downpours are set to continue. it's going to be an unsettled weekend, particularly on the saturday. so, low pressure still with us, plenty of showers from the west first thing in the morning. they're going to be driven in by some brisk winds, gusts in excess of 30—110 mph on exposed coasts. and that'll rattle those showers further east as we go through the afternoon. one or two places may well stay dry, but if you catch a shower, some of them really quite heavy and they could be quite torrential at times. so, temperatures are going to be a little bit subdued, i'm afraid, with all the showers around. highs of 15—20 celsius. now, as we move out of saturday into sunday, the low pressure looks likely to drift its wayjust that little bit further east, and potentially things may well quieten down just a touch. still plenty of showers around for the second half of the weekend, but hopefully not as many, not as widespread as we've seen for the last couple of days,

likely to sit across the north and the west. that means central and southern england and potentially to the north or west of the great glen could stay relatively dry with a little more sunshine. perhaps a degree or so warmer, 21 degrees. there's the potentialfor a ridge of high pressure to build, as well, from the south as we head into next week. for a time, low pressures will still try to push in from the atlantic, but it does mean that some of us will see a slightly quieter weather story with some dry weather. but the showers continue to be an issue further north and west.

this is bbc world news.

the headlines: afghan officials say the taliban have captured their first provincial capital since 2016, zaranj in nimruz province. in another development, the militant group assassinated a close associate of the president in the capital kabul. greece is bracing for a new wave of wildfires, as strong winds whip up the flames which are thought to have been brought under control. an extreme fire warning has been issued as the flames engulf the outskirts of athens. china has reacted angrily to president biden�*s announcement that hong kong residents currently in the us will be granted temporary safe haven. it described the decision as a gross interference in china's internal affairs. it's the last few days at the tokyo 0lympics. among the event, italy won the men's four by 100 metres relay in a very close finish with britain,