this is bbc news. i'm alice baxter with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the taliban seizes a provincial capital in southern afghanistan as the un's envoy demands the militants end their offensive. we have seen a 50%, five—zero percent, increase in civilian casualties, with the certainty of many more as the cities are attacked. nearly half the regions in greece are on high alert as the worst wildfires in decades rage across the country. coronavirus infection rates across most of the uk continue to fall as the government urges 16 and 17—year—olds to book their vaccination.

i'm mariko oi in tokyo, where host nationjapan is hoping to bring home some medals in the women's endurance event. 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. they've made sweeping gains as foreign troops complete their withdrawal. 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. our world affairs correspondent richard galpin has more. in the heart of the afghan

capital, another assassination. taliban gunmen opening fire on this car, killing the head of the government's media information centre, dawa khan menapal. they'd warned officials would be targeted in response to air strikes by afghan and us forces. the war now increasingly spilling into the capital. but the taliban are also now targeting other key cities in this, their latest offensive. they claim to have captured the city of zaranj in the south—west of the country. officials say if true, it would be the first provincial capital to fall into their hands in this, the latest upsurge in fighting. and the taliban claim more will follow. at the united nations in new york, there are now calls for action. the council must act and prevent a catastrophic situation. we are alarmed by reports of incidents of gross human rights violations

by the taliban and their foreign terrorist associates in almost half of our country. and we are extremely concerned about the safety and security of people in cities under taliban attacks and what brutality would await them. the question now, though, is what action can be taken, given the taliban advances have been precipitated by the withdrawal of foreign troops from afghanistan. the futures of millions of afghans are at stake. i think the region should very clearly tell the taliban that taliban coming to power through force and continuing the violence is unacceptable. they need to see that their government will not be accepted and recognised. but for now, at least, it seems unlikely the taliban will stop their offensive. they seem determined to seize as much ground as they can. richard galpin, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to andrew watkins, who's a senior analyst specialising in afghanistan

for the international crisis group and asked the significance of the taliban seizing the provincial capital. thank you, alice. the seizure of the provincial capital of nimroz significant, but not because it's the capital of a province. that, in fact, is something that the taliban have done before in the past, as early as 2015, and they've done in years since. what makes the seizure of nimroz so significant is 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. and what can the un, the us 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 who advocate for military pressure, but we have to remember the war that the us and nato partners and afghan government forces have fought for nearly 20 years against the taliban has been an attempt to pressure that movement with military force. that did not prove successful. peace efforts likewise have hit roadblocks, and as you've heard, seem 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 meeting today. and if this type of escalation and offensive continues, should the peace talks

potentially be called off? it's understandable that some view the peace talks as without value as violence is raging so intensely across the country, but they should not be called off. even if the two sides are far away from a deal today and even if it's difficult to see a path ahead for them to end the war, there needs to be an open channel of dialogue when events on the ground do evolve and each side reassesses whether or not peace is in their interest, there might be something there to pick up. 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. around athens, the

hillsides are burning. people are desperately trying to put out the flames using whatever they can find. helicopters are bringing water to drop on the fires, but the scorching winds don't help. it's so dry here you can actually hear the parched branches crackle as they burn. emergency crews are struggling to stop the wildfires from spreading. this woman is trying to save her home. her husband's a firefighter, but she has no idea where he is. translation: i'm not leaving here, at least. for as long as i can. my house is behind here. you can see the roof. i'm not leaving, whatever happens. the effects of the fires are devastating.

villages have been burnt out, and dead animals litter the roads. and it's continuing. tonight, we watched as another blaze raged in the outskirts of athens. all day long, a fire has been burning on the other side of this mountain, and now it's coming over the hill. people have been told to leave this area as soon as possible, and we've seen people pack up their cars and go. the air is full of smoke and ash. people here are desperately worried about what's going to happen to their homes. this man's house is up on that hillside. he managed to bring his family to safety. as the flames head towards his house, all he can do is watch. i cannot sleep. i have my mind there. i don't think that someone can sleep if he knows that maybe his only house

will be destroyed. it was too dangerous to stay here. the police arrived to move people away. it's going to be a long night. people hoping against hope that their homes will be spared. bethany bell, bbc news, athens. pavlos evmorfides 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 that he needed help, and ijust made a run for it. i had to go protect my home. i knew there wasn't enough help that was provided for the government and there were a lot people in danger. they had a lot of people to help. and i just really felt that i had to do my part,

and as soon as the danger was out of sight for my home and for my neighbour's home, i personally went out on a patrol, let's say, just walking around the neighbourhood or driving around to other areas nearby just to check that people were all right and the thing is people were not ok. there were a lot of people that were stranded. there were a lot 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 just a very surreal situation. i never experienced anything like it in my life. seeing your neighbour's home burst into flames right in front of you whilst they are inconsolably crying their eyes out because their livelihoods are just burning away in front of their eyes, it was tragic to say the very least.

everything just became hell on earth by the time that it was night—time. describing it hell on earth. we have just been showing that very powerful footage that you have posted online. so, where were you and yourfamily and where are you now staying? are you safe? yes, at the moment, i am safe. we are staying at a hotel in an area in the centre of athens. and we are far away from danger. even though the fires are increasing in both degree and their severity, so the problem is far from over. so, what lessons are you hoping can be learned from this latest devastating episode? when it comes to the community, 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 leave a lot of trash, twigs and just

general rubbish that can be inflamed. and as far as the government is concerned, there just needs to be a lot more organisation and preparation for summertime. time and time again, we experience the same thing, and even though we've had barely any casualties in this occasion, in the past we have experienced a lot of tragedy. let's get some of the day's other news. family members of the victims of the september 11th attacks in the united states have called on president biden to stay away from next month's memorial events unless he declassifies files about the assaults. nearly 1800 people have signed a letter demanding the release of documents that they believe implicate officials from saudi arabia in the plot. 15 of the 19 hijackers who carried out the attack were saudi nationals. 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. 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 5 million people are in need of assistance. the longer—term trend for coronavirus infection rates has been down across the uk, except in northern ireland where case numbers are rising, according to the office for national statistics. the uk's national statistician has told the bbc he expects the trend to continue downwards over the coming weeks. the news comes as northern ireland began vaccinating i6 and i7—year—olds. here's our health editor hugh pym. a uk first — the start of vaccinations for all i6 and i7—year—olds.

in northern ireland, teenagers in that age group came forward just two days after experts gave the go—ahead for the extension of the programme. yeah, ijust want everything back to normal. you're going to have to get it, so might as welljust get it now. at this theatre school in lincoln, those we spoke to said they were thinking hard about it. invitations to 16 and i7—year—olds to getjabbed in england, scotland and wales are going out from today. we talk about vaccine quite a lot, mainly because some people are quite, like, not sure whether to get it or not. i've seen things, like, - online and things like that, but at the end of the day, - i think they know what's right and i'm happy to get it. say if i wanted to go on holiday with my mates, i will have the vaccine. like, i'm not going to miss outjust because i haven't had the vaccine. "don't miss out" is the message in a new drive in england to boost take—up of the vaccine among 18 to 30—year—olds. with reminders that to get into nightclubs

from late september, proof of being double—jabbed will be required. the venues themselves will be promoting those messages. this central london nightclub, heaven, is even hosting a pop—up vaccination site on sunday. it'll be open right through from 12 noon till nine in the evening. the aim's still to reduce the spread of the virus. the office for national statistics survey of community infections, which covers people with and without symptoms, showed the first fall in uk cases last week since early may. in england, one in 75 people had the virus. in scotland, one in 120. in wales, one in 230, all of which were down. but in northern ireland, it was one in 55, an increase, though experts said the delta variant spread later than elsewhere. rates are still relatively high in many parts of the country, but i would have to say that the evidence very much is of a decline everywhere. i'm expecting

a continued decline. not, i would suggest, incredibly steep, but i think we will see a continued decline. but he added things could change in september after the holiday season. the improving outlook has led to most restrictions being lifted in wales from tomorrow, though masks will still be required in many public places. all business will be able i to open and all legal limits on meeting people in indoor private spaces will- be removed as well. but alert level zero does notl mean the end of coronavirus, and it very certainly does not mean a free—for—all. - public health experts say levels of the delta variant can remain high, even in people who are vaccinated while still offering strong protection against serious illness, another reminder there's still much to learn about covid and its spread. hugh pym, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come, on the penultimate day on the penultimate day of action at the olympics, medals are up for grabs in the women's marathon, volleyball and golf. 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 bbc news. the latest headlines — the taliban has seized a provincial capital in southern afghanistan as the un's envoy demands the militants end their offensive. nearly half the regions in greece are on high alert as the worst wildfires in decades rage across the country. let's turn to the olympics now, where after two weeks of elite sporting action, we've reached the penultimate day of competition. china looks set to finish on top of the podium with 36 gold medals,

ahead of the us with 31, ahead of the host nation in third and great britain in fourth place. well, the action is already underway on day 15 with the women's marathon event. so, let's head straight to tokyo and talk to mariko 0i. great to see you. tell us more about the main event of the day, the women's marathon, and why is it being staged in sapporo? it why is it being staged in sapporo?— why is it being staged in sa oro? .,, ., ., sapporo? it was moved to sapporo — sapporo? it was moved to sapporo in _ sapporo? it was moved to sapporo in the _ sapporo? it was moved to sapporo in the northern i sapporo? it was moved to - sapporo in the northern ireland of hokkaido where it is usually cooler but ironically tokyo has not been to bed this morning but it has been brutal over the last couple of days so we have a couple of typos approaching so not too bad but sapporo has been really hot so the event had removed earlier to start at six a:m.. i'mjust had removed earlier to start at six a:m.. i'm just watching it live now and they are getting to the final bit of the event. japan has three runners. 0ne to the final bit of the event. japan has three runners. one of

them currently leading but ninth at the moment overall. we will continue to monitor that for you and we hope the might runners can bring home some metals but the top runner from japan is only ninth at the moment. japan is only ninth at the moment-— japan is only ninth at the moment. , , ~ ., ., ., moment. just think of doing a marathon _ moment. just think of doing a marathon in _ moment. just think of doing a marathon in that _ moment. just think of doing a marathon in that heat. - moment. just think of doing a marathon in that heat. not. marathon in that heat. not for me, thank you. it is the penultimate day of the games as we have been saying and there are lots of metals up for grabs. are lots of metals up for crabs. ~ are lots of metals up for crabs. . ., ., ,., grabs. indeed. we are also watching — grabs. indeed. we are also watching women's - grabs. indeed. we are also watching women's golf - grabs. indeed. we are also watching women's golf on | grabs. indeed. we are also i watching women's golf on my other phone, and women's golf taking place since wednesday. 60 golfers playing and we have two japanese players as well at the moment. the american nelly korda in first place and also we have a third place from japan and another at eighth and of course japan is quite obsessed with golf. so a lot of people are watching that match very closely. people are watching that match very closely-— very closely. and of course said late — very closely. and of course said late throughout -

very closely. and of course said late throughout these | said late throughout these games we have talked a lot about covid—19 restrictions, safety, etc. what me for the latest on the covid—19 numbers. indeed, alice, i'd like a broken record talking about this surge in covid—19 numbers every single day but yesterday's latest number across japan surpassing yesterday's latest number acrossjapan surpassing way across japan surpassing way above 15,000. acrossjapan surpassing way above 15,000. here in tokyo, the number it was just above 4500 the number it was just above a500 and were the second—highest with a before we saw the number topping 5000 but we are seeing record numbers of cases in surrounding prefectures as well as 0saka prefectures as well as osaka and kyoto. and a total number of infections injapan has now surpassed 1 million but even more alarming is the speed at which this virus is spreading in the last eight days. they have been 100,000 new cases and thatis have been 100,000 new cases and that is the very infectious delta variant we are talking about but of course despite the capital and various cities

under state of emergency, the very fact against taking place in the city is probably sitting the wrong message and if you can probably see behind me, people people are out about and almost forget that the city is currently out of the state of emergency and during the opening ceremony here, this place was jam—packed with not much to the distancing taking place of those gatherings could be contributing to the spike in covid—19 numbers and of course tomorrow we will have the closing ceremony and will probably be here as we will see how crowded it gets but definitely the message from the government of a stay at home definitely not reaching to the japanese public.— definitely not reaching to the japanese public. now to south africa, where a truly phenomenal event occurs each year — the sardine run. from may tojuly, millions of sardines move northward along the east coast of south africa, with thousands of ocean predators and birds in their trail. clarisse fortune tells us more.

deep under south africa's east coast, a beautiful and intriguing ballet�*s being performed, a choreographed dance of nature. it's the annual migration of millions of sardines, the so—called sardine run, in this part of the indian ocean. but behind the beautiful sight looms danger. it attracts a host of marine predators looking for food. these dolphins lead the trail. they're on the hunt, a sure sign of an upcoming feast. this is a super pod of common dolphins. so, hejust sort of breached there... thousands and thousands of commons dolphins, and these guys are always associated with the sardine run. this group of divers are scanning the surface for activity. and after several hours at sea, they strike it lucky. the cape gannets are there already. this is what's known as a bait

ball, a group of sardines that predators have cut off from the main shoal. sardines are always looking for depth, for protection, so they try to go down deep and that's where the sharks come in. the sharks are at the bottom, stopping them from going down. so, you have the sharks at the bottom, you've got the dolphins around the edges. and you can see how those dolphins... you see how they're jumping around? they're basically stopping the sardines from running away. and then one of the most menacing of guests arrives. stealthy, deadly, a large dusky sharkjoins the frenzy. the bait ball is decimated in minutes, to thejoy of the watching tourists. it was great! it was amazing! best time ever! if you haven't had that, you're not living. you've got to have that. that is an amazing experience.

the hunt will repeat itself many times over the next three to four months as kilometres of shoals migrate. clarisse fortune, bbc news. and before we go, we leave you with one of belgium's best kept secrets — a trove of tin treasures. collecting these vintage boxes is 83—year—old yvette dardenne's passion. she's accumulated over 60,000 of them in the past 30 years, keeping them in four different houses. although dardenne has never travelled, her boxes are from all over the world. the first engraved tin box is part of her collection, dating back to 1868. beat that. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @bbcbaxter.

we always love to hear from you. do stay with us. hello there. the very unsettled august weather continues into this weekend. low pressure nearby will generate further showers, and again, like friday, we could see some thunderstorms which could lead to some localised flooding in places. but there will be some good spells of sunshine in between, particularly across more southern areas. so, here it is, this area of low pressure, which is going to stick around both saturday, sunday and indeed even into monday. lots of isobars on the charts, so it'll be quite breezy again, particularly across southern, south—western areas, and across the northern isles, gusts of 30—a0 mph. we'll have showers pretty much from the word go anywhere, but most of them will be across scotland, northern ireland, western england and wales. they will drift their way further eastwards into the afternoon, and again there'll be some torrential downpours in places. but some good spells of sunshine, particularly across the south east. another breezy day, these are the mean wind speeds.

temperatures will be a bit disappointing for august, particularly when the showers come along, it'll feel quite cool. but in the sunny spells, we could make 20 degrees or so across the south east. 0therwise, generally the mid to high teens celsius. as we head through saturday night, we continue with the breeze, further showers. again, some of them will be quite heavy, particularly across central, northern and western areas. perhaps turning a little bit quieter across the south east quadrant of the country. and again nowhere particularly cold, with overnight lows 12—1a degrees. so, into sunday, ourarea of low pressure still with us, drifting a little bit further northwards and weakening a little bit. there's fewer isobars on the charts, but there's still enough energy in the low pressure system to generate further showers, which again could be quite heavy in places throughout sunday. mainly across central and northern parts of the country, because i think as we head on into the afternoon, there may be a greater chance of seeing some sunnier, drier weather for wales, central and southern england. so, that mayjust bump up temperatures to 21 degrees, slightly lighter winds.

again, for most, though, the high teens celsius. into next week, then, for monday, our area of low pressure's still with us, so it's going to be another day of sunshine and showers. but the winds will turn light, and the system continues to weaken. and as we head on into tuesday, we've got this bump of high pressure which will build in, and that should settle things down. but low pressure always close by to the north and the west of the uk. so, we'll have most of the showers through the new week across northern and western areas. greater chance of seeing some drier, sunnier and warmer weather in the south and east.

hello there. this is bbc news. the headlines: afghan officials say the taliban have captured their first provincial capital since 2016, zaranj in nimruz province. during a un emergency meeting to discuss the worsening violence, it's onward to the region demanded the militants and their offence. nearly half the regions increase on alert as the worst for wildfires in decades rage across the country. strong winds whipped up many of the fires that were being brought under control. the penultimate day of action at the old and fixes under way in tokyo. the athletes in the women's marathon are currently pounding the streets while medals also be up for grabs in volleyball, beach volleyball and golf. now on bbc news, across america, dna testing