welcome to bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories: the taliban seizes a provincial capital in southern afghanistan as the un's envoy demands the militants end their offensive. we militants end their offensive. are extremely concer about we are extremely concerned about the safety and security of people in cities under taliban attacks and what brutality would await them. nearly half the regions in greece are on high alert as the worst wildfires in decades rage across the country. on the penultimate day of action at the tokyo olympics, kenya's peresjepchirchir has won the women's marathon gold medal. and the remarkable spectacle of south africa's sardine run and the predators it attracts.

in afghanistan, in a major escalation of the taliban's offensive the militants have captured a provincial capital, zaranj, close to the border with iran, and assassinated a close aide of the president's. they have made sweeping gains since foreign forces started withdrawing from the country. the united nations�* 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 incidences 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 the 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. mariam wardak is the founder of her afghanistan, an organisation dedicated to the advancement fo young afghan women.

she joins me from washington. thank you very much for being with us. we are familiar with the traditional narrative of the traditional narrative of the taliban towards women. has that changed in recent months? i think so, but everything in regards to the taliban narrative should be taken with caution. i think that this change of narrative had to do with the influence of tribal elders in provinces asking and demanding for certain continuations. for instance, there are certain provinces that the elders wanted their young daughters to continue their education, so they have pressed on that toward the telephone. but then there is also a disconnect. you have a disconnect between the taliban political party that is in doha and then there is a disconnect between their commanders, military commanders. for instance, in wardak there was a

case that there was a constant change in the taliban commander. one taliban commander. one taliban commander would be ok with young girls attending school but the next one would not. so it is a very personalised approach, and the most important aspect of it is how the tribal community is approaching this. we the tribal community is approaching this. the tribal community is auroachinu this. ~ . , approaching this. we have seen civilians standing _ approaching this. we have seen civilians standing up _ approaching this. we have seen civilians standing up against - civilians standing up against the taliban. that has included women in some situations. what role can women play in fighting back? i role can women play in fighting back? ~' , back? i think the most important _ back? i think the most important role - back? i think the most important role is - back? i think the most important role is to . back? i think the most - important role is to inform our young girls, especially, on the religion aspect. the narrative that the taliban have continued to use to fight foreign, in their terms, to use to fight foreign, in theirterms, invaders to use to fight foreign, in their terms, invaders is religion. now that the foreign troops have left afghanistan, that narrative cannot be held anymore. and the fact that they have allowed the girls to continue or share their opinions on allowing girls to continue their education — i think the young girls need to be advanced on religious

arguments, holding theological arguments, holding theological arguments on how to advance. religion is the key to opportunity for young girls and the religion of islam provides many opportunities. the confusion in afghanistan is religion versus culture. if you advance within culture then there is religion. if you advance within religion and the culture works against you. and i think women face many problems in that aspect. one thing that i do see across the board now is the resistance for the taliban because of the fear that they are spreading. and it is quite strange because you see insurgent groups in other countries, indonesia and other places, and historically they have worked with civilians to gain their trust and to gain their compassion one way or another. but the taliban are wishing — the military commanders are wishing to spread fear. i think that is going to work to their disadvantage because the

population of the 1990s, when the taliban first emerged, is not the same population. the young people are educated, have economic autonomy, have seen freedom to certain extent in the past 20 years, and i think that there needs to be a proper form of negotiation. and that negotiation is mainly led with the political leaders, but there seems to be a disconnect, in my perspective, between the taliban and military leaders and the political leaders. we will have to _ and the political leaders. we will have to leave it there. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you very much for “oining us. . ~' thank you very much for “oining us. . ~ , ., thank you very much for “oining us. . ~' i., ., thank you very much for “oining us. . ~ ., ., a severe heatwave has caused a series of wildfires in greece, with strong winds fanning the flames. thousands of people have been moved from their homes in the suburbs north of athens. an extreme fire warning has been issued, with the greek prime minister saying the country is in the midst of an unprecedented environmental crisis. this report from bethany bell. 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 is 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 is 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 is 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 is 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. let's get some of the day's other news: police have arrested two burmese citizens accused of plotting to kill or injure myanmar�*s ambassador to the united nations. kyaw moe tun has been a vocal critic of myanmar�*s military rulers. he earlier thanked the us government and un for their protection. lawyers for the governor of new york, andrew cuomo, have called into question the results of an independent investigation that found mr cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women while in office. the governor has denied the allegations. earlier one of mr cuomo's accusers, a former aide, filed a criminal complaint against him. nicaragua's electoral

authorities have disqualified the country's main opposition party ahead of november's elections. oscar sobalvarro, an ex—commander in the us—backed contra group nicaraguan resistance, holds dual us and nicaguan citizenship in violation of the law. the disqualification is the latest in a series of recent steps against the opposition as polling day nears. families of the victims of the september 11 attacks in america have called on president biden not to attend this year's memorial events unless he declassifies files that they contend will show saudi leaders supported the atrocity. this year marks the 20th anniversary of the attacks in new york, virginia and pennsylvania which killed nearly 3,000 people. around 1700 people have signed

this letter, and they have long been asking for access to classified government documents on whether the saudi arabian government was implicated in the al-qaeda plot. so whether saudi officials assisted or aided orfunded saudi officials assisted or aided or funded these saudi officials assisted or aided orfunded these hijackers in any way. the saudi government has always said it was not involved and previous us administrations have refused to declassify the documents, saying that it is a national security issue. now, this letter is saying, look, it is 20 years since this happened. there is just no reason why this information has to be kept secret, and furthermore, joe biden made a campaign pledge to try to resolve this issue, and if he doesn't do so, then the people who signed this letter say we will feel obliged to publicly stand against him participating in any of the memorial services come september. so they are basically drawing a line in the sand, and the white house has responded. the white house

spokesperson, jen psaki, said joe biden was still committed to that pledge. she also said that white house officials had met family members a number of times, but the issue is not — it is not clear how this is going to play out. it it is not clear how this is going to play out.- it is not clear how this is going to play out. it is 20 ears going to play out. it is 20 years since _ going to play out. it is 20 years since the _ going to play out. it is 20 years since the attacks. l going to play out. it is 20| years since the attacks. is there a sense as to whether most americans feel sympathetic to those behind this letter and that they have a legitimate argument that these papers should be released?- argument that these papers should be released? well, i am not sure what _ should be released? well, i am not sure what polling _ should be released? well, i am not sure what polling there - should be released? well, i am not sure what polling there has| not sure what polling there has been done about that. i don't think it is a widely discussed issue in terms of how these family members and people who have been affected by the attack have pursued the saudi government over these past years, but they have been very dedicated. now, the us government commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks found no evidence that the saudi government had directly funded al-qaeda, but it left open the matter of whether individual officials might have done so. so these families have long maintained that the saudi

government was aware of the attack in advance and did nothing to stop it, and specifically they want to prove that some saudi nationals helped two of the hijackers in the months leading up to the attack, and that a diplomat in the saudi embassy in washington co—ordinated that. so that is their argument. and then separately, they are also suing the saudi government, the families of around 2500 victims, but then around 20,000 others who were either injured or otherwise affected by 9/11, are suing the saudi government for billions. that lawsuit is ongoing. 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. now let's get an update from the olympics.

day 15 of the games is well under way in tokyo. here's how the medal table stands at the moment, china is still on top with 36 gold medals with usa in second place and the host nationjapan in third. for more on this, we can now cross live to tokyo and sarah mulkerrins. the weather seems to have changed a bit since we spoke to you last time, sarah. but we have already had our first gold medal of the day! we have already had our first gold medal of the day!— medal of the day! we have indeed. the _ medal of the day! we have indeed. the rain _ medal of the day! we have indeed. the rain is - medal of the day! we have indeed. the rain is pouringj indeed. the rain is pouring down here however in sapporo which is north, in the north of japan where the refund was on they were sweltering the hot conditions there this morning for that marathon. they had to set off one hour earlier at 6am in order to try and counteract that for the athletes but it was the kenyan, peres jepchirchir who won gold after a great run from her to win gold. two hours and 27 minutes,

20 seconds. she finished ahead of her compatriot, brigid kosgei who was the world record holder. she was a fancied athlete going into the marathon for the gold medal but she took silver medal and then the american, marlee seidelman on gold. that meant bronze. a story for her. —— won gold. her second ever marathon and she away with a bronze medal. —— unfortunately bronze. —— won bronze. unfortunately bronze. -- won bronze. ~ . , , ., bronze. what else is on the cards for — bronze. what else is on the cards for the _ bronze. what else is on the cards for the penultimate i bronze. what else is on the l cards for the penultimate day of the games?— of the games? here in tokyo there had — of the games? here in tokyo there had been _ of the games? here in tokyo there had been adjustmentsl of the games? here in tokyo i there had been adjustments to there had been adjustments to the women's golf schedule. it is the final round of action for them. they began earlier in the day because they thought the day because they thought the storm would come in. it is a little larger than expected now. it is not yet hit the golf course, they are out there and we have the american world

number one who was in front in that and she is currently on 16 under. she dropped a couple of shots with a double bogey but she has picked herself back up with three birdies in a row. she dropped another one. 16 under at the moment and then there are four players on 13 under so that is three shots back from her. there could be a battle for a silver medal there. lydia coe from new zealand is in there and we also have emily christine pedersen from denmark in the hunt and an indian walther in their, all looking to try and put pressure on nellie and make sure that they can come away with the medal. also we have had another medal. also we have had another medal given out in the beach volleyball. in the men's bronze medal match. qatar beat latvia to win the bronze medal there and in the beach volleyball bronze medal match yesterday latvia lost out so. not a good couple of days for them. in one ofthe

couple of days for them. in one of the big _ couple of days for them. in one of the big stories _ couple of days for them. in one of the big stories from - couple of days for them. in one of the big stories from these i of the big stories from these games has been athletes talking about mental health. how is the coverage they played out with the athletes you have spoken to in tokyo? it the athletes you have spoken to in to 0? ., , , the athletes you have spoken to into o? ._ in tokyo? it has been really interesting _ in tokyo? it has been really interesting to _ in tokyo? it has been really interesting to see _ in tokyo? it has been really interesting to see athletesl interesting to see athletes open up and be more honest about what they are feeling and what they are experiencing, how they buildup to the games has been and how it has been competing here at an olympic games during a global pandemic with all the restrictions and it has been quite telling in the postevent interviews that they have been vocal about the struggles that they have gone through. we saw simone biles ignite that conversation, i suppose, in away she withdrew from the team event in the first week of the olympics. citing mental health issues. we saw since then that more and more people were feeling more and more confident talking about it. it has certainly been about it. it has certainly been a big topic here, garnering huge support from people all over the world for the athletes on social media and i have been speaking to one of the athletes here who has been dealing with

issues like this. a british diver who won gold and silver in rio five years ago and he has gone to an awful lot since. he won bronze here in tokyo and that has meant the world to him because of what he told me about the struggles that he has been through in order to get here. myjourney has been very difficult. after the 2019 world championships in my final dive i almost failed it and had a very similar problem to simone biles where i lost my spot and my awareness in my diving, something that i had been so natural out for my entire life. and that played massively with my head. i had real mental health struggles afterwards with anxiety around competing, anxiety around the skill itself and being physically scared of doing this skill. and i wanted to quit and i wanted to end my career because i felt like maybe this is in. when i was competing back in rio i got gold and silver and everything was so easy and it came so naturally to me. i did not have to think about anything. ijust enjoyed

the moment and i dived but for the last two years because of the issues faced i have not been myself. the fact that athletes now are using their platforms to talk about these issues that everybody goes through, there is no limit on mental health, you can be absolutely anyone, a normal person going through your normal life or you can be a superhero athlete like simone biles or anyone, naomi osaka, all these amazing athletes also all still struggle with mental health and it may seem on social media that people are happy but no—one truly knows what is going on behind—the—scenes and that is one of the scary things about mental health. everyone takes their demons home with them and only some of the closest people know what the struggle everybody is going through. but now i feel that everyone is using the platform for a good cause and hopefully in the future that means that more people will reach out and get the help they seriously need, especially the men. jack there open and honest about all he has been through and hopeful that perhaps this is something of a watershed

moment at these games in terms of the pressure on athletes and the mental health struggles that many go through. find the mental health struggles that many go through. and you have been _ that many go through. and you have been out _ that many go through. and you have been out there _ that many go through. and you have been out there covering l have been out there covering the games for us for a few weeks. there has been the traditional events plus some new sports. what has been your personal favourite to what? do ou personal favourite to what? drr you know what? i have been really surprised. i love skateboarding, particularly the park event which is where skateboarders go down into the bowl, almost like a half pipe in snowboarding because at the winter olympics they can bring so much drama and spectacle and danger, i suppose as well and that park finalfor danger, i suppose as well and that park final for the men's and women's that we saw over the last few days were brilliant and i loved the culture between the athletes as well because obviously they are elite athletes competing at the top of their games but they had time to interact with each other and support each other and to congratulate each other and to congratulate each other and that is something you do not often seen elite professional sport and it is something totally different to the olympics and i know from my

friends and family, from seeing all the videos on social media that they really got down a treat and these new sports coming in like skateboarding and surfing, the ioc have done that in order to try and protect their future legacy, to bring young audiences through to create more impact on social media and i think the ioc said there was five from the top ten stream defence so far from the olympics all came from those new sports so it has been a success for the ioc and i think many fans around the world have enjoyed watching it as well. i could not agree more. it has been fantastic to watch. he is hoping the weather dries up for you there in tokyo. 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 common dolphins, and these guys are always seen 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're trying 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 like that? 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 chase is over and the

hunters go on their way. scientist's believe the sardines route linked to their reproductive cycle. the hunt will repeat itself many times over the next three to four months as kilometres of shoals migrate. and then the sardines will disappear back into the open sea. for now, calm finally returns. clarisse fortune, bbc news. before we go, let's leave you with a well—kept belgian secret. a trove of ten boxes. there is an 83—year—old woman collecting these boxes, it is her passion. she has collected over 60,000 of them over 30 years, keeping them in four different houses. although she never travelled the boxes are from all over the world. the first engraved box in her collection dates back to 1868. watch more on all those stories on the bbc news website and not

to mention the olympics or you can download our app. you can reach me on twitter. form now, goodbye. 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—110 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. otherwise, 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—14 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines: afghan officials say the taliban have seized the south—west city of zaranj, the first provincial capital to fall to the militants for five years. during a un emergency meeting to discuss the worsening violence, its envoy to the region demanded the militants end their offensive. the greek government has put almost half of the country's regions on high alert as wildfires continue to spread. huge clouds of smoke are billowing over the outskirts of athens. a man has been killed in a village north of the city after being hit by a falling electricity pole. the penultimate day of action at the olympics is underway in tokyo. kenya's peresjepchirchir has won the women's marathon, claiming the country's second consecutive gold medal in the event. later, medals will also be up for grabs in basketball, volleyball and golf.

the film review is coming up in about 10 minutes' time.