this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. long—range us bombers have carried out airstrikes on the afghan city of sheberghan in an effort to drive out taliban insurgents who've taken control of the city. hundreds are evacuated by ferry in greece, as firefighters continue to battle an unprecedented outbreak of wildfires. meanwhile, india gets its first ever athletics gold medal at the olympics — neeraj chopra winning the javelin to end the country's 100—year wait for glory. gold medal number 20 for team gb

at the tokyo olympics — asjoe choong takes top spot in the men's modern pentathlon hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. more than 200 taliban fighters have been killed in strikes by us long—range bombers, according to afghanistan's defence ministry. the ministry says it's called in american b—52 aircraft in the battle against the militants in the city of sheberghan. earlier, the taliban said they had taken control of the city. shebhergan — in northern afghanistan — is the stronghold of former afghan vice president abdul rashid dostum

whose supporters fight against the taliban. the militants had earlier captured zaranj in nimroz, close to the border with iran, in a major escalation of their offensive. they've made sweeping gains since foreign forces started withdrawing from the country. the us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation in the country. richard galpin reports. in this fast—moving offence of the taliban are claiming a second province is in their hands. this video appears to show them releasing inmates from the prison and the afghan authorities admit some parts of the city have been taken. in the wake of the fighting many civilians

are being treated at local hospitals with serious injuries. amongst them young children. government officials such as the head of the media information centre are amongst the taliban's growing list of those they have assassinated. his funeral has taken place after he was shot dead in the capital kabul. a killing designed to intimidate those working for the government. as the situation deteriorates many afghans who have been in pakistan are trying to get back in but one of the key border crossings has been closed by the taliban leaving many stranded. we came here to attend a funeral and now we are sitting here with no food and money and cannot go to a hotel. i appeal to the taliban leaders to find a

solution for us. whilst afghans are trying to get back home with the british and american governments are calling on their citizens to leave the country. i'm joined now by dr marvin weinbaum — former intelligence analyst at the us state department and directorfor afghan and pakistan studies at middle east institute in washington dc. what do you make of this latest news that the us have been engaged and air strikes? this that the us have been engaged and air strikes? , u, , that the us have been engaged and air strikes? , , ., air strikes? this indicates how ureatl air strikes? this indicates how greatly we _ air strikes? this indicates how greatly we see _ air strikes? this indicates how greatly we see this _ air strikes? this indicates how greatly we see this as - air strikes? this indicates how - greatly we see this as deteriorating quickly. it seems we are bringing in the heaviest piece of equipment we could bring to the conflict and are prepared here to accept high

civilian casualties. there is no question the kind of precision bombing that has taken place with drones and helicopter gunships is not possible given the extent that will carry on possibly as well but given the extent of the offensive there is a need here to bring in everything they can possibly introduce. with the understanding this will bring casualties of anonymous proportion. —— enormous proportion. anonymous proportion. -- enormous preportion-_ proportion. you have the us strikes and the fact — proportion. you have the us strikes and the fact the _ proportion. you have the us strikes and the fact the second _ proportion. you have the us strikes and the fact the second provisionall and the fact the second provisional capital has been claimed by the taliban. are we likely to see a reversal of the us decision or the foreign troops decision to pull out of afghanistan? would that ever happen? i of afghanistan? would that ever ha--en? .�* , of afghanistan? would that ever hauen? .,�* , ., ,

of afghanistan? would that ever hauen? , ., , , happen? i don't see any possibility of a reversal- _ happen? i don't see any possibility of a reversal. this _ happen? i don't see any possibility of a reversal. this has _ happen? i don't see any possibility of a reversal. this has gone - happen? i don't see any possibility of a reversal. this has gone too i happen? i don't see any possibilityj of a reversal. this has gone too far and still be have to remember there is a great deal of support in the united states for these actions on the part of the administration so that is not going to happen but the united states is at least going to say we did everything we could financially but also militarily within the constraints we have which means just power. within the constraints we have which meansjust power. i don't within the constraints we have which means just power. i don't see anyway in which this is going to not resemble vietnam except for that is one possibility, the likelihood of any kind of negotiated power agreement is long past effort was ever realistic. i think we should be prepared possibly as more a four for the taliban to say you know where

things are headed, we are prepared to offer a peace plan and effectively what they will then do is say we can spare ourselves all the additional fighting that will inevitably happen, this peace plan will be an interim government possibly leading to a taliban governed system and islamic emirate. how likely is that to be accepted by the country, by the region and the greater area beyond? i have been looking at a lot of the afghan media and that is a growing concern that the taliban are setting up afghanistan as quote, a support and a safe haven for foreign terrorist networks. that is coming from afghanistan.—

afghanistan. this is one of the treat afghanistan. this is one of the great fear _ afghanistan. this is one of the great fear is — afghanistan. this is one of the great fear is the _ afghanistan. this is one of the great fear is the regional - afghanistan. this is one of the l great fear is the regional states have but the taliban will take care of their own interests first and if they can have this diplomatic and there is a possibility there will be support in the country for anything which stops the fighting, people are desperate from what i am hearing to avoid what they see as the retribution that will inevitably take place for additional casualties. they also fear that they are headed towards refugee status so i would not rule it out but the key hero be whether the security forces, afghan national security forces will hold out without great desertion and surrendered in the next few weeks

and also what the politicians do. some of them may very well say maybe we can strike a separate deal with the taliban and maybe buy into this intimate government which gets rid of the cabo government, something most of them have been trying to do for some time. we most of them have been trying to do for some time-— most of them have been trying to do for some time. we have been hearing about security — for some time. we have been hearing about security forces _ for some time. we have been hearing about security forces surrounding - about security forces surrounding their weapons before the taliban have entered cities. thank you very much for your time. mr; have entered cities. thank you very much for your time.— britain is sending firefighters to greece, to help battle flames that have forced thousands of people to flee their homes. more than 150 wildfires are burning across the country, some close to the northern suburbs of athens. two people are known to have died, and at least 20 others have been injured. greece, like many parts of europe, has been grappling with extreme weather this summer. widespread flooding and colder than average temperatures in central

europe and now baking hot weather in the south. 0ur europe correspondent, bethany bell, reports from athens. greece is in the grip of an emergency. wildfires have been blazing out of control for days. the extreme heat means these forests near athens are like a tinderbox. helicopters keep returning here to try and put out this fire but it isn't working yet. this is the main north—south motorway near athens but it's been closed for two days because of all the fires around here and the strong scorching winds aren't helping. as the fire spreads down the hillside, people are frightened for their houses.

panicked screams. in athens, their screams for help as the flames grow closer. people are desperately trying to put out the fires in any way they can. thousands of people have been evacuated. this lady in athens told me she is worried for her family. a big national tragedy. do you live around here? i don't live here. my sister lives here. but it's horrible, for the whole of greece. this was the scene on the island of evia last night. ferries carried hundreds of people to safety after they fled to the beaches. safe on board, one man filmed the inferno on his phone. the fire burned through a vast area of pine forests. only the sea could stop it. tonight, evia is still burning and the flames are spreading towards one

of the island's largest towns. bethany bell, bbc news, athens. tomorrow marks the final day and the closing ceremony for the tokyo 0lympics. so let's get a full round up of the sport, from the bbc sport centre. hello and thanks forjoining us. just one more day to go of the tokyo olympics and india have claimed their first ever olympic gold in athletics as neeraj chopra won the men's javelin. the 2018 commonwealth games champion recorded a best throw of 87.58 metres to win an historic medalfor india. he is only the second indian to win an individual gold after abhinav bindra in the 10 metre air rifle event at beijing 2008. a special moment for chopra, highlighted by this tweet from prime minister narendra modi, who said, "what neeraj chopra has

achieved today will be remembered forever. he played with remarkable passion and showed unparalleled grit." allyson felix brought the curtain down on her glittering 0lympic career with a seventh gold medal as the united states stormed to a crushing victory in the axli00m women's relay.... felix, who on friday became the most decorated female track and field athlete of all time — with a bronze in the individual 400m, helped a �*dream team' us quartet home to victory. i cannot believe she has lasted for five 0lympic i cannot believe she has lasted for five olympic games, spanning 17 years. she is 35, she first started when she was 18 and looking at that really, the last leg was won by the 800 metre title win at age 19, she would have watched allyson felix for the past decade since she has been

involved in the sport and i bet you cannot believe she is on the podium with a relay baton in the same team, took about legacy and i think the us have a lots to look forward to in the future. some history to celebrate for britain today — joe choong won gold in the men's modern pentathlon. he's the first british man to become individual olympic champion — in this multi format competition. he held off a late challenge in the final 800m as part of the laser leg, to win gold. two golds then for gb in this event, after kate french won the individual women's modern pentathlon on friday. meanwhile britain's galal yafai claimed the first gold for britain in boxing in tokyo. yafai beat carlo paalam, of the philippines, 4—1 in the points decision — to become the flyweight olympic champion. paalam was aiming to become the first filipino to win 0lympic boxing gold but it's redemption of sorts for yafai — he qualified for rio 2016, but lost in the last 16.

in tokyo, it's gold. and he says he has big goals for the future. it is something i have drained off since i was young, it is overwhelming and it will live with me forever. i’m overwhelming and it will live with me forever-— me forever. i'm not really looking to the future _ me forever. i'm not really looking to the future but _ me forever. i'm not really looking to the future but i _ me forever. i'm not really looking to the future but i think _ me forever. i'm not really looking to the future but i think the - to the future but i think the olympic cycle is done now, i want to 0lympic cycle is done now, i want to be world champion as a professional but ijust want be world champion as a professional but i just want to enjoy what i be world champion as a professional but ijust want to enjoy what i have done with my family and friends and not think about boxing to much. jessica springsteen — daughter of rock star bruce springsteen, marked her 0lympic debut by helping the united states to a show jumping silver medal. the us team were edged out of gold in a jump—off by sweden. belgium took the bronze.

springstein called her experience "wild" and says she called herfamily immediately after winning the silver. japan have won the coveted baseball gold after beating the united states in the yokohama baseball stadium. the hosts won 2—0, meaning teamjapan complete an historic double after the women's softball team took gold earlier at the games. the winning squad will each receive a cash bonus of 10 million yen, around 90 thousand dollars, in what's a long awaited first olympic gold in the sport. so let's take a look at what that all means for the medals table then — on the penultimate day of the tokyo games. it's close between china and the usa. china just ahead on 38, with the us two further back. great britain are in 5th, level on 20 golds with the russian olympic committee. that's all the sport for now. let's look at some of the day's other news

a ship carrying more than 250 migrants has docked in sicily, a week after those on board, were rescued off the tunisian coast. passengers on the vessel — run by the german aid agency, �*sea watch international�* — clapped and cheered as they arrived at the italian port of trapani. italy has urged other european union countries to accept some of the new arrivals. almost a quarter of a million people have taken part in the fourth consecutive weekend of demonstrations against a new coronavirus health pass. protesters marched in paris, toulon, nice and other cities. from monday, people will need the pass to access cafes, restaurants, some shopping centres, and long— distance public transport services. it proves that the holder has been fully vaccinated, has recently tested negative, or has recovered from the virus. the us military�*s central command has announced the results of an investigation into last week's fatal drone attack,

on a merchant tanker off 0man. experts concluded the drone was made in iran. a british security guard and the ship's romanian captain were killed. tehran had already denied orchestrating the attack. the headlines on bbc news... the us and britain warn their remaining citizens in afghanistan to leave as the taliban continue their advance, seizing a second provincial capital. hundreds are evacuated by ferry in greece, as firefighters continue to battle an unprecedented outbreak of wildfires. let's get more on those greek fires. drjonathan buzan is a climate and environmental physics expert at the university of bern.

my my first question is there a definite link between wildfires and climate change? there are those who would argue the fires are man—made. thank you for having me on, that is true, fires can be man—made but the intensity of these fires is unusual and that is what is linked to climate change.— and that is what is linked to climate change. and that is what is linked to climate chance. , . ., climate change. does that mean we will aet climate change. does that mean we will get more _ climate change. does that mean we will get more of _ climate change. does that mean we will get more of these _ climate change. does that mean we will get more of these taking - climate change. does that mean we | will get more of these taking place? sure, yes. if you look around the world right now in california they are dealing with the worst fires they have ever had, the year before they have ever had, the year before they had the worst and before that, they had the worst and before that, the same with australia and now other places in the world. hagar the same with australia and now other places in the world. how does a heatwave — other places in the world. how does a heatwave exacerbate _ other places in the world. how does a heatwave exacerbate a _ other places in the world. how does a heatwave exacerbate a wildfire? l

other places in the world. how does | a heatwave exacerbate a wildfire? in this particular case we are dealing with a drying of the surface and heating of the atmosphere and that is allowing the fuel to ignite and burn hotter than normal. than a regular forest fire. and burn hotter than normal. than a regular forest fire.— burn hotter than normal. than a regular forest fire. and be saying governments _ regular forest fire. and be saying governments can _ regular forest fire. and be saying governments can get _ regular forest fire. and be saying governments can get around - regular forest fire. and be saying governments can get around thisj regular forest fire. and be saying i governments can get around this by forest management? that governments can get around this by forest management?— forest management? that is a very comlex forest management? that is a very complex issue. _ forest management? that is a very complex issue, the _ forest management? that is a very complex issue, the reality - forest management? that is a very complex issue, the reality is - complex issue, the reality is governments need to step in more because the current plans governments use were built on efforts made by scientists and engineers 50 or 70 years ago at the problem of climate change as all those guidelines are now thrown out the window. we need to re—evaluate that to see how governments can maximise the ability to defend against these wildfires. d0

maximise the ability to defend against these wildfires. do you have an ideas against these wildfires. do you have any ideas on — against these wildfires. do you have any ideas on that? _ against these wildfires. do you have any ideas on that? well, _ against these wildfires. do you have any ideas on that? well, the - against these wildfires. do you have any ideas on that? well, the big - any ideas on that? well, the big thin is any ideas on that? well, the big thing is re-evaluating _ any ideas on that? well, the big thing is re-evaluating the - any ideas on that? well, the big thing is re-evaluating the return thing is re—evaluating the return time on these fires and that is what is changing the fastest, plans are usually for these extremes once in a hundred years but climate change changes these things to once in ten years or every year as we are seeing in california so what is required as constant management of the area including making sure the infrastructure is not exasperating the problem. infrastructure is not exasperating the problem-— infrastructure is not exasperating the problem. this was in the news for a couple _ the problem. this was in the news for a couple of _ the problem. this was in the news for a couple of months _ the problem. this was in the news for a couple of months about - the problem. this was in the news for a couple of months about a - the problem. this was in the news | for a couple of months about a shift of the north atlantic gulf stream and the impact that is having on sea temperatures and also climate change. is that reversible? as climate change reversible, can we stop what we are seeing? that gulf

stream change movement is going to impact the northern hemisphere. it impacts in northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere as well and the southern hemisphere as well and the reality is if we stop using fossil fuels and get down to zero emissions we immediately start returning back to temperatures we had before but the problem is a long residence time public longer than our lifetime to go back to where we were in the 1950s. not stopping and continuing will make everything worse. �* continuing will make everything worse. ~ �* worse. are you in berne in switzerland _ worse. are you in berne in switzerland or— worse. are you in berne in switzerland or germany, l worse. are you in berne in | switzerland or germany, do worse. are you in berne in - switzerland or germany, do correct me. i switzerland or germany, do correct me. ., �* ,, . me. i am in berne in switzerland. thank you. _ me. i am in berne in switzerland. thank you, apologies. _ wales has moved to covid alert level �*zero,’ meaning social distancing rules and most other restrictions, have

now come to an end. people can gather indoors, and nightclubs can re—open. but face masks will still be required by law, in shops and on public transport. here's our wales correspondent, hywel griffith. it's not quite ripping up the rules but from today, life in wales is far less limited. social distancing is no longer written into law. no need to count how many people meet indoors. facemasks are still mandatory in shops and most indoor spaces, something emma says she can live with. i think it's quite a good idea, really, because there's still quite a lot of vulnerable people. i don't like wearing them but it's just something we've all had to do, really, isn't it? for the manager here, it's about keeping customers confident. they can't afford to take risks. we need to move steadily, gently to complete normality. it isn't going to happen overnight but we do need to build our trade up because since we've reopened, we're only taking about 60%

of what we took in 2019. while there's obvious relief at ending some of the restrictions people have had to live with for almost a year and a half, there's already some nervousness about the months ahead. the welsh government has warned that the rise of another coronavirus variant could yet mean having to reimpose some control measures. barring people from the bar again would be unpalatable for many in the beer trade. from today, table service and masks are no longer legally required in welsh pubs, restaurants and cafes. they hope they've seen the last of lockdowns. basically, we've taken no money. we've managed to survive with the brewery, we've got an independent brewery. plus we've been doing home deliveries. but if we hadn't have had that, i don't know if we'd have survived and i think that pubs in general are struggling. everyone hopes today is a first taste of real lasting freedom. but for now, few are getting carried away. hywel griffith, bbc news, maesteg. a bat the size of a human

thumb has made a record— breaking journey flying more than 1200 miles from britain to russia — only to end up being killed by a cat. the tiny female pipistrelle bat, like the one pictured here, was discovered in a small russian village by a resident who noticed it had a ring with �*london zoo' written on. the bat had been ringed in 2016 near heathrow airport. its epicjourney is of huge interest to scientists studying the creatures in the uk. broadcaster and wildlife expert tom hird says there's a huge amount we can learn from bats. (sot) you're talking about an animal that really, a chunky one might be five centimetres. it's a long way, and across the north sea as well. it's an incredible effort from such a small mammal. bats are pretty hardy creatures. here in the uk we have 18 species

of bats, and apart from taking a bit of a break overwinter, they've got to get out there, they've got to get out there and feed. so they can withstand a bit of wind. they can withstand a bit of rain, because they're just, they're so tough. they really are olympians. if you watch bats in the wild, they are just going, going, going, fighting for it, really, really tough competitors. so i'm sure that this particular bat just thought, "what, heathrow to moscow? no problem, sunshine." and off it went. we'll take a look at tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos.

hello, there. the weather pattern's stuck in a bit of a rut. we've got low pressure right on top of the uk. it's bringing plenty of showers, some heavy with some thunderstorms around, but there has been some sunshine around through today and it's a similar story for part two of the weekend, sunny spells and scattered showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery again. now, this is the pressure chart from today. you can see low pressure right on top of the uk. strongest of the winds have been across southern areas, lighter winds further north — this is where we've had the slow—moving downpours. as we had through the evening and certainly overnight we hold onto the showers across central, northern areas, but i think the south—east quadrant of the country could see something a little bit drier through the night with some clear spells, variable amounts of cloud. staying quite breezy across southern areas and across the far north. temperatures no lower than 11—14 degrees. so, here it is. pressure chart shows that low pressure system right on top of the uk again on sunday. lighter winds further north, bit of a squeeze on the isobars across the southern half of the country, so, again, it's going to be a breezier day here,

but it means these showers across much of england and wales will rattle through quite quickly, whereas again across parts of scotland, the far north of england, northern ireland these showers will be slow—moving as the winds will be light. could see an area of more persistent rain pushing into the northern isles through the day, then, and a blustery day for many, particularly across the south. like i mentioned, those are mean wind speeds. temperature—wise, a bit disappointing again for august. highs of 20 degrees across the south—east, given some lengthier sunny spells. otherwise, for most, the mid to high teens. now, as we move through sunday night, we'll see an area of wet weather spread across south wales, southern england thanks to this weather front. further north, the showers will tend to ease down. there'll still be a few around but we'll see lengthy clear skies, variable cloud and, again, temperatures like they've been the last few nights, ranging from 11 to 13 or 1a degrees. now, into next week, monday starts up again sunshine and showers as this area of low pressure still dominates, but then it moves away and allows

this ridge of high pressure to build in from tuesday onwards, but low pressure always close by to the north and the west of the uk, so it is here across the north and the west of the country through the upcoming week where we'll see further showers at times. the further south and east you are closer to the ridge of high pressure it'll feel a little bit warmer with more sunshine.

hello. this is bbc news. the headlines... the us and britain warn their remaining citizens in afghanistan to leave as the taliban continue their advance, seizing a second provincial capital. hundreds are evacuated by ferry in greece, as firefighters continue to battle an unprecedented outbreak of wildfires. the end of most coronavirus restrictions in wales — no more limits on meeting indoors, plus an end to rules