this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. hundreds of wildfires burn out of control in greece. holiday islands are now infernos, while residents in athens northern suburbs desperately try to beat back the flames. the fires are still raging out of control. the air is full of the smell of burning smoke and ashes are falling through the air rather like snowflakes. gunfire. 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. 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. i'm mariko oi in tokyo. we are hit by a time if you buy will bring _ we are hit by a time if you buy will bring all_ we are hit by a time if you buy will bring all the latest on what to expect— bring all the latest on what to expect at the final day of the tokyo olympics — hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

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. our europe correspondent, bethany bell, reports from athens... greece is in the grip of an 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 is not working yet. this is the main north—south motorway near athens, but it has been closed for two days because of all the fires around here. and the strong scorching winds are not helping. as the fire spreads down the hillside, people are frightened for their houses. in athens, there are 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 woman told me she is worried for her family. fix, big worried for her family. a big national tragedy. _ worried for her family. a big national tragedy. do - worried for her family. a big national tragedy. do you - worried for her family. a big | national tragedy. do you live worried for her family. a big - nationaltragedy. do you live here with ou nationaltragedy. do you live here with you though — nationaltragedy. do you live here with you though i _ nationaltragedy. do you live here with you though i don't _ nationaltragedy. do you live here with you though i don't live - nationaltragedy. do you live here with you though i don't live here, | with you though i don't live here, my sister lives here but it is horrible for the whole of greece. this was the scene on the island of

evia last night. fairies carried hundreds of people to safety as they fled to the beaches. safe on board from a one—man film to the inferno on his phone. the fire burn 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 large towns. bethanyjoined us a little earlier from the island of evia. welcome we are in the hills of the island of evia, and as you can see the fire behind me is still raging out of control. the sky is full of smoke, and as you can see there's ash floating through the air almost like snowflakes. the authorities are doing

their best, they say, to try and, the flames but this is an extremely difficult thing. they are helped for the moment by the fact that the wind has died down, but as you can see the blazes behind me are threatening the houses in this area and they are getting closer to this island's second—largest municipality. bethany, it's interesting that you are on an island, they have same resources as the mainland greece to fight those fires? well, many of the inhabitants here have been complaining that they really have not been given the same kind of support that people have around the capital in athens, for example. they say that they have been left to bear the brunt of this very much by themselves. the government has said that it is doing everything it can to prevent the loss of life, and greece's prime minister today said that this has been a nightmarish summer. and it is interesting that in some places, there's been many places where people have been told to evacuate

and get out as soon as possible, but some people have not wanted to do that. they wanted to try and stay to protect their property as much as possible, but of course that's very risky for them and their families. 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 offensive the taliban are claiming a second province is in their hands. here video film for the fighters appears to show them releasing inmates from the local prison. the afghan authorities admit some parts of the city have been taken. in response, the afghan defence ministry says it has called an american be 52 long—range bombers to try to halt the taliban offensive. air strikes, try to halt the taliban offensive. airstrikes, claims, have already hit the insurgents killing of them. there is a risk, though, of civilian

casualties. already many civilians have been killed or injured including children. the hospital filling up. i taliban have been specifically targeting government officials such as the head of the government's information centre. he was shot dead on friday. his funeral has now taken place in the capital. a killing designed to intimidate those working for the government in kabul. as the situation deteriorates, many afghans outside of the country in pakistan are now trying to get back in. but one of the key border crossings has been closed by the taliban leaving many stranded. translation: ~ u, stranded. translation: ~ ., ., translation: we came here to attend a funeral three — translation: we came here to attend a funeral three days _ translation: we came here to attend a funeral three days ago, _ translation: we came here to attend a funeral three days ago, now- translation: we came here to attend a funeral three days ago, now the - a funeral three days ago, now the border is closed, we are sitting here with no food and no money, we cannot go to a hotel to sleep for the night. i appeal to the taliban

leaders to find some solution for us. �* ., ~ ., , ., , us. and now while afghans are trying to net back us. and now while afghans are trying to get back home, _ us. and now while afghans are trying to get back home, the _ us. and now while afghans are trying to get back home, the british and - to get back home, the british and american governments are calling on their citizens to leave the country. tokyo is waking up to the final day of one of the most controversial olympics in modern history. as the games draw to a close, the host country is third on the medal table, behind china and the us. and in a closing ceremony later in the day, tokyo will be handing the olympic baton to paris for the 2024 summer games. our correspondent mariko oi is outside the olympic stadium in tokyo. it is pouring. indeed. we are being hit b a it is pouring. indeed. we are being hit by a typhoon- — it is pouring. indeed. we are being hit by a typhoon. a lot _ it is pouring. indeed. we are being hit by a typhoon. a lot of— it is pouring. indeed. we are being hit by a typhoon. a lot of exciting i hit by a typhoon. a lot of exciting matches — hit by a typhoon. a lot of exciting matches today and of course the closing _ matches today and of course the closing ceremony. we don't know too much _ closing ceremony. we don't know too much about— closing ceremony. we don't know too much about what is going to take

place _ much about what is going to take place inside the olympic stadium but of course _ place inside the olympic stadium but of course yesterday or the day before — of course yesterday or the day before the ioc did not mark the atomic— before the ioc did not mark the atomic bombing of hiroshima despite the requests, but they said they will make — the requests, but they said they will make them mention in the closing — will make them mention in the closing ceremonies that is something we can_ closing ceremonies that is something we can expect. closing ceremonies that is something we can exuect-_ we can expect. hanging onto your umbrella should _ we can expect. hanging onto your umbrella should be _ we can expect. hanging onto your umbrella should be an _ we can expect. hanging onto your umbrella should be an olympic. we can expect. hanging onto your i umbrella should be an olympic sport this year. what stood out during your coverage?— your coverage? what is a very interesting — your coverage? what is a very interesting as _ your coverage? what is a very interesting as i _ your coverage? what is a very interesting as i watch - your coverage? what is a very interesting as i watch a - your coverage? what is a very interesting as i watch a lot - your coverage? what is a very interesting as i watch a lot of| your coverage? what is a very i interesting as i watch a lot of the post—match interviews and those can be post—match interviews and those can he very— post—match interviews and those can be very emotional for athletes that 'ust be very emotional for athletes that just won _ be very emotional for athletes that just won a — be very emotional for athletes that just won a medal but a lot of the japanese — just won a medal but a lot of the japanese athletes actually almost apologised to the japanese public because _ apologised to the japanese public because the games have become so controversial and also of course thank— controversial and also of course thank the — controversial and also of course thank the staff and organising committee for going ahead with the games _ committee for going ahead with the games. they have been under enormous pressure _ games. they have been under enormous pressure facing a lot of uncertainty not knowing whether the games would even take _ not knowing whether the games would even take place. so a lot of

emotions _ even take place. so a lot of emotions we have seen, but at least the younger— emotions we have seen, but at least the younger athletes did not realise the younger athletes did not realise the pressure or the controversy so they seem — the pressure or the controversy so they seem to have had a lot more fun as well _ they seem to have had a lot more fun as well. you're a very well coordinated, you got the olympic rings _ coordinated, you got the olympic rings behind you and i have noticed your nails, — rings behind you and i have noticed your nails, you have to tell me about — your nails, you have to tell me about those. that's right, ring and the red. _ about those. that's right, ring and the red. the — about those. that's right, ring and the red, the japanese flag colour and also — the red, the japanese flag colour and also the nails, so my first on the hack— and also the nails, so my first on the back nails were of the five colours — the back nails were of the five colours of _ the back nails were of the five colours of the olympic rings but my new ones— colours of the olympic rings but my new ones now have the mascots. the masco _ new ones now have the mascots. the masco for— new ones now have the mascots. the masco for the olympics and the mascot — masco for the olympics and the mascot for the paralympics which will begin— mascot for the paralympics which will begin in a few weeks here in tokyo _ will begin in a few weeks here in tokyo. there's a lot of concerns about _ tokyo. there's a lot of concerns about the — tokyo. there's a lot of concerns about the search we are seeing in covid _ about the search we are seeing in covid cases— about the search we are seeing in covid cases but hopefully the games can go— covid cases but hopefully the games can go ahead as smoothly as the olympics— can go ahead as smoothly as the olympics have gone, of course the public— olympics have gone, of course the public sentiment still is very much negative —

public sentiment still is very much negative. they've also been very excited _ negative. they've also been very excited with the strong performance ofjapanese athletes and will continue cheering for the athletes. it's continue cheering for the athletes. it's nice _ continue cheering for the athletes. it's nice to — continue cheering for the athletes. it's nice to have a smile on the final day of the olympics, before i say goodbye how long did that take? the nails? three hours, actually. all! that's— the nails? three hours, actually. all! that's dedication! that the nails? three hours, actually. all! that's dedication!— the nails? three hours, actually. all! that's dedication! that was my da off all! that's dedication! that was my day off gone- _ all! that's dedication! that was my day off gone. thank _ all! that's dedication! that was my day off gone. thank you _ day off gone. thank you very much. laughter- — day off gone. thank you very much. laughter. three _ day off gone. thank you very much. laughter. three hours, _ day off gone. thank you very much. laughter. three hours, goodness| day off gone. thank you very much. - laughter. three hours, goodness me. yes, final day of the olympics. and make sure you follow us here on bbc news will have all of the highlights and watch that ceremony as well. 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. 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 oman. 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. 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 headlines on bbc news... hundreds are evacuated by ferry

in greece, as firefighters continue to battle an unprecedented outbreak of wildfires. gunfire. the us and britain warn their remaining citizens in afghanistan to leave as the taliban continue their advance, seizing a second provincial capital. more on afghanistan now. dr marvin weinbaum is the former intelligence analyst at the us state department and director for afghan and pakistan studies at middle east institute in washington dc. he gave me his view on the recent american air strikes. well, this indicates how greatly we see this as deteriorating very quickly. it seems now where we are bringing in the heaviest piece of equipment we could bring into the conflict, and we are prepared here to accept high civilian casualties. there's no question that the kind

of precision bombing that has taken place with drones and helicopters, drone ships, it is not possible given the extent that that will carry on possibly as well, but given the extent here of the offensive then there is a need here to bring in everything that could possibly be introduced. but with the understanding that this is going to bring casualties of enormous proportions. we have got double significance, haven't we? so you have got the us air strikes, you have also got the fact that the second provincial capital has been so 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 something like that ever happened? i don't see any possibility here of a reversal. this has gone too far,

and we have to remember there's still a great deal of support in the united states for these actions on the part of the administration. so that's not going to happen, but the united states is at least going to say that we did everything we could both financially but also military within the constraints that we have here which means just airpower. i don't see any way in which this is going to not resemble vietnam except for there is one possibility here. yes, the likelihood of any kind of negotiation of agreement, power—sharing, that is long past if it was ever really a realistic opportunity. i think we should be prepared now possibly as more capitals fall for the taliban to turn around and say ok, ok, you know where things are headed.

we are prepared to offer a peace plan and effectively what they are going to then do is say we can spare ourselves of all of the additional fighting that's going to inevitably happen over the next few months. this peace plan will be an interim government possibly leading to a taliban governed system and islamic emirate. 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. riot police in thailand have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anti—government protesters who tried to gather in the capital, bangkok. the demonstrators are calling for political reforms and changes to the monarchy. they're also angry at the thai government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. as jonathan head reports.

these protests are not yet on the scale of last year's mass rallies. but they are no less determined. pushing once again for the government to resign and for the lavish funds spent on the military monarchy to be diverted instead to fighting the covid pandemic. the police walled off the prime minister's home and much of bangkok's royal quarter. they push the protesters back with volleys of tear gas. a now familiar confrontation we are seeing each weekend despite the government's declaration that such gatherings are strictly forbidden. the grievances that fired up thailand's youth last

year have not gone away. if anything, the government's botched vaccine rollout combined with the rapid spread of the delta variant overwhelming hospitals and morgues in a country that largely contained the virus last year, has sparked even wider public anger. the prime minister, who seized power seven years ago in a coup, is seen by many as out of touch and authoritarian. his is one of several governments in this region whose already shaky legitimacy is being tested by covid. yet, with infection still rising and much of thailand in lockdown, only a few people are prepared to take the risk ofjoining these demonstrations. for now, they remain small and unless they pick up momentum, little threat to the thai government. jonathan head, bangkok. tens of thousands of health workers in bangladesh are leading a major drive to increase the number

of people being vaccinated against covid i9. the country hopes to vaccinate 3.2 million people in a just week, as it battles the latest surge in cases. bangladesh's national lockdown has been extended until august 10. our south asia correspondent danjohnson is in delhi, and he said that the spread of the delta variant is a huge challenge. that variant is sweeping across the country particularly in the last few weeks. to give you some perspective, there have been 22,000 covid deaths in bangladesh since the start of the pandemic but a quarter of those happened during july. so things are really happy and getting bad in the past few weeks. intense pressure on hospitals and emergency services. it is why the authorities have taken this step to ramp up the vaccination programme. originally their aim was to vaccinate 10 million more people this week. they have scaled that target back to 3.2 million but it is their intention to roll—out vaccinations particularly to some of cutup

communities that are hard to reach especially in this time of year. about 4 million people are already fully vaccinated but the perspective on that shows you what a challenge the country faces because the population in total is over 160 million so even if they reach their target in the next week there is still a long way to go for bangladesh to be protected and to get out of the covid pandemic that is not the only challenge they are facing. the country has another outbreak do battle at the moment as well. that was danjohnson there. the university of sussex is trying to incentivise students to get 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 nathusius 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. 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. there is a huge amount that bats can teach us. for starters, it's only relatively recently that we recognised the nathusius is a different type of pipistrelle. we used to think that they only came to the uk to feed, and that they then went back to europe. but we now know we have breeding colonies here in the south—east, so we're always learning more and more and more. and when you consider bats really are top predators for flying insects, and flying insects themselves are an incredible indicator of environmental health and technological health. you know, you've got to have those little midges and flies pollinating our seeds and grasses and all that kind of stuff. they're an amazing keystone species, so knowing where they started, where they're going and what they might encounter on the way gives us more opportunity to protect them, look after them and in doing so, get an idea of the current state of health of our own ecosystem.

the duke and duchess of cambridge have released a new picture of princess charlotte on their twitter page. here she is, taking part in the big butterfly count, a uk—wide survey they're encouraging everyone to join it with. the picture was taken by kate on a recent trip to norfolk. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello there. low pressure brought a very unsettled day on saturday. we saw lots of showers around, some torrential downpours in places, but there was some good spells of sunshine, too. and sunday is a repeat performance — some of the showers will be heavy and thundery once again and slow moving across the north of the uk. that's because in the centre of the low, the winds will be later but you'll notice across its southern flank

for southern england through wales, quite a squeeze in the isobars there. so, it's going to be breezy. so, we'll start off with maybe some sunshine across eastern areas but the showers will get going. they'll rattle through fairly quickly across something areas because of the breeze but they'll hang around across the northern half of the country — slow moving torrential downpours, an area of more persistent rainjust pushing to the far northeast of scotland and orkney there. so the wind is lighter — you'll notice these are the mean wind speeds. further south though, it will be blustering guests higher than this particularly around coasts and over hills. so in the sunshine, we could see temperatures reach around 21 celsius. otherwise — like the last few days for most places — will be the mid to high teens, and it'll feel particularly cool when the showers come along. now through the showers continue across northern areas, turn drier for a while for england sunday night, and wales but we'll see this feature run across the south bringing some wet weather for south wales and a southern england through the night. again, it'll remain fairly breezy in the south,

later winds in the north. overnight temperatures 11—14 celsius. so into monday, then, we're starting the new week off with in this area of low pressure but it's going to weaken. fewer isobars on the charts, so the winds will turn a bit lighter. we'll start off quite wet across the south—east. that feature clearing away. and you'll see quite a bit of sunshine around and i think the general thinking is for monday, there will be fewer showers around but still dotted around, there will be some torrential downpours in places. top temperatures, again, 20—21 celsius, closer to 17—19 for most. that area of low pressure eventually moves away as we head on into tuesday and a ridge of high pressure builds in across the country from tuesday onwards. this area of low pressure will continue to affect more western parts of the country but i think high pressure will try and dominate for much of the south and east through the course of the week. so, temperatures will respond. we'll see southerly winds, more sunshine. it will turn much warmer. there will always be the chance of some showers further north and west closer to that area

of low pressure.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are political editor of the sunday mirror, nigel nelson, and katy balls, deputy political editor of the spectator. hello again, our chat in a moment. first a little look at the front pages. the observer leads with warning of a climate catastrophe, quoting alok sharma, the minister in charge of the cop26 talks to be held in glasgow this year. the telegraph also focuses on climate change, saying that the prime minister's green agenda is facing chaos due to the effect it could have on working—class families. the express leads on covid and the travel industry, saying borisjohnson is being urged

to cut the costs of covid tests for foreign travel.