this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the globe. i'm tim willcox. our top stories... american bombers launch air strikes on taliban fighters who'd taken the afghan city of sheberghan, more than 200 are killed. on the final day of the olympics, lauren price caps her switch from footballer to boxer with a middleweight gold medal for team gb. another golden moment for team gb cyclistjason kenny, making him the country's most decorated olympian. greece on fire. thousands are forced to evacuate their homes in athenian suburbs, and on the country's second—largest island of evia. new changes to the uk's covid travel

restrictions have come into force. and thousands take to the streets of amsterdam as the city marks the 25th anniversary of its first gay pride parade. hello and welcome. reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. in the city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. a taliban spokesman said their fighters had already captured some districts and were inching towards the centre of the city. fierce fighting is also reported

in the centre of another afghan provincial capital, sar—e—pol. earlier, the taliban said they had taken control of sheberghaan — the second provincial capital to have fallen in two days. on saturday us central command said it had intensified air strikes richard galpin reports. in this fast—moving offensive the taliban are claiming a second province, sheberghaan, 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 in american b—52 long—range bombers to try to halt the taliban offensive in sheberghaan. air strikes, it claims, have already hit the insurgents, killing many of them. there is a risk, though, of civilian casualties. already many civilians have

been killed or injured including children. the hospitals filling up. the 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, kabul. a killing designed to intimidate those working for the government in kabul. as the situation deteriorates, many afghans who have been outside 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: we came here to attend 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.

and now while afghans are trying to get back home, the british and american governments are calling on their citizens to leave the country. richard galpin, bbc news. our correspondent in delhi, anbarasan ethirajan, is following developments in afghanistan. what impacts of the strikes having on the push forward? the government sa these on the push forward? the government say these air — on the push forward? the government say these air strikes _ on the push forward? the government say these air strikes have _ on the push forward? the government say these air strikes have killed - say these air strikes have killed dozens of militants, in kunduz and elsewhere. when i spoke to the taliban spokesman they denied that he they talked about how civilian facilities were damaged and caused civilian casualties. what has

happened on the ground in the last few days, the changes have been dramatic since we spoke last. the taliban are on the verge of taking over another provincial capital, though the afghan special forces say they are still fighting in the city of kunduz. on friday in south—west afghanistan was taken by the taliban militants. as we speak, clashes are going on inside kunduz city, one of the biggest in northern afghanistan. if it falls, that would be a huge setback for the afghan government. do we know how long the us is prepared to continue with the air strikes? bearing in mind complete withdrawal is just a few days away now, isn't it? the withdrawal is 'ust a few days away now. m in— withdrawal is 'ust a few days away now, isn't it? the fighting has been continually even _ now, isn't it? the fighting has been continually even as _ now, isn't it? the fighting has been continually even as the _ now, isn't it? the fighting has been continually even as the foreign - continually even as the foreign forces are leaving the country. the

pentagon says almost 95% of the us forces have morally left. a few hundred are there guarding the embassy and other installations. there is a big question, how far these air strikes will continue. these are the game changers on the ground because the afghan military cannot and are struggling to take on taliban militants in different parts because they have been stretched to the limits, have been deploying special forces the various cities now. the air strikes make a big difference on the ground in support of them but there is no clear policy from the us side saying what they will do after the end of august. many people are talking about the presidentjoe biden administration, initially they were not in favour of continuing the air strikes after august but now there seems to be some sort of a rethink giving this lightning offensive by the taliban. without the us air strikes, that also gives them an increase in morale in afghan forces.

and taliban able to target campbell? i have spoken to a couple of people there, they are scared to go out. you don't know when the next attack would come. —— kabul. an afghan air force pilot was among those killed. they think by targeting these pilots they can create real trouble for the afghan airport who will not be able to fly as many missions as possible. there is a big concern even in kabul. we have seen the us and uk asking their civilians or nationals

to leave the country immediately. thank you. anbarasan ethirajan. to the olympics now — and it's the sporting action is drawing to a close on the final day of the tokyo games. here's a look at the medals table as is it stands. with just hours left until the closing ceremony, the united states has overtaken china to take the top spot. the host nationjapan remains in third place. it's been a good day so far for team gb with lauren price taking gold in the middleweight boxing and jason kenny winning the keirin making him gb�*s most decorated olympian. let's head to the bbc sports centre and speak to gavin ramjaun. good day in boxing for the uk and ireland?

lauren price was taken in by her grandparents when she was young. she lost her grandfather in the last years, this win will be very special for her. she paid tribute to our grandparents and upbringing. we saw kelly harrington of ireland in the women's lightweight final, celebrations in ireland going off. she beat her brazilian opponent in a young man and a must points

decision. —— unanimous points decision. —— unanimous points decision. fix, decision. -- unanimous points decision-— decision. -- unanimous points decision. �* ., ., ., , decision. a great win for there as well. someone _ decision. a great win for there as well. someone we _ decision. a great win for there as well. someone we are _ decision. a great win for there as well. someone we are used - decision. a great win for there as well. someone we are used to i decision. a great win for there as - well. someone we are used to seeing winning all the time, jason kenny. kenny absolutely phenomenal from him today in the keirin. now the first man to win a seventh olympic gold for britain so was an achievement on the final day of the olympics. look at the pictures here from the velodrome. lots of pressure to win this one, defending his title from rio afterfailing to this one, defending his title from rio after failing to win gold in the team and individual sprint. it is a flagship cycling event injapan, a motorised bike leads them out. kenny took advantage, getting clear early on, the malaise and athlete second and the netherlands in bronze. kenny

gets the gold again. his first gold of the games in tokyo. he will be delighted, would not have even backed himself going into these games so looking at his form so far in tokyo. but warren kenny fell ill but she will be the flag bearer in the closing ceremony.— but she will be the flag bearer in the closing ceremony. hopefully a bit cooler in _ the closing ceremony. hopefully a bit cooler in the _ the closing ceremony. hopefully a bit cooler in the velodrome - the closing ceremony. hopefully a bit cooler in the velodrome than l the closing ceremony. hopefully a| bit cooler in the velodrome than in the streets just outside tokyo for the streets just outside tokyo for the marathon which started earlier this morning. must have been tough. eliud kipchoge defended his title, to filling his legacy, he said. he is incredibly quick over that

distance. he said he was really glad the olympics had taken place this year, a sign of life getting back on track, he said. from an athletics perspective and anyone competing at the olympics, to be able to finish the olympics, to be able to finish the game time seal a legacy like thatis the game time seal a legacy like that is fantastic for him and a sign that is fantastic for him and a sign that things perhaps would be getting back to normal in terms of the sporting world. so much uncertainty and disruption on the whole. es, and disruption on the whole. marathon under two hours is extraordinary. it defies belief. don't ask me my time! with temperatures in the high 40s advancing wildfires on the greek island of evia have forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents. thousands of locals and tourists

have also been evacuated from athens' northern suburbs — and others have had to abandon their homes elsewhere. the greek army has been deployed to help fight the blazes — and several countries including britain and germany have sent emergency aid teams to help. helena wilkinson has the latest. this is greece's second biggest island, evia. the scenes are devastating. wildfires are continuing to break out on this island. dozens of residents have had to leave their homes. i closed all the windows but they put the water around it. firefighters are doing all they can under extreme conditions. but strong scorching winds have made the situation worse. flames have ripped through vast areas destroying homes and burning forest. more than 2000 people from the island had to be carried to safety after they fled to the beaches.

one man filmed the inferno once he was safe on a ferry. ships remained on standby ready to evacuate more people if needed. the greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis has called this a nightmarish summer. he said the government's priority was to protect human life. people scream. help, help they scream in athens as the flames grew closer. people are trying to put out the fires in any way they can. thousands of people have been evacuated. a big national tragedy. i don't live here, my sister lives here but it is horrible for the whole of greece. greece is experiencing its worst heat wave in more than 30 years and authorities have warned that the risk of further fires remains high in many

parts of the country. helena wilkinson, bbc news. nikolia apostolou is a freelance journalist — a short while ago she gave me an update from the city of kalamata. currently there is still one fire raging but better. it is under control for now. we do not know what will happen in at the next few hours. things in athens are also better. it is still difficult in evia, the sixth day battling the wild side. , . ., , ., evia, the sixth day battling the wild side. , . ., ., wild side. greece has had to call in other countries _ wild side. greece has had to call in other countries as _ wild side. greece has had to call in other countries as well _ wild side. greece has had to call in other countries as well is - wild side. greece has had to call in other countries as well is that - other countries as well is that making a big impact and other countries as well is that making a big impactand how other countries as well is that making a big impact and how are people feeling about the national effort in dealing with this crisis? people are angry because scientists had warned that due to climate change south east europe will have

longer and drier heatwaves. critics say fire protection zones were not maintained or new ones created. international help is making a difference. we still have right now the fire department have just announced that three countries are already helping with battling the fires. we are still waiting to see who else will arrive. nikolia apostolou. officials in california say three firefighters have been injured tackling a huge wildfire in the north of the state. five people are missing after the dixie fire, the largest active blaze in the us swept through two towns, destroying more than 180,000 hectares in four counties. california's fire services said only around a fifth of the blaze has been contained.

britons fully vaccinated against coronavirus can now visit france without quarantining on their return to the uk. it's one of several changes to the government's travel list that have come into effect today. seven countries including germany have been added to the green list — but mexico is now on the red list, meaning a mandatory ten—day stay in a hotel for visitors coming back to britain. here's our business correspondent, katy austin. kyle cannot wait to drive down to the south of france with his dog indy. if he'd gone in the past three weeks he would have had to self—isolate for ten days upon return, while fully vaccinated travellers coming from other amber list countries did not. the announcement the stricter rule would end today gave him the confidence to finally make a plan. it would have been great to be from before but everything has been changing so rapidly it is hard to really understand when it will actually be safe to travel. so i'm trying to go now while i can. i need to get straight back to work when i return to london which is great.

brittany ferries have seen a surge in bookings but still only hopes to carry half a million passengers this year, less than a quarter of pre—pandemic numbers. the season 21 will be worse than season 20 for brittany ferries the season '21 will be worse than season '20 for brittany ferries so i guess it is more than welcome, it is good news but it comes in a year when at the end of the day for us it is about '22 and making '22 a real normal year, hopefully. also from today, india and a handful of other places have moved to the amber list. however, mexico is among those joining the red list. that means paying for hotel quarantine. to avoid it, lotus and her husband, celebrating their anniversary after a tough year, scrambled to fly back england one week early. i would be lying to you if i told you i was not incredibly upset when it happened. i know people say it can change quickly but three days notice to travel from halfway

across the world. struggling tourism and aviation businesses saw this season as crucial. one travel agent told me testing requirements were still putting many brits off booking foreign trips on the latest change had only made a small difference. it's far too late to save the summer. for a lot of consumers, they already made their plans and while we have seen an increase, literally, from the next day we have seen an increase, it is marginal, and when you think most businesses are trading 80% down you need a huge amount of volume to make up anywhere near the shortfall that they're experiencing. those who do now want to book a getaway will still need to check what the rules are for holiday—makers arriving at their destination. katy austin, bbc news. amsterdam has marked the 25th anniversary of its first pride parade.

around 10,000 people carried rainbow flags and banners through the city. car horns toot. a demonstration of equality with a clear message. all chant. a walk through the historic city centre is how thousands marked the 25th anniversary of amsterdam's pride festival. and while the party atmosphere gripped the streets... cheering and applause. ..some marched with these flags in hand, representing countries where homosexuality is still against the law. in 2001, the netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise same—sex marriage. but according to a report by human rights watch, there were over 1,500 anti—lgbt incidents in the country in 2017 — a 66% increase compared to just over a decade ago.

ernst verhoeven helped organise amsterdam's first pride parade and said there has been a lack of tolerance towards lgbt people from some immigrants coming from countries where homosexuality is illegal. the city became more colourful and diverse which is great but the city became also, parts of it, more conservative and aggressive toward differences. we are now in a situation that there is quite a bit of violence instigated against us by youngsters with migration background, and on the other hand, we have the politicians that, the left—wing and liberal politicians don't know how to tackle the problem because they're also afraid to discriminate. so i hope that we invest in each other, in solidarity,

and that in the coming five years, we make a safe space of amsterdam again. a gay paradise. it's the second consecutive year the city's canal parade was cancelled due to coronavirus, but despite covid, young and old, the message on these streets is still the same — equal rights for all. celestina olulode, bbc news. we're used to seeing spectacular pictures of world class athletes at the olympics — but what we don't see is how much work it takes to capture world—class photos. bbc news has spoken to three sports photographers about their favourite shots from the games. what makes a great sports photograph? it's got to be impactful, it could be in—your—face action shots, celebrations, emotion, dejection.

subtleties, details. artistic compositions. the beauty about sports photography is it can take on so many different forms. my name's lawrence griffiths. i'm chief photographer in the uk of sport with getty images and this is my third summer games. i look at life as a photographer. you know, as soon as i'm walking into a place, i'm analysing what i've got, you know, i'm looking at the way the light is, i'm looking — you know, i walk into a venue and i'm assessing backgrounds, i'm assessing angles. obviously lady luck does play a part, but if you want to get those perfect moments, you have to get the perfect spot and, laughs, you have to get there early. three hours, four hours before, to sit in that spot. you know, if you leave it, someone willjump in it. i think a lot of people think you just turn up,

take a few pictures and go home, but, you don't, like, it's early morning, you've got a lot of camera gear, it's so hot out here as well so it's quite physically tough. your day kinda never really stops. for me, it's gotta be a great picture to look at, it's gotta be something that kind of draws you in, something that you think, wow, not only does it capture the moment of that sport but it's, you know, aesthetically very nice to look at. i had a brilliant position at opening ceremony — bang opposite the cauldron. i was able to take in all the fireworks and all the razzmatazz. but i was particularly pleased with this — as the cauldron opened and naomi osaka turned round, she's just got this, like, little cheeky look on her face and she's looking up at the torch and it was just a really, sort of, nice moment. this one's actually probably one of my favourites. see both the little gb flags on the blades, and both the same kind of distance

from the water, and i feel like everything just kind of comes together. i mean, simone biles is right up there with the greatest athletes of all time. you know, i've photographed her a lot through previous olympics and world championships and when she is in full flow, she is a sporting perfection, absolutely incredible to photograph as well. perhaps these games have, you know, we're seeing a different side to her. she's holding the chalk, you know, the chalk for the rest of the team and she's pulling her mask off and looking a bit sad and vulnerable, and i think that picture really tells that story of that day for me. historically down the years when people look back on the tokyo games, that was in the middle of that pandemic and there were no spectators there.

as sport photographers, we want to turn around and say look, you know, the picture that sits in history is something you've ta ken. capturing the perfect olympic moment. bye— bye. hello, hello everyone. i hope you're doing all right. with a presence of heavy showers across much of the uk today and sunny spells, you mightjust catch a rainbow out there and although that sounds quite nice, some of the showers won't be. as with yesterday, slow—moving, heavy, thundery downpours, and the reason why we're seeing these is down to this area of low pressure. now, very slowly this is moving towards the north, and in doing so, i think some southern parts of the uk should see something a bit

brighter and drier today. the south east seeing some sunshine initially and some scotland as well. then the showers swirling around that low, i think will reach most parts. but as with yesterday, some sunny spells in between. quite windy at times, especially across southern parts, thanks to the low again. and today's top temperatures, well, nothing too dazzling, between 18 and 20 celsius. as we head through towards this evening, the low pressure is still with us, introducing further, heavy, slow—moving showers. some of these, as you can see, bunching together into longer more prolonged spells of rain and through today and this evening, some of them could to localised flooding. more in the way of drier weather starting to creep in, though. temperatures tonight down to 13 or 1a celsius. tomorrow, the low pressure is still nearby and is still likely to introduce more of those showers a couple of weather fronts across the uk which in turn will bring some spells of rain across southern parts, you can see one here draped across northern ireland, the north of england, into southern parts of scotland. these will bring showers and more of those showers will tend to build through the day. but i think many of us, especially across parts of england and wales, will more of that see sunshine and brightness tomorrow and those top temperatures, as you can see, in a similar sort

of place, may be getting to 19 or 20 celsius at best. now, as we cast an eye upon tuesday, the low is slowly creeping away from us, and we have a little ridge of high pressure trying to build, so, a better day. this is en route, however, another whether front will swing towards us as we head towards wednesday. introducing some rain into northern ireland, western parts of scotland at first — it looks like we will see it moving across more eastern parts of the uk. again introducing cloud and some rain as well. temperatures potentially climbing just a touch as we head through the middle of this week, but it looks like things are likely to turn a bit less settled once more as we look towards the end of this week. we'll keep you posted, of course. that's the forecast. stay safe, see you soon.

this is bbc news, the headlines. fierce fighting is reported in the northern afghan city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. a taliban spokesman said their fighters were inching towards the centre of the city. thousands of residents and tourists have been evacuated from towns north of athens, as wildfires spread across greece. two people are known to have died, and at least 20 others have been injured. the latest changes to britain's travel restrictions have come into force. seven countries including germany have been added to the green list — meaning that anyone who returns from there doesn't have to quarantine. at the tokyo olympics, lauren price has won great britain's 22nd gold medal. the welsh boxer defeated li qian of china to become middleweight champion.

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