this is bbc news — i'm sally bundock. our top stories: fire and smoke force holidaymakers and residents to flee greek islands as forests burn out of control. described as a massive wake—up call, the un report reveals how human activity is accelerating climate change. three more afghan cities fall to the taliban, as they dismiss international calls for a ceasefire. farewell to one of the most challenging summer olympics of them all, as tokyo closes the games.

hundreds more people have been forced to leave their homes and parts of greece as wildfires continue to burn out of control. this summer, scorching temperatures across much of southern europe has left forests subserve suitable 25. the region north of athens and evia, the second largest island, is among the hardest hit areas. evacuations are under way. thousands of homes, all reduced to ash. with each change in the

wind, carving a new path of devastation. those who stay save whatever they can. others pack up their lives and head to the port. it's like a scene of an apocalyptic movie, the sun is red, it is quite scary. more than 2000 people have been evacuated from evia by ferry. once of the island, miles of smoke show the scale of the fight, and it is the smoke that authorities say hampers efforts to downsize from above. those on the ground to say more needs to be done. most people see that we don't have any help until yesterday, and they could save everybody, and they could save everybody, and it wasn't true. the people don't know where to go. the problem is that we feel that they letters burn. france, germany and the uk have

all offered help to greece, currently experienced its hottest weather for 30 years. scientists warned that the failure to tackle our impact on climate change means that temperatures and the consequences will continue to rise. we speak to a reporter from bbc world service who is on evia. what is the situation as things stand? hello, i am at the main port in at the north of the island. we are west of the fire front. this area of people come to be evacuated from the whole of the island, and ferried to the mainland. they put them here. we open the doors to receive — this is the main tourist area, but these are not tourists, they have all gone. people are

staying in hotels for one, two, three nights. they don't know what they have left behind because the priority is to save lives, save properties, and third is really at the forest, the very beautiful forest in an unspoiled area which has been completely destroyed. when you look around you, is there any signed the fires are subsiding or are they as fierce as they have been? it seems that the fires started last week, last tuesday, it started in a small area but the problem is it expanded to the other side of the island. from then, it expanded to the west, so at the moment we are at the end of the forest and the next area — we are protected here —

but the next area in danger is an open area where i am. the fire is uncontrolled, and in the path of many houses and the forest. in terms of the rescue efforts and evacuating people, are most people being taken safely away from the worst affected areas? yes, the evacuation project is working very well. some people do not want to leave the house, they prepared to stay. it is actually because of these people who stay behind that some properties and houses have been saved, because there's not enough help, not enough fire brigade vehicles, and the most important thing is that there is not enough aeroplane or helicopter, water bombing

planes. these were supposed to be the main front that might help extinguish the fires. they can't, one reason is there isn't enough planes and helicopters. it is such a horrible situation. whatever our planes and helicopters are available, sometimes they cannot operate because of the smoke and the huge fire. thank you very much for that, speaking to us from the island of evia, one of the hardest hit areas of the wildfires. a huge wildfires in the north of california is the second largest in the history of the state. five people are missing after the dixie fire swept through £2 and forced the evacuation of thousands. it covers an area bigger than size of los angeles. in peru, more than 500 firefighters are battling blazes in the south of

the country. the wildfires have just tried land since they began on thursday. no reports of fatalities or injuries so far. the most comprehensive study that has ever been conducted into climate change is being published later. the british government's climate co—ordinator, alec sharma, who is hosting the climate change conference in glasgow later this year has called it the starkest warning so far about the need to cut emissions. here is our environment and allergist analysis. the example of another heatwave made worse by climate change, experts say. they warn that we will see more as overall temperatures continue to rise. they say in northern europe will be wetter overall, and floods like these in parts of london last month will become more frequent. but, london's

hampstead ponds, they have already had to raise and reinforce the dams to protect hundreds of homes downstream from the sort of floods expected and extreme rains are forecast to come. the cost has been huge. we are already paying the price of ignoring scientistss warning on climate change. scientists from around the globe have contributed to the globe have contributed to the report. it will give the most detailed information so far on how fast the climate is changing. climate change is here and now. we are already seeing the effects of a warming planet and changes in weather, rising sea levels, and coral reefs are bleaching and dyeing around the world. these are very visible from around the world — english is melting, arctic ice retreating. the symbols are all around us. retreating. the symbols are all around ve— around us. political attitudes are changing- _ around us. political attitudes are changing. the _ around us. political attitudes are changing. the uk - around us. political attitudes are changing. the uk is - around us. political attitudes. are changing. the uk is getting electric cars. world leaders will meet in glasgow in the

autumn to discuss what more to do. home heating and food production will be on the agenda. in the words of one scientist, we are not doomed, but to avoid catastrophe, co2 emissions needed to be cut now. let's look at the other main news from around the world. north korean leader kimjong—un has ordered the military to conduct relief work in areas hit by heavy rain. state television showed footage of submerged houses and downed bridges and railroads, saying more than 1000 homes have been destroyed. 5000 people were forced to have occurred. a top aide to her new york govenor of state has resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal involving her boss. melissa derosa, his secretary, has described the last two years as

emotionally and mentally trying. lawmakers have accused mr colombo of 11 cases of sexual harassment. the indian actor anupam shyam has died at the age of 63. he was admitted to hospital last week with a kidney infection. he was a familiarface on kidney infection. he was a familiar face on television, and appeared in many forms. coming up — leaving home, lionel messi bids an emotional farewell to the club he has played for in his whole professional career. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge

job of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutal former dictator has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979. two billion people around the world have seen - the last total- eclipse of the sun to take place - in this millennium. it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, . ending three hours later when the sun set - over the bay of bengal.

the latest headlines: dozens of villagers evacuated from evia. ferries on standby. human activity is accelerating climate change leads to more extreme weather conditions. the taliban have captured three more provincial capitals, this time in northern afghanistan as they intensify their offensive to steal power after the withdrawal of western troops. the three cities seem to have largely fallen to the islamist militants within hours of each other. the biggest is kunduz, a city of more than a quarter of a million. the provincial capitals, sar—e—puland a million. the provincial capitals, sar—e—pul and taloqan are largely in government hands. however, it is claimed they have forces on the ground fighting back. here is our correspondent. fire and confusion in

the centre of kunduz. taliban pictures appear to show yet another city falling under their control. this is their biggest prize so far — a large city, economically and strategically important, and it seems to have fallen easily. afraid of the fighting as much as the taliban, civilians are fleeing, some of them heading south for kabul. a government spokesman says the taliban will soon be ousted, but similar claims have been made elsewhere, apparently without result. to the west, taliban fighters inspect newly captured government buildings in sar—e pul, another provincial capital. one of three reportedly captured in just one day. the taliban have now captured five provincial centres. as well as sar—e pul and kunduz, they now appear to control zaranj, sheberghan and taloqan. no longer content to control the countryside, but confident enough to move on major cities.

if the taliban can make it to kunduz maybe they can make it to kabul, and that in itself is a big fear. the only good option would be if there is some kind of a political settlement, but that doesn't seem any more possible today than it did two or three years ago. and tens of thousands of afghans are being displaced. this is notjust a political and military disaster. decades of conflict in afghanistan have created whole generations of refugees. the west's military withdrawal is almost complete. afg ha ns fear they�* re being abandoned. the government can request american air strikes, but for how long and to what effect? paul adams, bbc news. the afghan government says its forces are trying to retake

that lost ground, the provincial capitals, the cities. do you think they can do it? the security situation had been deteriorating for a while, and the afghan government had said that it wanted to defend these cities across the country. kunduz was one of them. now, kunduz was one of them. now, kunduz and has fallen to the taliban, so that tells you how bad the security situation is. i think this has an impact on the political alignment of the media factions, groups across the country with the afghan republic, and it is bound to show confidence in the ability of the afghan government to fight back. the timing of this, but they have been ever 20 years or so but sometimes they would have to leave and you can't have country being like a patient thatis country being like a patient that is constantly needing life support. was this inevitably

going to happen whenever those troops left, do you think? lie troops left, do you think? us war troops left, do you think? ii’s war effort had drifted a long time back. it had not yielded good outcomes. the new administration of president biden leaves a lot to be desired. it has been haphazard with lots of bad military choices and the president has been very keen on defending his decision to withdraw to a point. i think he has compromised on some of the diplomatic steps that the us government needed to take to prevent this rapid deterioration in the country. what do you think it would take to achieve a ceasefire now between this —— the taliban and

the afghan government? i between this -- the taliban and the afghan government?- the afghan government? i think a ceasefire _ the afghan government? i think a ceasefire is _ the afghan government? i think a ceasefire is highly _ the afghan government? i think a ceasefire is highly unlikely. i a ceasefire is highly unlikely. a man has been reflecting on and resisting a ceasefire for a long time now. they resisted a ceasefire went the situation was much better, when the taliban had a moderately better relationship with the us government and now the taliban appeared to be buoyed by their success, i think they are smelling blood. it appears to be a loss as to how to restrain the taliban. they are making some statements but there is no co—ordinated concerted efforts to restrain the taliban stop aiding the us government doesn't know what to do next. thank you very much indeed. time now for a round up of sport. hello, iam hello, i am mark edwards with your latest sports news. for many he's the greatest player ever to grace barcelona's iconic camp nou. he's certainly their

most successfull but his farewell on sunday was an emotional one. lionel messi has been speaking publicly — after it was announced he's to leave barcelona. he's an iconic figure at the club — rising from the academy to become barca's all time leading scorer. and he was understandably emotional at a news conference he gave in the city earlier this sunday, confirming his departure. psg are favourites to capture the 6 time ballon d'or winner. messi said that the ligue1 club was is one possibility but nothing is confirmed with anyone yet. meanwhile, barcelona won theirfirst game of the post—messi era — beating juventus in a pre—season friendly. new signing memphis depay opened the scoring after only 3 minutes. danish international martin braithwaite made it 2—0 with a header early in the 2nd half — but they saved the best to last with riqui puig firing in their third in stoppage time. 3—0 to barcelona as they win their annual pre—season joan gamper trophy.

mexican golfer abraham ancer has won the wgc invitational event in memphis after coming through a three—way play—off against the masters champion hideki matsuyama and sam burns of the usa. he's the first mexican to win a wgc event. the overnight leader harris english slipped out of contention by shooting a 3—over—par 73 which took him back to 15—under—par for the championship — and that meant he didn't even make the play—off. matsuyama, meanwhile, came from 9 shots back in his final round to keep his hopes alive — with burns and ancer joining him on 16—under—par, to make it into the play—off. it was ancer who sealed the win with a birdie at the 2nd extra—hole — and the victory takes him up to 6th in the fedex cup standings. the canadian tennis open in toronto returns this week after its absence in 2020 due to the pandemic. albert ramos—vinolas and marin cilic go head to head in the first match on centre court while nick kirgios in also in action on monday.

meanwhile, germany's andrea petkovic hoisted a wta singles championship trophy for the first time in over six years after victory at the inaugural winners open in romania. she thrashed the egyptian mayar sherif in straight sets. the number 2 seed coming through 6—1, 6—1 to end sherif�*s hopes of claiming a first singles title on the wta tour. after 16 days, 339 gold medals and 33 sports the closing ceremony of the tokyo olympics brought the curtains down on the global extravaganza. fireworks and lights beamed into the night sky above the olympic stadium as the games drew to a close. the theme for the closing ceremony was "worlds we share" — so it was arrigato to tokyo and bring on paris 202a. set your watches — the next olympics is here in 1082 days.

that's all from us here at the bbc sport centre — for all the latest news do head to our website but from me marc edwards and the rest of the sport team — bye bye. well as marc was mentioning, the olympic games in tokyo have closed and the focus for the next summer games transfers to paris. but what legacy has tokyo left? a games that was postponed and many thought might not happen at all — and then did — as a pandemic engulfed the country. here's our tokyo correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes. if you tried to get the olympic stadium tonight, this is what you were met with. hundreds of police blocking alleyways, ordering people to move along.

even the closing fireworks lasted just 15 seconds. but if the authorities were trying to prevent the large gatherings that took place during the opening ceremony, then they failed. out at the park, the sport—loving uno family have spent much of the last two weeks glued to the telly. but even for them, watching the games on tv hasn't been an unmitigated joy. translation: | really | wanted to go and watch. it's totally different to watch on tv and actually being there to watch the games. translation: it's almost | like the olympics was taking place in another country. we can only watch it on tv. we felt the distance very much. the last two weeks have really been a tale of two cities, two to kyos. there's the one behind this fence, where there's been this amazing sport and tremendous success for japan. and then there's the tokyo outside the fence, where most of the time you wouldn't even have noticed

that the olympics has been going on. and the same contrast is true for the pandemic. inside the fence, daily testing means things have been kept pretty well under control, but outside, the pandemic is now out of control. critics say the olympics has sucked away resources, leaving the city without enough covid testing kits or vaccines. it has left a scar on the japanese society, meaning, you know, people are divided. and above all, the games left health in economic debt. if you look at numbers in tokyo, it's just exponentially increasing. there's no doubt japan's record—breaking haul of medals has brought realjoy to the host nation. but as the olympic roadshow leaves town, the olympic host city has been left facing a medical crisis. rupert wingfield—hayes,

bbc news, in tokyo. and as the olympic torch gets handed overfrom japan and as the olympic torch gets handed over from japan to france, astronauts also mark the occasion. conveniently, the crew also includes members from both countries. on the left is an bracket —— —— they rounded off their own take on the tokyo games. some of the 11 iss inhabitants have been participating in events including no gravity gymnastics, synchronised bloating and no hands ball. just before we go, we have shown you plenty of some of the dramatic wildfires in this bulletin. ijust wanted to show you some pictures from italy where the city of venice looks to be at the complete other end

of the weather spectrum. you can see people walking in saint marks square underwater. high water has always been a part of venetian life but the tide peak usually affects venice in the autumn and winter. just five times in the past has high water arrived during the summer. coming up in a few minutes we will be taking a look at all of the business news including the world's largest ever report into human activity and the impact on climate change. we will bring you the latest results of the state owned oil firm you the latest results of the state owned oilfirm saudi arimco. theyjust published arimco. they just published their latest arimco. theyjust published their latest numbers. we are also going to be looking at efforts to make tech companies more diverse, the new rules that are being brought in four companies listed on america's tech heavy nasdaq index and the uk travel rules, and the cost of testing if you are trying to

travel abroad was not all about coming up injust a few minutes, don't go away. in the meantime you can reach me and the team on social media. hello. some of you have been able to stay dry, some but for others, dark looming clouds will be bringing rainfall. some good news with few showers around this week and it should return to cabbages close to where they should be at the time of year. to get there, we need to get rid of this area. —— temperatures. it is still with us today with outbreaks of rain, thunderstorms, warm weather system towards the south—east corner with some of the heaviest of the rain. clear skies around first thing and where you do, cabbages will drop back into single figures but most will have temperatures around —— temperatures. fairly

cloudy in scotland and northern ireland. writing up through the day. some of the rain becoming torrential and thundery, particularly in the east later on. brightest of the weather northern england, north midlands and wales, many will stay dry through the day but in the south, after the wet start, sunshine and blustery showers to see you through the day. temperatures more widely into the day. for many, here is the sign of something improving as far as the weather is concerned, an area of low pressure gets towards scandinavia and becomes less of a feature. a bit of high pressure comes in stopping the showers from brewing. the northern half of scotland will be seeing and thundery in places but isolated showers, more of you will spend the day dry with longer spells of sunshine and temperatures climbing a little bit day by day. into the middle part of the week, this broad area of low pressure out towards the west will bring welcome rain into the highlands and islands. much—needed rain. it is

approaching and we start to dragon southerly wind which will tuck into some warm air —— dragged in. with some sunny spells, best of which will be in the morning across the central eastern areas were stopped some of the sunshine turning hazy. outbreaks of northern ireland and heaviest of most persistent rain in western scotland. for more people, cabbages —— temperatures above 20. it stays warm enough towards the south and east as we go through the rest of the weekend was not further rain at times in western scotland.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. saving the planet — a new un backed report is set to highlight the dangers of climate change and calls on countries to do more to prevent global warming. saudi arabia's state oil firm, aramco, smashes analyst expecations as it reports an 288 percentjump in profits. and the nasdaq embraces diversity — america's second largest exchange changes it's rules to ensure it's listed firms have more women and people from minorities on their boards.