welcome to bbc news, i'm david eades. our top stories. new york's governor bows to pressure and resigns over a series of sexual harrassment cases. andrew cuomo says he's going for the greater good. i work for you. and doing the right thing is doing the right thing for you. thousands continue to flee major afghan cities in search of safety, as the taliban capture their eighth provincial capital in a matter of days. at least 42 people, including 25 soldiers, are killed trying to fight forest fires in algeria. and building a new olympic spectacle — beijing prepares to become the first city in history to host both a summer and winter games,

just six months after tokyo. fellow democrats wanted him out, even president biden said he should go — now, finally, the governor of new york state, andrew cuomo, has quit his office a full week after the state attorney generalfound him guilty of sexually harrassing 11 women. it's a humiliating outcome for one of the most high—profile politicalfigures in the democratic party. but as he announced his departure, mr cuomo also denied any intentional misconduct, and said he was gearing up to fight the allegations. nada tawfik has this report. cuomo�*s going down... once a new york hero, today a target of ridicule. andrew cuomo�*s fall

from grace has been dramatic. for months, the governor sought to stay in office after allegations of sexual harassment. but today, with impeachment looming, he announced he would step aside. i think that, given the circumstances, the best way i can help now is if i step aside and let government get back to governing. and therefore, that's what i'll do. his fate was sealed by an independent investigation by the state attorney general�*s office, released last week, which found he engaged in unwanted touching and inappropriate comments to 11 women. one of those women, an aide, broke her silence, filing a criminal complaint accusing him of kissing her and groping her breast and buttocks. why did you file the criminal complaint with the sheriff's office? it was the right thing to do, the governor needs to be held accountable. just so i'm clear again, being held accountable to you

means seeing the governor charged with a crime? what he did to me was a crime. he broke the law. prominent democrats including presidentjoe biden said his resignation was a good outcome for the state. many new yorkers agreed. i feel this was a long time coming, ifeel good that he resigned, i didn't think it was going to happen. the evidence is way too much, so it's smart to do this. it's the wisest thing he's done in a long time. i'm happy it's not dragged out and they don't have i to impeach him and he's hanging on, and it became even uglier. than it could have been. it's ugly enough. just a year ago, andrew cuomo was seen as one of the nation's most popular governors after his handling of the covid pandemic and he was praised for his public support of the me too movement. all the while, investigators say he abused the state's highest office and created a toxic workplace. with his upcoming exit, a woman will now lead new york, his deputy kathy hochul will become the first female governor in

the state's history. the downfall of another powerful man in america shows the me too movement's enduring impact, but it also calls into question how much has really changed. taliban militants in afghanistan are said to have raised theirflag on the main square and the governor's office in puli khumri, the capital of baghlan province about five—and—a—half hours' drive north of kabul. they've now seized eight of the country's 3a provincial capitals. in farah in the north—west, which also fell on monday, there's been heavy fighting, but in other cities, government forces have withdrawn. it's being reported that thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded in fighting. caroline hawley has the story. the aftermath of the battle for kunduz, the northern city captured by the taliban on sunday, the terrifying cost of urban warfare. the un and other aid agencies are now growing increasingly alarmed at the mounting

toll it's taking. civilians have fled the taliban advances in their tens of thousands. many have reached the relative safety of the capital kabul. translation: those who have been displaced are in a very - bad and frustrating situation, but those in the government have not sent a representative here to help. there's little comfort for them here, but they've left far worse behind. people are living in fearand dread. women are already being killed and shot for breaching rules that have been imposed on what they can wear and on where they can move without a male escort. it's time for the international community to prioritise peace in afghanistan. securing a ceasefire is the aim of these talks taking place in the qatari capital doha over the next few days. the us special representative for afghanistan, zalmay khalilzad, hopes to persuade the taliban to halt their offensive, started after foreign troops began to withdraw in may.

afghan government forces are trying to repel the advances, but it's the taliban who have the momentum now and very little incentive to stop. caroline hawley, bbc news. it has taken months of political wrangling but the us senate has passed a $1 trillion infrastructure plan intended to restore some of the ageing, often crumbling transport systems across the us. what makes this especially noteworthy is that the bill won support from both democrats and republicans — 19 of them voting in favour and bucking the long—standing trend of highly divided party politicking in congress. so this bipartisan success story now goes to the house of representatives, and if passed there, would head to president biden�*s desk. i know compromise is hard for both sides. but it's important, it's necessary, for democracy to be able to function.

so, i want to thank everyone on both sides of the aisle for supporting this bill. today, we proved that democracy can still work. an american woman has filed a civil lawsuit in new york, accusing prince andrew, the queen's third child, of sexual abuse. in a statement, virginia giuffre claims she was trafficked to the prince by the late, convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein when she was 17. prince andrew himself has consistently denied the allegations. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. which of the people in this photograph is telling the truth? the man, prince andrew, who categorically denies any impropriety? or the woman, virginia giuffre, who alleges she was sexually assaulted by him on three occasions? ms giuffre has made these allegations before. she's now followed up with a civil claim filed at a district court in new york. the claim states that

when she was 17, she was the victim of sex trafficking. the document states... it goes on to refer to "prince andrew's criminal acts" and states in conclusion... tonight, ms giuffre's lawyer issued this warning to prince andrew. i think it would be very ill—advised for prince andrew to ignore judicial process. he can ignore me. but if he does, it's going to be a default judgment against him and, in addition, will be a judgment that can be enforced not only in the united states

but in virtually every civilised country in the world. earlier, prince andrew had offered no reaction to the lawsuit. his position remains as it was in his interview with newsnight�*s emily maitlis in november 2019, when he denied any improper behaviour with ms giuffre — or virginia roberts, as she was then. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her, dancing with her at tramp or going on to have sex with her in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? i can absolutely, categorically tell you it never happened. do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts, then or at any other time? none whatsoever. the civil claim has been lodged with the court. andrew will doubtless be hoping it doesn't lead to a hearing, as will his family.

buckingham palace is doing its best to keep everything to do with prince andrew at arm's length. but whatever the truth of these claims, the very fact that a member of the royalfamily finds himself facing them is clearly damaging. prince andrew has withdrawn from public life with the royal family. for all his denials, these latest developments suggest there can be little immediate prospect of him restoring his public reputation. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the world's attention will soon turn to beijing for the winter olympics, coming up injust six months. before the current delta variant outbreak, chinese officials were confident they could have crowds for all events — now they're not so sure. but there are also political challenges for the chinese government hosting the games — as it's accused of serious human rights abuses. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell has more. in the mountains around

the chinese capital, thousands of workers are busy. next to the space age skijumping center, they're making the most of the summer months for construction. justin downs is a canadian winter sport specialist who's been advising games organisers. well, there's no question beijing will be ready for the competitions. in fact, all of the competition venues are already ready and they've already hosted test events, so what you see going on around us here isjust the supporting infrastructure. before the sliding center is iced overfor the bobsleigh runs, they're putting on the finishing touches. a high—speed train connection with the city is already operating. around it, hotels, temporary stands for spectators, food and beverage sites are all being built. here at the olympic village, there's still work to be done

to have everything ready in time for the games. beijing's been fortunate, though, in that it's been able to study tokyo to work out the logistics in a time of coronavirus. over three years ago, we filmed some of the test events here. despite the pandemic, china's officials had also been planning to have spectators at the coming olympics. that was before a delta variant outbreak reintroduced the coronavirus to china. yet they say they're still hopeful to bring it under control in time. and most people here seem pretty optimistic about what the beijing games will bring. this area already has the feeling of a full—blown winter sport place.

the hope is that after the olympics, there will be an explosion in china of interest in skiing and the like, and that these facilities will get used quite a lot. one of the things that the beijing olympics is going to find hard to shake is the political element. there are allegations of serious human rights abuses in this country, and some are calling for a boycott of the games. well, here we are at the top of the mountain — not bad, eh? even ruins of the great wall of china overlook the winter olympic sites. but with the coronavirus lingering, how many people will be able to take this all in? stay with us on bbc news, still to come. following the latest un report on combatting global

warming, we'll get reaction from the chair of the un group of least developed countries, in this week's edition of climate critical. 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 being 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. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. andrew cuomo resigns as governor of new york state after an inquiry found he sexually harassed 11 women. as civilians flee their homes, there's warnings of thousands of deaths and injuries in afghanistan, with the taliban capturing an eighth provincial capital. here in the uk, the health secretary says plans are in place to offer third booster vaccination against covid—19 to some of the most vulnerable people.

the uk'sjoint committee on vaccination and immunisation is due to publish its findings into the ongoing protection from vaccines soon but there are already some clues from other countries, including a study of more than 50,000 people in the us. a major booster jab a major boosterjab a ma'or booster 'ab in the uk a major boosterjab in the uk is difficult, it could be of moral_ is difficult, it could be of moral failure with three doses here _ moral failure with three doses here and — moral failure with three doses here and nothing in other parts of the — here and nothing in other parts of the world.— of the world. there is also the messaging. — of the world. there is also the messaging, because - of the world. there is also the messaging, because it - of the world. there is also the messaging, because it says i of the world. there is also the messaging, because it says to other countries, if the uk needs three doses, so do we. that has a huge implication for sucking even more doses out of the system. nference is the medical research company that oversaw that study, and we can speak now to their co—founder and chief scientific officer venky soundararajan.

much forjoining us. before we get into andrew pollard's argument there, tell us what the trials and outcomes showed you about the different booster jabs. you about the different booster “abs. you about the different booster 'abs. ., . . , you about the different booster “abs. ., .. , _, you about the different booster 'abs. ., .. , _, ., jabs. the vaccines continue to be overall— jabs. the vaccines continue to be overall very _ jabs. the vaccines continue to be overall very effective, - be overall very effective, particularly in demonstrating lower levels of hospitalisation, and therefore there is a societal imperative to continue with the mass vaccination campaign. but that effectiveness _ vaccination campaign. but that effectiveness does _ vaccination campaign. but that effectiveness does fall - vaccination campaign. but that effectiveness does fall off? - effectiveness does fall off? correct. many things at play. there is a new variant of concern, the delta variant, which clearly is playing into the diminishing black vaccine effectiveness. we are also observing mitigation of availability and vaccine protection, so those that got the vaccine early seem to have

higher odds of infection risk. decoupling these factors are going to be really important. i suppose the key for most of us is, if we get infected, how badly do we suffer? and there, the results are still pretty good. the results are still pretty iood. ., . , , ., the results are still pretty aood. , ., ., good. exactly, so overall severe covid _ good. exactly, so overall severe covid risk- good. exactly, so overall severe covid risk and - severe covid risk and hospitalisation is significantly lower compared to unvaccinated individuals. 50 significantly lower compared to unvaccinated individuals.- unvaccinated individuals. so do we really need _ unvaccinated individuals. so do we really need a _ unvaccinated individuals. so do we really need a booster- unvaccinated individuals. so do we really need a boosterjab? i we really need a boosterjab? it's a great question. when you look at the evolution, you need to stay one step ahead of what is happening. clearly, the delta variant, from the time we have been following it, and the time that is now upon us, during that time period what we have learned is the vaccines and the shots that we got, the

two—shot programme in terms of the mrna vaccine, as the delta variant becomes more prevalent, particularly for the pfizer biontech vaccine, they are observing a more significant diminishing of the effectiveness, which necessitates a conversation and the right—thinking from a data science standpoint around what does it mean to get a booster shot? who should be prioritised to get the booster shot? what is the compromise globally? when you look at pockets of under vaccinated and unvaccinated communities, who do not have access to the resources that we do, given this is a total pandemic, there is going to have to be a fine balance between the need for the booster shot and vaccinating as much of the world as we can, and also took a conduct genomic sequencing globally. currently 65% of the

sequenced genomic strains are from the united kingdom and the usa. 50 from the united kingdom and the usa. . ., , , ., from the united kingdom and the usa. ., , , ., ., ., usa. so clearly still a lot of work and — usa. so clearly still a lot of work and it _ usa. so clearly still a lot of work and it looks _ usa. so clearly still a lot of work and it looks like - usa. so clearly still a lot of l work and it looks like booster jabs are here to stay. thank you very much for your analysis. this focussing on climate change. and it's a week dominated by the latest un report revealing the ever—shrinking timeframe for combatting global warming and restricting co2 emissions. fits in climate critical this week we're going to bhutan, to speak to the chair of the un group of least developed countries, for his reaction to that report. but first, to beijing where the bbc�*s robin brant gives us the stats on china's carbon dioxide emissions. it will be hard to deal with climate change if china is not on board.

climate change if china is not on board-— china is the worlds most some years populous nation. and for some years now it's also been the world's most polluting nation. rapid economic growth here over the last 20 years, fuelled by plentiful coal, means that china is now the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. it's responsible for more than one quarter of all the greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. half the coal burned in the world is burned here, and it's going up. china says it won't hit peak coal use for a further five years. its president, xijinping, says that by 2030 it will hit its peak in terms of carbon emissions. it will be a further 30 years, to 2060, until, he says, this country will be net zero on carbon emissions. china is, though, gradually changing its energy mix. it's investing a lot, in particular, in solar. it wants a neat, cleaner, less polluting air for its people. the government says the world should have full confidence in its climate plan, but it's clear that beijing doesn't want to endanger, as it sees it, its economic powerhouse by weaning itself off of coal too quickly.

we'rejoined now by sonam p wangdi, chair of the un's least developed countries group. he's in bhutan — a small country badly hit by changes in the climate. a pleasure to have you with us and thanks for time.— and thanks for time. what is the problem _ and thanks for time. what is the problem bhutan - and thanks for time. what is the problem bhutan is - and thanks for time. what is i the problem bhutan is basting in terms of the impact climate change having on is you? thank ou for change having on is you? thank you for having _ change having on is you? thank you for having me. _ change having on is you? thank you for having me. the - change having on is you? thank you for having me. the town . change having on is you? thank| you for having me. the town has been vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. —— bhutan. we have impeccable environmental credentials which have been nourished and nurtured by our kings. we are carbon negative. we have 73% forest cover. we have reserved

more than 51% of our land as parks, biological corridors, sanctuaries. yet we are suffering the impacts of climate change. the glaciers are melting in the last 50 years, we have lost 30%. the threat of glacial lake outburst. our water sources are drying up. almost 60% of our people live on farms. economically dependent on... they are clearly suffering too then, so if you look at island states for example, in the pacific you have waters rising and seeing their countries disappear. —— and kiribati and fiji. what do you needin kiribati and fiji. what do you need in terms of help? we are

all suffering — need in terms of help? we are all suffering the _ need in terms of help? we are all suffering the impacts. - need in terms of help? we are | all suffering the impacts. what we need is climate action on the ground. and in particular thatis the ground. and in particular that is finance. there is an acute lack of climate finance. we have been promised 100 billion by 2,020, but that is still not there.— billion by 2,020, but that is still not there. sorry to enter out, do still not there. sorry to enter out. do you _ still not there. sorry to enter out, do you believe - still not there. sorry to enter out, do you believe it's - still not there. sorry to enterj out, do you believe it's going to come now? the latest ipcc report, one scientist said, this is scientists shouting out the top of their voice from the tolling building —— the tallest building in the world that it has to happen now. do you think it will? ., ., , , ., it will? the alarm bells are deafening- _ it will? the alarm bells are deafening. i— it will? the alarm bells are deafening. i am _ it will? the alarm bells are| deafening. i am optimistic, hopeful that there will be greater effort, especially for the countries that have the least capacity, the least developed countries, who are suffering the impacts of climate change every day. we

have known it for a while now. one in ten suffer from the impacts of climate change. we are hopeful that there is empathy there and more climate finance. ., , , ., , finance. hope is one thing, but when we hear _ finance. hope is one thing, but when we hear china _ finance. hope is one thing, but when we hear china talking - when we hear china talking about reaching peak co2 in 2030 and not getting to net zero until 2060, and not getting to net zero until2060, is and not getting to net zero until 2060, is hoped enough? realistically, what does your head tell you?— head tell you? the type of developments _ head tell you? the type of developments that - head tell you? the type of developments that have . head tell you? the type of - developments that have happened since the usjoin, i have been optimistic, especially climate leaders... more and more countries have been pledging. but the proof will come in the form of the updated ndcs, updated before glasgow, i would also still would have doubt...

we should find out in a matter of weeks. thank you so much for joining us from bhutan. tuesday brought us our first 25 celsius day in the uk in over two weeks. and whilst some of that warmth will still be felt on wednesday across the south and east of the country with some sunny spells, clouding over into the afternoon, it's the cloudier conditions in the north and west which will bring different conditions compared to what we've seen. much more in the way of rain and breeze, all courtesy of these weather fronts pushing in off the atlantic. heaviest of the rain into the start of the day across parts of northern ireland and the very far west of scotland, but quite a mild and humid start here, 111—15 celsius. fresher in the east, where there will be a few mist and fog patches, but the best of the morning sunshine. now, the sunshine, as i said, will be best in the morning, clouding over from the west, so there's still some sunny spells to the south and the east. northern ireland should cheer up into the afternoon with some sunshine, and into late

afternoon, we'll see that sunshine develop across western scotland, too. but after the morning sunshine across the far north, into orkney and eastern parts of scotland, a rather damp afternoon, rain coming and going. rain at times in northwest england, though areas around the merseyside, cheshire area may just about stay dry. patchy rain across wales and southwest england through the afternoon, but much of the midlands, east anglia and the southeast dry, with temperatures around 211—25 yet again, and a fine day in the channel islands too. that weather front bringing the rain actually just fizzles as it pushes its way eastwards into wednesday night and thursday morning. not much in it, as it reaches parts of southern england, the midlands and east anglia. clearer skies to the north of it means a cooler night to take us into thursday, particularly across scotland and northern ireland. temperatures more widely into single figures. but for thursday, we're between two weather fronts — one is stalling across the south of the country, and this next one across the deepening area of low pressure out to the west of the uk. does mean most will start off dry with some sunshine, a few showers around.

a lot more cloud, though, southern counties of england, east anglia, with some patchy rain and drizzle which will move its way a bit further northwards through the day. but to the north and west, the breeze will pick up, gales across western parts of scotland, parts of northern ireland, too, and some heavy bursts of rain later. in the sunshine, though, for many, temperatures still where we should be for the time of year, 20—24 celsius. friday sees yet more in the way of heavy, thundery showers across parts of western scotland. winds remain strong. blustery day for all. still some cloud lingering across the south, but sunshine elsewhere. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the governor of new york state has quit his office a week after the state attorney general found him guilty of sexually harrassing 11 women. andrew cuomo — who denies the claims — had faced pressure to quit from senior democrats, including president biden. taliban militants in afghanistan have now seized taken hold in forested eight of the country's 3a provincial capitals, and are threatening more. in farah in the north—west, there's been heavy fighting , and in other cities government forces have withdrawn. thousands of civilians are reported to have been killed or wounded in the fighting. at least 42 people are known to have died in algeria following more than a hundred

wildfires in the country. the most intense blazes have