tonight at ten — thousands troops are being sent to afghanistan to evacuate american and uk nationals as city after city falls to the taliban. the taliban are advancing at incredible speed with the islamist fighters now less than 100 miles from kabul. the us says it's going in to help its civilians leave. this is a temporary mission with a narrow focus. as with all deployments of our troops into harm's way, our commanders have the inherent right of self—defence and any attack on them can and will be met with a forceful and an appropriate response. tens of thousands of civilians have fled to kabul but there are fears the capital could fall in weeks. a taliban commander warns of more bloodshed ahead. translation: i'm trying to defeat | the government and they're trying | to make me disappear.

in the end we will be compelled to kill one another. we'll be getting the latest from kabul on the rapidly changing situaiton. also tonight... a breaking story — police say there have been a "number of fatalities" in a "serious firearms incident" in plymouth this evening. a local mp says it's not terror—related. oh, my god, i got sevens on five! more record results for gcses in england, wales and northern ireland after exams were cancelled for the second year running because of the pandemic. the surging covid cases in parts of the united states — how religion, politics and science have clashed, resulting in an epidemic of the unvaccinated. and british olympic sprinter cj ujah is suspended for an alleged anti—doping breach. if proven the men's ioo—metre relay team will be stripped of their silver medals. and coming up in the sport on bbc news — an unbeaten century for kl rahul as india take control on the opening day of the second

test against england. good evening. the taliban are sweeping through afghanistan at an extraordinary pace. herat — the country's third largest city — has fallen today. kandahar — the second biggest — is on the brink of defeat. lashkar gah — the capital of helmand province, once the centre of the uk's presence there — has been overrun too. and ghazni, a strategically important cityjust 95 miles from the capital kabul, is also now in the hands of the islamist fighters. the speed of the taliban's advance means britain and the united states are sending more than 3,500 troops to help their civilians leave. they'll arrive by the weekend for what the ministry of defence is calling a short—term mission. ourfirst report tonight is from our defence correspondent jonathan beale.

the taliban advance appears unstoppable, ruthless as ever to those who stand in their way. regional capitals are falling like dominoes. today, it was ghazni, just 85 miles from the capital kabul. in the face of this rapidly deteriorating security situation, today, britain announced it was temporarily sending 600 troops to kabul to facilitate the withdrawal of embassy staff and british citizens are still in the country. america announced its preparing to do the same, deploying 3000 marines and soldiers. this do the same, deploying 3000 marines and soldiers. , , ., ., , and soldiers. this is a temporary mission with _ and soldiers. this is a temporary mission with a _ and soldiers. this is a temporary mission with a narrow _ and soldiers. this is a temporary mission with a narrow focus. - and soldiers. this is a temporary mission with a narrow focus. asl and soldiers. this is a temporary - mission with a narrow focus. as with all deployments of our troops into harm's way, our commanders have the inherent right of self—defence and any attack on them, and will be met with a forceful and an appropriate response. l115

with a forceful and an appropriate resonse. , . with a forceful and an appropriate resonse. ,, ., response. us initiated so-called eace response. us initiated so-called peace talks _ response. us initiated so-called peace talks with _ response. us initiated so-called peace talks with the _ response. us initiated so-called peace talks with the taliban - response. us initiated so-called| peace talks with the taliban were still taking place in doha today, but they now look more like a sideshow with little relevance to what's happening on the ground. in the past month the insurgents have moved at speed, seizing more territory. in the last day alone, three major cities have fallen including herat, ghazni and lashkar gah in helmand, once patrolled by british troops. nearby kandahar is believed to be on the brink. we are now departing. _ believed to be on the brink. we are now departing. as _ believed to be on the brink. we are now departing, as i _ believed to be on the brink. we are now departing, as i say, _ believed to be on the brink. we are now departing, as i say, and - now departing, as i say, and leaving the country to what we are going to see is a massive humanitarian disaster, a civil war. we are going to see huge migration problems and on top of that we are going to see terrorism raise its ugly head again no doubt in this country and other countries because it's now become a safe haven for them to regroup, rearm, and retrain.— rearm, and retrain. most british troos rearm, and retrain. most british tr00ps had _ rearm, and retrain. most british troops had already _ rearm, and retrain. most british troops had already left - rearm, and retrain. most british troops had already left kabul. troops had already left kabul as part of the us led withdrawal. this temporary surge is purely to

facilitate the departure of those who remain securely, but once again it raises more questions as to what was achieved by the sacrifice of a57 british lives over the past 20 years. jonathan beale is here with me now. more than 3500 british and american troops going on by the weekend. explain more about their mission. it's being presented as a precaution by the us, the british defence secretary ben wallace says it was part of the contingency plan but both admit this is a rip watt response to the rapidly deteriorating security situation. 600 british troops will be there to help around a000 citizens still in afghanistan if they want to come home, they will be helped to move back to the uk. they will also be embassy staff moved out of the country and also those afghans who worked for the british and who are being allowed to settle back in the uk. the embassy itself, there will

be the ambassador and a very small staff, but they are going to move the embassy to an undisclosed secure, more secure location. i mean, you know, you look at this and it does look like a rush to the exit. certainly it will look like that to many afghans who are left behind. but the government here and also in the us are insisting this is part of their plans, but clearly those plans have changed because of the rapid advance of the taliban. jonathan beale, our defence correspondent, thank you. the rapid military advance by the taliban is taking place as peace talks continue with the afghan government in the city of doha, in qatar. 0ur international correspondent yalda hakim travelled there to meet one of the taliban's negotiators, as different visions emerge of how the taliban would rule afghanistan. afghanistan 2021, the taliban are back. the withdrawal of foreign troops has left a power vacuum the taliban are rushing to fill. if they take power, many people here fear a return

to their brutal regime of the �*90s, characterised by public executions, stonings and a ban on girls' education. in february 2020, an historic peace deal was signed between the us and the taliban. since then, peace talks have been taking place in doha, in qatar, between the afghan government and the taliban but no real progress has been made. in doha, i met with suhail shaheen, a member of the taliban peace negotiation team. if you were to return to kabul how would you govern? there was in the past some mistakes that we have learned from because at that time we were new to the government. to stop education of women and girls, that is not our goal. of course, education is their right and it is much needed. while suhail shaheen continues to talk about peace, it's clearly not a view shared

by taliban commanders in afghanistan. back in kabul, taliban commander mulana from helmand agreed to meet me. do you think that there should be a power—sharing deal with the current government, like the discussions that are being had in doha? translation: we would be happy to have a joint government under. the umbrella of the islamic sharia. a sharia—based system in afghanistan is like the system the taliban used to have. if someone were to steal or commit adultery, what should happen to them? translation: all this is clearly stated in the koran. _ if someone steals, there is a punishment. for example, for some thefts, the punishment is cutting off the hand and foot. and if someone commits adultery, then they should be stoned.

can girls go to school and up until which age? translation: if a girl wants to go to school, | she is permitted but her school should be girls only. also, her teachers should be women. she should be able to study up to the age of 12 or 13. and if there isn't a political resolution to this conflict, are you prepared to take kabul by force? | translation: i'm trying to defeat j the government and they are trying to make me disappear. in the end, we will be compelled to kill one another. but the vice president of afghanistan remains defiant. this group in doha, they are a deceptive facade of a very dark reality killed the taliban. so in your view, have they changed? no. not only they have not changed, they have become savvier in deceiving.

once again, hundreds of thousands of afghans have found themselves caught in this conflict. in kabul, some have found safety but for how long? yalda hakim, bbc news, kabul. 0ur correspondent yogita limaye is in afghan capital kabul tonight. that is the question, the speed of the advance is incredible. what hope is there for kabul?— is there for kabul? well, people are 'ust in is there for kabul? well, people are just in disbelief _ is there for kabul? well, people are just in disbelief about _ is there for kabul? well, people are just in disbelief about what - is there for kabul? well, people are just in disbelief about what has - just in disbelief about what has unravelled on this one day. we woke up unravelled on this one day. we woke up talking about the fall of ghazni, which is about 100 miles south of kabul, and we are ending the day with multiple provincial capitals falling to the taliban, many of them significant cities for the afghan government. herat, fiercely contested between the two micro—sites, the afghan and wasn't able to hold onto it, staring at

defeat in kandahar, the second—largest city in this country. lashkar gah, the capital of the helmand province, falling as well. and there are real worries among citizens here about what is next, what is the future of their capital, kabul. i've seen messages on social media from afghans talking about last moments of freedom. but i think what happens here in the coming days will depend heavily on how the afghan government reacts to what has happened in this one day. so far we have heard nothing from the top of the government, nothing from the president, nothing from the vice president or any of the big ministers, how they respond tomorrow to this situation will determine what happens next in the capital, kabul. ., ., ._ what happens next in the capital, kabul. ., ., , ., kabul. yogita limaye in the capital kabul kabul. yogita limaye in the capital kabul. thank _ kabul. yogita limaye in the capital kabul, thank you. _ police in devon say there have been a number of fatalities in a "serious firearms incident" in the keyham area of plymouth.

a number of people have also been injured. a local mp says the incident is not terror related. 0ur correspondentjon kay is in plymouth for us now. jon, what more do we know? we understand it was just after 6pm that police were called here. eye witnesses in the area have told us they heard some shouting, they heard a door banging, and then they had three orfour a door banging, and then they had three or four micro—gunshots around the biddick drive area here in the keyham part of plymouth, about a mile from the centre of the city. there were reports of more gunshots on the streets around that property and tonight we are told it was a serious and critical incident and that tomorrow we will get details of a number of fatalities. we understand that there were also a number of other people who have been injured in this incident and have been taken to hospital. four air ambulances came and landed nearby to take casualties away, one of them foreign as far away as southampton. now we understand that the home secretary priti patel has been in

touch this evening with the chief constable of devon and cornwall police. she says she is deeply shocked by what has happened here and we'll be trying to find out more tomorrow. in this community people cannot believe that on a quiet summer's evening in a county like devon that something like this would happen. they are not entirely show what has gone on. they are being told not to speculate on social media, not to post anything on social media, particularly some images which are said to be extremely distressing. jan images which are said to be extremely distressing. jon kay with the latest on _ extremely distressing. jon kay with the latest on that _ extremely distressing. jon kay with the latest on that breaking - extremely distressing. jon kay with the latest on that breaking story, i the latest on that breaking story, thank you. more than 500,000 gcse students in england, wales and northern ireland have achieved another set of record results after exams were cancelled again because of the pandemic. the proportion of students getting top grades and the number achieving pass rates has risen slightly from last year. the results showed that girls moved further ahead of boys, with a third of them scoring top grades, while for boys it was roughly a quarter achieving the same grades. there were also some clear

regional differences. in london, more than a third of results were top grades. while in yorkshire and the humber, for example, it was more like a quarter. from leeds, our education editor branwenjeffreys reports. a calm results day at this leeds comprehensive. grades were slightly up overall. for some, like sophie, complete delight. oh, i'm so happy. i've done way better than i thought i did. i've got english literature, i got a nine. english language i got a nine, drama, i gota nine. girls got two thirds of the top grade nines in england. they also edged ahead for the first time in maths. with teacher—assessed grades, top grades remained higher than before the pandemic. it made it a lot more nerve—racking than probably normal gcses would be. yeah, i got more than i hoped for. i'm just really proud of myself. they kept learning through lockdowns and self—isolating, knowing it was harderfor some in theiryear group.

i do know some people who have struggled with online learning because they don't have, like... they have bad internet connection, or they might not have the proper newest laptops that work fast. so i think it is fair to say that there is a disadvantage in the north. at this school, the gap between better—off and disadvantaged grew slightly wider. but the starkest difference is north to south. the pandemic hasn't created the differences between the north and the south, but many fear it has entrenched them, with schools across the north of england experiencing substantial disruption during this last year, seeing more families relying on free school meals or struggling financially. the school—bought laptops offered support. more than a third of pupils here qualified for extra funding. it's been a tough year. families who are working incredibly hard, who have faced challenges around their own working

environments, when they're expected to be working, how they're working, working from home, for example. and our students have had to take some of the burden and pressure. in today's results, northern ireland had the highest grades. but in wales too, grades remained higher than before the pandemic. melissa got her gcse results today. she was signing up at college for one of the new t—levels in health and social care. and, for most students, that's what grades are — the passport to the next step. i was signed up for three a—levels at a couple of different colleges, and then i heard about t—levels and i decided that the more practical side appealed to me more thanjust sitting in a classroom all day. but for colleges, there is a challenge. with more getting better results, it's hard to work out if students need extra help. so, they're running a six—week welcome programme here. say for example we've got

a group of 20 students, they're all going to be coming in with different levels of skills, abilities and knowledge. and the real challenge that we have for those students is making sure that they're on the right programme, at the right level, and we're going to be able to support them to stay in their learning and be successful. students are relieved to have got through this last year. but next year, exams are back — and that's a different challenge. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, leeds. figures out today show the number of people waiting for nhs treatment in england is now the highest since records began in 2007. nearly 5.5 million people are on the list. of those, more than 300,000 have been waiting more than a year, slightly down on previous figures. but 5,700 patients in england have now been waiting two years or more. here's our health editor, hugh pym.

gail is struggling to walk and needs spinal surgery. she has two collapsed discs in her neck. she's been waiting for an operation for nearly a year and she doesn't know when it might happen. if i had a date for my surgery, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. with no date, there's no light at the end of the tunnel. it isjust a long, dark tunnel of pain medication and sofa sitting and... that's my life. surgeons say for gail and others waiting a long time there is a risk that things will get worse. they may not have been urgent but they are... they become increasingly urgent the longer patients wait and there is no alternative. these patients need an operation, so we need investment and we need to keep prioritising these patients so they don't get forgotten. the total waiting for routine treatment in england injune was 9.6% of the whole population. in scotland, it was 8.2% in march, the latest available figure.

in wales, it was 19.2% in may and in northern ireland, nearly a quarter of the population was on a waiting list, according to march data. hospitals are keen to get people to come in for the treatment that they need. they �*re also focusing on trying to reduce the backlog of those who have been waiting for a while. and then there are people out there who didn't come forward during the pandemic but who may yet require hospital care. here at royal surrey county hospital they're doing more operations than they were before covid struck, with more nhs funding for equipment and extended operating theatre time, though they acknowledge it's a tough task. i don't think we will be able to work at this rate forever. we are really trying to tackle a problem that has come out of the pandemic but i think we are really focused across the whole of the system on trying to make sure that patients don't wait any longer than they have to. hello, sir. the hospital works with pharmacists

and other local groups to get more patients treated in the community. gurmit is being shown how to check his blood pressure at home. that frees up resources for others who need more urgent care. i would rather carry on doing this than go to the hospital or start making appointments with your gp every two or three days. reducing demands on the nhs will help ambulance services, some of which report their busiest ever days, including in north wales. more people are having holidays locally, there can be delays handing over patients to a&e. there is certainly intense pressure across the system. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest new government coronavirus figures show there were 33,07a new infections recorded in the latest 2a—hour period, which means on average there were 28,a58 new cases per day in the last week. almost 6,000 people

are in hospital with coronavirus. 9a deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours, which means an average of 88 deaths a day in the last week. more than 89% of adults in the uk have now had their firstjab. and over a0 million people have had both jabs — that's 75.7% of adults. it's beginning to look like the uk is catching up with other major economies as it bounces out of the pandemic — that's after shrinking faster than many last year. official figures for the latest three month period show that the economy expanded by nearly 5%, boosted by more spending in shops and hospitality. well, today's figures show that the economy is recovering very strongly, fastest quarterly growth in the g7 group of countries and evidence that our plan forjobs is working. but i'm not complacent. the shock that our economy and public finances have experienced is significant and it will take us time to fully recover. that's why we're not done supporting

businesses or people. most importantly, giving them the skills and the opportunities they need to find great, well—paid jobs. covid cases are surging in the united states as the delta variant spreads, with around 113,000 cases a day last week. but the sharp increase in hospitalisations and deaths is concentrated mostly in southern states, where vaccine take—up has been virtually half the national average. 0ur north america editor jon sopel reports. the life tabernacle church in louisiana. congregation — thousands. influence in the state — considerable. a message — don't get vaccinated. what percentage would you think have been vaccinated? 0h, probably less than 1% at any given time. and you don't think you have a social responsibility to encourage them to go and get vaccinated? we do not.

0urjob is to preach the gospel ofjesus christ and preach faith. but won't vaccinations keep them alive? they will not, that has not been proven. and those we spoke to before the service began were of like mind. have you been vaccinated? no, sir, i have not. and will you get vaccinated? no, sir, iwon't. why? because i don't trust it, and i don't know what's in them. are you going to get vaccinated? no, i'm not. why? i don't think there's a need for a vaccination. like, ifeel... i feel like i'm 0k without it. though our time was cut short when we were ordered off the premises. don't ask any questions of our congregation, it's not your business. someone else who bought into this viewpoint was 22—year—old josh bradstreet—contreras. he was a fit, healthy college kid and last friday, after contracting covid a week earlier, died. he was unvaccinated. his mother tarsha is now on a mission to persuade other young people that,

actually, they're not invincible. if i could sell all my worldly possessions, and it's not much that i have, to bring josh back — i would. everything, even the shirt on my back. so in other words, get the vaccine? take the vaccine... take the vaccine. in louisiana, just 37% of adults have had the jab. across the state line, that drops to 35% — the lowest in the country. we've just crossed the border from louisiana into mississippi — another state where cases are surging, another state where it's impossible to get an intensive care bed. but the republican governor is refusing to follow government advice that people should wear a mask. once again, issues of politics have become hopelessly intertwined with matters of public health. and the politics is this — the areas with the lowest vaccine

rates are in districts where support for donald trump was highest. and in a rewriting of one of america's most famous gun supporting slogans, these people are defending the right not to bare their arms. but that has resulted in the king's daughters hospital in rural mississippi being inundated like never before with covid cases. the senior physician is wrung out. it's pretty dire. we're running out of beds, we're running out of staff. we're running out of the oxygen means that we give these patients. we're interrupted by him having to deal with an emergency in intensive care. we have a patient that is maxed out on life support in the intensive care unit. despite our best efforts and measures, they're just not getting better. a couple of hours after we'd stopped filming, we were told that the 68—year—old man had died. he hadn't been vaccinated. jon sopel, bbc news, in the deep south.

the british sprinter cj ujah has tested positive for banned substances following the tokyo olympic games. the 27—year—old was part of the men's a—by—100 metres team that won the silver medal. 0ur sports correspondent laura scott is with me now. this could prove to be a terrible blow for team gb. yes. it has the potential to become the biggest scandal in british olympic history. it was less than a 0lympic history. it was less than a week ago that c] ujah said he felt blessed and proud to have won the silver medal in the four by 100 metre relay in tokyo but a few hours ago came the shock news from the athletics integrity unit that ujah tested positive for two banned substances called 0starine and s—23, both anabolic agents which are often associated with body—building. that sample taken after the relay. ujah has been provisionally suspended from athletics. he has the option of requesting a b sample to see if it

produces a different result. if an anti—doping rule violation is proven, ujah and his team—mates, richard kilty, nethaneel mitchell—blake and zharnel hughes would be stripped of their medals. ujah who has not yet commented could face further sanctions. this has come as a real shock. among all the celebrations of how team gb did in tokyo and britain has never been stripped of a summer 0lympic tokyo and britain has never been stripped of a summer olympic medal before. . . stripped of a summer olympic medal before. ., ., ., ., ~ , ., the actress una stubbs has died at the age of 8a. she starred most recently as mrs hudson in the bbc�*s sherlock drama series and was known to a generation of children as aunt sally in worzel gummidge. oh, you don't �*alf talk some rubbish! you, give present? una stubbs played alf garnett�*s exasperated daughter rita in the 1960's and 70's sitcom til death us do part, and... # we're all going on a summer holiday...# why doesn't he stop honking his horn? there's plenty of room to pass.

..her big screen debut was starring alongside sir cliff richard in the hit british film summer holiday. una stubbs, who died today at the age of 8a. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello there. low pressure passing through the north of the uk is going to bring a fairly breezy and, at times, wet night for scotland, perhaps parts of northern ireland, too. further south you are, closer to the area of high pressure, it should be quieter and there'll be lengthy clear spells, maybe just one or two showers around. a breezy night for all, but certainly windy for much of scotland and northern ireland. it's here where we'll have the most of those showers, some of which could be quite heavy. a fairly mild night to come across the south and a milder night across the north than what we had the previous night.

so, here's the picture for friday. you can see low pressure to the north, higher pressure to the south. it means that much of england and wales should have a fine day with quite a bit of sunshine around. more sunshine across southern england than what we had on thursday, maybejust the odd shower. further north you are, it will be windier closer to that low pressure. there'll some scattered showers for northern ireland, certainly for western scotland. high teens here. it could make 22—23 celsius further south. the weekend looks quite mixed. there'll be variable cloud, maybe a few showers around, particularly across western areas. but equally, there'll be a little bit of sunshine, too.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the taliban have captured afghanistan's third biggest city, herat, and appear poised to gain control of kandahar, the second largest. in herat, previously controlled by government forces, militants freed thousands of prisoners from jail. the united states says it's sending troops to the afghan capital, kabul, to help evacuate some civilian staff from the american embassy. but the state department insisted the us embassy in kabul would remain open. the head of the world meteorological organisation has voiced concern about the effects of climate change in the mediterranean region after italy registered what's thought to be a record temperature of a8.8 celsius. there's also been extreme weather in turkey. kathmandu, a city in the north of the country, has been hit by flash floods after heavy rainfall. 17 people have reportedly died, with more than 1,a00 people evacuated from the areas affected. this is bbc news.