welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. the taliban have made their most dramatic gains yet against afghan government forces, taking a string of key cities including the third biggest, herat. as the security situation deteriorates, thousands of us and british troops are being sent back to help evacuate american and uk nationals. 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—defense and any attack on them can and will be met with a forceful and an appropriate response. record breaking heatwaves, forest fires and floods, the cost of weather disasters soars

around the world. and dissent and danger on the streets of hong kong, an artist reflects on the potential risks of pursuing artistic freedom. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 6am in singapore, and 2.30 in the morning in afghanistan, where the taliban are sweeping through the country at an extraordinary pace. they've captured a third of the nation's provincial capitals. several of those cities, including afghanistan's third biggest city, herat, fell to the insurgent fighters in the last few hours. and we're now getting reports that the taliban say they've captured the second largest city, kandahar. the speed of their advance means britain and the united states are sending more than three

and a half thousand troops to help their civilians leave. here's the latest from yogita limaye in kabul. 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 sides but the afghan government was not 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 see messages and social media from afghans talking about the 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's happened in this one day. so far, we have heard nothing from the top brass 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, you know, what happens next in the capital, kabul. as we reported at the begining of the programme britain and the united states are sending more than three and a half thousand troops to help their civilians leave. they'll arrive in the coming days for what the uk ministry of defence is calling a short—term mission. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale has more. shouting. 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 still in the country. america announced its preparing to do the same, deploying 3000 marines 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. 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, 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. most british 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, bbc news. i'm joined now by laurel miller. she is the program directorfor asia at the think tank, crisis group.

kabul next? what's unclear as yet is whether the taliban or even need to attack kabul or whether the government will simply collapse before they have to make that kind of move. i think what we are seeing so far is that the taliban have had a very well laid strategy for surrounding the cities that they have now been able to move on, and for essentially encircling kabul. so it looks extremely fragile at the moment. it's unsure whether the government will collapse and the taliban has to fight for kabul or whether they surrender.- taliban has to fight for kabul or whether they surrender. given that context what _ whether they surrender. given that context what do _ whether they surrender. given that context what do you _ whether they surrender. given that context what do you think- whether they surrender. given that context what do you think the - context what do you think the

prospect there are for a peace deal? there are no prospects for a peace deal anytime soon. the tele— are fighting for power, they are not fighting for power, they are not fighting for power, they are not fighting for power—sharing through a peace deal. and if they were not particularly interested in negotiating with any speed six months ago they are less interested now that they are achieving military victory after victory. what they might do is they might engage in a kind of endgame negotiation with a handful of power brokers and warlords not with the elected government of afghanistan. to put a political bow on a military victory and claim that they have achieved a political settlement that gives them legitimacy, that they did notjust take the country entirely by force.

0ur correspondence have been speaking to different factions of the taliban. two very different distinct ideologies we have heard from there. you continue to see that divide? is the taliban ideologically different or consistent to who they were 20 years ago? i different or consistent to who they were 20 years ago?— were 20 years ago? i think that's unclear. were 20 years ago? i think that's unclean as _ were 20 years ago? i think that's unclean as a _ were 20 years ago? i think that's unclear. as a leadership - were 20 years ago? i think that's unclear. as a leadership level - were 20 years ago? i think that's. unclear. as a leadership level they have claimed that they have learned some lessons from mistakes made during their rule in the 1990s what exactly they regard as mistakes is not certain but i think if it less as a divide then as there is that more politically minded leadership element that sees that it has to have a kind of somewhat palatable narrative to purvey in the international community and then you have the fighters on the ground who

no doubt have no interest in that message. so that's less of a divide thanit message. so that's less of a divide than it is that there are some distinctions between the kinds of individuals and their viewpoints within the movement, but it has to be said the taliban has remained quite cohesive overall over time and that has been their comparative advantage, recently the afghan government. they have been the more cohesive side. government. they have been the more cohesive side-— cohesive side. thank you for “oining us on newsday. * police in south west england say that several people have been killed in a shooting incident in the city of plymouth. they have told residents to stay inside and follow police advice. sent to the keyum district. a local member of parliament said he was aware of a "serious and tragic incident unfolding" but said it was not terror related. 0ur correspondent — jon kay — reports from plymouth. we understand it was just after six

o'clock the police were called here. eyewitnesses in the area have told us they heard some shouting but they heard a door banging and then they heard three orfour gunshots. around the area here in this part of plymouth. 0nly around a mile or so from the centre of the city. there were then reports of more gunshots on the streets around that property, and now tonight we were told that was a serious and critical incident and that tomorrow we will get details of a number of fatalities. we understand there were also a number of other people who have been injured in this and incident have been taken to hospital. four air ambulances came and landed nearby to take casualties away. one of them from as far away as southampton. now we understand that the home secretary, priti patel, has been in touch this evening with the chief cost of devon and cornwall police. she says she is deeply shocked by what has happened here and will be trying to find out more tomorrow. and in this community people is just

cannot believe that on a quiet summers' evening in a county like devon that something like this would happen. they are not entirely sure 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. covid cases are surging in the united states as the delta variant spreads in what health professionals there are calling an epidemic of the unvaccinated. but the sharp increase in hospitalisations and deaths is nearly all concentrated in southern states where vaccine take—up has been virtually half the national average. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel is in louisiana to find out why. 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 i% 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. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: record—breaking heatwaves, forest fires, and floods. trying to count the cost of weather disasters around the world. 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. 2 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 bangor. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines. the taliban capture afghanistan's third biggest city — the most significant military victory so far in their advance

across the country. feeling the heat. europe is gripped by sky—high temperatures, as a heatwave called �*lucifer�* has people begging for mercy. it's been a week of extreme weather conditions and weather related disasters around the world... algeria has observed a day of mourning after wildfires took the lives of 69 people since monday. high winds and 50 degree celsius heat fuelled the rapid spread of the blazes. algerian authorites say they suspect arson in sparking the fires, but the fires were aggravated by the hot temperatures. north of the mediterranean, the italian island of sicily may have registered the highest temperature ever recorded in europe — 48.8 degrees celsius. the average maximum temperatures for this time of year are normally around 35 degrees there. over 500 blazes were reported

over wednesday night. the head of a siberian region has declared friday a non working day and urged residents to stay home due to the threat of forest fire smoke to public health. according to the russian forestry commission — this seasons wildfires have burned away 9.2 million hectares of forest, an area the size of portugal. and — emergency teams in northern india have now rescued thousands of people stranded by floods in the state of uttar pradesh. india's most populous state is suffering some of its worst flooding in decades, following days of torrential downpours. monsoon rains in india have led to hundreds of deaths sincejune. extreme weather in many parts of the world contributed to near—record costs for the global insurance industry — worth around a0 billion dollars — in the first half of the year. it's the second highest total ever according to insurance firm swiss re. it says overall losses, including uninsured costs, reached 77 billion dollars.

severe winter weather and heatwaves in the us, plus fercious storms in europe and elsewhere adding to the costs. the man who helped putting these figures together is martin bertogg. he is the head of catastrophe perils for the insurance giant, swiss re. he joins us live from zurich. you are the head of catastrophe perils — talk us through what that means. and has yourjob become more challenging recently as we have seen these extreme weather patterns? this is ve well these extreme weather patterns? ti 3 is very well established. it's the science peace of the insurance industry and with my quite large team we are looking at risk

assessment of financial catastrophe. if you look at these heat waves we are seeing right now and also these intense first half of the year of additional warming in the atmosphere it's one aspect that we very closely watch. so climate change, urbanisation, how does it impact that risk? we are assuming and tapering and shouldering from our clients for businesses, families. maximum exposure, how much could that cost, how much are we ready to take on but also to put a price tag to the products we offer. to ensure the families, businesses and so on. sergeantjapan, just the families, businesses and so on. sergeant japan, just what the families, businesses and so on. sergeantjapan, just what i understand more about how you factor all of this in and what is the climate scenario that you are factoring in for the future when you looked the road? we

factoring in for the future when you looked the road?— looked the road? we are not very much looking _ looked the road? we are not very much looking down _ looked the road? we are not very much looking down the _ looked the road? we are not very much looking down the road, - looked the road? we are not very much looking down the road, andj looked the road? we are not very i much looking down the road, and for us it's about the here and now of where we offer our insurance products for property typically and we have the most of this financial catastrophe risk. he spoke about the heat with before, but the clearly driving factors is urbanisation, urban sprawl. two factors kind of effecting over the last five decades. this kind of catastrophe is much stronger. we reference the a0 billion before it's increasing losses year by year, urbanisation is at the core of that.— at the core of that. just to break it down really — at the core of that. just to break it down really simply _ at the core of that. just to break it down really simply commit - at the core of that. just to break l it down really simply commit does that mean people like you and me are going to have to pay higher premiums to insure against floods, fires and the like? , . , the like? there will be patches when these prices — the like? there will be patches when these prices increase _ the like? there will be patches when these prices increase but _ the like? there will be patches when these prices increase but overall - these prices increase but overall populations are also increasing so

averaging out the prices to individuals probably not. but the more climate change might take in effect and really changing kind of the landscape of risk is there is some risk that you and i will have to face. will it be exploding? no. the current perspective we have from a science perspective is a gradual change and reasonably digestible. thank you so much forjoining us on newsday. dissent in hong kong has been crushed after beijing imposed the national security law last year. the city's artists and film—makers have struggled to cope with the law's vaguely—defined boundaries on what constitutes acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers. despite the risks, film director kiwi chow has made a documentary about the 2019 protests, which prompted the crackdown from beijing. he tells the bbc why he's continuing

to pursue artistic freedom at possibly great personal risk.

and before we go tonight, a life's work goes under the auctioneer�*s hammer. a precious piano collection of a royal restorer — who has worked on instruments belonging to the queen and beethoven — will soon be on the market. 26 pianos will be auctioned next month, some valued at over $80,000 each. at the age of 70, david winston says its about time he sold them off, and settled for an easier life.

that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello. there is no real heat in the uk forecast for the next few days. but across southern europe, it's a different story — it's been an exceptionally hot week, with that heat now migrating westwards. the orange colours on this chart show places where temperatures will be well above the average. in parts of southern spain, we could be looking at temperatures as high as a7 celsius because high—pressure is trapping the heat in place. but for us, low pressure is close by — that means some brisk winds, some rain at times but not all the time, and temperatures will struggle especially across northwestern parts of the uk. and here through friday, we will see some quite hefty showers working through — some heavy, some thundery, especially widespread across the far northwest of scotland. further south and east, many parts of england and wales will be dry with just the odd shower here. and while there will be big areas

of cloud floating past, there will also be some good spells of sunshine. but it's breezy for all of us, especially wendy up towards the northwest, and top temperatures in glasgow ofjust 17 celsius. could get a 22—23 across parts of eastern and southeastern england. now as we head through friday night, we will see some further showers especially across the northern half of scotland. further south, it turns predominantly dry, some clear spells at least for a time, and temperatures between 11—15 celsius as we start saturday morning. so as we head into the start of the weekend, we've got one area of low pressure tending to push away north eastwards, but here comes another low drifting in from the west. a bit of uncertainty still at this range about the detail of saturday's forecast, but it's likely we will see cloud and rain spreading in most likely across central parts of the uk. to the north, it's a mix of sunshine with just a few showers at this stage, and across the south of england,

may be south wales it's likely to stay pretty much dry with some sunshine. those temperatures, for the most part, between 19 and 22 celsius. now, the messy picture continues on into sunday. this area of low pressure continues to drift in from the west. you will see this frontal system dropping down from the north, so could well be a few different areas of rain on sunday. 0ne pushing into northern scotland, some rain across northern england and wales. perhaps some further south as well. but in between the areas of the wet weather there will be some spells of sunshine. but by this stage turning really cool in northern scotland, maybe just 1a degrees.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the taliban claims it has captured afghanistan's second city of kandahar. if confirmed, this would place two of the the country's three largest cities in insurgent hands, following the fall of the western centre of herat earlier 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. kastamonu, 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.