welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughanjones — our top stories. the taliban make their most dramatic gains yet against afghan government forces, and claim to have taken the country's second largest city, kandahar. as the security situation deteriorates, thousands of us and british troops are being sent back to help evacuate american and uk nationals. police in south west england say five people have died following shooting incident in the city of plymouth. 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 — the father of britney spears agrees to step down as longtime conservator of her estate, seen a major

victory for the singer. britain and the united states are sending troops back into afghanistan to help their nationals leave. the taliban continue their rapid advance across the country. it now appears that the militants have captured the country's second biggest city, kandahar — giving them control of about a third of afghanistan's main cities, as well as much of the countryside. let's get the latest from kabul and our correspondent, yogita limaye. 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.

the first british and american troops are set to arrive in kabul this weekend. ramzan karmali has this assessment of the task ahead. another day of taliban advances sawthe militants move into the third largest city. and another city less than 100 kilometres from the capital. the taliban have taken control of 11 provincial capitals. they also claim to have taken kandahar. the us and other foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of military operations, but now the us is sending 3000 soldiers back to help evacuate a significant amount of embassy staff. this is a temporary mission with a narrow focus. as with all deployments of our troops into harms way, our commanders have the inherent right of self—defence and any attack on them can and will be met with a forceful and aapropriate response.

the uk is deploying 600 troops to help relocate nationals, staff and interpreters. at one british politician and former soldier is clear as to who is to blame for the current turmoil. these are decisions we made to ten, 15 years ago. of not talking to the taliban. at most critically, imposing western solutions on a country that was not ready for it, by any means. now we are departing, as i say, and leaving the country to what we will see as a massive humanitarian disaster. peace talks are still ongoing, but they seem far—removed from what is going on on the ground. the rapid takeover of territory by the insurgents has been startling. according to the un, more than 1000 afghan civilians have been killed in the past month, with thousands more travelling to kabul to seek refuge. 0ne estimate says that more than 70,000 children arrived in recent days, with most sleeping rough. with the fall of a significantly strategic city, the fear is that kabul could fall sooner rather than later.

following nine 11, retired major general larry stutz—reem was on the leadership team that directed air operations in afghanistan resulting in the surrender of the taliban government after 90 days. he's in alexandria virginia. thank you. thank you very much. what ou thank you. thank you very much. what you think _ thank you. thank you very much. what you think has _ thank you. thank you very much. what you think has gone - thank you. thank you very much. what you think has gone so - what you think has gone so wrong in afghanistan? well, think you — wrong in afghanistan? well, think you have _ wrong in afghanistan? well, think you have to _ wrong in afghanistan? well, think you have to start - wrong in afghanistan? well, think you have to start by, i wrong in afghanistan? well, l think you have to start by, you know, going back to the start and what it was all about. the 9/11 attacks, the mission had three weeks to prepare and it was to take it down the al-qaeda training camps and al-qaeda training camps and al-qaeda and the taliban were enmeshed but about 90 days later the cams had been destroyed. the taliban is

surrendered in kandahar, a city theyjust surrendered in kandahar, a city they just together yesterday, i believe. and then there is where we are today. those of the lona where we are today. those of the long term _ where we are today. those of the long term issues, - where we are today. those of| the long term issues, clearly, with the endeavour. could anyone have predicted how could have swept across the country now? ~ ., , ., ., now? well, that is one of the problems _ now? well, that is one of the problems that _ now? well, that is one of the problems that needs - now? well, that is one of the problems that needs to - now? well, that is one of the problems that needs to be i problems that needs to be examined is that it has gone so fast and there have been years and years and years of optimistic reporting and we know that there are some government watchdogs here in the united states that have flagged that problem. there is a lack of forthrightness with respect to progress. and it also demonstrates that the 20 year effort has not done much to allow afghanistan to stand on its own feet and that is quite evident in what we're

seeing today.— quite evident in what we're seeinu toda . ., h ., ., seeing today. that's a damning verdict because, _ seeing today. that's a damning verdict because, given - seeing today. that's a damning verdict because, given the - verdict because, given the time, clearly, 20 years, the resources, the money, the investment in training, this feels like a spectacular failure. ., , feels like a spectacular failure. ., ., ., failure. people not wanting to com are failure. people not wanting to compare this _ failure. people not wanting to compare this to _ failure. people not wanting to compare this to saigon - failure. people not wanting to compare this to saigon and i l compare this to saigon and i think there is quite to it today. you know, when the mission happened it was about, we need to get a blitz on the ground. we are going to impose, as the minister said just earlier, you know, this jeffersonian democracy on a collection of tribes inside artificial borders. that still live a lot like the 14th century. and it wasjust live a lot like the 14th century. and it was just too big and it reflected, at the time, you know, political idealism that we could actually do this. along the way they should have been better judgments by the us and its allies as to how big was this?

thosejudgments allies as to how big was this? those judgments clearly were not made and over that huge length of time no reshaping of that overall policy aim was made in any sufficient way to realise an exit strategy that was sustainable.— was sustainable. that is exactly right. _ was sustainable. that is exactly right. but - was sustainable. that is exactly right. but it - was sustainable. that is| exactly right. but it goes beyond that. the idea that we could throw a military occupation, puts on the ground, which is a term we need to purge going forward. we repeated a lot of what we did in vietnam and there is no two ways to look at that. to think about that. but we know, going forward, there has got to be quite a different approach taken. to ensure that we don't for themselves in terms of progress. for themselves in terms of progress-_ for themselves in terms of ro . ress. , ., progress. 0k, we must leave it there but _

progress. 0k, we must leave it there but thank _ progress. 0k, we must leave it there but thank you _ progress. 0k, we must leave it there but thank you so - progress. 0k, we must leave it there but thank you so much i progress. 0k, we must leave it| there but thank you so much for coming on. we really appreciate your time. thank you.— your time. thank you. thank ou, your time. thank you. thank you. lewis- _ thank you, lewis. police in the uk say five people have died in what they are calling a "serious firearms incident" in plymouth. another person — believed to be the offender — was also found dead at the scene. let's get the very latest from our reporter, aruna iyengar. what details of the same? devon and cornwall— what details of the same? devon and cornwall police _ what details of the same? devon and cornwall police have - what details of the same? devon and cornwall police have been i and cornwall police have been tweeting and giving out information in the last hour. they have confirmed that six people have died in a serious firearms incident implement. it was about six o'clock last night. the six people include the government. according to the government. according to the police, and according to the police, and according to the local mp, one victim is believed to be a child under the age of ten years old. two females and two males were deceased at the scene. another

male, i leave it to be the offender, was deceased at the scene. and all are believed to have died from gunshot wounds. another female is treated at the scene but later died in hospital. the next of kin have been informed by the police and the police want to stress that this is not a terrorist —related incident and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with this. they are also appealing to people who may have been around at the time to not post things on social media because of the sea that would be distressing to the families and this is still an ongoing investigation. witnesses say they heard multiple gunshot wounds in the evening. police and ambulance crews raced to the scenes. there were four air ambulances up there were four air ambulances up in the air and a police helicopter and roads were cordoned off and residents were told to stay indoors and lock their doors. stay inside and lock their doors. it was a terrifying experience for many people. this is a very unusual event for plymouth. plymouth is seen as a tranquil town in the south coast a popular uk

holiday destination and home to the biggest naval base in western europe. so this is really unprecedented events there and the home secretary said the incident is shocking and her thoughts are with those affected. there are community meetings taking place tomorrow morning in a local school and in churches across the city. so people really reaching out for support there and the police have been commended by local politicians for their actions today. politicians for their actions toda . . ~ politicians for their actions toda . ., ~ let's get some of the day's other news. 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. the heir of samsung, lee jae—yong has been released from prison and is now on parole. the 53—year—old de—facto leader of south korea's largest conglomerate was convicted

of bribery and other charges and has served 207 days in prison — just over half of his sentence. outside the prison he apologised for causing "concern to the people". the authorities in northern germany have asked more than eight—thousand people to repeat their covid jabs, because a nurse is suspected of having injected saline solution instead of vaccine in many cases. police are investigating whether the nurse gave saline jabs in more than the six cases she's admitted to. the united nations says it is alarmed by the plight of civilians caught up in fighting in southern syria, where the government is confronting armed opposition forces. the un envoy for syria said the hostilities in the daraa al—balad area had included heavy shelling. us border agents say they detained more than 212 thousand migrants trying to enter the country from mexico last month. it's the highest monthly figure in 20 years. almost half of those stopped at the border have been expelled from the united states under special regulations introduced to curb the spread

of the coronavirus. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: fanned by strong winds and searing heat, wildfires continue to burn across algeria. 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. the taliban capture afghanistan's third biggest city herat, with reports they've taken kandahar too. police in south west england say five people have died following shooting incident in the city of plymouth. 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. 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. algeria has observed the first of three days of national mourning as wildfires continue to burn across the north of the country. fanned by strong winds

and searing heat, the fires have claimed 69 lives since monday. tanya dendrinos has the story. flames licking at the three tops. a wall of fire quickly swells. it is a devastating scene. villages in the front line, branches and shovels. translation: we have been fighting this fire for five days. there is no electricity, no water, no gas, no network. there is nothing here. we are tired. 0n the tarmac at the airport, a lifeline. the two water bombing planes chartered by the government from the eu.

another two arriving from france. but for those already firmly in the grip of this battle, government support seems nonexistent. the people of algeria are alone. we have received nothing from the government accept threats. people are acting together as one and we have received aid from everywhere. across algeria, volunteers and aid organisations are gathering supplies. in each village there are partner associations with him we work directly. we give them the donations and they distribute them to the families. appeals are under way in paris, too. translation: we came to possibly lend a hand and do some voluntary work to help with all the sorting. and maybe to see what is missing in terms of medicine, clothes are other things. these fires are some of the worst in the country's history and officials believe in many instances arson is to blame. the president confirming more than 20 suspects had been arrested so far.

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. una stubbs played alf garnett�*s exasperated daughter rita in the 1960's and 70's sitcom til death us do part and her big screen debut was starring alongside sir cliff richard in the hit british film summer holiday. una stubbs, who's died at the age of 8a.

i've been speaking to entertainmentjournalist kj matthews, who says the move isn't as straightforward as it seems. it is like anything else. you have to read the fine print. you know, a lot of the people in the free britney movement were elated when they heard today that her father was going today that her father was going to step down from his role as co—conservator, particularly over her finances. co—conservator, particularly over herfinances. but co—conservator, particularly over her finances. but what they did not realise is that he said he would only step down when there is a smooth transition, in other words, yes, eventually he will step down but not right now. to think he's _ down but not right now. to think he's made the decision to step down because of public pressure? because of movements like the free britney that you express there which supporters and fans were speaking up so vocally on social media, or do you think is a direct result of

what happened in that case? it is definitely a result of the pressure put on him. remember her new attorneyjust last month wanted to terminate his access. she made it perfectly clear within the last month or so she does not want her father to be a conservatory. she said that. . ~ . that. he heard. what he basically _ that. he heard. what he basically said _ that. he heard. what he basically said is, - that. he heard. what he basically said is, look, l that. he heard. what he l basically said is, look, the move has already been made. we were already going to remove her father as were already going to remove herfather as a were already going to remove her father as a co—conservator but it has to be done in an orderly matter in which the transition to the new conservative to come in is taking place at the right time. we don't know when that is going to be, exactly. you neatly laid out the timetable of the next steps. not all does go through what does this actually mean for britney spears? actually mean for britney sears? ~ . ., actually mean for britney spears?— actually mean for britney sears? ~ . ., spears? welcomer the next heafina spears? welcomer the next hearing in — spears? welcomer the next hearing in september i spears? welcomer the next hearing in september 29. l spears? welcomer the next i hearing in september 29. her attorney had filed paperwork to try to rush the hearing and

speed it up, so to speak. avid earlier. however, thejudge said no. the next hearing, what they will have to do is come together and decide what the next step is. immediately, she wants to have her father taken off of being her co—conservator but ultimately, remember, britney spears once this conservatorship, after 13 years, to end. that is your ultimate goal.— years, to end. that is your ultimate goal. the ultimate coal is ultimate goal. the ultimate goal is that _ ultimate goal. the ultimate goal is that in _ ultimate goal. the ultimate goal is that in does - ultimate goal. the ultimate goal is that in does this i ultimate goal. the ultimate| goal is that in does this that make it more or less likely? it may. but you know, there are so many other things happening in the case, now, too. it has been unearthed at the attorney, not the attorney. the judge unearthed at the attorney, not the attorney. thejudge in unearthed at the attorney, not the attorney. the judge in the case is now receiving death threats on so now we have the local sheriffs department looking into that. there is so much awareness in this case and semi—different angles. we will just have to see what happens and take it step—by—step but, you know, these things take time. you don'tjust enter conservatorship especially when you have not had a psychiatric

evaluation. there are so many things a play that even if the conservatorship would end it would not be immediately and it might not even be this year. our thanks. now — 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. twenty—six pianos will be auctioned next month, some valued at over 80,000 dollars each. at the age of 70, david winston says it's about time he sold them off, and settled for an easier life. he plans to focus on rowing and photography, and not tuning. a reminder of our top story. the us is sending nearly 3,000 troops back into afghanistan to evacuate staff from the american embassy, as the taliban continue their rapid advance. the pentagon said the soldiers would be deployed at the international airport in kabul within the next two days.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ l vaughanjones 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 47 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 windy up towards the northwest, and top temperatures in glasgow ofjust 17 celsius. could get to 22 or 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 some 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, maybe 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 have captured a string of crucial cities in afghanistan. they've driven out government forces in the third biggest city, herat, and claim to have taken control of kandahar — the second largest. as the security situation deteriorates thousands of us and british troops are being sent back to help evacuate american and uk nationals. police in south west england say that five people have been killed in a shooting incident in the city of plymouth. the suspect also died in the incident. detectives say it was not terror related and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting. the father of britney spears has agreed to step down as conservator of her estate.

the arrangement began in 2008 after concerns over the singer's mental health. jamie spears took legal control of her life and finances. now on bbc news, panorama. tonight on panorama — david cameron and the missing billions. scandalous. no other prime minister in modern times has felt it appropriate to act in this way. the former prime minister promoted his friends controversial investment schemes. there could be billions on the line here, which could be lost from supposedly ultra—safe funds. we reveal the truth about lex greensill�*s dodgy deals. in the end, it turns out the company was clearly very, very problematic. in the end, it turns out. the company was clearly

very, very problematic. how uk taxpayers could lose hundreds of millions.