tv BBC News BBC News August 14, 2021 12:00am-12:31am BST
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this is bbc news — i'm nancy kacungira with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. crisis in afghanistan. taliban militants capture the country's second largest city and fears are mounting that the capital kabul, may be under threat. for a majority of the population, they are waiting to see how things unfold with a mixture of fear, resignation, and anger. president biden is still insisting that pulling us forces out of the country was the right decision, but is facing growing criticism over the withdrawal. when the decision was announced months ago, i said that i fear that we would come to regret this decision and we already are. this, again, is a nightmare. in the uk — a vigil has been
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held to remember the victims of thursday's mass shooting — the country's worst since 2010. police have now named the victims. much of southern europe continues to bake. bone dry, after one of the hottest summers, ever recorded. hello, and welcome. we start in afghanistan where the rapid advance of the taliban is accelerating, the militants now control a third of the country's regional capitals, including afghanistan's second largest city, kandahar. american officials say the taliban is trying to "isolate" the capital, kabul. and they've acknowledged that the insurgents may be back in power much sooner than expected. meanwhile, the united nations has warned a "humanitarian catastrophe" may be unfolding.
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our correspondent yogita limaye reports from kabul. gunfire the biggest taliban victory so far in their rapid march across the country. this is the centre of kandahar city, a political and economic powerhouse. the taliban were born in this province. to show off their gains, the group's fighters filmed themselves walking through the provincial governor's office. and released this video, showing a traffic policemen welcoming them. after days of fierce fighting, afghan forces retreated. here, they're seen leaving the city. pashtana durrani worked to educate girls in kandahar. she fled before it was captured. i want to be very honest — i don't see any future. i don't have any hope.
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i'm furious, i'm sad, i'm... i'm lost and it'sjust a lot of emotions. how do you feel about the us and uk sending in troops to evacuate their own nationals? i was never against withdrawal. withdrawal was never a problem. it's not that a few thousand of their troops would have defended the whole country. it's them legitimising the deal. the taliban, that's the problem. hours before kandahar, herat was also captured — a major trade centre close to the border with iran. in the weeks leading up to the fall, influential pro—government leader ismail khan had led the battle against the taliban. now he's been captured by the insurgent group. helmand province, where british troops fought some of their fiercest battles, is also under taliban control. 15 provinces falling in seven days have raised questions about the future of the afghan capital, kabul.
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what's happened here in just the span of a week has taken people here, the government and its international partners by surprise. those who have the means are trying to get out of this country. flights from kabul are completely booked. but for a majority of the population, they're waiting to see how things will unfold with a mixture of fear, anger and resignation. many believe the government has let them down. "i have had to flee from my hometown because "the taliban captured it." "they killed three of my brothers." "afg han forces are not fighting, they are just handing "over control," this man said. the fighting is less than an hourfrom kabul now, in the neighbouring logar province. many of the war wounded from there have been coming to this kabul hospital. this 14—year—old boy was injured in an explosion, he's lost an eye and had his arm amputated.
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"one of my brothers was also killed in the "fighting one year ago." "if my mother finds out what has happened to me, "she will have a stroke," he says. more than 1000 have been killed in the past month in a country engulfed by suffering. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. afghanistan's history has been marked by great power rivalries, military invasions, and disruptive foriegn withdrawals. —— of foreign withdrawals. back in 2001, it was a us—led military coalition that ousted the taliban from power for providing refuge to al-qaeda. with the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaching — there are fears that the taliban may soon be back in charge, thus completing a vicious historical circle. general david petraeus served as commander of us and nato forces in afghanistan and was also the director of the cia. he told the bbc that there
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is no good outcome now, unless foreign troops go back into afghanistan. i would say that we should literally reverse the decision. i think that when the decision was announced months ago, i said that i fear that we would come to regret this decision, and we already are. this, again, is a nightmare and there are no good ways forward. taliban rule is not preferable to a civil war which is terrible also. again, none of this is — there is no good outcome unless the united states and its allies recognise that we made a serious mistake, that the planning was overly hasty, that we pulled away from the afghan forces what they'd come to depend on which is our air power and drones. i don't think people realised how crucial notjust our forces and the 8,500 coalition forces that departed, but the 18,000 contractors who maintain the afghan air force. i said months ago that i fear that there would come a time, because the maintenance
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would degrade and the air force would basically become inoperable, that if there are simultaneous requests for reinforcements, re—supplies, and close air support, that all of a sudden that wouldn't be possible, afghan troops would recognise that and after fighting for a couple of days, they would come to see that their only alternative was to surrender, to die, or to flee. and that is what happened, and i feared also that there would be a psychological effect of that that would spread throughout the country. and again, tragically, all of that has come to pass. general david petraeus they're speaking to the bbc. i also spoke to a brigadier general who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for middle east policy in president george w bush's government and we will have that coming up a little bit later on. a vigil has been held in memory of the five people killed by a gunman in plymouth on thursday, in the uk's
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worst mass shooting in over ten years. the dead include the mother of the gunman, who was the first to die, and a three—year—old girl, sophie martyn, who'd been out for a walk with her father who was also shot dead. two other people are recovering in hospital. 0ur correspondent, jon kay, has the latest, from keyham. plymouth is hurting tonight. in this neighbourhood, everyone knows one another. so, finding out who the victims were has only made things more painful. the youngest to be killed was just three years old. sophie martyn was out for a walk with her dad lee when they were both shot dead. i feel devastated for the family. paris and billy heard the news this evening. heartbroken. you were in tears, weren't you? it wasn't nice. it was devastating. itjust makes everything that worse, doesn't it, being a child? it's going to be different here forever now, i think.
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nothing is ever going to be the same, especially when it's up the road. injust six minutes last night, six lives were lost on these streets. the first victim was maxine davison, the mother of the gunman. she was 51 and was at home in the keyham area of the city when he killed her. just lucky, really, that's what i'm thinking. it could've been me. bert was on his way to the shops as the shooting started. and he walked right past his neighbour, jake davison, who was carrying a gun. i heard a bang and walked around the corner and the bloke was walking towards me with a black rifle and i could smell the gunfire. i swerved around him and i noticed a woman in the corner layed in the doorstep that was shot, and i went to her and put
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pressure on the wound and i comforted her until the police came. when you bumped into him, what did he look like? how did he seem? just vacant. just a vacant stare, like. the sequence of events started at a house on biddick drive last night where davison shot and killed his mother. he then went onto the road and fired again, killing three—year—old sophie martyn and her father lee. the gunmen then headed to a nearby park shooting and injuring another man and woman. they are both being treated in hospital. in the park, he killed 59—year—old stephen washington before heading to henderson place where he shot his fifth victim, 66—year—old kate sheppard, who later died in hospital. it was here that the gunman then shot himself and was declared dead at the scene. we believe we have an incident that is domestically related that has spilled into the street and seen
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several people within plymouth losing their lives in an extraordinarily tragic circumstance. bad, mate. bad. this neighbour who does not want to be named will never forget the sound of the gunfire. it was like... and was there about a couple of seconds and again and again and again. how long was there between each of the shots that you heard? about five seconds and another and another. so young person, you know? it's a sad time for this part of the world. tonight, a vigil close to the scene. the police don't know yet if the gunman knew any of his victims apart from his mother, or if they were shot at random. this community is trying to understand how a quiet area
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of devon has become the scene of britain's worst mass shooting in a decade. jon kay, bbc news, plymouth. the gunman did have a firearms licence, but there are questions tonight about why it was revoked, then reinstated just last month. jake davison had posted numerous videos online saying he struggled to meet women, and making references to "incels," misogynist online groups of "involuntary celibate" men, linked to a number of violent acts around the world. the independent office for police conduct, is investigating devon and cornwall police's handling of davison�*s gun licence. here's our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. just 22 years old, jake davison claimed in his increasingly manic social media posts to be isolated and defeated by life. now he is responsible for one
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of britain's worst mass shootings, a key question for the police is why he did. there is no motive _ the police is why he did. there is no motive that _ the police is why he did. there is no motive that we _ the police is why he did. there is no motive that we know - the police is why he did. there is no motive that we know as l the police is why he did. there j is no motive that we know as a present, that will be subject to inquiry but we are at the moment not considering terrorism or a relationship with any far—right group or any such other group. with any far-right group or any such other group.— such other group. online, jake davison was _ such other group. online, jake davison was involved - such other group. online, jake davison was involved in - such other group. online, jake davison was involved in the . davison was involved in the incel or involuntary celibate subculture of people who resent the back of a sexual partner, it encourages violence against women for some in a series of posts on mass shootings, he wrote... 0ne posts on mass shootings, he wrote... one month ago, he posted... wrote... one month ago, he posted---_ wrote... one month ago, he posted... i'm so beaten down and defeated... _ posted... i'm so beaten down and defeated... that - posted... i'm so beaten down and defeated... that drive . posted... i'm so beaten down. and defeated... that drive that i once — and defeated... that drive that i once had _ and defeated... that drive that i once had has gone. it is gone, _ i once had has gone. it is gone, it_ i once had has gone. it is gone, it is_ i once had has gone. it is gone, it is literally gone. i don't _ gone, it is literally gone. i don't have the power any more. so where — don't have the power any more. so where these murders ideologically inspired and do
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they count as a incel terrorist attack? ~ , ., ., they count as a incel terrorist attack? , ., ., ., . attack? we see a lot of incel insired attack? we see a lot of incel inspired attackers _ attack? we see a lot of incel inspired attackers who - attack? we see a lot of incel inspired attackers who kind l attack? we see a lot of incel. inspired attackers who kind of think i am killing myself and i'm going to take down as many people as i can. the question of whether it is terrorism or not will ultimately be determined by with that these victims were targeted for a certain reason or whether there was something more than just be his identity. fist was something more than 'ust be his “mini was something more than 'ust be his identitsfi his identity. at his home here in plymouth. _ his identity. at his home here in plymouth, jake _ his identity. at his home here in plymouth, jake davison - in plymouth, jake davison posted hate filled online rants about single mothers and his own mother in particular, calling her bio, dysfunctional, and chaotic. yesterday evening, he shot her dead. —— her vial. some previous mass shootings have resulted in tighter gun laws. the massacre of 1987 went to a ban on most semi automatic rifles. ., , , ., rifles. however parents began makini rifles. however parents began making their _ rifles. however parents began making their way _ rifles. however parents began making their way to _ rifles. however parents began making their way to the - making their way to the school... making their way to the school. . ._ making their way to the school... ., ,., school... the done point in school... the done point in school massacre _ school... the done point in school massacre of - school... the done point in school massacre of 1996 i school... the done point in school massacre of 1996 in j school massacre of 1996 in which 16 children died went to a handgun ban. and in the
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cumbria shootings of 2010 and then last night's murders, shotguns were involved and these are still owned widely. there are almost 550,000 shotgun certificates last year issued in england and wales, the number has gone up and down but has remained steadily above half a million for many years. tragically, jake davison had his shotgun and a certificate returned to him only last month. they had been taken away last december following an allegation of assault. daniel sandford, bbc news, plymouth. the bbc has strongly criticised russia's decision, not to renew the visa of its moscow correspondent, sarah rainsford, calling it a "direct assault on media freedom". ms rainsford, who's based in moscow, now has to leave at the end of the month, when her accreditation expires. it's thought it's in retaliation, for the uk's refusal to grant visas to russian journalists. stay with us on bbc news, still to come... swathes of southern europe continue to be hit by extreme heat in what is turning out
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to be one of the hottest summers ever recorded. 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.
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it began itsjourney off the coast of canada ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bangor. this is bbc news. the latest headlines. crisis in afghanistan goes on — taliban militants capture the country's second largest city and fears mount that the capital kabul may be under threat. let's stay with our main story. brigadier general mark kimmitt — served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for middle east policy in president george w bush's white house. i asked him whether he was surprised by the taliban's rapid gains. i really am and i think any military observer would be surprised as well. it's not unprecedented throughout history to see this type of collapse
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but with a force that we've trained so well and that we've put so much time and effort into, it is coming to a surprise. and against this backdrop of america and its allies rushing now to evacuate citizens, we've heard from a number of people in the international community, former generals as well and also from senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who called biden�*s afghanistan policy "reckless" and is urging president biden to roll back on this and send more troops into afghanistan. is that a view that you share? it really is. i went through the experience of iraq withdrawal in 2011. that was done quite methodically and carefully but within a couple of years, isis came across the borders. and at that point, the entire iraqi army collapsed and it wasn't until the americans came back in in 2014 along with shia militia that isis was not only stopped but pushed back.
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i think that's something that could be done here, that the introduction of american troops and some combat power, in assistance of the afghan national security forces, could certainly halt if not reverse these gains. well, america is saying that this isn't an abandonment but it might be seen that way — and we can see why in afghanistan. how is this affecting morale within the afghan army for instance? well, it's the afghan morale within the army that's causing the entire collapse. they watched their american counterparts and their british counterparts just leave one day, leave nothing behind, no trainers, new advisers, no air controllers, and they are saying, "look, if these guys are going on, "who's there to help us?" throughout history, we've seen armies collapse like this as i've said, and in this case when
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the afghan military, the individual soldiers said, "why should i bother to fight if there for me?" to fight if there is "nothing there for me?" well, we just heard from our correspondent gary 0'donoghue they're talking about the fact that there is, there seems to be very little concern about pushing this in a different direction within america in terms of getting more troops back into afghanistan. how much does that concern you and what do you think we will see happen in afghanistan as a result? well, i think gary's right. the united states is quite focused inward at this point with all the other challenges that are being faced but i think when we start seeing the pictures and videos coming out of afghanistan of our translators being hung, the women that we have paid for to go to school getting killed, i think there is enough of a blow inside the beltway right now that we could certainly see that blowback if this gets to be
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an embarrassment that the average american can't stand. i was speaking thereto brigadier general mark kimmitt. let's get some of the day's other news. at least 21 people are reported to have died in the central chinese province of hubei after torrential rains battered the region. the downpour caused flooding and landslides. hundreds of reservoirs have reportedly exceeded their flood warning levels. this comes after massive flooding killed hundreds in henan province last month. china has said it won't co—operate with the world health organization's new plan to investigate the origins of the coronavirus. the who has asked for more data, partly to continue looking into the theory that the virus escaped from a chinese laboratory. but on friday officials in china said the lab leak theory should not be investigated. clashes have broken out between police and protesters in thailand, after hundreds of people defied a ban on mass gatherings to march on the prime minister's
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residence and demand his resignation. the protestors claim the prime minister has mismanaged the country's covid—19 response. on friday, thailand saw a new record for daily cases. us government scientists have confirmed that july was the world's hottest ever month. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration said the global land and ocean surface temperature last month was nearly one degree celsius hotter than the 20th century average. that makes it the hottest since modern records began 142 years ago. a heatwave is sweeping through much of southern europe and wildfires are still raging across the region. the italian island of sicily, registered 48.8 degrees celsius on wednesday, which if verified would be the continent's highest temperature ever recorded. to put that in context, the average maximum temperatures for this time of year in sicily are
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normally around 35 degrees. 0ur correspondent mark lowen is there. they climb to the coolest place around, the peak of an active volcano. when mighty mount etna is a relief from the heat, you know it's an extreme. legend has it the ancient god of fire worked beneath etna. for the tourists here, he still feels close. we booked the holidays like half a year ago, so we did not know anything about the heat. would you have come if you had known how hot it would be? no! no. bad. bad, because it's totally hot in the last days. but here we came with her and we enjoyed it a lot because they are approximately 15 degrees less than next to the area of the sea. italy is sweltering, sicily hitting 48.8 degrees this week — believed to be the highest
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temperature ever recorded in europe. and it's fuelling wildfires — 500 have torn through the country killing four people. firefighters here in sicily battling for hours. the heatwave has been triggered by an anti—cyclone, an area of high pressure across southern europe and north africa. the fires and the scorching temperatures are likely to pass in the coming days, but this is not a temporary phenomenon. 0ur climate is heating and human activity is a majorfactor behind it. sicily and many other areas could see more — and worse than this — in the years to come. they've got the right idea. in a sizzling sicily, there are few other places to go. the heat, oh my gosh, it's so hot. tigerfrom london comes here every year and she's never known it like this. it may be climate change.
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i'm quite scared that's the reason why if i'm honest because it's never really been quite as hot. i've been coming au paring for about three years and it's never been like this. it's quite scary. are you worried about the fires? about the fires? yeah, i think they're terrifying. for the sun seekers, it is fun. after the lockdowns, italy is thirsty for tourists. and they will need quenching, too. mark lowen, bbc news, sicily. and now to a top secret move in the art world, with "the scream" transported in norway. the iconic piece which rivals works such as da vinci's mona lisa and van gogh's sunflowers, was painted by edvard munch in 1893 and has been carefully moved from the national museum in oslo to the new munch museum. the project was years in the making with the delicate operation kept secret.
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until now of course. hello there. it's going to be one of those weekends where we get a bit of sunshine and a bit of rain, as well. it looks like saturday will be a much drier day in scotland, where we've had a lot of shower clouds on friday. we'll see more cloud coming in from the southwest, as well — and that is due to this area of low pressure that'll just hang around, really, through the weekend. it means as we start the weekend, we've got quite muggy air across the south of england, south wales, 15 celsius here. it's cooler air that we've got in scotland with those showers in the north, 10—11 celsius. the showers in scotland do become fewer, mind you. a bit of a dull, misty, damp start across parts of wales and the southwest of england. and this cloud gradually working its way northwards. more in the way of sunshine across scotland as those showers become fewer, but the cloud will be increasing in northern ireland and northern england, bringing a bit of rain and drizzle especially
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later on in the day. could be a bit damp still across the north of wales, even across to the north midlands into east anglia. but to the south of here, we should get some sunshine through, especially in the southeast of england. temperatures reaching a pleasant 23 celsius, and we could make 19 or 20 in the sunshine in the central belt of scotland. now, that area of low pressure moves slowly into the uk. a few weather fronts on the scene — all pretty weak, mind you. this one here will bring more in the way of showers, wetter weather into the north and northeast of scotland. could be some rain first thing on sunday in southern scotland and northern ireland, moving its way southwards into northern england. find it brightening up, as well, across southern scotland and northern ireland. but a few more showers and more cloud coming into wales and the southwest. head further east towards the east anglia and the east, again, the best of the sunshine. for many, temperatures aren't changing much, but it's getting colder in northern scotland. southern europe, though, sees extreme heat through this weekend, could see temperatures hitting 48 celsius.
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by contrast, it's a cooler northeasterly breeze heading our way for the start of the new week. probably won't be much rain — overnight rain clears away from southern parts of england, we're left with a few showers. probably quite a bit of cloud streaming our way, as well, and that colder air that we're seeing in scotland is pushing its way southwards across the uk. so top temperature 20—21 celsius in hampshire. as we head further into next week, it's fairly quiet, settled a few showers. a lot of cloud, mind you, and it's not looking particularly warm for this time of year.
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this is bbc news, the headlines... the crisis in afghanistan continues, as taliban militants capture the country's second largest city, kandahar, with fears mounting for the capital, kabul. the united states has announced plans to airlift thousands of people a day out of the city. in the uk, a vigil has been held to remember the victims of thursday's mass shooting — the country's worst since 2010. the victims include the mother of the gunman, and three—year—old sophie martin, who'd been out walking with her father, who was also shot dead. scorching temperatures are continuing across europe with italy recording a new record high earlier this week and spain and portugal forecast to suffer blistering temperatures this weekend. it comes as us government scientists have confirmed that july was the world's hottest ever month. now on bbc news, a newsbeat documentary —
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