this is bbc news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: crisis in afghanistan — taliban militants capture the country's second largest city, and fears are mounting that the capital kabul may be under threat. president biden is still insisting that pulling us forces out of the country was the right decision, but is facing growing criticism. when the decision was announced months ago, i said i would fear we would come to regret this decision and we already are. this again is a nightmare. in the uk, a vigil has been held to remember the victims of thursday's mass shooting —

the country's worst since 2010. police have now named the victims. and much of southern europe continues to bake — bone dry, after one of the hottest summers ever recorded. hello and welcome to the programme. we to the programme. will start in afghanistan. the rapid advance of the taliban in afghanistan is accelerating. the militants now control a third of the country's regional capitals, including afg hanistan�*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. 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 policeman 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. 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. it's them legitimising 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. what's happened here injust

the span ofjust 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.

"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. 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. he told the bbc there is no good outcome now, unless foreign troops go back into afghanistan. i would say that we should literally reverse the decision. i think when the decision was announced months ago, i said

that i feared 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 that had come to depend on, ourairpowerand forces that had come to depend on, our airpower and drones, forces that had come to depend on, ourairpowerand drones, i don't think people realise how crucial, notjust ourforces and that 8500 coalition forces that departed, but the 18,000 contractors who maintain the afghan air force. i said months ago that i feared there would come a time, because the maintenance 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 ifear also there would be a psychological effect of that, that would spread throughout the country, and again tragically, all about has come to pass. —— all of that. akram gizabi is chair of the world hazara council. it is a human rights organisation which works for the welfare of the hazaras in afghanistan and around the globe. he's in washington. thank you for coming on the programme. what is your response, what do you make, what is your assessment of the american international community's withdrawal of their troops, and what has unfolded since? i troops, and what has unfolded since? . , ., since? i am, i must say that i am extremely _ since? i am, i must say that i am extremely disappointed, l am extremely disappointed, saddened, and i really don't

know what will happen to the people of afghanistan, the us made a hasty, ill—conceived announcement, and withdrawal of the us forces from afghanistan, and i believe that what they leave behind is a slaughterhouse. and we, the hazaras, a religious minority and an ethnic group that... that bore the brunt of the taliban atrocities during the late 1990s, we will be the first and we will be the most vulnerable people in afghanistan that the taliban will come to visit.— afghanistan that the taliban will come to visit. well, what about president _ will come to visit. well, what about president biden's - about president biden's argument that it has been two

decades firstly, and also that the americans have been involved in training afghan security forces, and it is now down to the afghan security forces to maintain security in the country?— forces to maintain security in the count ? ~ ~ �* the country? well, mr biden can make any argument _ the country? well, mr biden can make any argument that - the country? well, mr biden can make any argument that he - make any argument that he wants, but even a layman would know that at this point they cannot leave the country to the walls. so to speak. because the us, what they did, through the ill—conceived and delusional policies during the trump administration and joe biden, they gave a terrorist group, one of the most vicious terrorist groups in the world, they gave them legitimacy. they released close to 6000 of their prisoners without even consulting the afghan people, they forced this on

afghanistan, they twisted rouhani's arms to release this. and all the terrorists went to the front. so mr biden can make any argument he wants, but they aren't the ones to blame —— they are the ones to blame for they are the ones to blame for the current situation. to talk to a terrorist group, to give them legitimacy, and to enable them legitimacy, and to enable them to come to power in the near future them to come to power in the nearfuture in them to come to power in the near future in afghanistan. them to come to power in the nearfuture in afghanistan. you near future in afghanistan. you say come _ near future in afghanistan. you say come to — near future in afghanistan. you say come to power _ near future in afghanistan. you say come to power in _ near future in afghanistan. you say come to power in the near future in afghanistan, do you think kabul is under real threat? ~ , ,., , think kabul is under real threat? ~ , ~ , think kabul is under real threat? ~ , a threat? absolutely. as you mentioned, _ threat? absolutely. as you mentioned, one _ threat? absolutely. as you mentioned, one of - threat? absolutely. as you mentioned, one of your . mentioned, one of your colleagues, that they are in logar, logar is a very short distance away from kabul, and if they surround kabul, which they are trying to do, they have taken logar, and the route

to the north is blocked, kabul would starve, so to speak, because all the roads that lead to kabul would be blocked. so to kabulwould be blocked. so to kabulwould be blocked. so to -- to kabul would be blocked. so to —— sorry tojump in, can that be stopped, is there something the international community can do now? unfortunately at the moment, no. unless they really enter very forcefully and tell the taliban that if they don't stop there onslaught, there will be a serious consequences, and i hate to say, but unless they really go back and with really strong force, there is no way that they can save afghanistan. thank you very much for coming on the programme.— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you for havin: on the programme. thank you for

having me- _ development is moving quickly therein afghanistan, we will keep you up—to—date with events there later in the programme. a vigil has been held in memory of the 5 people killed by a gunman in plymouth on thursday, in the uk's worst mass shooting in over 10 years. the dead include the mother of the gunman, who was the first to die, and a three—year—old girl, sophie martin, who'd been out for a walk with herfather, 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 martin was out for a walk with her dad lee, when they were both shot dead. i

her dad lee, when they were both shot dead.— both shot dead. i feel devastated _ both shot dead. i feel devastated for - both shot dead. i feel devastated for the . both shot dead. i feel- devastated for the family. paris and billy heard the news this evening.— paris and billy heard the news this evening. she was in tears, wasn't new- — this evening. she was in tears, wasn't new. it _ this evening. she was in tears, wasn't new. it wasn't - this evening. she was in tears, wasn't new. it wasn't night. . wasn't new. it wasn't night. devastating. it wasn't new. it wasn't night. devastating.— devastating. it makes everything _ devastating. it makes everything that - devastating. it makes| everything that works, devastating. it makes - everything that works, doesn't it, everything that works, doesn't it. being — everything that works, doesn't it. being a _ everything that works, doesn't it, being a child. it�*s everything that works, doesn't it, being a child.— it, being a child. it's going to be different _ it, being a child. it's going to be different here - it, being a child. it's going| to be different here forever now, i think. to be different here forever now, ithink. it to be different here forever now, ithink.— to be different here forever now, ithink. now, i think. it is never going to be the _ now, i think. it is never going to be the same, _ now, i think. it is never going to be the same, especially i now, i think. it is never going i to be the same, especially when it is over— to be the same, especially when it is over the road. in to be the same, especially when it is over the road.— it is over the road. in 'ust six minutes i it is over the road. in 'ust six minutes last i it is over the road. in just six minutes last night, i it is over the road. in just| 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 is one thing. it could have 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 neighbour, jake davison, who was carrying a gun.— was carrying a gun. i heard a ban , was carrying a gun. i heard a ban, i was carrying a gun. i heard a bang. i walk _ was carrying a gun. i heard a bang, i walk around - was carrying a gun. i heard a bang, i walk around the - was carrying a gun. i heard a i bang, i walk around the corner, the bloke was walking to ——

towards me with a black rifle, and i could smell the gunfire. i swerved around him, and and i could smell the gunfire. iswerved around him, and i noticed a woman in the corner, laying on the doorstep of the shop. and just put pressure on the wound, until the police come. the wound, untilthe police come. ~ , , ., come. when you bumped into him, what did he — come. when you bumped into him, what did he look— come. when you bumped into him, what did he look like, _ come. when you bumped into him, what did he look like, how - come. when you bumped into him, what did he look like, how did i what did he look like, how did he seem?— he seem? just... just vacant 'ust he seem? just... just vacant just vacant. _ he seem? just... just vacant just vacant, staring. - he seem? just... just vacant just vacant, staring. the i just vacant, staring. the sequence _ just vacant, staring. the sequence of _ just vacant, staring. the sequence of events i just vacant, staring. the sequence of events started to house on biddick drive last night when davison shot and killed his mother. he then went on to the road and fired again, killing three—year—old sophie martin and her father lee. killing three—year—old sophie martin and herfather lee. he 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 shepherd, who later died in hospital. it was here that the government then shot himself, and was declared dead at the scene. indie shot himself, and was declared dead at the scene.— dead at the scene. we believe we have an — dead at the scene. we believe we have an instance _ dead at the scene. we believe we have an instance that i dead at the scene. we believe we have an instance that is i we have an instance that is domestically related, that has spilt into the street, and seen several people with in plymouth losing their lives in an extraordinary tragic circumstance.- extraordinary tragic circumstance. ,. ., extraordinary tragic circumstance. ., circumstance. dad, mate, bad. bad. circumstance. dad, mate, bad. bad- this _ circumstance. dad, mate, bad. bad. this neighbour, _ circumstance. dad, mate, bad. bad. this neighbour, who i circumstance. dad, mate, bad. bad. this neighbour, who does| bad. this neighbour, who does not want to _ bad. this neighbour, who does not want to be _ bad. this neighbour, who does not want to be named, - bad. this neighbour, who does not want to be named, will. not want to be named, will never forget the sound of the gunfire. it never forget the sound of the aunfire. ., , ~ �* gunfire. it was like,... and then there _ gunfire. it was like,... and then there were _ gunfire. it was like,... and then there were a - gunfire. it was like,... and then there were a couple l gunfire. it was like,... and| then there were a couple of seconds, _ then there were a couple of seconds, and again, and again. how— seconds, and again, and again. how long — seconds, 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. — another, and another. so young person. you _ another, and another. so young person, you know. it is another, and another. so young person, you know.—

person, you know. it is a sad time for— person, you know. it is a sad time for this _ person, you know. it is a sad time for this part _ person, you know. it is a sad time for this part of - person, you know. it is a sad time for this part of the i time for this part of the world. tonight, a visual close to the scene. the police don't know yet if the gunmen 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 of devon has become the scene of britain's worst mass shooting in a decade. next, the bbc has strongly criticised the russian decision not to renew the visa of sarah bransford, is calling it a direct attack on media freedom. she now needs to leave at the end of the month when her accreditation expires. it is thought that it is in retaliation for the uk's refusal to grant visas to russian journalists. refusal to grant visas to russianjournalists. you watching bbc news. our main stories:

the united states is making preparations to evacuate thousands of people a day from the afghan capital, kabul, as taliban insurgents continue to make sweeping territorial gains across the country. we will stay with that story. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, says there's no military solution to the crisis in afghanistan — insisting that the uk will instead use diplomatic leverage and foreign aid spending to exert what pressure it can. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. just weeks ago, british forces were leaving kabul for good. now troops are preparing to go back in — this time not to stay but to help fly out british nationals because of the rapid taliban advance. after nearly 20 years of us and british intervention in afghanistan, the prime minister tonight said there was never a military solution to bring peace to the country. what we certainly

can do is work with all our partners, in the region and around the world, who share an interest with us in preventing afghanistan from once again becoming a breeding ground for terror. these carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations. that was, of course, the reason why they went there in the first place — soon after the attacks on the us on 9/11. but the efforts and sacrifices over the past two decades to create a more stable country now seem to have been in vain. and there's anger that britain's following america's decision to leave afghanistan. this is really bad for britain — looking weak, making yourself look like you are untrustworthy weakens britons abroad, makes us all more vulnerable and leaves us exposed. afghanistan's location is of strategic importance. to the north, there are the former soviet states such as turkmenistan,

uzbekistan and tajikistan, all of whom still have close ties to russia. to the west is iran, which has already seen an influx of afghan refugees. afghanistan's largest border is with pakistan, which in the past has been accused by the west of providing shelter and support to the taliban. and further to the east is china, which has growing economic and security interests in the region. so what happens next to afghanistan really matters. when the soviet union troops left in �*89, the victorious mujahideen started fighting each other, so the countries in the region then poured fuel on the fire of the afghan civil war, and the fear now is, because you've got lots of enmity between the countries in the region, it's a danger that could happen again. the us and britain leave a country in limbo. the question now is notjust

what it was all for, but can they really afford to stand by as afghanistan once again descends into civil war? jonathan beale, bbc news. 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 organisation'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 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 thatjuly was the world's hottest ever month. (00v)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 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 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. 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 pairing 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. the american folk singer and songwriter nancy griffith has died aged 68. the texan musician was known for songs such as love at the five and dime, which celebrated the south of the usa. she won a grammy for best folk album. nancy griffith worked closely with other singers, helping the early careers of artists like lyle lovett and emmylou harris. and now to a top secret plan in the art world,

with the famous painting the scream on the move in norway. the iconic piece was painted by edvard munch in 1893 and has been carefully transported from the national museum in oslo to the new munch museum. the project was years in the making with the delicate operation kept secret. the new museum, celebrating munch's unique legacy is due to open to the public in october. a quick reminder of our top story. the united nations secretary general says the situation in afghanistan is spinning out of control with devastating consequences for civilians. he said continued urban conflict would mean continue cartage, with civilians being the highest price. he called on the taliban to end the fighting and urged the international community to make it clear that power sees through force was unacceptable.

that is it from me. do get in touch with me at any time on twitter. i'm @lvaughanjones. iam i am lewis vaughanjones and this is bbc news. 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 south—west, 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 to become fewer, mind you. a bit of a dull, misty, damp start across parts of wales and the south—west of england. and this cloud gradually working its way northwards. more in the way of sunshine across scotland as those stars become fewer,

but the cloud will be increasing in northern ireland and northern england, bringing a bit of rain and drizzle especially 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 south—west. 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 temperates hitting.

could see temperates hitting 48 celsius. 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.

the scene of britain's worst mass shooting in a decade.

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 herfather, 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, click.