welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. taliban fighters enter the presidential palace in kabul as they retake the afghan capital — 20 years after being forced from power. their arrival sparks an exodus from the city — as afghans try to board flights out of the country — and president ghani flees. embassies are closing — diplomats are flying out — leaving afghan civilians — and former top officials fearing what lies ahead. imight i might face consequences that i might face consequences that i never even dream of, and i

guess that is the price we pay for trying to make this world a little better. also on the programme... and — in haiti — the search for survivors — as the death toll from a huge earthquake rises to nearly 1300. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. one story dominates our programme: the taliban are now in control of afghanistan after taking—over the capital, kabul — almost exactly two decades after they were ousted from power. fighters were filmed inside the presidential palace, after ashraf ghani — now the former president — fled the country. afghans — and foreign nationals

— have been trying to get on planes at the main airport, but security there is reported to be fragile. the latest developments come after the taliban moved through one province after another in recent days, without much resistance. ourfirst report is from our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. sitting at the president's desk. earlier, at the same desk, the president was clinging to the last fragments of power. but the man gazing down on the streets is gone. in a facebook post he said he left to avoid bloodshed. as the taliban moves in, the west moves out. early treatment american helicopters busy all day today bearing diplomats

from the embassy to the airport. this disorderly and was not the plan. hundreds of british troops have arrived in kabul to help with the evacuation of thousands of british and afghan civilians. the operation is well under way. these trips may not be on the ground for long. kabul is in chaos. people desperate to leave, taking what they can, fearing a bloody assault. there was little violence so far but a lot of panic. crowds descended on banks, trying to take out their savings. as police officers and security officials abandoned their positions. the taliban urged people to stay calm. we wanted to avoid bloodshed _ people to stay calm. we wanted to avoid bloodshed and - to avoid bloodshed and destruction to properties of the people and to not give a chance to plunderers, looters who are waiting for such

moments to loot or plunder the properties of the people. what properties of the people. what the streets _ properties of the people. what the streets are _ properties of the people. what the streets are full— properties of the people. what the streets are full of - properties of the people. what the streets are full of dread. . the streets are full of dread. tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting elsewhere living out in the open, telling stories of abuses at the hands of the taliban. translation: after a few days he managed to escape as they were murdering the men and boys. they accused them of being in the army or the police. they were taken out of their homes and murdered because they worked for the government. away from the capital, more success for the taliban, taking over the eastern city ofjalalabad, giving them control of the vital road connecting afghanistan with pakistan. the saddest part is that i didn't expect this. but now i might face consequences that i never even dreamed of and i guess that's the price that we pay for trying to make this

world a little better. at the border with pakistan, afghans are leaving. with or without fighting, the taliban's take another look set to trigger yet another wave of refugees. tonight, at military and civilian planes offer the only way out. at the gates, chaotic scenes. you will leave and who will be left behind? is this how the west�*s 20 year adventure in afghanistan be remembered? for the united states — the lowering of the flag and the closure of its embassy in kabul mark the end of a phase that began almost exactly two decades ago in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. our north america editor jon sopel has been looking what these events mean for the biden administration. over many years and at a cost

of tens of billions of dollars, the us trained and equipped afghan forces to be ready to take back control of their country. but they collapsed like a house of cards — one of many miscalculations made by the biden administration over these dizzying few weeks. and today america's most senior diplomat was trying to put a brave face on events. what we're focused on now is making sure that we can get our people to a safe and secure place, that we can do right by the people who stood with us in afghanistan all these years, including afghans who worked for the embassy, worked for our military. we have a massive effort under way to bring afghans at risk out of the country, if that's what they so desire. america's attempt to export liberal democracy to afghanistan is well and truly over. america's effort to build a civil society in kabul and beyond also in tatters.

and joe biden's prediction from five weeks ago that everything would be just fine has not worn well. first of all, the mission hasn't failed — yet. so the question now is, where do they go from here? that, the jury is still out, but the likelihood there's going to be the taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely. the taliban wants to make a deal... | the withdrawal policy was framed during the trump administration and embraced byjoe biden, who is at camp david and today was being briefed by his officials. he believes passionately that america can't stay in afghanistan indefinitely. but foreign—policy hawks are rounding on both men. what we are watching now in afghanistan is what happens when america withdraws from the world, so everybody who has been saying america needs to withdraw, america needs to retreat, we are getting a devastating, catastrophic, real—time lesson in what that means. archive: the us embassy helicopters flew _ from roof to roof... america's most scarring

military defeat was summed up in the images of the last helicopter flying off the roof of the us embassy in saigon at the end of the vietnam war. today's scramble to get out of kabul may not be that, but it's not far short. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. here's more from our north america editorjon sopel, on how some afghans in the us have been reacting to the news out of kabul — and analysis on what this means for president biden. the few hundred afghans who have gathered here are furious at what has unfolded in these dizzying few days. i think you have got to distinguish between the policy and implementation. the policy of america saying, look, we cannot stay forever and we need to pull out, afghanistan need to take charge of its own affairs, that enjoys widespread support. the implementation, miscalculations and warnings ignored are something else altogether. there were talks going on with the taliban and us officials

and the taliban have ridden roughshod over them so what leveraged us that leave the americans and feature going forward. jo biden has not spoken yet. he will have to address the country. this may have been donald trump a's policy, but it isjo biden's implementation and i think he will pay quite a price will pay quite a that has unfolded over the past few days. that has unfolded over the past few days. in the uk — the prime minister borisjohnson has said that its now clear there will be a new government in kabul — and that every effort is being made to move british citizens from afghanistan as soon as possible. he chaired an emergency cobra meeting on sunday afternoon — and parliament is being recalled. here's our political correspondent ben wright. for 20 years, the uk has committed its military, money and lives to afghanistan. some of the fiercest fighting was here in helmand. the effort ends with a frantic

scramble to get out. the situation in afghanistan continues to be extremely difficult, getting more difficult, i would say. and our priority is to make sure that we deliver on our obligations to uk nationals in afghanistan, to all those who have helped the british effort in afghanistan over 20 years, and to get them out as fast as we can. uk troops first went to afghanistan in october 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, joining us—led action against al-qaeda and the taliban. by the time combat operations ended in 2014, a54 uk soldiers and military personnel had died. successive prime ministers stressed their commitment to the country and protecting the progress made. today, cross—party fear that progress could vanish. the real danger is that we're going to see every female mp murdered. we're going to see ministers strung up on street lamps, and this is the decision that i'm afraid has been taken. we haven't heard from the foreign secretary

in about a week, despite this being the biggest single foreign policy department, disaster, sorry, since suez. it has been a catastrophic miscalculation, that is absolutely clear. the uk and the united states both overestimated the capacity of the afghan government to hold off the taliban and underestimated the capacity of the taliban to advance throughout the country, and that has been clear, actually, for days. the uk says its mission in afghanistan had to end once the us announced its decision to leave, despite the consequences. it's a mark of the crisis that mps and peers will be brought back from their summer break on wednesday for a day's debate. many are livid about the way afghanistan is being left. but talking here won't stop the taliban and all mps can do is ask ministers how a humanitarian and security disaster might be avoided.

james was a captain and served in afghanistan in 2007 and 2009, there year at the regimental sikh soldiers. i5 regimental sikh soldiers. i3 incredibly sad to see the change happened so quickly after years and years of incredibly hard work from remarkable armed services in the country. i don't know how i could ever look the parents of fallen soldiers in the eye and say that what they did was worth it. , ., ., say that what they did was worth it— say that what they did was worth it. , ., ., , worth it. the situation will be dee -l worth it. the situation will be deeply felt — worth it. the situation will be deeply felt by _ worth it. the situation will be deeply felt by many - worth it. the situation will be deeply felt by many families | deeply felt by many families closer to home, reflecting an admission that was not meant to end like this. we'll have more on afghanistan a bit later in the programme — and you can of course find much more on our website. we have a special live page dedeicated to afghanistan — with all the latest lines and developments. just go to bbc.com/news and follow the links. or you can doenload the bbc news app.

the death toll from the earthquake that hit haiti on saturday has risen to almost 13—hundred and at least 6000 people have been injured. haiti's civil protection service said hospitals in the area have been inundated and struggling to cope. aid workers are racing to provide food, water and shelter before the arrival of a tropical storm on monday. the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake was 150 kilometres from the capital port au prince — where hundreds of buildings have been flattened. james clayton reports. the last thing a country in political turmoil needed was this. friends and family searching the rubble for loved ones — looking, praying, for any signs of life. translation: we recorded a total of 724 deaths, - and we have registered 2,800

injured. these people have been treated in hospitals without adding the people who are probably under the rubble. search operations continue. the morning earthquake brought buildings tumbling down — buildings made of heavy cinderblocks and cement. many people didn't have a chance. translation: the quake killed her. this death hurt us a lot because she is a street seller like us. this church was one of many structures that succumbed. the scenes eerily reminiscent of haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake. this area is remote, and many of the injured are being tended to in makeshift emergency treatment centres. translation: we cannot | provide an assessment yet, because the situation is very critical. we have to mobilise and divide the resources of the hospital. the president has declared a state of emergency. however, the previous president was assassinated only last month, and some worry that haiti's turbulent political situation makes the country poorly placed to handle

a humanitarian disaster on this scale. james clayton, bbc news. we spoke to peter finlay who's a delegate with the red cross — he's in port au prince and told us how the rescue effort is going. the rescue operations are still ongoing. there is a very difficult situation in trying to get to the area, which is pretty much only by air and by sea that we can arrive at the locations. construction equipment to assist in the rescue effort is also a little scarce. so mostly picks and shovels are being used to remove the rubble. i understand that 1696 or _ remove the rubble. i understand that 1696 or so _ remove the rubble. i understand that 1696 or so our _ remove the rubble. i understand that 1696 or so our patients - that 16% or so our patients live in the affected area from

the quake. i know we had talked about construction equipment that you need, what are the other key priorities, what are the other things that people then need?— the other things that people then need? the international federation — then need? the international federation which _ then need? the international federation which is _ then need? the international. federation which is supporting the haitian red cross is launching an emergency appeal assist 25,000 persons, at least 5000 households. the basic needs and first response activities, search and rescue. the supplying of health, water, sanitation, hygiene facilities. basically, trying to supply sheltering materials. basically, we are working in areas and our area delete my goal is to able to supply these needs for at least 18 months. the emergency appeal is for 10 million swiss francs. it will focus on providing shelter,

protecting livelihoods and basic needs. we also wish to facilitate... basic needs. we also wish to facilitate. . ._ facilitate... peter. iam so sor , facilitate... peter. iam so sorry. just— facilitate... peter. iam so sorry. just to _ facilitate... peter. iam so sorry, just to say - facilitate... peter. iam so sorry, just to say that - facilitate... peter. iam so sorry, just to say that i - sorry, just to say that i understand there is also a tropical storm headed your way. that is likely to make the relief and recovery effort just more difficult, isn't it? relief and recovery effort 'ust more difficult, isn't mi more difficult, isn't it? well, the trepical_ more difficult, isn't it? well, the tropical storm _ more difficult, isn't it? well, the tropical storm is - the tropical storm is approaching the dominican republic. it is downgraded to a tropical depression but it is bringing tonnes of water. the bands of rain have already started touching the dominican republic and be expected to cross into haiti sometime after midnight today.— midnight today. peter finlay there. peter finlay there. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme.

as the us moves its people out of carpool, we took to the founder of the new york veterans alliance about how they feel as the taliban takes over. —— out of kabul. —— out of kabul. 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 newsday on the bbc. in singapore. our headlines: taliban fighters enter the presidential palace in kabul as they retake the afghan capital — 20 years after being forced from power. their arrival sparks an exodus from the city — as afghans try to board flights out of the country — and president ghani flees. let's get more now on the situation in afghanistan.

i'm joined now by kristen rouse, president and founder of the nyc veterans alliance and board member of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. very glad to have you. ijust want to start by asking, i know there are a lot of people on there are a lot of people on the ground right now that you know and care about. what is the urgent priority for you and what are you fearing for them? i have been, thank you for having me. thank you so much for allowing me to voice what we are experiencing here. i am hearing from folks on the ground in and around the capital who are hunkering down. they don't have a way out. they don't have visas processed. they are unable to get on flights as of right now, and they are absolutely trapped. and absolutely in fear of their

lives. with the knowledge of what the taliban has done and in other outlying places in the country. there has been door to door targeting of any interpreter or while, who has been affiliated with the us or nato or coalition mission. they are being hunted down and in some cases, executed. i and many other veterans who i have been talking with an messaging with today are even getting messages from our comrade is on the ground in afghanistan with messages because they think they are going to die soon. we don't know if the internet is even going to hold out. there has been _ even going to hold out. there has been some _ even going to hold out. there has been some statements i even going to hold out. there i has been some statements from the taliban saying that they are going to try and respect as much as possible the rules on the ground. that they won't be by thence. and your experience

and there, i don't know how much you can speak to this but how credible or how much are people on the ground believing what the taliban are saying? mr; what the taliban are saying? ij�*i experience what the taliban are saying? m experience and what the taliban are saying? m1 experience and with a what the taliban are saying? m1: experience and with a tarot what the taliban are saying? m1 experience and with a tarot ban over the 31 months that i served in afghanistan, over the years 2006, 2010, 2012, my experience is that the taliban lies and does violence. they may present as if they are this lawful government entity and my wish is that this is true. my wish is that this is true. my wish is that they truly wish to bring peace to afghanistan and that they will not harm people. i hope that i am wrong but what i hope that i am wrong but what i have known over my years in afghanistan is, in being attacked by the taliban, is that they live. they lie about it and they do violence and they harm our allies. they execute, they murder, they are

attacking women. they are attacking women. they are attacking aid workers. everything that we have known over the last 20 years has been happening over the last week. there has been some comment to me that this has happened as a result of the us pulling out as a suddenly as it did. in your did preston biden pull out us troops too soon? lie did preston biden pull out us troops too soon?— did preston biden pull out us troops too soon? us trip should have left long — troops too soon? us trip should have left long ago. _ troops too soon? us trip should have left long ago. 20 - troops too soon? us trip should have left long ago. 20 years - troops too soon? us trip should have left long ago. 20 years is i have left long ago. 20 years is too long to expend lives, livelihoods and more. and we have been told that during most of this time that this was never a military solution. a solution should have been reached by now. the way that this withdrawal has been conducted, as we are watching, it has really pulled the carpet from underneath the afghan national army, who i spent time

working with. for nine of my months deployed. i know them as brave professionals. and they have been fighting bravely for many years and spending so much in the years and their families and all of that. afghan security forces have truly paid a price in fighting the taliban for year after year after year, month after month and even with the escalation of attacks wished out of the ship and is reported peace talks began. they have been taking the brunt of it and it is to me tragic and disappointing, yet understandable that they would choose to live

another day. thank you so much forjoining _ another day. thank you so much forjoining us- — another day. thank you so much forjoining us. i— another day. thank you so much forjoining us. i am _ another day. thank you so much forjoining us. i am afraid - another day. thank you so much forjoining us. i am afraid we - forjoining us. i am afraid we have run out of time. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. anti—government demonstrators in thailand have staged a protest involving thousands of cars to demand the resignation of the prime minister over the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. the organisers said they used vehicles to help stop the spread of the virus. infection rates and deaths from covid—19 have soared to record levels in thailand injapan — nearly two million people have been urged to evacuate their homes because of heavy rainfall in parts of the country. highest—level rain warnings have been issued in a number of prefectures, including fukuoka and hiroshima. soldiers, police and firefighters have been sent to help with rescue operations in the area. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news.

thank you forjoining us. hello there. cloud features quite prominently in our forecast for this week and with the grey skies comes the relatively cool conditions for the time of year. northwesterly winds bringing all that cloud and some rather coolair, particularly at the start of the week. but it will often, if not always, be dry with the bit of light and patchy rain here there. this is the other satellite picture you can see various areas of cloud. we've got low pressure up to the northeast, weak frontal systems which will be bringing in cloud and some showery rain. this quite a lot of low cloud waiting out to the west and this is the set up to start the week with high—pressure to the west, low pressure to the east and that is what's driving this northwesterly wind. quite a brisk wind first thing, especially for north sea coast.

as we go through monday, we will see some sunshine developing, the best of that across north and eastern scotland. the eastern side of england, where is further west, we will keep more of the way of cloud, perhaps some spots of light rain and drizzle at times and some slightly heavier rain approaching northwest scotland and northern ireland later in the day. those winds only slowly easing it stays quite breezy through all of us through the day and temperatures a bit below par generally speaking, 17,18,19, may be hitting 20 degrees and parts of southern and eastern england. as we head through monday night, we will see this area of wet weather pushing its way south eastwards. the rain mostly quite light and patchy but there will be the odd heavy burst but with that, we are going to feed in an awful lot of low cloud in mist and merck. that sets the scene for the middle part of the week, we still have this northwesterly wind with high—pressure and low—pressure tripping is between the two, essentially. but that northwesterly wind a lot of moisture and an awful lot of cloud and depositing it atop the uk. so, largely cloudy conditions on tuesday, libya patchy rain and drizzle here there and he believed that cloud breaking to give some sunny spells, especially for the site in the south east of high grounds. temperatures at best 18,

19, 20 degrees, still a little disappointing. and into wednesday, more of the same and more missed and murk and cloud, the best part of drizzle in the west, brightness to the east, to the southeast and for hills and mountains and temperatures creeping up a touch, 21 degrees there in london, 17 in aberdeen. and then as we look towards the end of week, a quiet sort of day on thursday by friday, there is the chance that we will see some rain pushing in from the west.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all today's news stories at the top of the hour as new data continues straight after hard talk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. the athletic excellence we saw at the tokyo olympics will live long in the memory, but so will the moment the brilliant us gymnast simone biles chose not to compete, to safeguard her mental and physical health. us gymnastics, still reeling from the repercussions of a sex abuse scandal,

illustrates what can go