welcome to bbc news, i'm david eades. our top stories: taliban fighters enter the presidential palace in kabul as they retake the afghan capital, 20 years after being forced from power. their arrival has sparked 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'd never even dreamt of, and i guess that's the price that we pay for trying to make this world a little better. and in haiti, the search

for survivors, as the death toll from a huge earthquake rises to nearly 1,300. the taliban's extrarodinary sweep across afghanistan has now extended into the capital kabul, which it has seized with precious little resistance. taliban commanders have been photographed in the president's palace, while president ashraf ghani has fled to uzbekistan. it is nigh on 20 years since the taliban fled the capital. today as they reassert their authority they have urged calm, but the city is said to be in chaos. the us state department says american troops are now taking steps to secure the airport. our first report is from our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams.

afghanistan has new masters. 20 years later, the taliban are back. hours after arriving in kabul, sitting at the president's desk. earlier at the same desk, president ashraf ghani clinging to the last fragments of power. but the man gazing down on kabul�*s streets has gone, fleeing to neighboring uzbekistan. in a facebook post, he said he left to avoid bloodshed. as the taliban moves in, the west moves out. american helicopters busy over kabul all day today, ferrying diplomats from the us embassy to the airport. this disorderly end was not the plan. hundreds of british troops have now 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 is 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. you wanted to avoid bloodshed and destruction, to properties of the people and not to give a chance to plunderers, looters who are waiting for such moments to loot or plunder the properties of the people. but 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: the taliban came

into our village in the night. - after a few days we managed to escape as they were murdering the men and boys. they accused them of being in the army or police. they were taken out of their homes and murdered because they worked for the government. outside the capital, the taliban are consolidating their grip on afghanistan's major cities like herat. unfazed by their headlong success which has government ministers reeling. the saddest part is that i didn't expect this, that now i might, i might face consequences that i never even dreamt 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 takeover looks set to trigger yet another wave of refugees. tonight at kabul airport,

military and civilian planes offer the only way out. at the gates, chaotic scenes. who will leave and who will be left behind? is this how the west's 20—year adventure in afghanistan will be remembered? thousands of american troops are assisting with the evacuation of us embassy staff, citizens, and some afghan nationals from kabul. the state department has confirmed the us flag has been lowered there, and almost all personnel are now at the airport. the pentagon has authorized the deployment of 1,000 troops to help the mission. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, has been looking what the latest events mean for the biden administration. 0ver 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 i 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 in the uk, the prime minister, borisjohnson, has called on other like—minded nations not to prematurely recognise the taliban. he said his immediate priority is to evacuate british citizens, and afghans who've worked with the uk. mps have been recalled to parliament to discuss the situation on wednesday. 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. forjames kyle, for james kyle, today forjames kyle, today is difficult he served forjames kyle, today is difficult he served in afghanistan in 2007 and 2009, the year the regiment lost six of its soldiers. i5

the year the regiment lost six of its soldiers.— of its soldiers. is incredibly sad seeing _ of its soldiers. is incredibly sad seeing the _ of its soldiers. is incredibly sad seeing the change - of its soldiers. is incredibly - sad seeing 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, ever look the parents of fallen soldiers in the eye and say that what they did was worth it. the situation in afghanistan will be deeply felt by many families closer to home, reflecting on a mission that wasn't meant to end like this. ben wright, bbc news. with me is the bbc�*s azaheh moshiri. 0bviously, obviously, in the us in particular, they have known this was coming. it has been a long time coming and yet they couldn't have expected, perhaps, quite the way it has unfolded, what is the response generally?— generally? the latest reaction we have is _ generally? the latest reaction we have is from _ generally? the latest reaction we have is from president - we have is from president donald trump, obviously former president donald trump who is not the biggest fan of the

biden administration, he has called on president biden to resign in, quote, disgrace and argued that if he was still president things would be much more successful. biden administration is quick to point out that the exit deal with the tell abyad negotiated during president trump presidency, though. we've also got some pictures outside of the white house in dc where some afghans have united to protest the us pullout, worth noting that president biden is still in camp david, he is not there in the white house and it is worth bringing up some of the reaction from the us veterans, this is, after all, america's longest war and many of them are looking at what is going on in america and wondering whether their service was helpful to the country. some have been speaking to the media including two military papers, a former army staff sergeant said a complete pullout is not only unnecessary, it is sabotage. christy barry who served as an air officer and later a civilian officer said, you pour

your heart into it and at the time it feels like you are doing something great and making a different, and looking back on it now, i still feel that way but it is with a sadness. so on the one hand you have all this covering about who is responsible for this quick demise, but you also just have some people looking on in dismay at the fact that the taliban has taken control so quickly. we had borisjohnson saying like—minded countries should not recognise the taliban immediately and i suppose, hanging onto some sort of conditionality that they might get out of the alibi in first and foremost, but what is the view from beyond the us and the view from beyond the us and the uk? the nato secretary general tweeted that he had spoken to the uk prime minister as well as allies canada, denmark and the netherlands on the situation in afghanistan. nato is helping keep kabul open

to facilitate and co—ordinate evacuation. 0r commercial flights have been delayed to prioritise evacuation that this is a key for most countries, they want to make sure that their own staff are safe and they also want to make sure that the afghans on the ground are supported, the ones who supported them all along during one of these longest was. and of course countries, actually, the neighbouring ones like around are preparing themselves for an influx of refugees. iran announced today that it is setting up temporary housing along the border to ensure that afghans have somewhere to stay once they get there. and going back to prime minister johnson's comments it shows that the conversation among world leaders has shifted. it is no longer about how to hold off the telephone, but also to ensure that they know how to approach relations with the tell abyad if at all and also ensure that afghanistan doesn't become a breeding ground for terror which would obviously have devastating consequences for the country and the international community at large. international community at larae. ~ . international community at lane, ~ ., ., international community at larae. . ., ., international community at larae. ., ., ., .,

international community at larae. . ., ., ., ., large. we are going to have to leave it there, _ large. we are going to have to leave it there, thanks - large. we are going to have to leave it there, thanks very - leave it there, thanks very much indeed for that, giving us all the strands as they are coming and. bradley bowman is senior director of the center on military and political power at the foundation for defense of democracies in washinton. he also spent nearly nine years as an adviser to the us senate, and served more than 15 years on active duty as a us army officer — including time in afghanistan. thanks very much indeed for joining us. we werejust getting some commentary on the views of some entrance from the united states, one of them saying the nature of this withdrawal amounts to sabotage, what is your view? to withdrawal amounts to sabotage, what is your view?— what is your view? to my colleagues _ what is your view? to my colleagues in _ what is your view? to my colleagues in the - what is your view? to my colleagues in the us - what is your view? to my . colleagues in the us military who have served in afghanistan and our many nato allies who served bravely there, more than 1000 of our european allies who never returned home to their families, i say thanks to your service at your service did great good. we prevented another 9/11 attack for 20 years, we allowed afghan women

and girls to make gains that they had not seen in the history of that country, so there is much to be proud of. but unfortunately what we have seen here, the world is witnessing a vivid and painful display of what happens when leaders in washington, frankly, delude themselves regarding the persistent threats we confront, the nature of our enemies and our ability to end wars by simply going home. president biden has implemented explicitly conditions ignoring withdrawal, he said so on april 14, that it ignores what is actually happening on the ground, repeating the mistake of the 0bama administration. they had to send back troops because of isis, and this time troops are having to go back much sooner. 0bviously obviously there are trips going back right now, but for very specific reasons. nonetheless, there is a point here, isn't there, about public opinion in there, about public opinion in the us.

they have long been sick and tired of the us presence in afghanistan, and when may not like the way this has turned out at all, it has been disastrous, many would say, but the idea of getting out is something that many in america would still support? that something that many in america would still support?— would still support? that is because there _ would still support? that is because there has - would still support? that is because there has been - would still support? that is because there has been a l because there has been a bipartisan failure of leaders in washington to explain our persistent interest and the threats of those interests —— to those interests. there are 24 designated terrorist organisation still in the afghanistan and pakistan region, and most of them still want to kill americans and our allies. this defeat we have seen of the afghan government was done in part with the help of al-qaeda, particularly in the north. we now have an al-qaeda safe haven again in afghanistan, and by the way, this is going to be a shot in the arm for terrorist recruitment and radicalisation around the world. i am as concerned about as much as i am in afghanistan as well. fix, concerned about as much as i am in afghanistan as well.— in afghanistan as well. a very concerning — in afghanistan as well. a very concerning message. - in afghanistan as well. a very concerning message. bradley| concerning message. bradley bowman, thanks forjoining us. stay with us on bbc

news, still to come: coming up injust a moment, as us citizens leave kabul, we are going to speak to a former special assistant to president trump on his thoughts about the decision to pull those us troops out of afghanistan. 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. 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's lightning week—long offensive across afghanistan has culminated in their seizure of kabul, 20 years after they last held power. they took the capital after president ashraf ghani fled to uzbekistan. the taliban have urged calm but kabul is in chaos. people are desperate to leave, fearing a bloody assault. there's little violence so far, but plenty of panic. chris costa is a former

special assistant to president trump and senior director for counter—terrorism on the national security council. he is also executive director of the international spy museum in washington. thanks very much forjoining us. we havejust heard thanks very much forjoining us. we have just heard a thanks very much forjoining us. we havejust heard a moment ago from another veteran, bradley bowman, whom you may well know, talking about the level of delusion among politicians in washington, and what can be achieved with the afghan army. whether you think delusion lies?— delusion lies? first of all, thanks very _ delusion lies? first of all, thanks very much - delusion lies? first of all, thanks very much for - delusion lies? first of all, l thanks very much for having delusion lies? first of all, - thanks very much for having me. so, i don't know bradley, but i know general mcmasters, so i know general mcmasters, so i know what his position is, and i'm sympathetic towards that position. all that said, the afghan national army and security forces, they did not have the will to continue a prolonged conflict. that revealed itself this week, and

all of us were very much surprised by the rapid offensive by the taliban. they implement a strong strategy, they operated aggressively, they operated aggressively, they operated aggressively, they operated in the north where historically they would have faced a lot of resistance against them. in short, they wanted victory more than the afghan national army, quite candidly. afghan nationalarmy, quite candidl . , ., afghan nationalarmy, quite candidl. ., , candidly. there is a fairly widely recognised - candidly. there is a fairly widely recognised view, | candidly. there is a fairly - widely recognised view, isn't there, that while the us has pumped tens of billions, $80 billion or so over 20 years into training and equipment, but there has been a huge level of corruption. there are not the forces, they never were, perhaps, in terms of numbers, which we think there should be. and that actually, for much of this time, it has been almost a phony rebuilding?— this time, it has been almost a phony rebuilding? well, i think our phony rebuilding? well, i think your point— phony rebuilding? well, i think your point software _ phony rebuilding? well, i think your point software to - phony rebuilding? well, i think your point software to some i your point software to some degree. at the end of the day,

the execution of the withdrawal went poorly, right, for the administration. yes. there was an army of some 300,000 people, and i don't think we were completely self delusional. i think we thought we had buttressed the afghan national army and the security forces with the equipment and the capabilities, and the leadership we would have thought that they could withhold some kind of offensive by the taliban over time, with the right level of continued western support, notjust a complete, unequivocal withdrawal, which is exactly what happened.— withdrawal, which is exactly what happened. right, i mean, joe biden will— what happened. right, i mean, joe biden will live _ what happened. right, i mean, joe biden will live with - what happened. right, i mean, joe biden will live with this - joe biden will live with this as part of his legacy as a president, of course, and we will see how that pans out over years to come. donald trump has said he would have done a much betterjob. how much difference would it have been?— would it have been? well, it is hard to say. — would it have been? well, it is hard to say, right, _ would it have been? well, it is hard to say, right, but - would it have been? well, it is hard to say, right, but i - would it have been? well, it is hard to say, right, but i think. hard to say, right, but i think the execution, the concept of operations, as it were, the withdrawal, should justifiably be criticised. 0ne,

withdrawal, should justifiably be criticised. one, the timeline occurred in the middle of the spring offensive. that doesn't make any sense to me, as a former military officer. it happened so close to the september 11 anniversary. but is a huge problem, because, you know, the anniversary will galvanise jihadists everywhere, and synchronised with the defeat of the afghan government, this is certainly going to be celebrated by jihadists everywhere, from afghanistan to the african continent, and that worries me, as a former counterterrorism official. ~ ., ., official. well, we will have to leave it there. _ official. well, we will have to leave it there. thank - official. well, we will have to leave it there. thank you - official. well, we will have to | leave it there. thank you very much for your analysis.- much for your analysis. thank ou. in other news, there's been a sharp rise in the death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit haiti on saturday. almost 1,300 people are now known to have died. many more are feared to be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. the epicentre of the 7.2 magnitude quake was 150km south—west of the capital,

port—au—prince. hospitals in the area are inundated and struggling to cope with the number of injured, which has almost doubled to around 6,000 people. medical teams are being despatched from cuba and ecuador amid concerns about the approach of a tropical storm. 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. 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 just want to bring you detailfrom we just want to bring you detail from the we just want to bring you detailfrom the uk. the we just want to bring you detail from the uk. detailfrom the uk. the british government — detailfrom the uk. the british government is _ detailfrom the uk. the british government is asking - detailfrom the uk. the british government is asking all- detailfrom the uk. the british| government is asking all police forces in england and wales to review the way they deal with firearms applications. this is in the wake of a mass shooting in the wake of a mass shooting in the wake of a mass shooting in the west of england, in plymouth, checks on applicants on social media use will be part of that revised process after it emerged that the

government in this project in the case, jake davison, had posted disturbing material online before killing five people on thursday. —— the gunman. it is bbc news. hello there. cloud features quite prominently in our forecast for this week. and with the grey skies come some relatively cool conditions for the time of year. northwesterly winds bringing all that cloud and some rather cool air, particularly at the start of the week, but it will often, if not always, be dry. just a bit of light and patchy rain here and there. this is the earlier satellite picture. you can see various areas of cloud. we've got low pressure up to the northeast, weak frontal systems which have been bringing cloud and some showery rain. there's 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 coasts. as we go through monday, we will see some sunshine developing, the best of that across northern and eastern scotland, the eastern side of england, whereas further west, we will keep more in 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 for all of us through the day and temperatures a bit below par, generally speaking — 17,18,19, maybe heading 20 degrees in parts of southern and eastern england. and then as we head through monday night, we will see this area of wet weather pushing its way southeastwards. the rain mostly quite light and patchy, but i think there will be the odd heavy burst. but with that, we're going to feed in an awful lot of low cloud, mist and murk, and that sets the scene for the middle part of the week. we still have this northwesterly wind, with high pressure and low pressure trapping us between the two, essentially, but that northwesterly wind picking

up an awful lot of moisture, an awful lot of cloud and depositing it on top of the uk. so largely cloudy conditions on tuesday, a little bit of patchy rain and drizzle here and there. equally, that cloud breaking to give some sunny spells, especially to the south and the southeast of high ground. temperatures, at best, 18, 19, 20 degrees — still a little disappointing. and then into wednesday, more of the same, really, more mist and murk and cloud, the odd spot of drizzle. best of any brightness to the east and southeast of any hills and mountains. and temperatures, well, maybe just creeping up a touch, 21 degrees there in london, 17 in aberdeen. and then as we look towards the end of the week, a quiet sort of day on thursday. by friday, well, there is the chance that we will see some rain pushing in from the west. troops are having to go back much sooner.

this is bbc news, the headlines: taliban commanders have been photographed in the president's palace in kabul, as they retook the afghan capital, 20 years after being forced from power. president ashraf ghani has left the country, taking a flight to uzbekistan. the taliban arrival has sparked an exodus from the city, with afghans trying to board flights out of the country. the us state department says american troops are now taking steps to secure the airport. thousands of us troops are assisting with the evacuation of embassy staff, citizens, and some afghan nationals from kabul. there's been a sharp rise in the death toll from the earthquake that hit haiti on saturday, almost 1,300 people are now known to have died, many more are feared to be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. hospitals are struggling to cope with the injured.

now on bbc news, the media show.