hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. there has been cast and panic at kabul airport today as afghans trying to leave the country following that taliban's takeover. we have seen people attempt to hang a us military plane sent to evacuate us nationals, several deaths have been reported. the taliban swept into kabul on a post on sunday, and now appears to have full control of afghanistan. the now appears to have full control of afghanistan-— afghanistan. the priority now is to maintain security, _ afghanistan. the priority now is to maintain security, and _ afghanistan. the priority now is to maintain security, and their - afghanistan. the priority now is to maintain security, and their lives i i maintain security, and their lives i say. that is our priority now. president biden is due to address america and a couple of hours. he is

facing fierce criticism of his handling of this us withdrawal. we will look at one other straying today's programme, the devastating earthquake in haiti. at least 1300 people are now thought to have died in that 7.2 magnitude quake. injuly, president biden was asked if the taliban seizing power was inevitable once us troops left. the likelihood there is going to be at taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely. and owning the whole country is highly unlikely-— and owning the whole country is highly unlikely. now, though, in au:ust, these are pictures of the taliban in the presidential palace. they are in power, president ghani has fled the country — and the afghan military largely offered no resistance. injuly, president biden was asked whether he saw any parallels between the us withdrawal from afghanistan now — and the infamous moment in us history — its rushed withdrawal

from saigon in vietnam in 1975. zero. what you have his entire brigades breaking through the gates of our embassy, six if i'm not mistaken, that taliban is not the north vietnamese army. they are not remotely comparable.— remotely comparable. whatever the merits of that _ remotely comparable. whatever the merits of that comparison, - remotely comparable. whatever the merits of that comparison, as - remotely comparable. whatever the merits of that comparison, as the i merits of that comparison, as the taliban entered couple, meditate moved staff from the embassy into the airport. then they flew helicopters down the runway to force people off the tarmac. and this — an american plane — heading for the skies with aghans running after it — some clinging to the fuselage. eventually the plane took off — and it appears that two men fell off while it gained altitude. 20 years ago, some victims of the 9/11 attacks fell to their deaths from the world trade center in new york. now, today we saw more horrific footage of people falling through the air. and as those people died, the organisation that harboured al-qaeda in the 90s has been

cementing its hold on power. all of which means that whilejoe biden has met his goal of having us troops out of afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11 — that date will pass as a new generation of afghans who've never known life under the taliban, begin to experience it. there is an awful lot to consider — we'll work through as much as we can in the next 60 minutes. and we'll start at kabul airport. the scenes have been desperate. in this video, people tried to push their way onto an overcrowded set of air stairs that's buckling. others are hanging from the stair railings. and us troops fired shots into the air to disperse people. in this video you can hear the sound of gunfire. at least five people died in the chaos. us officials say they are assessing

what happened but cannot confirm details. they controlled as best they could and began evacuating staff and some afghans that links to their government. many, many others headed to the airport as well hoping to get an evacuation flights, but without commercial flights cancelled, most did not manage to go anywhere. charlie faulkner is a british freelancejournalist based in kabul and spoke to people on the tarmac. i've just been speaking to somebody who is there. he was saying that he saw a young girl get crushed to death because of this utter panic that's been unfolding there. there were rumours of a taliban attack at the airport, and there were some videos surfacing on social media that was showing people getting into military flights without documentation, without the same level of documentation needed for commercialflights. people started then forcing their way onto flights, onto aeroplanes on the tarmac. let's remember this

is happening with the president out of the country. on sunday, ashraf ghani — fled the country — reportledly to uzbekistan. aljazeera showed this footage of the taliban seizing the presidential palace — and declaring victory. and no—one is disputing that it is in control. it appears not just it appears notjust in, but across the country. it hasn't yet firmly formed a new government, though, we expect that to follow. he is a taliban spokesperson speaking on the bbc earlier. not suddenly, because we had prepared and had preparation to enter the city, and our forces were waiting at the gate of the city, and when we received reports of plundering and pillaging, and some people suffered shootings,

so for the sake of the security of the people of kabul and our forces entered there. so our priority now is to maintain security and to ensure that the property of the people is secure and they are not harmed and their lives are safe. that is our priority now, right now. the mayor of kabul says he's staying in his post — and has been in touch with the taliban. this is his assessment. at the moment, not all taliban leadership are in the country nor are they in kabul. they are just coming in and pouring in from different parts of the country and also from abroad. so, only time will tell the composition of the future government and the guidelines

with which the government will operate until we have a new announcement about the constitution or whatever fills that void. so therefore, it is too early to measure up to any other international standards. the taliban ruled afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 — enforcing a strict interpretation of islamic law. they carried out public executions and stoned women accused of adultery — among other atrocities. there's huge apprenhension about what will happen now. there's been an uneasy calm in kabul today. armed taliban fighters are patrolling the streets. 0ne fighter here is carrying a rocket launcher. most official buildings are closed though the taliban have asked government employees to return to work. then this is inside the diplomatic quarter — known as the green zone — and home to most foreign embassies. for years it was one

of the the most closely guarded areas in afghanistan — as you can see — it's now under taliban control. many don't believe taliban assurances. this woman is in kabul. we're not naming her for security reasons. people are afraid, and things are bad. i am sure you have heard the reports. everyone feels as if the world has failed us, diplomatic nations and here in afghanistan are escaping, diplomatic means that they tried to negotiate and failed us, and as a woman, it is terrifying for me. at least i am seeing women removed already from the scene, a political group in pakistan, another one is in duha, a lot of taliban on the streets

and in the palace, and you don't see a single woman there. it's annoying and traumatising. it's bad. the bad thing is there is a vacuum of power because that taliban hasn't announced a government yet. no one is sure what's going to happen. this uncertainty is panicking everyone. especially women. and all the stories coming that they are searching houses, that, you know, this is terrifying, and i think with the starting of negotiations and how they are not including us, they announced a very irresponsible withdrawal. they are responsible. if they think it is up to us, it's not. it's up to us maybe some percentage, but it's up to them too. and they have failed us. sana safi is a presenter for the bbc afghan service.

thank you very much forjoining us. what are you hearing from colleagues and friends in the city? weill. what are you hearing from colleagues and friends in the city?— and friends in the city? well, it's and friends in the city? well, it's a mixed picture _ and friends in the city? well, it's a mixed picture from _ and friends in the city? well, it's a mixed picture from friends, - a mixed picture from friends, family, other loved ones in kabul and they have been at home today because they didn't know what the situation was outside and how it would develop any minute. so they decided to stay at home, particularly the girls and women. 0ne particularly the girls and women. one of my relatives that i spoke to who left her house to go to another block of flats to get your things to be back with her brother, she said that she went out wearing not the normal hitjob, the afghan clothes, but she were specifically black cloth which is normal, that traditional clothing or covering for women in saudi arabia and other parts of the muslim world, so she said shejust wore parts of the muslim world, so she said she just wore that and had a

mask on for covid reasons, and that was fine. there was nothing out of the ordinary on the streets. ijust went and came back home. but they decided to stay home just to make sure everything was all right. but my relatives in other parts of the country, for example, in the east, that part was under the taliban control for a very long time. so they raised to the whole idea of the taliban takeover and taliban governing, so to speak. they were not that worried. the only way that my aunt had was for her daughters, four daughters, two were teachers, and one is a midwife. 0ne four daughters, two were teachers, and one is a midwife. one of her daughters is still in school, high school, so she was saying that she was slightly worried that they might impose the sort of restrictions that they imposed in the 90s on when and and work for women outside the house. other than that, they were fine. another cousin of mine who usually lives in the south of

afghanistan and how mind, he had moved to cobb a few weeks ago because of the air strikes by the previous government, by the previous government because of those air strikes, he decided to stay in kabul for a while. he has his own practice in the city, and he is saying that he will go back to the city. his sister is also, normally she lives in the last great guy, and her kids go to school there, but she left the city because of the air strikes and gone to a district which used to be a very volatile region. so it's a mixed picture in different parts of the country, but so far, nobody is panicking as he would say, but the fear and the worry is real. the worry is really the sense for women because they are worried about their rights and what the future may hold

for them. they are also great about a political isolation of afghanistan shed that taliban go back to a sort of extreme policies that they had towards women, minorities and other parts of society. a way that the international community well again completely abandon afghanistan. thank you very much indeed for the moment. as we have been hearing, it tookjust over a week for the taliban to seize control of the whole country — shocking afghans and the world. this map on the left is from july the 9th — the taliban controlled just 90 districts seen here in red. the picture on the right is the situation now — the taliban controls all 391 districts. on the seven remain contested. —— only seven remain contested. foreign governments are trying to get their staff out. over 60 countries have issued a joint statement calling on the taliban to allow people to leave.

the us has 6,000 troops in the capital — all its embassy staff are now at the airport. americans say they are sending more troops to help those people leave. that would bring the total us presence to 7000. also in kabul, the former afghan president — hamid karzai — is in kabulto help co—ordinate a transfer of power to the taliban. he's survived several assassination attempts by the armed group previously — and has been telling the bbc about the next steps for the country. translation: i'm here in kabulwith other brothers _ translation: i'm here in kabulwith other brothers and _ translation: i'm here in kabulwith other brothers and friends. _ translation: i'm here in kabulwith other brothers and friends. i - translation: i'm here in kabulwith other brothers and friends. i along i other brothers and friends. i along with the head of our peace team have formed a coordination council to try and bring peace and this stability to kabul. we have had contacts at the taliban leadership and we will be coordinating with them. i don't know if my life is at risk, but i have had contacts with them. the important thing is the life and safety of all afghan people and our aim is to establish that. that

taliban had told me that they have pointed people to focus on security of the city, and i hope there will be further progress on this tomorrow. the doctor has deserted his job and tomorrow. the doctor has deserted hisjob and gone. he has left the scene. to fill this vacuum, legitimacy needs to be brought back, only through a legitimate body, the security of kabul and the whole country can be tasked to suitable hands. and taliban are dominating now, and i hope that domination is strong and for the good of the afghan nation. find strong and for the good of the afghan nation.— afghan nation. and other developments, _ afghan nation. and other developments, taliban . afghan nation. and other - developments, taliban militants afghan nation. and other _ developments, taliban militants -- in other developments in kabul — taliban militants have been searching the homes ofjournalists. some tv stations have stopped broadcasting soap operas — replacing them with religious programmes. these are militants outside the tolo news channel headquarters — where they disarmed security personnel. saad mohseni is director of the moby group who launched tolo tv. he's in london. we have been following you on

twitter today, we have been following you on twittertoday, but we have been following you on twitter today, but tell us what you have been hearing from your colleagues, please.- have been hearing from your colleagues, please. have been hearing from your colleaaues, lease. , , , , . , colleagues, please. lol, business as usual. we have _ colleagues, please. lol, business as usual. we have decided _ colleagues, please. lol, business as usual. we have decided to _ colleagues, please. lol, business as usual. we have decided to tone - colleagues, please. lol, business asj usual. we have decided to tone down some of the programming. we still have soap operas, but more period dramas, we obviously have reduced music shows and the pop type of variety shows that tend to be provocative with that taliban. the news broadcasting is the same as always. we have had some contact with that taliban, senior communications people. and this morning, we had a visit from a military group. they identified themselves as people who would take care of security in the area where tele— tv is based. now, some questions, look at the registration

of weapons, and the weapons which had been issued by the ministry of the interior. they confiscated, which is only a handful. we were allowed to keep other weapons, the ones we had purchased in the open market. our guards were allowed to stay on. they asked us if we needed additional security, they asked if we needed them inside the compound, which we said thanks but no thanks is that they were very simple, but it is early days. it is that they were very simple, but it is early days-— it is early days. it is early days, and they may — it is early days. it is early days, and they may be _ it is early days. it is early days, and they may be civil— it is early days. it is early days, and they may be civil now, - it is early days. it is early days, and they may be civil now, but| it is early days. it is early days, i and they may be civil now, but at the moment, the news straight that you are telling is when they will enjoy watching because they are in the process of seizing power. do you anticipate a more hostile reaction when you start carrying coverage thatis when you start carrying coverage that is not to the taliban's liking? absolutely. i think there are three phases. phase one is taking control of kabul. they will be too busy with security and everything else, so they are not going to really bother with the media outlets. plus, a huge presence of international journalists, and we stopped lots of

diplomats. phase two is going to be the interim period, a transitional period they may have, so i government that is sort of broad based, and then phase three will be the merits of afghanistan, new constitution, new form of government. so i think in every phase, we will see more restrictions. i think phase one, which is now, they are going to leave the media alone, i would suspect. leave the media alone, i would susect. ., �* , leave the media alone, i would susect. . �* , , leave the media alone, i would susect. . �*, , , , suspect. that's interesting, because i have suspect. that's interesting, because i have seen — suspect. that's interesting, because i have seen a _ suspect. that's interesting, because i have seen a number— suspect. that's interesting, because i have seen a number of— suspect. that's interesting, because i have seen a number ofjournalist . i have seen a number ofjournalist based in afghanistan have been tweeting and posting that they are concerned for their safety, that there might be rapid —— retribution from the taliban for the way certain journalists have covered the campaign. journalists have covered the campaign-— journalists have covered the campaign. journalists have covered the cam airn. , , campaign. the funny thing is we don't know _ campaign. the funny thing is we don't know. we _ campaign. the funny thing is we don't know. we are _ campaign. the funny thing is we don't know. we are at _ campaign. the funny thing is we don't know. we are at the - campaign. the funny thing is we | don't know. we are at the mercy campaign. the funny thing is we i don't know. we are at the mercy of the commander or the person is responsible for your area. the commanders and the districts have been harsher. the ones in the

cities, i would think our little bit more sophisticated. we are talking to the senior taliban communications people daily, keeping them updated in terms of who is visiting and who is not. but we don't know. we are just guessing. is not. but we don't know. we are just guessing-— just guessing. finally, i am sure, 'ust like just guessing. finally, i am sure, just like all— just guessing. finally, i am sure, just like all tv — just guessing. finally, i am sure, just like all tv news _ just guessing. finally, i am sure, just like all tv news networks, i just guessing. finally, i am sure, i just like all tv news networks, you hear an awful lot from your audience. i wonder how they are reacting to these developments and whether a section of your audience is pleased the americans are gone and that taliban is back. you know, afr hans and that taliban is back. you know, afghans are — and that taliban is back. you know, afghans are survivors. _ and that taliban is back. you know, afghans are survivors. they - and that taliban is back. you know, afghans are survivors. they will. afghans are survivors. they will adjust, as they always have. there is a great deal of anger when it comes to the way at the president fled, and of course, the americans and the way, you know, most afghans feel very betrayed by both the us and the former afghan president. thank you very much indeed, for those of you watching him i would urge you to follow him on twitter, along with his colleagues in

afghanistan for some of the latest coverage of the situation. let's look at some of the international reaction. in the past few hours, the un security council has met in new york. the meeting began with the secretary general asking the taliban to exercise the maximum restraint to protect lives. the world is following events in afghanistan with a heavy heart, and disquiet— afghanistan with a heavy heart, and disquiet about what lies ahead. all of us _ disquiet about what lies ahead. all of us have — disquiet about what lies ahead. all of us have seen the images in real time, _ of us have seen the images in real time, unrest, uncertainty, and fear. much— time, unrest, uncertainty, and fear. much lies— time, unrest, uncertainty, and fear. much lies in— time, unrest, uncertainty, and fear. much lies in the balance, the progress. _ much lies in the balance, the progress, the hope, the dreams of a generation— progress, the hope, the dreams of a generation of young afghan women and -irls, generation of young afghan women and girls. boys— generation of young afghan women and girls, boys and men. at this great hour, _ girls, boys and men. at this great hour, i_ girls, boys and men. at this great hour, i urge — girls, boys and men. at this great hour, i urge all parties, especially that taliban, to exercise utmost restraint — that taliban, to exercise utmost restraint to protect lives and to ensure — restraint to protect lives and to ensure that humanitarian needs can be ensure that humanitarian needs can he met _ most western nations have now

closed their embassies in kabul — not all countries are refusing contact with the taliban. russia said its ambassador would meet the taliban on tuesday and decide whether to recognise the new government. here's steve rosenberg speaking to yalda hakim earlier. america is a long way away from afghanistan. russia is much closer. so russia is watching very closely, but russian officials are trying to make out that they are not panicking about events in afghanistan. russia is in no rush to evacuate all its diplomats and citizens from kabul, although, it has emerged that some diplomatic staff will be flown out of the country. also, moscow has said that that taliban is guarding the perimeter of the russian embassy. it has promised reportedly debt to her may be russian diplomats and we believe there will be contacts tomorrow between ambassador

and the taliban about longer—term security arrangements. clearly, moscow is in no rush to recognise that taliban now, keep in mind that that taliban now, keep in mind that that taliban now, keep in mind that that taliban is labelled a terrorist organisation by russia on paper, despite the fact that high—level contacts have been going on between that taliban and russian officials for some years now. interestingly, the kremlin's special envoy on afghanistan said today that recognition of that taliban would depend on its behaviour. he said they would watch closely with how responsibly they govern the country in the near future. that responsibly they govern the country in the near future.— china is another country that isn't evacuating its embassy, although it has told its citizens in kabul to stay indoors. beijing's foreign ministry said earlier it was willing to develop friendly relations with the taliban. translation: the afghan taliban has ex - ressed translation: the afghan taliban has expressed several— translation: the afghan taliban has

expressed several times _ translation: the afghan taliban has expressed several times that - translation: the afghan taliban has expressed several times that they - expressed several times that they hope to develop good relations that china can expect china to participate in the rebuilding and development and will never allow any forces to use afghanistan's territory to harm china. we buy combat. fora territory to harm china. we buy combat. for a long time, china has always respected afghanistan's always respected afg hanistan's sovereignty, always respected afghanistan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. it has not interviewed with afghanistan internal affairs and has always followed a friendly standard. china respects the rights of the afghan people to decide their own future on their own well. and we know that this "friendly policy" has meant recent meetings with senior taliban figures. for example, this is the group's co—founder, abdul ghani baradar, meeting with chinese foreign minister wang yi in china last month. that meeting was seen at the time as an international recognition of the taliban as a political force. it becomes a greater political price now that it is in power. two other countries that look to set to welcome taliban rule — pakistan and iran. pakistan's prime minister imran khan

has been quoted as saying that the afghan people had "thrown off the shackles of slavery", while iran's new hardline president ebrahim raisi said "america's military defeat and its withdrawal must become an opportunity to restore life, security and durable peace in afghanistan". russia, china, iran and pakistan are all neighbours and all look set to be key taliban allies. here's our security correspondent frank gardner. all these countries that you've named have in some way done ok out of this. it's a volatile situation, and insecurity and instability in afghanistan is not good for anything from about pakistan, of course, is very close to the taliban from about pakistan, of course, is very close to the taliban, particularly the isi, it is very close to the taliban. china has been one of the first major nations who in fact is the first major nation to say that some actually, it could do business

at the new taliban government, and will probably be recognising it. russia has had talks already, but encouragingly, russia special�*s envoy to afghanistan has spoken to his opposite number in the us, so thatis his opposite number in the us, so that is encouraging because the only way that is going to be lasting peace in afghanistan is if all the countries in the region can agree on what it looks like. i have to say that to looking down the future, i think the west will be a lot less relevant. china will want its mineral resources from afghanistan it russia well one day peaceful stable border or border area on those southern republics that stand between afghanistan and its own territory. iran has its own interests there. ararat is very close to the iranian border. but all of those countries will certainly china, russia and iran that have bad relations at the united states will, to some extent, i think, be not exactly growing, but certainly want

to be back to satisfied to see the humiliation of a country that is got bad relations with them. we humiliation of a country that is got bad relations with them.— bad relations with them. we will continue our _ bad relations with them. we will continue our coverage _ bad relations with them. we will continue our coverage in - bad relations with them. we will continue our coverage in a - bad relations with them. we will| continue our coverage in a couple bad relations with them. we will. continue our coverage in a couple of minutes' time. hello there. it's going to remain on the cool side through the rest of this week, a lot of cloud around too and chance of a bit of rain at times. now, how we missed most of this rain at lord's today, i still don't know. we've had a weather front taking that wetter weather away from the southeast into continental europe. there's been a fair bit of sunshine today across eastern parts of scotland and those clear skies have been filtering their way southwards across some northern and eastern parts of england. but even where we have had the sunshine, still not that warm for this time of the year. and further west, where we've seen all that cloud continuing, that cloud is coming back eastwards again overnight tonight, thickening cloud as well, which will bring a bit more rain and drizzle back in from the northwest, some mist and some fog over the hills in western areas. a mild night, yes, and it will be

milder than it was last night in the northeast of scotland. this is the weather pattern still for tuesday — high pressure to the southwest. this is the wind flow around it, so it's taking a long sea track, picking up all this moisture, hence all the cloud in the forecast. and within that northwesterly airflow, these weather fronts are bringing the rain overnight. that will still be around here and there during tuesday morning in particular. now, the worst of this rain will probably tend to move away. but still living with some damp weather here and there. may well brighten up a bit towards the west country and for eastern parts of scotland as well, with some sunshine. these areas a bit more sheltered from that northwesterly wind, which is still going to be around on tuesday and make it feel on the chilly side as well. under the cloud — many of us will be under the cloud — temperatures typically 17 or 18 degrees. get some sunshine, 20 or 21 is, again, possible. heading into wednesday, we've still got that northwesterly airstream pushing in cloudy sky, so sunshine at a premium. good chance it will be dry and the winds are dropping a bit through the day as well,

so where you do get some sunshine, it will feeljust a little bit warmer. as we move towards the latter part of the week, instead of high pressure in the southwest, we've got these weather fronts coming in from the atlantic. that first one there will bring some thicker cloud, some outbreaks of rain eastwards, across southern england, wales, the midlands, towards east anglia. no great amounts of rain. further north, it's a little bit drierfor a while. there could still be some patchy rain left in the northern half of scotland. and those temperatures still below par for the time of year, around 17 to 20 celsius.

hello, i'm ros atkins. this is outside source. we have seen chaos and panic at coble airport today as afghans have tried to leave their country following the taliban's take over. desperate people have attempt to hang onto one us military plane which had been sent into evacuate us nationals and several deaths at the airport have been reported. the taliban swept into kabul unopposed on sunday. in out appears injust about full control of the country. priority now is to maintain security, and their lives are safe. that is our priority now.

the speed of the taliban's advance has raised many, many questions about the afghan military. bear in mind since 2001 the us spends $88 billion building, training and funding and afghan army. we have got these pictures of police officers being trained — these are nato forces. but we know there have been massive renders of personnel as the taliban entered major cities, some personal abandon their posts, others reached agreement with the taliban to stop fighting into hand over the weapons and equipment. according to us officials, some provincial governors asked security forces to surrender or escape. here is the us secretary of state antony blinken. have to tell you that the inability of afghan security forces to defend their country has played a very

powerful role in what we have seen over the last few weeks. the fact is, we invested, the international community invested, over 20 years, billions of dollars in these forces, 300,000 of them, with an air force, something the taliban to not have, with the most modern, sophisticated equipment. and unfortunately, tragically, they have not been able to defend the country and that explain why this is moved as quickly and as is moved. == why this is moved as quickly and as is moved. ., , why this is moved as quickly and as is moved. . , ., , ., so as we've just heard, officially the us and allies claim to have trained an army that was over 300,000 troops strong. in reality, there were fewer than that. and many have been killed in the conflict. around 66,000 afghan troops have died since 2001. that impacts morale as well as the capacity of the military. another huge issue is corruption. for example we know some police units were keeping dead or absent

soldiers on their rosters so commanders could pocket their salaries. the new york times has reported how one important army corps meant to have 16,000 men and women has around half that. the soldiers were poorly paid, ill—fed and erratically supplied. in kandahar, where there was fierce fighting, there are reports of the army being fed only potatoes. and many of the security forces ran out of ammunition. the collapse of the security forces started in remote outposts. and we are starting to see a certain pattern developing. there was little logistic support for these and the soldiers and police units there were starving and had run out of ammunition. the taliban would surround them and promised safe passage if they surrendered and left behind their equipment. and a common complaint from the soldiers and police who had been at these outposts was that there was no air support. let's go back several years. my colleague paul would talk about this

issue in 2011 with afghan troops. there has been some air cover from the americans and down below, there is a german mine clearance team, but this is almost purely an afghan fight and that is exactly what the international community is trying to achieve here. so for a long time, the success of the afghan security forces relied on the us and their allies. the aim was to produce an army based on the american military and defence department. that approach has been criticised for perhaps not building on the strengths of afghan people. and there were also unique issues with recruiting and training. these included high levels of desertion, trying to maintain an ethnic balance in the force among afghanistan's fractious tribes and many

of the recruits couldn't read. and then the obama administration decided to expand the size of the afghan security forces from 200,000 to 350,000. that meant recruiting and off a lot of people very quickly and some of them lacked the basic skills needed to perform the tasks they were being asked to do. and now the equipment provided was in the hands of the afghan military but the taliban. these are military vehicles being surrendered in the town of kunduz earlier this month. i think it is quite worrying. there's clearly a lot of equipment the united states and allies had given the afghan arms to build it up at afghan police. a lot of that equipment is now going to fall into the hands of the taliban. in terms of making them a much more mobile

force, they have now been a whole fleet of various trucks, personnel carriers, jeeps, tanks, all the sorts of things, you can probably maintain and service fairly easily. i think when we get to some of the aeroplanes and helicopters, it seems as they've managed to co—opt some afghan aircrews to support these, and i suspect... reports they have pilots in their ranks as well, so maybe one or two these will be able to be used for some time, but i think they will struggle to maintain it. they need a lot of maintenance and if they do not have someone check to do that maintenance properly, it will sort of stop working. he final piece, unfortunately, afghanistan is a country full of small arms already, inciting the lonely continue for some of the final piece on this one is some of the higher end equipment may be —— i think that will continue. i think in some cases the concern is probably these will fall into american... or they will be

sold on the open market. tracy walder is a former cia operative who worked in afghanistan — shejoins us. thank you for your time. i wonder what your emotions have been for the last 48 hours?— last 48 hours? thank you so much for havin: last 48 hours? thank you so much for having me- — last 48 hours? thank you so much for having me- i— last 48 hours? thank you so much for having me. i believe _ last 48 hours? thank you so much for having me. i believe appreciate - last 48 hours? thank you so much for having me. i believe appreciate this i having me. i believe appreciate this opportunity for some have been really of horror, a little bit of shame, a little bit of frustration, and really great sadness —— my emotions have been. for the people that have been in afghanistan and cannot get out. find that have been in afghanistan and cannot get out-— that have been in afghanistan and cannot get out. and we look at the work ou cannot get out. and we look at the work you and _ cannot get out. and we look at the work you and your _ cannot get out. and we look at the work you and your fellow - cannot get out. and we look at the | work you and your fellow americans did to try to build up the afghan military, why do you think that failed so spectacularly when it was put under the most severe pressure? that's a great question. i think there is a multifaceted answer to that question. the first being, i think, really, general gates, the

former secretary of defence, really had the best way of putting it, which is that we are trying to train a western army and we were trying to train them in a western style of defence and really we did not look at what the strengths of the afghan people were and how they organised themselves. afghanistan is notoriously tribal, it is very divided among ethnic ideologies and ethnic belongings, and part of that, it became very difficult to get people to sort of come together and fight together wassup you had a lot of infighting going on within the different regiments that were created for some also we have to remember the literacy rate in afghanistan currently is 38%. it was a little bit lower pre—2001 and fact then the life expectancy was about 50, so this is a country that really, we had to train soldiers how to read maps, how to understand basic commands.— to read maps, how to understand basic commands. tracy, let me ask ou, basic commands. tracy, let me ask you. when — basic commands. tracy, let me ask you. when you _ basic commands. tracy, let me ask

you. when you are _ basic commands. tracy, let me ask you, when you are listening - you, when you are listening to president biden last month saying he was confident the afghan military had the might and the wherewithal to withstand the taliban, were you listening to him and thinking, yes, he is right? or were you thinking to him, telling donna thinking, someone is not telling him the story straight here cordial that is a very good question, and i will be frank, i did not feel he answered that question correctly.— i did not feel he answered that question correctly. perhaps he was liven question correctly. perhaps he was given information _ question correctly. perhaps he was given information of _ question correctly. perhaps he was given information of seeing - given information of seeing reporting... anywhere between 2—4 months until he regained control of the country. i do not think they expected the taliban to regain control of this quickly, but the reality is, when we first gave them a timetable about a year or year and half ago, the taliban kind of kicked into high gearand half ago, the taliban kind of kicked into high gear and started flipping members of the afghan military to lay down their arms and join their side. lay down their arms and 'oin their side. ., ., ., , _

lay down their arms and 'oin their side. ., ., . , _ ., side. you were not happy with what the president _ side. you were not happy with what the president said _ side. you were not happy with what the president said last _ side. you were not happy with what the president said last month, - side. you were not happy with what the president said last month, but| the president said last month, but let's look at the overall goal that was really set by president bush and then by president obama and then by president trump, which was to create an afghan military that could stand on its own two feet. perhaps america is not in a position to create a military force in a country which is a long way culturally and geographically from its own? i absolutely get what you are saying, i do not want to say that we are incapable of doing it, i think sometimes in america, we are incapable or wejust sometimes in america, we are incapable or we just don't want to learn. we want to train people to our way. and our weight is not always the way that is going to work best. for other countries, other cultures, other beliefs. and i think that bit of understanding really needed to come into play and i do not feel that it did in the creation of this particular afghan military.

tracy, we appreciate you speaking to us. let's stay in touch. that is tracy walder, former cia operative who worked in afghanistan, life with us on the us. —— from the us. i want to look now at the taliban itself. the taliban says they have now changed his last being in powerful wc about that. back then they established sharia law and denied rights to women as well as many other things. lyse doucet has looked at the story throughout. here she is on how the telemann may govern this time. —— how the taliban may govern. step—by—step, a return to rule. ever since the taliban signed a deal last year

with the us, their old enemy, they've been emboldened. moments like this started to shift their international image. then suddenly this summer, district by district, they were back in charge. these scenes were recently filmed for us in wardak, a province at the gates of kabul. scenes of an orderly transition, the taliban taking over, taking care of the people. but more grisly videos have been surfacing too of alleged abuses and atrocities. what do you say now to those who fear the return of the taliban? they should not fear. because the government which will come after this, it will be acceptable to all afghans. but taliban rule returns to an afghanistan dramatically different from the one they governed so harshly in the late—1990s. we've reported on the change — however imperfect and incomplete — over the past two decades, no—one expecting their lives

could be so suddenly shattered. afghans, especially women, now fearing they will lose everything they gained. somebody has to speak up. because it's time, it's time that they understand that women won't be silenced. today, it's my education. tomorrow, it's going to be my daughter's education, my sister's education. my political rights are right now taken away. tomorrow, it's going to be my daughter's, my sister's, people, the next generation. so of course, i have to put up a fight today, so that the next generation doesn't have to face all this conflict. and afghanistan's neighbours are anxious too. the fate of this landlocked country affects them all. to the north, central asian states know how easily extremism crosses borders, reaching russia too. iran knows afghans will flee its way, and any instability will spill into pakistan too and far beyond.

so many people have become internally displaced in afghanistan, so many are becoming refugees, so we actually need immediate help and assistance for them. there is, you know, there's so much to talk about right now and a lot of us are just deeply, you know, deeply depressed about the situation there. a depressing, deeply uncertain and dangerous time. for now, most afghans are just trying to get through each day, before they confront fundamental questions about their future. lyse doucet, bbc news. ahmed rashid is author of the book taliban: the story of afghan's war lords. and hejoins us now. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. i must ask you the question many people are discussing, whether you believe this is a new perhaps more moderate version of the taliban, or whether

thatis version of the taliban, or whether that is just version of the taliban, or whether that isjust spin version of the taliban, or whether that is just spin for certain foreign governments? i that isjust spin for certain foreign governments? that isjust spin for certain foreian rovernments? ., ., ., foreign governments? i would not go so far as to — foreign governments? i would not go so far as to describe _ foreign governments? i would not go so far as to describe it _ foreign governments? i would not go so far as to describe it as _ foreign governments? i would not go so far as to describe it as a _ so far as to describe it as a big shift or a big change, but they are making efforts. they are certainly alert to the demands of the international community regarding education, women, human rights, etc, but the last time around, when they came to power in 92,93, but the last time around, when they came to power in 92, 93, they were not really aware of these things, and anybody who spoke to them about human rights issues, they would get a blank stare. now, ithink human rights issues, they would get a blank stare. now, i think there is in awareness. of the problems are many, and one major problem is their inability to have a personnel who can govern properly also last time, they had ministers who would fall asleep in their offices after drinking three cups of tea. they... and right now, i don't know if the

new taliban have brought with them more educated, younger people who would govern for them, so i think that's going to be a very big issue. secondly, it the question of tolerating what they considered deviant behaviour amongst women or children, even men, listening to music, going to dancing, doing any kind of entertainment was anathema to the taliban. is that going to be the case? there are issues that are notjust the case? there are issues that are not just taliban the case? there are issues that are notjust taliban issues but general social issues. so these are big, big questions. there is very little indication so far that they're going to do this. �* , ., to do this. and in terms of their abili to to do this. and in terms of their ability to govern, _ to do this. and in terms of their ability to govern, do _ to do this. and in terms of their ability to govern, do you - to do this. and in terms of their ability to govern, do you think | ability to govern, do you think they may seek more help from other

countries that perhaps they did in the 90s, more help from china, more help from china, from iran, from pakistan, countries that may be willing to deal with them and perhaps be more supportive? again, i think this has — perhaps be more supportive? again, i think this has been _ perhaps be more supportive? again, i think this has been put _ perhaps be more supportive? again, i think this has been put to _ perhaps be more supportive? again, i think this has been put to the - perhaps be more supportive? again, i think this has been put to the very - think this has been put to the very seriously by the un and by other people, but there has not been much of response, because, basically, taliban are against non—muslims, they are against outsiders, they don't like to be told what to do. isaac is going be very difficult to influence and improve their governance —— i think it is. and influence and improve their governance -- i think it is. and one other thing- — governance -- i think it is. and one other thing. how _ governance -- i think it is. and one other thing. how do _ governance -- i think it is. and one other thing. how do we _ governance -- i think it is. and one other thing. how do we assess - governance -- i think it is. and one other thing. how do we assess the | other thing. how do we assess the taliban's relationship with the broader afghan population? we tend to see it through the prism of its ability to resist the afghan military, but in terms of popular support, is there any way of gauging whether at least some sections of

afghans are very glad about this development?— afghans are very glad about this develoment? . , ., development? certainly, the taliban to have support _ development? certainly, the taliban to have support in _ development? certainly, the taliban to have support in the _ development? certainly, the taliban to have support in the rural- development? certainly, the taliban to have support in the rural areas i development? certainly, the taliban to have support in the rural areas -| to have support in the rural areas — not all of them but some of them. not necessarily those rural areas belonging to the other ethnic groups, like how chicks or -- tajiks —— tajiks or uzbeks. but in the cities, there is not. even before the last time they were in power... but especially since they came back into circulation over the last 20 years, so the taliban are still... we still really don't know how they are going to perform. and performance is going to be critical, because right now you have a drought, you have a major virus

epidemic, you have hunger, you have norma's shortages of food that makes enormous shortages. this year's harvest has been extremely low. all these problems will now be dumped on these problems will now be dumped on the taliban and they will have to come up with some solutions. are they capable of that? will they be able to come up with fair solutions and not channel all this applies to their own fighters? and of course afghanistan and ever else in the world is going to watch god very closely. ahmed rashid, thank you forjoining us on outside source. in a few moments on the programme, we will be trying to assess what life will be like for afghan women now the taliban is coming back to power. we will hear from a prominent women's rights campaigner. almost 1300 people are now known to

have died in the earthquake that hit haiti on saturday. the bbc cosmic james clayton reports. it's been a devastating 48 hours for this already impoverished region in the south—west of the country. the earthquake hit in the morning, when many were just waking up, and it hit hard. it rocked churches, hotels and homes. the shaking earth too much for structures that collapsed in on themselves, sometimes on top of people. houses that were supposed to be places of safety, transformed into death traps. we have seen many patients that were trauma patients. orthopaedic patients and surgical trauma patients. they had to be addressed urgently. some of them had to be transferred and moved from their locality to more specialised facilities in port—au—prince or elsewhere. the earthquake was bigger than the one that hit 11 years ago, which killed up to 300,000 people. this earthquake won't compete

with this death toll, but there are fears of thousands of deaths. there are several factors that make the aid mission here difficult. for one, there is a tropical storm just blowing in now. you might be able to see from the clouds behind me. but there is also political turmoil. the president was assassinated only last month, and many people here believe that the haitian government does not have the capacity to deal with a disaster like this. the route to the affected areas from the capital is a dangerous road controlled by gangs. many haitians are sceptical of international help after much of the money promised to rebuild the country after 2010 was squandered. with a state of emergency called, the people of haiti are now waiting and watching to see what their government and the international community can do to help. james clayton, bbc news, port—au—prince.

hello, i'm ros atkins with outside source. we are here in the dc newsroom. -- bbc —— bbc newsroom. the lead story... women in afghanistan are fearing for their lives. we're hearing of reports of harsh punishments in taliban captured areas. one prominant women's rights campaigner from afghanistan spoke to the bbc about the dangers she and other women face now. it's worse than what i thought, because they are searching addresses. and it's not only my life but also my family's life right now is in danger. and also not only me as a women's right activists, but other women's right activists' life also badly in danger.

and unfortunately right now, we cannot go anywhere, because there are no commercial flights. we were noy working with the us military or uk military, so that is also another kind of punishment. since we've been civilians and we have to keep our civilian side, we are not priority for anyone to help us. like, totally, we have been again inside of a cage, and again we are facing more threat than before, because, before, let's speak to bbcjournalist zarghuna kargar. thanks for talking to wasn't on outside source. i heard you this time yesterday talking on bbc news about the conversations you are having with friends and family back in afghanistan. i wonder what conversations you have had today. i have been speaking since last night to my family, to my friends, to

many, many women rights activists, two young university students. our hearts are sinking for some it is a terrible situation with desperation. this one was telling me, how can my people drag on onto an aeroplane? it is not the way to go out. they chose the level —— it shows the desperation level of people. there is fear, there is confusion, they don't know what is waiting for the next, they don't know what is waiting for the next day. i have been able to speak to many, many women activists, advocates in the last month, but today and yesterday, it was impossible. they're fearful. they're not able to come on air, they're not able to show their faces, we are hiding their identity. everyone i speak to is saying, we

are trying to get out of the city. and as well as those fears, have we heard about any of those people being contacted by the taliban, being contacted by the taliban, being harassed by the taliban in any way? being harassed by the taliban in any wa ? , ., being harassed by the taliban in any wa ? , . , being harassed by the taliban in any wa? , . , ., way? yes, i have been speaking to women journalists, _ way? yes, i have been speaking to women journalists, specifically - way? yes, i have been speaking to women journalists, specifically in l women journalists, specifically in jalalabad. two women journalists were searched and one was saying... she said those were taliban who were coming after them, and a lot of other women told me that they are are on some kind of list. target list for the taliban. because they've been advocating, they have been speaking against the atrocities the taliban have committed in the past years, supporting the provinces in the last month or so, allegedly selling girls as child brides. these are the women would been reporting on social media... are the women would been reporting on social media. . ._

on social media... zarghuna, i am sor to on social media... zarghuna, i am sorry to interrupt, _ on social media... zarghuna, i am sorry to interrupt, we _ on social media... zarghuna, i am sorry to interrupt, we are - on social media... zarghuna, i am sorry to interrupt, we are right - on social media... zarghuna, i am sorry to interrupt, we are right up| sorry to interrupt, we are right up against the end of the programme. thank you for speaking with me. i will see you in the newsroom soon, i am sure. that is zarghuna kargar ending this addition of outside source. hello there. it's going to remain on the cool side through the rest of this week, a lot of cloud around too and chance of a bit of rain at times. now, how we missed most of this rain at lord's today, i still don't know. we've had a weather front taking that wetter weather away from the southeast into continental europe. there's been a fair bit of sunshine today across eastern parts of scotland and those clear skies have been filtering their way southwards across some northern and eastern parts of england. but even where we have had the sunshine, still not that warm for this time of the year. and further west, where we've seen all that cloud continuing, that cloud is coming back eastwards again overnight tonight, thickening cloud as well, which will bring a bit more rain and drizzle back in from the northwest, some mist and some fog over the hills in western areas. a mild night, yes, and it will be

milder than it was last night in the northeast of scotland. this is the weather pattern still for tuesday — high pressure to the southwest. this is the wind flow around it, so it's taking a long sea track, picking up all this moisture, hence all the cloud in the forecast. and within that northwesterly airflow, these weather fronts are bringing the rain overnight. that will still be around here and there during tuesday morning in particular. now, the worst of this rain will probably tend to move away. but still living with some damp weather here and there. may well brighten up a bit towards the west country and for eastern parts of scotland as well, with some sunshine. these areas a bit more sheltered from that northwesterly wind, which is still going to be around on tuesday and make it feel on the chilly side as well. under the cloud — many of us will be under the cloud — temperatures typically 17 or 18 degrees. get some sunshine, 20 or 21 is, again, possible. heading into wednesday, we've still got that northwesterly airstream pushing in cloudy sky, so sunshine at a premium. good chance it will be dry and the winds are dropping a bit

through the day as well, so where you do get some sunshine, it will feeljust a little bit warmer. as we move towards the latter part of the week, instead of high pressure in the southwest, we've got these weather fronts coming in from the atlantic. that first one there will bring some thicker cloud, some outbreaks of rain eastwards, across southern england, wales, the midlands, towards east anglia. no great amounts of rain. further north, it's a little bit drierfor a while. there could still be some patchy rain left in the northern half of scotland. and those temperatures still below par for the time of year, around 17 to 20 celsius.

this is bbc news. our top stories for you. chaos and panic at kabul airport as thousands of people desperately try to flee the capital of afghanistan — reports say several people died in the mayhem. as armed taliban fighters patrol the streets and enter the presidential palace, afghanistan's ambassador to the un calls for peace. iurge i urge all parties to protect lives and make sure humanitarian needs can be met. presidentjoe biden is due to address the nation on the crisis in afghanistan shortly —

he arrived in washington two hours ago after cutting his vacation short.