this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak with the latest headlines. chaos and panic outside kabul airport, as the us advises its citizens not to travel there until they are asked — because of security threats outside the gates. senior taliban figures — including the group's co—founder, mullah baradar — are in kabulfor talks about establishing a new government. up greece has erected a aokm fence on its border with turkey amid wanings of many afghan civillians fleeing their country. there have been clashes between australian police and anti—lockdown demonstrators in sydney and melbourne. animal welfare campaigners in the uk have welcomed new government proposals to stop puppy smuggling.

good afternoon. the us embassy has advised its citizens not to travel to kabul airport until asked — due to security threats outside its gates — as countries continue to try to evacuate those who want to leave afghanistan. it comes amid panic and chaos outside the airport, as people try to flee taliban rule — with images on social media showing soldiers dealing with bodies. the taliban's co—founder, and head of its political wing, mullah abdul ghani baradar, has arrived in kabul. he's joined other senior militants for talks to establish a new government. with the latest on the situation

at kabul airport — here's our correspondent, frankie mccamley reports. in the early hours of this morning, another plane lands at raf brize norton, this time carrying 200 british and afghan evacuees. a calm arrival under darkness. close to kabul airport, the scenes could not be more different. desperation has deepened, with the evacuation operation in chaos. some here have permission to fly, others had just turned up anyway. in hiding, i speak to one man who works for a security firm at the british embassy. translation: itried many times since yesterday - but could not access my e—mail, could not open it, today and tomorrow we are meant to get our salaries. if they send it to the banks, they are closed. i am very sorry for my family. i can't even look

at my kid sometimes. i was the one who put them at such high risk. if i knew this company would do this too but, i would never have joined, never have helped them. many others do not have access to money, banks are closed for the seventh day in a row and there is no cash in the machines. the taliban's co—founder is believed to be in the afghan capital kabul. mullah abdul ghani baradar is expected to join talks on establishing a new government. as the world's attention focuses on people trying to leave the country, concern grows for those who are not the, many living in fear, wondering what will happen next. frankie mccamley, bbc news. today one of the taliban's most prominent leaders, abdul ghani baradar, returned to afghanistan after years in exile. what do we know about him?

well, he was one of the four men who founded the taliban back in 1994, and became a lynchpin of the insurgency, after the taliban were toppled by the us—led invasion in 2001. then, in 2010, he was captured in a joint us—pakistani raid. but he was released in 2013. afghan officials hoped he would encourage the taliban to engage in peace talks with them. fast forward seven years — and he signs a deal, not with the afghan government, but with the us trump administration. it culminates in the withdrawal of us troops. we know what happens next. the taliban quickly take control of afghanistan. and then, after years in exile, he's finally able to return to the country. 0ur security correspondent, frank gardner is here.

it is lovely to see you. there are so many questions concerning not only the taliban, but also how they fund themselves, who they are. let's start off with this latest development and mullah baradar. how significant is he within the whole story? significant is he within the whole sto ? , , u, significant is he within the whole sto? ,, story? very significant because he was very close _ story? very significant because he was very close to _ story? very significant because he was very close to the _ story? very significant because he was very close to the original - was very close to the original founder of the taliban back in 1994. he is a relative moderate compared to some of his more extreme colleagues. he spent eight years in prison in pakistan and he was only released in 2018. he has been instrumental in the peace talks you mention indo hop. he has been very much at the forefront of those. i think the big questions now are whether this second iteration of taliban rule in afghanistan is going to be different from the earlier one. —— doha. the public signs are that it will be. they're going to be

less extreme. they are saying the things that people want to hear, the big question is once the spotlight is all of afghanistan and it will do so inevitably, are they going to revert to oppressing women, suppressing human rights, carrying out all sorts of very brutal punishments, oppressingjournalist. 0r punishments, oppressingjournalist. or will they be a more normal cost stry —— country. some countries china and russia are giving them the benefit of the doubt. the eu has withheld recognising them. everyone wants to wait and see how they form a government. i think western countries are not going to be in a rush to do it because they want to see what kind of country it will be. mullah baradar�*s impact will be important. he is not the top man but

very near to it. there are other people at the top. these people have been on the outside for 20 years. one has got a price on his head from the us. a bounty. he is now in charge of securing kabul. that is the hiuh charge of securing kabul. that is the high echelons _ charge of securing kabul. that is the high echelons of _ charge of securing kabul. that is the high echelons of taliban. - charge of securing kabul. that is| the high echelons of taliban. but many people have pointed out that it is the discipline within the foot soldiers that could cause problems for the so—called taliban version two. how unified, disciplined is the taliban? who are they?— two. how unified, disciplined is the taliban? who are they? they've been in incredibly— taliban? who are they? they've been in incredibly effective _ taliban? who are they? they've been in incredibly effective fighting - in incredibly effective fighting force. as soon as they found out that the us was leaving, that was it, that was a green light for them to accelerate their campaign and this will go down in military history as one of the most successful insurgent campaigns. it is desperately sad for all of those not only british people who fought

there and aid workers who helped afghanistan become a more progressive, fair and equitable place, which they now fear could be reversed, but also all those tens of thousands of afghans who have lost their lives trying to keep their country free from oppressive groups. it might not be as oppressive as we fear, but certainly you can just look at the airport to see what tens of thousands of afghans think about what taliban rule is likely to be. they would have heard about it from their parents. they are terrified and there is no question that despite the fact that the taliban have said there is amnesty for those who serve the previous government, in practice, there are numerous reports of door to door, the taliban going round with lists of the people who basically serve the government that fought them and the people they are particularly after our the previous afghan intelligent and the

specialforces. some of those are now at the airport trying to get away as you can imagine because they are marked men. fist you can imagine because they are marked men-— you can imagine because they are marked men. �* , ,, _, . marked men. at the press conference it was unprecedented. _ marked men. at the press conference it was unprecedented. there - marked men. at the press conference it was unprecedented. there was - marked men. at the press conference it was unprecedented. there was a i it was unprecedented. there was a lot of questions on the back of that. why do they keep talking about the islamic law? afghanistan is an islamic country, isn't it? what's the difference going to be? this is the difference going to be? this is the fear. a lot of people when they hear that, oh no, what is that going to mean for the girls and everyday life? what difference will that bring? life? what difference will that brim? ,, ., ., ., life? what difference will that brinu? ,, ., ., ., , life? what difference will that bring? sharia law is islamic law. is very much — bring? sharia law is islamic law. is very much left _ bring? sharia law is islamic law. is very much left up _ bring? sharia law is islamic law. is very much left up to _ bring? sharia law is islamic law. is| very much left up to interpretation. many countries use a form of that. saudi arabia for example is one of those that carries out punishments

to the limit. that can be beheading for capital crime. in the past the five years from 1996 to 2001, the taliban carried out a lot of very brutal punishments particularly amputations. isis when they had a self—declared caliphate, they did a lot of those as well. there is a really ghoulish hideous element to this because usually these regimes tend to corral the public into forcing them to watch this. they order them, forcing them to watch this. they orderthem, police forcing them to watch this. they order them, police order them to come to the stadium to watch this and that is what used to happen under the taliban. they used a stadium to have people watch as someone was amputated. it was horrific. there will be plenty of people in the ranks who want that kind of thing to continue. there will be plenty of people at the top who say that a woman's places in the

home and in the bedroom, nowhere else. if she goes out she must be accompanied —— if she goes out she must be fully veiled and accompanied by a man. there are others who will be more pragmatic and want afghanistan to be successful. they are short of money. the imf have cut off funds. they need ties. they will get that from china, some from russia some from pakistan. maybe that will be enough, but i think that will be enough, but i think that won't be.— that will be enough, but i think that won't be. ., ., ., , , that won't be. how on earth is this country going _ that won't be. how on earth is this country going to — that won't be. how on earth is this country going to be _ that won't be. how on earth is this country going to be funded. - that won't be. how on earth is this country going to be funded. i - that won't be. how on earth is this| country going to be funded. i spoke to a former ambassador this week and brought up the resources within afghanistan. i mentioned lithium and china's interest in those resources and he said well actually, there are and he said well actually, there are a lot more. and he did not understand why the british did not make the most of it. where does the wealth in afghanistan come from? {jut wealth in afghanistan come from? out ofthe wealth in afghanistan come from? out of the ground well partly so. and the illicit wealth is the opiate

trade. afghan is the world's biggest supplier of opium. if the taliban wanted to and so far they said they don't want to, they could use opium. in 20 years time the us—led coalition was not able to do that. made with the taliban can, but it is a major source of money for people in afghanistan. it funds an entire narco economy. if they wanted to, they could flood europe with heroin. they could trouble the production. there are thousands of border guards who have lost their lives. —— they could triple the production. you are absolutely right to mention lithium, rare earth minerals are beneath the surface and are waiting to be exploited and china has been quite clever on this it has played the long game. i do not think it has lost a single life in afghanistan

certainly not in combat. it sat back and watched us coalition lose their lives. and they have now extended the hand of friendship to the taliban and they are not concerned about human rights, that is something that troubles other people, but not china. they will be some concern about the weaker community, they would not want to see militantjihad is him spreading across their border, so china will have an interest in the suppression of training camps. i’m have an interest in the suppression of training camps.— of training camps. i'm 'ust reading somethin: of training camps. i'm 'ust reading something that h of training camps. i'm 'ust reading something that was _ of training camps. i'm just reading something that was sent - of training camps. i'm just reading something that was sent to - of training camps. i'm just reading something that was sent to us - of training camps. i'm just reading something that was sent to us it's| something that was sent to us it's an update at the situation at the airport. it is on the screen. going back to something that someone

said, it is not necessarily what is taking place inside the airport, it is getting the people to the airport. what sort of problems and challenges are there getting from kabul, the centre to the airport? what are the security issues? there are two. what are the security issues? there are two- one. _ what are the security issues? there are two. one, the _ what are the security issues? there are two. one, the most _ what are the security issues? there are two. one, the most obvious - what are the security issues? there are two. one, the most obvious is l are two. one, the most obvious is the taliban checkpoints. there are at least three levels of checkpoints for most people. the other is the sheer weight of traffic, the shear rate of people trying to get out and many of them simply do not have documentation. they are so desperate to get out they are just trying to get on a plane. there are many people in those crowds who have got invitation letters or the right to fly and they cannot get there. some are carrying small children. it is the middle of summer and kabul, it is immensely hot. they have got young children and trying to get through the crowds to get onto those

planes, it is a harrowing situation. spare a thought as well for the british soldiers and others who are there, some of whom are in tears at what they are watching. at mothers so desperate to get their children out that they are even trying to pass them over the fence. i mean, awful things. and having to turn back people who are screaming with tears running down their eyes, get me out. and in many cases they cannot. you saw ben wallace on lb see the other day a few days ago where he was choking back tears saying that there are people who work for us that we might not be able to get out. their fate is not going to be great.— able to get out. their fate is not going to be great. we've got nine or ten da s going to be great. we've got nine or ten days until _ going to be great. we've got nine or ten days until the _ going to be great. we've got nine or ten days until the deadline. - going to be great. we've got nine or ten days until the deadline. nato . going to be great. we've got nine or ten days until the deadline. nato is| ten days until the deadline. nato is asking for an extension. yes. ten days until the deadline. nato is asking for an extension.— asking for an extension. yes, nato is askin: , asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking. i — asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think— asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there _ asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there is - asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there is a - asking for an extension. yes, nato is asking, i think there is a fair - is asking, i think there is a fair bit of pressure on the americans to put pressure on the taliban. the

last thing that anybody wants is a shooting match at the airport. that is the worst case scenario.- shooting match at the airport. that is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? _ is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? one _ is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? one would _ is the worst case scenario. would it come to that? one would hope - is the worst case scenario. would it | come to that? one would hope not. is the worst case scenario. would it i come to that? one would hope not. it is almost a — come to that? one would hope not. it is almost a miracle _ come to that? one would hope not. it is almost a miracle that _ come to that? one would hope not. it is almost a miracle that it has... - is almost a miracle that it has... where do i start? the taliban say this chaos at the airport is not our fault. it is the west�*s fault for failing to properly predict this. i think they are correct on that. this was not planned for. the speed of the collapse of the afghan army, the speed of the taliban success has taken even the taliban by said during —— have taken everyone by surprise. two military forces that have been fighting until the death for the last 20 years are cooperating right now under what britain is calling operation... to get as many people out as possible. the french, the germans, the italians, the americans and many other countries are doing the same. and it is being done with the

compliance of the taliban. you will not see any particular hostile comments right now from anyone that could antagonizing taliban. they are being very careful not to do anything that would antagonize them because if the taliban chose to make trouble at the airport, they can make things an awful lot worse, even worse than they are right now. frank, thank you very much. he gave us an in—depth picture of the situation in afghanistan. and a bit of a background explanation to the many questions concerning the taliban itself and the leadership. just to remind you, this is the latest we are getting from dan johnson and that is that the us state department has announced it is closing kabul airport for 48 hours to process those already inside. the chaotic scenes outside the airport have only gotten worse says dan johnson. earlier i spoke to maryanne horne, head of humanitarian policy at the british red cross.

the situation on the ground is fast—moving. it is a situation that is fluid and our teams, the red cross and red crescent, as well as our partners are on the ground. they are operational, they are present in 34 of the provinces. and really one thing to remember is that they have been in country for the past 30 years, no matter what has been happening and will continue to do so. very much a situation which is evolving. the way we would operate is to conduct needs assessments, really monitor very closely what is happening notjust in kabul, which is one aspect of the story, but really, when you see what the needs are in the rest of the country, that will very much be taken into account. you said the operations are still ongoing. what are the priorities now?

have they changed ? what's involved? that is a great question. what your viewers are seeing is one side, really, of the story. what is important to understand is that afghanistan has been confronted with a multiple series of needs. there are of course the needs triggered by the latest developments, but this comes on the backdrop of a situation where 18 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance. 11 million people, due to a very severe drought, are in need of food. that is one—third of afghanistan's population and when you think about the compounding effects of the pandemic, for example, onjobs, livelihoods and income, you can imagine how complicated the situation is becoming. one thing to remember

is our partners the afghan red crescent society are in many of the most remote areas of afghanistan and while there are people trying to get out of the country at the moment, a vast majority of those who are most vulnerable and need help are today have remained in their villages, towns and are bearing the brunt of the much wider series of needs, which the red cross and red crescent movement are very well—equipped to come help with. we are seeing a lot of pictures from kabul. but some of that work that you are doing and your partners are doing are in the remote areas. are you being given access to those people who need your help? the taliban are appearing to be very conciliatory from the capital because the cameras are there, but what's happening in the remote areas?

this movement has been in afghanistan for 30 years now the red cross and our partners, no matter who was in government and in control of various territories. it is fair to say there is experience there in being able to really navigate all that complexity. the afghan red crescent society is present in 34 of the provinces and has been for decades. really tending to the emergency needs of the primary health care needs of women and children for example in those remote areas. greece says it's completed the construciton of a fence that stretches for nearly 25 miles, on its border with turkey — and installed a new surveillance system, amid fears of refugees arriving from afghanistan. "we cannot wait for the possible impact" of the taliban's

takeover of afghanistan. his comments came as president erdogan of turkey called on european nations to take responsibility for people fleeing the taliban. earlier i spoke to the freelance journalist daphne tolis who is in athens. she have us some more detail on the wall. the 40 kilometre steel fence has been completed. the defence minister and the citizens protection minister were both yesterday, friday, there. they visited the wall, the border there. they said that greek borders will remain secure and impenetrable and that border forces are on alert for any possible wave of afghan refugees trying to cross into europe through greece. is this widely supported by the greek people? it is widely supported, i would say, especially after last year,

the events of february 2020, when thousands of refugees and migrants attempted to cross in large numbers from turkey's land border, the same border that divides greece and turkey, after turkish president erdogan said that the borders were open. so people tried to come through greece to move further to the european union, and following those events, that is what actually sped up the completion of this border, which was already announced that it would happen, but this made it faster to happen, to reinforce the existing border and to make an even more reinforced steel fence across this zone, which is actually one of the deadliest land borders for asylum seekers, migrants, refugees crossing into europe. so what is the turkish reaction to this? obviously this will leave them shouldering the burden.

in fact, beyond turkey, how are greek and europe's neighbours viewing this? for example on the islands of lesbos, cos, the five greek islands that have bore the brunt of the refugee crisis for the last six years, they are mostly concerned about any possible wave of refugees. people who live by the borders are mostly concerned that this might trigger another big wave of migration to europe. but turkey as well has been hosting large numbers of syrian refugees, about 4 million, and 117,000 afghan refugees, according to the united nations refugee agency. greece, according to our migration and asylum minister,

has 40,000 afghan refugees, half of which are already identified, recognised as refugees, and 20% of these are waiting still for their asylum claims to be processed. that was a journalist in greece. the british government has rejected a call to issue 10,000 temporary visas to eu workers to tackle an estimated shortage of 75,000 lorry drivers. logistics uk — the trade body which represents freight businesses — says many restaurants and supermarkets are facing serious supply problems. but ministers say employers should invest in the domestic workforce — by offering higher wages — rather than rely on foreign labour. we are going to catch up with all the sport now from the bbc sport centre. hello, holly. hello, holly. good afternoon. liverpool welcomed back fans to anfield by making it two wins from two in the premier league.

they beat burnley 2—0 — diogojota opening the scoring with this clinical finish in the first half. sadio mane doubled their lead with a superb strike, to continue liverpool's perfect start to the season and extend their unbeaten run in the premier league to 12 matches. sean dyche's burnley are yet to pick up any points. 0bviously obviously we had some issues on private basis during the week, so we had to deal with that. but the team did really well today. so now two games, six points, next week chelsea which will be a very different game. let'sjust keep going. elsewhere in the premier league, champions manchester city are taking on norwich city at the ethiad — looking to bounce back from their opening day defeat to tottenham. and that is exactly what they are doing. it's 2—0 to the hosts in that one. jack grealish has just

scored his first goal for his new club. city went 1—0 up when a ferran torres effort went in off norwich goalkeeper tim krul. two — zero at the moment. everton take on leeds united at elland road. crystal palace face newly promoted brentford, who had a brilliant start to their campaign, beating arsenal last weekend. and aston villa host newcastle. the efl is back under way — there's a bumper afternoon of action — the first of 11 games in the championship saw queens park rangers host barnsley. unbeaten qpr maintained that record but only thanks to charlie austin's injury time equaliser. barnsley had gone 2—0 up in the first half but rangers battled back to earn a point, austin converting in stoppage time to make it 2—2. just two games in the scottish premiership today. celtic are now two to the good against st mirren — liel abada with both goals. st mirren are also down to ten men.

and bottom of the table livingston are playing motherwell. the third round is well underway at the aig women's open in carnoustie and it's rather changeable at the top of that leaderboard. a hat—trick of birdies for yealimi noh sees her now sitting alone at the summit. it was very cluttered earlier. geigia hall is one shot back on 7 under in a very packed leaderboard. but what about scottish amatuer louise duncan? she has been fantastic so far and has picked up another 4 birdies today to put herjust two off the lead on 6 under. it's the inurgural finals of cricket's newest tournament, the hundred today — and rain had threatened to dampen the mood at lord's. the men's final takes place tonight between birmingham phoenix and southern brave. and the women's final has just got underway. southern brave playing 0val invincibles. brave captain anya shrubsole won the toss and chose to bowl first. georgia adams struck an early

boundary off shrubsole, but the bowler soon had her revenge when adams was dismissed for four, caught in the deep by dani wyatt. the latest score is invincibles 36—1 after 37 balls. the paralympic games start on tuesday in tokyo. paralympics gb brought home 147 medals from rio 2016, including 64 golds. this time round, chef de mission penny briscoe believes gb is fielding a very competitive team once again, but says she's grateful the games are going ahead. the last 18 months has been a tumultuous time for global communities and we are very respectful of the fact that the games are going ahead still in the midst of a raging pandemic. now that we are here, i think that we are trying to demonstrate to the japanese public that we will be

exemplary in terms of our adherence to the covid countermeasures because we are so grateful for the work that has gone on from the japanese government, the organising community, the international paralympic committee to ensure that these games are held for the athletes. just a reminder that you can watch the cricket on the bbc two at the moment. that is all for me right now. police have released an image of a man wanted in connection with a suspected double murder in central london. a 45—year—old woman and a 59—year—old man, were found dead, having sustained knife injuries. detectives told the public "not to approach" lee peacock, 49, who officers want to question — after they discovered two bodies at separate addresses, half a mile apart in westminster. at this early stage we are retaining an open mind concerning motive, but we are treating these crimes as linked. i know this will cause concern amongst the community,

but i would like to reassure the public that we have a dedicated