hello. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. seven more people died outside kabul airport yesterday— as thousands try to leave afghanistan. british armed forces ministerjames heappey says some calm is now being restored in the area for all that we have seen on the news over the last few days and they have been the most awful images, the reality is that things are flowing now quite well. former world leaders criticise the us withdrawal — former british prime minister tony blair accuses president biden of following an �*imbecilic�* policy — and donald trump attacks mr biden. the west has to understand that when we do something like this, the signal it sends out is one of

inconsistency. it is one that says if the going gets tough, we are out. biden's botched exit in afghanistan is the most astonishing display of gross incompetence by a nation's leader perhaps at any time that anyone's ever seen. as thousands of afghans try to escape the taliban, europe is preparing for thousands of new refugees. a state of emergency is declared in parts of new york state ahead of the forecast arrival of hurricane henri. they sing. and don everly — one half of the everly brothers duo with his late brother phil — has died at the age of 8a.

hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the uk's ministry of defence says seven people died in the chaotic crowds outside kabul airport yesterday, where thousands are trying to flee afghanistan, a week after the taliban took over the capital. people have been trying to get through checkpoints in sweltering heat to reach evacuation flights. about 4,500 american troops are in temporary control of the airport, with around 900 british soldiers also at the site. the british government says the royal air force has flown out more than 1,700 people in the last 2a hours. the united nations refugee agency has urged the international community not to ignore the plight of millions of desperate afghans, while focusing solely on the few that can be evacuated. the uk's ministerfor the armed forces, james heappey, says the situation outside

the airport was stabilising. he said the taliban appeared to be organising people into separate queues for the us and uk evacuations. today the marshalling that the taliban are doing is making a big difference and so if people have had the instruction from the ministry of defence or the foreign office to come forward and to get on a flight, we encourage them to do so because we are getting people through now at a good rate. already this morning, 731 people have been successfully admitted and processed through the handling centre and are now ready to fly. so it is... for all that we have seen on the news over the last few days and they have been the most awful images, the reality is things are flowing now quite well and we need people who are being told to come forward, to have the confidence to do so. ramiz alakbarov is deputy special representative

for afghanistan with the united nations assistance mission in afghanistan — serving also as the united nations resident and humanitarian coordinator. he joins us live from kabul. thank you very much for your time. i wonder if you could update our audience on the humanitarian situation across afghanistan. i have soken situation across afghanistan. i have spoken many _ situation across afghanistan. i have spoken many times _ situation across afghanistan. i have spoken many times about - situation across afghanistan. i have spoken many times about the - spoken many times about the situation on bbc it is very tense. made me —— maybe we... thanks to the great work that is being done we have 600 metric tonnes of food since the beginning of the month we also have been able to deliver assistance of nonfood items. and 3.5 tonnes

of... of nonfood items. and 3.5 tonnes of- - -_ polio - of. . . interference. polio vaccinations _ of. . . interference. polio vaccinations are _ of. . . interference. polio vaccinations are also - of... interference. polio. vaccinations are also picking of... interference. polio - vaccinations are also picking up. what are your biggest concerns then? our bigger concerns is funding and continued assistance. we have never received enough level of fun to respond to this crisis. we are asking donors to come forward and support our ongoing response to immediate needs. such as food, nonfood items, attention to the immediate needs in the worst sectors. supporting all work which is about restarting school and protecting children which is being done very well by unicef. we are calling for assistance for our partners on the ground. h0??? calling for assistance for our partners on the ground. how much mone is partners on the ground. how much

money is needed? _ partners on the ground. how much money is needed? we _ partners on the ground. how much money is needed? we are - partners on the ground. how much money is needed? we are still- partners on the ground. how much money is needed? we are still at l partners on the ground. how much i money is needed? we are still at 3996 of fundinu . money is needed? we are still at 3996 of funding. what _ money is needed? we are still at 3996 of funding. what does _ money is needed? we are still at 3996 of funding. what does that _ money is needed? we are still at 3996 of funding. what does that mean - money is needed? we are still at 3996 of funding. what does that mean in i of funding. what does that mean in dollars? we — of funding. what does that mean in dollars? we are _ of funding. what does that mean in dollars? we are short _ of funding. what does that mean in dollars? we are short $850 - of funding. what does that mean in | dollars? we are short $850 million. that is what — dollars? we are short $850 million. that is what we _ dollars? we are short $850 million. that is what we need. _ dollars? we are short $850 million. that is what we need. we _ dollars? we are short $850 million. | that is what we need. we have been able to re—mobilize around 400 million from the beginning of the year. and the total is at least $1.3 billion now. year. and the total is at least $1.3 billion nova— billion now. have you been able neuotiate billion now. have you been able negotiate with _ billion now. have you been able negotiate with the _ billion now. have you been able negotiate with the taliban - billion now. have you been able negotiate with the taliban in - billion now. have you been able i negotiate with the taliban in order to get humanitarian aid through to the people who need it? yes. to get humanitarian aid through to the people who need it?— to get humanitarian aid through to the people who need it? yes, we are able to have — the people who need it? yes, we are able to have access. _ the people who need it? yes, we are able to have access. access - the people who need it? yes, we are able to have access. access is - the people who need it? yes, we are able to have access. access is not. able to have access. access is not perfect in all the places. but 394 areas of the country are able to be accessed. d0 areas of the country are able to be accessed. , ., ., .,, areas of the country are able to be accessed. , ., ., , ., areas of the country are able to be accessed. ,, ., ., i. accessed. do you have most of your staff still in — accessed. do you have most of your staff still in afghanistan _ accessed. do you have most of your staff still in afghanistan or - accessed. do you have most of your staff still in afghanistan or have - staff still in afghanistan or have some had to leave?— staff still in afghanistan or have some had to leave? right now the teams which _ some had to leave? right now the

teams which are _ some had to leave? right now the teams which are operating - some had to leave? right now the teams which are operating on - some had to leave? right now the teams which are operating on the| teams which are operating on the ground are mostly humanitarian. we have those people who we need right now. we are also looking to bring in more people and supplies as the situation changes and improves. you think it will improve? i _ situation changes and improves. you think it will improve? i am _ situation changes and improves. you think it will improve? i am not - think it will improve? i am not ositive, think it will improve? i am not positive. i'm _ think it will improve? i am not positive, i'm not _ think it will improve? i am not positive, i'm not negative. - think it will improve? i am not positive, i'm not negative. we think it will improve? i am not i positive, i'm not negative. we at the un are determined to help the people of afghanistan and to deliver assistance. i cannot give you a forecast. we are determined to deliver for the people of afghanistan who need our assistance now. ., ~' afghanistan who need our assistance now. ., ~ , ., y afghanistan who need our assistance now. . ~ ,, , . afghanistan who need our assistance now. ., ~' y . ., afghanistan who need our assistance now. . ~ , . ., ., ~ now. thank you very much for talking to us. now. thank you very much for talking to us- thank — now. thank you very much for talking to us- thank you _ now. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you very _ now. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you very much - to us. thank you very much for havin: to us. thank you very much for having me- _ to us. thank you very much for having me. deputy _ to us. thank you very much for having me. deputy special- having me. deputy special representative _ having me. deputy special representative for - having me. deputy special- representative for afghanistan with the united nations. kim sengupta, defence editor at the independent, was at kabul airport yesterday when seven people were killed. i don't think anyone who was there including very senior military officers expected what unfolded. but

thenit officers expected what unfolded. but then it unfolded as you know very rapidly. and the situation for the people in afghanistan, for the people in afghanistan, for the people of couple has deteriorated horribly within the last week. like we had yesterday. the crowd yesterday seemed to be ok at first, just like they were this morning. but then there was a sudden surge and we discovered that was because people have been hearing what politicians have been saying in london and washington. they have come to the conclusion that the foreign governments, the us and the uk and others will stop the airlift within days and that led to a panic added to the already prevailing sense of panic. and a surge of people here. and then people started dying. all women. 0ne lady died and

she was there with her family. and her husband was obviously bereft. she died and one of the daughters... there are three daughters, one is missing. and this was followed by three others all women as well. these are just the deaths that we saw. there are undoubtedly others in various other points which we do not know. people have been coming in and talking about bodies either being left behind or collected by relatives. we simply don't know at the moment with any clarity how many people have died. there was no shooting involved or anything. it is just the sudden crushes combined with the fierce heat. and the sense of panic which comes over like waves over the crowd. and that is what has

caused it. some of the soldiers here were also suffering. with the body armour and helmets on. they also are suffering. as i said it is the most vulnerable who died. and of course, you know, there is one woman who died and her little daughter who befriended me and we tried to find the mother, ifailed. she was able to find her money in the crowd. she lost her hand in an ied years ago. and ijust wonder what happens to these young people. these children? it is a very, very shattering situation. the former uk prime minister, tony blair, has said president biden's policy —

which led to the withdrawal of troops from afghanistan — was "imbecilic". he says the decision to leave represents a tragic, dangerous and unnecessary abandonment of the country. mr blair, who as labour pm, sent british troops into afghanistan two decades ago, has urged the government to use its role as chair of the g—7 group of nations to co—ordinate international efforts to help the afghan people. the west has to understand that when we do something like this the signal it sends out is one of inconsistency. it is one that says if the going gets tough, we are out. you cannot in the world that we have today, you have got to sometimes commit for the long time. and you've got to do that because you made a strategic assessment of your interest and because yes, even if it becomes unpopular from time to time in public opinion, yourjob as leader is to go out and explain why it is necessary despite that, to hold firm. because when you don't hold firm. because when you don't hold firm, then those people who are

opposed to you, whether these islamist groups or russia, china, iran, all the people who will move into the vacuum that we created, those people who are not on our side and do not wish us well, are going to gain by it. and do not wish us well, are going to gain by it-_ to gain by it. could britain have done something _ to gain by it. could britain have done something else _ to gain by it. could britain have done something else given - to gain by it. could britain havej done something else given that to gain by it. could britain have - done something else given that the us said that we are going. britain didn't really have another choice, didn't really have another choice, did it? ~ . ., ., ~ didn't really have another choice, did it? ~ ., . ., did it? well we could not. we cannot sta there did it? well we could not. we cannot stay there without _ did it? well we could not. we cannot stay there without the _ did it? well we could not. we cannot stay there without the american - stay there without the american support. i don't know enough about the internal conversations. but my view is that we should have been, and maybe we were, i'm not criticising anyone. but we should have been arguing very strongly that this is not the right thing to do. whether you like it or not, this is part of your legacy. what would you say to some of that soldiers who have been injured or the widows who have been injured or the widows who have died and they're saying that there was no point to this. they went to fight a war that was completely pointless and now it is

going back to how it was. fiur completely pointless and now it is going back to how it was. our troops were fantastic _ going back to how it was. our troops were fantastic in _ going back to how it was. our troops were fantastic in afghanistan - going back to how it was. our troops were fantastic in afghanistan and - going back to how it was. our troops were fantastic in afghanistan and a l were fantastic in afghanistan and a lot of that made the ultimate sacrifice and a lot of them were injured. it is important that they know that this was not it wood a hopeless endeavour or a bad cause. we went there because the state of afghanistan was run by an extremist islamist group that were harbouring people, they were carrying out attacks like the 9/11 attacks and harbouring people who did these terrorist attacks around the world. and we went in there. what i would say to them is the sacrifice was not in vain. those 20 years matter. what we achieved in afghanistan it matters today. i spoke yesterday to an afghan general who himself was fighting the taliban just literally days ago. and he said, you know, do

not forget we made huge progress during those 20 years. my generation has grown up knowing something different from the taliban and we are determined at some stage and in some way to get our country back. i think it is really important that people realise the story of afghanistan, the story of taliban taking over, it is not over. it is tragic and i think it is unnecessary and i think we made a serious mistake in doing it in this way, but it is not over yet. i'm joined now by dr ariel cohen, a senior fellow at the american think tank, the atlantic council, which concentrates on foreign policy and transatlantic co—operation. a serious mistake says tony blair. do you agree?— a serious mistake says tony blair. do you agree? yes. tony blair has more foreign _ do you agree? yes. tony blair has more foreign policy _ do you agree? yes. tony blair has more foreign policy experience, i more foreign policy experience, including hard knocks, thenjoe biden and hisjudgment is basically

sound. and then the question is one, what is moral, what has been done to the allies of the united states that we are abandoning in afghanistan? can we extract over 10,000 americans? they are stuck there. the military, the security forces, the contractors, the family members, all these people, but also our allies and our afghan collaborators. beyond that, what did this due to the perception of the united states as a reliable ally? from taiwan to estonia, from poland to japan. and thatis estonia, from poland to japan. and that is what we need to focus on after we tried to minimise the disaster. the pr disaster, the

humanitarian disaster that this hasty decision presents to us now. it is still ongoing and it can go south. ~ ., ., ,, it is still ongoing and it can go south. ~ ., ., ., ., south. what do you mean? it can go south? i south. what do you mean? it can go south? i mean _ south. what do you mean? it can go south? i mean that _ south. what do you mean? it can go south? i mean that right _ south. what do you mean? it can go south? i mean that right now- south. what do you mean? it can go south? i mean that right now we - south. what do you mean? it can goj south? i mean that right now we are in this very — south? i mean that right now we are in this very unstable _ south? i mean that right now we are in this very unstable and _ south? i mean that right now we are in this very unstable and tense - in this very unstable and tense standoff between the americans, the british and the others around the airport and the taliban in control of the country. and as we saw from the taliban's statement, they are talking to the chinese, the russians and the turks. if elements inside the taliban or their foreign sponsors and friends are interested in escalating in making america bleed as we leave, if one irresponsible soldier or taliban soldier starts shooting and gets fire back, this whole thing can deteriorate very quickly. what has

happened so far, as tragic as it is, people trampled and killed, we did not have a big bloodbath. i hope and pray every day that that is not going to happen, but i do not rule it out. we are there at the tender mercy of one of the most brutal islamist terrorist organisations in the world and the allies that adopted them. pakistan, chinese, russians and the turks. if adopted them. pakistan, chinese, russians and the turks.— russians and the turks. if any taliban soldier, _ russians and the turks. if any taliban soldier, militant - russians and the turks. if any taliban soldier, militant does| russians and the turks. if any i taliban soldier, militant does fire their gun in anger, the taliban know that that will lead to continued suspension of funds from the imf, continued suspension of the freezing of billions of dollars worth of afghan reserves held. and the cutting off of foreign aid.

absolutely. at some level, they do know it, but this is not the royal silver silvers —— the royal civil service. they have thousands upon thousands of fighters who are not organic taliban. they have al-qaeda, isis, the islamic movement of turkestan which is aiming the guns north to central asia. and they do not control their people as effectively as a regular army. it is now a regular army. it is not! inadvertently or deliberately, things can deteriorate very quickly and there is a danger, i'm not saying it is going to happen. there is a danger of things getting out of control and a bloodbath of civilians, people trying to escape or our own people may be hurt very badly there. i or our own people may be hurt very badly there-—

badly there. i wonder if perhaps the us president _ badly there. i wonder if perhaps the us president does _ badly there. i wonder if perhaps the us president does not, _ badly there. i wonder if perhaps the us president does not, isn't - us president does not, isn't concerned about perceptions the us perspective around the world. this is what he promised and it is very popular to the american public. everybody since 0bama, president trump and biden were talking about getting out of afghanistan. the us spent $1 trillion of our treasure and we sacrifice many, many lives and we sacrifice many, many lives and many wounded. as a war strategy, as a policy it was not working very well. the us got involved in something that is called nation—building, democracy promotion. that did not work out. that the manner in which we are withdrawing, the fact that we did

not get many more people out before the collapse of kabul, president biden said we got out 2500 people in seven and a half months! that is ridiculous. we have an air live capability that is much bigger. what were we waiting for? i personally am trying to help people get out. i know how bureaucratic some of the structures that are involved in helping people are. what kind of documentation they require, etc. this is a uber emergency. we need to get as many people as we possibly can and then sort out the security clearances. this whole part president biden had to think things through. it was hisjob president biden had to think things through. it was his job and president biden had to think things through. it was hisjob and of course, hisjob as through. it was hisjob and of course, his job as a commander—in—chief as the chief of us foreign policy is to think through the long two relationships

—— the long term relationships. the piece in the world, the global balance of power. the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. and all of that is going down the drain as we speak.— and all of that is going down the drain as we speak. thank you for talkin: to drain as we speak. thank you for talking to us- — an afghan woman has given birth on board a us evacuation aircraft in germany. the us air mobility command said on twitter that the mother was travelling with her family from kabul to the ramstein air base in germany when she went into labour. after she began experiencing complications, the aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilise and save the mother's life. once the plane landed, us military medics came aboard and delivered the child. both mother and baby are well and have been taken to a nearby medical facility. a state of emergency has been declared in parts of new york state as the outer bands of hurricane henri bring heavy rainfall. the governor, andrew cuomo, said he had spoken to president biden

who will release funds as the hurricane bears down on the area. it's expected to be one of the most powerful storms in years. # don't call it a comeback!#. a star—studded homecoming concert. # her name was lola, she was a showgirl #.j a grand celebration of new york city's emergence from the worst of the covid—19 pandemic. but mother nature had other plans. announcement: please pay close attention - to the following safety message. due to approaching severe weather, all persons should move quickly - and calmly to the nearest exit. around 6 million people living in coastal parts of long island, connecticut and massachusetts have been issued with hurricane warnings. a state of emergency has been declared in parts of new york with winds of 120 kilometres per hour forecast along with as much as six inches of rain.

while hurricanes are rare for this stretch of the us coastline, new york governor andrew cuomo pleaded with residents to take the storm seriously. i can't tell you how many people i have — in the middle of a storm — helped out of a house, carrying everything on their back through floodwaters, with their children, putting them into boats, in dangerous situations, and people saying to me, "i should've left yesterday. "i should have left yesterday." please, please, don't make that mistake. it comes after hurricane grace tore through eastern mexico on saturday, leaving widespread destruction. a number of people have died, including a mother and six of her children. translation: as they were taking

l them out, they took out my wife i and my other children. they pulled out a four—year—old, then an eight—year—old, a two—year—old girl and a newborn who was only 15 days old. the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm as it moved inland but the potential for heavy rain and flooding continues. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news... israel has carried out air strikes in gaza in response to what it calls riots instigated by hamas — the palestinian militant group which rules gaza. the israeli army said its aircraft hit four weapons and storage manufacturing sites. palestinian media spoke of explosions near a power station and close to a refugee camp in central gaza. the american civil rights leader, jesse jackson, and his wife,

jacqueline, are in hospital in chicago, after they both tested positive for coronavirus. a statement said that reverend jackson, who's 79, and mrs jackson, who's 77, had been vaccinated. don everly who together with his brother phil had multiple uk hits in the 1950s and �*60s has died at the age of 84. they sing. don, seen here on the right, was part of the duo the everly brothers, who had 6 uk number one singles including cathy's clown, walk right back and all i have to do is dream. he and his brother split in the 1970s as musical tastes changed. phil died in 2014. the pair didn't speak for many years. museums and archaeological sites

across greece have stayed open late into the night for people to enjoy august's full �*sturgeon' moon. the full moon first appeared on saturday but for anyone who didn't have time to appreciate it fully, it will reach what scientists call peak illumination on sunday night. you are watching bbc news. cambodia's last remaining population of critically endangered vultures are on the brink of extinction. nick wood reports from northern cambodia where efforts are underway to help maintain a healthy breeding population and safeguard the region's unique biodiversity. you know, these birds have got extraordinary vision. author, conservationist and ornithologistjonathan eames 0be is recognised around the world for his ambitious fight to save some of asia's most at—risk bird species from extinction. for the past decade, his work has focused on the monitoring and protection of cambodia's endangered

bird populations. forjonathan, along with his team of wildlife rangers, the proverbialjewel in the crown of their conservation efforts is siem pang wildlife sanctuary. situated in northern cambodia, the sanctuary mightjust be the last, best hope of survival for three critically endangered species of a particular bird, the asian vulture. what we have here at siem pang wildlife sanctuary is the largest remaining vulture population in cambodia. the two threats that the population here faces now are disturbance at the nesting site. 0ften vultures are nesting in the tallest trees, the straightest trunks, and these are sought after by villagers cutting timber to make houses. the other thing is the possibility of poisoning. people will poison carcasses, they will poison water holes to get birds and mammals and fish that they can sell in the market, so this is always a threat, a risk that vultures will feed on a dead cow or a dead dog that's been laced with a carbamate pesticide.

the vulture numbers have fallen so low that extinction remains a very real possibility. ensuring their survival has led to some unique interventions. the vulture population today in cambodia is only sustained by feeding on dead domestic ungulates, domestic cattle and domestic buffalo, so supplementary feeding not only provides a source of regular food for vultures, but it also enables us to monitor vulture populations. so the rangers have carefully set the table. there's over 250 kilograms of fresh beef on the menu. the only question now is just who's coming for dinner? and it doesn't take long before the weekly vulture restaurant is under way. another innovation involves erecting artificial nests that are then hoisted 30 metres

into selected treetops. the aim is to attract these vultures to nest close to the vulture restaurant where there's the safe place and the safe food for them. creating sustainable, protected areas for endangered species is the aim of environmentalists the world over. in cambodia, a dedicated group of conservationists mightjust have achieved that goal for the country's last vultures that can now call the sanctuary home. nick wood, bbc news, cambodia. hello everyone. a bit of blue sky on offer. not everywhere. and we still have some heavy scattered showers around. for most it is looking like around. for most it is looking like a better day. as far as the sunshine is concerned, i think the west is

best. notice this line of showers at scotland's. to the east of that, we are hanging on low cloud and it will be great overhead. it will be breezy in the south of the top temperatures probably getting to about 22 or 23 celsius. in the sunshine, feeling pleasant enough. 0vernight the showers will fizzle out and some will remain and it will turn breezy along the coastal parts with some mist and fog. lows of 14 or 15 tonight. just like last night, it will be mild and muggy. 0ver tonight. just like last night, it will be mild and muggy. over the next couple of days, high pressure is building and it should be mostly dry for most of us, a bit cloudy at time. that is the forecast. stay safe and i will see you soon.