kabul this is bbc news: i'm rich preston. our top stories. the united states and britain warn their citizens to stay away from kabul airport — amid fears of a potential terror attack. but the scramble to flee the country continues — thousands of people remain at the airport — desperate to leave. is it worth it? is it betterjust staying here in afghanistan for the moment? translation: there's | no way we can stay here. the americans should shoot us or let us through. researchers say booster shots of the covid vaccine may be needed — in the wake of a study suggesting protection wanes after six months. and — a warning that the summer of devastating wildfires underlines the need for radical shifts in behaviour to tackle global warming.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we begin in afghanistan, where the us embassy in kabul is asking american citizens in the country not to travel to kabul airport. the warning came just moments after similar advice issued by the british foreign office, which included a warning of a "high threat of a terrorist attack". the pentagon says about 10,000 people are currently at the airport, as the scramble to leave the country is gathering pace. earlier our washington correspondent nomia iqbal gave us this latest update on the afghanistan security warnings issued by the us and britain. it is quite extraordinary because what they are saying

is, to us citizens and uk citizens, do not travel at this time. citizens, do not travel at this time, , , citizens, do not travel at this time. , , , ., time. so i suppose the question is, at what _ time. so i suppose the question is, at what time _ time. so i suppose the question is, at what time can _ time. so i suppose the question is, at what time can people - is, at what time can people travel given that time is of the essence? there is what? under a week to go before the deadline hit so we're not really clear on at what point, what time, what day, citizens are able to go to the airport. in terms of what this threat is, well, president biden in his conference on monday talked about isis—k which is an afghan affiliate of the so—called islamic state terror group. there is not really that much known about them apart from the fact that they got together six years ago in pakistan and i made up of former taliban members and have carried out several attacks in afghanistan this year. they are actually sworn enemies of the taliban but they do pose this threat and we understand from us military and us intelligence officials purposed that could involve trucks with bombs and

suicide bombers heading to the airports and as you can imagine, if that threat happens, nato has said this threat is not theoretical, by the way. this is a real threat that could happen, then those chaotic awful scenes at kabul airport could get even worse. this is than a week to go before the deadline for us troops to be out of the country. how does this warning affect that deadline and the impact on the troops there? this is the big question because people are being told not to go to the airport i can imagine people might not listen to those alerts because people are desperate to get out. i imagine, just going back to what i was saying about the taliban and isis—k being sworn enemies i would imagine that is why, that is what american is hoping they can use that is leveraged. this is why they have struck this extraordinary deal with the taliban to try to get americans and afghan allies and us troops eventually out of

afghanistan. because the taliban do not want isis—k to make any inroads either. you know, remember, the taliban is trying to present itself as an authoritative force. a group that can govern. and it is not in their interest either for isis—k to somehow take over so isis—k to somehow take over so i imagine that the us will be hoping that this evacuation mission can still go to plan in the next few days with the help of the taliban. if they do stick to their promise. if they do stick to their promise. well, earlier i spoke to tracy walder who's a former fbi special agent and cia operative who specialised in anti—terrorism. i asked what her reaction was to the latest terror warnings form the us and britain. i think these warnings are extremely serious and need to be heeded. but very much heated by the british, by the americans, by the australians. i am extremely concerned about the security around the airport. i think what we're

seeing right now is a power struggle, really, between the taliban and isis—k. i think that right now it has turned into a battle for control over the airport and i fully agree that it really is not in the taliban's best interest to allow that to happen so my hope is that perhaps these evacuation efforts can go forward. evacuation efforts can go forward-— forward. lives in these pictures _ forward. lives in these pictures of _ forward. lives in these pictures of hundreds . forward. lives in these| pictures of hundreds of thousands of people outside the airport. what could isis—k be planning? what are they capable of? ., , planning? what are they capable of? . , . . , ., of? that is a great question. i lived in afghanistan _ of? that is a great question. i lived in afghanistan and - of? that is a great question. i | lived in afghanistan and spent a good deal of time there when i was with the agency and there are several entry and egress bouts from the airport. my best guess in terms of what they may do, there is a couple of things. talking about suicide attacks which they tend to favour things like truck bombs, truck bombs, car bombs, packing it outside of the vicinity of the airport because we have to

remember, the american military is inside the airport, not outside the airport. my best guesses anything is going to happen outside the perimeter of the airport. they also have access to more tears and things like that which they can lob over the walls and fences. so there are several different ways they could perpetrate an attack. ,,, ., ~ ., , attack. speaking generally, bi . . er attack. speaking generally, bigger present _ attack. speaking generally, bigger present is _ attack. speaking generally, bigger present is in - bigger present is in afghanistan? isis-k in afghanistan _ afghanistan? isis-k in afghanistan is - afghanistan? isis-k in afghanistan is mostly| afghanistan? isis-k in i afghanistan is mostly in eastern afghanistan. they're eastern afghanistan. they�* re not eastern afghanistan. they're not a large presence in terms of the area they take up. however, what we saw recently, and intelligence reports, is that a lot of key isis members were being moved from places like iraq and syria into afghanistan. as they sort of saw the situation in afghanistan devolving with the announcement of the american troops withdrawing. right now i

would not say that they are this large formidable organised force. however, they have the potential to be and i think they're working on that. what are their goals _ they're working on that. what are their goals and _ they're working on that. what are their goals and what - they're working on that. what are their goals and what is - they're working on that. what are their goals and what is the relationship with the taliban? the taliban, like the previous person mentioned, the taliban and isis are enemies. vini, isis feels that meant they want sort of a global caliphate in africa, in the middle east, in europe, in united states, latin america and throughout the world and their biggest point of contention between the two of contention between the two of them is that isis does not feel that the taliban is stringent enough and how they apply religious law to the people that they govern. that is really their core defence and their core issue. also, isis quite frankly uses social media far better than the taliban and far better than al-qaeda so they have a couple of things going for them in terms of recruitment and swelling the numbers. with days to go before us troops are due

to go before us troops are due to leave the country what are they doing on the ground to mitigate any potential attacks by isis—k? mitigate any potential attacks b isis-k? ., , ., mitigate any potential attacks by isis-k?— by isis-k? that is a very difficult _ by isis-k? that is a very difficult question - by isis-k? that is a very difficult question to - by isis-k? that is a very i difficult question to answer and one which makes me feel quite frankly a little bit hopeless. as i said before, our military is very much inside the airport rather than outside. however, the director of the cia met with members of the taliban leadership a few days ago. my best guess is that we are trying to remedy the situation through intelligence channels. utilising the taliban to ensure safe passage of people to the airport. that is the biggest issue right now is not being able to get from one location to the airport. that is my best guess in terms of how this will be resolved. president biden has rejected calls from us allies to delay the withdrawal date for remaining american soldiers beyond the end of the month. with time running out

for evacuation flights, there's a sense of panic setting in among those trying to leave the country. secunder kermani sent this report from kabul. shame on them! they've been through so much already. now wading through sewage in the hope of somehow being able to leave this country. huge crowds are still flocking to kabul airport, under the watch of american and british soldiers. despite the dirt, the dust, the gunshots and the chaos, people are still coming here, and they're coming here in their thousands. here, a makeshift camp has sprung up.

all most of the people gathered don't have permission to board an evacuation flight. the few that do are struggling to make their way inside. translation: we've been waiting here for six - days and six nights. the american embassy told us to come here, but we can't get past all these crazy people. is it worth it? is it betterjust staying here in afghanistan for the moment? there's no way we can stay here. the americans should shoot us or let us through. yesterday, the taliban said they're not in favour of afghans leaving. we saw no sign of them preventing people where we were, but they're clearly frustrated with the scenes unfolding. with time running out, there's a sense of panic amongst those trying to escape. many worry they'll be left behind, like this former british army interpreter who is yet to receive a response to his application.

it's very dangerous for us, because from the day the taliban entered kabul, i've changed my home three times. so two days, two nights, we are living in one place. he's only got one document from the british army, and it doesn't even say who signed it. but we managed to find his former boss, now a retired soldier in the north of england. i absolutely remember him as one of about eight- and like all of the others that i i worked with, he was a brave, bright, intelligent lad - who actually genuinely wanted to do better for his country. the british government says no—one's life should be put at risk because of their support for the uk's efforts in afghanistan and that it's working around the clock to relocate as many eligible afghans as possible. so are other countries. but these are the last days of the effort, and many who want to leave are set to left behind. secunder kermani,

bbc news, kabul. don't forget you can get more on the rapidly developing situation in afghanistan on our website. there you'll find a live page updated with the latest developments as those evacuations from kabul airport gather pace. protection against coronavirus starts to reduce within six months of people being fully vaccinated with the pfizer or astrazenica vaccines. new research suggests that booster vaccines will be needed at some point to maintain protection. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson has this report. more than three—quarters of adults in the uk have now had two doses of a covid vaccine, but how long that protection lasts is a crucial question. sarah, a head teacher, received her second dose in april, but injune, after her family all caught the virus, she became infected too. 0bviously, i'd been shielding at home, i'd been staying with in different rooms, keeping doors and windows open, wearing masks in communal

areas of the home. so i'd hoped not to get it with my double vaccine, but i knew there was always a possibility of getting it. it was obviously very disappointing to get it in the end, and my symptoms were just like that of a heavy head cold, really. i didn't have to stop working, i was working from home throughout that period. i had to rest a little bit more than usual, but i felt like it was a much lighter version than i had the year before. sarah's one of a growing number of people who've been infected despite being double—jabbed. today's study by the zoe covid team adds to the evidence that vaccines lose some effectiveness over time. it found protection from infection, with both the pfizer and astrazeneca vaccines, reduced slightly within six months of the second dose. but for most, the vaccines still seem to prevent severe disease. what this study tells us is that we have to keep an eye on the level of immunity and track it as time goes on, so that we can make a prediction, one month, three months, six months into the future, of when

a booster might be required. and infections have been rising sharply in some parts of the uk. scotland, where schools have gone back, hit another record high today, well over 5,000 new cases, with more than a third among teenagers and children. experts are warning the new term is likely to be difficult. so i think we do need to be braced for a challenging period. exactly how high the numbers will be, it is very, very challenging to predict that. where i think we can be more confident is that levels of mortality are going to remain low, because we have study after study that still shows the vaccines are working. cornwall�*s rocketing rates of infection have been blamed in large part on a music and surfing festival. preparations are well under way for this weekend's reading festival, where thousands will gather, and where there are crowds, there is likely to be covid.

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news — still to come. farfrom home — the girls of the afghan robotics team — who have joined the exodus from kabul. he's the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, and unfamiliar light will appear in the southeastern sky — an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything save the moon — our neighbouring planet, mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation.

it'll take months and billions of dollars to repair— what katrina achieved injust hours. - three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off—duty in 117 years, so it was with great satisfaction that clockmaker john vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. big ben chimes this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. the united states and britain warn their citizens to stay away from kabul airport — amidst fears of a potential terror attack. but the scramble to flee the country continues — thousands of people remain at the airport — desperate to leave. the greek prime minister says a string of devastating wildfires this summer has

underlined the need for radical shifts in behaviour to tackle global warming. fires have torn through several mediterranean countries — including greece, turkey, spain and italy — and russia has been battling its own record—breaking fire season. courtney bembridge reports. this was the scene facing firefighters in central russia. a wall of flames which had them quickly surrounded. translation: the flames were rising up to 30 or a0 metres and it was absolutely horrible. the wind was pushing, blazing pieces of wood were flying around. just 100 metres away. it was a storm of a fire. a storm of ashes and smoke. this is russia's second worst fire season since the turn of the century. fuelled by extreme heat, they've burned through more than 70 million hectares of land. experts say climate change has made the country's huge expanses of forest drier, hotter and increasingly

vulnerable to wildfires. europe has also hit record temperatures this summer and wildfires have torn through the mediterranean. the greek prime minister described it as a bitter cost of climate change. translation: we recognise that dealing with the climate crisis is forcing us to change everything. the way we produce agricultural products, how we move around, how we generate energy and the way we build our homes. everything must change in this immense effort to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis to whatever extent possible. scientists say last year was the warmest on record across europe, exceeding this previous record by a considerable amount, and they are again calling for actions with a crucial moment on the horizon. leaders from almost 200 countries will meet in glasgow in novemberfor a major climate conference. described as the world's last best chance to tackle climate change.

at least 16 people have died in the western venezuelan state of merida following intense rains that have triggered mudslides and caused rivers to overflow. more than 12—hundred houses have been destroyed and i7 people remain missing, as rescue workers continue to search the affected areas. the merida state governor has admitted that neither the state nor municipal governments have the resources to help the affected areas. according to a new climate report, last year was the warmest on record across europe. temperatures across the region were more than 1.9 degrees celcius above the long—term average between 1981 and 2010. the state of the climate 2020 report from the american meteorological society says temperatures in the arctic are also rising rapidly, with temperatures over land — the highest since records began in 1900. well for more on this, i'm joined now by one of the co—editors of the state of the climate report

— professor tim boyer, from the national centre for environmental information, in washington. what the us, the key findings of the report?— of the report? thank you for havin: of the report? thank you for having me- _ of the report? thank you for having me. some _ of the report? thank you for having me. some of - of the report? thank you for having me. some of the - of the report? thank you for having me. some of the keyj having me. some of the key findings of the report are, as you said, in europe, the temperature, average temperature, average temperature was 1.9 degrees above the long—term average which is more than 0.7 degrees warmer than any other year on record. in one of the main findings is related to the pandemic. last year, of course, was dominated by the pandemic and as a consequence, fossil fuel emissions went down by six or 7%. we see that the atmospheric carbon content was unaffected. it went up to the highest levels ever. so what this shows as is that even a

small drop in fossilfuel emissions, a drop in fossil fuel emissions had no effect on no visible effect so it shows that we have a really long way to go to meet some form of our emissions goals for climate change. we also saw the warmest temperature on the back and above the arctic circle. we saw the warmest temperature on record in antarctica is showing that the high latitudes are changing much faster than other areas of the world and in the arctic at least a fire season last year was one of the worst on record so we are seeing serious changes that have not been slowed at all by any effects of the pandemic. this is ahead of— effects of the pandemic. this is ahead of the _ effects of the pandemic. this is ahead of the meeting in glasgow in scotland byjohn this year. watch it while readers be paying attention to when it comes to the data from this report when they meet in glasgow? this report when they meet in glasuow? ~ . , this report when they meet in glasuow? ~ ., , ., glasgow? well, as i mentioned, the carbon _

glasgow? well, as i mentioned, the carbon dioxide _ glasgow? well, as i mentioned, the carbon dioxide emissions . the carbon dioxide emissions that... we need to do something. we are beating levels that we have never seen before and we need to cut emissions to have any chance, by much more than we saw last year due to the pandemic. we need to make great sacrifices and great cuts in emissions if we have any hope to change the effects of the climate. forty—six migrants rescued in the atlantic ocean were transported to the spanish island of gran canaria on wednesday. the dinghy which was intercepted 60 kilometres south of gran canaria was carrying 30 men and 1a women, including a baby and a child. so far this year more than 8,000 migrants have made the dangerous crossing from the coast of west africa to the canaries. that's twice as many as in the same period in 2020 parliament in armenia descended into a mass brawl,

as the country remains split following last year's defeat in a war with azerbaijan. local media says chaos erupted when a ruling party minister described some former defence ministers as "traitors", prompting water bottles to be thrown. as we've seen — the exodus from afghanistan continues — with thousands of people flying out of kabul airport. countries as diverse as australia, uganda and south korea are offering refuge to men, women and children. and mexico has accepted five women who made a name for themselves on the international stage. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. for so many, they were symbols of what a new afghanistan could be. young, educated women excelling in science and technology. they had competed and won

awards at international robotics festivals. then the taliban came, and they decided to leave. when we entered the plane, we were so sad because we left everything in afghanistan. we left our families, we left our friends and all of our relatives. and without saying any goodbye to them. after a brief stop in qatar, they finally reach their new home. part of the coordinated international operation designed to represent universal values. translation: they are the bearers of a dream and a reality that they have dealt with many difficulties. demonstrating that we can have an egalitarian, fraternal world with gender equality. so we consider it very important to open our home to them. the taliban had banned girls

from school and women from work when they last governed the country. now they say they will prioritise women's rights and education. the women from the afghan robotics team have their doubts and regrets. the thing that i really miss is about my family friends that we had lots of good days together. lots of funny, just, memories i have, but unfortunately, i reallyjust missed them and i hope that one day i can go back to afghanistan and see them again. until then, a new life and new opportunities far from home. a reminder of our top story. the united states, britain and australia have warned of a high risk of an attack at kabul airport and advised their nationals not to travel there. military commanders at the afghan facility are increasingly concerned over possible suicide bombings or mortar attacks on the crowds trying to get into the base and on to a flight out of the country. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @ richpreston. hello there. we just had the hottest day of the month on wednesday. and it was western scotland the place to be. looks lovely in the sunshine and temperatures reached 27 celsius. now, it won't get as hot as that again through the rest of the month because we've got this weather front moving down toward the southwest of the uk. it's bringing in cloud, one or two spots of rain just for a while, and as that weather front moves through, so we introduce a cooler wind off the north sea. that's blowing in cooler air and it's dropping the temperatures as well. we start with some fog, though, quite extensively across northern ireland in the morning. not so much fog in scotland. the fog will lift. the cloud that we start with in wales and the southwest will break up. sunshine for many western areas.

but the wind will continue to blow in more cloud to the eastern side of the uk. should get more sunshine, though, for the northern isles, some areas of cloud lingering across some easternmost parts of scotland. much of the country, though, seeing the sunshine and temperatures 23, maybe 2a in the west of scotland this time. could make 22 or 23 in fermanagh and tyrone. always warmer for wales, western parts of england. down the eastern side, a lot of cloud, a cooler wind as well. and around the coasts in particular, temperatures could be no better than 16 or 17 degrees. there could be a hint of sunshine now and again, but generally it's going to be pretty cloudy at headingley for day 2 of an exciting test match. not quite so chilly on friday. by this stage, the cloud is pushing more towards wales and western parts of england, and that means we should get a bit more sunshine for the eastern side of england. there will be some areas of cloud for scotland and northern ireland, some spells of sunshine too, and temperatures are back down to around 19 or 20 degrees typically, perhaps a little lower than that in the far north and east of scotland. heading into the weekend, big area of low pressure is bringing lots of showers into central europe. they're not far away from the southeast on saturday, but over the weekend, it's high pressure that should tend to dominate.

always a wind coming in from the north sea, some brisk winds for the southeast of england. should be a fair bit of sunshine, though, i think, on saturday, some patchy cloud bubbling up here and there. and in the sunshine, again, across western scotland, we could see temperatures up to 22 degrees. second half of the weekend, still dry, high pressure around, bit breezy and cooler around some of those north sea coasts, a bit more cloud perhaps coming into scotland and northern ireland, sunshine for england and wales and temperatures typically 19 or 20 celsius.

this is bbc news,

the headlines: the united states and britain have both warned of a high risk of an attack at kabul airport and advised their nationals not to travel there. the warning comes 2a hours after president biden highlighted the danger posed by extremists linked to the group calling itself islamic state. the pace of the airlift at kabul airport continues to pick up — with dozens of military flights ferrying close to 20,000 people out of afghanistan in the past 2a hours. the us has insisted american efforts to help people leave the country will continue past the august 31st deadline. a study in britain indicates that protection from catching covid—19 given by two doses of the pfizer and astrazeneca coronavirus vaccines starts to wear off within six months. the study�*s authors underlined the importance of getting vaccinated — but urged the government to make plans for boosterjabs. now on bbc news, hardtalk.