this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the final uk flight to evacuate civilians from afghanistan has left kabul. the ministry of defence says further flights will bring home uk diplomatic staff and military personnel. the us military says one of its drones has taken out an islamic state group planner following thursday's attack, which killed as many as 170 people at kabul airport. concerns about rising covid infection rates as large crowds are expected to flock to beaches and festivals over the bank holiday weekend. members of the scottish greens have backed a deal that could see its leaders in government for the first time. two world records for the british cycling couple, husband and wife lora and neil fachie, who are amongst seven gb paralympians to win gold today.

and in half an hour, a round—up of the day's sport. that's in sportsday. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. i martine croxall. the uk's last evacuation flight purely for civilians has left the afghan capital kabul. the head of the armed forces, general sir nick carter, said it's "heartbreaking" that british troops haven't been able to rescue everybody. he said hundreds of eligible people have been left behind. the american—led airlift of those trying to escape taliban rule is due to end on tuesday. here's our diplomatic correspondent, caroline hawley. the race to finish an unprecedented rescue mission is almost done. the pentagon says more than 110,000

people have been airlifted out of the country in the past two weeks by us forces and its allies. among the planes leaving kabul airport today, the last british evacuation flight for civilians. we've done an extraordinaryjob to evacuate as many as we have, but i'm afraid it's absolutely heartbreaking that we can't bring everybody out. and i think that point�*s been made very strongly certainly by the defence secretary and others over the last ten days or so. personally, i've probably had over 100 messages from different afghans who i know in my long association with the country, and many of those friends of mine won't make it out. and for me, not a day passes without me having a bit of a tear in my eye about all of that. day after day, british personnel have been processing afghans desperate to escape. altogether, nearly 15,000 people have been brought out by the raf — british nationals and afghans who'd worked with the uk, along with their families. but hundreds have not been able

to reach the airport, afghans whose lives are now at grave risk. it's time to close this phase of the operation now, but we haven't forgotten the people who still need to leave. we'll continue to do everything we can to help them. nor have we forgotten the brave, decent people of afghanistan. they deserve to live in peace and security. at raf brize norton this morning, british personnel arriving back on uk oil. we're told the last military flight will have left kabul. the last diplomats will be out. 0ver flight will have left kabul. the last diplomats will be out. over the past 20 years, more than 100,000 troops served in afghanistan. a56 british lives were lost. the mission began by ousting the taliban their power, but ends in a rush to get home on a timetable dictated by the militants. caroline hawley, bbc news. well, those who were eligible to leave but have been left behind

must now decide whether to stay in afghanistan and live under taliban rule or try to find other ways of fleeing the country. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani reports from kabul. 0utside kabul airport warning shots ring out. since thursday's awful suicide bombing by the local branch of the islamic state group, the crowds here have grown smaller, but some still remain, desperate to get out of the country. tens of thousands have been evacuated. these afghans escorted by the taliban. others, however, are being left behind... ..like this pizza shop ownerfrom essex. he'd travelled to kabul to help try and take his afghan national wife and young children home. i got in yesterday, and they said stay away from the airport and stay in a safe place. and today, i was calling, but nobody answered.

elsewhere in kabul, the city remains unusually quiet. the is attack has left many fearing they could be further bloodshed. the united states today said it killed two key is operatives in a drone strike in the east of the country. everyday life in kabul is growing increasingly difficult. with banks closed for nearly two weeks now, this is one of the handful of cash machines still working. we are not begging the bank staff to give us money. this is our own money to get — but we have family, we have children. if we don't have money, how should i prepare bread for my family? translation: when i see what has become of the country, i feel it is i impossible to live here. everything is becoming more expensive, i feel| like i am suffocating. the taliban swept into kabul unexpectedly easily,

but governing this city and the rest of the country is likely to be a far bigger challenge. the group says it will take time for lives to stabilise. one of the few businesses not complaining, this taliban member selling flags. others are still anxiously waiting to see what life under their rule will look like. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. the pentagon has confirmed that a us military drone strike killed two �*high profile' targets, including a planner for the is—k group, in eastern afghanistan overnight. they have two plans that are no longer on their muster roll, so they have lost some capability to plan and conduct missions. barbara, make no mistake, nobody�*s writing this

off and we got them,. as i said earlier, the threat is still active. we aren't thinking permanent but what happen yesterday gets us in the clear. but do we believe we had valid targets, bad guys who can do bad things and plan bad missions? absolutely. do we think that will have some impact on her ability going forward? absolutely. we will have to keep watching the intelligence going forward. in the last few minutes we have received images from the location the drone strike hit. these new picutres show the aftermath of the us airstrike in afghanistan's nangahar province that the us says resulted in the deaths on �*two high profile' targets. the strike took place following kabul airport bombing. 0ur correspondent nomia

iqbal is in washington. what's the american assessment of the impact of that drone strike? it could be split into two, the reactions. president biden is under huge pressure to act, particularly from the republicans, who have been furious with the way this entire evacuation mission is going. some have expressed their support for mr biden in the way he's responded, especially given that emotional press conference he made on thursday in which he said isis k will be hunted down. you've got the public opinion. generally speaking, america decided a long time ago that the war in afghanistan was not worth the cost. they backed biden on the principle of getting out of afghanistan. but they don't want to see headlines of americans or afghans dying in the country, and they are concerned about the way the

whole thing is going. i think that is the calculation that biden is hoping in the end that americans will in the long run forget this, but we know we have this hard deadline coming up of the 31st of august. the us administration confirmed today that they believe that they have the time, they have the resources to get everyone out that wants to get out. but the resources to get everyone out that wants to get out.— the resources to get everyone out that wants to get out. but no doubt there is still— that wants to get out. but no doubt there is still a _ that wants to get out. but no doubt there is still a risk— that wants to get out. but no doubt there is still a risk in _ that wants to get out. but no doubt there is still a risk in the _ that wants to get out. but no doubt there is still a risk in the next - there is still a risk in the next three days, particularly around the airport. three days, particularly around the airort. . �* , three days, particularly around the airort. . �*, ., �*, airport. that's right, and it's . uite airport. that's right, and it's uuite an airport. that's right, and it's quite an extraordinarily - airport. that's right, and it's - quite an extraordinarily complicated pre—position that president biden has found himself in. he's saying to the public we're getting out of afghanistan after 20 years. we don't want any more wars. 0n the other hand, he is trying to hunt down this group that americans haven't heard of a few days ago, trying to track them down in a country that's incredibly unstable. he's not rolled

out more air strikes. this is without any real troops, not a lot of intelligence either, and this well time you have the taliban breathing down america's net and ordering them to get out by august the 31st. as i say, the us is confident that it can happen. that's a positive spin, if i can say it that way. they're saying they know this is controversial, but they have got the time, the resources and they will get out by august 31.— will get out by august 31. nomia, thank ou will get out by august 31. nomia, thank you very — will get out by august 31. nomia, thank you very much. _ the group know as is—k said it had carried out an attack outside kabul airport on thursday that may have killed as many as 170 people, including 13 us troops. but who are they? earlier, i spoke to andrew mines, a research fellow at george washington university's program on extremism, who's been tracking is—k for a number of years now.

the islamic state in khorasan are the official prints of the egg wanted —— islamic state. now they're focused on afghanistan. what they are, is—k, or isis k, they all refer to the same group. which is the official grant of isis and afghanistan.— official grant of isis and afghanistan. official grant of isis and afuhanistan. . , afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their _ afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated _ afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim _ afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim is - afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim is to - afghanistan. what is their stated aim? their stated aim is to be i afghanistan. what is their stated l aim? their stated aim is to be the rovince, aim? their stated aim is to be the province. the _ aim? their stated aim is to be the province, the beachhead - aim? their stated aim is to be the province, the beachhead for - aim? their stated aim is to be the province, the beachhead for the i province, the beachhead for the movement in afghanistan. they're kind of a pivot point for the broader g hud for central and south asia. we broader g hud for central and south asia. ~ , ., ., ., asia. we 'ust heard the pentagon sa in: asia. we just heard the pentagon sa in: two asia. we just heard the pentagon saying two high-profile _ asia. we just heard the pentagon saying two high-profile targets i asia. we just heard the pentagon i saying two high-profile targets have saying two high—profile targets have been taken out. they're not consent placement. what impact will it have

on a group like is—k? my placement. what impact will it have on a group like is-k?_ on a group like is-k? my colleague and i have looked _ on a group like is-k? my colleague and i have looked at _ on a group like is-k? my colleague and i have looked at the _ on a group like is-k? my colleague and i have looked at the leadership and i have looked at the leadership and manpower losses this group has suffered, and it's upward of 500 leadership losses and 10,000 members. which is an extraordinary rate of decline. that happens throughout 2016 to 319. —— 2019. we've seen time and again with this group and with the franchise that they're able to move with these periods of decline, people in place who know how to carry the organisation through. either pursue the same method of pursuing attacks, and over time, coming the same method of pursuing attacks, and overtime, coming back the same method of pursuing attacks, and over time, coming back to re—consolidate territory. we and over time, coming back to re-consolidate territory. we saw the brutali of re-consolidate territory. we saw the brutality of the _ re-consolidate territory. we saw the brutality of the islamic _ re-consolidate territory. we saw the brutality of the islamic state - re-consolidate territory. we saw the brutality of the islamic state group l brutality of the islamic state group in syria and iraq when they were

trying to create a caliphate based on other laces. how does this group compare in terms of its name and its tactics —— other places? timer;r compare in terms of its name and its tactics -- other places?— tactics -- other places? they are very similar- _ tactics -- other places? they are very similar. we _ tactics -- other places? they are very similar. we see _ tactics -- other places? they are very similar. we see the - tactics -- other places? they are very similar. we see the group i very similar. we see the group implementing in afghanistan over the last several months and now, prison breaks. we're seeing those recently. targeting government personnel, infrastructure, minorities. we see that also in afghanistan. the message of the organisations is the same. the latest coronavirus figures from the government show there were 32,a06 new infections recorded in the latest 2a—hour period, which means on average, there were 3a,226 new cases per day in the last week. 133 deaths were recorded in the past 2a hours, with an average of 112 deaths

a day in the past week. 0n vaccinations, 88.2% of adults in the uk have now had their firstjab, and 78.2% have had both doses now. with large crowds expected to flock to beaches and festivals over the bank holiday weekend, there are concerns about rising covid infection rates. public health officials in some areas are calling on holidaymakers to take lateral flow tests before travelling. phillip norton reports from scarborough. ice creams and sand castles. with a strong message of hands, face, space, and take a test. the temperature was well into the 20s in scarborough today. the first bank holiday weekend in england since coronavirus restrictions were lifted. i've got one vaccination — you're doubled, aren't you? yeah. we take all the precautions we can. but we know the sun is good for everybody, so it's nice to be out and about. like many areas, north yorkshire

council has asked visitors to take a lateral flow test before coming to results. and if they found they were busy, to consider going elsewhere. but in the south—west of england, that message has been taken even further. infection rates in devon and cornwall have spiked, and with a number of festivals taking place and a busy holiday season, extra government support and testing is being provided from monday. elsewhere, thousands of music fans are enjoying the reading and leeds festivals, where there is also a chance to grab a jab. we want to take every opportunity to get as many people vaccinated as possible. especially at the moment, we're targeting the younger age group and where better than to come to a place like this, where the majority of the population is under 20, under 30? festival fun and busy beaches. health officials are hoping the stay safe message has been taken on board. phillip norton, bbc news, scarborough.

coronavirus plans for schools in england have been described as "a recipe for chaos" by education unions, who say they will not be enough to prevent a rise in infections. the government said it has updated its advice on how to respond to an outbreak with minimum disruption to education. china has rejected accusations from president biden that it withheld key information about how the coronavirus pandemic started. a report by us intelligence came to no firm conclusion as to where the virus originated but did say that china had hindered the investigations. china said it had been open and transparent and the us report lacked scientific credibility. members of the scottish greens have backed a deal which will see the partyjoin the scottish government with the snp. patrick harvie and lorna slater, pictured here with first minister nicola sturgeon, said the agreement promoted a �*sustainable scotland that works for everyone'. the co—leaders will both becomejunior ministers in the scottish government.

it's the first time the greens have entered government in the uk. 0ur scotland correspondentjamie mcivor is in glasgow. how is this need for power—sharing come about? how is this need for power-sharing come about?— come about? certainly, it's an interesting — come about? certainly, it's an interesting question _ come about? certainly, it's an interesting question because l come about? certainly, it's an i interesting question because the come about? certainly, it's an - interesting question because the snp were just short of a majority, but they have government successfully as a minority administration twice before. certainly, the two parties seem to believe it was win—win to work closely together. in the past, the mp sometimes relied on support on an issue by issue basis from the caller �*s —— scottish greens. this deal isn't a formal coalition, though it looks a bit like a coalition and some respects. it's been described as a power—sharing partnership. it means the two co—leaders of the party will both be offered junior ministerial positions

in the scottish government. we will find out what these positions are next week, and the greens will support the snp when it comes to any matter of confidence. but at the same time, they won't need to support the snp policy in some areas such as fox hunting and aviation policy. the greens certainly feel they will be able to see some of their own priorities put into action, notjust on tackling climate change, but also when it comes to rent control and social housing. i think it was that since that they have the opportunity to put some of their believes and principles into action, which explains why there was an overwhelming vote in support of the move by the green party members. more than 80% voted in favour. what's the reaction been from other parties in scotland?— parties in scotland? they're very sce tical. parties in scotland? they're very sceptical- their _ parties in scotland? they're very sceptical. they describe - parties in scotland? they're very sceptical. they describe as - parties in scotland? they're very sceptical. they describe as a - sceptical. they describe as a cynical coalition of chaos. in

particular, there's the question of the second independent referendum. the deal between the parties, that aspires to voting a second recommender him —— referendum before the end of 2023. the power over a second wreck referendum ultimately aligns with westminster. there's no sign of the uk government's attitude towards a second referendum changing at the moment. were holyrood to hold at the moment. were holyrood to hold a second referendum without the uk government blessing, i think the matter what ended up in the courts. thank you very much. the royal college of nursing has said its upcoming annual conference will be held online only following "serious allegations of sexual harassment". it says making its meeting a virtual event is the best way to safeguard its members. simon jones is here.

what do we know about this decision? the college represents almost half a million nurses and health care workers and professionals. they were due to gather around 200 person for the annual congress and liverpool. now, they discussed things such as the coronavirus pandemic. they redo to discuss that. the effective long covid, the effect it has on health care workers. we've now been told that event has been cancelled and it will be online only. the reason that has been given are serious allegations of sexual harassment. i spoke to the rcm and they didn't want to give any further details —— rcn. but they have told us in a statement they've taken these allegations very seriously, they've reacted as soon as they were

married —— made aware. they needed to do that to protect the delegates who were do to attend the event, and they say they're going to carry out a widespread review as part of their cultural change.— cultural change. simon, thank you very much- _ to other news now, and hurricane ida has brought heavy rain and winds to western cuba as it heads into the gulf of mexico. the us national hurricane center says ida is likely to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it makes landfall in louisiana. gail maclellan reports. winds at 80 mph and torrential rain, the western coast of cuba the first place hurricane ida makes landfall. flash floods and mudslides also expected injamaica and the cayman islands. but this is not ida at her worst. she's expected to become extremely dangerous when she hits the southern united states this weekend. it's going to travel over some extraordinarily warm water, over an area we call the loop current. it basically is a superhighway

of incredibly warm water all the way to the shores of louisiana, and along the way, that's just going to feed energy into the storm and they're expecting rapid intensification of the storm. right now, it has 80 miles per hour. well, they expect it to come onto the shores of louisiana with winds of 1a0mph, making it a category a hurricane. ida will arrive 16 years to the day since hurricane katrina hit, when 80% of new orleans was flooded and almost 2,000 people lost their lives. hurricane ida is not expected to cause such devastation. though the winds will be stronger, the wall of water is not expected to be as high as that that submerged the city in 2005. but the authorities in new orleans are not taking any chances. at this time, i will be — and i am — calling for mandatory evacuation of all areas outside of our levee protection system. all areas outside of our

levee protection system, definitely mandatory evacuation. some in areas protected by levees are staying put. but in the path of the storm, they're preparing for the worst. gail maclellan, bbc news. food producers are warning that worker shortages caused by a perfect storm of issues including brexit changes and the pandemic could threaten availability at christmas. the government is facing growing calls for a temporary visa scheme to try to fill the gap. our business correspondent katy austin reports. preparing these turkeys for christmas involves 100 extra workers who used to come in from eastern europe. because of brexit we don't have that guaranteed labour that we've had for the past 30 years. the bigger companies that supply all the supermarkets, they had made the decision to cut their production by between 20% and 25%, which is huge.

so, there will absolutely be a shortage of quality british turkeys. other areas of food production are also having problems. a shortage of meat processors has caused a backlog of pigs on farms. the government is basically saying that furlough is coming to an end at the end of september, so you can have all of those people and that will resolve your issues. now, those people aren't living in areas where the manufacturing plants are, they don't have the right skills, and i suspect a lot of them wouldn't want to go and work in food manufacturing plants. food industry trade bodies warn there is now a chronic labour shortage across the whole supply chain. this business grows, imports and distributes fresh fruit and veg. there is everything here from carrots to pomegranates, and a lot of it ends up in high street restaurants. but here at this distribution centre, they're 20% short of staff. i we are definitely going to start. seeing more supermarket shelves empty, restaurant plates empty.

and then, the big concern ongoing from that is christmas. _ he supports calls for a temporary visa scheme to bring in food workers and lorry drivers from europe. isn't it more important to build a sustainable workforce from within the uk, and ultimately pay them more? i'm more than happy to do that. but if the era of cheap labour is over, so tool is the era of cheap food. the government says the supply chain is resilient and it wants to see employers invest in the domestic workforce. but some firms are getting increasingly worried about their ability to keep our shelves and plates full. katy austin, bbc news. feeding birds is big business, with people spending more than 250 million pounds a year on bird food in the uk. but are we doing more harm than good? new evidence suggests that supplementary feeding could disrupt a delicate ecological balance beyond our windowsills and gardens. it's because it attracts

dominant species to compete with lower—ranking birds which we really want to save and encourage. this is bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. as far as bank holiday weekends go, this is one of the better ones and it was a good start to the weekend for england's cricketers. for anybody hoping to see a full day's play at headingley, such as yorkshire lad here, it was a bit disappointing. we've had a day of sunshine at headingley, had a day of sunshine in central scotland where we've seen the highest temperatures today. you can see from the fields it's very dry. it's been a very dry summer for scotland. it's not been the case elsewhere across the uk and in europe. there's been a lot of heavy showers today. one or two light showers clipped the south—east early on — those are pretty much gone now. with high pressure in charge, should be dry overnight. clear skies for many areas to start with, but more cloud will come down from the north into scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england, so these areas won't be as chilly as they were last night.

further south with clear skies, temperatures in rural areas could easily get down to six or seven degrees. heading into sunday and much cloudier day than today, across scotland, northern ireland and northern england. it could be quite grey across much of the northern scotland, north—east england, one or two spots of drizzle. elsewhere, it should tend to brighten up a little. sunnier skies further south. some patchy fairweather cloud developing through the day and still quite breezy in east anglia and the south—east of england, and our top temperature probably 20—21. cooler than that for eastern scotland and the north—east of england under the cloud. we got high pressure in charge this weekend, still there into next week. the centre of the highs to the north—west of the uk, and it means the winds around it are feeding in off the north sea. those winds will drag in a lot of cloud around on monday. there may not be too much in the way of sunshine. the best of the sunshine will be towards the western side of the uk, where we're more sheltered from what's likely to be a stronger wind in many areas on monday, and that wind off the north sea will make it feel cold

around some of those north sea coasts, the best temperatures out towards the west, again 20, possibly pushing 21. tuesday looks fairly similar. if there is any sunshine first thing, it may fill up with cloud a bit more, a lot of cloud on the scene again on tuesday, and again, a fairly brisk wind coming in, too. those temperatures are not going to change very much. near some eastern parts of the uk, temperatures only 16 or 17. with high pressure in charge throughout the week, it's going to be dry, quite breezy, some sunshine and again, the best of the sunshine in the west.

hello, this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines... the final uk flight to evacuate civilians from afghanistan has left kabul. the ministry of defence says further flights will bring home uk diplomatic staff and military personnel. the us military says one of its drones has resulted in the deaths of "two high profile" targets, following thursday's attack which killed as many as 170 people at kabul airport. concerns about rising covid infection rates as large crowds are expected to flock to beaches and festivals over the bank holiday weekend. members of the scottish greens have backed a deal that could see its leaders in government for the first time. two world records for the british cycling couple —