this is bbc news. our top stories. downing street says the uk's evacuation from afghanistan has ended , bringing to a close 20 years of british military operations in the country. another deadly attack at kabul airport is �*highly likely�* in the next 2a to 36 hours, warns america's president. hurricane ida intensifies over the warm waters of the gulf of mexico as it heads for the us coast. tens of thousands flee for safety. and in cape town, townships and tango. how ballroom dancing has captured the imagination of some residents in one of south africa's toughest neighborhoods. hello and welcome to bbc news.

the uk's twenty—year military mission in afghanistan has ended, with the departure of britain's last evacuation flight. almost all remaining british troops, diplomats and officials have now left. the government in london says it has airlifted more than 15 thousand people from kabul in the past two weeks, including around 8,000 afghans. here's our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley. heading home. 1,000 british troops were sent into kabul to get people out. us troops provided security for an unprecedented international rescue mission. the last british plane carrying civilians flew out of kabul this morning. this evening, news that the last soldiers and british diplomats have now left.

in all, there were over 100 raf flights. the end of a 20—year campaign that was not supposed to finish like this. we've done an extraordinaryjob to evacuate as many as we have, but i'm afraid it's absolutely that heartbreaking that we can't bring everybody out, and that point has 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, more than 15,000 people have been brought out by the raf, british nationals and afghans who'd worked with the uk, along with theirfamilies. 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. the government has suggested that afghans who are eligible to come to the uk make their way to third countries to be processed, but it could be impossibly dangerous trying to get through taliban checkpoints. and other than calling for safe passage, there's nothing the uk can do to help from afar. at raf brize norton this morning, british soldiers arriving back on uk soil. over the past 20 years, more than 100,000 british troops served in afghanistan. a57 british lives were lost. the mission began by ousting the taliban from power. it ends with a rush, to a timetable dictated by the militants. britain's military personnel have done theirjob, but this is a bitter homecoming. caroline hawley, bbc news.

us presidentjoe biden has issued a fresh warning that another attack on kabul airport is �*highly likely�* in the next 2a to 36 hours. on thursday, the islamic state group in afghanistan killed as many as 170 people, including 13 us military personnel. as the us operation in afghanistan is due to end by tuesday, white house officials say the next few days are likely to be the most dangerous since the evacuation began. 0ur correspondent, secunder kermani, reports from kabul where fear and tension remain. gunfire 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. 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 travelled to kabul

to help try and take his afghan national wife and young children home. they said, stay away from the airport and stay in a safe place. and from today, i kept calling and sending e—mails and nobody answered. the is attack on the airport has left many fearing there could be further bloodshed. the united states announced it killed two key is operatives in a drone strike in the east of the country. back in kabul, the streets are quieter than usual. many are struggling to cope financially, with banks closed for nearly two weeks now. this is one of a handful of cash machines still working. we're not begging bank

staff to give us money, this is our own money. we have family, we have children. if we don't have money, how should we prepare for my family? translation: when | see - what has become of the country, i feel it's impossible to live here. everything's becoming more expensive. i feel like i'm suffocating. the taliban swept into kabul unexpectedly easily. but governing the city and the rest of the country is likely to be a far bigger challenge. the group says it will take time for life 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. joining me now is retired brigadier general mark kimmitt. thank you for coming on the

programme. let's talk about this imminent threat that president biden is talking about. they say that it is very likely. they say it could come as early as sunday. we have got this chaotic situation at the airport where presumably it is quite hard to stop somebody coming in intent on carrying out a suicide mission.- coming in intent on carrying out a suicide mission. that is exactly right _ out a suicide mission. that is exactly right and _ out a suicide mission. that is exactly right and the - out a suicide mission. that is exactly right and the fault - exactly right and the fault lies squarely at the feet of the taliban who had taken on responsibility for the outer cordon of the perimeter. it is them who are allowing the suicide bombers to get through and it is them who need to take the blame which is why you think have got to be very, very careful and considering the taliban a responsible ally that we can work with inside of afghanistan.— we can work with inside of afu hanistan. ., . ., ,, afghanistan. how much of the us authorities be _ afghanistan. how much of the us authorities be talking _ afghanistan. how much of the us authorities be talking to - afghanistan. how much of the us authorities be talking to the - authorities be talking to the taliban at the moment about the situation at the airport? i

expect we have been trying to exchange or withdraw from the taliban intelligence that they have but despite the fact that the taliban are trying to demonstrate themselves as a more moderate organisation that can work with the international community, let's not fool ourselves. they probably had some inclusion in letting the isis k bomber through and certainly have responsibility for not doing theirjob. need to be very, careful about who we are talking to among this job. we are talking to among this 'ob. ., ., . ., job. the taliban are claiming the will job. the taliban are claiming they will be _ job. the taliban are claiming they will be aiming _ job. the taliban are claiming they will be aiming to - job. the taliban are claiming | they will be aiming to contain isis k as some call it. you smile at that. you have no faith whatsoever that they mean that? i faith whatsoever that they mean that? ., ., ., , . ., that? i have heard a bunch of if somehow _ that? i have heard a bunch of if somehow we _ that? i have heard a bunch of if somehow we are _ that? i have heard a bunch of if somehow we are going - that? i have heard a bunch of if somehow we are going to l that? i have heard a bunch of. if somehow we are going to deal with them. if they are more moderate. if they honour international commitments. if

they are more secular in their approach to women and education and my answer to that is, well, if frogs had wings they could fly. if frogs had wings they could fl . ~ ., if frogs had wings they could fl . . ., ., if frogs had wings they could fl. ., ., ,.,., fly. we have got the situation where president _ fly. we have got the situation where president biden - fly. we have got the situation where president biden is - fly. we have got the situation l where president biden is saying we have a situation where we are going to hunt down these people responsible for the attack but we have american troops leaving some intelligence gathering is going to be far harder, isn't it? going forward, how do is developing in afghanistan? i think in terms of the counterterrorism operation, it will look more like our operations against a terrorist group inside of somalia. i think we're going to have to use signal intelligence, overhead platforms but we would

not have intelligence as you would if we had bits on the ground. would if we had bits on the round. ~ . would if we had bits on the iround. . ., ., , would if we had bits on the round. ~ ., ., , ., ground. what about trying to net out ground. what about trying to get out the _ ground. what about trying to get out the people _ ground. what about trying to get out the people who - ground. what about trying to get out the people who have | ground. what about trying to . get out the people who have not been able to make it to one of these flights? what could the usb doing in terms of of maybe trying to get people over land borders or do you expect to see anything in a covid operation? well, i would certainly hope so. it is national shame that we are pulling out on the 31st and we are buckling under the demands of the taliban. at the taliban truly wanted to be responsible they would give us as much time as we needed to get people out that have served alongside of us but now, instead of responsible evacuations, basically road going to have these people free to the boarders. most of the border points, controlled by the taliban and i can only imagine what will happen at those border points when those people are trying to flee

across the borders. thank you very much _ across the borders. thank you very much for— across the borders. thank you very much for coming - across the borders. thank you very much for coming on - across the borders. thank you very much for coming on to i across the borders. thank you i very much for coming on to talk to ours. the governor of the us state of louisiana — john bel edwards — has warned that hurricane ida may be one of the strongest storms to hit the state in over a hundred and 50 years. it's forecast to arrive on sunday with 140mph winds. evacuation orders are in place. celestina 0lu—lo—deh reports. above the clouds in louisiana this is what hurricane ida feels like. as this tropical storm continues to travel ever warm waters in the gulf of mexico wind speeds have intensified. forecasters predict that, by the time it reaches land, this will be a category four hurricane. that is the second most severe on the scale. while the storm will

weaken, after it makes landfall, to such a strong strong at the outset that it is going to be extremely powerful. president biden says plans are in place. president biden says plans are in lace. ~ ., ., in place. we have food, water and generators _ in place. we have food, water and generators and _ in place. we have food, water and generators and other- and generators and other supplies in the area. mobile communication support teams are also en route. communication support teams are also en route— also en route. mandatory evacuation _ also en route. mandatory evacuation plans - also en route. mandatory evacuation plans are - also en route. mandatory evacuation plans are in l also en route. mandatory- evacuation plans are in place for some parts of new orleans only about a dozen people will try to — only about a dozen people will try to write about. by only about a dozen people will try to write about.— try to write about. by the rest ofthe try to write about. by the rest of the city _ try to write about. by the rest of the city has _ try to write about. by the rest of the city has been _ try to write about. by the rest of the city has been issued i of the city has been issued with a voluntary evacuation order. hurricane ida is expected to hit the coast of louisiana on sunday, 16 years after hurricane katrina

devastated the area. leaving more than 1800 people dead. with stronger defence is now in place, there is hope levees in new orleans will be able to withstand the impact of the hurricane. the experts warn that if storm surges hit as a time that coincides with high tide sea water could flood the new orleans tide sea water could flood the new 0rlea ns levee system and enter the city once again. new 0rlea ns levee system and enter the city once again. well earlier i spoke to paul miller who's an 0ceanography & coastal sciences assistant professor at louisiana state university. hejoined us from baton rouge which lies in the path of hurricane ida...i asked him how bad he was expecting we are prepared for some pretty severe impacts here and even worse in other places in south—east louisiana. as you mentioned in the introduction we are expecting a category four hurricane along the coast and power outages will be

widespread. communications will be disrupted and so, there are preparations being made to restore those as soon as possible. is 16 years, isn't it, tomorrow, sunday? since hurricane katrina. how do you expect it to compare to that? the events are pretty comparable. it is easy to make a comparison between hurricane katrina and hurricane ida. hurricane ida is forecast to be slightly stronger but also take a path a little bit further to the west of new orleans. there was a lot of investment in infrastructure and storm surge protector following katrina so it is hoped it will protect the residents from the storm surge associated with the storm. aha, associated with the storm. a lot was done, wasn't it, to strengthen the levees and improve their maintenance? has enough been done, though, because there is a still concern, isn't there, that could be overtop?- concern, isn't there, that could be overtop? they are designed — could be overtop? they are designed to _ could be overtop? they are designed to protect - could be overtop? they are designed to protect against could be overtop? they are i designed to protect against a 100 year storm and so that is a

pretty high design standard and it is a tremendous investment ljy it is a tremendous investment by the us army corps of engineers. it is some of the most kind of impressive engineering that i've seen, when i've gone out and laid eyes on them. so certainly the hope is that they will do their job in this circumstance. there has been _ job in this circumstance. there has been a _ job in this circumstance. there has been a mandatory - job in this circumstance. there i has been a mandatory evacuation order for some has been a mandatory evacuation orderfor some parts, hasn't, of some parts of new orleans. but not all. are you happy about the amount of people who have been told to leave?- have been told to leave? some arishes have been told to leave? some parishes in _ have been told to leave? some parishes in south-east - parishes in south—east louisiana have issued mandatory evacuations. some of those are location specific within the parish so if you are outside the levee system than the evacuation is mandatory and if you are inside the levee system thenit you are inside the levee system then it is not. i have been very satisfied with the amount of communication from the local national weather service office and the national hurricane

centre. this is something that people have been talking about the day so this is not is coming as a surprise to anyone in south—east louisiana and the hazards associated with this have been very well communicated. ., , ., have been very well communicated. ., , communicated. people have been coml in: communicated. people have been complying and — communicated. people have been complying and following - communicated. people have been complying and following the i complying and following the order? ii complying and following the order? , ., ., complying and following the order? ., ., order? if you go to the interstate _ order? if you go to the interstate right - order? if you go to the interstate right now. order? if you go to the l interstate right now you order? if you go to the i interstate right now you will see there is the traffic to show that people are listening. i hear it is a total standstill at some places.— i hear it is a total standstill at some places. what about you personally? _ at some places. what about you personally? it — at some places. what about you personally? it is _ at some places. what about you personally? it is extraordinary l personally? it is extraordinary to think of you just sort of sitting there waiting for the storm to hit. how have you prepared? we have certainly been making our preparations as a family and as a community so we've stocked up on bottled water, nonperishable food. i was moving my rocking chairs of the porch this afternoon so they don't hurt my neighbours homes. that is something that is very common and has been very common across much of south—east louisiana is making those kind of final

preparations for this high wind event. you are watching bbc news. the headlines: downing street says the uk's evacuation from afghanistan has ended , bringing to a close 20 years of british military operations in the country. the us operation is due to end by tuesday — but president biden warns another terror attack at kabul airport is "highly likely". to france now — where large demonstrations have taken place against anti—coronavirus measures. thousands gathered in paris to protest and in the western cities of nantes and toulouse police had to fire teargas to disperse the crowds. it's reported a further 200 protests took place across france. many oppose the compulsory vaccinations for health workers from monday. they also object to the covid—free health certificate that's been rolled out to more venues since its introduction in june. australia has largely shut its borders and imposed covid lockdowns in the three largest cities, melbourne,

sydney and brisbane. but the spread of the virus continues, and vaccination take up remains low. victoria — which is home to more than a quarter of the country's population —has reported the highest number of new daily cases in nearly a year. we can now speak to tony scott — who's professor of health economics at the melbourne institute, you at the melbourne institute, have been looking into vaccine you have been looking into the vaccine hesitancy, haven't you? what can you tell me about that and fire people hesitant? 50. and fire people hesitant? so, overall, think _ and fire people hesitant? srr, overall, think vaccine hesitancy in australia is about 20% so half of those are unsure and half don't want to be vaccinated. that is kind of falling. it peaked in april. pete had 30 or 40% when we found out about the astrazeneca blood clots and that has remained and we have a lot of astrazeneca but not a lot of

pfizer here in australia so supply is still an issue that hesitancy remains. in new south wales where we have a thousand cases a day now vaccine hesitancy, there is some evidence that started to increase again, actually, suggesting messages are not really getting through and it still remains an issue particularly among young people. particularly among young --eole. ,, particularly among young --eole. , ., , particularly among young --eole. , ., i, ., people. do you personally see a lot of messaging _ people. do you personally see a lot of messaging from _ people. do you personally see a lot of messaging from the i lot of messaging from the authorities as you are going about your daily life and online and on telly and that sort of thing? there is a bit but nothing particularly or anything like that. i think the issue trying to get into those communities. ms australia's multicultural place and we have diverse communities and it is trying to get into those places which is most important. is a different four age groups as well in terms of hesitancy? yes. 0ver well in terms of hesitancy? yes. over 65 second are fine but it is the 18—44 where it is

“p but it is the 18—44 where it is up and not falling amongst that group very quickly so i think thatis group very quickly so i think that is a concern obviously. there are concerns in new south wales now of some freedoms. if you are doubly vaccinated, slightly less restrictions and thatis slightly less restrictions and that is going to help but it would be interesting to see how that influences peoples vaccination rates. initially australia _ vaccination rates. initially australia did _ vaccination rates. initially australia did so _ vaccination rates. initially australia did so well- vaccination rates. initially australia did so well to i vaccination rates. initially i australia did so well to keep numbers down and people felt immune to it all that it was not coming to them. have you seen a change in peoples attitudes towards the vaccine as the number of cases has risen? , . , as the number of cases has risen? , ., _ .,, as the number of cases has risen? , ., _ ., as the number of cases has risen? , ., , ., , risen? hesitancy has fallen but now new south _ risen? hesitancy has fallen but now new south wales - risen? hesitancy has fallen but now new south wales is i now new south wales is flattened out so we're getting to the bottom of the curve, i think. and that is still an

issue. now if you're a fan of �*strictly come dancing', especially here in the uk, you may have noticed that a number of the television series' professional dancers are south african — including in the upcoming uk series, cameron lombard. 0ur africa correspondent andrew harding has been finding out why ballroom is such a hit in some of the townships poorest neighbourhoods. in the shadow of cape town's table mountain, on some of the most violent streets in the world, ballroom is booming. down, again, down! yes! at a local church hall, kim isaacs has classes for every level. straight! ..including the occasional clumsy journalist. but the school's biggest star is cameron lombard. this was him a good few years back. now he has just been picked to join the cast of britain's strictly come

dancing. i taught cameron since the age of five and he will be 21 this year. i can honestly tell you, cameron had big dreams from beginning. anybody that knocked him down and said no, cameron, your dreams is — no, you must go study! he's like, no, i'm going to be the dancer. cameron, congratulations, how are you feeling? already in london for strictly rehearsals, cameron agrees to talk from his lockdown hotel. cape town is the most beautiful place, and it can also be a tough place to grow up, you know, because you don't get the same opportunities as other people. so it feels like you've escaped, in a way, through dance. most definitely! most definitely. it's somewhere where you can. ..i would say less not more of an escape, but more of a safe place.

back home in south africa, other young dancers are hoping to follow in his footsteps. it's very much inspiring, i it keeps us motivated here. these girls live in an area fought over by three rival drug gangs. why do you dance? it keeps us away from many things, the gangsterism, i drug dealing, the abuse that happens _ sultry saxophone music plays for older south africans, ballroom has a different meaning. during the era of racial apartheid, different races were banned from mingling. only the dance floor offered the occasional glimpse of freedom. we were blacks, coloureds, whites, every denomination — were all there and we just did our thing, and wejust loved gathering, having social evenings on fridays. and this was illegal. it was totally illegal. back in london, two stars of

strictlyjoin cameron's call — all south africans. it's not at all, my darling, it's all based on talent. so, is there a rivalry on the set between the south africans, or are you all rooting for each other? it's love, we come i from a loving country! and do you get the sense, do you know whether south africa as a whole is rooting for you or is itjust the ballroom enthusiasts? it's the whole country! it's not — can ijust speak on this — it's actually not| just the whole country because south africa i is still big, but it's i the whole continent. and with that comes a big i responsibility where we know that we don'tjust represent a country, we represent i a whole continent. there are not a lot of dancers that are well known - from botswana or mozambique or zimbabwe, but they- are there and nobody's talking about them. i in cape town, the lessons continue. this is the moment when i'm supposed to say something very

sensible about south africa and ballroom dancing and its history, but i'm struggling to remember my footwork and it's hard to keep track! singing luckily we now have plenty of south african experts to show us how it's done. andrew harding, bbc news, cape town. finally, two afghan athletes have arrived in tokyo to take part in the paralympic games after they were evacuated to france following the taliban's takeover. (the international paralympic committee said taekwondo fighter zakia khudadadi and sprinter hossain rasouli were flown to paris last weekend from the afghan capital. with the country's delegation unable to attend, the afghan national flag was carried by a paralympic volunteer at tuesday's opening ceremony. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @ lucy e grey. good evening. things are staying dry and settled for at least the next 2a hours or so it is remaining large the drive for much of the uk. more sunny spells on sunday but we will have a little bit more cloud drifting in because of their we have high pressure and charge the winter rotating around that high pressure and it come from a northerly direction, dragging in cloud. still a bit of brightness breaking through here particularly anywhere west of higher ground and further south you are more likely to see longer spells of sunshine

on sunday. still quite a breeze across east anglia and the south—east, taking the edge of the temperatures here. 15—18 or around that east coast but by the west were likely to see highs of 22 degrees or so. into the evening hours most of us and the day dry land. 0ne the evening hours most of us and the day dry land. one to showers not far away from the south—east of england. could be more cloud pushing on here as well. no spaces dry as we head into monday. not quite as cold with more cloud acting as a blanket. we are about staying in double figures as we head into monday which is a bank holiday across much of the uk. high pressure still with us as we head into monday. with the wind is coming in from the north sea. dragging in more cloud monday particularly for eastern areas. they can offer drizzle and low cloud. the best of any sunshine on monday. for the south—west of england towards wales as well but almost everywhere staying largely dry. you will notice that wind around east coast of scotland, eastern england as

well but lighter winds further west and temperatures a degree orso west and temperatures a degree or so down on sunday so we're looking at highs of about 15—21 on monday. the west of the week, not much change. they are very similar to what we will see on monday. some sunshine in the west again particularly for parts of ireland and wales. cloudier and cooler with that breeze coming in off the north sea towards the east so 16 or 17 in the east and 18 or 19 towards the west on tuesday and then spot the difference, for then spot the difference, for the week ahead. high pressure keeping slightly dry. sometimes it will cool the time of year. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the ministry of defence says the last british plane carrying armed forces personnel and diplomats has taken off from kabul airport, ending britain's 20 year military involvement in afghanistan. a57 british service personnel lost their lives during the conflict. president biden has warned that another attack on kabul airport is "highly likely" this weekend. as many as 170 people including 13 us service personnel were killed in the islamic state attack on thursday. two is members died in a retaliatory drone strike by the us. the president has also said that hurricane ida which is heading towards the gulf coast of the united states is turning into a "very dangerous storm". winds of around 130 miles per hour are expected when it reaches land in lousiana on sunday. the mayor of baton rouge urged residents food producers are warning that

worker shortages caused by a perfect storm of issues including brexit changes and