this is bbc news — i'm lucy grey with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. 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 a couple in bolivia make sure they feel "on top of the world" as they tie the knot.

hello and welcome to the programme. the last british plane carrying troops and diplomats has now left kabul airport. it brings to an end nearly 20 years of operations in afghanistan, culminating in the evacuation of more than 15— thousand people from the country in the past two weeks. an estimated 11—hundred eligible afghans and 150 uk nationals could not get out. 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.

the us embassy in kabul has issued a fresh warning to all us citizens to leave the airport area immediately. its latest security alert mentions a �*specific and credible threat�*. earlier, president biden said an attack on kabul airport was highly likey 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. 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. waiting to see what life under secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. joining me now is retired brigadier general mark kimmitt. he told me the taliban should be held responsible. the he told me the taliban should be held responsible.— be held responsible. the fault lies squarely _ be held responsible. the fault lies squarely at _ be held responsible. the fault lies squarely at the _ be held responsible. the fault lies squarely at the feet - be held responsible. the fault lies squarely at the feet of. lies squarely at the feet of the taliban who have taken on

responsibility for the outer cordon of the perimeter. it is them allowing the suicide bombers to get through and it is them who need to take the blame, which is why i think got to be very, very careful in considering the taliban a responsible ally that we can work with the inside of afghanistan.— work with the inside of afghanistan. work with the inside of afu hanistan. ., ,, afghanistan. how will the us authorities _ afghanistan. how will the us authorities be _ afghanistan. how will the us authorities be talking - afghanistan. how will the us authorities be talking to - afghanistan. how will the us authorities be talking to the l authorities be talking to the taliban at the moment about the situation at the airport?- situation at the airport? well, i susect situation at the airport? well, i suspect we _ situation at the airport? well, i suspect we have _ situation at the airport? well, i suspect we have been - situation at the airport? well, i suspect we have been trying | i suspect we have been trying to exchange intelligence that they have. let�*s be clear. and is expected that 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 collusion in letting the isis k bomber through. if not collusion they certainly had responsibility for not doing theirjob. so we need to be

very, very careful about who were talking to among this group. were talking to among this urou -. ,., were talking to among this u-rou. ., ., ., group. going forward, though, the taliban _ group. going forward, though, the taliban are _ group. going forward, though, the taliban are claiming - group. going forward, though, the taliban are claiming they l the taliban are claiming they will be aiming to contain isis k as some call it. you smile at that. you have no faith at all that. you have no faith at all that they mean that? i that. you have no faith at all that they mean that?- that they mean that? i have heard a bunch _ that they mean that? i have heard a bunch of— that they mean that? i have heard a bunch of ifs - that they mean that? i have heard a bunch of ifs on - that they mean that? i have heard a bunch of ifs on how| heard a bunch of ifs on how we�*re going to deal with them. they are more moderate. if they are more secular in their approach to women and education. answer is, well, if frogs had wings they could fly. we have got the situation where president biden is saying that he intends to hunt down and find these people responsible for this attack but we�*ve also got a situation where american troops are leaving which means that intelligence is going to be far harder, isn�*t it? going forward, how do you see things developing in afghanistan? in

terms of the counterterrorism operation it. looking at a joint operation by developing intelligence and it will look more like our operations in south yemen. we will have to content on signal intelligence, overhead platforms, but we really never going to have the same kind of intelligence as you would have this weird bits on the ground.— on the ground. what about t in: on the ground. what about trying to — on the ground. what about trying to get _ on the ground. what about trying to get out _ on the ground. what about trying to get out the - on the ground. what about| trying to get out the people who have not been able to make its to a flight. look at the usb doing in terms of trying to get people over land borders or, do you expect to see anything in covid operations? it is a national shame that we are pulling out on the 31st and buckling under the demand of the taliban. at the tao man truly wanted to be responsible they would give time as we needed to get the people out who have served alongside of

us. but now, basically going to have these people flee to the borders. most of the border points are controlled by the taliban and i can only imagine what will happen at those border points and those people are trying to flee across the borders. residents of the us state of louisiana are bracing for the arrival of hurricane ida. the state�*s governor warned it could be one of the strongest storms to hit the area in 150 years. he also said time was quickly running out for residents to evacuate. celestina 0lu—loday reports. (tx above the clouds in louisiana this is what hurricane ida feels like. 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, so strong strong at the outset that it is going to be extremely powerful. president biden says plans are in place. we have pre—positioned food, water and generators and other supplies in the area. mobile communication support teams are also en route. mandatory evacuation plans are in place i hear there's only about a dozen people will try to ride it out. by the rest 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 defences 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 0rlea ns levee system and enter the city once again. we can speak to craig colten from louisiana state university — he�*s written a book on hurricane protection in coastal louisiana. hejoins us from baton rouge — which is squarely in the path of the storm. we will get the levies on the point that was just being made in the pointsjust point that was just being made in the points just a moment ago but talk to me first about how bad you are expected to be when

it hits? this could be a much bigger storm in terms of the breadth the state that it impacts. it will hit a much wider swath of the coast than katrina because katrina, much of its energy was expended on mississippi but we will see much of the power of the storm and very low—lying coastal areas, areas no more than two metres above sea level and you will have this massive wall of water pushing in were not many people there but an area where many people rely on natural resources for their livelihoods. in resources for their livelihoods. , ., livelihoods. in terms of the im act, livelihoods. in terms of the impact. then. _ livelihoods. in terms of the impact, then, we _ livelihoods. in terms of the impact, then, we were - livelihoods. in terms of the - impact, then, we were hearing, obviously, 16 years tomorrow since katrina and since then many millions of dollars have been spent on trying to reassure, to build up the levies and maintain them better. what is your belief in terms of how much has been

done? has done to shore up those levies?— those levies? many, many improvements _ those levies? many, many improvements have - those levies? many, many improvements have been. those levies? many, many - improvements have been made but my concerns reside and how they are going to deal with people and evacuation. yes, there have been mandatory evacuations for people who live outside the levies but there are some levies but there are some levies on what we call the west bank of the mississippi river that we are expecting some overtopping of those levies because they are reallyjust barely above the expected storm surge so we could have flooding in the west bank of new orleans. and many of those 0rleans. and many of those people have not evacuated. there�*s been a massive surge of people coming out all day today. the motorways have been absolutelyjammed with people absolutely jammed with people leaving absolutelyjammed with people leaving the city but many of the contingency plans for mandatory evacuation have not been put into place. nursing homes are not being evacuated and people who don�*t have cars

and people who don�*t have cars and not been provided with a city assisted evacuation programme. city assisted evacuation programme-— city assisted evacuation programme. city assisted evacuation rouramme. ., ., programme. what about after the storm has passed? _ programme. what about after the storm has passed? what - programme. what about after the storm has passed? what is - programme. what about after the storm has passed? what is the i storm has passed? what is the hospital�*s facilities like? because covid had an influence on the hospitals in the area in terms of people who need help? will there be enough capacity for people who need help? that is a hue for people who need help? that is a huge concern _ for people who need help? that is a huge concern and _ for people who need help? twat is a huge concern and already our hospitals are bursting at the seams with people who are dealing with covid. and if we relocate people out of those hospitals, many of those areas in the coastal areas other than when new orleans is they have been relocated so that will create an even bigger burden on hospitals outside then you get the situation where many people will be fleeing the city and staying in shelters or staying with friends and their possible vectors of spreading the covid

as well so this is not a good situation for controlling covid at all. ~ ., ., , ., ~' at all. we are hearing stark fiaures. at all. we are hearing stark figures. more _ at all. we are hearing stark figures. more than - at all. we are hearing stark figures. more than 1800 i at all. we are hearing stark - figures. more than 1800 people died in hurricane katrina. i know it is hard to put a figure on these things are when you talk about being potentially worse than katrina, do you mean in terms of its impact or potential lives lost? you talking about larger areas that are not quite so populated being hit. are not quite so populated being hit-— are not quite so populated bein: hit. ~ ., being hit. we cannot compare. it is being hit. we cannot compare. it is really _ being hit. we cannot compare. it is really impossible - being hit. we cannot compare. it is really impossible to - it is really impossible to compare katrina to the storm. i would be surprised if there are 800 fatalities because much of the storm�*s impact will be low populated areas. and i said as a bigger storm it has a wider width. it is a bigger storm circumference not necessarily higher wind speeds. wind speeds were not that dramatic in new orleans with katrina. this is 0rleans with katrina. this is likely to have higher wind

speeds and what i�*m fearing to is notjust the wind but the rainfall in the in the parishes. we have slow—moving storm, through to vein in areas where we have had rain for the past week so we will have inland flooding in addition to wind damage, power outages and potential covid spreading. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you very much for talking to us. 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". let�*s get some of the day�*s other news italian coastguard vessels have rescued 539 migrants from a fishing boat drifting off the island of lampedusa.

the rescue on saturday delivered one of the largest numbers of migrants to the italian island in a single day. women and children were among those on board. tens of thousands of people have marched in several us cities demanding the protection of voting rights. the demonstrators are seeking changes to newly introduced state laws which they say will make it harder for minorities to vote. more than 20—thousand people gathered in washington dc, with rallies also taking place in phoenix, atlanta, minneapolis and elsewhere the palestinian authorities say a twelve—year—old boy shot by israeli soldiers last week on the gaza border has died of his injuries. hundreds of people attended the funeral of oman hassan abu al—nile, who was hit by live fire during clashes between protesters and the israeli army last saturday. there have been clashes between police and protesters at demonstrations against anti— coronavirus measures in europe. police in berlin said they�*d detained or cautioned 80 demonstrators. a spokeswoman said bottles were thrown and four officers

were injured.in france, police officers fired teargas in paris, nantes and toulouse. 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. tony scott — professor of health economics at the melbourne institute, university of melbourne, has been telling me why so many australians are reluctant to be vaccinated. vaccine hesitancy in australia is about 20% say about half of those are onshore and about half definitely don�*t want to be vaccinated. that is kind of falling. it peaked in april at about 30 or 40% when we found out about the astrazeneca blood clots and that has remained. we have got a lot of astrazeneca but not a lot of pfizer here

australia so supplies are an issue but hesitancy remains. in new south wales where we have 1000 cases a day now there is some evidence in the last couple of weeks vaccine hesitancy and started increase again suggesting that messages are not really getting through. and it still remains an issue particularly among young people. to particularly among young neale, ., , particularly among young n-eole. ., , , particularly among young --eole. ., , , ., particularly among young theole, ., , , ., ., people. to personally see a lot of messaging _ people. to personally see a lot of messaging from _ people. to personally see a lot of messaging from the - of messaging from the authorities as you are going around your daily life and online and on telly and that sort of thing?— online and on telly and that sort of thing? yes, there is a bit but nothing _ sort of thing? yes, there is a bit but nothing particularly i bit but nothing particularly hard—hitting or anything like that. the issues trying to get into those communities. australia is a very multicultural place. we have diverse communities and it is trying to get to those places which is most important. i5 which is most important. is there a difference in age groups in terms of the hesitancy?— groups in terms of the hesitan ? , �* , groups in terms of the hesitan ? , �* hesitancy? yes. but mostly over 65 is a kind _ hesitancy? yes. but mostly over 65 is a kind of _ hesitancy? yes. but mostly over 65 is a kind of vine. _ hesitancy? yes. but mostly over 65 is a kind of vine. it _ hesitancy? yes. but mostly over 65 is a kind of vine. it is - 65 is a kind of vine. it is really the 18—44 is a bit 34%

now not falling amongst that group very quickly. you know, thatis group very quickly. you know, that is a concern. 0bviously that is a concern. obviously there are some issues in new south wales with some freedoms. if you are doubly vaccinated, slightly less restrictions and thatis slightly less restrictions and that is going to help but interesting to see how that influences peoples vaccination rates. ~ . influences peoples vaccination rates. . ., ., influences peoples vaccination rates. ~ ., ., ., influences peoples vaccination rates. ., ., ., rates. what about the fear of caettin rates. what about the fear of getting the — rates. what about the fear of getting the virus _ rates. what about the fear of getting the virus itself. - getting the virus itself. initially australia did so well to keep numbers down and i think people felt a bit immune to it or it wasn�*t coming to them. have you seen a change in peoples attitudes towards the vaccine as the number of cases has risen?_ has risen? that, it has. hesitancy _ has risen? that, it has. hesitancy has - has risen? that, it has. hesitancy has for - has risen? that, it has. hesitancy has for them | has risen? that, it has. . hesitancy has for them but has risen? that, it has. - hesitancy has for them but now it of, new south wales has that in that so we�*re kind of get into the bottom of the curve i think. and that�*s still an issue. it is hard to kind of get in there into those

communities. china has rejected accusations from president biden that it withheld key information about how the coronavirus pandemic started. a us report came to no firm conclusion on where the virus originated but said china had hindered the investigations. china said the report lacked credibility. regional leaders attending a summit in baghdad have pledged their support for the iraqi government in its efforts to rebuild the country after years of conflict. president abdel fattah al—sisi of egypt talked of wanting a new phase of constructive cooperation between cairo and baghdad. the summit was also attended by the french president, emmanuel macron, who promised that his country�*s forces would stay and continue confronting terrorism in iraq, even if the us eventually pulled out. while the summit focused much attention on iraq, it was hoped it would also promote more dialogue in a region wracked by tensions. the brazilian president, jair bolsonaro, has said he sees three alternatives for his future: prison, death, or victory in next year�*s presidential election. mr bolsonaro is currently

trailing the left—wing candidate — the former socialist president, luis inacio lula da silva, in opinion polls. scientists studying the rare pink iguanas in the galapagos islands have found they could be on the verge of extinction with only around 200 left in existence. they are calling for urgent action to prevent the species from dying out. the rare lizard animals were first discovered in 1986 — a couple in bolivia have gone to extraordinary lengths — or in fact heights — to make sure their wedding was an unforgettable, high—altitude, experience. sylvia lennan—spence has the story. this mountain is famous for its eternal snows. the highest mountain in western bolivia and now a wedding venue. 0ne bolivian couple got engaged at

the top of the 6000 metre peak near the capital and it was clear they would have to go one better for the actual wedding and the snowcapped peak of the mountain standing on the side of sex and have thousand metres above sea level did not disappoint. after hiking for three days carrying the gown and decorations, the bride and groom and their guests were greeted a temperature of —10 celsius as they meant the summit. with the sun shining on then the pair tied the knot. they are sports people and nature lovers as well as mountain lovers. it is for that reason they decided to take their marriage vows on the summit of this mountain. we are very close to heaven and close to god and he blesses you from the top of the mountain. after

a quick change back into their climbing clothes the newlywed celebrated, no doubt feeling like they were on top of the world. like they were on top of the world. 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. at tuesday�*s opening ceremony. 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. there�*s much more coverage of the situation in afghanistan on our website — including an article about life under the taliban in herat — third largest city in afghanistan. that�*s all at bbc.com/news — or download the bbc news app you can reach me on twitter — i�*m @ lucy e grey.

the weather has not been changing in a hurry over recent days because we�*ve got a big area of slow—moving high pressure in control at the moment. this was the scene as the sun set on saturday evening in norfolk. some clear skies around and patchy cloud here and there and as we head for the next 2a hours or so it is largely dry for much of the uk. more sunny spells on sunday but we�*ll have a little bit more cloud drifting in and that is because of their we have at the high pressure and charge the winds are rotating around the high—pressure, dragging bit more cloud in parts of scotland, north—east england and into ireland at times. still a bit of brightness breaking in anywhere west of higher ground. further south across england and wales you are likely to cease longer

spells of sunshine on sunday. still quite a breeze across east anglia and the south—east kick taken the edge of the damages here. jeremy 15—18. the west we are likely to see highs of 22 degrees or so. interleaving hours most of us end the day in a dry note. to showers not far away from the south—east. the more cloud pushing on you as well. most places dry once again as we had to end monday. not quite as cold as recent nights. stay 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. spot the difference here. the winds coming in from the north sea. dragging in more cloud on monday particularly eastern areas. they can have the odd spot of drizzle and fog around the coast as well. the best of any sunshine probably for the south—west of england towards wales as well. almost everywhere staying largely dry. you will notice that wind particularly around east coast

of scotland, eastern england as well but lighter winds further west in temperatures a degree orso west in temperatures a degree or so down on sunday so we�*re looking at highs of 15—21 on monday. now, the west of the week, not much change. introduced a very similar to monday. sunshine in the west particularly for northern ireland and wales. cloudier and cooler with the breeze coming in of the north sea to the east. 16 or 17 to the east. 18 or19 east. 16 or 17 to the east. 18 or 19 towards the west on tuesday and spot the difference, really for the week ahead. high—pressure keeping things large the dry little cool for 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. 400 and fifty—seven british service personnel lost their lives during the conflict. - -457 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 to protect themselves. now on bbc news — dateline london.