this is bbc world news. i'm ben brown. our top stories: the prince of wales' former aide steps down temporarily from his charity role after allegations he used his influence to help secure an honourfor a major donor. taliban officials have broken up a demonstration by dozens of women in kabul who were calling for the right to work and to be included in the government. reports that ministers in the uk are to announce the demolition of grenfell tower due to safety concerns. one survivors group says fewer than ten of them were consulted. two more medals for great britain on the final day of the paralympics, with bronze wins in the men's badminton and men's wheelchair basketball.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the chief executive of one of prince charles�* charities, the prince's foundation — has temporarily stepped down following claims that he helped secure an honourfor a major donor. two british newpapers, the sunday times and the mail on sunday, allege that michael fawcett used his influence to assist a saudi businessman. mr fawcett was, until 2003, the prince's valet. here's our royal correspondent, jonny dymond. michael fawcett was once one of prince charles�* closest aides, a man whom the prince relied upon to guide and organise his personal life. three years ago, he became chief executive of the prince's foundation — an umbrella group for a number of prince charles�* charitable interests. newspaper reports allege that mr fawcett offered to assist a wealthy saudi national and major donor to the prince�*s foundation

with citizenship and with an honour. mahfouz marei mubarak bin mahfouz received an honorary cbe in late 2016. 0ne palace source stressed the distance between prince charles�* office and his foundation, but michael fawcett is renowned for his closeness to prince charles and this is an embarrassment for the prince. the foundation said it took the allegations very seriously and that the matter is under investigation. the foundation failed to respond to a number of other allegations raised by the newspapers. to afghanistan, where economic and social uncertainty is growing as the country still awaits an announcement of the new taliban government. it had been expected earlier this week, but no reason has been given for the apparent delay.

meanwhile, taliban fighters have been accused of using pepper spray, tear gas and violence to break up a demonstration in kabul held by a group of women demanding rights under the new regime. courtney bembridge reports. women in kabul demanding rights and a voice in government say they were met with violence. translation: the taliban hit women . with electric tasers and they used i tear gas against women. they also hit women on the head with guns and the women were bleeding. there was no—one to ask why. it�*s the latest of several protests in kabul and herat from women who fear a return to the way they were treated the last time the taliban was in power. the taliban have said women can be involved in government, but not hold ministerial positions. afghans have watched on as remnants of their old lives are erased. the taliban says this is just cleaning and decorating,

but as the wait for a new government drags on, there is growing uncertainty. translation: security is good all over the country, _ the people are happy, but the lack of work and the non—announcement of the government is worrying people. everyone is confused and people don�*t know what the future of the homeland will be because, well, everyone�*s confused. long lines have formed outside the banks for weeks now. translation: currently, - there are economic problems. prices have increased in the market. the cost of food and ingredients has rocketed. the people pouring in here don�*t know if their money is in the bank. people think their money has been emptied from the banks. afghanistan�*s economy is heavily dependent on cash and this weekend the country�*s largest money exchange market reopened after a 20—day closure. there are other signs of normality too. a cricket match was held in kabul this week with taliban commanders in the stands.

a stark contrast to the last time the taliban were in power and most sports were banned. but the taliban doesn�*t yet control the whole country. in the panjshir valley, north of kabul, fighting continues. it�*s the last area holding out against taliban rule and the resistance maintains it won�*t surrender. obaidullah baheer is a lecturer at the american university of afghanistan in kabul. here�*s his assessment of where things stand, three weeks since the taliban took over. things are a bit in the air because things that have been happening have been unofficial. the economic life of people are in a standstill even though some banks are open, takes you hours to get inside and then you can barely get $100 or $200, which

is your weekly limit. there is a lot of unemployment. economically there are a lot of tensions there. with regards to the government, as well, we have been waiting for weeks to hear from the taliban as to who will be appointed, whether it will be an inclusive system. afghans are nervous about whether the state will have international recognition, because that affects the common people, as well. there is a lot on everyone�*s mines and we are too scared to jump to conclusions right now. grenfell tower looks set to be demolished after the fire four years ago that killed 72 people. according to reports, structural engineers hired by the government are believed to have concluded unanimously that the building is unsafe and needs to be carefully taken down. one survivors group says fewer than ten of them were consulted. the uk government has accepted that huge queues

at immigration desks at heathrow, one of the world�*s biggest airports, are unacceptable. british nationals were among those delayed for several hours on friday. the airport says the lack of border force staff manning the positions was to blame. kathryn stanczyszyn reports. long queues and fed up passengers — these have been the scenes at heathrow airport this weekend, with waiting times of several hours to get through passport control. travellers took to social media to vent their anger at the situation, describing overcrowding and poor ventilation, even claiming some had fainted. the end of the school holidays means extra pressure at airports. this weekend is the busiest of the year for returning passengers, many with young children who can�*t use the electronic passport gates. but heathrow has criticised border force over the unacceptable cueing times, putting it down

to simply not enough staff on duty, particularly due to the extra checks being made due to coronavirus. in a statement, the airport apologised for the delays. it said border force were aware of extra demand and that it was very disappointed that they didn�*t provide sufficient resource. it also said it was drafting in more workers to help manage the queues and provide passenger welfare, but that at peak times, all immigration desks should be manned. the home office has admitted that the long waits are unacceptable and said border force was now rapidly reviewing its rosters and deploying more staff across the airport to improve waiting times. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. the ethiopian military claims it has killed thousands of rebels in the tigray region, although it�*s not clear when these casualties occurred. the conflict has been raging for ten months, displacing millions of people. and, days after the un accused ethiopia of blocking humanitarian aid to tigray, the government says it�*s sent a convoy of aid trucks into the region.

the bbc�*s kalkidan yibeltal, who is in adis ababa, says the claims will be very hard to verify. it is difficult, actually. there is no way for us to independently verify whether those numbers are right and whether they actually happened, but what we know is there has been intense fighting on a number of fronts, particularly since the expansion of this conflict to the expansion of this conflict to the neighbouring districts. we also need to understand it is not only the government that is claiming things. the liberation fronts that is controlling the tigray region, they say they have killed thousands of ethiopian soldiers. the claims are coming from both sides. one thing that these games tell us is that there is fierce fighting still raging with dire and tragic

consequences. new zealand�*s prime minister — jacinda ardern — has revealed that the country�*s immigration agency had been trying for years to deport an islamic state supporter who stabbed seven people in a supermarket in auckland on friday. he�*d spent three years in prison in new zealand awaiting trial for possessing islamic state group propaganda. from sydney, phil mercer has more. the new zealand prime minister saying that for years her government had tried to deport this man. he arrived in the country in 2011 on a student visa and claimed asylum. he was granted refugee status. he first came to the attention of the authorities in 2016 and was warned about posting violent extremist examine state content online. he was later charged with various offences and spent three years in prison awaiting trial. he was convicted earlier this year but released in july on a supervision order. jacinda

ardern saying that every legal avenue had been perceived to try to keep this man behind bars. he wasn�*t, but was under 24—hour police surveillance when he launched his knife rampage in that supermarket in auckland. for more than 50 days police and tactical unit officers were watching this man�*s every move. we don�*t know if he knew he was under surveillance, we don�*t know if he knew he was undersurveillance, but we don�*t know if he knew he was under surveillance, but the authorities have said he was pretty savvy in the regard of being watched. we understand that police officers were waiting outside of the supermarket visited before when apparently he took a knife from a display cabinet and started his attack. within less than a minute the police have confirmed that this individual and shot him dead. we have an update on the victims. five people were stabbed, another to received other injuries and out of those five who were attacked and

stabbed, three remain in a critical but stable condition in auckland�*s city hospital. more than 8,000 chain stores disappeared from high streets, shopping centres and retail parks across britain in the first six months of this year. new research suggests city centres have suffered the most, as footfall has yet to recover to pre—pandemic levels. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. it is the most famous shopping street in london, but now one of the hardest hit. oxford street littered with boarded up shops. city centres have suffered the most this year as chain stores continue to close. there is quite a lot closed down, we have noticed, that is what we have noticed walking along. it is not as crowded as it used to be. i it is quite unexpected to come into central london and actually see how effected they are by the pandemic. it's the same in brighton, | loads of shops have gone. new figures show the scale of upheavel. in the first part of this year, 31188 chain stores opened.

3,488 chain stores opened. these include everything from gyms and cafes to banks and bars. but more than 8,700 of them closed, meaning a net loss of more than 5,200 outlets. these figures are stark, they are not quite as bad as this time last year. out of all the locations across great britain, it�*s retail parks and out—of—town shopping that have fared best. so is this a permanent shift? over the next few months, city centres will start to liven up again as people start to go back to work and schools go back and people spend more time in cities. however, i don�*t think you are going to get the same level of footfall in city centres as before. and retail parks, they are just more convenient for us. this bakery chain definitely prefers a high street. it is just opening its latest store here in the london suburb of kew, one of four new branches. i definitely think people

are eating better food, more often and more often at home. opening the extra stores and being able to expand at a time when rents are low and there is opportunity for us to rethink even what a bakery is. tempting people back in is the big challenge now for so many of our towns and city centres, which are still struggling to fully recover from the pandemic. emma simpson, bbc news, central london. the headlines on bbc news: the prince of wales�* former aide steps down from his charity role after allegations he used his influence to help secure an honour for a major donor. taliban officials have broken up a demonstration by dozens of women in kabul who were calling for the right to work and to be included in the government. heathrow airport has criticised uk border force after passengers faced "unacceptable queuing times". images on social media showed packed queues at london�*s main airport.

let�*s get more on our top story, the claims surrounding the boss of one of prince charles�* charities. a short time ago i spoke to our news correspondent simonjones, who said the allegations will be taken seriously by the prince. michael fossett has a long association with the royal family, dating back a0 years. hejoined in 1981 as if footman to the queen then he became a valley to prince charles, part of his job involved laying out prince charles was back suits and shirts every morning. now we have 30 is temporarily stepping down as chief executive of the prince�*s foundation. that is why the investigation is taking place. the allegations that he used his insert

—— influence to secure an honour for our prominent saudi businessmen. the businessman himself says that he hasn�*t done anything wrong and he didn�*t expect anything in return for the gave to the foundation. we didn't expect anything in return for the gave to the foundation. we have had a statement _ the gave to the foundation. we have had a statement from _ the gave to the foundation. we have had a statement from the _ the gave to the foundation. we have | had a statement from the foundation itself. ~ . itself. what ifi said? one statement, _ itself. what ifi said? one statement, a _ itself. what if i said? one i statement, a spokesperson itself. what if i said? one - statement, a spokesperson for the foundation said. another statement said that michael

fawcett will step down immediately while the trustee investigation is ongoing. the foundation has accepted this and michael fawcett will assist the investigation in every way. in the last few minutes we�*ve received these latest pictures of michael fawcett returning to his home this morning. he didn�*t repsond to the questions put to him there but said he is cooperating with the investigation. the saudi businessman named in the story denies any wrongdoing says he idn�*t expect anything in return for his donations. the perilous state of the planet�*s wildlife is being laid bare at the world�*s

largest biodiversity summit. the international union for conservation of nature has released its revised �*red list�* of endangered species. thers�*s some good news for tuna, but the fate of many other animals still hangs in the balance. gail maclellan reports. weighing in at 150 kilograms, the komodo dragon is the rope madley largest living lizard, they have deadly venom and no predators so it is hard to imagine that they are under threat. at the reptile has just been added to the endangered species list. there are only found in a handful of indonesian islands and their habitat is shrinking rapidly. and their habitat is shrinking raidl.�* , and their habitat is shrinking raidl. , ., ., rapidly. because of global warming -- ulobal rapidly. because of global warming -- global warming _ rapidly. because of global warming -- global warming and _ rapidly. because of global warming -- global warming and climate - —— global warming and climate change, rising sea levels, it will lose its habitat in the next 30—a0 years. lose its habitat in the next 30-40 ears. , ., ., ., ., ., years. here is another animal that ma not years. here is another animal that may not conjure — years. here is another animal that may not conjure up _ years. here is another animal that may not conjure up an _ years. here is another animal that may not conjure up an image - years. here is another animal that may not conjure up an image of i may not conjure up an image of vulnerability, but they say two in five sharks are in danger of

extinction, and raise faces similar threats. ., , ., �* extinction, and raise faces similar threats. ., �* ., , threats. people don't really pay attention to _ threats. people don't really pay attention to what _ threats. people don't really pay attention to what is _ threats. people don't really pay attention to what is happening l threats. people don't really pay. attention to what is happening to them. there is some good news. scientists say that the tuna population is starting to recover after years of overfishing. it clearly demonstrates what can be done when teams work together because these are massively wide—ranging species. all the regions have to coordinate and it is finally paying off. the regions have to coordinate and it is finally paying off-— finally paying off. the report was released at _ finally paying off. the report was released at a _ finally paying off. the report was released at a global _ finally paying off. the report wasj released at a global conservation summit in france, bringing together thousands of scientists, conservation experts and campaigners, including the actor harrison ford. the conference was officially opened by emmanuel macron. translation: ,., macron. translation: ., ., , translation: the battle against climate disruption _ translation: the battle against climate disruption is _ translation: the battle against climate disruption is twinned - translation: the battle against climate disruption is twinned with the battle to preserve and restore

biodiversity. the battle to preserve and restore biodiversity-— the battle to preserve and restore biodiversi . . , ., biodiversity. there was the warning about the economic _ biodiversity. there was the warning about the economic impacts - biodiversity. there was the warning about the economic impacts of- about the economic impacts of inaction. translation: , ., ., . translation: there is no economic stability and — translation: there is no economic stability and financial _ translation: there is no economic stability and financial stability - stability and financial stability without respect for nature and without respect for nature and without the contribution of nature because our economies are dependent on nature, because of our economies are dependent on the resilience that biodiversity brings.— biodiversity brings. experts have assessed more _ biodiversity brings. experts have assessed more than _ biodiversity brings. experts have assessed more than 130,000 i biodiversity brings. experts have i assessed more than 130,000 spent biodiversity brings. experts have - assessed more than 130,000 spent -- assessed more than 130,000 spent —— species and to find that more than a quarter are at risk of extinction. conservationists say it should be a clarion call for nature to be placed at the heart of all decision—making. at the united nations conference on climate change at glasgow this year. the 2020 tokyo paralympics closes later, after 12 days of extraordinary sporting achievement by disabled athletes from 162 countries — set against the backdrop of the covid pandemic.

this sport that people are watching, which has been tremendously exciting, there have been incredible performances, we have seen world records broken, we have seen individually some amazing performances. the ones that i have seen, i saw zheng tao, the chinese swimmer who lost his arms when he was a child, he has won four gold medals and won several new records. dame sarah storey has now become the greatest paralympian of all time with 17 gold medals and i think i�*m right in saying 27 overall now. japan has done much, much better as the host nation, the host team in this paralympics that it has in previous olympic and paralympic games, in rio and london, i don�*t

thinkjapan paralympic team won any gold medals at all. they won 13 goals in 51 medals overall. a great achievement for the japanese team. that was the enthusiasm here for what is going on. on the other hand, covid—19 has been spreading very fast and there are a lot of people in hospital, a lot of people who can�*t get him to hospital because of the pandemic and that has really soured things here. the atmosphere injapan, particularly here in tokyo, but across the country is one of anxiety across the pandemic and the fact that it�*s got so much worse over the past few weeks and anger that the politicians didn�*t get this under control. a lot of people thought they were focusing on the olympics and paralympics are not focusing on the pandemic. brazil has suspended beef exports to china after the agriculture ministry confirmed two cases of mad cow disease. the samples were collected

from meat plants in different regions of the country. authorities say these were isolated cases of the disease, which develops spontaneously in cattle. they say there was no health risk to humans or other animals. imagine you�*re in a motorway tunnel and you�*re stuck in traffic. what wouldn�*t you give to be able to take off and fly away? well, one italian pilot has come pretty close to doing exactly that with an extraordinary feat of aerial bravery. tim allman reports. dario costa doesn�*t do things by a half. for some reason, he wants to fly a plane through a tunnel. through two tunnels, in fact. so, he and his team of taking more than a year to plan precisely down to every little detail. it is difficult the mindset and don�*t worry about this and trust yourself and focus on the centreline and just fly.

just after dawn in a road tunnel near istanbul, dario takes off. in an altitude of around a metre, surrounded by solid concrete, his record attempt begins. reaching a top speed of 2a5 kph, he exits the first tunnel before racing into the second. travelling more than 1000 metres but barely leaving the ground. you can imagine the delight when dario reaches the end of his journey. yes! very emotional, very emotional. you don�*t know what to expect, but i have never flown like that

in my life and no one�*s done it before, so there was big question in my head if everything would�*ve been like we expected. an amazing achievement and tunnel vision, but imagine what it may have been like if at the stop to a toll. they say you should never work with children or animals. well, perhaps someone should have explained that to turkey�*s president. mr erdogan was taking part in a ribbon—cutting ceremony for the opening of a road tunnel in the northeast of the country — when he was somewhat upstaged by a young boy whojumped the gun — and decided to cut the ribbon a little bit early. after the president administered a light tap on the head in punishment, the ceremony was restaged and the tunnel was officially opened. berlin has been holding its annual festival of lights. it�*s one of the most popular light festivals in the world, attracting over two million visitors every year. artists from all corners of the globe create projections and installations across the city.

this year the theme was building a more sustainable future. all powered, we trust, by renewable energy. hello there. just when you thought summer was over, temperatures are set to climb over the next few days. and certainly for today, it�*s going to be a little warmer than it was yesterday in most places, but with the chance of some rain across the north—west of the uk. so as we head through the afternoon, then, most places england and wales will see some spells of sunshine, stained bit misty and magnificent coasts in the southwest, eastern scotland holding onto some brightness at least for a time, but for western scotland and northern ireland, we see thicker cloud and some outbreaks of rain, with a strengthening breeze. but temperatures are going to be a little higher than they were yesterday, 20 degrees for glasgow, 2a for cardiff and for london, somewhere in the south getting to 26 degrees potentially with just the chance of the odd late shower, but most places remaining dry.

not so further north — we have this band of rain, that will sink a little further southwards overnight, getting down into parts of northern england, turning very misty and murky for western coasts of wales and the south—west of england, and some fog patches developing elsewhere, as well. a very mild and muggy start to monday morning. we will have this band of rain and patchy cloud in place across northern england and northern ireland, the rain will peter out but it will stay quite cloudy for many northern parts of the uk. further south, early mist and fog clearing to give some spells in many places and that sunshine will let temperatures as high as 27 degrees. and even further north, 21 for aberdeen and 22 there in belfast. and there is more warmth to come. high pressure to the east of us bringing a southerly breeze, quite a brisk breeze at times as we head into the middle part of the week. but drawing very warm air up in our direction. you will feel that, particularly given lots of sunshine, and on tuesday, we can expect largely sunny skies after morning mist and fog has cleared. away from the far north of scotland, here it will stay quite cloudy.

but look at the temperatures. 2a to maybe 28 or 29 degrees down towards the south, and wednesday, very similar weather in most places. some good spells of sunshine around butjust the chance of some showers and thunderstorms starting to creep in from the south—west. but ahead of that, a very warm if not hot day for some of us. however, things do look set to change for the end of the week. it�*s going to turn more unsettled, with some rain at times. temperatures are a little lower by this stage but still quite respectable for this time of year.

good morning, you are watching bbc news. the headlines... the prince of wales�* former aide steps down temporarily from his charity role after allegations he used his influence to help secure an honourfor a major donor. taliban officials have broken up a demonstration by dozens of women in kabul, who were calling for the right to work and to be included in the government heathrow airport has criticised uk border force after passengers complained of "unacceptable queuing times" , images on social media showed packed queues at the london airport. reports that ministers in the uk are to announce the demolition of grenfell tower due to safety concerns — one survivors group says fewer than ten of them were consulted. now on bbc news, political thinking. nick robinson talks about what�*s really going on in british politics.