berlin. the telegram seized control of afghanistan third-largest city. this just hours after taking control of the strategic city of garcia -- this strategic city. also coming out, scorched earth, firefighters struggle to contain deadly wildfires in algeria as

the country holds morning -- mo urns the lost lives. the russian artist telling love stories with latex. sasha takes her talented talent to estonia where she is staging an ambitious opera with the aid of some very big, very bright costumes. anthony: we begin with the extraordinary developments in afghanistan. the u.s. says it is sending 3000 troops to help evacuate busy staff in kabul. the decision comes with the beleaguered afghan government struggling to turn the tide.

the taliban are on the march against afghanistan. that comes hot on the heels of militant overrunning the strategic income of ghazni. heavy fighting is also taking place in the country second-biggest city. the u.s. believes the afghan capital itself could come under attack within weeks and is asking its citizens to leave the country immediately. >> the taliban triumphant in ghazni. they have met barely any resistance. it seems that without backing from the u.s. and other international troops, afghan government forces are reluctant to make a stand. >> our security forces are still fighting the opposition and some

areas. >> ghazni lies on a vital highway connecting these cities. both already under heavy attack by the taliban. just a short distance from ghazni is the capital of kabul itself. >> we remain optimistic but we were always concerned that if the central and global governments did not pay special attention to ghazni and it fell, we would see a huge security challenge threatening couple. >> -- kabul. >> now the military has fallen. they usually find stockpiles of weapons and vehicles left behind by government troops. the militants claim the troops

then joined their ranks but neither the images nor the information can be verified. there is no doubt that the militants are rapidly gaining ground and they may yet prove unstoppable. anthony: let's talk to bradley. he is with the center on military and political power. he joins us from washington. a string of provincial capitals are being captured. employees from the u.s. embassy and kabul are being told to leave. are you surprised at the sheer speed of which this is -- at which this is folding? bradley: thank you for the question. it is a deadly thing unfolding. based on this idea of endless

war we have heard pundits push for so long. this is what you get when you do a provisions withdrawal. on facts on the ground and our- enemies don't stop fighting just because we with draw. what we are receiving is a vivid and sad example of this. the victims in the short-term are going to be afghan women and girls. we will all be victims in the long run because we know the problems in afghanistan don't stay there. >> you recorded earlier this week, saying the situation was a protectable disaster. what do you predict will happen in kabul? >> dishes are dangerous. if you asked me months ago, i

warned the biden administration to not procd with the announcement. i would have predicted you would have seen significant taliban gains in the south and the west based on the traditional rengths there. the big surprise has been the gains in the north. threason why that is significant for your viewers is that is the traditional political strength, strong point of the kabul government. clearly the taliban is trying to isolate the kabul government and overthrow it. in pursuing this rural strategy, they have surrounded the cities and they are going into action. meanwhile, biden is ignoring this and withdrawing and we should be honest, it is the u.s. led nato withdrawal that has catalyzed what we are seeing right now. it is sad and tragic.

>> joe biden has doubled down on his decision, saying that afghans need to fight for their nation they received training from american and german troops. what more could have been done to protect them? que we have 3500 troops in afghanistan. 3500 american troops. we were preventing another 9/11 attack. we were preserving the gains that afghan women and girls have madend we were preventing massive new refugee flows that were going to destabilize pakistan. we had 3500 troops, that was not an unreanable investment. despite that, joe biden doubles down on his mistake and conducted a conditions ignoring withdrawal there and we got isis and we had to go back. we are repeating that mistake

now in afghanistan and etching we are all going to pay a price. anthony: that was bradley. thank you for your me. the relentless advance of the taliban has forced thousands of afghans to flee. many have gone to seeking safety in kabul while others are leaving the country. >> they have fled the taliban's advance. others have seek shelter in different parts of the country. others are desperate to get out. at the border of pakistan, they are winning for a crossing to reopen. >> we are primarily worried that afghans will get stuck in afghanistan if the taliban

controls the border. if neighboring countries are effectively shutting their borders like turkey did to us and of course, the eu has really strengthened their fortress, fortress europe. they made sure that they works with partners who try to block their borders. that keeps people in an area they are not safe in. >> the situation in afghanistan has prompted some to raise the specter of the summer of 2015. germany took in a million people seeking refuge, mostly from war-torn syria. a repeat of those events is unlikely. after pressure from eu ambassadors in afghanistan, germany has now suspended deportations of rejected afghan asylum-seekers but only temporarily. germany and europe focus remains in keeping those fleeing from getting to europe and supporting

third-party countries who will host them. that position is unlikely to change as the chancellor candidate for the social democrats tells us. >> many countries are not governed the same way we would expect but they do offer protection. that is why the needs to be prospects for integration in africa, asia and south america. we need to share responsibility in that. >> one group the german government has vowed to help, afghans who worked with german troops stationed in the country and to now face acute danger. despite promises, the process of getting them to safety has been slow. as the taliban capture more and more territory, many of them may not get out before it is too late. >> algeria is observing a national day of mourning after wildfires killed at least 65 people. 28 of those who died were

soldiers deployed to help fight the flames. france and morocco have pledged to send water to algeria. >> it is a desperate struggle against the flames. one being repeated across the country. civilians and soldiers take on the fires with small water hoses and branches. in this war against destruction, the frontline battles are being fought in chaotic conditions. >> there is no coordination, we have no water, no fuel, electricity, no ambulances to save people. the fires have reduced district after district to ash. as some locals returned to the devastated homes, the question is what of their former lives is left of them? >> there is a lot of damage.

people have lost their homes. the trees won't grow back anytime soon. this is only the beginning of the disaster. there is solidarity. volunteers collect nations to send out to the fire hit nations. clothes, food, medicines as the scale of the emergency becomes more and more clear, algerians are stepping up to help. there is nothing new about seasonal wildfires here but the country has rarely seen anything like this. >> this time it is really exceptional. we received a lot of donations but also a lot of volunteers. a lot of people have contacted us from morning to night. we received calls all the time to give donations, to ask what to do. people are lost. they don't know what to do. >> but there is no respite insight. the heat is unrelenting with temperatures reaching 50 degrees

south the -- celsius. courts we are talking to this journalist in the algerian capital. saying northern algeria has been in the grip of devastating fires since monday now. what is the situation now? >> it is very bad. still under control because right now, as you mentioned in your report, the two airplanes in the region are trying to stop the fires, the problem is there are many fires and the region is big. of course, this area has surrounding forests, sea and mountains all around, it is a very remote area. courts the country it seems is used to seasonal wildfires but anything approaching this, is

the cause? why is it so bad this year? ->> many causes. crime is the first reason. on top of that, the lack of a path in the forest to stop the fire, lack of equipment, lack of techniques, the people are not used to that. there is no agreement, they are fighting themselves and it is not enough. can you imagine the huge big area? trees, forest, very mediterranean. it is a list of reasons, not only one reason. we don't know zachary what has happened exactly. we cannot say anything. of course, the prosecutor is

talking. they are claiming it is criminal but right now we don't know exactly what has happened. it will be cleared in the next few months. >> the investigation continues. soldiers and civilian volunteers have joined firefighters to try to extinguish these blazes. is the government also reaching out or making an outreach to europe for more help? >> yes. it is the reason the president will make a speech tonight. of course, they asked for help from europe. the europeans answered by sending aid here. they are coming from greece, fighting the fires in greece. they just arrived today. they are opting -- operating in this area. now they are breaking from this area, these mountains and

villages all over. >> reporting on the fires in algeria. thank you. quite sizzling temperatures have also been feeling wildfires across the mediterranean on the italian island of sicily. the island is in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave. the country's health industry -- ministry have warned vulnerable residents to stay indoors. >> with a maximum of 48 point it degrees celsius, sisley may have registered europe's highest temperature on record. the world medial article -- your logical -- meteoroliga --

meteoroligical ministry have even warnings. those out and about are mainly tourists like here in rome. >> we can't do very much because the heat heat is physically overwhelming. the extreme heat and hot winds are causing wildfires. firefighters have responded to calls to 500 emergencies across italy in just 12 hours. for huge fires are burning out of control and the sweltering temperatures show no signs of cooling down. quite here is a look at the other stories making headlines around the world. 17 people have been killed in flash floods in northern turkey. that after heavy rain in the black seacoast region. power cut to hundreds of villages.

hundreds of thousands of residents in southwestern japan are being urged to evacuate mid warnings of floods and potential landslides. parts of this island have received more than a month's rain in 48 hours. in the rain front is moving slowly west over the island. a number of rivers are close to overflowing. >> more than 300 people are shot every day in the united states, just over 100 of those are killed. the number of people impacted by gun violence have surged so dramatically that joe biden has dubbed it an epidemic. washington dc has seen the highest number of shootings in 16 years. >> logan circle, a neighborhood less than a mile away from the white house is one of the last major shopping hubs in washington.

this used to be safe and fun for the last decade but muggings and shootings have become more common over the last few months. jeremy is one of the victims who was recently killed by a stray bullets coming back from dinner with his wife and friends. >> it is a lite scary. for sure. >> appreciate what the police do but sometimes it isut of contl. >> hopefully it will not coinue to be an issue. i think the cit has madan efforto try to curb some of the uptick in violent crime we have seen. hopefully the mitigation helps. i feel like i still feel comfortable being here. quite late in july, a shooting happened near this restaurant where president biden recently had lunch. tim acosta was there. the video he posted of the gunfire to twitter proved

significant and gained national attention. this is a pastor and community leader in a struggling neighborhood to the northeast of the nation's capital. >> we don't invest in the poorest of the poor in the city. people are turning to violence because they get the message, the message is clear. we don't invest in you. the city can spend half $1 billion on more police but spend less than a million dollars on family resources in the most impacted neighborhoods. when people feel like they are pushed up against the wall, they resort to violence. with guns as easily accessible in our community as they are, this is what we will continue to see. >> heavy police presence. gentrified communities may feel safe in the short term but if the problems are not addressed, the cycle of violence will

continue. >> you are watching dw news. still to come, russian performance artist hoping to make opera inflatable and relatable. we will have a look at what she is staging in the estonian capital. and to some football news now. returning to former club chelsea for 100 15 million euros. the belgian stryker scored 30 goals in all competitions, leading into the first city title since 2010. but the coach has since left with the club set on cutting costs. he was previously signed from 2011 to 2014. before enjoying stints at everton and manchester united.

he now holds the record for the highest combined transfer fees ever. more details are emerging of the contract that superstar lionel messi has signed. it is reportedly worth 35 million euros per year. about half as much as his previous deal with barcelona but he is also being paid a type of digital currency. he received a payment of psg fan tokens. the value of the fan tokens sword when rumors of him joining the club surfaced days ago. the saudi arabia football federation has appointed monica stub as the new head coach of its women's national football team.

the german coach takes charge of a new established female side and spoke to dw about her new job. >> this veteran coach has a unique task on her hands. the 60 euro -- 62-year-old coached in qatar after a playing career. now she is establishing saudi arabia's women's team. >> we have to bring up ms. football fro the graroots vel. we are looking after gd results again other natiol teams d then thais it. i thin that is a very important approach. >> like at her previous jobs with smaller footballing nations, she will train the team and coaches in a country that has done little to grow the women's game so far. women are still often denied entrance to sporting events in saudi arabia. she knows it will take time to change things.

all of my discussions, especially with the arab world, they told me this is like a grass -- glass crystal. >> she is already in award-winning legend of the women's game. she was part of the group that built german women's club ffc frankfurt from the ground up and as their first coach she led the team to four league titles and five cup wins. now she sees another big opportunity to make history. >> i am lookin forward to this job. ofourse, im very honed they asked me to dthat job because it is going to be a historical moment that one day when we have o first international tch, hopefly

so, that will be wonderful for women and football all over the world. >> she has worked tirelessly to boost the profile of women's football. >> shiny, colorful and otherworldly. that is how one could describe the costumes of the russian designer and performance artist who creates her own outfits out of latex. the material gets a unique look and also fixed the way the performance moves. her eccentric creations have drawn worldwide attention -- -- and now she has set herself a new challenge, and opera. -- an opera.. >> these are like floating statues on stage. they are the work of sasha. she is known for her inflatable creations.

for her latest project, the opera not only created the costumes but she also takes part in it. >> i am very much inspired with classical arts. i think these classical arts need a new way of presenting. >> one of the most challenging parts of the production is preparing the costumes and putting them on. her preferred material for all of her pieces is latex. it may be a flexible material but not always easy to get into. each costume is a labor of love. >> it is very hot in this. it is like a little sound for your body. -- sauna for your body. >> there were some small problems but it is good they were only small problems.

>> her artistic endeavors leave both the performers and audience members with a memorable experience. >> you are watching dw news, live from berlin. stay tuned i will be after -- back after a short break to take you through the day. see you soon.

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martinique is under a strict lockdown as a fourth wave of coronavirus hits the caribbean island. reinforcements are being sent from paris. the western united states is still fighting major wildfires. we get the latest on