as the department of defence cooperating with any of _ out. nisations? and what is your message to _ organisations? and what is your message to these _ organisations? and what is your. message to these organisations? organisations? and what is your- message to these organisations? are they helping — message to these organisations? are they helping or — message to these organisations? are they helping or hindering? _ message to these organisations? are they helping or hindering? given- they helping or hindering? given what _ they helping or hindering? given what you — they helping or hindering? given what you know— they helping or hindering? given what you know about _ they helping or hindering? given what you know about how - they helping or hindering? given what you know about how this i they helping or hindering? given what you know about how this is| what you know about how this is unfolding. — what you know about how this is unfolding, should _ what you know about how this is unfolding, should they - what you know about how this is unfoldin

to illustrate just how stretched some of the armed forces have become here, the us department of defencet announced that it is activating what it calls the civil reserve air fleet. this essentially means that the us military, the air force, will take over 18 civilian airliners to help with the evacuation effort. they will not fly directly into kabul airport, but what they will do is once people have been flown away from kabul by military plane and dropped off at the nearest safe oatar has been used along with others being used. there was actually a time where oatar set our facilities are full we cannot take any more. to speed that up the civilian airliners will fly to those error bases —— those airbases. so that should help move people more quickly. stop them. the military planes can be used to getting as many people as quickly as possible out of kabul away from that airport. certainly it is a sign of how amen's the evacuation effort is. how much it is taking up in terms of aircraft and resources. how logistically difficult it is. or how intent the us airforces on difficult it is. or how

america's department of defence didn't reply to our request for comment.cide bombing claimed by the islamic state group would have ripped through the densely packed crowd, causing panic. the blast has left two—year—old mohammed reza fighting for his life. this looks set to be one of the deadliest incidents ever in this horrific conflict. so many of the victims, those that have worked with the international community. noor mohammad had been employed alongside american forces. the guy has served us army for years. and the reason he lost his life. he wasn't killed by taliban, he wasn't killed by isis, he was killed in the shelling. how can you be sure? because of the bullet. the bullet inside of his head, right here, near to his ear. he didn't have, he doesn't have any injury. these are noor mohammad's eight children. he had hoped to give them a better life. instead, this afternoon, they said a final goodbye. those killed in this awful attack were trying to escape years of violence in afghanistan. instead, they became the latest victims in a country torn apar

the department of defence in the united states plans to make vaccination against covid—19 mandatory forresidential authorisation to implement the proposal no later than mid—september. for more than a year and a half, canada has barred visitors from its closest neighbour and largest trading partner — the united states. but as of today, fully vaccinated americans are now allowed cross the border and enter canada free of quarantine, which prompted massive queues at the border. london's iconic landmark tower bridge has been hit by a technicalfault, leaving the bridge stuck while open, causing major traffic problems. the 127—year—old bridge was scheduled to open monday to allow a large wooden ship through, but it becamejammed. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. how the games will go down in history, and can future 0lympic hosts learn from tokyo? the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge job of crowd co

there was not a clear division of- was not a clear division of responsibilities between the state department and the department of defenceat perhaps the other should have. there were not clear objectives, there were arbitrary timelines for achieving things in afghanistan, there was essentially an effort to justify the amount of money that was being poured into the country, and so, these metrics were established that didn't quite make sense, and i think the biggest issue is that the united states simply did not understand the underlying ethnic, politicaland understand the underlying ethnic, political and social dynamics in afghanistan in a way that allowed it to implement programmes that were sustainable and could be led by afghans themselves long—term. were there any positives in this report was yellow yes, i mean maternal health improved, healthcare in general improved, education improved, but these were islands of improvement within a sea of failure, and at the end of the day, many of these improvements were only sustainable if there was a permanent us presence. of which there isn't. thank you for being on the programm

one development is that the us department of defence has announced that it will activate what it callsve air fleet — that essentially means it commandeers a set of commercial airliners to help with the evacuation. so 18 airliners from different us airlines will now be taken over by the military and will support the evacuation effort. they won't be flown directly into kabul airport but they'll be used to collect people from the nearest air bases so that the military flights can focus on ferrying people out of kabul to whichever bases in the region are being used. qatar has been used extensively. the facilities there were said to be overcrowded and qatar had to turn people away for a time. so this will help move people on, either to the us or to other countries that have agreed to accept them. that's one development in the evacuation effort, but we have had a response from the taliban leadership to this whole situation. in a sense saying, "don't blame us, this is on the us." one of their senior figures released a statement in the last hour that said, "our victory and success have shocked

the united states department of defence said today they were hoping to evacuate between 20 and 30,000untry. that ultimately is not what i'm worried about. we're worried about the pictures we are not seeing at this point, the pictures of people who are still stranded outside of kabul, who are trying to get to the capital. these may have application pending. they are the ones we are most worried about these days. precisely, we're hearing about those stories of people people in big cities like kabul, but how difficult is it for people to get out of the country? this is it for people to get out of the count ? . , ., is it for people to get out of the count ? a ., i, country? as of yesterday, the taliban had _ country? as of yesterday, the taliban had surrounded - country? as of yesterday, the taliban had surrounded kabul| country? as of yesterday, the - taliban had surrounded kabul and it didn't seem people were able to enter kabul. what i saw it later today was that the us was in some conversation with the taliban, and aiming forsome conversation with the taliban, and aiming for some sor

the department of defence in the united states plans to make vaccination against covid—19 mandatory foris seeking presidential authorisation to implement the proposal no later than mid— september. for more than a year and a half, canada has barred visitors from its closest neighbour and largest trading partner — the united states. but fully vaccinated americans are now allowed to cross the border and enter canada free of quarantine, which prompted massive queues at the border. prince andrew is being sued in new york by virginia roberts giuffre, one ofjeffrey epstein's alleged victims. in a statement, ms giuffre said her civil suit lays out in detail how she was trafficked to prince andrew and sexually abused by him. prince andrew has flatly denied all of the allegations against him. our north america correspondent nada tawfik has more. her team says there had been trying since 2015 to get prince andrew through his representatives to answer some of the questions they had about what he knew. aboutjeffrey jeffrey epstein's alleged sex trafficking ring. they wanted to come to a negotiated s

america's department of defence didn't reply to our request for comment.ombing claimed by the islamic state group would have ripped through the densely packed crowd causing panic. the blast has left two—year—old mohammed reza fighting for his life. this looks set to be one of the deadliest incidents ever in this horrific conflict. so many of the victims, those that have worked with the international community. noor mohammad had been employed alongside american forces. the guy has served us army for years. and the reason he lost his life. he wasn't killed by taliban, he wasn't killed by isis, he was killed in the shelling. how can you be sure? because of the bullet. the bullet inside of him, right here, near to his ear. he didn't have, he doesn't have any injury. these are noor mohammad's eight children. he had hoped to give them a better life. instead, this afternoon, they said a final goodbye. those killed in this awful attack were trying to escape years of violence in afghanistan. instead, they became the latest victims in a country torn apart by bloodsh

additionally, the department of defence continues to support humanitarian relief operations in response to home. in haiti, us military assets have flown 560 sorties providing rapid us military support living more than £3a8,000 of aid. —— support living more than £3a8,000 of aid. -- 348,000 lb support living more than £348,000 of aid. -- 348,000 lb of support living more than £348,000 of aid. —— 348,000 lb of aid. and national guard have evacuated more than 2500 personnel in louisiana, mississippi, texas and alabama in response to the mccain. they bring a variety of assets including high water vehicles, variety of assets including high watervehicles, mood variety of assets including high water vehicles, mood the lift and other transportation capability. to support recovery efforts. the us army corps of engineers is operational and new owners leans and is assessing the storm's impact. the deal d stands ready to assist as requested. thank you. ok. deal d stands ready to assist as requested. thank you.- deal d stands ready to assist as requested. thank you. ok, i don't have anything _ reque

today the department of defence can announce that it _ department of defence can announce that it hash special visa. these installations are joined mac joining _ these installations are joined mac joining three other bases and providing the support. the defence department will continue to support the state _ department will continue to support the state department in providing temporary housing, stiff statement —— sustainment... us northern command — —— sustainment... us northern command will co—ordinate the details of this— command will co—ordinate the details of this with _ command will co—ordinate the details of this with the state department, the department of homeland security and the _ the department of homeland security and the department of health and human _ and the department of health and human services as necessary. and it will be _ human services as necessary. and it will be provided under for dissident —— presidential drawdown. as a general— —— presidential drawdown. as a general let— —— presidential drawdown. as a general let you know, we will have the commander coming

in order to facilitate this reduction, the department of defence will temporarily deploy additional personnelps being needed to be sent to? , , ., ., ., be sent to? it seems that around 3000 troops _ be sent to? it seems that around 3000 troops may _ be sent to? it seems that around 3000 troops may go _ be sent to? it seems that around 3000 troops may go back - be sent to? it seems that around 3000 troops may go back to - be sent to? it seems that around 3000 troops may go back to the | 3000 troops may go back to the airport in kabul to facilitate that drawdown as he heard there from ned price they are not saying how much they are moving from the embassy but they are moving from the embassy but they are moving from the embassy but they are reducing to what they call a court of the medic presents and this was not the to have to send troops back into the country when the drawdown is well over 95% complete and do to be completed by the end of the month but the circumstances on the ground have necessitated it. they are insisting the embassy will remain open although they were press very hard over

and this evening, these new pictures from the ministry of defence show soldiers departing from kabul.efence has released images of british soldiers boarding planes out of afghanistan. the us—led airlift of those trying to escape taliban rule is due to end on tuesday. here's our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley. the race to finish an unprecedented rescue mission is almost done. the pentagon says more than 110,000 people have been airlifted out of the country in the past two weeks by us forces and its allies. among the planes leaving kabul airport today, the last british evacuation flight for civilians. we've done an extraordinaryjob to evacuate as many as we have, but i'm afraid it's absolutely heartbreaking that we can't bring everybody out. and i think that point�*s been made very strongly certainly by the defence secretary and others over the last ten days or so. personally, i've probably had over 100 messages from different afghans who i know in my long association with the country, and many of those friends of mine won't make it out. and for me, not a day passes without me

president biden very much sticking to the timeline, and so too is the department of defence. ed to be manifesting there. so, they say they will complete the task by next week, but they do also need to get out there troops and some equipment, although we heard from the pentagon that lives will be the priority. if they have to leave equipment behind, they will. jae equipment behind, they will. joe biden equipment behind, they will. joe biden has been under lots of criticism, notjust in the states, but in around the world. what has been the political fallout in the us? ., , been the political fallout in the us? ._ , us? certainly, republicans have been heavily critical — us? certainly, republicans have been heavily critical of _ us? certainly, republicans have been heavily critical of the _ us? certainly, republicans have been heavily critical of the way _ us? certainly, republicans have been heavily critical of the way this - us? certainly, republicans have been heavily critical of the way this has - heavily critical of the way this has all been done. holes in the two parties ap

the us defence department, an official from the defence department, has told reuters news agency that the number ofse suicide bombings a couple airport has now risen by one to 13. that is the information that we are getting at the moment. we understand that the us service member, according to the statement, has died from his wounds and that he suffered as a result of the attack on abbey gate. that information coming in on reuters and other news agencies at the moment. i'm joined now by former solider bill roggio, now senior fellow of the foundation for defense of democracies. hejoins us from belford, newjersey. great to have you on newsday. in the first instance, you have been a soldier. just tell me, your reaction to the judgements we have had in the last 2a hours? —— tragic events. we have had in the last 24 hours? -- tragic events. today was a fickle — hours? -- tragic events. today was a fickle day _ hours? -- tragic events. today was a fickle day for _ hours? -- tragic events. today was a fickle day for the - hours? -- tragic events. today was a fickle day for the us - was a fickle day for the

the department of defence and us southern command are continuing...t of course giving all the figures there at the pentagon because we are building up to that deadline. of course, that is the essence of today because i can the us president will not move beyond that august through 31st deadline. —— because of that news. it�*s only next week, but the numbers, the scale, you can get that sense of that from the pentagon briefing, it reminds you how many people are still at kabul airport trying desperately to get out and those are just the ones who have been able to get the airport. we�*ll note the desperate stories of people who are unable to even get that far. more about afghanistan coming up after the top of the hour and that pentagon briefing is continuing so there may well be more to come out of that as well. now we will turn tech story back here. the media regulator ofcom has told the bbc it has left an equality scheme run by the charity stonewall, which works for lgbtq+ rights. the diversity champions scheme has come under repeated scrutiny, followi

we understand from the press secretary from the department of defence that he took to twitter to confirmrked. it was a city and is a city of 6 million people. afghan special forces from the intelligence service, from the interior ministry, from the defence ministry would carry dozens of operations in various neighbourhoods in kabul city to prevent these sorts of attacks from happening and they would get immense amounts of help from western intelligence agencies, from fun interceptions to many other assistance that they would provide. so it was notjust an easyjob, it took a lot of effort. what has happened since the taliban took over, they have basically let the gates of all of these presents all over afghanistan open and it would release anyone and everyone, —— prisons. including releasing people who were accused of serious crimes. so it is a dilemma for the taliban basically now, how do they make sure they provide security on the streets of kabul when they have dissolved the police, intelligence, army and people are too scared to return back to work? and for these sorts of security oper

trr enable the safe quarterly reduction, the secretary of defence has directed the department to positionrily enabling capabilities to ensure the safety and security of us and partner and civilian personnel. i will break this down for you. the first movement will consist of three infantry battalions that are currently in the central command area of responsibility. they will move to the airport in kabul within the next 2a to 48 move to the airport in kabul within the next 24 to 48 hours. two of those italians are united states marines and one is a us army battalion. the next movement will consist of a joint us army air force support element of around a thousand personnel. to facilitate the processing of applicants and michelle elements of this movement will arise in the coming days. the third movement is to unearth and to deploy one infantry brigade combat team out of fort bragg calculate where they will be prepared if needed to provide additional security at the airport. we anticipate those voices will reach chelate sometime within the next week. we will stress that these voices will be d

earlier, of course, the uk defence department saying there had been no uk personnel involved in termsrt. just a little early on the programme, ispoke just a little early on the programme, i spoke to the retired army general mr mcmaster, who served from 27, to 2018. under president trump. he gave me his reaction. i am of course, like everyone else, upset and angered by this. i think we have to recognise this is only the beginning. this is what happens when you surrender to a terrorist organisation. it is worth pointing out that this so—called isis—k attack has all the hallmarks of a haqqani network attack and guess who's in charge of security in kabul now? siraj haqqani, who is a prominent al-qaeda member and also the military commander of the taliban. maybe now is the moment we can stop our self—delusion and stop believing that these groups are separate from one another and recognise that they are utterly intertwined and connected and what we are seeing is the establishment of a jihadist terrorist state in afghanistan and all of us will be at much higher risk as a result of this. you

of hurricane henri. don't go to kabul airport. that's what americans hoping to leave afghanistan have been advised — unless instructed to do so. the state department said it wanted to avoid creating large crowds — and us defencee expressed concern about the possibility of attacks by islamic state militants. a week after the taliban seized power, their co—founder, mullah abdul ghani baradar, is in the capital for talks on forming a new government. our security correspondent, frank gardner reports. crowds, chaos, confusion. the scene at kabul airport grows ever more volatile as thousands of afghans clamour to leave the country. gunfire. taliban fighters are guarding the outside of the perimeter, but even some people with valid travel documents are not getting through. translation: we've got a legal visa. - many people who are coming here don't have the right documents, but we've got the visa and they won't let us through. britain's ambassador, sir laurie bristow, has been helping to process applications. he says the evacuation is the biggest challenge he's ever faced. but a pentagon briefing said the taliban had so far not prevented the evacuation. we've had no hostile interactions, no attack and no threat by t

department says it wants to avoid large crowds outside the airport gates for security purposes. us defence officials have also expressed concern about the potential for attacks by afghanistan's branch of group. the bbc�*s us state department correspondent, barbara plett usher has more. the ongoing chaos outside the airport is contributing to what the pentagon spokesperson called a "fluid and dynamic security situation that could change by the hour". so you have this statement put out by the state department warning americans not to go to the airport because of potential security concerns — unless they were told specifically to go. then the state department said it had issued this morning because it wanted americans to avoid these large crowds for security purposes, but also because it would make it more efficient to process the departures. then we've also now had these us officials telling american media that they are particularly concerned about the possibility of islamic state attacks — afghanistan's branch of the islamic state group — and they are looking at alternative routes to get evacuees to the airport. so it seems to be in flux at the moment. the white house did say that pres

of the afghan security forces relied on the us and their allies. the aim was to produce an army based on the american military and defence department. ese included high levels of desertion, trying to maintain an ethnic balance in the force among afghanistan's fractious tribes and many of the recruits couldn't read. and then the obama administration decided to expand the size of the afghan security forces from 200,000 to 350,000. that meant recruiting and off a lot of people very quickly and some of them lacked the basic skills needed to perform the tasks they were being asked to do. and now the equipment provided was in the hands of the afghan military but the taliban. these are military vehicles being surrendered in the town of kunduz earlier this month. i think it is quite worrying. there's clearly a lot of equipment the united states and allies had given the afghan arms to build it up at afghan police. a lot of that equipment is now going to fall into the hands of the taliban. in terms of making them a much more mobile force, they have now been a whole fleet of various trucks, personnel carriers, jeeps, tanks, all the sorts of thi

the united states department of homeland security and defences inside the united states and our abilitye is true for the uk. does having boots on the ground and the ability to collect human intelligence in afghanistan help? sure. was it worth the gust of remaining in afghanistan militarily and in a definite manner? no. the job of the us president and ultimately us and europe as well as to be able to prioritise risks. it to be able to prioritise risks. if you look at the risk emanating from afghanistan it simply does not justify open—ended military occupation in perpetuity. justify open-ended military occupation in perpetuity. thank you ve much occupation in perpetuity. thank you very much for— occupation in perpetuity. thank you very much for your _ occupation in perpetuity. thank you very much for your time _ occupation in perpetuity. thank you very much for your time to - occupation in perpetuity. thank you very much for your time to do. - occupation in perpetuity. thank you very much for your time to do. we l very much for your time to do. we appreciate it. this morning, a taliban sp

of afghans charging the runway, some desperate to cling on to a departing plane. borisjohnson has called a virtual meeting of the g7 leaders to respond to the talebans takeover — while the uk's defencery admits that some of those they'd like to evacuate will be be left behind. and in haiti the rescue operations continue as almost 13 hundred people are now known to have died in saturday's earthquake. they're now bracing for tropical storm grace. good evening. the white house rejects any notion that the us exit from afghanistan should in any way compare to the capitulation in saigon in 1975. but how should the world view the images we have seen today from kabul airport? amid the scramble to evacuate western diplomatic staff — and with taliban now surrounding the airfield — there was chaos on the runway as afghans clung desperately to one of the few military transporters that left. not quite the last plane out, but surely the enduring image of this chaotic american withdrawal. we've heard nothing from joe biden since saturday. he's just about to appear at the white house. let's take you there to hear his comments.— white house. let's take you there to hear his comments. | white house.

of afghans charging the runway, some desperate to cling on to a departing plane. borisjohnson has called a virtual meeting of the g7 leaders to respond to the talebans takeover — while the uk's defence

news coming out of washington and joe biden, according to reuters, us government source, saying thatjoe biden has agreed with the recommendation from the pentagon, the defence departmentugh that deadline of august the 31st of staying in place, both the 31st of staying in place, both the taliban and it seemsjoe biden, he may not want that, but he feels the safety deadline —— for safety reasons he has to stick to that deadline. we will see what happens to that. we are hoping to hear from borisjohnson at to that. we are hoping to hear from boris johnson at the to that. we are hoping to hear from borisjohnson at the end of to that. we are hoping to hear from boris johnson at the end of that to that. we are hoping to hear from borisjohnson at the end of that g7 virtual summit which is taking place today. the leaders of the g7 nations are talking virtually on video link to discuss the crisis in afghanistan and presumably some of those leaders making the case thatjoe biden needs to extend that deadline, to push it back to give some more time. every day and hour is crucial. that is what some experts are saying and getting more people out of afghanistan. it looks for the momen

of the country. here in the uk, the breaking news- the uk, the breaking news this morning is from the defence departmentnding situation in terms of the us operation? horrifying report last night about further explosions in the area of the airport. it turned out it was us forces destroying material on the way out. they are preparing for the same scenario as the british troops working out of the nearby hotel. the issue here and the commitment from the american general who told reporters to report this very grim news is that they do have the capacity to continue to process people all the way until the final trips leave, but that is obviously going to be at a much reduced capacity in the effect of what the terrorists are trying to achieve yesterday, which is to both strike at the american forces but also deter some of the outward movement from afghanistan, looks like it is inevitable because it will be harder to control and have that many people clustered together, and there will also be concerned about trying to scream that many people in that kind of mass situation. haifa scream that many people in that k

of course, they will watch people going into government buildings and they know this technology is being used. if you have only had stone wool from the pentagon and defence departmentany us citizens still have not been evacuated and talking to individuals trying to get afghans who helped us out removed from the country, whether it be translators or whatever else, they are not getting answers. there is a huge backlog in terms of the immigration system being able to process these requests so a lot of people are not getting answers. requests so a lot of people are not getting answers-— getting answers. thank you very much. the western states of the us are experiencing their worst drought on record. it's led to the devastating wild fires seen in california and neighbouring states this year and now it has led to water rationing in those states that get their water from the colorado river. the colorado is one of the united state's biggest rivers and it enormous basin supplies water to most of the country's western states, but record drought — which is now in its 22nd year — is leading to serious water shortages particularly affecting the lower basin. at lake mead water l

of people. defence secretary ben wallace says 300 people have been evacuated so far. these pictures are of british nationals arriving back in the uk last night. a further 1,500 are waiting to depart. the international community is now calling on the taliban to ensure the protection of life and property. we begin our coverage with this report from graham satchell. on board a plane due to leave kabul overnight. but at the last minute they're told the flight won't be going. passengers are forced to rejoin the chaos outside. there is panic and fear everywhere. for 20 years, afghanistan has had stability, democracy and relative safety. it has all ended in a matter of days. a lucky few have made it out. this is delhi airport and a mix of relief, anger and despair. i can't believe the world abandoned afghanistan. our friends are going to get killed. they're going to kill us. our women are not going to have any more rights. the taliban, forced from power by western troops two decades ago, are back. they claim to have taken over every government department, including this, the presidential palace in kabul. just hours earlier the former president, ashraf ghani, at the same desk. he's now f

of britain's most senior civil servants, whose departments are overseeing the evacuation from afghanistan, are on holiday. the paper says the permanent secretaries at the foreign office, the home office and the ministry of defenceamerican soldier at kabul airport dominates the metro's front page. it says the woman was "begging" the soldier to save her daughter. it describes how other women threw their babies over razor wire in the hope they would be put on a military flight out of the capital. scotland and manchester united legend denis law is pictured on the back of this morning's mirror. known as the king, law is the sixth member of the united 1968 european cup—winning side to have been diagnosed with dementia. we will be speaking about the impact of dementia on footballers and the questions that are being asked about playing, in the legacy of that time. we will talk to the son of nobby stiles later and how the sporting world is dealing with this. there have been discussions in terms of brain injuries in the world of sport and how that is now being addressed. football, cricket, everywhere. we will talk about those issues. denis law, one of my earliest memories was my dad would take me for a walk to his house

one of the things that make the pentagon and the defence department so special is their ability to planow to address the issue of getting all of its people as well as its allies out of the country. while we see the taliban have these checkpoints set up, the issue is how do you get people beyond these checkpoints to the airport? right now the us military is still struggling with that issue. even though the president continues to insist that things are getting better. . ~' , ., , . better. thank you very much indeed, eric. we better. thank you very much indeed, erie we always _ better. thank you very much indeed, eric. we always appreciate _ better. thank you very much indeed, eric. we always appreciate your - eric. we always appreciate your insights here on breakfast. we will have much more analysis throughout the programme. we are with you until ten a.m.. at this point in time we need a fix of 0wain to find out exactly what is happening, because we arejumping on exactly what is happening, because we are jumping on the pockets of good weather. we know it is coming but there is something