fire and confusion in the centre of kunduz.s appear to show yet another city falling under their control. this is their biggest prize so far — a large city, economically and strategically important, and it seems to have fallen easily. afraid of the fighting as much as the taliban, civilians are fleeing, some of them heading south for kabul. a government spokesman says the taliban will soon be ousted, but similar claims have been made elsewhere, apparently without result. to the west, taliban fighters inspect newly captured government buildings in sar—e—pul, another provincial capital. one of three reportedly captured in just one day. the taliban have now captured five provincial centres. as well as sar—e—pul and kunduz, they now appear to control zaranj, sheberghan and taloqan. if the taliban can make it to kunduz maybe they can make it to kabul, and that in itself is a big fear. the only good option would be if there is some kind of a political settlement, but that doesn't seem any more possible today than it did two or three

kunduz was one of them. now, kunduz was one of them.liban, so that tells you how bad the security situation is. i think this has an impact on the political alignment of the media factions, groups across the country with the afghan republic, and it is bound to show confidence in the ability of the afghan government to fight back. the timing of this, but they have been ever 20 years or so but sometimes they would have to leave and you can't have country being like a patient thatis country being like a patient that is constantly needing life support. was this inevitably going to happen whenever those troops left, do you think? lie troops left, do you think? us war troops left, do you think? ii’s war effort had drifted a long time back. it had not yielded good outcomes. the new administration of president biden leaves a lot to be desired. it has been haphazard with lots of bad military choices and the president has been very keen on defending his decision to withdraw to a point. i think he has compromised on some of the diplomatic steps tha

reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, where governmentorces are trying to push back taliban militants. in the city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. a taliban spokesman said their fighters had already captured some districts and were inching towards the centre of the city. fierce fighting is also reported in the centre of another afghan provincial capital, sar—e—pol. earlier, the taliban said they had taken control of sheberghaan — the second provincial capital to have fallen in two days. on saturday us central command said it had intensified air strikes richard galpin reports. in this fast—moving offensive the taliban are claiming a second province, sheberghaan, is in their hands. here video film for the fighters appears to show them releasing inmates from the local prison. the afghan authorities admit some parts of the city have been taken. in response, the afghan defence ministry says it has called in american b—52 long—range bombers to try to halt the taliban offensive in sheberghaan. air st

fire and confusion in the centre of kunduz.s appear to show yet another city falling under their control. this is their biggest prize so far — a large city, economically and strategically important, and it seems to have fallen easily. afraid of the fighting as much as the taliban, civilians are fleeing, some of them heading south for kabul. a government spokesman says the taliban will soon be ousted, but similar claims have been made elsewhere, apparently without result. to the west, taliban fighters inspect newly captured government buildings in sar—e—pul, another provincial capital. one of three reportedly captured in just one day. if the taliban can make it to kunduz maybe they can make it to kabul, and that in itself is a big fear. the only good option would be if there is some kind of a political settlement, but that doesn't seem any more possible today than it did two or three years ago. and tens of thousands of afghans are being displaced. this is notjust a political and military disaster. decades of conflict in afghanis

reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, where governmentorces are trying to push back taliban militants. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions come into force. double vaccinated people travelling from france to the uk will no longer have to isolate. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control. the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years. the argentine football star lionel messi is emotional as he confirms that he is leaving barcelona after 20 years at the club. thousands take to the streets of amsterdam as the city marks the 25th anniversary of its first gay pride parade. but afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the tokyo olympics have ended, with a closing ceremony in the national stadium devoid of fans. the president of the international olympic committee, thomas bach, said the games had brought the world together and delivered the most precious of gifts — hope. the olympic flag was handed over to the mayor of paris where the games will be held in three years time. team gb have

reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy heavy fighting fighting in the city of kunduz, whereovernment forces are trying to push back taliban militants. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions come into force. double—vaccinated people travelling from france to the uk will no longer have to isolate. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control — the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years. the argentine football star, lionel messi, is emotional as he confirms that he is leaving barcelona after 20 years at the club. the closing ceremony of the tokyo olympics is under way after a final day of competition. team gb have matched their medal total from london 2012 with 22 golds, and 65 medals in total. jason kenny won gold in the men's kieren cycling event in the velodrome. that makes him britain's most successful male athlete with a total of seven olympic gold medals under his belt, a total of nine olympic medals in all. in the boxing ring, a gold for lauren price in the women's boxing middleweight final. she beat china's l

the taliban now control eight regional capitals including kunduz, a key city in the north. the areas you see here and read are those held by the insurgents. the afghan government still in control of blue areas which include the capital, kabul. the jihadists are closing in on the north stronghold, the areas in yellow remain contested. >> they can dream of a better future, but today, they are seeking refuge in this park. tens of thousands of families like theirs have been displaced in afghanistan's ongoing fighting. there is not enough food or other relief material for them. the displaced people are and a terrible and frustrating situation but the government has not sent a representative here, do help. it appears the government has little to offer them. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we call on the international community and international institutions to help as soon as possible to provide food and nonfood items to the many people displaced in afghanistan. >> the government is struggling on the battlefront. it's forces control the majority of provincial capitals. over the

in other news: reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, whereernment forces are trying to push back taliban militants. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions come into force. double—vaccinated people travelling from france to the uk will no longer have to isolate. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control — the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years. and, thousands take to the streets of amsterdam as the city marks the 25th anniversary of its first gay pride parade. a warm welcome to tokyo where the olympics has and there's been plenty of action so far with a good final haul for team gb that started with a gold medal forjason kenny in the men's kieren cycling event in the velodrome. that now makes kenny britain's most successful male athlete with a total of seven olympic gold medals under his belt, a total of nine olympic medals in all. in the boxing ring a gold for lauren price in the women's boxing middleweight final. she beat china's li qian in a 5—0 points victory. price is an

kunduz is one of the largest cities in the country.central command says it had intensified air strikes in support of the afghan government. earlier i spoke to a local journalist... earlier i spoke to localjournalist ali latifi from kabul. he told me how at threat the capital is after these advances iam sure i am sure that carbo in similar sites, whether or not they can actually make it here or take the city, that is another issue, but in a way it is almost not entirely relevant at this point, because at this point if you talk to people in kabul, they are all afraid and angry because of the current situation overall. you know, province like kunduz does not continually fall to the taliban by accident. there is a lot of bardic governance and bad decisions along the way that could lead to bad. and at the same time, the fact that everything is so uncertain, that is what creates the fear, because now as you said, there is definitely the thinking that if the taliban can make it to kunduz they can make it to kabul and that is a big fear and th

these big cities like lashkar gar, kandahar, kunduz.owing in your homes, taliban militants entering the afghan army accusing them of using them as human shield so dozens of civilians have died and many of these emergency hospitals run by ngos have been saying they are not able to treat the number of injured people. there are more and more people coming and many of these civilians escaped from the countryside when the taliban captured in the last few months thinking at least the cities will be safe but now the taliban have launched attacks on the city so that people are saying and it is also very, very hot in some places, 37-40 c very, very hot in some places, 37—40 c so they are suffering and thatis 37—40 c so they are suffering and that is what many people are warning, but this is the time the tarmac for the international community to step in otherwise there will be a humanitarian catastrophe in afghanistan.— will be a humanitarian catastrophe in afuhanistan. ., ,, i. , . in afghanistan. thank you very much. our southeast — in afghanis

kunduz has been taken an kicked out twice because of u.s. air power.is reduced in scope. some might say they are able to deliver less pin pointing strikes than before because there is not a u.s. presence necessarily on the ground so the the challenge for afghan security forces is holding the line and rushing around as they are at the moment with multiple fires to put out and ten trying to find a way to endure when the u.s. fire power not ase effectie and runs out three weeks from now. dark times ahead, boris. >> dark times. nick paton walsh, thank you very much. joining us now is cnn military analyst general mart hertling, the general for europe and the seventh army. general, thanks for sharing part of the day with us. i appreciate the time. i want to get your reaction to the taliban taking control of five cities since just friday. that does that prove that afghan forces simply weren't ready to protect their government? >> to be honest with you, boris about a month ago, myself and ot others suggested that it action would be faster than many in the gove

so, as we speak, heavy fighting is going on in kunduz city, and why it is important?ize for the taliban so far in the latest offensive against the government forces. i'm joined now by patricia degennaro an international security consultant who's worked with us forces in afghanistan. thank you very much forjoining us. it looks as if con dues is close to falling to the tele— band, if it is how significant is a? falling to the tele- band, if it is how significant is a?— falling to the tele- band, if it is how significant is a? well, i think it's definitely _ how significant is a? well, i think it's definitely significant - how significant is a? well, i think it's definitely significant i - how significant is a? well, i think it's definitely significant i think i it's definitely significant i think however that we understood that the taliban was preparing setting up a strategy also putting in place a ghost or shadow government across the country. they are pretty much prepared for when the us forces were going to leave the country. they had the patience of the last 20 year

kunduz is one of the largest cities in the country.central command says it had intensified air strikes in support of the afghan government. paul adam's is our diplomatic correspondent and explained the importance of kunduz city within afghanistan. yeah, 30 or some 375,000 people, this is certainly the biggest prize so far in terms of the provisional capital is that the taliban have taken. it is an important city, geographically, economically, it is part of the breadbasket of northern afghanistan, so it is commercially very important. it is the time of year when farmers should be busy bringing in the fruit and produce from the fields. it is worth remembering that this is a city that has fallen a couple of times to the taliban in the past, back in 2015 and 2016 and they never held onto it for very long. but, with the afghan security forces apparently relocating outside the city, there is some scepticism being voiced by officials as to whether or not it is likely to be retaken, particularly as the afghan government now has an awful lot of

kunduz falling is a significant blow to their desire to keep a hold on key population centers acrossstan. if gazni were to fall in the days afterwards, that would be catastrophic and possibly have a knock on effect to the two key cities to the south that they're also trying to hold at the moment, too. a lot of concern of the taliban here finding a degree of momentum. i think many are saying that they have been waiting for this moment for quite some time. and the afghan security forces who in the past have benefitted from u.s. air power to always push the insurgency back at that particular moment of crisis be it kunduz or other cities over the past years are seeing u.s. air power in evidence but less effective. the americans are not on the ground, not able to direct precisely where the strikes go. they are flying out of far reaching air bases so not quite as thorough or persistent as they have been in the past. and we're entering i fear into the next few weeks and months a very dangerous situation for afghanistan where we learn two things. firstly quite whether there is the capacity o

they don't appear to have pulled that off in kunduz.r with iran, there's been drum beats of bad news. another capital fell shortly afterwards. we have heard reports, also, of a place called sari falling today, too. and there is an intense fight for another provincial capital in takar. these are not as well-known, but it shows a change that provincial capital after provincial capital have been falling since friday and that's a real problem for the afghan government security forces because their strategy has been to allow the taliban to run awry in the opening spaces of afghanistan, but hold on to the cities. now the cities are slipping and for a place like kunduz doesn't fall back into government control, it could lead many to be fearful that could happen in other cities, too. there's an intense fight happening in helmand province where so many soldiers lost their lives. u.s. air strikes have always been key in these. they are continuing at this point. the taliban not particularly responsible for civilian casualties. they suggesting they

today, in kabul, we bumped into these men, who we'd met four weeks ago in kunduz. city was a refuge for tens of thousands of people who had fled fighting in villages. now, we learned that in recent days, mortar shells landed in these camps. we don't know what happened to the people we'd met there. most of the north of the country has been taken over by the taliban now. those who have escaped to kabul are staring at uncertainty. fears that the capital, too, could fall within weeks. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. a humanitarian disaster is fast unfolding in afghanistan. the un says more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in fighting between the taliban and government forces. injuly, the areas controlled by the taliban were these, shown in red, with contested regions in yellow. but now, a lot more territory has fallen to the taliban, including nine of the country's 3a provincial capitals. 0ur afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani has been given rare access to newly—ca ptu red taliban territory. his report was filmed by fred scott. a warning — you may find som

a province like kunduz doesn't continually fall to the taliban by accident.ou know, there is a lot of bad governance and a lot of bad decisions along the way that can lead to that. after more than two weeks of thrilling sporting action — the tokyo olympic games end with a spectacular closing ceremony team gb end the games with 22 gold medals —— as jason kenny's cycling gold makes him the country's most decorated olympian. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control. the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years. new analysis suggests up to 14 million people could be on nhs waiting lists in england by next autumn the argentine football star lionel messi is emotional as he confirms that he is leaving barcelona after twenty years at the club, and has reportedly received an offer worth 25 million from paris st germain now on bbc news, there's another chance to enjoy the first part of rajan datar�*s epic journey across india in the travel show. india. a vast country, home to over a billion people, birthplace of illu

if the miltants can hold kunduz, considered a gateway to central asia, it will be a big setback for thehad moved to an army base outside the city. ferries have been evacuating hundreds of residents and holiday—makers from the greek island of evia, as wildfires continue to threaten homes and villages there. long queues of cars have formed at one port. residents are taking what they can with them, including pets. some have expressed their anger over what they see as failures of the greek authorities. here at the port, people are queueing up to get on ferries to take them back to the mainland. people have been receiving emergency alerts on their phones here in parts of the north of the island warning them to leave. we spoke to one woman who said that she had packed up herfamily into their car, they'd managed to get away, but she was worried about whether she'd be able to see her holiday home again. one other woman told me she's staying here for the moment, but she's worried about the air here — it's full of smoke and there are bits of ash flying around, and she said her mother is 80 years

nbc news has confirmed the taliban has now captured the key strategic city of kunduz.ake of the u.s. withdrawal from that country. gives a sense of how much of a blow a fall like this city is to the afghan government? >> what we have seen today is a real increase of taliban operations. >> kunduz is just one of three cities that were overrun today. it's strategically important to the afghan government. it's been under siege for months, and a lot of airpower and elite afghan units have been dispatched to the city in an effort to hold it taliban fighters pushed down to the city from the north. they first attacked the prison. on the government compounds that were the hard of government control in the center of the city. >> let's talk about the deteriorating security situation. american citizens have been warned to leave there immediately. how much has it deteriorated. first, making advances south of kabul along one of the main highways that connects the capital to the soldier provinces, and then across the north. what we have seen in the past few days is the fighters are c

a province life kunduz doesn't continually fall to the taliban by accident.lot of bad decisions along the way that can lead to that. at the same time, the fact that everything is so uncertain, that's what creates the fear. as you said, there is definitely the thinking that well, if the taliban can make it to kunduz, maybe they can make it to kabul and that in itself is a big fear. there's also the issue of, could we end up in another civil war? especially is now we have these public uprising forces where local people are arming themselves and taking a monticello bond as long as security forces. in the other option is a political settlement but that doesn't seem any more possible today thanit doesn't seem any more possible today than it did two or three years ago. very quickly, that leads to a obvious question, if you could remind us what it is exactly the taliban want. they were fighting even while talks were taking place until hard. ~ ., ., , ., until hard. what do they want? exactl . until hard. what do they want? exactly- this — until hard. what do they wa

today, in kabul, we bumped into these men, who we'd met four weeks ago in kunduz.ity was a refuge for tens of thousands of people who had fled fighting in villages. now, we learned that in recent days, mortar shells landed in these camps. we don't know what happened to the people we'd met there. most of the north of the country has been taken over by the taliban now. those who have escaped to kabul are staring at uncertainty. fears that the capital, too, could fall within weeks. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. now, i want to bring you this extraordinary report filmed by our team in taliban territory. first, let's take a look at the areas they control. last month, the taliban were in charge in these red regions, with contested regions in yellow. but now, a lot more territory has fallen to the taliban, including nine of the country's 3a provincial capitals. 0ur afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani reports, and a warning — you may find some of the images upsetting. new territory. new weapons. all captured in this unprecedented taliban advance. caught in the midd

just last weekend, as kunduz fell, the taliban opened the prisons., those prisoners were the very people that some of these judges put away. so, whether you're talking about broader taliban philosophy, you also have personal vendettas at play now. >> that's right. it isn't just about ideology. it's also just personal revenge. some of the judges have received threatening notes from within prison, within prisons about "i know who you are, i expect to be released, we're coming to get you." and now, of course, as you say, they are being released. >> reporter: is there any indication that this group of judges, these 250 judges, will be granted some type of special visa to enter the united states or to enter another western country? >> as far as we know, there is currently no category that would cover the women judges as women judges. there's been a lot of conversation around the interpreters and translators who worked with the military who assisted them. there really has not been much public conversation about women who are particularly vulnerable >> repo

today in kabul, we bumped into these men, who we'd met four weeks ago in kunduz.efuge for tens of thousands of people who'd fled fighting in villages. now, we've learned that in recent days, mortar shells landed in these camps. we don't know what happened to the people we'd met there. most of the north of the country has been taken over by the taliban now. those who have escaped to kabul are staring at uncertainty. fears that the capital, too, could fall within weeks. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. taliban fighters now control almost two thirds of the country after making rapid advances against afghan forces as foreign troops withdraw. the red afg hanistan�*s the red afghanistan's —— at the red cross has warned that canada has been rocked by fighting between government forces and taliban militants. —— that kandahar has been taken. they've already taken the areas you can see here in red — in those areas marked in yellow — the taliban is pushing — but neither side is currently in overall control — that includes nine of the country's 3a provincial capitals. 0ur afgh

reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy heavy fighting fighting in the city of kunduz,

maybe a key town which is the similar stature to kunduz.security forces which don't which fire to put out. the u.s. will stop air support. reduced as it is in three weeks. expected by the end of many who month. is there any slim indication from u.s. officials it will be a change of strategy? >> quite the opposite, in fact. pentagon press secretary a moment ago in his briefing was asked whether the biden administration, whether the president himself would shift course on this. try to keep troops longer p shift the strategy in any way and he made it clear the white house maintained the mission to complete the withdrawal by the end of the month by august 31st. on that crucial question of continued air strikes afteraugust 31st and would will there by in, he declined to comment. the expectation is it is the expectation that those air strikes will curtail severely once that withdrawal is complete at the end of this month. fa changed in last couple of days. they seized five provincial capitals. there's a number of others under threat. there's grow

today in kabul, we bumped into these men, who we'd met four weeks ago in kunduz.or tens of thousands of people who had fled fighting in villages. now, we learned that in recent days, mortar shells landed in these camps. we don't know what happened to the people we'd met there. most of the north of the country has been taken over by the taliban now. those who have escaped to kabul are staring at uncertainty. fears that the capital, too, could fall within weeks. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. what we are seeing unfolding in afghanistan is a new and urgent humanitarian disaster. the un says more than 1,000 civilians have already been killed in the most recent fighting between the taliban and government forces. injuly, the areas controlled by the taliban were these, shown here in red. with contested regions in yellow. now, even more territory has fallen to the taliban, including nine of the country's 3a provincial capitals. 0ur afghanistan correspondent, secunder kermani, has been given rare access to newly captured taliban territory and has sent us this report, whic

as taliban militants raise their flag in kunduz, afghans can only brace for more cities to follow andr how long before kabul itself is in their sights. the taliban have already proved the capital is within reach, stepping up targeted assassinations. gunmen shot dead the afghan's assassinations. gunmen shot debt, media director days after a assassination attempt on the acting defense minister. major. >> garrett: charlie d'agata, thank you. a recent survey found that medical bills, those more than six months overdue, are now the biggest source of debt in the united states. tens of millions of people have learned they are one serious illness away from being unable to pay their bills. cbs' anna werner looks at the cost of getting sick in america. >> i felt like a criminal, like i was doing something wrong. >> reporter: when a man showed up at alysa gummow's front door in kenosha, wisconsin, last october with a court summons, the 48-year-old single mom felt crushed. did you ever think you would be in the financial situation you are in because of medical bills? >> never. it makes me feel li

translation: enemy attacks | continue in kunduz, shabagan, samangan and sar—e pul.ce forces are resisting them, and we have made progress in kunduz and other cities, and the enemy have suffered heavy casualties. due to the pressure on the enemy, they have focused on the cities of mazar and puli khumri, but fortunately we have strong security lines there, and there is resistance against the enemy. 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. virginia giuffre's team say there have been trying since 2015 to get prince andrew's representatives to answer what he knew aboutjeffrey epstein's alleged sex trafficking ring. last month they asked his representatives to meet them so they could come to a negotiated settlement over virginia roberts giuffre's claims. they say the prince's team ignored them completely so under this landmark new york state law, the child victims act, the

reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, where governmentorces are trying to push back taliban militants. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions come into force. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control. the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years. now, on bbc news hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. those of us lucky enough to live in countries where 70%+ of the adult population have been double vaccinated against covid might be tempted to think we can relax our guard. but the pandemic isn't over and the global vaccine roll—out still faces enormous challenges. my guest is professor sir andrew pollard, a key figure in the development of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. science has offered us tools to beat the virus. are we making the most of them? professor sir andrew pollard, welcome to hardtalk. hello, there. it is pretty much seven months since that historic day when the uk began the roll—out of the vaccine you were intimately involved with developing. that is

the taliban in afghanistan say they have captured the northern cities of kunduz and sar—e—pul, as theynue to make sweeping territorial gains. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions come into force. now on bbc news: prime minister of barbados, mia mottley answers questions from a local audience on a range of issues that affect them and what they want their government to deliver. hello and welcome to global questions with me, zeinab badawi, from barbados. i'm in the capital, bridgetown, outside parliament overlooking independent square. in november this year barbados marks its 55th anniversary by becoming a republic. queen elizabeth will no longer be head of state. what does this tell us about the identity and future of barbados and the rest of the region? the caribbean has been very badly affected by the economic fallout of covid and people are looking to their political leaders for solutions. that is global questions: lessons from barbados. i'm now here at the 18th—century george washington house, one of the finest historic buildings in barbados, and i am joined by a local a

certainly kunduz is the largest city to fall to the taliban.have twice in the last six years moved in and been kicked out by african security forces. there's fighting still going on now but it's not happened to the backdrop to the kinds of things in the last few days. friday the taliban took their first provincial capital, a kind of city hub of some of the regions in afghanistan. that was on the border with iran, and then they since have taken two, possibly three other provincial capitals over the last 72 hours. it's that sense of momentum that has many deeply concerned, i think, because the insurgency have always had sway in the rural areas of afghanistan where they have a lot of control. but always struggled to move into the cities. u.s. air strikes held them back and also many of the population there and the security forces simply wanted nothing to do with them. that seems to be changing. and it's changing exceptionally quickly, too. these aren't the only fights happening in afghanistan right now. there is an intense battle going on for the

"enemy attacks continue in cities of kunduz, sheberghan, samangan, and sar—e—pul.ing them, and we have made progress in kunduz and other cities, and the enemy has suffered heavy casualties. due to the pressure on the enemy, they have focused on the cities of mazar and pol—e—khomri, but fortunately, we have strong security lines there, and there is resistance against the enemy, and so far, the enemy has suffered the taliban, emboldened by the withdrawal of us troops, have taken more territory in afghanistan in the past two months than at any time since they were ousted from power in 2001. the areas in red are under taliban control, while the blue are areas held by the afghan government. taliban militants have taken large rural areas, key towns and six regional capitals have fallen since friday. kunduz is the biggest prize — 270,000 people live there many of them fled as the city's market went up in flames on sunday when militants took the strategic city. kunduz was one of three northern cities which fell to taliban control within hours of each other. this was sar—e—

but ashraf ghani's visit was immediately overshadowed by events in nearby kunduz.are said to show government soldiers leaving after surrendering to militants. and heavy fighting is now under way in the southern city of kandahar. the taliban's advance is shocking. militants, emboldened by the withdrawal of us troops, have taken more territory in afghanistan in the past two months than at any time since they were ousted from power in 2001. according to an eu official, militants now control 65% of afghanistan. our afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani has been given rare access to newly captured taliban territory and has sent us this report filmed by fred scott. new territory... ..new weapons, all captured in this unprecedented taliban advance. caught in the middle, afghan families right across the country. how can you justify all this fighting, when it's causing the deaths of thousands of ordinary afghans, thousands of ordinary muslims? you're the ones who started the fighting here, though. shortly after the interview ends, the sound of helicopters. the taliban

fire and confusion in the centre of kunduz.iban pictures appear to show another city falling under their control. this is the biggest prize so far. a large city, economically important, it seems to have fallen easily. afraid of the fighting, as much as of the taliban, civilians fleeing, many of them heading south to kabul. a government spokesman says the taliban will soon be asked about similar claims have been made elsewhere, apparently without result. to the west, taliban fighters inspect newly captured government buildings. one of three provincial capitals have been reported injust one three provincial capitals have been reported in just one day. the taliban have captured five provincial centres. no longer content to control the countryside, confident enough to move on major cities. if the taliban could make it to windows, maybe they could make it to kabul and that is a big fear, the only good option would be if there was a political settlement but that does not seem any more possible today than it was two or three years ago

many here have fled from kunduz, which fell to the taliban on sunday.into these men who we met four weeks ago in kunduz. then, the city was a refuge for tens of thousands of people who fled fighting in villages. now we have learned they —— but in recent days mortar shells landed in these camps. we don't know what happened to the people we met there. most of the north of the country has been taken over by the taliban now. those who have escaped to kabul are staring at uncertainty, fear is that the capital too could fall within weeks. a really heartbreaking humanitarian crisis unfolding there.— crisis unfolding there. that's ri . ht, crisis unfolding there. that's right. the — crisis unfolding there. that's right. the un _ crisis unfolding there. that's right, the un has _ crisis unfolding there. that's right, the un has called - crisis unfolding there. that's right, the un has called it i crisis unfolding there. that's right, the un has called it a| right, the un has called it a humanitarian catastrophe and this is something we saw thousands of people co

three afghan cities fall to the taliban in just one day — including strategically important kunduz.mer olympics ever — as tokyo hands over to the next host city — paris. residents and holidaymakers, try to escape. burn out of control. just a few miles from here there are bright blue skies, but here the air is full of smoke and ash. and is making it harder for people to breathe. lionel messi says goodbye to barcelona — we look

in other news: reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, whereernment forces are trying to push back taliban militants. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control — the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years. an emotional lionel messi as he confirms he's leaving fc barcelona. a warm welcome to tokyo where the olympics has entered its closing day. the closing ceremony has just started. it's been such a memorable games inside and outside of the arena, all set with the backdrop of the pandemic. in a moment, we will hear reflections on what these games have meant forjapan. first, let's bring you up—to—date with the biggest sporting action of the day. and there's been plenty of action so far with a good final haul for team gb that started with a gold medalforjason kenny in the men's kieren cycling event in the velodrome. that now makes kenny britain's most successful male athlete with a total of seven olympic gold medals under his belt, a total of nine olympic medals in all. in the boxing ring a gol