the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar gar, as fierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. we see that access to care and healthcare is extremely difficult, and we really need to see the international humanitarian law being upheld in those circumstances. the mexican government sues fifteen large us gun firms, accusing them of failing to stop the illegal flow of weapons across the border. protests across delhi, over the alleged gang rape, murder, and subsequent cremation of a nine—year—old girl from a dalit family, amid claims her case was ignored by the the legal system. millions more at risk of flooding, as the percentage of the global population under threat, rises by almost a quarter since the start of the century. and i'm sarah mulkerrins in tokyo, on day 13 of the olympics, where more medals will be up for grabs, and i've been talking to a five time gold medallist, welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the un says it's deeply concerned about the safety of tens of thousands

un has issued a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar gar, as fierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. in kabul, eight people have been killed in an attack at the home of the acting defence minister. the sprinter from belarus who defied her country's attempt to send her home from the olympics, because she feared for her safety, has arrived in warsaw. krystsina tsimanouskaya has been given a humanitarian visa by the polish governmment. the mexican government is suing major 15 us gun companies, accusing them of failing to stop the illegal flow of weapons across the border. mexican officials are believed to be seeking in the region of $10 billion in compensation. the companies named in the lawsuit haven't yet responded. now on bbc news, it's time for click. this week, we are in iceland to fly over a red—hot volcano. and then chill out with some beautiful scenery. also at a gas—powered bitcoin mine in the us. and how safe is your electric car charger from hackers? it is the land of fire and ice. where the earth is lit

the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar garas fierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. the sprinter from belarus, who refused to return home from the olympics, fearing for her own safety, has arrived in poland. the mexican government sues 15 large us gun firms — accusing them of failing to stop the illegal flow of weapons across the border. protests across delhi, over the alleged gang rape, murder, and subsequent cremation of a nine year old girl from a dalit family, after claims her case was ignored by the the legal system. and, i'm sarah mulkerrins in tokyo, on day 13 of the olympics where more medals will be up for grabs, and i've been talking to a five time gold medallist former australian swimmer ian thorpe. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the un says it's deeply concerned about the safety of tens of thousands of civilians in the afghan city of lashkar gah, the capital of helmand province. taliban militants and government forces are waging an intense battle for con

un has issued a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar garn and government forces. let's go to australia now, where extended covid lockdowns in sydney and the surrounding regions are causing immense economic damage. new south wales state, of which sydney is the capital city, represents around a third of the nation's economic activity — and experts are predicting a significant hit to australia's economic growth in the current quarter. phil mercer reports from sydney. cheer is hard to find in sydney's lockdown, but businesses are doing what they can to keep going. although this bar has been forced to close, it has been converted into a temporary covid safe drive—through. into a temporary covid safe drive-through.— into a temporary covid safe drive-through. normally we would have _ drive-through. normally we would have 120 _ drive-through. normally we would have 120 people - drive-through. normally we would have 120 people in i drive-through. normally we i would have 120 people in here all drinking paints, having lunch and dinner. they would be

lashkar gar, helmand, the peace roundabout, now overrun by taliban. they say this square is theirs.he centre of a city once patrolled for years by british troops. afghan special forces, trained by britain and other nato armies, are rushing in. this video's from the afghan ministry of defence. explosion the battle intensifies on the ground and on social media. 35—year—old general sami sadat is the commanding officer in this southern area. he says the taliban have suffered hundreds and hundreds of losses, but his forces have lost most rural areas. it's much the same across afghanistan. now the taliban are bent on seizing the cities. all the beds are full at this hospital in helmand, run by the emergency ngo. more beds being brought in. hundreds of thousands are on the run. look at the way these children are moving across the fields in the western province of herat. the crackle of gunfire all too close. but civilians are also standing their ground. this man is said to be the head of herat�*s provincial council. "don't waste your bullets", he says. "take careful aim." and old warlords a

there are fears the taliban are on the verge of taking control of lashkar gar — the capital of helmandrovince in afghanistan. and emotional reunions as the uk lifts immigration restrictions on those fully vaccinated. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. the belarussian sprinter krystsina tsikhanouskaya has been granted a humanitarian visa by poland. she sought refuge in the polish embassy in tokyo after saying she'd been ordered to return home from the olympic games in tokyo against her will. her apparent offence was criticising her coaches on social media after they'd entered herfor a race she hadn't been expecting to run. our tokyo correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this was the moment earlier this evening when krystsina tsimanouskaya stepped onto polish soil. safe from the belarusian officials she says were forcing her to leave tokyo against her will. the saga had begun to days earlier with this social media post. next, ms tsimanouskaya was spotted at tokyo's hamada airport about to board a flight to istanbul. but it's very clear she didn't want

insurgents now control large parts of the city of lashkar gar in helmand province, with reports of bodies. helmand was under the control of british forces after a us—led coalition invasion in 2001 following the september 11th terror attacks. in march 2012, corporaljake hartley was one of six british servicemen killed in helmand when a bomb detonated beneath their armoured vehicle. at the time it was the biggest single loss of life suffered by the british military in the campaign. well, in the last week jake's mother, nathalie, has been watching events unfold in afghanistan and she's been speaking to our special correspondent, ed thomas. i light my candles and i'd touch that picture. i'd say good morning, good night. i'll talk to him, it's like he's here. holding on. memories of corporaljake hartley. i have jake's old iphone and wallet with money and items and cinema tickets. i've got his best clothes, and i polish his buckle. and i still have his shoes in t�*shoe rack. they're just little comforts. it might seem crazy to some people, but... yeah. it's nearly ten years since jake was kille

staying with lashkar gar, you| mention kandahar.r several days now, what, in your view, are the chances of the taliban taking those cities? the view, are the chances of the taliban taking those cities?— taking those cities? the taliban attacks did _ taking those cities? the taliban attacks did not _ taking those cities? the taliban attacks did not come _ taking those cities? the taliban attacks did not come overnight. taking those cities? the taliban - attacks did not come overnight. they have been capturing vast countries like the districts surrounding cities like lashkar gar for months and they have been capturing them one by one. city cities have been surrounded by areas under taliban control and they have been preparing for these assaults for many weeks, or even months. this process accelerated after the foreign forces started withdrawing from the country about three months ago. now with the help of american air strikes and also afghan airforce help of american air strikes and also afghan air force planes, the afghan military sa

the general commanding the afghan forces in lashkar gar had this warning for the city's residents. the houses, so i had to make a call and ask the people, specifically in some areas that the enemy is taking shelter in their houses, i have respectfully asked them to leave their houses and the surrounding area. and i apologise for the action if they may feel that they're being displaced, and i'm with them, but this is good for them, that they're safe and they can come back to their houses when the outskirts of lashkar gar is cleared from the terrorists. let's get the latest from our chief international correspondent lyse doucet, who is in kabul. as this night began, a senior military source said the skies are clear tonight. in other words, now is the time to unleash an operation to clear taliban from the provincial capital lashkar gah in a campaign led by a ferocious bombing by afghan forces, still backed up by us air power as well as drones. and that is why the commanding officer in helmand, the british—educated general, urged residents to leave the city. but these are terrifying ti

un has issued a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar gar, as fierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. in kabul, eight people have been killed in an attack at the home of the acting defence minister. the mexican government is suing major 15 us gun companies, accusing them of failing to stop the illegal flow of weapons across the border. officials are believed to be seeking in the region of $10 billion in compensation. the companies named in the lawsuit haven't yet responded. protests hae been taking place across delhi, over the alleged gang rape, murder, and subsequent cremation of a nine—year—old girl from a dalit family. there have been accusations that the case was ignored by the legal system. four men, including a priest, have been arrested but deny wrongdoing. now on bbc news it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i am stephen sackur. for those of us lucky enough to live in countries where 70% of the us population have been double vaccinated, we may think we can relax our guard but the pandem

after two decades of conflict, this is lashkar gar now, with the taliban taking afghanistan to the brinks, too many. it makes me angry, yeah, it makes me angry. he gave his life for queen and country and for us to be safe. we are all seeing the taliban pushing across the country, across helmand, where jake was. how difficult is it to see those images? it is just a waste. it isjust... it does feel like a waste. but i think that... there is no comeback. there's nothing we can do. corporaljake hartley was one of 457 british military deaths in afghanistan. jake paid the ultimate sacrifice, but so do the families. you know, we have definitely been forgotten about. jake's last letter, the first line states, "hello, family. "please don't cry, mum. "i am not here now. "i'm in a better place." if you could say one more thing to him? i love you so much. and i'd have to finish with, my little nut brownie. nathalie speaking to ed thomas. uk interest rates are to stay at a record low of 0.1%, amid fears over rising prices. inflationjumped to its highest level for almost three years injune, running at

the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar gar fierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. police investigating the online racist abuse of england footballers after the euro 2020 final, arrest 11 people. a major upset on day 13 of the olympics — as jamaican hansele parchment beats the american world champion to the gold in the 110 metres hurdles. and, agricultural pesticides are having a more harmful effect on bees than previously thought. good morning. fully vaccinated travellers returning to england, northern ireland or scotland from france, will no longer need to quarantine from sunday. the change is part of a series of adjustments to the traffic light system for international travel, and brings france into line with other amber list countries. india and the united arab emirates are among the destinations that have been moved from red to amber, while seven more countries, including germany and norway, have been added to the green list. here's our transport correspondent, caroline davies. a near empty sw

the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar gar we see that access to care and healthcare is extremely difficult, and we really need to see the international humanitarian law being upholding in those circumstances. the sprinter from belarus, who refused to return home from the olympics, fearing for her own safety, has arrived in poland. the mexican government sues 15 large us gun firms, accusing them of failing to stop the illegal flow of weapons across the border. protests across delhi, over the alleged gang rape,

there are fears the taliban are on the verge of taking control of lashkar gar — the capital of helmandrovince in afghanistan. us planes are continuing to attack their positions. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, says he's seen deeply disturbing reports of taliban atrocities. the latest research of a football players developing dementia has found those playing defence who tend to head the ball most often are more than five times more likely than the general population to develop a neuro degenerative disease. leading scientists say that footballs should hold health warnings. our editor reports. how safe is heading? questions and concerns are growing. a new study funded by the football authorities in england has highlighted risks linked to head injuries. the research team was led by professor willie stewart, a brain expert interviewed and a documentary by alan shearer. lots of cases of dementia. he arc ues lots of cases of dementia. he argues that the game needs to be changed. can the game of football be played without head impact? even at some level, may be amateur and youth lev

the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians in the afghan city of lashkar garas fierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. police investigating the online racist abuse of england players following the euro 2020 final arrest 11 people. and i'm sarah mulkerrins in tokyo, on day 13 of the olympics, where jamacia's hansle parchment has won the men's 110 metres hurdles, to shock favourite grant holloway. agricultural testified having a more harmful effect on the bees than previously thought. hello and welcome to the programme. fully vaccinated travellers returning to england, northern ireland or scotland from france will no longer need to quarantine from sunday. the change is part of a series of adjustments to the traffic light system for international travel, and brings france into line with other amber list countries. india and the united arab emirates are among the destinations that have been moved from red to amber, while seven more countries, including germany and norway, have been added to the green list. here's our transport correspo

after two decades of conflict, this is lashkar gar now — with the taliban taking afghanistan to the brinkwar. gunfire. i don't think we should go back or have any involvement whatsoever. we've done what we can and it's cost a lot of lives — too many. it makes me angry. yeah, it makes me angry. he gave his life for queen and country and for us to be safe. we're all seeing the taliban pushing across the country, across helmand, where jake was. and how difficult is it to see those images? it's just a waste. it's just... it does feel like a waste. but i think that... ..there's no comeback. there's nothing we can do. corporaljake hartley was one of a57 british military deaths in afghanistan. jake paid the ultimate sacrifice, but so do the families. you know, we have definitely been forgotten about. jake's last letter, the first line states, "hello, family. please don't cry, mum. "i am not here now. "i'm in a better place." if you could say one more thing to him? i love you so much. and i'd have to finish with... my little nut brownie. nathalie bouzigues, speaking to ed thomas. the us has urged

the militants are now on the verge of overrunning the city of lashkar gar in the south, and there's fierceto lashkar gah — the main city in helmand province — and closed in on government buildings. they were beaten back by military forces later in the day after suffering heavy casulaties from us and afghan aircraft strikes. in the west, they were pushed back from the gates of herat city as a clearance operation was launched. hundreds of commandos were deployed to help the struggling government forces keep the taliban at bay. this is one of them. translation: by using residential houses and by wearing normal- clothes, they cross the front line to enter areas and when faced with resistance, they leave. the taliban are not a great power, they are just fighting in a scattered way, they make people worry and lower their spirits. in kandahar, a former taliban stronghold, thousands of families have fled their homes to escape fighting. conditions for them are dire. one afghan campaigner for women's rights has accused the taliban of carrying out widespread crimes against civilians. the way the atta

the militants are now on the verge of overrunning the city of lashkar gar in the south, and there's fierceing in kandahar and herat in the west. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, reports from the capital kabul. lashkar gah, helmand, the peace roundabout — now overrun by taliban. they say this square is theirs. gunfire the centre of a city once patrolled for years by british troops. afghan special forces, trained by britain and other nato armies, are rushing in. this video's from the afghan ministry of defence. explosion the battle intensifies on the ground and on social media. 35—year—old general sami sadat is the commanding officer in this southern area. he says the taliban have suffered hundreds and hundreds of losses, but his forces have lost most rural areas. it's much the same across afghanistan. now the taliban are bent on seizing the cities. this war is being raged street—to—street. on one of them, the family ofjamal barak. a former interpreterfor the british army, now in the uk. people are stuck in their homes. they cannot go outside. there is no electricity, ther

there are fears the taliban are on the verge of taking control of lashkar gar — the capital of helmand

outside of kabul, a general in one the country's biggest cities lashkar gar has sent a bleak warnings — "get out while you can". taliban fighters are trying to take the southern cityjust weeks after the withdrawal of most foreign troops. general sami sadat commands the afghan forces in lashkar gah. we are hearing that they will put people at risk as we, you know, push back and clear the houses. i have to make a call and ask the people, specifically in some areas that the enemy is taking shelter in their houses, i respectfully ask them to leave their houses and the surrounding area, and i apologise for the action, if they may feel bad for being displaced, and i'm with them — but this is good for them, that they are safe, and they can come back to their houses when the outskirts of lashkar gah is cleared from the terrorists. the taliban has made significant gains since the vast majority of us troops withdrew. these maps give you the context. the red on this map here are the areas that the taliban controlled in 2017. then this is five days ago. the red is the area the taliban now contro

fighting is raging around the three major cities of herat, lashkar gar and kandahar in the south andsince it was announced that almost all foreign troops would leave by september. thousands of people have fled their homes in southern turkey, where wildfires are now threatening hotels and homes. at least six people have died, and hundreds have been injured. parts of the tourist city of bodrum have been evacuated. that's all for now. you can follow all the latest from the olympics, and the day's other stories, on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at six o'clock. bye for now. this is the you're watching the bbc news with lukwesa burak. what an olympics it's been for team gb in the swimming pool, with eight medals — a record for britain in a single games. lucy hockings has been speaking to former gb swimmerjazz carlin, who won two silvers in the pool at the rio olympics. oh, it's been absolutely fantastic and i can't say i've had too much sleep this week, as we've had to get up in the middle of the night. the finals have been starting in the uk at 2:30 in the morning, so

and the taliban have also taken lashkar gar, capital of the southern province of helmand., as well ass that the militants will continue their lightning speed offensive toward the capital, kabul, where tens of thousands of civilians have fled violent street fighting. our correspondent in kabul, yogita limaye, gave us this update. well, people are in shock and disbelief over what has happened just over a single day. five provincial capitals have fallen to the taliban, among them major cities. kandahar, this country's second largest city, a big economic centre. to the taliban, it is a traditional stronghold, so they will be looking at this as a major victory. herat is in the west of the country, close to the border with iran, so it is important for trade. these are big losses for the afghan government, it leaves them in a very vulnerable position and it has all happened in a span of 12 hours. we started the day talking about ghazni, about 100 hours south of kabul, and by the end of the day, it was five provincial capitals, including lashkar gah in the helmand province. that is where some

a glimpse inside the afghan city of lashkar gar — as fierce fighting continues — between the talibanetres final — succeeding usain bolt as the new champion. and the hurdles records keep falling — as team usa's sydney mclaughlin smashes her own world record — by almost half a second in the 400 metre hurdles.

yet against afghan government forces, taking kandahar — the country's second largest city — and lashkar garus and the uk send troops back to afghanistan, to evacuate their embassies in kabul. a suspected gunman who killed five people — including a child under ten — in a residential area in plymouth has been named locally as jake davison. the gunman is believed to have turned the gun on himself. the incident is the worst mass shooting in britain since 2010. the father of britney spears, has agreed to step down as her conservator after 13 years of controlling her estate and other aspects of her life. as intense fires rage across the us western states, we fly over washington state — to see how new technology is being deployed to help the fight on the ground. it almost looks like mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb covering the state with this thick haze. and a giant iceberg the size of greater london is blocking the british antarctic survey from their research station — we'll have more on that later this hour hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. in a devastating b

the militants are now on the verge of overrunning the city of lashkar gar in the south, and there's fierceun by taliban. they say this square is theirs. gunfire the centre of a city once patrolled for years by british troops. afghan special forces, trained by britain and other nato armies, are rushing in. this video's from the afghan ministry of defence. explosion the battle intensifies on the ground and on social media. 35—year—old general sami sadat is the commanding officer in this southern area. he says the taliban have suffered hundreds and hundreds of losses, but his forces have lost most rural areas. it's much the same across afghanistan. now the taliban are bent on seizing the cities. this war is being raged street—to—street. on one of them, the family ofjamal barak. a former interpreter for the british army, now in the uk. people are stuck in their homes. they cannot go outside. there is no electricity, there is no food. people will die without food, without water. and the taliban is actually walking the streets and looking for the people who have worked for the afghan government

the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar gars fierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. the rugby league world cup — which was due to be held in england in autumn — has been postponed until 2022, after defending champions australia, and new zealand, withdrew citing covid concerns. team gb's most successful canoeist, liam heath, has added to his olympic medal haul with a bronze in the k1 200 metres sprint. and coming up this hour: 15 million of us live with a long—term condition — but are some social media influencers faking illnesses for fame, money and attention. fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to quarantine on arrivalfrom france , as part of a shake—up of coronavirus travel rules in england, scotland and northern ireland. seven more european countries have been added to the green list, while spain will remain amber despite concerns about covid variants there. other changes include india, bahrain, qatar and the united arab emirates —, switching from red to amber , meaning arrivals from

the militants have taken over the police headquarters in lashkar gar.een incredibly fast, last month it only controlled these areas are shown in red but now following the withdrawal of western troops the red wave has spread to all of these areas. the afghan government is reportedly attempting to unite a host of fractured militias against a common enemy. it's also been holding peace talks with the taliban for a year in doha. untiltoday�*s talks with the taliban for a year in doha. until today's rumours of a deal no progress had been made. i will be asking for the reaction to this news from the afghan ambassador to the united states in a moment. first, i have interviewed two high—profile figures in the taliban chain of command. i asked them what they want from the afghan government and how they would rule the country if they could return to power. afghanistan, 2021 — the taliban are back, taking city after city from government forces. the withdrawal of foreign troops has left a power vacuum the taliban are rushing to fill. if they take power, many people

talking much about the civilian population because they are trickling out at these big cities like lashkar garou have the brutal conflict right in the middle of the city, mortars, bombs falling on your homes, and taliban menace dominant militants entering houses and being accused of using them as human shields and dozens of civilians have died and many emergency hospitals run by ngos have said they are not able to treat the number of injured people because there are more and more people coming. many of the civilians escape from the countryside when the taliban captured for the last few months thinking at least the cities will be safe but now the taliban have launched attacks on the city so the people of playing and it was also very, very hot in some places the temperature is 13—14 c so they are suffering and that is what many people are warning. this is the time for the international community to step in otherwise they will be a humanitarian catastrophe in afghanistan. b, humanitarian catastrophe in afghanistan.— humanitarian catastrophe in afuhanistan. r ., afghanistan. a la southeast asia ed

in the city of lashkar gar, it is in afghan hands. �*levelling up�* the poorest parts of the uk should start with tackling crime. one of the areas worst—affected is rhyl in north wales, where serious violence rose for four years until the first coronavirus lockdown. the town has some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in wales, and is hoping to win new government funding. our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, has been to visit. weekend patrol in the most violent neighbourhood in wales. he said he was going to punch me. i did not step forward. we're not getting anywhere now. as covid restrictions ease, there is fear here, as elsewhere, that serious crime will increase. cutting crime is the centrepiece of the government�*s efforts to reduce regional inequalities. doing so here in rhyl is not straightforward. tackling crime doesn�*tjust mean flooding the area with extra police officers. for me it would be using the levelling up money to tackle the underlying causes of crime. rhyl, and certainly the town centre and the west

this man left the besieged city of lashkar gar two weeks ago but hopes to return one day.ing is not the solution, he says. the only way is peace and the afghan people want peace. a peace that seems more elusive as more civivilians are forced from their homes. >> michael holmes, thank you so much for that report. >>> hello again, everyone. thank you so much for joining me. i'm fredricka whitfield. taliban fighters are taking over the capitol city of kabul and the presidential palace. an eerie quiet as the u.s. embassy there is closed for business. it has now been evacuated. the american flag on the building intentionally taken down by american direction this morning. hours earlier you could see smoke rising from the building as embassy staff destroyed important documents. >>> choppers have been seen shuttling americans to the kabul airport for flights out. sources also tell cnn that afghanistan's president has now fled the country. thousands of other afghans are also seeking refuge and long lines of people at the banks at atms this morning trying to withdraw cash as the tal

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

the taliban now control most of the districts in the capital lashkar gar and today we are seeing imagesban closing in on the police headquarters, besieging the prison. yesterday there was a report that they have now taken over the premises of the state broadcaster. so there is huge pressure on forces, reinforcements have been flown in, special forces. afghan airforces in the skies, they are bombing. backed up by us air strikes, the fewer us air strikes and afghan but this is really, are fighting for their lives in helmand. as they are in many other parts of afghanistan. the general was making a point that they can't sustain this fight, he says we are killing up to 90 some times 100 taliban today. so it's not over yet but is the fight of all fights in helmand. let's go live to her. i know that you've been hearing gunfire in last few seconds. you've been hearing gunfire in last few seconde— you've been hearing gunfire in last few seconds. , , , ., few seconds. yes, there is repeating small arms — few seconds. yes, there is repeating small arms fire _ few seconds. yes, there is repeating s

the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar garfierce fighting continues between the taliban and government forces. the new chief executive of nhs england says one in five people being admitted to hospital with covid are now aged between eighteen and thirty four. the rugby league world cup — which was due to be held in england in autumn — has been postponed until 2022, after defending champions australia, and new zealand, withdrew citing covid concerns. and i'm lucy hockings, in tokyo, where it's been a day of world record smashes and upsets. i'll have the latest in a moment. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to quarantine on arrivalfrom france —— as part of a shake—up of coronavirus travel rules in england, scotland and northern ireland. seven more european countries have been added to the green list, while spain will remain amber despite concerns about covid variants there. other changes include —— india, bahrain, qatar and the united arab emirates

a glimpse inside the afghan city of lashkar gar — as fierce fighting continues — between the talibanovernment forces. a sprinter from belarus who defied her country's attempt to send her home from the olympics has arrived in warsaw. the latest from the olympics as canada's andre de grasse wins the 200 metres final — succeeding usain bolt as the new champion. and the hurdles records keep falling — as team usa's sydney mclaughlin smashes her own world record — by almost half a second in the 400 metre hurdles. hello and welcome to the programme. thousands of people in lebanon have attended a memorial service in the ruins of the port of beirut to mark the first anniversary of a huge explosion that devastated much of city. the blast was one of the biggest non—nuclear explosions in history. it killed more than 200 people. outside the lebanese parliament, the security forces fired tear gas at stone—throwing protesters. along with the grief, there's real anger that a year on nobody has been held to account for the explosion. rights campaigners allege that the most senior officials in lebanon

sacrifices of the armed forces," "the the militants are now on the verge of overrunning the city of lashkar gareavy casulaties from us and afghan aircraft strikes. in the west, they were pushed back from the gates of herat city as a clearance operation was launched. hundreds of commandos were deployed to help the struggling government forces keep the taliban at bay. this is one of them. translation: by using residential. houses and by wearing normal clothes they cross the frontline to enter areas and when faced with resistance, they leave. the taliban are not a great power, they are just fighting in a scattered way, they make people worry and lower their spirits." the fate of these key cities depends on how long government forces stay in their posts to fight. a military spokesman tweeted: "in order to honor president ashraf ghani insists the situation will be brought under control within six months. but fears of a humanitarian crisis are growing. in kandahar, a former taliban stronghold, thousands of families have fled their homes to escape fighting. conditions for them — are dire. we have left

they have pushed out most of the taliban insurgents from the southern city of lashkar gar, where britishonths ago. they are pushing militants out of kandahar, inflicting heavy damage on the militants because of us and afghan air strikes. but the army has been stretched, low on morale and they are short of supplies. many soldiers are complaining they were not getting enough rest, there is no rotation. when you see another soldier getting injured, if he is not getting evacuated as soon as possible, that really affects the morale. the afghan air force is stretched and the president blamed the american sudden withdrawal was the american sudden withdrawal was the reason for the situation at the moment, now. he did say he warned the americans about the situation, what will happen once the troops leave. ., ., ., , ., leave. there are ongoing peace talks auoin on in leave. there are ongoing peace talks going on in doha _ leave. there are ongoing peace talks going on in doha are, _ leave. there are ongoing peace talks going on in doha are, what— leave. there are ongoing peace talks going on in do

pictures from inside the afghan city of lashkar gar, as fierce fighting continues between the talibanntense battle close to the police headquarters. dozens of families have had to flee their homes. lashkar gah is the provincial capital of helmand province, which was once at the centre of the us and uk's military campaign. if captured, it would be the taliban's biggest prize since they launched their offensive in may. it's very hard to get footage from the city, but these pictures were sent to the bbc by a local resident. you can see the extent of the damage. fighting has been continuing in lashkar gah for days, with the militants now reportedly in control of most districts. here's the uk's chief of defence staff, general sir nick carter. i think the afghan government went through a very sensible process and is still doing so of trying to consolidate around the provincial capitals and i do not think anybody was ever in any doubt that the taliban would eventually have a go at those provincial capitals. and of course, for the taliban, the south, and there i'm talking about helmand and ka

yet against afghan government forces, taking kandahar — the country's second largest city — and lashkar garfternoon to discuss the situation in afghanistan. a fraudster who tried to inject a 92—year—old woman with a fake covid—19 vaccine has been jailed for three and a half years. david chambers claimed to work for the nhs and jabbed kathleen martin inside her home, before charging her £141. 0ur reporter helena wilkinson was at kingston crown court for the hearing. well, the court heard chambers had deliberately targeted kathleen martin at her home in surbiton on december the 30th last year. the court heard how chambers had gone to miss martin's home. he told her to sit down. he was pretending to be an employee of the nhs, and he told her to roll up her sleeve and then he pretended to administer a vaccine. now, the prosecution barrister in the case today said that he didn't actually inject anything into the victim, but he pretended to do so. he added that the victim was not left with any marks now after that happened chambers then asked miss martin for money. she handed over £140 in cash. a

the city of lashkar gar, the capital, is in taliban hands.f the college's 18th century pristine lawn. the idea was to boost biodiversity on the site. the results, an increase in the number of species, a more natural environment, and an eruption of colour. our wildflower meadow is now in its second year. we installed it to demonstrate the fact that wildflower meadows do have a place in urban areas because, of course, we are more or less in the middle of cambridge. the sustainability issues they address, the biodiversity they bring in, there'sjust so much fun. and the shire horses are here to demonstrate the fact that you can actually manage these meadows, attempting to minimise the internal combustion engine. you know, you don't need to be flying over the top of it with a tractor all the time because, of course, horses are a lot lower carbon than tractors. for 250 years, the back lawn of king's college has been part of this iconic image of cambridge. changing it was a big gamble, but researchers say different species of plants and insects have

in lashkar gar, which is the capital of the helmand province, yesterday they took over the police headquartersnition or even basic food supplies in some parts of the country. president ashraf ghani knows that he needs to change that if he wants to stand a chance against the taliban, and so he has been trying to rally support, rally pro—government forces against the taliban. yesterday, he went to mazar—i—sharif, which is a hugely important city for afghanistan. if that falls, it will be a major setback for the afghan government. what he will also be thinking of is that at the end of august all international troops will withdraw from this country. they have been relying on significant air support from the us military. it is unclear whether that will continue after the end of august. earlier i spoke to charlie faulkener, a journalist working in kabul. she described the current mood in the city. at the moment the climate of fear here is severe, especially following the reports yesterday by us intelligence officials stating that their estimates of kabul facing attacks within six months is reduced t

the un issues a stark warning about the safety of thousands of civilians, in the afghan city of lashkar garng continues between the taliban and government forces. the sprinter from belarus, who refused to return home from the olympics, fearing for her own safety, has arrived in poland. the mexican government sues 15 large us gun firms — accusing them of failing to stop the illegal flow of weapons across the border. protests across delhi, over the alleged gang rape, murder, and subsequent cremation of a nine year old girl from a dalit family, after claims her case was ignored by the the legal system. and, i'm sarah mulkerrins in tokyo, on day 13