lyse doucet, “oining us late into the night_ future.future. lyse doucet, joining us late into the night in kabul, thank- future. lyse doucet, joining us late into the night in kabul, thank you | into the night in kabul, thank you very much. now, the european parliament has just approved a resolution condemning hungary for a recent law that restricts the depictions of homosexuality. specifically, the law bans schools from using materials deemed to promote homosexuality to under—18s. it also bans normalised lgbtq relationships from being shown on television before 10pm. hundary�*s prime minister, viktor 0rban, says the new law is about child protection. here he is speaking earlier. translation: the european parliament and the european commission _ want us to allow lbgtq activisits into kindergarten and schools. hungary does not want it. the debate is about who should decide how to raise our children. in frame of basic treaties of the eu, this is inevitably a matter of national competence. brussels bureaucrats have no business here. no mat

lyse doucet.issed last week's historic demonstrations against the communist government as a lie. thousands took to the streets of havana and other cities last weekend, demanding freedom, democracy and more covid vaccinations. more than 100 people have been arrested since the protests erupted. the president had earlier accused the us of provoking the demonstrations. speaking at a pro—government rally in havana, mr diaz—canel denounced what he said was a "false narrative" over unrest on the caribbean island. translation: we have come together to once again - denounce the us blockade, aggression and terror. we couldn't put off this rally. the enemy has once again gone all out to destroy the sacred unity and peace of citizens. they are encouraging and glorifying disrespect and destruction of property, threats and harassment of citizens and families. right now, what the world is seeing from cuba is a lie. demonstrators have gathered outside the white house in washington, calling on the us to intervene

lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. let's get some of the day's other news.egypt has died at the age of 88. jehan sadat has been given a military funeral in cairo. she had dedicated herself to promoting socialjustice and female empowerment in egypt, and continued to do so decades after her husband, anwar, was assassinated. gail maclellan reports. born in cairo to an english mother and egyptian father, jehan married anwar sadat in 19119. when her husband became president in 1970, she said she was determined to play a more active role than the wives of previous leaders, often being filmed at her husband's side on official visits abroad. she became involved in public service by micro financing small projects that helped to empower women economically. and she led a campaign to reform egypt's divorce laws by improving the status of women. the resulting new laws became known asjehan�*s laws. in 1978 anwar sadat was the first arab leader to make peace with israel. the peace brokered by us presidentjimmy carter. two years later sadat was killed by a group of islamist

lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. let's get some of the day's other news.n the debris of an apartment block that partially collapsed in the american state of florida two weeks ago have pulled another fifteen bodies from the wreckage. it brings the number of confirmed dead to 79, with 61 still missing. no one has been found alive since the building on the outskirts of miami fell. coronavirus measures in the netherlands are being tightened as daily infections have surged in the past few days. for the next five weeks all nightclubs and live music events have been suspended. restaurants and cafes must close at midnight. but the country is not resuming the lockdown measures that were lifted two weeks ago. thailand is tightening restrictions in greater bangkok and some southern provinces. the measures are designed to curb a wave of coronavirus infections which saw a high number of new cases and deaths on thursday. north korea has reportedly rejected donations of the astrazeneca vaccine due to concerns over its potential side—effects, according to a south korean t

lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul.our de france. today's sprint finish took his tally to 34 — level with belgium's eddie merks — who's held the record since 1975. cavendish — who won his first tour stage 13 years ago — is now aiming to break the record before this year's race concludes in paris in nine days' time. as if the euros final weren't enough, italy has its first player in a wimbledon singles final. matteo berrettini will meet the number one seed novak djokovic in the men's final on sunday. joe wilson has more. check the titles, yes, five on the board. now, 0k, another semifinal. check the titles, yes, five on the board. for now. 0k, another semifinal. challenging novak djokovic was denis shapovalov, 22, seeded ten, and full of talent. anyone for denis? well, they like an underdog here. the canadian had so many opportunities. djokovic was rarely dominating, oftenjust hanging on, but the important points were his. novak djokovic in the right place at the right time. this one settled the second set. ball ruled in

lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul.een vaccine makers and health officials over whether the public need a third vaccine jab, or booster shot. last night, pfizer said it would seek approval for a third dose, amid concerns over the rapidly spreading delta variant. the centers for disease control, the food and drug administration, and the who have all weighed in, saying a third jab isn't needed — or not right now. pfizer has been developing a booster treatment as a way to strengthen antibodies which fade over time and guard against new, highly contagious versions of covid. we can now speak to dr john swartzberg, professor emeritus of the school of public health and an expert on vaccines and infectious diseases at the university of california berkeley. thank you for being with us. i guess the logical presumption is if one vaccine gives you a certain amount of protection, the second dose gives you a bit more? surely a third dose gives you a bit more?— you a bit more? right, if a little bit — you a bit more? right, if a littl

lyse doucet reporting. let's remind you of our breaking news this hour.ents in the iraqi city of nassiriya. a spokesman from the health ministry said the victims died of burns at the al—hussain hospital. health officials say the fire has now been brought under control and a search operation is being carried out. many of the patients are said to be missing and the number of dead could rise. italy's national team has been given a heroes' welcome in rome after their euro 2020 victory on sunday evening. after a night of celebration, they were invited to a a reception by the italian president, followed by a triumphant open top bus tour of the capital. 0ur correspondent mark lowen sent this report from rome. in the end, it's come to rome. cheering. 53 years, not quite of hurt, but of italy's wait for a european title. and now the mancini magic, with its greatest trick. back on home soil, and crowned champions of europe. who needed sleep after that win? you couldn't have got it, anyway. in every corner of this passionate country, victory tasted sweet. and it was

earlier, i spoke to our chief international corrspondent, lyse doucet, about who is coordinating they mind behind this strategy? to start, the taliban started their events in the district, not in southern afghanistan, their traditional strongholds, but they began in the north, putting on the back foot some of the militias there, some of the local forces there, and made quick and easy gains. then they went after the border crossings on pakistan and the northern borders and the western border with iraq, seizing the strategic crossings, which lent put further pressure on the cities. that gave them important sources of revenues. the first strategic capital in which they advance was kandahar, the ancient capital of afghanistan. that has long been a saying in afghanistan that whoever controls kandahar controls the country. many have been asking if it is the taliban coming up with this strategy. is it neighbouring pakistan who has always played a key role in supporting the taliban? we do know they have been going there for a century, hospital support, many taliban leaders are based there. i

lyse doucet reporting. other news now.ure on the country's hospitals. protestors defied rules prohibiting gatherings of more than five people, to call for the resignation of thailand's premier prayut chan 0 cha. south africa's president cyril ramaphosa has joined in a clean—up operation following days of violence that left more than 200 people dead. protests broke out after the former president, jacob zuma, began a 15—month jail sentence for contempt of court over a corruption trial. as south africans mark mandela day, mr ramaphosa urged people to honour the legacy of the country's former leader by helping to rebuild. some of the world's top oil producers have agreed to pump more of the black stuff in a bid to reduce prices which have climbed to two and half year highs as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. the new agreement comes after a two—week spat between saudi arabia and the united arab emirates that threatened the group's ability to maintain a grip over global oil supplies. landslides caused b

lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. let's get some of the day's other news.in miami has risen to 78 after 14 more bodies were pulled from the rubble. the search—and—rescue mission has now ended and become a recovery effort, more than two weeks after the i2—storey champlain towers south fell in the middle of the night. dozens of people remain missing. thailand is tightening restrictions in greater bangkok and some southern provinces. the measures are designed to curb a wave of coronavirus infections which saw a high number of new cases and deaths on thursday. the world health organization has cautioned more studies are needed to determine whether booster shots for covid—i9 would be required to maintain vaccine protection. north korea has reportedly rejected donations of the astrazeneca vaccine, due to concerns over its potential side effects — according to a south korean think tank. north korea has yet to confirm a single case of covid—i9 — a claim long questioned by analysts. the united nations security council has voted to extend a cross—border operation bri

lyse doucet is in the afghan capital kabul.ttlefields across this that will take some time, this is notjust military, but also financial, political, social by all of the worlds great powers. mistakes have been made on all sides. the president, who was of grace and charge for most of those two decades is also the commander—in—chief. he never really wanted to be the commander—in—chief. mistakes were made on his side as well, but certainly even the general mailer, the top us commander has said in a recent interview that we did with him that we have to take an honest look at why some things didn't turn out the way we wanted them to. the british prime minister borisjohnson has confirmed that he intends to lift all coronavirus restrictions in england in two weeks time, with a final decision next week. that would mean workers returning to the office and an end to social distancing. but it comes as cases across the country continue to rise. there's been an average of over 25,000 daily cases over the past week. but the uk government say

the bbc s lyse doucet was at the handing over ceremony — and gave us this update from kabul.ato mission here in afghanistan. it was a very short ceremony at what used to be called the resolute command centre, the command of all the nato armies here in afghanistan. general scott miller is the last commander to serve here. he's actually the longest—serving as well. he served three times in afghanistan during this mission, and in fact, he was here in 2001, coming in with the forces who toppled the taliban. he's also one of the few us generals to actually talk to the taliban in recent years, and today, when he handed over his command, he reiterated again the need for the taliban to stop the violence. 30 million people across the western united states and canada have been enduring another blistering heatwave. las vegas has matched its record ofjust over 47 degrees, around 116 degrees fahrenheit. in death valley in california, the temperature was expected to reach 52 celsius, 125 fahrenheit. and the extreme heat is having some devastating consequences. wildfires have been burning a

our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, who is in kabul, asked him if he feared the situationse like to say that the best way forward is a ceasefire, universal, immediate, declared today, implemented tomorrow, and peace talks to resume in doha after a few days. i find that an unlikely scenario. i think what the best scenario, which is so much worse than the best one, the best realistic scenario is one where the taliban offensive is held back, whether there is a bit of pushback, a bit of rebalancing, all these nice words which still mean further suffering, further deaths, a large number of afghans dying in those sides, more people on the run, leaving their homes. but that with this recalibration, rebalancing, the taliban would then, after some time, be ready to come back to negotiations in doha or start negotiations in doha in earnest, to find a negotiated solution to afghanistan's problems. you've had many talks with taliban leaders. do you believe that they do want a political solution or is it one which is basically tantamount to surrender for the afghan government? i have t

the bbc�*s lyse doucet was at the ceremony and gave us more from kabul.g the us—led nato mission here in afghanistan. it was a very short ceremony at what used to be called the resolute command centre, the command of all the nato armies here in afghanistan. general scott miller is the last commander to serve here. he's actually the longest—serving as well. he served three times in afghanistan during this mission, and in fact, he was here in 2001, coming in with the forces who toppled the taliban. he's also one of the few us generals to actually talk to the taliban in recent years, and today, when he handed over his command, he reiterated again the need for the taliban to stop the violence. it's the world's biggest search engine, and its boss says the model of a free and open internet is under attack. sundar pichai says many countries are restricting the flow of information and the western model, free from political censorship, is often taken for granted. google is under huge pressure from regulators around the world for its approach to privacy, data and t

frank gardner, bbc news. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in the afghan capital kabulross this country, but far away in the gulf state of qatar, negotiations have resumed between an afghan government and taliban delegation. we are joined from from one of the government team negotiators. welcome to bbc world news. thank you. how would you assess the seriousness of the talks which have taken place in recent days? is it just that taliban going through the motions, or is this a serious effort at trying to find peace? well, i guess the seriousness of the attacks are determined by what is going on on the ground. 0n the ground, things are not promising, as you have explained. violence has really escalated in a very strange way, villages and districts are following. in some places, not to the hands of the taliban, but to the hands of nobody, and in fact, the government military and civil servants evacuated the area. and then the taliban came hours later. so i think the pace of the talks are being determined by what's going on on the ground. however, i think both sides understa

taliban militants continue their unexpectedly rapid advance. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet speaking to the key players on both sides, about the significance of these negotiations. these high—level talks are taking place in the midst of growing uncertainty and anxiety about afghanistan's future. afghan government negotiators say they are acutely aware that the window for peace talks is fast narrowing, perhaps a question ofjust two to three months. because the backdrop of course is that the taliban have been overrunning districts across afghanistan and seizing strategic order crossings. so i asked the minister of state for peace, did he believe after talking to the taliban again here that they were interested in a political solution? we hope so, because the only solution to the conflict in afghanistan is political solution, is through meaningful negotiation, and conflict and taking afghanistan by force is not the solution, it will not be acceptable to the people afghanistan. afg ha nista n state minister for peace. but of course that is a question for the taliban too, because

from kabul, our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has more on the situation across afghanistanese are momentous and deeply uncertain times in afghanistan. for those who don't follow afghanistan closely, what are these details coming in tell us? they tell us the taliban are making rapid advances in all areas of the country much more quickly than anybody expected. and possibly even the taliban. the latest news is they have taken over this border crossing on the border with iran at islaam kalaa. russian media now reporting tell taliban now control most of the afghan border. there's reports now their territory of the southern province of kandahar and the television network in afghanistan reported east of kabul, the village is also coming under taliban control. while these reports were coming in, the afghan president made his first visit to what was the biggest us military base in the country at bagram. he conceded that the country was now going through a critical transition, but vowed that his government and his security forces would prevail. that is the message we heard last night

our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, is covering the talks in doha and says the two sidesr the talks, she asked both sides why there were no details of a road map on the future of afghanistan. i think that it is well—known, it is well—known, because in some of the topics which were our priority and their priority, and seconds, that was something that was discussed but not agreed. but, anyway, we would discuss it in coming meetings. it seems to be agreed that we both agree that there should be a political solution. that is it? we talked about a lot details of that. - and i think it is a good - opportunity, as i mentioned. you're not disappointed ? about what? well, because there could've been much more detail... i would have expected i the war to end tonight... but we had good, l fruitful discussions. ok, thanks. just another strand here. the afghan government has re—called its diplomatic staff from neighbouring pakistan, following an attack on friday on the ambassador�*s daughter in the capital, islamabad. it's the latest sign of the troubled relationship between the two n

the bbc s lyse doucet was at the ceremony — and gave us this update from kabul.t used to be called the resolute command centre, the command of all the nato armies in afghanistan. general scott miller is the last commander to serve here. he is the longest serving as well. he served three times in afghanistan during this mission and in fact he was here in 2001, coming in with the forces who toppled the taliban. he is also one of the few us generals to actually talk to the taliban in recent years. today when he handed over command, he reiterated again the need for the taliban to stop the violence.— to stop the violence. back to the demonstrations - to stop the violence. back to the demonstrations in - to stop the violence. back to the demonstrations in cuba. | i'm joined byjos miguel vivanco director of the americas division of human rights watch. give us an idea of what you understand to be the state of affairs for most cubans now, that it has come to this? well, the demonstrations _ that it has come to this? well, the demonstrations continue i the demonstrations c

afghanistan, the violence is only going to get even worse. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucetrealistic scenario is one where the taliban offensive is held back. where there is a bit of push back, a bit of rebalance. all these nice words that still mean further suffering and deaths, a larger number of afghans dying on both sides. more people on the run, leaving their homes. but with this recalibration, rebalancing, the taliban would then, after some time, be ready to come back to negotiations in doha or start negotiations in doha in earnest, to find a negotiated solution to afghanistan's problems. bbc news has been told that the government is no longer considering making it compulsory for students to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus to attend lectures in england. ministers had previously refused to rule out a requirement to be double—jabbed on university campuses, and said the decision would be taken in september. 0ur political correspondent, pete saull, says this comes in the context of the controversial decision to consider so called vaccine passports in other areas. f

lyse doucet reporting.the olympic village. three members of the south african football association have tested positive. a statement by the team manager reads... ..adding that, as a result, the entire team has been quarantined and will not be allowed to train. they are due to play their opening match on thursday. but are there more cases? earlier, 0lympic officials had reported the first infections among competitors staying at the village, but didn't make clear if they were referring to the south africans. team gb has confirmed that six athletes and two coaches from the athletics team have been forced to isolate as they were identified as close contacts. all eight team members have tested negative. for more on the situation, here's dan 0rlowitz, who's a sports journalist for the japan times. the protocols are different for each discipline, for each competition, but the efforts are being made as much as possible to ensure that medals are not awarded by default. so if an athlete has to miss his or her competi

our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in doha.�*s negotiators, fatima gailani earlier to see whether she thinks a political solution is even possible. we arejoined here by we are joined here by one of the senior negotiators for the republic of afghanistan. so many afghans and others ask are you wasting your time here? i others ask are you wasting your time here? ., , ., others ask are you wasting your time here? .,, ., .,, ., . others ask are you wasting your time here? .,, ., .,, ., ~ ., here? i hope not. i hope not. we are totally sincere _ here? i hope not. i hope not. we are totally sincere in _ here? i hope not. i hope not. we are totally sincere in this, _ here? i hope not. i hope not. we are totally sincere in this, and _ here? i hope not. i hope not. we are totally sincere in this, and we - here? i hope not. i hope not. we are totally sincere in this, and we are - totally sincere in this, and we are prepared to talk. we are prepared to talk about the core of the matter. we have been prepared for quite some time. of course,

our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in doha.anistan. afghanistan, even in the best of times — but no—one can remember the best of times — is one of the poorest countries in the world, notwithstanding the fact that there's been 20 years of major international engagement, and now it is reeling from a humanitarian crisis — growing hunger, growing displacement from the violence, and growing fear amongst so many afghans about what the future holds. we saw so many of this new, young educated generation, which came of age after the fall of the taliban in 2001, wondering now whether there is space for them in the kind of afghanistan which emerges. what has happened on the battlefield has emboldened the taliban and they've been clarifying their ideas about afghanistan's political future, and it is one in which they dominate and it's a very different kind of political order than the one now in the islamic republic of afghanistan, so there's a sense of urgency here and if these talks make progress this weekend, hope they can have another r

our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports from doha.here is pressure on both sides, from afghans most of all, from afghanistan's neighbours and allies, both sides have to show they are committed to a negotiated way out of this war that continues to intensify on the ground. these talks will focus on coming up with some kind of a joint statement, they will agree to focus on three key areas going forward. one is building trust, another is to discuss a road map to afghanistan's political future. discuss a road map to afghanistan's politicalfuture. also, an islamic constitution. the taliban insists there has to be changes to the existing afghan constitution. on top of that, there has to be a sense that this process will not suddenly stop and there be another long pause. there has to be a continuous process. both sides say the vibes are positive here, but at this stage of the war, it is also understood that good vibes are not enough, there has to be a sense that if they can close at what are now wide gaps between their ideas on how afghanista

political leaders and the taliban in the gulf state of qatar. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucetperson suhail shaheen. there have been on and off talks in the gulf state of qatar since last september but they have made very little process which is why there is a push to try to conduct the negotiations at a higher level —— little progress. that's why a more senior delegation has come from kabul to engage in talks with senior taliban members at an absolutely crucial time in this intensifying war. as the taliban continue to make surprisingly rapid gains across the country, many are asking whether they are now bent on a military victory rather than a negotiated way out of this war. joining us is a member of the taliban negotiating team and their spokesperson, taliban negotiating team and theirspokesperson, suhail shaheen. the taliban give the impression that you believe that you have all but one and you simply want the afghan government delegation to hand over power criteria to surrender. is that the spirit of these talks? that is a perception of the other side, not our policy. our p

issues to help chart set a road map to end the conflict. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucethey said they would have to finish today, because there is huge pressure on all sides today, including the mediation team, today, including the mediation team, to come up with something from these high—level talks. they are aiming for a change declaration on the way forward on three issues, constitution, power—sharing and confidence the taliban have reservations about this and their main priority is the establishment of an islamic system within afghanistan, so they are reluctant to discuss a political road map with a government that wants to protect a different system that has an elected parliament, elected president and is now existing in afghanistan. sir keir starmer has said the prime minister's behaviour shows contempt for the british public, this is after the prime minister and chancellor went into south isolation because they had come into contact with the health secretary said, but initially they had decided not to self isolate because they were taking part in a pilot scheme it

lyse doucet is in the afghan capital, kabul. —— the british prime minister borisjohnson has confirmed all coronavirus restrictions in england in two weeks time, with a final decision next week. that would mean workers returning to the office and an end to social distancing. but it comes as cases across the country continue to rise. the uk government says this is manageable because hospitalisations are under control. with the delta variant, it is growing rapidly but this graph shows current hospitalisations are lagging way behind the second wave. they are still on the up but at a much slower pace and a similar pattern can be seen in the statistics for deaths, far fewer than in the previous wave. mrjohnson has warned that covid and actions across the uk were predicted to rise to 50,000 a day later in the month. vicki young has this report. all around us signs of life interrupted by a pandemic. instructions about where we can go, who we can see even in our own home and how far apart we must stand, but in two weeks things could change. covid has not gone but most restrictions in england a

our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, is covering the talks in doha and says the two sides no details of a road map on the future of afghanistan. i think that it is well—known, it is well—known, because in some of the topics which were our priority and their priority, and seconds, that was something that was discussed but not agreed. but, anyway, we would discuss it in coming meetings. it seems agreed that we both agree that there should be a political solution. that is it? we talked about a lot of ideas like that. - and i think it is a good - opportunity, as i mentioned. you're not disappointed ? about what? well, because there could've been much more detail... i would have expected i the war to end tonight... but we had good, l fruitful discussions. ok, thanks. the afghan government has re—called its diplomatic staff from neighbouring pakistan, following an attack on friday on the ambassador�*s daughter in the capital, islamabad. it's the latest sign of the troubled relationship between the two neighbours. our afghanistan and pakistan correspondent secunder kermani has mo

our chief international correspondent lyse doucet has been speaking to the eu's envoy for afghanistanffensive is held back. where there is a bit of push back, a bit of rebalance. and all these nice words that still mean further suffering and deaths, a number of afghans dying on both sides. more people on the run, leaving their homes. but that with this recalibration, rebalancing, the taliban would then, after some time, be ready to come back to negotiations in doha or start negotiations in doha in earnest, to find a negotiated solution to afghanistan's problems. earlier i spoke to lyse, from kabul, where she gave us the latest of the taliban's advancements. the taliban went on the offensive a few weeks ago and took people by surprise. how quickly they were able to overrun districts in all parts of afghanistan, even in northern afghanistan, which is not their traditional stronghold. of course, some of the districts they overran had little more than a flag in the district centre, the afghan national security forces retreated tactically or they did not put up a fight. in some cases, the

dr abdullah abdullah talking to the bbc�*s lyse doucet. not much holiday for the labour leader. he's planning a summer of hard graft and hearing some hard truths. hello, nice to see you. i'm keir. after nearly a year and a half in charge and labour behind in the polls, he's on the road to try to win back respect for his party from the public. the grandest venue first, we gather together a panel of independently selected voters who used to back labour in blackpool�*s tower ballroom to hear him out. pleased to meet you. i don't recall i've seen you before. so you're not out there, are you? at the minute, anyway. i wouldn't know who you were. 0k, thank you, well, we can fix that. no disrespect or anything. it's very nice to see you. can i call you sir keir? 0r keir? first thing is, your party is divided within itself. i get rid of all these bickering people who are losers. i they want to lose further. by doing what they're doing. if someone's in my shadow cabinet, or on my front bench, i can do something about it, because i can fire them. if

lyse doucet indo half. —— in doha.to reassure athletes and the people of japan that the games will be covid—secure after the first case of the virus in the olympic village was confirmed earlier today. the officials have refused to reveal the nationality of the infected person, but said it was a games organiser from abroad. meanwhile, athletes continue to arrive in tokyo, which is under a state of emergency for the duration of the event. let�*s have a listen to what one of the games�* organisers had to say on that positive coronavirus case. there was one person in the village. this was the very first case in the village that was reported during the screening test. yesterday he or she underwent this pcr test, and right now this person is confined in a hotel. when we have positive cases, to what extent we disclosed information was another question. are we going to disclose the name of the country or not? we have been discussing with the ioc and the ioc says if we disclose the name of the country, with high probability, yo