in this fast—moving offensive, the taliban are claiming a second provincial capital, sheberghan, is inhere video filmed by 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 b52 long—range bombers to try to halt the taliban offensive in sheberghan. airstrikes, it claims, have already hit the insurgents, killing many of them. there is a risk, though, of civilian casualties. already many civilians have been killed or injured, including children. the hospitals filling up. the taliban have been specifically targeting government officials such as the head of the government's information centre. he was shot dead on friday. his funeral has now taken place in the capital, kabul. a killing designed to intimidate those working for the government in kabul. as the situation deteriorates, many afghans who have been outside the country in pakistan are now trying to get back in. but one of the key border crossings has been closed by the t

us bombers have targeted taliban fighters in the afghan city of sheberghan. is well underway in tokyo. here's a look at the medals table right now. with just hours left until the closing ceremony, the united states has overtaken china to go on top. the host nationjapan remains in third place. 0ur sports presenter sarah mukerrins is in tokyo and has been keeping across the final medals of the games — including jason kenny's historic feat. he has become the most successful british 0lympian by winning seven gold medals. this after he won the gold medals. this after he won the gold medals. this after he won the gold medal in the man's kieran. he defended the title he won in rio five years ago. he did it in some style. it was quite an interesting race. unusually, he was able to search clear and break clear from the rest of the athletes in that velodrome on the track and he was able to go for home with three laps to go and nobody was able to catch him so huge delight forjason kenny, breaking that record he had earlier in the olympics won a silver medal in the olymp

b52 bombers have killed more than 200 taliban fighters in a series of air strikes in the city of sheberghanhe insurgents claim to have taken control. shebhergan is the stronghold of former afghan vice—president abdul rashid dostum, whose supporters fight against the taliban. it comes after the militants said they'd captured zaranj in nimroz, close to the border with iran, in a major escalation of their offensive. they've made sweeping gains since foreign forces started withdrawing from the country. the us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation. richard galpin reports. in this fast—moving offensive, the taliban are claiming a second province is in their hands. here video filmed by 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 b52 long—range bombers to try to halt the taliban offensive in sheberghan. airstrikes, it claims, have already h

he put the recent taliban advances in sheberghan and zaranj into context.is true that another provincial capital has fallen or is in the process of falling then that is a deeply worrying thing. it is partly about the image of what is going on. the military picture may be confused with the fact of the matter is that in the past couple of months the taliban have successfully captured half of the districts of afghanistan. the lightning advance of the taliban is getting harder and harder to ignore. and that has catastrophic effects. for example, on the morale of tens of thousands of afghan troops who, you know, in a rather familiar way, we are hearing reports that they are simply abandoning their positions and throwing of their uniforms. these are people who are poorly trained, badly and in some cases not paid. and they are not fighting for kind of victory or glory as the taliban are. and they are not perhaps willing to die as the members of the taliban are so this impression of a lightning advance is something that is becoming more and more apparent. let's tal

this adds to zaranj and sheberghan captured on friday and saturday.es in kunduz appear only to hold their own base and the airport, though the interior ministry spokesman insists they're already retaking strategic sites and will drive the insurgents out. fire and confusion in the centre of kunduz. taliban pictures 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

they captured sheberghan, also the stronghold of former vice president abdul rashid dostum.fghan forces. look at what has happened in lashkar gah in the south, and in the north as we speak, heavy clashes are going on there. and reports that at least 11 civilians have been killed in the fighting so far. and also there is a big push on the biggest eastern city. it is fair to say that abdul rashid dostum is, for want of a better word, one of the strongmen in afghan politics, fighting the taliban for years, he effectively has his own military forces, as is true in lots of parts of afghanistan. as this is what this is turning into, a regionalfight, rather than one what this is turning into, a regional fight, rather than one that is directed from kabul? many people see history is repeating itself, these warlords, the weather and leading the fight, they were fighting against the taliban. the president wanted to strengthen the institution of the afghan national army. he was trying to sideline the warlords for a while and build a national institution comprising all communities. many

bombers have killed more than 200 taliban fighters in a series of air strikes in the northern city of sheberghanthe us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation. 0n the final day of the tokyo 0lympics, the men's marathon has been won by eliud kipchoge of kenya, the defending champion and world record holder. more than 100 athletes from a0 nations took part in the marathon in sapporo in northern japan. now on bbc news zeinab badawi meets two sublime young opera stars who are grappling with a new world of opera — south african soprano masabane cecilia rangwanasha and french tenor benjamin bernheim. i have been an opera fan for decades and i want to share my passion with you. so i am on a mission to tell you about some of the names in opera who are making it fit for the future. meet south african soprano masabane cecilia rangwanasha, who loves song contests, and is tipped to become a superstar. i was in love with opera from the beginning, but i actually did not know there was opera, i just thought it was music. a

american bombers launch air strikes on taliban fighters who'd taken the afghan city of sheberghan, morehan 200 are killed. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions have come into force. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control as 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. and our sunday morning edition of the papers is at 9.35. this morning's reviewers are journalist and author, shyama perera and ali miraj, a columnist at the article. i'm ben boulos. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the cyclist, jason kenny, has become britain's greatest—ever olympian, after winning his seventh gold medal on the final day of the tokyo games. the 33—year—old's win in the men's keirin final also gave him a british record ninth olympic medal. on the final day of the games in tokyo... this is how the medals table stands. the united states has overtaken china to take the top spot. the host na

long—range us bombers have carried out airstrikes on the afghan city of sheberghan in an effort to driveut taliban insurgents who've taken control of the city. meanwhile, india gets its first ever athletics gold medal at the olympics — neeraj chopra winning the javelin to end the country's 100—year wait for glory. gold medal number 20 for team gb at the tokyo olympics — asjoe choong takes top spot in the men's modern pentathlon. i'm mariko oi in tokyo. we are hit by a time if you buy will bring _ we are hit by a time if you buy will bring all_ we are hit by a time if you buy will bring all the latest on what to expect— bring all the latest on what to expect at the final day of the tokyo olympics — hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. more than 150 wildfires are burning across the country, some close to the northern suburbs of athens. two people are known to have died, and at least 20 others have been injured. greece, like many parts of europe, has been grappling with extreme weather this summer. widespread flooding and colder than average temperatures in ce

long—range us bombers have carried out airstrikes on the afghan city of sheberghan in an effort to driveut taliban insurgents who've taken control of the city. hundreds are evacuated by ferry in greece, as firefighters continue to battle an unprecedented outbreak of wildfires. meanwhile, india gets its first ever athletics gold medal at the olympics — neeraj chopra winning the javelin to end the country's 100—year wait for glory. gold medal number 20 for team gb at the tokyo olympics — asjoe choong takes top spot in the men's modern pentathlon hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. more than 200 taliban fighters have been killed in strikes by us long—range bombers, according to afghanistan's defence ministry. the ministry says it's called in american b—52 aircraft in the battle against the militants in the city of sheberghan. earlier, the taliban said they had taken control of the city. shebhergan — in northern afghanistan — is the stronghold of former afghan vice president abdul rashid dostum whose supporters fight against the taliban. the militants had earl

american bombers launch air strikes on taliban fighters who'd taken the afghan city of sheberghan, moretions

the deputy governor of sheberghan injawzjan province says government forces have retreated to the airporting to defend themselves. shebhergan in northern afghanistan is the stronghold of former afghan vice president abdul rashid dostum whose supporters fight against the taliban. the militants earlier captured zaranj in nimruz, close to the border with iran, in a major escalation of their offensive. they've made sweeping gains since foreign forces started withdrawing from the country. in both cities, the taliban freed hundreds of inmates from prisons they'd captured. the us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation in the country. earlier i spoke to our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan. he said it's a very disturbing situation for the government in kabul. the government must be worried at this point because the change in situation is fast. the first provincial capital was captured by the taliban in recent years yesterday. within 2a hours they have reached out to a different part of afghanistan, also

bombers have killed more than 200 taliban fighters in a series of air strikes in the northern city of sheberghane us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation. 0n the final day of the tokyo 0lympics, the men's marathon has been won by eliud kipchoge of kenya, the defending champion and world record holder. more than 100 athletes from a0 nations took part in the marathon in sapporo in northern japan. wales has moved to covid alert level zero, meaning social distancing rules, and most other restrictions, have now come to an end. people can gather indoors, and nightclubs are open once again, but face masks are still required by law in shops and on public transport. here's our wales correspondent, hywel griffith. it's not quite ripping up the rules but from today, life in wales is far less limited. social distancing is no longer written into law. no need to count how many people meet indoors. facemasks are still mandatory in shops and most indoor spaces, something emma says she can live with. i think it's quite a

bombers have killed more than 200 taliban fighters in a series of air strikes in the northern city of sheberghanthe us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation. 0n the final day of the tokyo olympics, the men's marathon has been won by eliud kipchoge of kenya, the defending champion and world record holder. more than 100 athletes from a0 nations took part in the marathon in sapporo in northern japan. wales has moved to covid alert level �*zero,’ meaning social distancing rules, and most other restrictions, have now come to an end. people can gather indoors, and nightclubs are open once again, but face masks are still required by law, in shops and on public transport. here's our wales correspondent, hywel griffith. it's not quite ripping up the rules but from today, life in wales is far less limited. social distancing is no longer written into law. no need to count how many people meet indoors. facemasks are still mandatory in shops and most indoor spaces, something emma says she can live with. i think it's qu

american bombers launch air strikes on taliban fighters who'd taken the afghan city of sheberghan, more caps her switch from footballer to boxer with a middleweight gold medal for team gb. another golden moment for team gb cyclistjason kenny, making him the country's most decorated olympian. greece on fire. thousands are forced to evacuate their homes in athenian suburbs, and on the country's second—largest island of evia. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions have come into force.

bombers have killed more than 200 taliban fighters in a series of air strikes in the northern city of sheberghan. the us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation. on the final day of the tokyo olympics, the men's marathon has been won by eliud kipchoge of kenya, the defending champion and world record holder. more than one hundred athletes from forty nations took part in the marathon in sapporo in northern japan. now on bbc news, dateline london with shaun ley. hello and welcome to the programme that brings together bbc specialists and the foreign correspondents who write, blog and broadcast to audiences back home from the dateline london. this week: one virus, three countries — the contrasting covid fortunes of china, the united states and the uk. afghanistan's president says it'll take six months to rout the taliban — but does he have six weeks? joining me this week are henry chu, uk bureau chief of the american paper, the la times, ned temko, who is with the christian science monitor, and bbc uk political

the deputy governor of sheberghan in jawzjan province, says government forces have retreated to the airportthe outskirts of the city, where they're preparing to defend themselves. the us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation in the country. richard galpin reports. in this fast—moving offence of the taliban are claiming a second provincial s and their hands. this video appears to show them releasing inmates from the prison and the afghan authorities admit some parts of the city have been taken. just a day ago the taliban captured a city in the south—west of the country, now it seems the north is also coming under their control. in the wake of the fighting many civilians are being treated at local hospitals with serious injuries. amongst them young children. government officials such as the head of the media information centre are amongst the caliban�*s growing a list of those they have assassinated. his funeral has taken place after he was shot deadin has taken place after he was shot dead in the capit

as well as sar—e pul and kunduz, they now appear to control zaranj, sheberghan and taloqan.ountryside, but confident enough to move on major cities. 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 afghanistan have created whole generations of refugees. the west's military withdrawal is almost complete. afg ha ns fear they�* re being abandoned. the government can request american air strikes, but for how long and to what effect? paul adams, bbc news. the afghan government says its forces are trying to retake that lost ground, the provincial capitals, the cities. do you think they can do it? the security situation had been deteriorating for a while, and the afghan government had said that it wanted to defend these cities across the countr

as well as sar—e pul and kunduz, they now appear to control zaranj, sheberghan and taloqan.tent to control the countryside, but confident enough to move on major cities. 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 afghanistan have created whole generations of refugees. the west's military withdrawal is almost complete. afg ha ns fear they�* re being abandoned. the government can request american air strikes, but for how long and to what effect? paul adams, bbc news. to get a little bit more on this continuing afghan conflict. i've been speaking to dr dipali mukhopadhyay, a senior expert on the afghanistan peace process for the us institute of peace. she expects the taliban advance to go much further. there is a kind of momentum to t

american bombers launch air strikes on taliban fighters who'd taken the afghan city of sheberghan, more than 200 are killed. on the final day of the olympics, lauren price caps her switch from footballer to boxer with a middleweight gold medal for team gb. another golden moment for team gb cyclistjason kenny, making him the country's most decorated olympian. greece on fire. thousands are forced to evacuate their homes in athenian suburbs, and on the country's second—largest island of evia. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions have come into force. and thousands take to the streets of amsterdam as the city marks the 25th anniversary of its first gay pride parade. hello and welcome. reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, where government forces 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 i

this adds to zaranj and sheberghan captured on friday and saturday.es in kunduz appear only to hold their own base and the airport, though the interior ministry spokesman insists they're already retaking strategic sites and will drive the insurgents out. our correspondent paul adams has more. fire and confusion in the centre of kunduz. taliban pictures 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 go

long—range us bombers have carried out airstrikes on the afghan city of sheberghan in an effort to drivehundreds are evacuated by ferry in greece, as firefighters continue to battle an unprecedented outbreak of wildfires. meanwhile, india gets its first ever athletics gold medal at the olympics — neeraj chopra winning the javelin to end the country's 100—year wait for glory. gold medal number 20 for team gb at the tokyo 0lympics — asjoe choong takes top spot in the men's modern pentathlon

the deputy governor of sheberghan injawzjan province says government forces have retreated to the airportoutskirts of the city, where they're preparing to defend themselves. shebhergan — in northern afghanistan — is the stronghold of former afghan vice president abdul rashid dostum whose supporters fight against the taliban. the militants had earlier captured zaranj in nimroz, close to the border with iran, in a major escalation of their offensive. they've made sweeping gains since foreign forces started withdrawing from the country. in both cities, the taliban freed hundreds of inmates from prisons they'd captured. the us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation in the country. the caliban are now claiming a second provincial capital is in their hands. , taliban. now it seems the city in the north is also coming under their control. in the wake of the fighting, many civilians are now being treated in local hospitals with serious injuries. amongst them, young children. government officials such as this

one was zaranj in the south—west and sheberghan in the north, but today, this morning, they told me thatity of kunduz in the north, which is a very, very important trading hub and considered a gateway to central asia, and that they'd also captured most of the government buildings. but a defence ministry spokesman a short while ago tweeted showing what he said was the pictures from kunduz where special forces commandos have been tackling the insurgents. so, as we speak, heavy fighting is going on in kunduz city, and why it is important? because this will be the biggest prize 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 definite

long—range us bombers have carried out airstrikes on the afghan city of sheberghan in an effort to drive

"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—

the provincial capitals sheberghan and taloqan are also largely in militant hands. 0ur south asia correspondentbeen intense there for the past two weeks. a taliban spokesman has said they are now trying to launch attacks on different cities in the north. the suspect in the death of harry dunn may have been distracted by her mobile phone before the fatal crash. court documents lodged in the us state of virginia said anne sacoolas had been "evasive, non—responsive and inconsistent" about her phone usage. the 19—year—old died near raf croughton in northamptonshire in august 2019 when a car driven by mrs sacoolas hit his motorcycle. she later left the country for the united states, claiming diplomatic immunity. her legal representatives have been contacted for comment. the headlines on bbc news: a united nations report warns of a "code red for humanity", saying carbon emissions have warmed the climate in every part of the world. the un report comes as fire and smoke force holiday—makers and residents to flee a greek island. forests continue to burn out of control across the country. three more afgh

bombers have killed more than 200 taliban fighters in a series of air strikes in the northern city of sheberghan. the us and the uk have asked their citizens in afghanistan to leave the country immediately because of the worsening security situation. 0n the final day of the tokyo 0lympics, the men's marathon has been won by eliud kipchoge of kenya, the defending champion and world record holder. more than 100 athletes from a0 nations took part in the marathon in sapporo in northern japan. now on bbc news, �*being intersex in russia'. low pressure brought a very unsettled day on saturday. we saw lots of showers around, some torrential downpours in places, but there was some good spells of sunshine, too. and sunday is a repeat performance — some of the showers will be heavy and thundery once again and slow moving across the north of the uk. that's because in the centre of the low, the winds will be lighter but you'll notice across its southern flank for southern england through wales, quite a squeeze in the isobars there. so, it's going to be breezy. so, we'll start off with maybe some sunshine ac