the headlines. the taliban claim to be making advances in the panjshir valley, the only part of afghanistan they don't control. the battle has left hundreds dead. meanwhile the eu and britain have said they won't recognise the taliban government. there's been a sharp slowdown in job creation in the us — coinciding with the spread of the delta variant that's hit but president biden insists the economy remains durable and strong. president biden has arrived in the southern american state of louisiana, where 800 thousand people remain without electricity because of hurricane ida's aftermath. he will survey the damage and highlight the links between extreme weather events and climate change. the prime minister of new zealand, says the sri lankan terrorist who stabbed six people at an auckland supermarket — critically wounding three of them — had been under surveillance since 2016.