Hello and welcome to bbc news. Afghanistan is seeing the heaviest fighting yet between Government Forces and the taliban. The militants are trying to seize three major cities in the South And West of the country. Theyve made rapid gains in less populated parts since it was announced almost all foreign troops withdraw by september. Taliban fighters have now entered parts of herat, kandahar, and Lashkar Gah, the capital of helmand province, once the home to british troops in the country. The fate of these key cities could be crucial amid fears of a humanitarian crisis, and there are concerns about how long Government Forces will be able to hold out. This update from our correspondent in kabul, Secunder Kermani well, this is now the most serious Fighting Weve seen since this latest taliban offensive began. The militants had already captured vast swathes of rural territory, now theyre trying to take their first city and earlier this evening, they made their way to the very centre of Lashkar Gah before being pushed back by afghan special forces. In the past few hours, a number of Air Strikes have been launched against taliban positions there, too. But fighting has been taking place elsewhere as well, around the western city of Herat And Kandahar in the south. Caught in the middle of this, of course, ordinary afghan families. Tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes over the last few weeks. And the international Military Mission here is going to formally come to an end by september. With the taliban emboldened, Peace Talks stalled, everyone� s worried that in the coming weeks, the violence is going to get even worse. Husain haqqani is former ambassado of pakistan to the United States, now with the hudson institute. I asked him how he assesses the gain made by the taliban. Well, they prove three things. First, that there was no Peace Process, it was an illusion, and the taliban are not amenable to peace. They basically thought that an american withdrawal meant that they had won and theyjust wanted to establish their emirate all over again. Second, that the taliban are notjust a small insurgent force, they are a force that is capable of fighting like a conventional army, which basically means somebody is behind them and is supporting them and showing them the way to behave like a conventional army. And thirdly, that the Afghan Military has been left without Air Power by the sudden withdrawal of the western forces. All through the 20 years that The Americans and the brits and Everybody Else were there, they all did not build a strong enough afghan Air Force and made the afghan Air Force totally dependent on contractors who have now been withdrawn. The taliban have also killed afghan pilots while off duty in a very methodical manner to make sure there is no Air Power on the side of the government. So if anybody wants the taliban to not take over afghanistan by force, they have to abandon the so called Peace Process and actually get round to supporting the Afghan Military. A couple of points you made there the taliban are not a small Fighting Force and that they struggle to cope without international the afghan Government Forces struggle to cope without international support. Can they hold back the taliban . I think that the afghan people will not accept the taliban easily. There will be resistance. What we are headed towards is Civil War. The assumption that the taliban, just by being invited to the Ritz Carlton in doha, will agree to ending war has proven wrong. If i was one of the negotiators of that agreement, i would by now have resigned out of shame. But i think that the afghan people wilL Eventually resist. The taliban are not going to have it as easy as they seem to be having right now. Even if they establish control in parts of the country, the people will definitely resist them over the long term. So what we will have is a prolonged ceasefire a prolonged Civil War instead of a ceasefire. There were always concerns about what would happen when international forces withdrew from the country. Lashkar gah is almost a case in point once home to british troops, they left and the Taliban Made Advances on the area. Does the international Community Bear some responsibility for almost enabling this . Absolutely. The two governments in washington, dc and london both actually are responsible for this. They withdrew very suddenly. They did not give the afghan government the respect that should be given to an ally. The withdrawal should have been negotiated with the ally, not with the attacker or with the insurgent. Instead, a deal was signed with the insurgents on the assumption that they will, quote, unquote, reduce peace, which was an absurd term invented by diplomats who have no respect for Human Life in afghanistan, obviously, because what does reduction in Peace Reduction in war mean, or reduction in Conflict Mean . Reduction in violence would be, what . We will kill 20 people instead of 40 . That was a very absurd notion. So the Peace Deal that was signed, the very a Peace Deal in which the taliban had virtually no obligations and The Americans made a commitment to withdraw, the signers of that deal definitely bear the responsibility for the terrorism that awaits the afghan people as the taliban march on. Husain haqqani. Turning to The Olympics now and weve now reached day nine of the games. Heres the Medal Table as it stands at the Moment China is on top with 22 gold medals followed in second place by the United States with 19 golds and Host Nationjapan currently in third on 17 golds. Well talk about the sport itself in a moment and what we can expect in the coming hours but first Mariko Oi is In Tokyo for us. Thank you, rich. Well, the number of new Covid I9 cases here In Tokyo surpassed 4000 for the very first time yesterday, which is quite concerning because usually, we expect these numbers to be quite low over the weekend because of the number of tests that can be carried out. But even more alarming is the proportion of those tests coming back positive, hitting almost 20 , according to the tokyo government. Across japan as well, we saw yet another record way above 12,000. Though i have to say that is not the top News Headline on this newspaper. This is the article about those numbers, while the Silver Medal won by the Team Judo is getting a lot more prominence. Meanwhile, all the Sport Newspapers are very excited about japans Mens Football Team getting closer to winning a medal. But as we heard those new infection numbers, we also learned that two athletes from georgia have been stripped of their 0lympic Accreditation because they broke the rules and went out sightseeing. Now they have gone home. I guess the Organising Committee have to take a very tough approach because theyre aware that the public sentiment has been quite negative towards the games. I dont think anyone here blame those foreign athletes or officials for this surge that we are seeing in the city but at the same time, the very fact that these games are taking place in this city, its sending the wrong message you know, theres no sense of urgency for people to stay at home, even though the State Of Emergency has been declared for the japanese capital for the past few weeks. But aside from the pandemic, another issue has been this intense heat. We heard from Novak Djokovic of tennis, complaining about it, so earlier i spoke to Professor 0lliejay who has worked with various sporting organisations, including the australian open. What is the impact of this heat on elite athletes . So the Human Body is always striving to maintain an internal Body Temperature of around about 37 degrees celsius, and we have around about a three Celsius Buffer away from getting levels of Heat Stress that can be quite dangerous to the average person. But these athletes are very well prepared for these types of conditions so their conditioning will really help them be quite resilient to these particular conditions. With that said, we might see Heat Related Reductions in performance for particularly for long endurance activities and we also might see instances of Heat Illness occurring in some athletes. You talked about those Athletes Training to get used to this kind of heat. What kind of things do they do in preparation . Well, most athletes will expose themselves to the conditions that theyre going to be Playing In in advance of a particular tournament, so i would imagine that most of the competitors In Tokyo, for example, would have sought places to train for at least a couple of weeks in advance of coming to the games in an area that is hot and humid and then that would induce the physiological adaptations that will help them better cope with extreme heat. Sojust to give you a quick idea of what those adaptations are, youd have a lower Resting Body Core temperature so you have a bit more of a buffer before you get to those really dangerous levels of core temperature, theres an increase in the blood volume, so that lowers the amount of strain on the heart for a given exercise intensity, and also it increases the maximum amount that an athlete can sweat as well, so those types of adaptations will really put them in pretty good shape in advance of these particular conditions, which are quite harsh. That was Professor 0llie Jay from the Sydney School of Health Sciences speaking to me a little earlier. And i can tell you, this heat is really brutal. Just standing here, its really hot, so i cant imagine what kind of conditions those athletes are having to play in. It must be really difficult for them. Mariko 0i In Tokyo for us there. With me is our reporter tanya dendrinos. Tanya, weve reached the end of the action in the pool. Talk us through some of those final medals . What an emphatic way to finish the Olympic Games in the pool huge celebrations for Team Usa, finishing in the final race, the mens four x one Medley Relay, not only with a gold but also a World Record. Certainly, the cherry on the top for them. Team gb coming in silver and in the mix for that Team Usa was superstar kaleb tressel, bringing phenomenal speed in the water, really a thrill to watch and he went into the relay off the back of his 50 metre final and finish that in World Record time but declaimed The Olympic World Record and a gold and a time of 21. 07 and finishes 0lympic gold and a time of 21. 07 and finishes Olympic Games with a remarkable five golds Caeleb Dressel. Similar celebrations in the australian Cement Team as well. We had an olympic Women Record 50 metres final record broken, by australias Emma Mckeon, with a time of 23. 8 one, making herthe Emma Mckeon, with a time of 23. 8 one, making her the most successful australian 0lympian of all time, my australian bias creeping in a Hometown Hero and i know in wollongong they are talking about giving her the keys to the city, and its phenomenal. She backed up in the medley, the womens four x one and the australian team one thatis one and the australian team one that is also another game the team won that as well. So congratulations to Emma Mckeon and the australian team as well. ,. , and the australian team as well,. ,. , and the australian team as well. ,. ,. , and the australian team as well. ,. , well. Some incredible times as well out of well. Some incredible times as well out of the well. Some incredible times as well out of the pool. Well. Some incredible times as well out of the pool. And well. Some incredible times as well out of the pool. And the | well out of the pool. And the medals for Team Gb in the bmx . Thrills and spills in the Bmx Freestyle a phenomenaL Event to watch not entirely sure how they managed to do all of those tricks staying upright, it is a challenge enough for me. Charlotte worthington got a magnificent Run Scoring 97. 5 for that gold in the Bmx Freestyle. Team gb came in bronze in the Mens Event and australian Logan Martin claimed gold. Australian Logan Martin claimed old. � australian Logan Martin claimed. O[d ~ Z Z , gold. And the 100 metres s rint, gold. And the 100 metres sprint. The gold. And the 100 metres sprint, the marker gold. And the 100 metres sprint, the marker of gold. And the 100 metres sprint, the marker of any| sprint, the marker of any 0lympic sprint, the marker of any Olympic Games . Sprint, the marker of any Olympic Games . Sprint, the marker of any ol Mic Games . , Olympic Games . The blue Ribbon Event of any Olympic Games . The blue Ribbon Event of any olympic Olympic Games . The blue Ribbon Event of any Olympic Games, Olympic Games . The blue Ribbon Event of any Olympic Games, if L Event of any Olympic Games, if you like and we love watching the athletics in the second week of The Olympics. Usain bolt will not be there for the first time since 2004 so who should we be keeping an eye out for . It really does open up the field. The canadian, he finished third in rio and will be searching for a win and meanwhile in Team Usa we have trayvon bromell, tipped by Usain Bolt as the man to watch as the favourite and that is quite a tag to take into the race and big shoes to fill answer submit more news about Simone Biles in the last few hours . ,. , hours . Statement from Usa Gymnastics hours . Statement from Usa Gymnastics confirming hours . Statement from Usa Gymnastics confirming that l gymnastics confirming that Simone Biles has withdrawn from the Event Final of the floor and they will be making a decision about her entering the Beam Event later this week and they go on to say that either way they are behind her. I think the whole world is behind Simone Biles. She has had such an incredible lead up, going on with the weight of the world and expectations on her shoulders and we truly wish you all the best. She did withdraw yesterday from the vault and uneven bar events, which are taking place in a few hours time and lets hope she may get that one event in before the games. Lets get some of the days other news. Clothing factories in bangladesh are due to re open on sunday following a Government Decision to allow Export Factories to operate despite a surge in the pandemic. The country is under a strict lockdown until thursday but the New Order has sparked fears of another wave of the virus. Bangladesh has so far reported 1. 3 million cases with more than 20,000 deaths. Here in the uk, the equality and human Rights Commission has warned employers that rules requiring workers to be fully vaccinated must not be disproportionate or discriminatory. In the us, Walt Disney has become the latest company, after facebook and google, to tell employees theyll have to have been vaccinated before returning to work. Some businesses in the uk are following suit. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip erdogan has warned that if it turns out the wildfires ripping through Southern Turkey were sparked by arson, he will do whatever It Takes to punish the perpetrators. Firefighters in turkey have been struggling since wednesday to contain dozens of fires around several popular tourist towns, which have now killed at least six people and injured at least 200. Sophia Tran Thomson has this report. Known for its Blue Skies and sunshine, turkey� s South Coast is normally teeming with tourists at this time of the year, but since the fires broke out on wednesday, many of the regions resorts have been evacuated. The president erdogan, who visited evacuees on saturday, declared all affected Regions Disaster areas. After investigators suggested the fires could have been sparked deliberately, he warned any possible arsonists they would be punished. Translation if you rip our heart out, i swear we will rip your heart out. If we find such a connection that are already some indications, we will do what It Takes. What It Takes. Wildfires are common what It Takes. Wildfires are common in what It Takes. Wildfires are common in southern what It Takes. Wildfires are | common in Southern Turkey what It Takes. Wildfires are i common in Southern Turkey in the hot summer months, but local authorities say the latest fires have covered a much larger area than usual. Turkey does not have its own firefighting aircraft, so reinforcements have been sent from ukraine, russia, azerbaijan and iran. But with the Fire Spread so widely across the South Coast, it will be some time until they are brought under control. Some news just some newsjust coming some news just coming through in the past couple of hours, the head of the burmese Military Government has promised to hold multiparty elections and work with fellow asean states six months after seizing power, but, the general, speaking in a televised address, described as terrorists, the party he forced from office. The national league for democracy. Myanmar has been engulfed by violence its army took control six months ago today. Nationwide Street Demo demonstrations in favour of previous party have been brutally suppressed. The actions have been condemned by the Un But China has blocked the Un But China has blocked the Security Council from taking meaningful action. There have been protests across france for a third weekend in a row prompted by the introduction of mandatory covid passes. In paris, police have fired Tear Gas at protesters, who claim the passes restrict their freedoms. The news comes as france battles its fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Celestina olulode reports. Violent clashes on the streets of paris, as police attempted to control the palpable sense of anger. Protesters with a wide range of political views marched Side By side on saturday. They had a simple message. Freedom. It is the third weekend in a row of protest. Similar scenes played out in marseille, leon, and toulouse, against President Emmanuel macrons a so called health path. The measures mean you will need to prove you have been vaccinated, or are covid free, to enter most museums and cinemas. And under a new law introduced this week, vaccinations are mandatory for all healthcare workers. It has been described by some as health dictatorship. Translation we are creating a segregated society, and i think it is unbelievable to be doing this in the country of Human Rights. So i am taking to the streets. I have never protested before in my life, but i think our freedom is in danger. Translation | wont go| to restaurants, i dont give a dn, i wont sell my soul to go to the cinema or other nonsense, thats it. Theres more at stake. Freedom. Theres nothing above freedom. We have started losing all of our liberties, so it must stop. Thats enough. We must put an end to their nonsense. But not everyone agrees. If you want to avoid another confinement, a forced confinement, and all of that painful thing, and keep the economy going, your choice. And as one poll suggests, more than 60 of people in france support the measures, with many believing it is the only way to avoid yet another lockdown. A moratorium on evictions in the United States introduced during the Coronavirus Pandemic has now lapsed, leaving millions of renters at risk of losing their homes. The us House Of Representatives failed to renew the Eviction Ban on friday. It was introduced last year to prevent homelessness increasing during the pandemic, as huge Job Losses left people unable to pay their rent. The Census Bureau says that many millions of renters are behind with payments, and about half Fear Eviction in the coming weeks. Rachel seigel is Economics Reporter for the washington post. There are so many people who have not been able to catch up on the Rental Payments at this point in the economic recovery, and what they are fearing is that starting on monday, that the moratorium itself ends today, but practically speaking on monday there are so many people who are fearing eviction notices that will basically force them from their homes. This is a protection that had been in place since last year, but there are many people who are saying that given the continued amount of need, the lack of Rental Assistance that has been able to reach tenants and landlords as well as rising Delta Variant cases, the agency is still so severe, even as the Eviction Moratorium was allowed to expire today. It was only on thursday that the White House essentially said they were not going to press for further Eviction Moratoriums on their own, and really kicked the can to congress which was totally unprepared to pass a new bill before this weekend, so what we have been really struggling with and what renters and landlords have been struggling with, is this is not news, this has been going on since the beginning of the pandemic, and yet when the deadline actually arrived there was no plan to basically meet people in need. There are landlords, especially small landlords who have not been able to collect rent, who rely on rent for their own income, and are supposed to be made whole by the billion dollars that congress approved, but its unclear what will happen starting monday in the weeks and months that followed. There has been focused on trying to do work that slow Tracks Eviction cases, trying to intervene so the process of being somewhat evicted in court is slowed down, but i think it is an enormously open question about what follows from here. New zealands prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has formally apologised for Police Raids that were car targeted Pacific Communities in the 1970s. The so called � Dawn Raids� were carried out to find, convict and deport people from the Pacific Islands suspected of overstaying their visas but never those from the uk or the us. Earlier i spoke to dylan asafo, lecturer at university of Auckland Law School who specialises in Human Rights in the pacific and issues of racial justice. The anti racist anti Pacifica Policies of the 1970s still exist. With the racism that the government has fostered against pacific peoples within New Zealand society, we see this with our immigration laws, the resident lack of Equity Pathways there is a lack of pathways, and other Immigration Programmes which openly exploit Pacific Labour for majority white gain. Pacific labour for maority white gain. � white gain. What can the government white gain. What can the government do, white gain. What can the government do, and white gain. What can the | government do, and what white gain. What can the government do, and what would pacific islanders like the government to do to improve things . Government to do to improve thins . � , government to do to improve thins . H. , things . Lets hope the government things . Lets hope the government will things . Lets hope the government will acknowledge that the Dawn Raids were not just a series of Police Raids, that it was a political campaign against pacific peoples, which in green anti pacific sentiment within New Zealand and therefore theres going to need to be a lot of work to undo that, sir, one of the ways they could show genuine remorse is the Granting Amnesty to all the pacific migrants and all migrants for that matter, migrants of colour, who are seeking amnesty overstaying their visas, and providing them with solid and equitable, accessible pathways to permanent residency. Something rather Out Of This World is taking place in shanghai, where a futuristic new planetarium has opened. The facility, which is the size of around five football fields, showcases the nations extra terrestrial exploits. In recent months, china has landed a spacecraft on mars and sent the first astronauts to a chinese space station. The planetarium also features working telescopes and a range of interactive exhibits. You can reach me on twitter im rich preston. Please do get in touch, and from me and the team, thanks for watching, goodbye. Hello. Between the showers on saturday, we reached 23 celsius in suffolk. We had nine hours of sunshine in parts of cornwall. That is often the case when we have sunny spells and showers. The north York Moors saw about 17 mm of rain from the showers during saturday as well and they havent altogether died out through the night because weve got the complication of a Weather Front. What it is is cooler in the north. Temperatures into a single figures in rural parts of scotland and Northern Ireland. Thats because were behind this cold Weather Front. As i say, thats complicating our sunny spells and scattered Showers Scenario because weve actually got rather more cloud to start across parts of northern england, showers following on that brisk wind into the North And East of scotland but fewer showers further west across scotland, very few showers for Northern Ireland generally speaking and further west, but they will break out both on our Weather Front and further south. It looks like the most potent showers during the day on sunday are likely across southern and eastern parts of the uk, slow moving with Hail And Thunder and lightning. Once again torrential downpours, we need to keep an eye on those. And temperatures generally will be a degree or so down on those of saturday because of that northerly breeze although a fairly light breeze in southern areas, as i say. And those showers will rumble on and through this evening and for a start tonight, but then they do fade away. We lose that Weather Front away from southern and eastern areas and itll be a fresher night for all, i think. Well notice that difference by the time we get to monday morning. But some Brightness And Sunshine and a relatively quiet start to the week. Our Weather Front� s not too far away in the south, so thats going to provide the Focal Point again for a few showers and perhaps developing over the Cumbrian Mountains and up into snowdonia in wales, one or two not far away from Northern Ireland, and Western Scotland should be fine and dry but still cool in the North And East with that Gentle Northerly Drift which gets cut off by our slight ridge of high pressure for a time late monday into tuesday. But then, were looking at the atlantic influence coming in from Midweek On which is going to be difficult to pinpoint the detail at this stage. So, dont take this as read but it does look more unsettled again as we go through the midweek and beyond period. That, as you can see, illustrated here on our weather charts with more showers and longer spells of rain appearing, and even some showers to start the week as i say in southern areas and across wales in particular. So, yes, fewer showers, a little bit quieter to start the week, still quite cool and it stays cool with more Wind And Rain later. This is bbc news, the Headlines Fighting is raging around three major cities in afghanistan as the taliban try to seize them from Government Forces. Militants have made rapid gains since it was announced almost all foreign troops would leave by september. Thousands of people have been fleeing their homes to escape the violence. At The Olympics The American Caeleb Dressel has won the mens 50 metres freestyle and 4 by 100 Medley Relay with a new World Record time. Australian Emma Mckeon has becomed the most decorated swimmer from her country ever. She won four golds, and seven medals in total In Tokyo. There have been protests across france for a third weekend in a row prompted by the introduction of mandatory covid passes. In paris, police have fired Tear Gas at protesters who claim the passes restrict their freedoms. The news comes as france battles its fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Nhs england and the body that regulates healthcare products