Emotional goodbye to barcelona. We look at what his next move might be. Live from our studio in singapore. This is Bbc News. It is sam it is 8am in singapore, 4 30am in afghanistan. The taliban are gaining ground at a shocking speed. Three northern afghan cities appear to have largely fallen to the islamist militants within hours of each other. You see on your screens, the biggest is kunduz, a city of more than a quarter of A Million people. The provincial capitals are also largely in militant hands, in the latter, they have been freeing prisoners. This adds two others are captured on friday and saturday. Government forces appear only to have held their own pace and the airport, the Interior Ministry Spokesman insisting they are retaking strategic sites and will drive the insurgency 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. The only good option would be if there is a political settlement. But that does not seem any more possible Today Thanit seem any more possible today than it did two or three years ago. Than it did two or three years auo. ,. , than it did two or three years auo. ,. ,. , than it did two or three years auo. ,. ,. , h, ago. Tens of thousands of afghans ago. Tens of thousands of afghans are ago. Tens of thousands of afghans are being ago. Tens of thousands of i 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, afghans fear they are being abandoned, the government requesting american air strikes, for how long and to what effect . Paul adams, strikes, for how long and to what effect . Pauladams, Bbc News. For more on the situation ive been speaking to Lieutenant Colonel davis, a former soldier who served in afghanistan and now a senior fellow and Military Expert in washington. He told us how far the taliban advance could go. I doubt that kabul is going to be next because that is literally the capital and they are both figuratively and literally for the afghan government will do everything they can to protect that and they will marshal their resources if they need to. But the anguishing thing to me is that this is entirely predictable. Ive been warned about this for many years as have several other people. This was entirely avoidable to the degree we have seen here. And im concerned about what will happen next but this cannot surprise anyone thats been paying attention to the reports coming out. Especially this past week equally as frustrated as i am right now about how you would could have been surprised by this because of the really bad way we have been doing business over the last ten or 15 years. You said that this could have been avoided but how could have been avoided . Really if we had just taken the advice of the Social Inspector General and corrected the way we were training and got rid of the corruption by holding people accountable, but what we did year after year was just kept giving all of these pronouncements that everything is going fine and not holding anyone accountable, but we have graphic evidence of gross misappropriation of funds and stealing and no one ever held to account, of course theres going to continue on doing it and the people that pay the biggest price of the afghan soldiers who are often victimised by a lot of this, the afghan people while all of these people were making lots of money to the top and we just turn a blind eye to it. We cannot claim we did not know this was happening and we there a burden of the responsibility for what was happening. Any for what was happening. Any prospects for what was happening. Any prospects for for what was happening. Any prospects for a for what was happening. Any prospects for a ceasefire . For what was happening. Any i prospects for a ceasefire . You know, i think prospects for a ceasefire . You know, i think there prospects for a ceasefire . You know, i think there is prospects for a ceasefire . 7m. Know, i think there is some prospects, i am know, i think there is some prospects, iam not know, i think there is some prospects, i am not completely hopeless yet. As with isis when they took over large portions of iraq in 2014, they did not expect to have that much success, they did not realise the Iraqi Security Forces would collapse the way they did and the problem is they can go in Tank Terrain but they are not manned or even capable of administering a large city like and as for example. That is beyond their capability. They will not be able to hold onto these and certainly not able to administer them, taking over territory so i think you will find some of these are transient, it will give people a chance but before the afghan soldiers are going to fight, they have to have some leadership that will stand up and they can trust and so far, we have not seen a lot of that. That was Lieutenant Colonel davies on the developing situation in afghanistan. Coming up in the programme we have the latest on the fires ravaging across greece. First, tokyo. After two weeks of gruelling competition the olympics has come to an end. 0lympics has come to an end. The us finished on top of the Medal Tally ahead of china and japan, the Host Nation having their best ever performance at an olympic games. The Closing Ceremony was an upbeat celebration of all aspects of japanese culture, culminating in all of the athletes thanking the people of japan for hosting the people of japan for hosting the games in the midst of a pandemic. Although there were no fans inside the limbic stadium, then he turned up outside to try and catch a glimpse of events, reflecting on the legacy of the games here is our Tokyo Correspondent Rupert wingfield hayes. If you tried to get to the Olympic Stadium tonight, this is what you were met with. Hundreds of Police Blocking alleyways ordering people to move along. Even the closing fireworks lasted just 15 seconds. But if the authorities were trying to prevent the large gathering that took place during the opening ceremony, then they failed. Out of the park, this sport loving family have spent much of the last two weeks glued to the television but even for them watching games on television has not been unmitigated joy. Translation iwanted to go and watch. It is totally different to watch on television and actually being there. Translation it is almost | like the olympics was taking place in the mother country. You can only watch it on television. We felt the distance very much. The last couple of weeks have been a tale of two cities. There is the one behind the fence where there has been this amazing sport and tremendous Success Forjapan and then tokyo outside where most of the time would not even have noticed that the olympics has been happening and the same contrast is true for the pandemic. Inside the fence, Daily Testing meant things were kept under control but outside, the pandemic is now out of control. Critics say the olympics has sucked resources leaving the city without enough Covid Testing kits or vaccinations. It has left a scar on the japanese society, meaning people are divided i and above all, the games left the economy attacked | if you look at numbers in tokyo, It Isjust increasing. There is No Doubt that the record breaking haul of Medals Forjapan has bought realjoy to the Host Nation, as the roadshow leaves town, the olympic Host City has been left facing a medical crisis. Rupert wingfield hayes, Bbc News, tokyo. If you want to look back at any of the best moments from the Closing Ceremony in the last two weeks, you can head to the Bbc News website. Follow the links through to the full coverage of the olympics. And of course, of the upcoming paralympics which starts on tuesday the 24th of august. Lets look at some of the other stories. The entire population of wuhan, the chinese city where the pandemic first started are said to have been tested after the Delta Variant of coronavirus was detected. The authority say more than 11 Million people have undergone testing since tuesday after seven cases of the Delta Variant were found Stop State media in North Korea say the country � s leader has mobilised the military to carry Relief Work in areas recently had by heavy rain. Kimjong un admitted Injune The Country faced a tense Food Situation because of coronavirus and the typhoon last year. A huge wildfire in the north of california is now the second largest in the state history. Five people are missing after the fire swept through to towns and forced evacuation of thousands of people. Over in peru, firefighters are struggling to put out fires burning in the south of the country. More than 500 firemen are trying to extinguish the blazes which began last thursday and have so far destroyed more than ten square kilometres. The authorities say there have been no fatalities or injuries so far. Hundreds more people have been forced to leave their homes in parts of greece as wildfires continue to blaze out of control. The country � s most intense heatwave in 30 years has made Woodland Tinder dry creating perfect conditions for the fires to burn. The Region North of athens, and the second largest island in the country are among the worst affected, ferries helping to evacuate residents and holiday makers. Bethany bell sent us this report. Exodus from avia. There are long queues at the port. People are waiting to get on ferries to the mainland. Holiday makers and some locals are leaving, after villages and parts of the north of the island were evacuated. Chris, who works on avia as a singer, says the wildfires are spreading and the authorities arent doing enough. The most people see that we dont have any help until yesterday and they could save everybody and it wasnt true. The people dont know where to go. The big problem is that we feel that they let us burn. This is what theyre fleeing from. Wildfires have been blazing out of control for almost a week now. Siren wails. Houses and forests have been destroyed. This village is being evacuated. As thick Orange Smoke fills the air, people wait nervously for the ferry to depart. Its like the scene of an apocalyptic movie definitely because theres no sky, The Sun is red. Its quite scary. Its time to leave. The fires are getting closer and closer to this village. Just a few miles from here there are bright Blue Skies but here, the air is full of Smoke And Ash and its making it harder for people to breathe. No one knows if this village will be spared. Its now up to the Gods Of The Winds and the weather. Bethany bell, Bbc News, avia. Those are as surreal images in that report. More on that, the world is getting dangerously close to running out of time to avert catastrophic Climate Change with scientists saying it contributes to extreme events such as the fires in greece, thats the warning from the Uk Minister in charge of the Uk Minister in charge of the climate Change Conference in glasgow in november. It comes as un publishes a Landmark Report on the science of Climate Change later on monday. David shukman a science editor, gave us this assessment of what the report is likely to say. I of what the report is likely to sa , ,. , of what the report is likely to sa. , ,. ,. , say. I suspect it is warning about the say. I suspect it is warning about the dangers say. I suspect it is warning about the dangers of say. I suspect it is warning | about the dangers of rising temperatures, that will be the starkest we have seen and its language on the fact that it is Human Activity driving all of this will be the most robust and i think the reason for that is that the scientists now have a far better understanding than they used to about how the planet works. Theyve got fleets of satellites, supercomputers, a far better ability to work out what is going to happen if we keep adding Greenhouse Gases to the atmosphere and i think a major element of the report that we will see Tomorrow Morning at 9am, london time, will be about extremes of weather, exactly the kind of thing Bethany Bell was reporting on from the greek islands because scientists have always said if you keep adding Greenhouse Gases to the atmosphere, you create more violent conditions, more heat waves, more extreme rainfall. And i think the timing of all of this, you havejust mentioned the Glasgow Summit in november, this Landmark Report will land on the desks of governments and even negotiations towards the end of the year and if you get a government, of a Majorfossil Fuel Economy it raises a question about whether this climate Change Thing is serious, do we need to respond to it . People will be able to point to this report and say, it is serious and the sooner we act the better. Act the better. That was david Shi Man act the better. That was David Shipman on act the better. That was David Shipman on the act the better. That was David Shipman on the climate act the better. That was david | shipman on the climate report we can expect later today. If you want to get in touch with me on any of the stories you have seen today, i am on twitter. I am looking forward to hearing you. You are watching a on the bbc. Still to come. Capturing the Pain And Glory of the olympics, one frame at a time. We hearfrom three photographers who were there. The big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. As the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge job of crowd control. Idi amin, ugandas brutal former dictator has died at the age of 80. Hes been buried in Saudi Arabia where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979. 2 Billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of The Sun to take place in this millennium. It began itsjourney off the coast of canada ending three hours later when The Sun set over the bay of bangor. This is newsday. The taliban seize three more provincial capitals in afghanistan in the course of a day as they reject calls for a ceasefire. Wildfires are continuing to burn on the greek island of avia. Dozens of villages have been evacuated and ferries are on standby to bring more people to safety. The argentine Footballer Lionel Messi has made a tearful farewell to barcelona, the Spanish Club he joined at the age of 13. Messi has been at barcelona for more than 20 years, helping them win 34 trophies including ten spanish and four uefa Champions League titles. Barcelona said it was letting him go because it could not afford to pay his wages. The 34 year old did not say what he planned to do next, but acknowledged that a move to Paris St Germain was a possibility. He also expressed his deep affection for The Club where hed spent so much of his life. Translation many beautiful things happened to me here, | bad too, but all this helped me to grow, improve and made me the person i am today. Weve had very good moments, bad ones too, but the affection of the people has been constant i always felt it, the recognition, the love. I felt it towards them, too, and The Club, and will do all my life, i hope. A little earlier, i was joined by Spanish Football expert, guillem balague. I asked him if barcelona had done everything within their power to keep their superstar. That is the question, isnt it, in fact, he himself said i did everything that i could to stay. He admitted, as we all know, he wanted to leave but he was not allowed, this year he wanted to stay and has not been allowed. It is the end of an era for many millions and millions of fans that have been brought up with the special football of barcelona and Lionel Messi who thought he would end his career at barcelona but financially, it was impossible. Ifeel barcelona but financially, it was impossible. I feel they could have done better in terms of telling him, instead, his father was told on the phone by the president of barcelona that it was impossible and they could not keep him. It was impossible and they could not keep him. When you look back could not keep him. When you look back at could not keep him. When you look back at the could not keep him. When you look back at the history could not keep him. When you look back at the history of could not keep him. When you j look back at the history of how all of this has happened, the financial mismanagement that has been going on at barcelona, how much of that is to blame for where we are right now . Its the biggest reason, really, even though, of course, some would like to blame La Liga and the president of barcelona, you kind of point the finger of blame to La Liga because of the inflexible financial Fair Play but those were Rules Everyone knew existed. The main, the main reason, as we stand, last season, 110 of the money coming in, 110 went to wages, that means technically they are bankrupt, this is wages, they have lots of expenses, so basically the calculations were made and it was realised that keeping Lionel Messi, even though he would release 50 of his wages, that is the maximum they could ever have reduced his wages, people were saying could he play forfree . It is illegal to do that. Barcelona said would you release your wages, 50 and he said he would cut but it was not enough but i insist, having listened to him, The Club should have done more. Could there be a last minute miraculous twist of fate, you know, the goal at the 11th Hour or whatever the phrase might be that everybody is waiting for . They come to some sort of an agreement and he stays . I think ou are agreement and he stays . I think you are dreaming agreement and he stays . I think you are dreaming but agreement and he stays . I think you are dreaming but Led Agreement and he stays . I think| you are dreaming but led stream for a bit you are dreaming but led Stream Fora Bit in you are dreaming but led stream for a bit in a you are dreaming but led Stream Fora Bit in a parallel you are dreaming but led stream for a bit in a parallel world, Lionel Messi goes back to Barcelona Tomorrow and says forget financial Fair Play, forget financial Fair Play, forget the billion euros debt, forget, i am staying, and barcelona celebrate, that is in a parallel world, it will not happen, we would love it too, and you would love it by the sound of it, but it will not happen. And Lionel Messi, perhaps he has gone foreverfrom has gone forever from barcelona, its disappointing to Football Fans all over the world. Before we go, lets go back to tokyo. Were used to seeing spectacular pictures of World Class athletes at the olympics but what we dont see is how much work it takes to capture the photos of them. Bbc news has spoken to three Sports Photographers about their favourite shots so far. What makes a great Sports Photograph . Its gotta be impactful, it could be in your Face Action shots, celebrations, emotion, dejection. Subtleties, details. Artistic compositions. The beauty about Sports Photography is it can take on so many different forms. My names lawrence griffiths. Im chief photographer in the uk of sport with Getty Images and this is my third Summer Games. I look at life as a photographer. You know, as soon as im walking into a place, im analysing what ive got, you know, im looking at the way the light is, im looking you know, i walk into a venue and im assessing backgrounds, im assessing angles. Obviously Lady Luck does play a part, but if you want to get those perfect moments, you have to get the perfect spot and you have to get there early. Three hours, four hours before, to sit in that spot. You know, if you leave it, Someone Willjump in it. I had ihada i had a brilliant position at the opening ceremony, i was able to take in the fireworks, and all the razzmatazz. I was particularly pleased with this. As the cauldron opened. Naomi osaka turned round, she had this cheeky look on her face and she is looking up at the torch and it was a really nice moment. Simone biles, up there with the greatest athletes of all time. I have photographed a lot through the previous olympics and World Championships and when she is in full flow, she is sporting perfection, absolutely incredible to photograph. Perhaps these games, we have seen a different side to her, she is holding the choker, the choke for the rest of the team, pulling her mask off and looking a bit sad and vulnerable. That is, that picture really tells the story of that day for me. Historically down the years when historically down the years when people look back at these games, when people look back at these games, it when people look back at these games, it was in the middle of the pandemic, no spectators. We want the pandemic, no spectators. We want to the pandemic, no spectators. We want to say the pandemic, no spectators. We want to say the picture that sits want to say the picture that sits in want to say the picture that sits in history, its something youhe sits in history, its something youve taken. Mesmerising images that will stay with me for a long time. A picture truly worth A Thousand words. So with the olympics in tokyo all wrapped up its time to look ahead to the next Summer Games in paris injust three years time. Well, the next Host City has been celebrating with a Spectacularjet Plane Fly over, while athletes and Sports Fans gathered near the Eiffel Tower as they get excited for their turn to host the games in 2024. Thats all for now, stay with bbc world news. Hello. Some of you have been able to stay dry, some of you have had a Months Worth of rainfall. Some good news ahead, fewer showers around, it should turn warmer, temperatures close to where they should be. Together we need to get rid of this area of low pressure that has been with us for days. With us today, we have outbreaks of rain, some thunderstorms around from that, warm Weather System in the southeast with the heaviest of the rain. Some clear skies bursting, temperatures dropping back into single figures, most with temperatures around the low teens to start the day. Showers on Monday Morning across parts of Southern Scotland and northern ireland, brightening through the day, heaviest of the showers across the northern half of scotland, some of those torrential especially towards the east. That could cause flash flooding. Brightest of the weather in north midlands, north wales, staying dry through the day, further south after a wet start, sunshine and blustery showers through the temperatures more widely into the low 20s. Showers continuing into the evening across scotland, for many they will fade over night and the sign of something improving, area of low pressure toward scandinavia, becoming less of a beach, high pressure pushing in, stopping some of those showers were improving. Some on tuesday in the northern half of scotland, injury in places. South of that, isolated showers, more of you staying dry with longer spells of sunshine, temperatures climbing a little Bit Day by day. For the middle part of the week this broad area of low pressure towards the west will bring welcome rain in this Weather Front towards the highlands and islands, much needed rain but its approaching and we start to drag in southerly winds which tap in warmer air across the near continent pushing temperatures back to where they should be for the time of year, sunny spells, the best in the morning across central and eastern areas, hazy sunshine, clouding over in the west, outbreaks of rain in northern ireland, the heaviest and most persistent across western scotland. For more, temperatures above 20 degrees, where he should be for the time of year, one or two spots getting 25 or higher. Staying warm in the South And East into the weekend, further rain at times in western scotland. See you soon. This is Bbc News. The headlines and the main News Stories at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. I see you, evie across america, Dna Testing is uncovering a disturbing side to the largely unregulated fertility industry. I had prayed for 15 years to have another child. I was given this referral to see a fertility doctor, and i agreed to do the Artificial Insemination and that we knew that it would be an anonymous donor that would be used. Families have found out decades old secrets, turning their lives upside down