Alex Thomson , Chief Correspondent

Earlier today I spoke to Farzana Kochai, an Afghan MP who has chosen to stay in Kabul. I asked her what life’s like in the city now.

I’ve also been speaking to the Labour MP and mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis. 

Fawzia Koofi is a peace negotiator and former Afghan member of parliament. She’s survived a number of assassination attempts during her career fighting for women’s rights in Afghanistan. 

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani defied expectations and remained in post today, telling Afghans he is holding urgent talks with local and international leaders to find a way to halt the Taliban offensive across Afghanistan. 

Thousands of people are heading to the Cumbrian village of Appleby this week for the annual Horse Fair, one of Europe’s main events for the gypsy and traveller communities. Last summer it was cancelled by the pandemic for only the second time in its centuries old tradition. But this year it’s back on again, complete…

UK combat troops largely left Afghanistan in October 2014, but hundreds remained to train and assist Afghan forces. Now, watching the Taliban advance and violence escalate from afar, veterans are pondering their legacy. 

The warnings could hardly be more stark. Changes to the world’s climate are inevitable and irreversible, and without immediate, radical action to reduce greenhouse gases the future is catastrophic.

Thunder, lightning, fire and floods have been wreaking havoc across the globe this month. The extreme weather has now displaced thousands and led to catastrophic loss of life. 

The executive director of the International Energy Agency hopes the UK government will bear in mind its global reputation on climate ahead of a decision on whether to approve drilling on a new North Sea oil field.

The UK is preparing to host the UN climate conference, COP26, later this year. But the UK government faces questions of its own about the use of fossil fuels.

A report published today on a plan for a national food strategy did not just deal with what we eat, but also how we produce it in a sustainable way.

The government has announced that the sale of new diesel lorries is to be banned from 2040, as part of its transport decarbonisation plan.

Not a single one of England’s nine water and sewerage companies has managed to meet environmental targets set by the regulator.

For supporters of Biomass, it is a vital tool in helping the UK switch away from fossil fuels. Biomass involves burning energy crops or waste timber in power stations that used to burn coal.

A senior ExxonMobil lobbyist, captured on camera by Greenpeace UK’s Unearthed, has claimed that the company “manufactures” and “uses” controversial so-called “forever chemicals” and is working to delay a ban on their use.