hoping for a gold medal to add to their women's world cup. while andy murray has played the final singles match of his career, concentrating on the doubles only as he prepares to retire from tennis after paris. hello again. for all the new sporting stories paris is ready to tell over the next two—and—a—bit weeks, its olympics start — officially, at least — with something truly unique. the opening ceremony will take place for the first time not inside a stadium, but along the river seine. it's just hours away, and is demanding the largest security operation in france's history — as our sports editor dan roan reports from paris.

it was meant to be playing out in front of more than half a million people, the spectator numbers have been brought down to just over numbers have been brought down tojust over 300,000 numbers have been brought down to just over 300,000 because of security concerns. but of course, that's the big question. it's quite hard to overstate the level of this vast security operation we are having to negotiate along the banks of the river seine, with thousands of metal barricades set up, tens of thousands of officers on duty for this opening ceremony, of which there will be many world leaders who have been welcomed here by president macron, a huge thing for him and those in the country. i met up with the deputy mayor of paris and asked him whether or not the city was ready. him whether or not the city was read . ~ . , ., , ready. we are definitely ready to welcome — ready. we are definitely ready to welcome the _ ready. we are definitely ready to welcome the olympics - ready. we are definitely ready to welcome the olympics and | ready. we are definitely ready i to welcome the olympics and the world, _ to welcome the olympics and the world, and the olympic athletes are already arriving for us. the — are already arriving for us. the venues are totally ready,

and we — the venues are totally ready, and we are in the last preparations for the opening ceremony, for sure, because we have _ ceremony, for sure, because we have today— ceremony, for sure, because we have today remaining before it. but we — have today remaining before it. but we have worked on that meet _ but we have worked on that project for more than eight years— project for more than eight years now, so no worries, especially — we just look at the — especially — we just look at the weather to know what we will have _ the weather to know what we will have for the opening ceremony, and i hope no rain. but _ ceremony, and i hope no rain. but except— ceremony, and i hope no rain. but except for that, i'm totally _ but except for that, i'm totally confident, security is right — totally confident, security is right for— totally confident, security is right for everywhere. this totally confident, security is right for everywhere.- right for everywhere. this is the third — right for everywhere. this is the third time _ right for everywhere. this is the third time this - right for everywhere. this is the third time this city - right for everywhere. this is the third time this city has l the third time this city has hosted the olympics, the first time in a century — but there's less of innovations, as well, the organisers making a great play about how sustainable it is, because 95% of that infrastructure is existing or temporary, they say it will have half the carbon footprint and admissions of rio and london, for example, and others will contest that given the number of international contestants flying in for this event. but there's an awful lot at stake for the olympic

movement, at a time when the ioc is under greater pressure to justify the expense both financial in terms of the environment, with regards to these mega sporting events. millions of tickets sold, billions of euros having been spent — but the ceo told me he was confident it would all go to plan and would be worthwhile.— to plan and would be worthwhile. �*, . ., ., ., worthwhile. it's a national prejeet. — worthwhile. it's a national project, everybody - worthwhile. it's a national project, everybody has . worthwhile. it's a national. project, everybody has been gathering _ project, everybody has been gathering to _ project, everybody has been gathering to show— project, everybody has been gathering to show what - project, everybody has been gathering to show what this| gathering to show what this country _ gathering to show what this country has _ gathering to show what this country has to _ gathering to show what this country has to offer, - gathering to show what this country has to offer, to - gathering to show what this country has to offer, to be i country has to offer, to be able — country has to offer, to be able to _ country has to offer, to be able to again _ country has to offer, to be able to again put - country has to offer, to be able to again put the - country has to offer, to be able to again put the best| country has to offer, to be l able to again put the best of france — able to again put the best of france for— able to again put the best of france for the _ able to again put the best of france for the athletes - able to again put the best of france for the athletes of i able to again put the best ofl france for the athletes of the world, — france for the athletes of the world, the _ france for the athletes of the world, the best _ france for the athletes of the world, the best athletes - france for the athletes of the world, the best athletes in i france for the athletes of the i world, the best athletes in the world, — world, the best athletes in the world, to — world, the best athletes in the world, to thrill— world, the best athletes in the world, to thrill the _ world, the best athletes in the world, to thrill the world - world, the best athletes in the world, to thrill the world and l world, to thrill the world and hring — world, to thrill the world and hring some _ world, to thrill the world and bring some emotions. - world, to thrill the world and bring some emotions. the i bring some emotions. the 0 enin: bring some emotions. the opening ceremony - bring some emotions.- opening ceremony should be bring some emotions- opening ceremony should be a spectacular start, very ambitious plan, never been done before — just how big a challenge does this opening ceremony represent to the organisers? is ceremony represent to the organisers?— ceremony represent to the oraanisers? , , .,

organisers? is definitely a new challenae organisers? is definitely a new challenge if— organisers? is definitely a new challenge if you _ organisers? is definitely a new challenge if you think - organisers? is definitely a new challenge if you think about i challenge if you think about it, challenge if you think about it. on— challenge if you think about it. on the _ challenge if you think about it, on the six _ challenge if you think about it, on the six km _ challenge if you think about it, on the six km parade, i challenge if you think about i it, on the six km parade, the athletes _ it, on the six km parade, the athletes will— it, on the six km parade, the athletes will go _ it, on the six km parade, the athletes will go through - it, on the six km parade, thel athletes will go through some part of— athletes will go through some part of the _ athletes will go through some part of the history _ athletes will go through some part of the history of - athletes will go through some part of the history of france . part of the history of france with— part of the history of france with an _ part of the history of france with an artistic— part of the history of france with an artistic show- with an artistic show intertwined - with an artistic show intertwined into- with an artistic show intertwined into the| with an artistic show- intertwined into the parade, and the _ intertwined into the parade, and the per— intertwined into the parade, and the per article - intertwined into the parade, i and the per article elements. we want _ and the per article elements. we want our— and the per article elements. we want our games- and the per article elements. we want our games to - and the per article elements. we want our games to be - we want our games to be special. — we want our games to be secial. , ., ., , special. there is a vast security _ special. there is a vast security operation - special. there is a vast security operation in i special. there is a vast. security operation in place ahead of this opening sermon because of the way it's been done — can you guarantee those coming here that it will be safe? i coming here that it will be safe? .., coming here that it will be safe? .. , ., coming here that it will be safe? ~ ., safe? i can tell you know stones have _ safe? i can tell you know stones have been - safe? i can tell you know stones have been left . safe? i can tell you know- stones have been left unturned, it's been— stones have been left unturned, it's been now— stones have been left unturned, it's been now years _ stones have been left unturned, it's been now years we - stones have been left unturned, it's been now years we are - it's been now years we are working _ it's been now years we are working with _ it's been now years we are working with the _ it's been now years we are . working with the government authorities— working with the government authorities in— working with the government authorities in order— working with the government authorities in order to- working with the government authorities in order to makel authorities in order to make sure — authorities in order to make sure that _ authorities in order to make sure that this _ authorities in order to make sure that this ceremony - authorities in order to make sure that this ceremony and games— sure that this ceremony and games are _ sure that this ceremony and games are safe _ sure that this ceremony and games are safe and - sure that this ceremony and games are safe and secure. | games are safe and secure. because _ games are safe and secure. because there's _ games are safe and secure. because there's no - games are safe and secure. because there's no party. games are safe and secure. because there's no party ifl because there's no party if there — because there's no party if there is— because there's no party if there is no— because there's no party if there is no security. - because there's no party if there is no security.- because there's no party if there is no security. after the covid effective _ there is no security. after the covid effective games - there is no security. after the covid effective games in - there is no security. after the | covid effective games in tokyo three years ago where spectators were largely barred, the ioc, the organisers and those watching on will hope this represents a return to the olympics in all its glory. the usa have had a successful start to their campaign to try

and win the women's football gold for the first time in 12 years — and they provided a win in new manager emma hayes' first match in charge, beating zambia 3—0. meanwhile, spain began their attempts to add an olympic gold to last year's world cup with a win overjapan. they came from behind to secure a 2—1 victory through mariona caldentey�*s winner. defending champions canada also fought back from a goal down to beat new zealand 2—1. evelyne viens scored the winner 11 minutes from time. hosts france needed two goals from marie—antoinette katoto to win their opening group game 3—2 against colombia. 2016 champions germany beat australia 3—0, while brazil also started with a victory — 1—0 over nigeria. two—time rugby sevens gold medallists fiji are through to the semi finals of paris 2024, beating ireland in their last—eight match at the stade de france. australia also made the semis, as did south africa, who stunned top—ranked new zealand 14—7 to progress to the last four.

they'd only confirmed their place at the games last month, but skipper selvyn davids opened the scoring, and then set up the try for tristan leyds to leave the all blacks still searching for an olympic gold. and south africa will play france after the hosts stormed to a 26—14 victory against argentina. antoine dupont�*s spectacular solo tap—and—go try capped off a successful night for france, who are chasing their first rugby sevens olympic medal. andy murray admits he "ran out of time" after announcing he's she achieved an incredible score, 694 out of a possible 720. andy murray admits he "ran out of time" after announcing he's withdrawing from the singles event at the paris olympics — his final competition before retiring — and will compete in the doubles only.

murray has won an olympic gold — something novak djokovic is yet to do — and the 24—time grand slam champion paid tribute to someone who has now played his final competitive singles match. i heard news about andy, and i hope that he will have the best possible farewell in his last competitive match here at the olympics for him and his country. he has been a legend — he is a legend of our sport, he's been an incredibly important player for tennis globally. someone who won't be competing at the paris games is britain's three—time olympic dressage champion charlotte dujardin. she's been suspended after a video emerged of her "excessively" whipping a horse during a training session. it's something she's called an error ofjudgment that she's deeply ashamed about. the sport's governing body, the fei, is now investigating. their big questions about animal their big questions about anima ., ., ., ., animal welfare. laura scott has been speaking _ animal welfare. laura scott has been speaking to _ animal welfare. laura scott has been speaking to the _ been speaking to the organisation president.

that was of course very shocking and disappointing, but we will now conduct an investigation and follow—up on this of the fact that the video is already a couple of years old, all of that will need to be established, is now released at the eve of the olympic games is of course no coincidence. but we are very confident that also come up with the new plan and the work with our equine well—being commission, that has now transformed into an action plan. we have many riders, many athletes and horses and our sport, so it's a very low percentage — but every case is a case too much, so that's why we need to constantly educate our athletes and their entourage, because what was

allowed 30 years ago, or accepted 30 years ago is probably not any more today. so education is very important. i also believe that it is good that we have this whistle—blower mechanism — we want people to speak up because l, want people to speak up because i, as the guardian of the sport, need to work together with our community to make our sport better. ben stokes has claimed england bowler mark wood is getting "closer and closer" to bowling at 100mph. wood has kept his place in the team to play west indies in the third and final test which starts at edgbaston on friday, despite having to leave the field for treatment to an injury during the previous match. the fast bowler has clocked 97mph before, including during this series, with no player having yet recorded 100 in test cricket. stokes says his county team—mate has "got it in the tank", while he's also hoping to complete a clean sweep over the windies. i think when you look at how we performed in the first two

games, its pretty hard to look past any changes. i think we've been two very impressive all round team performances, so we hope to cap off this series with another win. you can get all the latest sports news at from the bbc sport app, orfrom our website — that's bbc.com/sport. from me and the rest of the team at the bbc sport centre, goodbye. hello there. thursday brought with it quite a humid feel and a lot of cloud across the country. at times, it was thick enough for some heavy rain, some poor visibility across the channel isles and some choppy seas, so not a day for being by the seaside. but as we move into next week, high pressure is going to build. that will quieten things down considerably, with some

sunny spells around, and certainly warming up, particularly down to the south. but for friday, we're still under this influence of low pressure, still the wind direction coming from the west, so not the warmest of sources. and that is going to drive in a few scattered showers, chiefly to the far north—west to begin with. but as we go through the day, anywhere along the west, we'll see those showers drifting further inland, perhaps across east anglia and south—east england staying fine and dry. but still those temperatures disappointing for this stage injuly. a scattering of showers into wales, 20 celsius the high here. more frequent showers into northern ireland and southern scotland, and some of these possibly heavy. so temperatures again a little bit more subdued. we're looking at highs of 15—19 celsius. so that is how we close out friday afternoon. friday evening, into the early hours of saturday, sees the isobars open up, the winds fall light, clear skies for a time. but we have got this little weak weather front starting to develop, enhancing more showers out to the west.

but it means low single figures to greet us first thing for the start of our weekend. a quiet start for many, particularly in sheltered eastern areas, but once again, we'll continue to see a few showers breaking out from the west, and these will move through the irish sea into wales, across north—west england and into scotland by the afternoon. again, to the east of the pennines, we are likely to see the best of the drier, sunnier weather, but those temperatures still not particularly exciting for this time of year, once again ranging from 15—23 celsius the high. but after saturday, an area of high pressure will start to build in from the west. as we go into next week, that's going to quieten things down considerably. weather fronts will try to topple in across the high, but all in all, it looks quite decent, with that south—westerly flow allowing those temperatures to climb potentially into the high—205. and for many of us, there's going to be a good deal of dry, settled, sunny weather to look forward to for at least a few days.

welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoday mukharji. the headlines: democratic presidential hopeful kamala harris tells israeli prime minister netanyahu she has "serious concern" over casualties in gaza and urges him to agree to a ceasefire deal. we cannot look away in the face of these tragedies, we cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering,

and i will not be silent. a warning from the us, the uk south korea that north korean hackers are attempting to steal nuclear and military secrets from governments and private companies around the world. philippines say at least 21 people have died due to flooding and landslides caused by typhoon gaemi and rush to contain an oil spill in manilla bay. and friday's olympic opening ceremony will be staged not in a stadium, but on water, we take a look at the tight security behind this unprecedented event. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. us vice president kamala harris has given a press conference on her meeting with

the israeli prime minister.