i'm live here on the river seine where export�*s ultimate spectacle is about to get under way with an opening ceremony like no other. we'll bring you all the latest on the disruption in france and for british passengers trying to get there. also on the programme... a police officer is under criminal investigation after a video of a man being kicked and stamped on as he lay on the floor at manchester airport. we called to say michelle and i couldn't be prouder to endorse you to do everything we can to get you through this election and get you into the oval office. and the endorsement she's been waiting for. and coming up on bbc news — england are on the hunt for a series clean sweep against west indies, in the third and final test at edgbaston, in the wickets on opening day.

on the disruption caused due to the sabotage attack in france. good afternoon. on one of the busiest days imaginable for the french capital, the rail network in and around paris has been thrown into chaos by a series of acts of sabotage — just hours before the olympic opening ceremony. it's been called a massive attack, after signal boxes and electrical wires on the high—speed rail system were vandalised, causing fires. around 800,000 people will be affected in all — including on eurostar, where one in four services between london and paris have been cancelled until monday. a series of what the government has called coordinated, malicious acts targeted links to the west, the north, and the east of paris, taking out huges swathes of the network. a fifth attack to the south—east was foiled. the french prime minister gabriel attal has said that police and intelligence services are working hard to find and punish those responsible. our paris correspondent andrew

harding has our first story today. confusion this morning at europe's busiest railway station, the gare du nord in central paris. news about the overnight attacks on three french railway lines spreading fast. delays and cancellations piling up, prompting frustration and some anxiety. are you concerned about these attacks? i'm not happy about them. as long as that's it, i'm happy, but i am concerned, because i've got the family, and i want to make sure that we get home safe and sound. i'm concerned that i don't want to be here with my little one any longer than what i need to be. footage here shows passengers being escorted off one train and taken across the tracks after getting stuck on the outskirts of paris. this is one of the sabotaged sites,

on the high—speed eurostar line thatjoins paris to london. a photo shows cables deliberately set on fire. but by whom? paris is already on high alert amid concerns about potential russian cyberattacks and violent islamist groups. the french prime minister noted today's sabotage was no amateur effort. translation: what we can see is that this operation _ was planned and coordinated, that sensitive targets were chosen, which shows some knowledge of the rail network and where to strike it. among those in the queue at st pancras station in london, the parents of one british athlete playing in the women's rugby sevens. we checked on eurostar, and as far as we're concerned, we came up here, and we are prepared to wait for however long just want to get out to paris, so, you know, that's the thing. in france, engineers are racing to fix the damage, replacing

cables on the three affected lines. there are plenty of frustrated travellers here, but the good news is that, while the high—speed lines have been affected across france, the bulk of the rail network is still operating just fine, and is trying to pick up the slack. the trains are moving. we are running the majority of trains today, albeit slower, so most of the people who want to get to paris today should be able to do so. an upbeat assessment, but this has been an alarming experience for a city anxiously hoping nothing else will go wrong this olympic summer. so still tight security here at the gare du nord and a massive manhunt under way. those three sites of sabotage and another foiled sabotage. now it seems likely that the aim of this coordinated attack was to disrupt, to distract and to humiliate french president emmanuel

macron and france itselfjust hours before the olympic to get under way. in fact it is just over one hour now. but tonight the french interior minister insisted that these attacks had had no impact on the games. and of course the massive security focus now strips to the river banks with the opening ceremonies about to begin. thank you very much. andrew harding there. eurostar passengers have been told to cancel their trips where possible, given the extreme disruption. eurostar, which runs international services from london st pancras, said one in four trains to paris had been cancelled and others were diverted or subject to delays. let's join our correspondent at st pancras, tom symonds. how are things looking, tom? well, there is a massive _ how are things looking, tom? well, there is a massive queue _ how are things looking, tom? -ii there is a massive queue inside the terminal building behind me but people generally seem to be in good spirits because that q is slowly moving. they have got a bit of a wait to get onto trains. as you say, about three or four trains cancelled

this afternoon. but eurostar says that there might be a delay of about an hour but most people who are trying to get to paris this evening we'll get there this evening. of course, if they're heading for the opening ceremony and they're here they probably still have a bit of a problem. the reason for the delay is that trains that usually go on the high—speed line are going on slower lines and that tells us something about the kind of disruption there has been through these three targeted attacks on line side signalling systems. now forget people in signal boxes pulling levers or traffic light systems like we often have in the uk. this is a highly sophisticated railway on the french side and on the bit to the channel tunnel. and the signalling system is carried in fibre—optic cables that tell the driver in the cables that tell the driver in the cab what he should be doing. so you can see that if they are disrupted in various places on the system the whole network could be thrown off. the fix, according to the french railway network, is going to take probably the weekend. and it being signalling and so safety critical they have to be sure that it will be

safe once the trains start running on those high—speed lines once again. on those high-speed lines once aaain. , �* ., ., again. yes, indeed. i'm “oined now b our again. yes, indeed. i'm “oined now by ousecurityfi again. yes, indeed. i'mjoined now by our security correspondence. i again. yes, indeed. i'mjoined now. by our security correspondence. who could be behind these attacks? multiple attacks against far away from each other in the middle of the night, clearly those behind it knew exactly what to do and how to cause the maximum disruption. french officials not yet saying who they think was responsible. there have been a lot of worries about security at the games. it is worth saying. whether it is to athletes of individual countries or attempts to disrupt the whole of the games. one threat has come from jihadis. it doesn't seem like the kind of thing there were typically do. another is there were typically do. another is the russians perhaps angry at france over support for ukraine. with seine a ao—year—old russian was arrested on sunday linked to russian intelligence, it is alleged, supposedly planning to disrupt the

games. but also domestic far left activists, who are opposed to the olympics and to the current french government. so far some of the language from french officials seem to suggest they might be thinking it is that latter group is the most likely based on the kind of activity they have seen. but they are certainly not confirming anything at this stage and i think security officials will be both investigating and hoping that that is all they see as this opening ceremony approaches. thank you very much, gordon. well, as we've been hearing, what's been dubbed the greatest show on earth gets under way on the river seine in the heart of paris injust over an hour's time. a flotilla will carry more than 10,000 athletes along the six—kilometre route with 30,000 spectators lining the banks. our sports news correspondent laura scott reports now on the build—up to this evening's opening ceremony. paris is promising a party. and they've invited quite the guest list. but with leaders from the world

of sport, entertainment and politics converging, security is tight, with 16,000 police and 10,000 soldiers. to get the tickets for the opening ceremonies, you have to pay a lot of money, or you're lucky. with megastars come megafans, like this family from dublin. we tried again and again, and it took me six hours until finally, we had four tickets in our basket. then we could basically check out, and now we will go to the opening ceremony, the four of us. how excited are you to have this ticket in your hand? i'm really excited. really interested to see the difference between kind of a stadium opening ceremony and this opening ceremony, which is going to be on _ the seine. how amazing is that going to be?! and at the beginning, l we thought, we can go to a bridge and have a look! laughter but no! its a great idea, but i'm very sorry, sorry that not everybody who wants to see it can see it. well, this is the bridge where the flotilla will begin its journey through paris. these plans are ambitious. they're audacious. it will be an opening

ceremony like no other. and it will feel different, it will look different but what does a ceremony on the seine sound like? also electronic music and rap... withjust a few also electronic music and rap... with just a few hours to go i spoke to the man in charge of the music. music from africa, music from america, music... it is important for me because it is a french event but also a worldwide event, so it is not only for french people it is for everybody. i think we love that we organise with artist because there are a lot of beautiful surprises. almost 100 boats will take thousands of athletes along a six kilometre route, taken in some of the most iconic landmarks in the city before finishing in the shadow of the eiffel tower. and then the sport begins in earnest, the first medals up begins in earnest, the first medals up for grabs tomorrow, when britain pass cyclists are looking to get the

gold rush going. pass cyclists are looking to get the gold rush going-— pass cyclists are looking to get the gold rush going. obviously the goal is to try and — gold rush going. obviously the goal is to try and win _ gold rush going. obviously the goal is to try and win on _ gold rush going. obviously the goal is to try and win on the _ gold rush going. obviously the goal is to try and win on the podium - gold rush going. obviously the goal is to try and win on the podium but| is to try and win on the podium but i think if worse comes to worse as long as i'm happy with the ride i will be happy for sign i'm really happy to be here and not a lot of people can say that they have been to an olympic games so, yeah, i feel really grateful and happy to be here. , , ., , �* , here. the build-up hasn't been without its _ here. the build-up hasn't been without its problems _ here. the build-up hasn't been without its problems but - here. the build-up hasn't been without its problems but as - here. the build-up hasn't beenj without its problems but as the boats prepare, the hosts now hope this spectacle on the seine flows smoothly. and then the attention of olympic fans young and old will turn to the sport to see which champions will be crowned. laura scott, bbc news, paris. in other news now... a greater manchester police constable is under criminal investigation for assault after a video emerged of a man being kicked and stamped on as he lay on the floor at manchester airport. the announcement came from the independent office for police conduct. this report from ed thomas contains violent scenes from the start.

chaos and violence. image is now seen by millions of people, placing the conduct of greater manchester police under the spotlight. and today, these brothers were told by the police watchdog vaio pc that the police officer responsible for the kicks and stamps on them is being criminally investigated. we have got the statement. it says we have served the police constable with a disciplinary notice and to inform him he is being investigated for potential gross misconduct for a number of alleged breaches of police professional standards, including his use of force. we still don't know what sparked this violence. we have only seen this mobile video filmed by witnesses. police body cam footage could show what led up to this. that is now being investigated blue examined by second investigators. last night hundreds

attended a protest outside the offices of the mayor of greater manchester. today andy burnham says he met community partners in rochdale. he met community partners in rochdale-_ he met community partners in rochdale. people spoke of the famil 's rochdale. people spoke of the family's appeal _ rochdale. people spoke of the family's appeal for _ rochdale. people spoke of the family's appeal for calm. - rochdale. people spoke of the family's appeal for calm. it - rochdale. people spoke of the | family's appeal for calm. it was echoed in the room and i am today amplifying that message as loudly and clearly as i can. it is in everyone's interest that from here we proceed with things in a measured and a peaceful way. the we proceed with things in a measured and a peaceful way.— and a peaceful way. the brothers and two other peeple _ and a peaceful way. the brothers and two other people who _ and a peaceful way. the brothers and two other people who were _ and a peaceful way. the brothers and two other people who were arrested l two other people who were arrested here remain on bail. the iopc say they're hoping to interview the gmp officer involved under caution as soon as possible. a metropolitan police officer who stole from a man who had collapsed and died in the street in london has pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office. 51—year—old craig carter, from harlow in essex, took £115 from a wallet belonging to an italian filmmaker who was in the capital

attending a festival. carter will be sentenced in september. the former us president barack obama and his wife michelle have endorsed vice—president kamala harris to be the democratic presidential nominee. it ended days of speculation over whether she'd gain their support. they said in a phone call to the candidate they'd do everything they could to help her win. we called to say michelle and i couldn't be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the oval office. oh, my goodness! michelle, barack, this means so much to me. i am looking forward to doing this with the two of you, doug and i both, and getting out there, being on the road, but most of all, ijust want to tell you that the words you have spoken and the friendship that you have given over all these years need given over all these years mean more than i can express, so thank you both.

and our north america editor sarah smith is outside the white house now. it's taken the obamas a while to endorse kamala harris. should we read anything into that? well, they say they were remaining mutual until they presidential candidate the likes ofjoe biden less than a week sincejoe biden stepped aside, she has injected a jolt of excitement into these same race as four years ago. she has been met by enthusiastic crowds when out campaigning, raised a record sums of money, and she seems to have wrong—footed donald trump a bet, who

doesn't seem to know how to respond to this younger, female opponent. but she will have to move fast. she will have to define herself and what her campaign is about for the voters and give them a reason to come out and give them a reason to come out and support her in an election that isjust over 100 days and support her in an election that is just over 100 days away from now. thank you very much, sarah smith. a man who claimed his slapping therapy classes could treat people with everything from heart disease to diabetes has been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. hong shee shou was convicted over the death of 71—year—old danielle carr—gomm from sussex after she attended one of his workshops. this report from duncan kennedy at winchester crown court contains scenes at slapping workshops. it's called slapping therapy, and supposedly clears the body of everything from back pain to cancer, even if it leaves some covered in bruises. danielle carr—gomm from east sussex suffered from type 1 diabetes, but feared the daily

injections of insulin. thank you all for coming here... so in 2016, she turned to hongchi xiao, who ran slapping workshops, even though his background was in banking. in this video, you can see danielle and the bruises on her arm from the slapping she praises with almost religious devotion. you are definitely a messenger sent by god, that i'm sure of. but during a workshop at this retreat in wiltshire, danielle died. she had stopped taking the insulin for her diabetes, believing slapping was a better solution. hongchi xiao admitted to the court that he wasn't medically trained and that he wasn't a doctor, but that slapping was all about self—healing. but the prosecution said he had a responsibility toward danielle when she was at one of his slapping workshops, and that he had a duty to take care of her. daniel's son says he hopes her death

will be a lesson for others seeking unconventional therapies. at the very least, we hope that the good that will come out of this is that it will warn others to be very careful before venturing down the path of this sort of alternative therapy. but it wasn'tjust danielle. this six—year—old boy also died at one of xiao's workshops in australia after he came off his insulin. xiao was convicted of manslaughter, but always told interviewers his methods work. it has healing effect, number one, on diabetic 1, diabetic 2, and also on all the heart diseases, all kinds of things. slapping therapy clearly has many followers. hongchi xiao's questionable practices have now been found responsible for the death of a woman who put her trust in him. duncan kennedy,

bbc news, in winchester. yesterday we featured the bid by an area of peat bog in scotland to get world heritage site status. well, it's now been granted. it's the first time peatland has been given that status. the flow country is a blanket bog, supporting a range of wildlife, including golden eagles. it also stores about 400 million tonnes of carbon. well, the opening ceremony of the olympics will get under way shortly. this is the scene now live in paris. our sports editor dan roan is there for us too. what's at stake tonight? 0h, oh, a huge amount. this is the ultimate sporting spectacle about to get under way here on the river seine. you can see a few of the spectator is already taking their place ahead of the unprecedented opening ceremony. a huge amount to look forward to, of course, over the

next 17 days of world—class sporting action. you will see some of the finest athletes in the world doing the finest things in paris. how will team gb go on key metric and they continue their recent success? what international sporting stars will emerge? many argue it is fitting, this unique opening ceremony, for a first in gender participation for the first time, and an emphasis on stability. but it comes at a risk. there is no doubt organisers have been jittery. there is no doubt organisers have beenjittery. they there is no doubt organisers have been jittery. they have already scaled back the number of spectators, 600,000, to around half that. they may even have to revert back to a traditional stadium ceremony, they have admitted. there have been reports of heavier rain later this evening. they have tried to reassure visitors with the level of security around the city, but disruption caused today by those arson attacks on the rail network

will reinforce concerns. given the difficult political backdrop domestically and internationally, this event could be impacted in some way. the authorities will hope that is not the case. there has been controversy of different kinds in the bill that, whether over the safety of swimming in the seine or the involvement of russian athletes, a chinese swimming doping scandal. but as of tomorrow, if all goes to plan tonight, the focus will very much turn to those sporting stars in the feats that they come up with, and the organisers will then hope with so much riding on this for france, for president macron in terms of winning over a sceptical public, and in terms of the olympic movement, that it does pass off well. like you very much. —— thank you very much. what is it like here, stav? thank you very much. here, stav? thank you very much. an improving picture, actually. it will be turning warm and sunny this

weekend, notjust here, but in paris for the olympic. hot and humid into next week, as it will for us. by sunday, sunnier and warmer. for the opening ceremony tonight, we start to see the rain popping up. could become heavy through the evening, maybe rumbles of thunder. heavy rain will stay across the channel. for us, most showers fade away. clear skies turn cooler again, this weather from skies turn cooler again, this weatherfrom pushing skies turn cooler again, this weather from pushing across skies turn cooler again, this weatherfrom pushing across ireland into southern and western scotland will bring showery bursts of rain there. double figures where we have there. double figures where we have the cloak of single digits in the clear skies. the cloak of single digits in the clearskies. if the cloak of single digits in the clear skies. if i run this pressure pattern through the weekend, you can see this area of high pressure building on across the uk, much of north western parts of europe, in fact, to bring increasing sunshine and rising temperatures. we start saturday morning off with plenty of sunshine for many, but this weather from pushing in from the west will bring outbreaks of rain which will turn showery into the afternoon. quite a few showers for the midlands and north and some could be on the heavy side. slow—moving is a winds will be like, but in between the

showers, good sunny spells, turning woman too, 211—25 in the south—east. high teens low 20s further north. sunday, our area of high pressure really building, so a sunny day for many, a bit of a breeze for north—west scotland, libby northwest and northern ireland. here, the mid—teens, that you can see central and southern scotland, low 20s up to 25-26 and southern scotland, low 20s up to 25—26 across the south—east, and those temperatures climbing higher into the start of next week. we could see 30—31 in some places. humidity will increase, turning more comfortable at night. by around mid week, we could see a thundery breakdown. warm in the south starting to cool down further north. so a hot and sunny next couple of days on the cards as we head into next week, but then it will break down. thank you very much, stav. that is today's bbc news. keep up with the latest of elements on our website. now it's time to join our colleagues for the news where you are.

hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm gavin ramjaun. the waiting is almost over. the opening ceremony of the 2024 olympic games in paris begins on the river seine injust an hour's time. this evening's ceremony has been kept a closely guarded secret but the likes of celine dion and lady gaga are in paris and are rumoured to be amongst the performers. preparations though haven't been straightforward. co—ordinated arson attacks have caused transport chaos across the french rail network. we'll be live in paris injust a moment with all the build up, and a look ahead on what we can expect. also coming up on sportsday... england's pacemen do the damage against west indies, as they go for a clean sweep on the opening day of the final test. and another big weekend in formula one, as the brits look to challenge the dominance

of verstappen in belgium. hello there and welcome to sportsday — a slightly earlier start for us given the timing of the olympic opening ceremony in paris, which isjust under an hour away, and of course, taking place on the river seine. over the next few hours, athletes will make their way past the city's famous landmarks on water, and will be taking in a celebration featuring some of the world's biggest pop stars. the eyes of the world are on france right now. security is tight as you can imagine, with heads of state in attendance, and following the arson attacks earlier today on the train network, which has caused mass disruption to the start of the games. katie gornall reports. they call it the greatest show in sport. the olympic games have

created plenty of moments etched into british sport and folklore. that is why he is olympic champion. moments_ that is why he is olympic champion. moments when years of hard work land perfectly. rebecca ellington was one of britain's stars in beijing and believes many more will be made here in paris. , , ., ., in paris. this is one of the most exciting team _ in paris. this is one of the most exciting team gb _ in paris. this is one of the most exciting team gb teams we've. in paris. this is one of the most - exciting team gb teams we've ever had, they are in such a good place. they know what they're doing and we've got so much belief amongst the british team now, it's not a case of coming and going, oh, we're never going to get a medal, no, scratch that, we are team gb and we are going to fight and that, we are team gb and we are going to fightandi that, we are team gb and we are going to fight and i think it's going to fight and i think it's going to fight and i think it's going to be exciting.- going to fight and i think it's going to be exciting. paris, with its spectacular _ going to be exciting. paris, with its spectacular landmarks, - going to be exciting. paris, with its spectacular landmarks, has i going to be exciting. paris, with - its spectacular landmarks, has been transformed into an olympic park. temporary venues are scattered throughout the city where for the next two weeks, athletes will be completing for glory. 800 metre

runner keely hodgkinson who is in the form of her life, matt richards will take to the pool as one of the world's leading freestyle swimmers were skateboarder scribe brown... bethany tree for his favourite to retain her title, and olympics first super heavyweight champion since anthonyjoshua in 2012. but before any of those athletes compete will be part of what's been billed as the biggest open airshow on earth. so the countdown is on, the screens or outcome of the stands are ready as paris gears up for an opening ceremony like no other. around 100 votes will transport more than 10,000 athletes along a six km stretch of the river son, taking in some of the city's greatest landmarks. finishing up here in the shadow of the eiffel tower, it's an

ambitious event and a massive security operation. the sabotage of the train system has put that security in sharp focus. today in paris the checkpoints around the river are rigorous as ever. we have full confidence _ river are rigorous as ever. we have full confidence in _ river are rigorous as ever. we have full confidence in the _ river are rigorous as ever. we have full confidence in the french - full confidence in the french authorities, all the measures are being taken and the french authorities are assisted, we have good reasons to have full confidence.— good reasons to have full confidence. �* , ., ., , good reasons to have full confidence. �* , ., ., confidence. and so the show goes on, and the stars — confidence. and so the show goes on, and the stars are _ confidence. and so the show goes on, and the stars are here _ confidence. and so the show goes on, and the stars are here for _ confidence. and so the show goes on, and the stars are here for it. - and the stars are here for it. singer celine dion was part of the final rehearsal as well as lady gaga seen here outside her hotel. it set to be the most unique and audacious opening ceremony yet, and the city is now hoping it's party goes off without a hitch. katie gore bbc news, paris. the olympic torch relay forms part of the celebration and ceremony too — the us rapper snoop dogg was part of the star—studded cast, getting the privilege to carry it. it's a process that began back in mid—april, involving 11,000 torch bearers,

before the final part of the route. snoop said it was a prestigious honour to take part. it's a been a busy day to say the least, as we've been hearing. so let's get up to speed on where we are for the day, with our sports correspondent natalie pirks, whojoins us now from paris. natalie, good to speak to you. a day of mass disruption on the high—speed rail networks and the euro star, too. what's the latest from that and the follow, to?— the follow, to? no-one has been blamed or _ the follow, to? no-one has been blamed or taken _ the follow, to? no-one has been blamed or taken responsibility i the follow, to? no-one has been| blamed or taken responsibility for what officials here called a coordinated and deliberate act of sabotage and an attack on the athletes games. 800,000 people have been affected, just as the french were leaving for their summer holidays and others were coming here for the opening ceremony, euro star travellers have faced huge delays, one in four trains around this weekend has been cancelled, that has had a huge knock on effect, keir starmer had to fly here rather than

catching the train, and to germany to showjumpers are stuck in belgium and unable to get here. they are aware the opening ceremonies very much still going ahead and thomas bach, the ioc president, says he's unconcerned. bach, the ioc president, says he's unconcerned-— unconcerned. and turning our attention _ unconcerned. and turning our attention to _ unconcerned. and turning our attention to the _ unconcerned. and turning our attention to the opening - unconcerned. and turning our- attention to the opening ceremony and the extravaganza promised on the river seine, what are they planning? everyone is really excited about lady gaga and celine dion, potential duet, are they going to match up with mike they are staying in the same hotel here and they have been part of the rehearsal so that could be epic. with the ceremony being so public, when we've been walking around the city we've been able to get sneak peeks at things, we've seen highway or artists, we've seen dancers on rooftops, we're seeing pictures of a piano on a fake rock being floated down the seine for someone to play, it could be absolutely epic. the whole thing begins at the bridge and ends right here in the shadow of the eiffel

tower.