this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. england's footballers are in theirfirst majorfinal in 55 years, after beating denmark at wembley. this was the moment fans throughout england saw harry kane score and book their place in sunday's final versus italy. south africa's former president, jacob zuma's, just handed himself in to serve a 15—month term for contempt of court. haiti declares a state of emergency after the country's president is assassinated in his own home.

hello, and welcome. i'm shaun ley. england's footballers have reached their first major tournament final since 1966. the team beat denmark 2—1 in the semi finals of the european championship, the euros. they will play italy in the final on sunday. cheering as you might imagine, the final whistle was greeted around england with jubilation. the failure of the national side to match the world cup winners of 55 years ago has been something of a sore point. let's hear from some supporters who watched the match at a fan zone in london, they've been speaking to the bbc�*s chi chi izundu. how do you feel, watching that match?

absolutely elated! this is the most amazing moment ever. england have made it through to the final... cheering this hasn't happened in so many years — this is iconic, what'sjust happened. can we stop talking about 1966 now and focus on sunday? it's 2021, baby! singing gentleman, how do you feel? too good, too good! absolutely buzzing, i've never felt as good in my life - about a football game! amazing! the whole country's come together, i mean, you can look at the scenes... see how it brings the country together right here! - the adrenaline in my head is too much! i everyone feels it — you feel it, you feel it, everyone feels!

that's the beauty about it. only football can make you feel like this, only football! the celebrations continue throughout central london into thursday. as we said, england's victory was narrow — 2—1 after extra time. our sports reporter john watson is at wembley. very difficult to say, i think when you look at two in—form teams, italy edging past spain last night on penalties, but they have been the formed side, really, haven't they? when you look back at their qualifying campaign, they were flawless through that, they topped their group with maximum points, then came into the latter stages — that match against austria was taken into extra time, but it was that big result that they produced against belgium, winning 2—1 where, again, italy very clever in how they managed that game in the closing stages, then came into that semifinal against spain. they did what they needed to do — albeit getting through on penalties. and it has been interesting, it seems as though it's been one of the themes of the tournament.

you think about the talent of the individuals, the likes of christiano ronaldo for portugal, paul pogba and killian mbappe for france — they aren't the players, they aren't teams gracing the big game on sunday, and it's the teams that have worked better as a collective, and that's something england share with italy. so it'll be a fascinating matchup, no doubt about that. i mean, you have to say england will not get a better chance, will they, considering that that final will be staged here at wembley on sunday. they'll be roared on again by huge home support. and gareth southgate and his players can obviously go back to their st george's park training base to prepare for that match fully on sunday. it seems as though everything's going right for this team, gareth southgate seems to have got every decision right of the togetherness he's created and the culture within the group, and he seems to take the pressure the players.

the hype and talk will only grow in the lead—up, but he seems to be very good at keeping this team's feet on the ground. it'll be a fascinating match — and one i think very hard to call when you look at trying to pick between those two sides come that final on sunday. police say the former south african president jacob zuma has handed himself in, to serve 15 months injail for contempt of court. he left his house in a convoy which included his bodyguards and armed police. last week, the constitutional court found him guilty of contempt for defying its order to appear before a corruption inquiry. mr zuma said that sending him to jail at his age during a pandemic would be a death sentence. with me is our new reporter, courtney bembridge. courtney, this is something of a change of tactics from mr zouma, who had been pretty robust in his response to the ruling by the constitutional court popular right up till the midnight deadline, it was unclear how this would ballet

out. . , unclear how this would ballet out. ., , ., ., out. he handed himself over to olice out. he handed himself over to police 40 _ out. he handed himself over to police 40 minutes _ out. he handed himself over to police 40 minutes from - out. he handed himself over to police 40 minutes from the - police 40 minutes from the deadline. this is the first sign yet that he may be willing to serve this 15 month sentence for contempt of court, because he didn't turn up to a corruption hearing. but there is still legal drama to play out, and because the two courts have made different decisions, the constitutional court handed him the cost, consents, and the high court has put off its decision till friday. so the government was put in a tight spot deciding which court he would abide by. he said that the courts have thrown him under the bus. it’s the courts have thrown him under the bus. it's worrying for them — under the bus. it's worrying for them because _ under the bus. it's worrying for them because i - under the bus. it's worrying for them because i don't . under the bus. it's worrying i for them because i don't think any democrat anyone wants to find themselves in front of a judge expanding why they didn't follow a judicial order. but this is about state capture during the time that president jacob zuma was in office. paint a picture of the serious situation jacob zuma a picture of the serious situationjacob zuma faces now.

his supporters are very much behind him, they've formed a human shield outside his house, they've also protested outside they've also protested outside the high court. but these relate to his time in power, he was forced from office after nine years — but these judges do relate to corruption allegations during his time in power. allegations during his time in ower. �* , , ., power. it'll be interesting to see how this _ power. it'll be interesting to see how this plays - power. it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. - power. it'll be interesting to | see how this plays out. thank you very much, courtney. the miami—dade county mayor has announced that the operation at the miami apartment complex collapse has formally moved from rescue to recovery. crews recovered 18 more bodies on wednesday, and a total of 54 bodies have been recovered so far. officials said there was no longer hope that any of the nearly 100 people still missing would be found alive. the president of haiti, jovenel moise, has been assassinated at his home in the capital port—au—prince. the government said the property was stormed overnight by unidentified armed men. mr moise had been in power since 2017.

his critics had accused him of corruption and he'd faced waves of often violent protests. our north america correspondent sophie long reports. haiti is a country in chaos, where acts of everyday life have come to pose a mortal risk. accused of corruption and extending his presidency illegally, jovenel moise faced mass protests and demands from the opposition to step down. the interim prime minister described the assassination, which came after weeks of escalating violence, as a heinous, inhumane and barbaric act and declared a state of emergency. still recovering from the devastating earthquake of 2010 and the hurricane that struck six years later, parts of the country remain inaccessible, besieged by territorial battles between heavily armed gangs, violence that has forced more than 13,000 to flee there homes. yet the police have been largely invisible, the government silent.

now the calls for the international community to act are getting louder. we need a lot more information, but it is very worrisome about the state of haiti. reporter: but does. the us have a role...? with covid cases surging in a country where the few hospital beds are often shared by strangers, and vaccinations are almost unheard of, the sense of insecurity on the streets where food and fuel is becoming increasingly difficult to find has now intensified. the shooting of the president and his wife proof that no one is safe. sophie long, bbc news. i spoke earlier to rose delaney from bbc mundo who has been following developments. as soon the assassination took place, the normally bustling streets of the capital were left deserted, and there were calls across social media and by officials for residents to remain in their homes due to the threat of armed gangs, which were now reportedly

in control of one third of the capital. haitians are also in the biggest concentration of haitians in south florida, where i am now, the biggest concentration of haitians outside of haiti, have also said they fear that a further escalation of violence will ensue. president moise's death has also left a political vacuum in haiti, and there's a lot of confusion over who will be his successor. the current prime minister has taken over — and what makes this confusing is that, shortly before moise's death, he had appointed another prime minister, his name is ariel henri, who was set to take over. but now, according to the constitution, haiti's parliament would have to confirm a new president —

but they haven't been functional for more than a year now, so there's nobody in place to actually confirm a new president. in addition to this, another option would be the top judge in the country would take over the presidency, as stated in the 1987 constitution. but he recently died of covid—19, so this has left the country in a state of confusion and disarray, and a lot of local reports have warned of further incidences of violence being quite likely. rose delaney they are following the assassination of haiti's president. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we have a special report from the front line in the disputed

south china sea. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they've pipped the favourite, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated. celebration parties were cancelled. the man entered the palace l through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom, then _ he asked her for a cigarette — and, on the pretext _ of arranging for some to be - brought, summoned a footman on duty who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution.

this is bbc world news, the latest headlines... england defeat denmark 2—1 in extra time at the euros to reach their first major football final in 55 years. south africa's former president, jacob zuma's, just handed himself in to serve a 15—month term for contempt of court. the world health organization has urged extreme caution when governments plan to ease restrictions because of a surge in new cases — even in countries with good vaccination rates, such as the uk. the organisation's head of the emergencies, dr mike ryan, said the idea of letting people get infected with covid—19 earlier rather than later was a case of "stupidity". our medical editor fergus walsh examines how big the third wave of infections could be.

despite increasing levels of vaccination, coronavirus cases are doubling in the uk roughly every nine days. so, how protected are we? the office for national statistics estimates that 89% of adults now have antibodies against coronavirus. the levels vary around the uk, but are the highest so far during the pandemic. antibodies will either be the result of prior infection or, increasingly, vaccination. but having some antibodies is not a guarantee against getting infected. a lot of these adults will have antibodies, but they will be low levels of antibodies, they will be waning antibodies from an original live infection. what we need for full protection from something like the delta variant is the kind of high—level neutralising antibodies that you get from two doses of vaccine. so how big will the third wave be? the government estimates that cases could rise from current

levels to 50,000 a day by 19 july, and perhaps 100,000 a day later in the summer. what really matters is the number of people who become seriously ill, and immunisation is ensuring a lower proportion of people are being admitted to hospital. even so, there could be 1,000 hospital admissions a day later this month, and perhaps double that if cases spiral upward. i do think that other places in europe and the world are going to see the uk as a bit of a test case here, to test exactly how effective the vaccines are at a fairly high but not complete vaccine roll—out stage, and to see whether this triggers, for example, the arising of new variants that are under pressure to get around that vaccine protection. so how many people might have to self—isolating the coming weeks? for every covid case, around three close contacts are identified. now, these are very rough

estimates but if we hit 50,000 cases a day, that could mean nearly 1.5 million people a week being ordered to self—isolate. and if we hit 100,000 cases a day by 16 august, the date at which the self—isolation rules are being relaxed, it could be nearer three million people a week. tomorrow, ministers are expected to announce a date when fully immunised people arriving in england from amber list countries will no longer have to quarantine. it would open up a travel to many tourist destinations and spark a scramble for holiday bookings. fergus walsh, bbc news. a loud explosion from the port area of dubai has shaken nearby buildings. a fire broke out in a shipping container anchored at the port ofjebel ali in the south. images and videos posted on social media show a huge fire ball rising into the sky. fire crews have been working to put out the blaze. there are no reported injuries.

it is another major escalation in afghanistan — the taliban launching a sustained assault on a provincial capital, in the west of the country. fierce fighting erupted in the capital of bardgiss province — the governor saying the enemy has entered the city — some districts have fallen. afg hanistan�*s defence miniter said that "war is raging" with the taliban. secunder kermani reports. a taliban fighter poses for the camera. these are government soldiers and commandos he says and you can see they have all surrendered. the insurgents launched their assault on the northwestern city early this morning. they have been taking more and more territory in recent weeks but this is the first time during this offensive they have attacked a major city. dozens of prisoners streamed out from the jail. meanwhile, government forces have been trying to push the insurgents back.

the enemy that is currently fighting with us has suffered translation: are defended democrat defending - translation: are defended democrat defending the - translation: are defended democrat defending the city. they are engaging in different parts of the city with insurgents. they have caused casualties to the enemy and are facing defeat. for now, i call on you all to be calm and we are defending the city. the taliban have launched a series of major attacks in recent weeks as international trips get close to completely withdrawing. us officials have said 90% of their forces have now been pulled out ahead of a deadline in september. the afghan air force is conducting strikes that once would have been carried out by americans. but there are fairies about how long the governments can continue to resist the taliban. —— there are fears. in this city, soldiers said they managed to clear the taliban out from the centre. but with negotiations yet

to make any real progress, today's fighting represents yet another escalation in a conflict that only looks set to be getting even worse. secunder kermani, bbc news. five years ago next week, the philippines won a landmark legal victory over china, concerning territorial incursions in the disputed south china sea. a tribunal at the permanent court of arbitration in the hague ruled that beijing had been unlawful in its occupation and blockade of traditional filipino fishing grounds, including scarborough shoal. both china and the philippines claim sovereignty over the large coral reef while vietnamese claim it is their traditional fishing grounds. the maritime territory is closest to the philippine coast, but since 2012, and despite the tribunal ruling, there has been a constant chinese coastguard presence there — with filipino fishermen reporting harassment by the authorities. china justifies its claims in the south china sea based on its controversial 9—dash—line map, first published after world war ii —

it didn't take part in the 2016 tribunal or accept its findings. our philippines correspondent, howard johnson, joined a filipino fishing crew to witness what's happening at scarborough shoal. we're on a fishing boat heading towards occupied maritime territory in the south china sea. we want to verify reports that chinese boats are unlawfully blockading a traditional filipino fishing ground, just 120 nautical miles from its coast. we sail with trepidation. this year, china has been swarming reefs and rocks in philippine waters with hundreds of its boats, many from its maritime militia. in this recent promotional video, the militia are seen firing automatic weapons and ramming what appears to be a small fishing boat during training exercises. we arrive at scarborough shoal

the following morning. notice how waves from the deep blue ocean break on a lighter, turquoise body of water — that's the limestone reef you can see in the satellite image. easier to spot is the chinese coast guard presence. so, there's a chinese coast guard vessel that's watching us at the moment, it's done three sweeps — first of all, 200 metres away, then 100 metres away, and now 50 metres away. it's watching our every move. the boat leaves without incident — but our captain knows the lagoon is off limits. translation: we are the bandits in our own territory. _ why is that so? we steal our own territory? we steal our own fish? that's because we don't have our own coast guard there. on the last day at scarborough shoal, we venture into the blockaded eastern entrance. but after ten minutes, we notice a boat moving on the horizon towards us.

it's a maritime militia boat. by cross—referencing our footage with satellite data, it appears that the vessel that sailed towards us is called cheong sa nsha yu00311. sansha is where the maritime militia promotional video was filmed. five years on from a landmark legal ruling that found that china had been unlawfully disrupting traditional fishing by blockading scarborough shoal, ourjourney has revealed that beijing continues to flout international law. we put these allegations to the chinese embassy in london and received this reply... howard johnson reporting from scarborough shoal. and you can see more on that story in our world: battle for the south china sea,

this weekend on bbc world news. it's not just one it's notjust one tradition being broken on the sporting field this wednesday night. whenever tennis star roger federer has stepped onto centre court at wimbledon over the past nine days, fans have feared it could be his last time in action at the all england club — and his hopes of winning a ninth wimbledon title have now ended in the quarterfinals. the eight—time wimbledon winner has been knocked out of this year's championship in straight sets by poland's hubert hurkacz. federer, who's won 20 grand slam titles, had been chasing martina navrattilova's record of nine wimbledon titles. federer, who is 39, said he doesn't know if he'll play at wimbledon again. i was able to make it this year, which i'm really happy about. and like i said, it was everything that comes after wimbledon, we were always going to sit down and talk about it, because clearly — now wimbledon is over, you know, take a few days,

obviously we'll speak a little bit tonight depending on how ifeel, and then, the next couple of days, as well, where we go from there, andjust see, like, "0k, what do i need to do to get in better shape, so i can be more competitive?" you know, i'm actually very happy i made it as far as i did here. the end of one era and perhaps the start of another. a reminder of our main news: england are in the final of a major football tournament for the first time in 55 years. they'll play italy in the final of the euros. their victory over denmark in the semi final was narrow — 2—1 after extra time. but for england supporters, it was the best thing they'd ever seen. earlier i caught up with one of them sorcha nelson, who's been out celebrating, and i asked her what was her favourite moment in the game. (tx sot when harry kane almost didn't score, but scored. beautiful. beautiful. score, but scored. beautiful. beautiful-—

score, but scored. beautiful. beautiful. �* ., beautiful. are you, dare i say, a fairweather _ beautiful. are you, dare i say, a fairweather football - beautiful. are you, dare i say, a fairweather football fan, - beautiful. are you, dare i say, a fairweather football fan, or| a fairweather football fan, or a fairweatherfootball fan, or a loyal and committed footballer?— a loyal and committed footballer? no, mess of southampton _ footballer? no, mess of southampton fan - footballer? no, mess of. southampton fan through footballer? no, mess of - southampton fan through the league —— massive. like, i would support ireland, as well, but of course, i didn't have the opportunity to choose, so here i am supporting england. what are your hopes for sunday, and where will you be to watch it? �* , ., and where will you be to watch it? ~ ,, and where will you be to watch it? ,, it? are you messing? 0k, back here, number— it? are you messing? 0k, back here, number 66, _ it? are you messing? 0k, back here, number 66, obviously . it? are you messing? 0k, back here, number 66, obviously to | here, number 66, obviously to win, with my best friend sophie! there's the celebrations, it began with a slightly nervous moment for england fans after the initial goalfor moment for england fans after the initial goal for denmark, but it was quickly overtaken ten minutes later by raheem sterling scoring the first goal for england. equalising wasn't until the first stage of extra time. but harry kane secured the victory for england 2—1 with a remarkable goal after a

missed penalty. anglin on its way to wembley for sunday's match against italy. —— england on its way. well, quite a lot of pent—up energy in the atmosphere wednesday afternoon and evening. we had some thunderstorms, some really quite heavy downpours. you can see the showers — that was earlier in the last 10—12 hours or so. and then, towards the end of the day on wednesday, we saw those thunderstorms across some central and eastern areas, and the weather remains quite unsettled over the next few days. i say unsettled for a summer month. a fair bit of cloud out there across the atlantic heading our way, and we'll see further showers developing over the next few days with low pressure in charge of the weather. so, i think a showery day on the way for some of us on thursday, but actually, the showers will be very well—scattered, so that does mean that many of us will miss them altogether. so, the forecast through the early hours shows a lot

of dry weather across the uk. temperatures will be around 14 celsius or so across the south of the country, just a tad fresher in the north, around 11—12. now, the morning will become increasingly sunny right across the uk, but then fairweather clouds will start to develop, and as we head into the afternoon, those fairweather clouds will turn into storms. and some of the downpours really will be very heavy indeed, but as i say, they will be very well—scattered. not too many of them around across much of scotland or northern ireland. maybe across the grampians here, but the showers certainly will be scattered across many areas of england and mostly away from the coasts — so places like western wales should end up having a pretty decent day, for example, in swansea. so, friday's weather forecast shows a very weak area of high pressure over us. that does mean, i think, fewer showers, at least early in the day, but then, come the afternoon, we are expecting 1—2 to develop once again. but particularly across the southwest of the country, there's actually a weak weather front approaching us here,

so places like cornwall, maybe the western fringes of wales seeing some showers, and 1—2 eastern areas, as well. now, the outlook into the weekend remains pretty showery, particularly on saturday across some southern areas of the uk. there's a small area of low pressure heading our way, so that will bring a lot of cloud to places like plymouth or london. sunday, also a chance of some showers, and actually, early next week — my goodness, we've got a low pressure close to us, and that's going to continue to bring further showers.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: england's footballers have reached their first major final in 55 years. the team beat denmark 2—1 in extra time in the euro 2020 semifinals. harry kane clinched it with a rebound from a saved penalty. south africa's former president's handed himself in to police just minutes before a deadline for him to surrender. jacob zuma, who led the country from 2009 to 2018, is to serve a 15—month prison sentence over contempt of court relating to a corruption investigation. haiti's president, jovenel moyees, has been assassinated inside his home. the interim prime minister has declared a state of emergency. the white house called the killing �*horrific�* and offered to help find those behind the shooting. now on bbc news, hardtalk.

thanks for your company so