this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. more than 150 people have now died in severe floods across western europe with hundreds of people remaining unaccounted for, as the waters begin to recede in some areas. in the last hour, the german president has been visiting one of the stricken areas in germany. our country stands together during this time. i am very pleased to see just how much sympathy and solidarity is being shown, not only here in the region but also throughout germany. iam now i am now self isolating at my home with my family till i get the

results. olympics organisers announce the first case of coronavirus in the athletes village, six days before the tokyo games begin. rescue crews have been racing to find survivors after the floods that wreaked havoc in germany and its western neighbours. 153 people are so far known to have died across europe, 133 of them in germany alone. hundreds remain unaccounted for and thousands are now homeless. thousands of residents of wassenberg, an area west of the german city of cologne, have left their homes after a dam was breached by floodwater overnight. german officials say the country's flood warning system functioned as it was supposed to, but the amount of rain —

and how rapidly it fell — was unforeseen. angela merkel will travel there on thursday. the german president, frank—walter steinmeier, has visited the stricken town of erftstadt to see the rescue work taking place. of erftstadt to see the rescue work translation: of erftstadt to see the rescue work this translation: of erftstadt to see the rescue wor< , , ., ., distress translation: this is a time of distress and — translation: this is a time of distress and our _ translation: this is a time of distress and our country - translation: this is a time of distress and our country stands | distress and our country stands together during this time. i am very pleased to see just how much sympathy and solidarity is being shown, not only here in the region but also throughout germany. our correspondentjenny hill has been at an aid centre in the german town of nurburg and sent this update. there must be scores of people here sorting through all of this donated clothing, donated supplies. people bringing all of this throughout yesterday, overnight, and now this morning, too. they actually say they

need more help here. these are all volunteers. it's a mammoth taskjust to get all of this sorted. it is of course for the countless people who have been forced out of their homes by these floods. many of those homes will have been destroyed — many extremely badly damaged. it could be weeks at best before people are able to even think about moving back in. many of them have been relocated to hotels in the region, or emergency shelters — even staying in people's homes. people have opened their doors to what they're describing as the flood refugees. just outside, there are emergency vehicles, amphibious vehicles gathering. this has become a headquarters for the search and rescue operation. i say rescue operation. with every day that passes, of course, hopes of finding people alive fade. there are still a good number of people missing. the authorities here say it's impossible to actually determine how many are unaccounted for because mobile phone networks are down in so much of this region, meaning it's impossible for people to communicate. even so, the death toll is rising. it's expected to continue

to rise even as the waters begin to slowly subside. the german president, frank—walter steinmeier, is due to visit the area later on today. he, i think, echoes the sentiments of so many in this region when he describes what's happening as "a tragedy which has left me stunned". well, while germany has taken the brunt of the devastation, belgium is also reeling from the floods. 20 people have died and hundreds of people have lost their homes. one of the worst effected places is liege and our correspondent anna holligan is there. this is the river meuse, and if you look carefully here you can see some of the debris that is being carried downstream. and the smell of oil, the stench, something that you can smell around here. this is the belgian city of liege, and rescue workers were sent from italy, france and austria to help with the recovery effort here — and the evacuations, too.

most people are now returning to their homes, but the belgian prime minister has declared the 20th ofjuly a national day of mourning. at least 20 people have been killed here alone. they say they have never experienced catastrophic floods of this scale before. now, across the border, not far from here, in the netherlands, the emergency services are still trying to reconnect the power supplies. but there, so much of the country lies ten metres below sea level, they have so much experience and talent in managing the rising tides, and watch the last few days has demonstrated, —— what the last few days, this extreme rainfall, that even the most sophisticated technology will struggle under this kind of pressure. experts have said it should be a wake—up call, politicians across the continent have blamed climate change, but what so many people in this region, here in liege,

in limburg, which has been classified as a disaster area, and beyond, what they want to know now — they want assurances from those politicians that something like this can never happen again. the uk health secretary, sajid javid, has tested positive for coronavirus. the health secretary — who replaced matt hancock in the post last month — said he was fully vaccinated, with two doses of the vaccine, and was experiencing only mild covid symptoms. he broke the news by posting a video on twitter. hi, everyone, ijust wanted to update you all that i have tested positive for covid. i was feeling groggy last night so i took a lateral flow test this morning and it came out positive. i am now self—isolating at home with my family until i get the result of a pcr test. i am grateful that i have had two jabs of the vaccine and so far my symptoms are very mild. i also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in our national vaccine roll—out programme,

truly the best of its kind anywhere in the world. if you haven't had yourjabs yet, please get out there and get them as soon as you can. add if you might feel a bit groggy or feel you might have come into contact with someone who is positive, please also take a lateral flow test. if everyone plays their part, you're not only protecting yourself and your loved ones, you're also safeguarding the nhs and helping to preserve our way life. thank you. earlier on, i spoke to our political correspondent jessica parker who explained the current situation. you now have the prospect of the health secretary possibly having to be in self isolation on the day that legal restrictions are lifted in england. now he is waiting for his pcr, the more reliable test to come back, so we will wait for news in terms of what that brings. we know he has tested positive on a lateral flow test, one of those rapid tests, but pending that result

there will be questions notjust for where and what sajid javid might be doing on monday but where he has been in the last few days, the last week. we know on tuesday he was on a visit to a care home, there will be questions as to whether he has recently met the prime minister. i haven't been able to draw downing street on that, but if the pcr test was to come back positive, you would imagine there will be some sort of test and trace process for the health secretary, including his contacts, likely to include senior members of government.

46.2 million people had theirfirst dose, 35.7 million people have had their second dose of vaccine. watching bbc news. travel firms have criticised the government's decision to keep quarantine rules in place for travellers returning to england and wales from france, even if they are fully vaccinated. for all other amber list countries, the rules relax on monday, with adults who have been double jabbed in the uk no longer needing to isolate for ten days on arrival. our business correspondent vishala sri—pathma has more the eiffel tower, an iconic symbol of paris, known for its architectural ingenuity, reopen to tourists this week, but despite it being only hours away from many brits it might prove to be a destination too for given these

latest changes to quarantine rules for arrivals from france. it has their own plans for these travellers into disarray. very confusing, i am trying my hardest to follow the rules but i don't understand so i don't know, at this point i'm going on my holiday and whatever happens happens. it actually feels more like political than anything else, it is_ very confusing, i think everything is really badly handled. their disappointment was echoed by the travel industry, who had hoped that allowing quarantine—free travel to fully vaccinate arrivals from amber list countries like france would give people more confidence when booking trips. that confidence now for many has been shattered. everything we do is about mitigated risk when we are taking travellers to different destinations. however the road map has been in place, restrictions are easing as of monday, we are seeing the rest of the globe, us and europe travelling freely, we have a very successful deployment of the vaccine and we still cannot unlock international travel to countries with a lower case of virus than we have.

the government is insistent that the decision was made in the interests of public health with there being a widespread of the beta variant in france. france is a popular destination for brits. the proximity, better weather and golden beaches are all part of its allure, making it the second most visited country pre—pandemic from people in the uk. in fact 500,000 brits were due to travel through the country this weekend, but for many these changes will mean a trip across the channel remains uncertain. vishala sri—pathma, bbc news. i've been speaking to our correspondent leigh milner, who gauged the response from holidaymakers at london's st pancras station where eurostar trains arrive from france. mixed reactions, it has been so much a busy day here you might be able to see behind me how many people are out and about enjoying the sunshine, in fact there was a queue outside the entrance this morning at about 9:30am. despite temperatures reaching almost 30 degrees, it seems that is not enough for

holiday—makers, they are keen to get a summer getaway. monday cannot come soon enough because for those who are double vaccinated who are returning from amber list countries will not have to isolate for ten days, unless they are coming from france. that is causing a lot of confusion, not just for holiday companies, but for holiday—makers here in london. i was actually really excited to go to france so i didn't have to quarantine when i got back, so it's really annoying to be honest. has it scuppered your plans quite a lot? i mean, i don't have a choice now. i've booked the ticket, i'm getting on the eurostar and it's just frustrating because i'm double—vaxxed. it's very, very complicated to enter in uk. it took one hour in france to take the train, and we have to complete a formula. 12 pages. it was... are you confused?

yeah. yes, we are. but very happy to be here. it's beautiful. first time for us. i'm double—vaxxed so i thought iti would all be all right coming back. i work in a primary school so i wanted to be able - to spend the month with my family, so disappointed. - i don't really understand why. something maybe about the beta variant? - it's meant to be less dangerous? i don't know. if you're sitting at home thinking, why has the government made this decision, as you heard, some of those people talking there, it is to do with the beta variant first identified in south africa, a lot of cases at the moment in france, and there are concerns that vaccines might not work as well against that particular variant. travel firms have of course been furious about this decision, they say it is causing confusion, but the health secretary has responded, saying he is doing everything he can to prevent the spread of the virus. just to be super clear,

if you are travelling to france today, you will need to quarantine when you return back to england, regardless of how many vaccines you have had. for anybody else arriving from any of the amber list countries, those who have been double—vaccinated or are under the age of 18, you no longer have to isolate from july 19th. the conservative former health secretaryjeremy hunt has warned that lockdown restrictions may have to be re—imposed in the autumn if case numbers continue to rise here throughout the summer. it comes as the largest ever roll—out of flu vaccine in england has been announced — hoping to reach 35 million people this winter. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. a winter of face coverings and lockdowns. it helped stop the spread of covid—i9 and meant far fewer people were catching other bugs. but amid fears winter flu could put intense pressure on the health service this year, free flu vaccines will be offered

to 35 million people in england. expanding the programme to include the majority of secondary school pupils up to year 11. it finally feels as if we are giving priority to educational continuity for those young people, so they can start september with the sense that the adults on the room are doing everything they can to look after them right up to the age of 16. significant freedoms for england and scotland are nowjust two days away. this weekend pop—up vaccine hubs have been set up like here in the oval cricket ground to encourage more people to grab a jab. following the easing of restrictions, coronavirus infections are high and rising, but the real focus is how many cases will turn into serious illnesses. hospital admissions are causing real concern at the moment, and the projections of how high they could go are quite alarming, so it is not a situation we wanted to be in, we didn't want to be opening up in quite a dramatic way at a time when we have so many infections and that is why

you are hearing many people expressing concern. both scientists and politicians are warning what happens next will depend on our behaviour. there is a lot of uncertainty, i and if you look at countries that are ahead of us in the curve, i like the netherlands and israel, both of which incidentally have good vaccination stories, _ if we behave like they have done and change our behaviour too. dramatically when the restrictions are changed, then we are going . to end up having to do - what they are having to do now which is reconsider- reimposing restrictions. as millions face further unlocking, the message once again is caution, and to continue weakening the link between the virus and serious illness, jab by jab. and carlson, bbc news. pop—up vaccine centres are opening across england in shops and parks this weekend as part of an national health service "grab a jab" initiative. the vaccination hubs will be set up in primark stores, the tate modern and even the open championship.

the aim is to boost the vaccine uptake among young people ahead of monday, when the majority of coronavirus restrictions are set to be lifted in england. i would urge you to come in, get yourself vaccinated. you know, there will be a wonderful atmosphere and there will be lots of help and support and advice and guidance for you. you know, to anybody who is over 18 and eligible to have a vaccine, please do come forward if you haven't had the jab, and we're here and ready and waiting for you. in wales, some covid restrictions have been lifted from today. six people can now meet in private homes, and the law limiting the number of people meeting outside has been scrapped. indoor events can now take place for up to 1,000 people seated or 200 people standing. but wales' first minister mark drakeford has urged the public to remain vigilant.

high—level talks between afghan political leaders and the taliban have begun in the qatari capital doha. afghan government sources have told the bbc that peace negotiations are off to good start — but have warned that the window for negotiations is closing fast, as taliban militants continue their unexpectedly rapid advance across the country. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in doha. she explained what these negotiations mean for the people of afghanistan. afghanistan, even in the best of times — but no—one can remember the best of times — is one of the poorest countries in the world, notwithstanding the fact that there's been 20 years of major international engagement, and now it is reeling from a humanitarian crisis — growing hunger, growing displacement from the violence, and growing fear amongst so many afghans about what the future holds. we saw so many of this new, young educated generation, which came of age after the fall of the taliban in 2001,

wondering now whether there is space for them in the kind of afghanistan which emerges. what has happened on the battlefield has emboldened the taliban and they've been clarifying their ideas about afghanistan's political future, and it is one in which they dominate and it's a very different kind of political order than the one now in the islamic republic of afghanistan, so there's a sense of urgency here and if these talks make progress this weekend, hope they can have another round in the coming weeks before that window to actually negotiate an end to the war, rather than fight to the end is not lost. until recently, the number of cases of covid—19 in spain had been steadily dropping. but infection rates are now climbing sharply once again. as the summer gets under way — the hope is that it will not hurt a tourism industry which is still struggling to get back on its feet.

guy hedgecoe reports from spain s mediterranean coast. the youngsters who went to this concert in majorca injune had believed the end was in sight. but after weeks of relative normality, spain is once again struggling with covid. this fifth wave of the virus is different to previous ones. the so—called delta variant is becoming more widespread. also, young people are at the centre of this latest surge in cases. it's a little bit stupid to go out without a mask and go to parties. i'm still waiting until i feel fully confident to go and also until i'm vaccinated. the majority of over—50s are fully vaccinated, but cases among unvaccinated spaniards in their 20s have spiralled. translation: we've had a period i

of confinement and many restrictions and young people have started to go out. young people are normally asymptomatic and don't realise that they have the virus. since monday, people aged 16 and over have started to be vaccinated. many areas of the country are reintroducing restrictions, and there is concern at how the new wave could affect the economy. after a disastrous 2020, spain's tourism industry was hoping to get back on track this summer. in a normalyear, spain would receive around 80 million foreign visitors. but in recent weeks, several european governments have warned their citizens against travelling here. this hotel, which normally caters mainly for british visitors, is three quarters full, but the nationality of those coming to benidorm has changed. translation: right now, - only around 3-5% of our guests

are foreign and the british don't even make up 1%. all the rest are spanish. if the fifth wave has an impact, then that would eliminate both national and foreign tourism for us. businesses like this jet ski rental company are getting by, for now. but they need foreign tourism. it's very quite for the moment. —— quiet. the english tourists are not here. the people, ithink, with the covid don't want to come, don't want to pass the frontier. the sun—drenched calm of the mediterranean coast is a familiar and reassuring sight. but for spain, it looks like this will be another difficult summer. guy hedgecoe, bbc news, alicante. as england prepares to lift remaining coronavirus restrictions, there are calls for mental health support to continue for people suffering from anxiety. the mental health charity mind says the mental health consequences

of coronavirus require an immediate and long—term commitment from government. colleen harris reports. there is just this sense of, like, overwhelming anxiety of being around large groups of people. not everyone is looking forward to restrictions easing. lauren developed anxiety and depression in her teens. just the thought of socialising can be a challenge. i would struggle a lot previously with not, i couldn't leave the door, and the build—up to it was just awful, and i'd sit here and kind of pick holes in myself, and it just all spirals. this is a song that i've been working on. it's called merry go round. like lauren, angelica jane also has anxiety and depression, but found lockdown helpful and life less overwhelming.

stepping out of that is causing her worries. it would be nice to be able to actually go out with friends and do nice things, but on the other hand, there is kind of this fear, like i don't really know how it's going to be going back, if i'm starting school again, because i haven't been experiencing that in a while. the government has pledged £500 million towards a mental health recovery plan in england, but charities warn it's not enough to meet a long—term need for support. the mental health consequences of coronavirus are here in the here and now. many people really struggling. but we also know there is a longer term issue affecting people with existing mental health problems, which we will see for many, many months and years to come. solutions like this alongside clinical treatments can help. for angelica jane, it's music, and for lauren, it's art. i just find it almost

a source of mindfulness. my brain is constant all the time, and when i'm doing art, it kind ofjust stops. while the end of coronavirus restrictions are in sight, it's just the beginning of the pandemic�*s long—term legacy on mental health. colleen harris, bbc news. officials at tokyo olympics have confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the athletes�* village. the unnamed games organiser, who is now quarantining in a hotel for 14 days, is one of 15 games—related cases reported today. the chief of tokyo 2020 says athletes are "probably very worried". the islamic pilgrimage, hajj, has been getting under way. for a second consecutive year, saudi arabia has reduced the number of pilgrims allowed to take part. the kingdom is allowing only 60,000 fully vaccinated residents to take part. the festival of eid will be celebrated on tuesday.

the us military wants to build a large new radar site in britain to track targets in deep space. it comes amid growing concerns about an arms race in space. the us and britain have accused china and russia of developing weapons to shoot down satellites. the us space force is developing a global radar system to identify potential threats up to 36,000 kilometres in space. as well as the uk, other sites will include texas and australia. our defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. the race in space is already under way. not just for commercial ventures like virgin galactic, with its recent maiden voyage, but for nations also. three, two, we have ignition. last year, the us military launched another ten satellites into space. america also now has its own space force, not least to protect the systems we now all use — such as gps location.

there are threats in space. i'd say the two countries that are most threatening are china and russia. there have been anti—satellite missiles that have been developed. america also has early warning systems to detect ballistic missiles — includingthe fylindales radar in north yorkshire. now the us wants to build a new radar system for deep space. and one of the new sites could be in the uk. what could end up in the uk is an array of parabolic antennas, and it could be anywhere from ten to 15 for tracking, and potentially four to six for transmitting. so it would cover a large area, would it? it would cover a large area for it to receive — probably an area of one kilometre in diameter. the deep space advanced radar capability, which will be able to detect and object the size of a football up to 36,000 kilometres away, is being developed

here in california. one of the sites visited by the british defence secretary this week, who wants to strengthen cooperation on space — not least to protect critical national infrastructure. space is a growing domain for both commerce, but also to protect all the key national infrastructure that we need to in today's world. it is under threat. in some areas, our adversaries are weaponising space, so we have to make sure at the very least we're providing resilience. the locations of the deep space radar capability, or darc for short, have still to be agreed, but one of the sites being considered by the us space force is in the south of england or scotland — as well as in texas and australia. it may prove controversial, but the government's made clear it wants britain to be in the vanguard of efforts to keep space safe. jonathan beale, bbc news, los angeles.

now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. for many of us, this is the hottest weather we've seen so far this year. yesterday, we had the highest temperature recorded in wales and scotland. temperatures actually this afternoon are very similar in wales so that mark could be beaten. and in killowen in northern ireland, it's two degrees warmer than it was yesterday — 29.6, the new high for the year. overnight tonight, it's going to stay dry for the majority of us, and as you are going to bed these are not the minimum temperatures but the bed—time temperatures at 11pm. you can see the cities. 22 in birmingham, 23 for london and cardiff. it will be quite an uncomfortable night's sleep here. a little bit fresher further north, and also in rural areas. tomorrow, there will be some respite from the heat across the north—west. some fresher air will be working in around our area of high pressure, bringing some patchy cloud with it. and temperatures are just easing down into the low 20s. still warm in thejuly sunshine but the heat is really that bit further south where we will see

temperatures up to 31 in london. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines... more than 150 people have now died in severe floods across western europe with hundreds more remaining unaccounted for. the health secretary sajid javid says he has tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing "mild" symptoms. travel firms criticise the government's decision to keep quarantine rules in place for travellers returning to england and wales from france — even if they are fully vaccinated. olympics organisers announce the first case of coronavirus in the athletes�* village, six days before the tokyo games begin. now on bbc news... it's time for the media show.