this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk this is bbc news with the latest and around the world. the search for hundreds of people still missing following devastating floods in germany and belgium continues. the german president has been visiting one of the stricken areas. our country stands together during this time. i'm very pleased to see just how much sympathy and solidarity is being shown, not only here in the region but also throughout germany. and i am in erftstadt where the president was speaking, one of the worst impacted towns in this disaster in western germany. the uk's health secretary sajid javid says he has tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing "mild" symptoms. i was feeling a bit groggy last

night so i took a lateral flow test this morning and it's come out positive, so i'm now self isolating at home with my family until i get the results of a pcr test. olympics organisers announce the first case of coronavirus in the athletes�* village, six days before the tokyo games begin. a new round of afghan peace talks get under way in qatar between afghan leaders and the taliban. what can they achieve? we hear from afghan leaders and the taliban. what can they achieve? we hearfrom our correspondent in doha. and why the world's new space race is all about getting technology rather than people up into orbit around the earth.

hello and welcome. rescue crews have been racing to find survivors after the floods that wreaked havoc in germany and its western neighbours switzerland, luxembourg and the netherlands. at least 160 people are so far known to have died across europe, some 140 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. let's cross now to the village of erfstadt and my colleague kasia madera. erftstadt is one of those places just up the road here that has been hugely impacted on the number of levels. not only was there a landslide near a quarry, buildings

in the very town centre itself has collapsed and also we have been monitoring this rescue salvage operation here throughout the day on this bypass, a dual carriageway leading up to the town itself which had up until a few hours ago been completely flooded. the waters have been slowly receding throughout the day and the army along with fire services and rescue emergency personnel removing vehicles. earlier on, we had the grim operation of a rescue team searching for the possibility of remains. thankfully that wasn't found here but there are other places across this region where people simply didn't escape their cars in time as the huge surges of powerful water gushed through, moving cars as if they were simply toys. when it comes to erftstadt itself, the president of the country has been here expressing his condolences and also expressing his condolences and also expressing his support for this area, for this region. translation: this is a time - of distress and our country stands

together during this time. i'm very pleased to see just how much sympathy and solidarity is being shown, not only here in the region but also throughout germany. so the german president there talking about the solidarity for this area, these two states in western germany that have been hugely impacted. the rescue operation is immense, so 20,000 workers have been immobilised, the army is here, the police force are here as well and the fire service, a lot of volunteers as well doing everything they can to help those people who have lost so much. the death toll in germany is the highest but of course neighbouring netherlands also impacted and also belgium as well. the town of liege has been severely impacted. my colleague 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 what the last few days has demonstrated, 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. it is those assurances that the people in western germany also want to hear. a lot of questions as to how so much rain has caused so much destruction. it was two months worth of rain falling in the space of 2a hours, a lot of it overnight, which caught people completely unawares. my caught people completely unawares. my colleague chris fawkes has been looking into the weather systems and

how this happened. you can see this line that developed across west germany, _ across parts of belgium, i the netherlands and parts of switzerland as well, - and look how slow—moving it is. we had several pulsesj of truly torrential rain. it was locked in the same kind of area. | how much rain fell? well, to the south—west - of bonn in germany, 158mm of — here fell in 12 hours. in other parts of germany, - 270 millimetres of rain in 48 hours. that 270 millimetres of rain in 48 hours. is what brou- catastrophic that is what brought the catastrophic flooding. i why did that rain become - slow—moving, torrential and locked in the same kind of place? it was down to the jet stream, - and we had this area of low pressure across western europe, _ and because of the broad pattern, the big waves in the jet stream, that low could not move - from where it was, i

and as well as that, we had big temperature contrasts in europe. - cool, fresh air across the north - west but temperatures into the high 30s across eastern areas. then humid air got pulled i in across northern germany and fed into this area _ where the winds converged together. so in many ways it . was a perfect storm. these torrential downpours i were locked in the same place for hour after hour. bbc weather presenter chris fawkes. the rescue teams, the search teams must be exhausted. how long are they likely to going to have to continue their work for? the likely to going to have to continue their work for?— likely to going to have to continue their work for? the rescue operation is incredibly — their work for? the rescue operation is incredibly efficient. _ their work for? the rescue operation is incredibly efficient. over - their work for? the rescue operation is incredibly efficient. over 20,000 | is incredibly efficient. over 20,000 rescue members, rescue services have been mobilised to deal with this, but the scale is huge and a lot of people are simply stoned as to the level of destruction. —— simply

stunned. earlierwe level of destruction. —— simply stunned. earlier we had articulated trucks on top of each other, that's how powerful it was. there were questions as to why there was not a bigger mobilisation of people to leave their homes. but at the moment i think the main priority is to find those who are still unaccounted for, still missing. the numbers are dropping as the mobile networks are re—communicating people with their loved ones. but we have to think also about the people who have lost their lives in this. there is a sense of shock and real deep concern as to how this was allowed to happen, and a lot of questions and a lot of hope that it will simply never happen again. at the rescue operation very much at the beginning of what will be a long salvage and recovery, and a rebuilding process is estimated to go into the billions of euros to get this country back together again. of euros to get this country back togetheragain. for of euros to get this country back together again.— of euros to get this country back together again. for the moment, thank ou together again. for the moment, thank you very —

together again. for the moment, thank you very much. _ together again. for the moment, thank you very much. kasia - together again. for the moment, i thank you very much. kasia madera together again. for the moment, - thank you very much. kasia madera in erftstadt in germany. the uk health secretary sajid javid is self—isolating at home after testing positive for coronavirus. mrjavid, who's had both vaccines, said he'd felt a "bit groggy" on friday night. his announcement comes as the government prepares to go ahead with lifting coronavirus restrictions in england on monday. the decision last night to keep quarantine rules in place for people returning to england and wales from france — even if they are fully vaccinated — has been heavily criticised by travel firms. ijust wanted to update you all that i have tested positive for covid. i was feeling a bit groggy last night so i took a lateral flow test

this morning and it came out positive. so 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. this comes ahead of a crucial week for ministers. from monday legal restrictions will be lifted in england, but there were more than 54,000 positive cases reported yesterday and some are urging caution. , ., , ., caution. there is lots of uncertainty. _ caution. there is lots of uncertainty. if - caution. there is lots of uncertainty. if you - caution. there is lots of uncertainty. if you look| caution. there is lots of l uncertainty. if you look at countries ahead of us in the curve like the netherlands and israel, both of which incidentally have good vaccination stories, if we behave like they have done and change our behaviour to dramatically when the restrictions are changed, then we will end up having to do what they are doing now, which is reconsider reimposing restrictions. heat are doing now, which is reconsider reimposing restrictions. next week will be a significant _ reimposing restrictions. next week will be a significant moment - reimposing restrictions. next week will be a significant moment in - reimposing restrictions. next week will be a significant moment in the| will be a significant moment in the sometimes slow road out of lockdown in england, but it won't be back to normality overnight. face coverings will still be recommended in some places, and there will still be an emphasis on caution. the number of

positive cases we are seeing like the health secretaries is a reminder that even though restrictions are going, the virus hasn't disappeared. and some rules are changing faster than others. on monday double jab people returning from france were supposed to be spared quarantine but thenit supposed to be spared quarantine but then it was announced that wouldn't be happening, leaving the travel industry and many tourists less than happy. fist industry and many tourists less than ha - . �* , industry and many tourists less than ha . . _ �* , , ., industry and many tourists less than ha-- . �* , �* industry and many tourists less than a.--�* �* ., ., , happy. at this point i'm going on my hohda happy. at this point i'm going on my holida and happy. at this point i'm going on my holiday and whatever _ happy. at this point i'm going on my holiday and whatever happens - holiday and whatever happens happens. it�*s holiday and whatever happens ha ens, �*, ,., , holiday and whatever happens hauens. �*, ,., ,~ ., happens. it's constantly changing. it feels happens. it's constantly changing. it feels more _ happens. it's constantly changing. it feels more political _ happens. it's constantly changing. it feels more political than - it feels more political than anything _ it feels more political than anything else. _ it feels more political than anything else. it _ it feels more political than anything else. it is - it feels more political than anything else. it is very. it feels more political than - anything else. it is very confusing, ithink_ anything else. it is very confusing, i think everything _ anything else. it is very confusing, i think everything is _ anything else. it is very confusing, i think everything is really- anything else. it is very confusing, i think everything is really badly i i think everything is really badly handied~ — i think everything is really badly handied~ in— i think everything is really badly handled. ~ . , i think everything is really badly handled. , ., handled. in wales today, restrictions _ handled. in wales today, restrictions on _ handled. in wales today, restrictions on meeting l handled. in wales today, - restrictions on meeting outside handled. in wales today, _ restrictions on meeting outside were lifted. across the uk there are more freedoms on their way but that isn't without risk. let's ta ke let's take a look at the latest uk

coronavirus figures. the data for the number of people currently in hospital with covid hasn't been updated yesterday but figures yesterday showed 3964 people were in hospital with the virus. 41 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. more than 46.2 million people have now had their first vaccination, 87.8% of all uk adults. 0ver 35.7 million people, that is... have had twojobs. —— jabs. well, as you've just heard, the uk has recorded over 50 thousand new covid cases for the second consecutive day. scientists and medical experts have expressed concern at the relaxation of covid rules while cases are clearly rising. it comes as the government announced an extension to the flu vaccination

programme this winter, expected to be delivered alongside any booster jabs for covid—19. here's anna collinson. it is the birthplace of the ashes. but this weekend, the oval cricket ground has become one of many pop—up vaccine hubs, and one of those in line was surrey cricketerjordan clarke. with significant freedoms for england and scotland less than two days away, there is another push for people to get theirjab. we started the clinic eight o'clock in the morning, as normal, we had a bit of a rush eight o'clock, but now there is a steady flow of people. we're doing roughly 400 people every hour. as expected, as restrictions have eased over recent months, and more people have come together, infections have risen. the big difference this time, though, is the vaccine, which has helped to reduce the threat of covid, though not eliminated it. it is those hospital admissions that are causing real concern at the moment and the projections of how high they could go is quite alarming. so it is not the situation you wanted to be in. we did not want to be opening up, really, quite a dramatic way at a time and we have so many infections, that is why you are hearing so many

people expressing concern. but other scientists feel confident about this wave, pointing to the data which shows fewer people have become seriously ill and those that are in hospital. amid fears the double threat of covid and the flu could put intense pressure on health service this winter, free flu vaccines will be offered to more than 35 million people in england. this includes expanding the programme to include pupils up to year 11. in county down, people wait in the hot sun for a vaccine. i live a mile away from here, so it is handy for me to come down here today as opposed to going to the likes of craigavon or somewhere. scientists say every person in queues like this around the uk have played a role in damaging the link between coronavirus and serious illness, jab byjab.

the organisers of the tokyo olympics are seeking to reassure athletes and the people of japan that the games will be covid—secure after the first case of the virus in the olympic village was confirmed earlier today. the officials have refused to reveal the nationality of the infected person, but said it was a games organiser from abroad. meanwhile, athletes continue to arrive in tokyo, which is under a state of emergency for the duration of the event. let's have a listen to what one of the games�* organisers has to say on that positive coronavirus case. there was one person in the village. this was the very first case in the village that was reported during the screening test. yesterday he or she underwent this pcr test, and right now this person is confined in a hotel. when we have positive cases, to what extent we disclosed information was another question.

are we going to disclose the name of the country or not? we have been discussing with the ioc and the ioc says if we disclose the name of the country, with high probability, you should be able to identify who this person is. tea m team emirates rider of slovenia has effectively wrapped up the 2021 tour de france title. he won the stage time trial in 35 minutes and 53 seconds, a full 21 seconds ahead of his closest rival. he now leads by five minutes and 20 seconds ahead of sunday's parading to paris, putting him on course to win the title for the second year running.

the headlines on bbc news... more than 150 people have now died in severe floods across western europe with hundreds of people remaining unaccounted forthe german president has been visiting one of the stricken areas. the uk health secretary sajid javid says he has tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing "mild" symptoms. let's turn to afghanistan now, where high—level talks between afghan political leaders and the taliban have begun. afghan government sources have told the bbc that peace negotiations are off to a good start but have warned that the window for negotiations is closing fast, as taliban militants continue their unexpectedly rapid advance across the country. the talks are under way in doha. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in doha. she's been speaking to the key players on both sides about the significance of these negotiations. these high—level talks are taking place in the midst of growing uncertainty and anxiety about afghanistan's future. afghan government negotiators say

they are acutely aware that the window for peace talks is fast narrowing, perhaps a question ofjust two to three months. because the backdrop of course is that the taliban have been overrunning districts across afghanistan and seizing strategic order crossings. strategic border crossings. so i asked the minister of state for peace, did he believe after talking to the taliban again here that they were interested in a political solution? we hope so, because the only solution to the conflict in afghanistan is political solution, is through meaningful negotiation, and conflict and taking afghanistan by force is not the solution, it will not be acceptable to the people afghanistan. afg ha nista n state minister for peace. but of course that is a question

for the taliban too, because it has been noticed that as they make rapid military advances, it has emboldened them and they become clearer about their political vision for afghanistan. and it is one, judging by their ideas now on the table, which doesn't include elections and has a new islamic constitution as well as leadership. which of course, for the afghan government team, means that accepting those proposals is tantamount to a call or surrender. a call for surrender. so i asked the member of the taliban negotiating team, their spokesman, whether that was the spirit of these talks. that is the perception of the other side, not our policy. our policy is to have a settlement of the issue. that is our policy, we want this, because in that circumstance, we can then bring durable peace to the country. that is our objective. the taliban's spokesperson.

well, both sides say talks today in doha have got off to a good start, but they are hoping that these discussions can help both sides to clarify their positions and that they will lead to another round of talks involving even more high—level figures on both sides to try to push this negotiation forward. because everyone is aware, most of all afghans on the ground as well as afghanistan's neighbours, that if these talks fail, the war will get worse. much worse. let's get some of the other news now. cuba's president, miguel diaz—canel, has dismissed last week's historic demonstrations against the communist government as a lie. thousands took to the streets of havana and other cities last weekend, demanding freedom, democracy and more covid vaccinations. democracy and more but mr diaz—canel denounced the spreading of what he described as "false images" on social media. he'd earlier accused the us of provoking the protests.

thousands of people have been protesting in france against new rules, which will oblige health workers to be vaccinated against coronavirus. the restrictions also mean that people will need to show either a vaccine health pass, or a negative covid test, to enter public places including restaurants. since they were announced on monday, a record number of people have booked appointments to be vaccinated. a sprawling wildfire raging mostly unchecked for over a week in southern oregon has forced firefighters into retreat for a fourth straight day. it is the state's fifth largest blaze in more than a century. 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. 0ur 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 too. 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 already has early warning systems to detect ballistic missiles — including the 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. italian diver alessia zecchini has set a new world record at the world free diving championships in the bahamas. she propelled herself to a depth of 74 metres without air tanks orfins to help push her along. to reach that level under water meant she had to hold her breath for three minutes and two seconds.

it gives you a headache just thinking about it! you are watching bbc news. northern ireland has reached its highest temperature ever recorded today. ballywatticock in county down has reached 31.2 degrees celsius. yes, that really is its name. the met office says 30.8 degrees was the previous record for northen ireland, set injuly 1983. let's look at how the rest of us are coping in this heat with chris. hello again. well, for most of us, this is the hottest spell of weather we have seen so far this year. we had the new high mark set for the time of year in both wales and scotland yesterday. in northern ireland, killowen also set the new mark yesterday, but it is even warmer than that today. 29.6 degrees celsius now the hottest day of the year so far in northern ireland. those temperatures, though,

could be updated later on as more data becomes available today. and today we have got blue skies, the sunshine out in full force across the majority of the uk. it is just in the north—west of scotland where we have seen some thicker cloud. cloud like this, so it has still been bright enough with a bit of sunshine around, but has been noticeably a little bit cooler and fresher into north—west scotland. 0vernight tonight, for most of us, it is a dry night with long, clear spells, but the most notable point about tonight's weather is just how warm it is going to be. these are not the minimum temperatures, but the temperatures you might encounter going to bed at 11pm tonight. 23s there for london and cardiff. a little bit fresher further north and also in the countryside, a more comfortable night's sleep here. now, tomorrow, there's some respite from the hot weather across the north west as these north—westerly winds drag in some slightly cloudy weather, some slightly cooler on the way as well. so temperatures generally in the low 20s, still warm in anyjuly sunshine that comes through, but the heat really that bit further southwards, where high 20s, low 30s on the cards,

31 celsius there in london. it is going to be the hottest day of the year for the uk as a whole tomorrow. and what follows is a very warm night, of course. 24 degrees this time sunday night at 11pm in london. now, looking at the weather picture deeper into next week, high pressure is still on the scene but we do have a low that is trying to move in off the atlantic. it's not going to be moving in anytime soon, though. so for monday, it is under the largely dry day with sunshine for most of the uk, again the north—west staying a little bit cooler, fresher and cloudier. temperatures in the sunshine widely low to mid 20s across northern areas of the uk. in the south, it is still very hot, with temperatures high 20s, perhaps even low 30s in the very hottest areas and, really, through the rest of the week ahead, the weather set fair. it will generally stay warm or very warm with just one or two storms around from time to time. that's your weather.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... more than 160 people are now known to have died in severe floods in north—western europe, with hundreds still unaccounted for. the german president has been visiting one of the stricken areas. translation:— one of the stricken areas. translation: .., , , ., , translation: our country stands to . ether at translation: our country stands together at this _ translation: our country stands together at this time. _ translation: our country stands together at this time. i _ translation: our country stands together at this time. i am - translation: our country stands together at this time. i am very i together at 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. the health secretary sajid javid says he has tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms. i took a lateral flow test this morning and it has come out positive so i now so isolating at home until i get the result of the pcr test.