tv BBC News BBC News July 19, 2021 11:00pm-11:31pm BST
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this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the international olympic committee describes delayed tokyo 2020 as "the most complex" games ever held. as athletes arrive — there are more positive coronavirus tests — forcing some athletes, to self—isolate — others to withdraw. i'm sarah mulkerrins live in tokyo where i'll be taking you through the logistical challenge to holding these games and the excitement around some of the new sports. it's batter up. softball returns to the olympics this year, for the first time since 2008. and covid restrictions are lifted in england — no mandatory masks or social
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distancing — although new cases continue to rise. welcome to tokyo, i'm sarah mulkerrins. and for the next three weeks bbc world news will be broadcasting from this stunning location above tokyo bay to bring you the latest on the most contorversial olympic games for a generation. with just four days until the delayed games begin here, the olympic village has been hit by a fourth coronavirus case. so far, two south african footballers, a czech beach volleyball player and an american gymnast have all tested positive for covid—19. and other cases have been reported among the media, contractors and other personnel.
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all of this is a concern for the japanese public, especially in tokyo itself where cases continue to rise. but the international olympic committee insists that these positive cases do not post a wider threat to the population. let's speak to our reporter mariko oi who is close to the olympic stadium where the opening ceremony will be held on friday. and you have been out talking to a lot of the people on the ground here in tokyo, what is the feeling you are getting about the general public�*s concern around these games? well, as you mentioned there were those _ well, as you mentioned there were those confirmed positive cases inside — those confirmed positive cases inside the olympic village but it feels _ inside the olympic village but it feels like one trouble after another because _ feels like one trouble after another because the latest also is that the composer— because the latest also is that the composer of the opening ceremony's
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music_ composer of the opening ceremony's music had _ composer of the opening ceremony's music had to step down after apologising for bullying, or rather abusing _ apologising for bullying, or rather abusing a — apologising for bullying, or rather abusing a disabled classmate back at school _ abusing a disabled classmate back at school and _ abusing a disabled classmate back at school and also he boasted about it in a magazine interview in the i990s~ — in a magazine interview in the i990s~ 50— in a magazine interview in the 1990s. so four minutes of his music will now— 1990s. so four minutes of his music will now have to be replaced, and it was not _ will now have to be replaced, and it was notiust— will now have to be replaced, and it was notjust the composer himself who came — was notjust the composer himself who came under criticism but also the organising committee and the last two— the organising committee and the last two years from the former president— last two years from the former president of the organising committee having to step down because — committee having to step down because of a sexist remark he made and also _ because of a sexist remark he made and also the — because of a sexist remark he made and also the opening ceremony's rate of director— and also the opening ceremony's rate of director wanted to dress up a plus size — of director wanted to dress up a plus size model as a pig and called it in olympic. i wanted to find out how the _ it in olympic. i wanted to find out how the public felt about it with us in a weei
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major league baseballjust had its all—star game, so i thinkjapan should go ahead with the olympics too. translation: the number of new infections is rising, l so it's worrying to have many people arriving from overseas. _ i know they have to quarantine, but i don't think the _ rules are that strict. translation: the lyrics are only worthy with spectators, _ there was a baseball game without any fans and it was a bit lame. translation: it would've been a lot more fun if it wasn't for covid, - but instead of more people getting ill i think it's best to have the games without any spectators. and a few months ago a lot more people were against the games, and i can really— were against the games, and i can really sense that people have really given _ really sense that people have really given up _ really sense that people have really given up on it, that the games are going _ given up on it, that the games are going to _ given up on it, that the games are going to go — given up on it, that the games are going to go ahead regardless of how they felt— going to go ahead regardless of how they felt about it and a lot of them are hoping — they felt about it and a lot of them are hoping that the games would go ahead _ are hoping that the games would go
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ahead as _ are hoping that the games would go ahead as smoothly and safely, but of course _ ahead as smoothly and safely, but of course as— ahead as smoothly and safely, but of course as you mentioned is positive cases— course as you mentioned is positive cases inside — course as you mentioned is positive cases inside the olympic village is definitely— cases inside the olympic village is definitely causing concerns for those — definitely causing concerns for those people. definitely causing concerns for those beanie-— definitely causing concerns for those people-— definitely causing concerns for those --eole. . ~ , . those people. thank you very much for “oininu those people. thank you very much forjoining us- _ those people. thank you very much forjoining us. lots— those people. thank you very much forjoining us. lots more _ those people. thank you very much | forjoining us. lots more throughout the olympic games. i'm joined now by daum kim who is the digital manager of the tokyo 2020 olympics. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc world news. from your perspective, know that we are just a few days out, considering everything that has happened to being delayed and all of the controversy around it, how does it feel for you being involved and working in this now that we are essentially on the eve of the games?— of the games? well, seeing the athletes arriving _ of the games? well, seeing the athletes arriving and _ of the games? well, seeing the athletes arriving and that - of the games? well, seeing the athletes arriving and that cities | athletes arriving and that cities covered in the look of the games i finally feel like the games are happening. it took us years to get here, we faced many challenges and
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there's more to come but i'm confident that the world will recognise our effort in hosting the games safely once the flame lights up games safely once the flame lights up on friday. games safely once the flame lights up on friday-— games safely once the flame lights up on friday. how difficult have you found it working _ up on friday. how difficult have you found it working with _ up on friday. how difficult have you found it working with all _ up on friday. how difficult have you found it working with all of - up on friday. how difficult have you found it working with all of this? . found it working with all of this? well, mentally it was, as you can imagine, it was very difficult for the team because when we heard about the team because when we heard about the game it was postponed for a year last year it was as if you are in a marathon, you enter the stadium and you see the finish line right in front of you but all of a sudden somebodyjust drops and extra ten km right before you pass the finishing line, so it was difficult for us to accept the reality and to motivate ourselves to run that extra ten km. and of course from a marketing perspective it was not easy to promote the games that not many people are supporting, yet we had
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the athletes who have been training regardless and now we are seeing them here. that motivates us to stay resilient and stay strong to make these games happen.— resilient and stay strong to make these games happen. because i think a lot of people _ these games happen. because i think a lot of people are _ these games happen. because i think a lot of people are feeling _ these games happen. because i think a lot of people are feeling that, - a lot of people are feeling that, aren't they? that perhaps once the action gets under way and people see and hear all of these stories about the athletes from all over the world who are here competing, that that may take over from perhaps the negative headlines around it. what are some of the stories that have inspired you? i are some of the stories that have inspired you?— inspired you? i think the only pic flame is the _ inspired you? i think the only pic flame is the most _ inspired you? i think the only pic flame is the most unforgettable | flame is the most unforgettable journey for me. because last year i travelled to athens for the lighting ceremony for the flame and this was when the cases were rising in europe so the events were scaled down last minute, just a clapping ceremony amongst a few of us. but deathly diminish the impact i felt when i saw the living flame coming to light in the rays of the sun in the
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ancient olympia. it was just the seven of us they got on the flame and we have been carrying it in our hands, and we had all the seats empty and the flight because it was just the seven of us in the flame was sitting there in the middle and when the lights went down the flame was the only thing that was lighting in the dark, and i wasjust was the only thing that was lighting in the dark, and i was just sitting there watching the flame thinking how this flame could truly symbolise discontinuity and peace. then the flame waited for a year, finally this year i saw how this flame was carried in the hands of the torchbearers, i saw these children in the prefecture, they've been cheering for the flame arrival and analysis on the flame being passed across the bridge held by a tsunami survivor from 2011, and as some that saw the entire journey of the olympic flame the significance and connection that it has brought truly
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resonates with me.— resonates with me. thank you very much. resonates with me. thank you very much- the — resonates with me. thank you very much- the very — resonates with me. thank you very much. the very special _ resonates with me. thank you very much. the very special memories. resonates with me. thank you very l much. the very special memories for you. good luck over the next three weeks. the digital manager with the tokyo games. we know the olympics kick off later this week in tokyo. the delayed games have not been without controversy, with athletes like the us tennis star coco gauff testing positive for covid—19. but organisers are determined to press on, and the first event will be a softball game on wednesday, between japan and australia. that's sigificant beacuse japan is of course the home country, but also because softball was not even an olympics sport for the past two rounds of games. giles goford has more. august the 21st, 2008.
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the last day a soft ball is pitched at the limit games. a dramatic win forjapan over the united states, the americans had one all three previous gold medals, but not in beijing. then the sun on softball at the olympics, taken off the rosterfor london and rio. a controversial decision that denied a generation of players their shot at glory. i get slightly emotional because i recall, gosh, it was 2012 at one of my family members, not in a mean way whatsoever, but they were just like, "man, it would be so cool to be there." and i wasjust like, ugh. but softball is back. beloved injapan where the national league is over 50 years old. three players from that victorious 2008 team remain in the current squad, and they face fierce competition from the united states who want their title back, canada, italy, mexico and australia. words can't even describe how epic the feeling is and the emotions that come with thinking that i'm
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about to represent my country at an olympic games. my parents tell me a story that when i was younger i said i want to play for australia at the other big games when i get older, and here i am. australia are defending a proud olympic record. for appearances, for medals but not yet the gold. we all deep down want to medal, that's why we are there, but we all have our little steps and goals to get us there. obviously it will be awesome, i don't think there's any extra pressure for the team at all. softball differs from baseball due to the pitching mound being flat as opposed to raised, and the sides of the ball which is three inches in diameter larger than a baseball. the ball is also thrown underarm in softball. the picture is key, and injenna caira canada have one of the best in the world. she's ready for the challenge to end her nation's first olympic medal in the sport. as a 32—year—old, being part of this game since i was four years old i can assure you that i am
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still learning and growing, and then while someone who may not be as familiar with the sport may think like, wow, that is so fast and that's so easy, i think that just shows the time and effort and love and blood and the sweat that goes into making that movement looks so easy. softball has the honour of opening the tokyo olympics as action gets under way on wednesday as host japan face australia in fukushima. it's the first time since 1996 that football hasn't kicked off and olympics. the top two from the group stage will contest the final in yokohama six days later, and victory will be even sweeter thanks to that 13 year gap. giles goford, bbc news. a lwa ys always those couple of events that kick off a little bit earlier than the opening ceremony. they are being hosted around japan. here in tokyo
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itself right by me you can see the rainbow bridge, this is the tokyo bay area. lots of events around here down to my side here, we have the triathlon. and then further up into the city if the heritage area where you have the olympic stadium with the tokyo olympics back in 1964. but for me, for the moment, it is back to you. after living with the coronavirus pandemic for well over a year, almost all covid restrictions in england have been lifted. the uk prime minister, borisjohnson who is self isolating, has urged people to exercise great caution , and encouraged young people to get vaccinated, as infections continue to soar. but there's been fierce criticism of the policy from opposition parties, describing it as reckless and dangerous. nearly 40,000 new cases were reported today. this was mrjohnson, speaking earlier.
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every adult in this country has now been offered a first dose. unfortunately, that does not mean that every person over 18 has yet had a first dose. so far, 96% of over 50s, 83% of 30 to 50—year—olds have taken up the offer in england, but there's still 35% of 18 to 30—year—olds, 3 million people, who are at the moment completely unvaccinated. and we can all see the enthusiasm of millions of young people to get theirjabs, we need even more young adults to receive a protection that is an immense benefit to your family and friends and to yourselves. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come. with 170 people still missing —
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following devastating floods in germany — we look at the accusations of �*catastrophic shortcomings�* in the countrey�*s warning system. coming down the letter now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred to that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now a decade later, it has been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity, and an increase _ in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. _
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thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. as athletes continue arriving for the olympic games — over 1.5 million hectares of land are burning after an unprecedented heatwave hit siberia. the russian defence ministry said, it provided transport planes to dump water over the most active fires — and the military also sent helicopters to help transport firefighters and supplies in the region. in less than 2 months, the fires spewed out around 150 megatons of carbon dioxide — an amount comparable to the annual fossil fuel emissions of venezuela in 2017. smoke from fires covered the city of yakutsk, where people were advised by the mayor to stay home
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first of all, we need to remember that the territory affected by wildfires in russia is huge. it can be compared to one third of territory of belgium. so, thousands of people all mainland villages and also in small towns had to flee and leave their houses, leaving everything behind because of the fire. in certain areas, fire is spreading as quickly as 150 meters per minute, so extremely quickly. of course, this is always amplified by extreme heat and smoke, so people are saying it is, coming know, the conditions are unbearable. brushing emergency ministry is trying very hard to put the fires down, but at the moment, this is critical. unfortunately, such situations repeat themselves almost every year. we hear similar stories. it's very hard to understand the nature of this fire and why they are repeating themselves almost every year, on the one hand, you know, it is global warming, of christ, extreme heat, and the climate is changing,
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but on the other hand, you know, officials are saying that the majority of those buyers have a human factor behind them, so they have human nature, and many ecologists are saying this leads to the fact that there is a huge amount of illegal fire catching in russia and illegal logging in russia, and in order to cover up as wrongdoings you know, sometimes people will light a forest on fire and it's hard to distinguish where all that weight has disappeared, whether it was cut illegally or it was damaged by fire. so it's a coincidence of factors, big money, big politics involved, but ordinary people are suffering. i'm joined now by dr merritt turetsky, director of the institute of arctic and alpine research
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at the university of colorado boulder. thank you forjoining us here on bbc world news. we describe the heatwave as unprecedented, is it or in your word we describe it as a very familiar and upsetting trend growing trend? .,, familiar and upsetting trend growing trend? ., ., trend? those are not incompatible. it's both. trend? those are not incompatible. it's both- we _ trend? those are not incompatible. it's both. we have _ trend? those are not incompatible. it's both. we have been _ trend? those are not incompatible. it's both. we have been predictingl it's both. we have been predicting acceleration of heat waves, this heat the bulb is certainly sitting over arctic russia now and in fact has been sitting there for a number of months. for more than eight months the arctic has had a fever with temperatures more than ten or 12 celsius above normal, so as having a consequence. very dry fuel sitting in these ecosystems now very flammable conditions. we have predicted this for many years, it's
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still heartbreaking to see it play out over the landscape stop by if you have been predicting it, it does raise the question as to whether president putin is taking climate change seriously because local residents had to petition him for the military aircraft and just how important are these ecosystems to the local residents but also to the wider climate? wildfire weather, whether you're in the arctic or you are in parts of europe or in the united states, fire always has dramatic local consequences. it leads to the most people needing to be evacuated from their homes of any natural disaster on this planet. locally it so it's really important and dramatic but these fires in siberia have global consequences. these fires are burning in the world public most sensitive permafrost, these are ice rich ancient carbon
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systems, they have been storing and stockpiling carbon for millions of years. all of that carbon becomes vulnerable to being released back into the atmosphere either as carbon dioxide or as the very powerful greenhouse gas methane. once those ecosystems burn and that permafrost starts to thaw. so from local scales and local catastrophes for people living in the area of these fires right on up to a global scale climate consequence we need to be concerned about these fire conditions.— concerned about these fire conditions. ., ., , conditions. how does something localised impact _ conditions. how does something localised impact the _ conditions. how does something localised impact the globe? - conditions. how does something - localised impact the globe? because many people don't really care about things like this because it's happening far away, why should we care? taste happening far away, why should we care? ~ , ., happening far away, why should we care? ,., ,, , care? we should care because these fires are going _ care? we should care because these fires are going to — care? we should care because these fires are going to destroy _ care? we should care because these fires are going to destroy our - fires are going to destroy our earth's freezer for ancient carbon. so permafrost has been protecting
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our climate and keeping our climate cooler than it normally would be and that whole service is about to get disrupted as fires start to thaw out that permafrost, we are losing the capacity to keep permafrost and all of its ancient carbon stored safely in the ground. we don't want to permafrost carbon to end up in the atmosphere but that's what's happening as a result of these wildfires. it's going to be a vicious cycle adding on top of human emissions. . ~ vicious cycle adding on top of human emissions. ., ~ , ., vicious cycle adding on top of human emissions. . ~' , ., , . vicious cycle adding on top of human emissions. ., ~ , ., , . ., emissions. thank you very much for our time emissions. thank you very much for your time and _ emissions. thank you very much for your time and sounding _ emissions. thank you very much for your time and sounding that - emissions. thank you very much for. your time and sounding that warning. thank you. let s get some of the day's other climate related news stories. in the us state of oregon, the nation's largest active wildfire has burned through more than 300,000 acres, prompting thousands of evacuations. the bootleg fire, already among the biggest in the state's recent history, is one of more than 80 major blazes raging across 11 western states. fed by hot temperatures and intense
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winds, the bootleg has been burning since sixjuly. in the uk, the met office, has issued its first amber extreme heat warning as temperatures in parts of the country are set to reach 33 degrees celsius. it covers a large part of wales and large parts of england, and will remain in force until the end of thursday. meteorologists say heatwaves are one of the weather extremes that are most easily linked to climate change. australia's great barrier reef has recovered slightly over the past year after a decade of destruction, mainly caused by climate change. but a report by marine scientists said the future outlook for the reef was poor. this is because of an increased prominence of extreme weather events caused by global warming that damage the coral. german police say more than 170 people are still missing, and at least a further 160 have been confirmed dead, after last week's disastrous floods. there are also warnings more bodies may be found in places where flood
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waters had not yet receded. the bbc�*s damien mcguinness has more on the clean—up effort, and the lessons yet to be learned. the rains have stopped and the flood waters are receding but that also means the true extent of the destruction is becoming clear. countless numbers of people have lost everything. and the region's infrastructure has been torn apart. roads and bridges have been destroyed, and there are still areas without basic amenities. translation: there's neither electricity nor drinking water. l i don't know what to say. i must stop to take a break now and then and talk to people, otherwise i'll go crazy. within the space of two days, two large states were hit by more rainfall than they usually get in two months, causing the region's many rivers to burst their banks. in the village of schuld, the flood waters destroyed, and in some cases, even washed away houses. and in one town near cologne, the water created landslides which undermined a row of homes and a castle. it had survived for centuries, but wasn't able to withstand the onslaught of the floods. often people had just
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minutes to get to safety. translation: i woke up about 11pm and stepped into the water— with a depth of about 20 centimetres when i got off the bed. i couldn't have imagined how fast the water would rise if i hadn't experienced it on my own. translation: i don't know what to do. - i have four kids. this is really a disaster. no—one told me how long it would take to rebuild this place, which may take a year or two years. we are out of work. how to carry out the reconstruction is the biggest issue. the german chancellor angela merkel has visited the region and expressed her shock at the destruction. on wednesday her cabinet will agree a rescue package for these areas. as the devastated areas are cleaned up and rebuilt, though,
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hello. there was another hot saturday for the majority of us but there were a few storms that popped up from a one or two affecting sussex and kent refused drums at south wales for a time. the route was one in the vale of york but otherwise we had skies like these, the bird geordie of those having a dry, sunny and hot day. in talking of heat, the met office have issued their first extreme heat warning. these warnings only started being issued injune and this is just the first hot spell we have seen. is there a reference to the area of concern to the met office where we could see some impacts from the heat, that would be impacts from the heat, that would be impacts to health or infrastructure, things a trains might need to go slightly slower due to the traps heating up in this hot weather. —— tracks. a clear start the day
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tuesday and very warm overnight. and 60 degrees bus and within wales, fresher than that for england or the ireland by another hot and sunny day, high pressure firmly in charge however thunderstorms would break out and this is the kind of area would most likely see downpours but the bigger storms, so won't be surprised to hear some reports of localised surface water flooding in one or two of the bigger storms that p0p up- one or two of the bigger storms that pop up. mid to high 20s, low 30s and the very hardest parts of the country. just a hot day the temperature is slow to come down, 11 o'clock at night and those to which are still up at 23 there in birmingham and london. lowerthan that for scotland and northern ireland, but still plenty warm enough. an area of high pressure hangs around till wednesday, the only real change is it real
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orientated slightly to put some of the hotter air little bit further north. so one thing you will notice is temperatures tending to rise in northern ireland and scotland do more generally the high 20s i think as we go into wednesday. but for the majority it will continue with that dry run of whether with temperatures high 20s to low 30s and the hottest areas. beyond that thursday and friday the hot and sunny weather for the most part, change eventually coming with looks like it might come through on the weekend with heavy rain or sun.
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more olympic athletes and officials test positive for coronavirus, just four days before the start of the games in tokyo. one of the main sponsors, toyota, says it won't attend the opening ceremony given spectators are barred because of the pandemic. the british government has insisted that lifting nearly all remaining coronavirus restrictions in england is the right thing to do, despite a surge in cases. the opposition has accused the prime minister of unleashing mayhem. the united states, britain and the eu have accused china of being behind cyber attacks on microsoft exchange servers this year. the us secretary of state said the beijing security ministry had encouraged criminal hackers to carry out attacks. the police in germany say 170 people are still missing after last week's floods. they said they expected many bodies to be found in places where flood waters had not yet receded.
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