this is bbc news. 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. the international of the committee describes the delay�*s games is the most complex ever held. as athletes arrive there's more positive coronavirus case is forcing some athletes to self—isolate and others to withdraw. we will take you through the athletes to keep your ion and some of the new sports that you will be able to watch during the tokyo olympics. and covid restrictions are lifted in england — no mandatory masks or social distancing — although new cases continue to rise.

and fires flare across russia as a heat wave tears through over 1.5 million hectares of land. in siberia. welcome to tokyo, where 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. a games delayed a year and now proceeding in a global pandemic. and with just four days to go until they get under way, 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. 62 cases in total have been reported among the athletes, media, contractors and other personnel. 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. we heard from some people in tokyo how they feel about the games. translation: | am a nurse - and hospitals are overwhelmed, so i don't think it makes sense to go ahead with the olympics. translation: | think - we have to live with covid. 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 olympics 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. i'm joined now by eri toyonaga who is an olympics volunteer. going to be working for the next three weeks on these games. and firstly, you heard there from a lot of people with there from a lot of people with the mixed range of views on these games taking place, what is your viewpoint and what would you say to those people?

i personally think that restricting the spectators are coming — restricting the spectators are coming in is a good idea. a lot of us _ coming in is a good idea. a lot of us use — coming in is a good idea. a lot of us use trains in tokyo, and we would _ of us use trains in tokyo, and we would get mixed up with each other_ we would get mixed up with each other and — we would get mixed up with each other and i— we would get mixed up with each other and i don't want the disease _ other and i don't want the disease to swarm around the fun, — disease to swarm around the fun, so— disease to swarm around the fun, so i_ disease to swarm around the fun, so i think it's a good idea _ fun, so i think it's a good idea that _ fun, so i think it's a good idea that they leave the spectators out.- idea that they leave the spectators out. idea that they leave the sectators out. �* ., , ., spectators out. and from your oint of spectators out. and from your point of view _ spectators out. and from your point of view as _ spectators out. and from your point of view as a _ spectators out. and from your point of view as a volunteer i spectators out. and from your| point of view as a volunteer we heard that there was a lot of volunteers who pulled out with drew that they did not want to take part in these games, what were your thoughts around that process and what made you continue on with this? i totally understand withdrawing is an _ totally understand withdrawing is an option, but i've been volunteering for several events throughout my life and i thought hosting an amazing event — thought hosting an amazing event in _ thought hosting an amazing event in my hometown is a once—in—a—lifetime it chance so i once—in—a—lifetime it chance so i had _ once—in—a—lifetime it chance so i had no — once—in—a—lifetime it chance so i had no other choice but to take — i had no other choice but to take it _ i had no other choice but to take it. �* ., ., , ., i had no other choice but to take it. �* ., ., i. , take it. and how have you been feelin: take it. and how have you been feeling now _ take it. and how have you been feeling now doing _ take it. and how have you been feeling now doing this - take it. and how have you been feeling now doing this work? i take it. and how have you beenl feeling now doing this work? we are part of the media, we go

into certain sections and there's volunteers there helping out for us. what do you feel that you want to get across to the people who have arrived in tokyo to cover these games? arrived in tokyo to cover these names? �* , ., arrived in tokyo to cover these iames? �*, ., ., ., games? it's an amazing event and we are — games? it's an amazing event and we are going _ games? it's an amazing event and we are going to _ games? it's an amazing event and we are going to do - games? it's an amazing event and we are going to do it - games? it's an amazing event and we are going to do it so i games? it's an amazing event. and we are going to do it so we might— and we are going to do it so we might as— and we are going to do it so we might as well have fun. that's my point— might as well have fun. that's my point of view.— might as well have fun. that's my point of view. and in terms ofthe my point of view. and in terms of the action — my point of view. and in terms of the action what _ my point of view. and in terms of the action what are - my point of view. and in terms of the action what are you - of the action what are you looking forward to seeing? i’m looking forward to seeing? i'm lookin: looking forward to seeing? i'm looking forward to seeing? i'm looking forward to seeing? i'm looking forward to meeting a lot looking forward to meeting a tot of— looking forward to meeting a lot of new friends, meeting a lot of new friends, meeting a tot of— lot of new friends, meeting a lot of people from other countries. it's going to be furl — countries. it's going to be fun. �* , , ., fun. and its terms of your exoerience _ fun. and its terms of your experience so _ fun. and its terms of your experience so far, - fun. and its terms of your experience so far, you'rel fun. and its terms of your - experience so far, you're doing thejob have you experience so far, you're doing the job have you felt safe and secure, do you feel that for your perspective the countermeasures that they have in place are helping you? yes. we were given _

in place are helping you? yes. we were given chances - in place are helping you? yes. we were given chances to - we were given chances to receive _ we were given chances to receive the vaccine and also giving — receive the vaccine and also giving out hand sanitisers and masks — giving out hand sanitisers and masks and all of the other goodies— masks and all of the other goodies we needed for the event, _ goodies we needed for the event, so i do feel safe yes. thank— event, so i do feel safe yes. thank you _ event, so i do feel safe yes. thank you so much forjoining us, a volunteer add to these on games here in tokyo. while we do know that over 11,000 athletes will be taking part across 33 sports in an attempt to win that gold medal with that they so desire for the country. here's lydia who you should be looking out for in tokyo. should be looking out for in to 0. _, ., ., tokyo. the countdown to the createst tokyo. the countdown to the greatest show _ tokyo. the countdown to the greatest show on _ tokyo. the countdown to the greatest show on earth - tokyo. the countdown to the greatest show on earth is - greatest show on earth is nearly at zero.— greatest show on earth is nearly at zero. over the next few weeks — nearly at zero. over the next few weeks the _ nearly at zero. over the next few weeks the eyes - nearly at zero. over the next few weeks the eyes of - nearly at zero. over the next few weeks the eyes of the i nearly at zero. over the next. few weeks the eyes of the world will be on tokyo where over 11,000 athletes are going for glory. simone biles is already international superstar, she is considered as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time

and it's expected to add to her five olympic medals in tokyo. i'm excited to go out there reps and again but michael's right now itjust got a hit for forfor every time i get put out there and we have a really strong team and i'm excited to see what we will bring. {line strong team and i'm excited to see what we will bring.- see what we will bring. one of the most _ see what we will bring. one of the most highly _ see what we will bring. one of the most highly anticipated i the most highly anticipated events in any olympics is the 100 metre finals and there we should be able to find jamaican superstar shelley and frazier price, this will be herfourth lip except her bursting onto the scene in beijing and she is aiming for a record—breaking third 100 metre olympic gold. in other words track starts to look out for is norway's carsten, just last month he broke a 28—year—old world record in the 400 metre hurdles. he is norway's superhero and is sure to light up superhero and is sure to light up the track again in tokyo. and it's here at the tokyo

aquatic centre where the usa's caleb will be making a splash. he always has two olympic gold medals in a number of world records to his name. he could win up to seven medals in tokyo which is why he is one of the standout attractions of the pool standout attractions of the pool. i standout attractions of the ool. . ., standout attractions of the ool. ., ., ., pool. ifeel great. iwould not want to be — pool. ifeel great. iwould not want to be in _ pool. ifeel great. iwould not want to be in the _ pool. ifeel great. iwould not want to be in the sport - pool. ifeel great. iwould not want to be in the sport at - pool. ifeel great. iwould not want to be in the sport at this moment in my career if i did not feel confident where i was. there is also a number of events taking place in tokyo, we will be welcoming climbing, skateboarding and surfing to the olympic programme. and brazilian surfer gabrielle medina has his eyes set on one thing only step i'm looking for the gold medal. it’s thing only step i'm looking for the gold medal.— the gold medal. it's really big for us, the gold medal. it's really big for us. for — the gold medal. it's really big for us, for the _ the gold medal. it's really big for us, for the sport - the gold medal. it's really big for us, for the sport and - the gold medal. it's really big for us, for the sport and i'm l for us, for the sport and i'm excited to go to japan. the names excited to go to japan. the games this _ excited to go to japan. the games this year _ excited to go to japan. the games this year will - excited to go to japan. the games this year will be different, but while there would be no fans there will be plenty of sporting drama.

so much to look forward to on the sporting friend and i can tell you just over to my left hand side is the analytic village where a lot of those big—name stars will be staying, but of course it's all happening within the global pandemic of covid. lots were talking points in tokyo but it's back to the studio now. 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.

three, two, one... welcome back, everyone. for some, this is what freedom looks like, no social distancing and very few masks. many nightclubs across england reopened at midnight, 16 months before they were shot in the first lockdown. it felt like a dream. i feel like we have waited for this moment for a long time. i literally cannot stress how much i have missed being able to go out and just dance, and have a laugh. it has been the best night. but from the end of september, full vaccination will be a condition of entry to crowded venues like this. we want everybody to be able to take back thei— the prime minister, self isolating in chequers said getting vaccinated would enable young people to get back the freedoms they love. are you effectively saying to people that

they have an ultimatum, that if they don't get the vaccination, they can't go back to crowded venues? everybody over 18 has had an offer to get a vaccine, 3 million have yet to take it up. we are saying, come on, folks, this is it. you won't regret it, it is the right thing to do across the world, we have seen night clubs and venues where you have got lots of people indoors, crowded together are a focus for potential super spreading events. but the plans have left the night—time economy reeling. it is devastating news. freedom day has all but lasted i 17 hours, and then we have been hit with this overwhelming i bombshell that in september things are going to change - again, so many people are angry and frustrated - at this announcement. remember why all this matters. the number of covid patients in hospital is just a tenth of last winter, but has doubled

in two weeks as cases soar. vaccination dramatically cuts the risk of dying, and helps prevent the virus from spreading. and labour once face coverings to remain mandatory. lifting all restrictions in one go is reckless. and doing so when the johnson variant is clearly out of control risks a summer of chaos _ sophie is 14. she has down�*s syndrome and is vulnerable to infection, so has been kept off school for much of the pandemic. she will now be eligible for the pfizer vaccine along with other 12 to 15—year—olds and at groups. it means that we can move forward. the last 18 months have been very challenging for us as a family. the number of covid patients in hospital has doubled in two weeks, but it is still a tenth

of the level from last winter. there is genuine uncertainty about what impact this covid wave will have on nhs in the coming weeks. if there is a sudden return to pre—pandemic behaviour, after the fires of acting, there are reports of heart inflammation. these are very rare, but it is best we take a precautionary approach before we expose millions of children to this vaccine. on the day most restrictions were lifted in england, anti—vaxxers protested at westminster. the move to make vaccination a condition of entry to some venues will incense those who believe the government is already destroying civil liberties. fergus walsh, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc world news, still to come. with 170 people still missing — following devastating floods in germany — we look at the accusations of �*catastrophic shortcomings' in the countrey�*s warning system. coming down the ladder 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 property. _ thousands of households across

the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. as athletes continue arriving for the olympic games — there have been more postive coronavirus cases. the international olympic committe describe these games as the most complex ever held. almost all covid restrictions in england have been lifted. the prime minister urged people to still exercise caution and for young people to get vaccinated as infections soar. 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 annualfossilfuel emissions of venezuela in 2017. the bbc russian�*s, olga ivshina has more. 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, but on the other hand, you know, officials are saying that the majority of those fires 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 wood 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 at the university of colorado boulder. 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 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 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. 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?

we should care because these fires are going to destroy our earth's freezer for ancient carbon. so permafrost has been protecting 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. 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 winds, the bootleg has been burning since six july. 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 waters had not yet receded. the bbc�*s damien mcguinness has more on the clean—up effort, 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 minutes to get to safety. translation: iwoke up about 11pm and stepped l 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, pressure will grow on the german government to fulfil its promises. damien mcguinness, bbc news, neuburg, in rhineland—palatinate. and of course neighbouring austria has also been hit by those floods, these pictures are from the weekend and lead to emergency crews having to rescue people from homes in the region of salzburg where floodwaters submerge the streets of one town. the fire brigade said that the capital of the and also suffered more rainfall in an hour on saturday night than in the previous seven weeks, and in the upper bavaria region one person was killed as heavy rains deluge basements and roads. that was a

look at the news around the world. you can get in touch with me on twitter, see you shortly. hello again. monday was another hot and sunny day for the majority of us, but there were a few storms that popped up. one or two affecting sussex and kent, there were a few storms in south wales for a time and there was one in the veil of york but otherwise we have skies like these can be the majority of us having dry, sunny and hot day. and talking of heat, the met office have issued their first extreme heat warning. why now? well, these warnings only started being issued injune and this is just the first hot spell we have seen. but this area, it represents an area of concern to the met office where we could see some impacts from the heat whether that be impacts to health or indeed infrastructure, things like trains might need to go slightly slower due to the tracks heating up in this hot weather. that kind of thing. at the moment there's not too much going on, it's a clear start to the day

tuesday and of course it has been very warm overnight, those temperatures starting off tuesday morning at around 16 degrees across parts of england and wales. office where we could see some impacts from the heat whether that be impacts to health or indeed infrastructure, things like trains might need to go slightly slower due to the tracks heating up in this hot weather. that kind of thing. at the moment there's not too much going on, it's a clear start to the day tuesday and of course it has been very warm overnight, those temperatures starting off tuesday morning at around 16 degrees across parts of england and wales. a little bit fresher for scotland and northern ireland. but it's going to be another hot and sunny day. high pressure firmly in charge, however into the afternoon some thunderstorms will break out and i think this is the kind of area we are most likely to see the downpours. they are likely to be bigger storms, so want to hear reports of some localised surface water flooding in one or two of the biggest storms that do pop up. otherwise, it's another hot and sunny one. temperatures widely mid to high 20s, the low 30s in the very hardest parts of the country. and we are used to this, aren't we? after such a hot day those temperatures slow to come down, this is 11 o'clock at night

and you can see those temperatures are still up at 23 there in birmingham and london. again, a little bit lower than that for scotland and northern ireland, but still plenty warm enough. now our area of high pressure hangs around to wednesday, the only real change is it reorientation slightly to push office where we could see some impacts from the heat whether that be impacts to health or indeed again there could be an odd shower popping outcome of but for the majority it will continue with that dry run of whether with temperatures in the high 20s to low 30s in the hottest areas. beyond that thursday and friday we keep the hot and sunny weather for the most part, there will be a change eventually coming, it looks look at might come through on the weekend. with heavy rain for some.

they have guns here in bbc news. , . . they have guns here in bbc news. , , . ., , ., news. the olympic 22 games at the most complex _ news. the olympic 22 games at the most complex ever - news. the olympic 22 games at the most complex ever held - news. the olympic 22 games at | the most complex ever held with just three days until they start they been more positive test as the athletes have arrived or sinks to self—isolate and others to withdraw. the british government has insisted that lifting any and all remaining coronavirus restrictions is the right thing to do despite a surge in cases. also issuing a warning that clubbers may need to show they been fully vaccinated. the opposition accusing the prime minister of unleashing mayhem. fires are flat across russia amid a heat wave tearing through a one and a half million actors inside various region. fights were also suspended due to bad visibility. that's all your headlines on bbc news.