this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president xi calls china's flooding �*extremely severe�* — as some regions suffer a years�*s rainfall in three days. in the us, wildfires burn across several western states, as over 30 milion people endure another blistering heatwave. let the games begin! the head of the world health organization says the tokyo olympics should go ahead to prove what can be done if the correct covid safeguards are in place. we experience the health and travel difficulties for those attending the games in the

middle of a global pandemic. hello and welcome. torrential rain has caused severe flooding in parts of central china. more than 10,000 people in henan province have been evacuated to shelters, where it's reported a dam could collapse at any time. at least 12 people have died in the city of zhengzhou after its subway system was inundated with rushing water. mark lobel reports. shouting. floodwater spreading fear. the partly submerged city of zhengzhou, its subway system now an underground river.

commuters are standing for air. rescuers bravely reacting to unprecedented scenes. though not everyone made it. large parts of the train system shutdown. rip currents seemingly running along roads. the amount of rain over the last three days in this provincial capital usually falls in an entire year. bringing traffic to a standstill. many homes were no place for refuge. over 10,000 residents in the region relocated. more than a dozen cities in this central part of china affected with the population of henan close to 100 million.

with 10,000 lost hectares of crops, the flooding causing an estimated $11 million worth of damage and counting. rescuers worked all hours to clear up the flooding, a result of many factors, including that a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall like this more likely. with downpours here forecast to continue for many hours yet. mark lobel, bbc news. let's go to beijing now where our china correspondent stephen mcdonell is monitoring the situation. what more can you tell us? people here have been shocked by the images they have seen on social media. 0ver by the images they have seen on social media. over the last 12 hours, especially, of those passengers stuck on a train as waters came up to chest level. and apparently rescuers got to them, most of them, by cutting through the roofs of the carriages. however, other more

disturbing footage then showed dead bodies on the platforms of those, of the underground train system there is it shows how deadly the planning has been there in zhengzhou, the city hit hardest and they are saying the worst rain they have been there since records began, more than six decades ago — that how deadly the flooding has been. this is why it is different from years gone by. we have seen flooding every year in china and some say it is a normal thing but when you have water pouring into an underground train system and trapping people and having to have rescuers drag passengers out by the hundreds, it is pretty desperate stuff. i as mark also said in the report, we are talking about 100 million people in this area, a huge logistical challenge as the rains continue? yes, and

even more concerning is this talk that a major dam may burst. the military has warned that the water has risen to a dangerous level at that dam and they have mobilised soldiers to go there, to blast and to try to divert the river around the dam. again, this is interesting because scientists are saying one of the problems in all of this has been the dam building in china's flood zone because now we have this higher rain because of climate change but the dam building has blocked the dam building has blocked the connection of rivers to lakes, also disrupted the floodplain system, which is to absorb the annual inundation is that you have in that part of china. but this is becoming more and more serious. when you have millions of people potentially affected there, we

are talking about crop damage, transport systems are down, you cannot fly in and out of that city at the moment, trains have stopped running obviously. a lot of work to be done there and as i say, the military has been mobilised to move, initially 100,000 people to safer areas than it could be many more, because i heard also in the report earlier that rains may continue for the coming hours. there is some talk this could go on for days. situation could become much worse in henan.— situation could become much worse in henan. thank you. this sto is worse in henan. thank you. this story is hot _ worse in henan. thank you. this story is hot on — worse in henan. thank you. this story is hot on the _ worse in henan. thank you. this story is hot on the heels - worse in henan. thank you. this story is hot on the heels of- story is hot on the heels of eseries and devastating flooding we have seen in parts of europe. — — on serious and devastating. we will be speaking to a climate change expert later in the programme on all these changes we have

seenin on all these changes we have seen in the recent days and weeks. let's get some of the day's other news: the authorities in northwest nigeria say they've secured the release of 100 women and infants who were kidnapped for ransom by bandits six weeks ago. the zamfara state government said they were released without any ransom being paid. the latest reports on the use of spy software sold by an israeli company, nso, suggest current and former world leaders were among those whose phones may have been hacked. nso group has said the reports are based on false assumptions and incorrect data. haiti's new prime minister, ariel henry, has formally taken office, nearly two weeks after the country's president, jovenel moise, was shot dead in an attack on his residence in the capital, port—au—prince. the late president had named mr henry as prime minister shortly before his assassination. the uk has accused the european commission of seeking to undermine its sovereignty over gibraltar, which spain disputes.

britain and spain had agreed that external border checks could be carried out by eu border guards but the commission says this is now something spanish guards should do. the disgraced hollywood mogul harvey weinstein has been handed over for transport to california to face sexual assault charges. weinstein has been serving a 23—year prison sentence in new york since being convicted of rape last year. prosecutors in los angeles charged him with further allegations of sexual assault and launched extradition proceedings. more than 80 major fires are now raging across 13 us states. in oregon, the nation's largest active wildfire has burned about 600 square miles — or 1500 square kilometres, prompting thousands of evacuations. over 2,000 firefighters are tackling the so—called bootleg fire, one of the largest blazes in the state's history.

the fires are so intense in the west that health agencies on the us east coast are warning that poor air quality from the smoke travelling across the continent, poses a health hazard. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. the effect of fires burning more than 4000 kilometres away, hazy skies in new york city, caused by smoke from the western wildfires and public health experts have warned that people with breathing problems should avoid being outside during the middle of the day. this monstrous fire is partly to blame, spreading rapidly through forest land about 500 kilometres south—east of portland in oregon. the bootleg fire has been burning for two weeks and has destroyed an area larger than the city of los angeles, driven by extreme heat, strong winds and years of

drought, this magnifier is ravaging the with an intensity rarely seen before. the area so hot and the blade so large, that it hot and the blade so large, thatitis hot and the blade so large, that it is creating its own weather system that includes fire tornados. 0ver weather system that includes fire tornados. over 2000 firefighters are tackling this blaze and the flames are so intense, they are often forced to retreat from the front lines. this fire is spreading out of control near the california —— nevada border, started by lightning, and is rapidly ballooning in size. so far this year, five times as many acres have bird in california compared with the same period in 2020. peter bowes, bbc news. the head of the world health organisation, tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, says the tokyo 0lympics should go ahead to prove what can be done if the correct covid safeguards are in place.

he was speaking to the international olympic committee. beyond competition, beyond metals and records, the games bring nations together in celebration, a celebration of sport, a celebration of health, a celebration of excellence, a celebration of friendship and respect. but, ultimately, they are a celebration of something even more important, of something that our world needs right now more than ever... a celebration of hope. find right now more than ever... a celebration of hope. and there are only two — celebration of hope. and there are only two days _ celebration of hope. and there are only two days to _ celebration of hope. and there are only two days to go - celebration of hope. and there are only two days to go until. are only two days to go until the olympics open. 0ur correspondent is there for us.

we are two days away from the opening ceremony of these delayed 0lympic opening ceremony of these delayed olympic games and shall open on friday but the action has already got under way. we have had action in a soft ball and it is the host japan off to and it is the host japan off to a winning start, 8—1 against australia in the opening group game, taking place about 200 miles north of here in fukushima and japan are the defending champions. they won gold beijing in beijing in 2008, 13 years ago since softball was last in the olympics. they will be hoping 0lympics. they will be hoping to potentially put on a good run there. women's football will also get under way. we have the world champions, usa, in action later and they would take on the team that knocked them out of the last 0lympics, sweden, so that is a bit of a grudge match! for many people it may feel quite nice that we are talking about sport because we do know these games are happening in the middle of the

global pandemic and it has led to an awful lot of stress and anxiety and tension and nervousness around organisers, the government and the japanese population. we did have those messages today from the head of the world health organization who said the olympic games could be a celebration of hope, away the world could to move forward, amid safety forward, a m id safety restrictions forward, amid safety restrictions in order to keep media, athletes and of course the widerjapanese public safe. so the action finally under way here injapan and the opening ceremony into days in tokyo. we shall have full coverage of the games over the next three weeks. including the health and travel difficulties of attending the olympics in the middle of a global pandemic. that is to come.

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 pmperly. _ 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: the president calls the flooding in china very severe as some regions suffer the rainfall of one year in three days. in the us, wild fires burn across western states as over 30 million people and you're another blistering heat wave. let's get more on the climate emergency. edward parson is a professor of environmental law and faculty director at the emmett institute on climate change and the environment at ucla. welcome to the programme. this hour that i am welcome to the programme. this hour that i am presenting welcome to the programme. this hour that i am presenting is packed full of stories, whether it be china, europe, parts of the united states. we do say that these 1—off events can't

necessarily be specifically linked to climate change. give us your take on what is going on in the world at the moment. we are seeing a huge number of unprecedentedly severe weather and climate related events, and evenif and climate related events, and even if — even if they are noisy and variable, like the weather changes all the time, so we can't always specifically say climate change caused this fire all caused this flood, the climate changes implicated in all of them. it is moving the inflow of large—scale environmental conditions, that make these events more likely. the fires, floods, the heatwaves, the animal as weather patterns, the echo chambers, all the other impacts. —— anomalous. these patterns of changes have been predicted for a couple of

decades, so they are with us and going to get worse. we have heard world leaders say, angela merkel, chancellor of germany, recently, that we cannot ignore the crisis in terms of climate any longer. we have got the gathering of world leaders letters this year in the uk, glasgow, and john kerry spoke last night in london, given thejob by us president joe biden to spearhead at the us�*s approach on this. he said we can't stall as world leaders, the response to what is going on, in response to the pandemic and yet many are grappling with that, the challenge. chancellor merkel and john kerry are correct in these statements. the climate situation is profoundly grave. the only two enjoyments i would

see with the statement says that, one, it has long been in the power of national governments to act more seriously to reduce emissions than they have, and two, there are some dangers in thinking about climate change as a crisis, but god it suggests a sort of immediacy. like, do what you have to do and then it is done. in fact, it is a catastrophe happening and slow motion, a train back in slow motion. everything is happening slowly. we are seeing decades of inaction to address these issues. even with the increased carbonisation in response by world leaders, we are going to see more changes because it will not be arrested overnight, it will be gradually slowed and stopped. and depending on the intelligence of the response, perhaps returned and brought back to our prime position, but thatis back to our prime position, but that is the work of decades. it has to start right now and has to go on and on and on.

edward, we are out of time but we appreciate sharing your thoughts and expertise. that was edward parson, he is from emmett institute on climate change and the environment. thank you so much. scientists from london's natural history museum have started excavating one of the most importantjurassic sites in the uk. it's believed to hold fossils of tens of thousands of small sea creatures from more than 150 million year ago, when much of modern day britain was nothing more than shallow tropical sea. i race against time to reveal our ancient past. the team from the natural history museum has just three days to excavate this unique site.— just three days to excavate this unique site. look at how lona this unique site. look at how long they — this unique site. look at how long they are. _ this unique site. look at how long they are. that - this unique site. look at how long they are. that is - this unique site. look at how long they are. that is really. long they are. that is really cool! this _ long they are. that is really cool! this quarry _ long they are. that is really cool! this quarry holds - long they are. that is really cool! this quarry holds a i long they are. that is really| cool! this quarry holds a lot of secrets from the jurassic period. what is here is so

extraordinary. the location is being kept secret. we extraordinary. the location is being kept secret.— extraordinary. the location is being kept secret. we have got another really _ being kept secret. we have got another really nice, _ another really nice, exceptional specimen here. this is a brittle star, likely to be a new species. the quality of preservation, it is the number of fossils we are finding but also the diversity. it is really unprecedented and geological sites of this age across the world. usually, on an excavation you may get a handful of fines, but here it is different. scientists think there are tens of thousands of fossils lying in the mud. this place must have been teeming with life 167 million years ago. this area was once covered by a shallow tropical sea. they were animals like starfish, sea urchins, brittle stars and its seek embers. here we have a slab of life. at here we have a slab of life. at

first, the quarry didn't look very promising. we were finding very small fragments of sea urchins, very tiny fragments, nothing spectacular. when we got home and cleaned it up it was like, or my— and cleaned it up it was like, or my god, _ and cleaned it up it was like, or my god, come and see this. it or my god, come and see this. it was — or my god, come and see this. it was this— or my god, come and see this. it was this beautifuljurassic sea creature coming to life. they— sea creature coming to life. they are _ sea creature coming to life. they are amazing! just like they— they are amazing! just like they were alive yesterday. with so many fossils _ they were alive yesterday. with so many fossils here, _ they were alive yesterday. ti so many fossils here, the challenge is working out which ones to keep. the very best are heading to the natural history museum. the team says it is the discovery of a lifetime. bbc news, at a secret location in the cotswolds. i would keep them all! let's get back to the olympics, because the games are being held in the middle of a pandemic, meaning those going to tokyo will have to go

through meticulous procedures to attend. 0ur reporter has travelled from singapore to tokyo and detailed herjourney into a visual diary. iam i am packing for the olympics to go to tokyo and a few days, or at least i am trying to. it has been my dream for the past eight years. now, ifeel really conflicted because they games become so controversial, and i have to leave the kids for more than two months. goodbye! so, iam now goodbye! so, i am now at singapore's changi airport which is to be one of the busiest in the world. some 70 million people went through this airport before the pandemic, but now it is totally empty. at least one

thing is open, i can get some coffee. we are going through some turbulence. i haven't felt this in a while. i used to fly every two—three months, but i haven't flown in a year and a half now. in these situations, usually had to be worried about sitting and in the middle seat. i havejust landed at and in the middle seat. i have just landed at tokyo's narita airport.— i have just landed at tokyo's narita airport. usually i would rather arrive _ narita airport. usually i would rather arrive at _ narita airport. usually i would rather arrive at the _ narita airport. usually i would rather arrive at the one - narita airport. usually i would rather arrive at the one that i rather arrive at the one that is closer to my parents house, but they are so few flights these days. i am finally on my way to my parents house.

because i am not allowed to catch public transport, i had to arrange for a private car which cost me about $350. i am now in quarantine for 14 days in my childhood bedroom, actually. can you see? that is me, three years old. my first big mission was to find a decent corner to broadcast from. i had to download a few apps. the government has been calling me every day to make sure i am sticking to quarantine. i think i am allowed to go for a short walk but i haven't. life here is pretty normal forjapanese is pretty normal for japanese people is pretty normal forjapanese people like my mum and dad, apart from, of course, the whole state of emergency and pandemic situation. i am finally out of quarantine and

we are broadcasting from outside the olympic stadium today. iforgot how outside the olympic stadium today. i forgot how hot it gets in tokyo. it is in the see that those top athletes have to compete in, but despite the controversy is, the tokyo games are on. well done to get that far. if you want to get all of the results from the games in tokyo, please had to our website. you will find a background on the likely stars to watch, which countries are likely to emerge victorious in the medals table. just go to the medals table. just go to the website. you will find inspiring stories there as well. you will hear from all of our reporters who have enjoyed the

challenging journey to bring the news from the olympics. don't go anywhere. see you soon. hello. the heat goes on and it will do for a couple more days and indeed nights. because of the persistence of the heat, the met office have issued an extreme heat warning. two particular areas have been identified, this one to the south—west of england covering parts of the midlands and wales, this one across northern ireland, which comes into force on wednesday. it doesn't mean that these are the areas exclusively affected by the heat, but these are two areas identified as potentially having the biggest impacts. you can see the heat an issue really from first thing on wednesday. we start our day with temperatures around 20 celsius in many areas. it will be a little cooler through wednesday, perhaps down some of the north sea coast. just because we will pull

a little bit more cloud in here, but overall, still a very hot day lies ahead. temperatures across the southern uk, widely in the high 20s to the low 30s. hotting up significantly will be northern ireland, hence while itjoins that heat warning, perhaps 30 degrees towards the south—west here. warmer along the north coast than yesterday but still cloudy for northern scotland with some lingering sea fog. here, temperatures are peaking in the mid—teens. that is the one area that stands out as being significantly cooler. watch out later in the day potentially for showers across the north—west of england — certainly another hot, humid night to come for many. we move into thursday, i suspect there will barely be a cloud in the sky and the temperatures will rise accordingly. still for northern scotland some cloud around and that does just hold things back in terms of the temperatures but even here things are creeping up — stornoway getting closer to 20 degrees, potentially 31 for the south—west of northern ireland, 31 or the south of england and

wales as well. a change friday, a subtle one to start off with, an easterly wind and temperatures start to edge back. but through friday evening and overnight into saturday and on into the weekend, low pressure starts to take hold from the south—west. it will inject showers into england and wales, some heavy spells of rain to come for some. it will pull cooler air across all parts of the uk. by saturday some sunshine still for scotland and northern ireland but a fresher feel for all of us.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. game on! netflix will include video games as part of subscription packages at no extra cost not enough to switch on investors though with netflix shares sinking. an end to the sausage war or more — conflict over the northern ireland protocol. the uk's brexit minister will make a statement in parliament and carry on camping but, do it in style! we chart the rise of �*glamping', or luxury camping, in the uk.