this is bbc news — i'm shaun ley, our top stories. of some of its worst floods ever — as hundreds of thousands china deals with the devastating aftermath — of some of its worst floods ever — as hundreds of thousands are forced from their homes. meanwhile, beijing rejects plans for a second study into the origins of covid—19, the white house calls the move irresponsible and dangerous. ten years on from the murder of 77 people by a far—right extremist — norway marks the anniversary of its worst—ever attack in peace time. # he walks away # the sun goes down # he takes the day but i'm grown...# and remembering an icon — we talk to one of amy winehouse�*s friends on the eve of the opening of a new gallery showing photos of the singer never seen before.

hello and welcome to the programme. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the flood—hit region of henan in central china as officials confirmed that 33 people have died. that number includes a dozen commuters in zhengzhou caught in underground train carriages that filled with muddy water. the city experienced a year's worth of rain in just three days, and people are bracing themselves for more downpours. our china correspondent, robin brant, spent the day travelling around zhengzhou. the rain has stopped for now, but some of the roads are still like rivers — evidence of how overwhelming the incessant rainfall was. above ground, they are starting to clear up though. but the true horror of this intersection is what happened underground at this metro station.

as the rain came down at its heaviest, passengers stood in train carriages, trapped for hours as the tunnels flooded. at least 12 people died down there. the company in charge has blamed the unprecedented downpour. the government in beijing has ordered a national review of preparedness. the ill—fated metro system is shut down. police stood guard over one entrance when we were there. they didn't like us filming. after my id was checked, i asked one officer if this was a crime scene. elsewhere, others lost their livelihoods. this woman told us how her baking business was wiped out in minutes. translation: everything was washed away. - nothing was left. ijust dug my clothes out. the water was up to my chest. we ran for our lives

without taking anything. her bed tonight is the floor. one of the 1.2 million people the government here said was affected by these floods. out of the city, north, the rain was still coming down and the rescuers were still rescuing. we've just come from a place where they are tidying up and trying to get back to normal but 30 kilometres north, here, it's still a recovery operation. rescue workers there in fluorescent life jackets. and if ijust swivel you around to the right, well, this is a road that's turned into a river, a lake, call it what you like. 100 metres down there, the water is at knee level. even further it's at chest level. so the rain has stopped for now but this is still a crisis. from above, the huge scale of what happened here becomes clearer. the electricity supply and mobile phone coverage is not fully restored, but the worst of the rain seems to have passed for now — which leaves time for other things. fishing. . . in an underpass? robin brant, bbc news,

zhengzhou in eastern china. staying with china, beijing has rejected a world health organization plan for a further investigation into the origins of covid—19. earlier this year a team from the who visited wuhan, the city where the virus was first detected, and found the suggestion that covid—19 leaked from a lab was "highly unlikely". the who chief has since said there had been a "premature push" to rule out the theory. here's white house press secretaryjen psaki. we're deeply disappointed. their position is irresponsible and frankly dangerous. alongside other member states around the world, we continue to call for china to provide the needed access to data and samples. i'm joined now by] stephen morrison, director of the global health policy center at the center for strategic and international studies in washington. mr morrison thank you for being with us on bbc news. should we be at all surprised by — us on bbc news. should we be at all

surprised by this? _ us on bbc news. should we be at all surprised by this? i _ us on bbc news. should we be at all surprised by this? i don't _ us on bbc news. should we be at all surprised by this? i don't think - us on bbc news. should we be at all surprised by this? i don't think so. i surprised by this? i don't think so. this was a reaction to the press conference that the doctor from the who issued last week. the chinese have not been in a mood to find compromise. they seem to be deeply offended by this suggestion of the second investigation. they are shocked, they see it as arrogant. and so they are taking pretty harsh measures right now and i don't think we should be surprised nor should we be surprised that the rhetoric and toxicity has escalated on the us side pretty rapidly as well as you have seen in press secretaryjen psasz have seen in press secretaryjen psaki's statement today. this is a pretty part or toxic meltdown between the united states and china and china and the rest of the world intent on getting this investigation

completed. i5 intent on getting this investigation comleted. , ,, intent on getting this investigation comleted. . . completed. is your concern as much about the future _ completed. is your concern as much about the future as _ completed. is your concern as much about the future as much _ completed. is your concern as much about the future as much as - completed. is your concern as much about the future as much as what i about the future as much as what happened in wuhan and meet 2019? i am concerned on several levels. one is we may never get down to the bottom and determining the origin of sars-cov-2 the bottom and determining the origin of sars—cov—2 the two, the virus that has triggered this global pandemic and left 4 million dead. this may prevent us from determining which of the two major hypotheses holds out, what that this was a lab accident or whether it emerged from a natural process of spill—over from animal to humans. secondly, this is going to have deeply damaging impact, i believe on trying to weave together greater collaboration internationally on a whole host of issues that are still with us in the course of this pandemic and moreover looking into the future, we still do not have a reliable method and

protocol for investigating pandemic outbreaks. if we see a new pathogen emerge suddenly and we are thinking is this a lab accident, is this a soo not a natural process or is it a bio weapon, we are still without a clear pathway to get there and we will see a recurrence of this kind of confrontation where politics and sovereign sensitivities enter the equation and aggravate everything and escalate. i am worried about that and i am also worried because we have seen the proliferation of web technology and research across the road and we don't have much in regulations. if the road and we don't have much in regulations. iii the road and we don't have much in regulations-— regulations. ifi can briefly ask ou, do regulations. ifi can briefly ask you. do you — regulations. ifi can briefly ask you, do you think— regulations. ifi can briefly ask you, do you think we - regulations. ifi can briefly ask you, do you think we will- regulations. ifi can briefly ask you, do you think we will ever| regulations. if i can briefly ask - you, do you think we will ever know the origin of this particular opera? i'm not prepared to say we will never know but i think there is a high risk of that occurring. frankly. j stephen morrison of the global health centre in washington,

dc, thank you very much for speaking to us. it's been ten years since the deadly terrorist attacks by far—right extremist anders breivik — an act of mass—murder in which he killed 77 people, most of them teenagers. the attacks took place first in oslo and then at a summer camp for young political activists on utoya island, some a0 kilometres from the capital. a ceremony took place in oslo outside what was once the prime minister's office — still empty a decade on because of disagreements over how it should be re—built. -- still —— still empty after a then the nation's political leaders travelled to utoya island for a memorial event, attended by families of the dead and by those who escaped the carnage. lisa husby, who was 19 years old at the time and one of the camp's leaders has been telling the bbc�*s witness history programme about her memories of that day and the impact it still has on her life to this day. it was 50—50 that day — either you found a good hiding spot or you didn't.

everything was random that day and i think that's very hard to fathom. you just realised that you got lucky. a bomb attack on the heart of norway's government. all government ministers seem to be safe, but at least two people are dead. some are reported trapped. the first time i realised that something was wrong on the island was just after five o'clock that afternoon. we could hear what we thought were firecrackers, but before we could do anything, i just saw this huge wall of people coming running towards me from down by the docks, where the shots were coming from. you could see in their eyes that they had seen something

terrible, and at that point ijust thought, i need to get somewhere safe, because something is really wrong here. terrified campers were forced to run for their lives, pursued by the gunman. some hid in these rocks, others tried to swim to safety while breivik was still shooting at them. i could hear a girl shouting in the woods, "i've been shot, "i've been shot," as she kept running towards us. we started running faster through the woods. i could hear the gunshots getting closer, then he shot through the door three times. we were sure that we were all going to die. the gunman actually called out people and said, "the police are here, it's safe to come forward."

then once people came out of their hiding spots, he just shot them point—blank. everyone on the island afterwards have had thoughts about, "why didn't we fight him? "why didn't we do anything?" but that is easier said than done when you have two hands to fight him with and he had two automatic weapons. the first couple of weeks were just shock. but i think once norway started go back to normal, i think that's when things started getting more difficult for the most of us. ijust started to have really terrible nightmares again and really

struggled with depression and anxiety and didn't really have any positive thoughts about the future at all. reallyjust gave up a little bit for a while there. now i actually live on a farm on my own and i feel safe. just saying good morning to my neighbours. hi, guys. i go to schools and i talk about the terror attack and teach people about the aftermath of the terror attack. i talk about right—wing extremism and i try to use it as something positive, because i realised that the more i talked about it, the less scary the actual terror attack seemed. i realised that this one friday back in 2011 shouldn't be allowed

to define the rest of my life, and to define me as a victim for the rest of my life. lisa husby. hungary's prime minister, viktor orban has announced that his government will hold a referendum on controversial legislation that limits schools, teaching about homosexuality and transgender issues. the european commission has launched legal action against hungary over the law, which came into force earlier this month. the law triggered protests like this one in, budapest. the new rules were originally intended to increase punishment for convicted paedophiles. an amendment, passed by parliament last month, added a ban on the portrayal or promotion of homosexuality among under—18s. it outlaws discussing lgbtq issues in schools, even during six education classes. —— even during sex education classes. critics say it equates homosexuality and paedophilia. the president of the eu commission, ursula von der leyen, called the law a disgrace, saying...

the bbc�*s hardtalk programme spoke to hungary's foreign minister about the referendum. here's some of what he had to say. democracy is about the fulfilment of the will of the people, and now the people will have a chance to make there will very clear... to make their will very clear... but real democracy is also about respecting the rule of law, and in this case respecting the european court ofjustice, so frankly your referendum doesn't mean anything. what really matters is the ruling of the european court. no, come on, i mean considering the will of the people means nothing, that is very anti—democratic, i think. i am still sure about the fact that the law, which the hungarian parliament has passed, is absolutely in line with the european regulations, because the european charter of fundamental rights says that the parents do have the right to ensure that the education

of their kids is in conformity with their social, pedagogical and psychological aspects. so what we have done here is absolutely within the european regulations. nick thorpe, our central europe correspondent, explains why the hungarian government was so keen to push for a referendum. i think this is vintage viktor orban, really. he's very good at taking an issue when he's been criticised or attacked, as he sees it, and he kind of counterattacks and goes to the people for legitimacy for his position. he took a similar approach five years ago, six years ago, during the refugee crisis, and now he's doing the same here. interestingly, the four questions he wants to put on to the referendum paper, which people would fill in, none of them actually mention homosexuality.

he is focusing very much on one side of the law, which is the transgender issue, which is much more controversial, and i'm sure it will be easier, by focusing on the transgender issue, the depiction and portrayal of the transgender issue for children, i'm sure most hungarians would probably be fairly uncomfortable with that being taught in schools. but of course that is not taught or hardly taught in schools at all. there is actually very, very little sexual education in schools and all the controversy, all the criticism of the hungarian government over this law, most of it has been focused on the depiction or promotion of homosexuality, specifically. nick thorpe. let's look at some of the day's other news. the united states has imposed sanctions on officials of the government in cuba, in response to how they handled anti—government protests earlier this month. the move is the first step by the biden administration to try to apply pressure on the cuban government over alleged human rights abuses during the demonstrations. preident biden had been under

pressure from cuban—americans to show support for the protestors. —— president biden. australia and new zealand have pulled out of the rugby league world cup because of concerns about the coronavirus. the tournament is due to start in england in october. the chairman of rugby league's governing body in england condemned the decision, calling australia and new zealand "selfish, parochial and cowardly". stay with us on news, still to come... businesses complain of staff shortages as a record number of people are asked to self—isolate in england and wales. —— on bbc news. the home office has defended priti patel after the body representing rank and file police officers said it no longer had confidence in the home secretary. the police federation of england and wales voted for the motion in response to the announcement that police pay would be frozen for those earning over £24,000.

a home office spokesperson said priti patel had "demonstrated her commitment" to officers "time and time again". earlier, the police federation said they wanted more than words. my colleagues for the past ten or 11 years have been subject to the measures of austerity. in real terms, in real terms, police officers have had over an 18% cut in their take—home pay. 18%. we are just asking for fairness. you know, we put ourselves out there on behalf of society. it's an incredibly demanding, difficultjob with not much thanks. the thanks and the warm words of the home secretary only go so far. my colleagues expect more than that and part of that is part of the pay — especially when other people in the public sector are being recognised. while many european nations and the us have been racing ahead with their covid vaccination programmes, india's vaccine rollout, remains slow, with just a third of the adult population having

received one dose so far. but in the remote district of changlang in the far eastern state of arunachal pradesh, more than 80% of adults have had theirfirstjab — well above the national average. our correspondent rajini vaidya nathan travelled to the area to find out how they achieved their success. these are the lengths some health workers are going to to deliver vaccines across india. in this far—flung corner of the country, they are making arduousjourneys, to reach remote villages accessible only by foot. in the blistering heat, we trekked through the jungle with this man and his team. covid cases have been rising here in the state of arunachal pradesh, so they are picking up the pace of the vaccine drive. translation: we go by foot, boats, or by hanging bridges. _ there are some very dangerous places here. our main responsibility is to

maintain the temperature of the cool box to preserve the vaccines. that is why we try to reach the villages as soon as we can. latgam's team are pushing themselves to the limit. but here in changlang, and across india, there have been challenges. the government has been criticised for being too slow to getjabs out. in this district, they have offered cash prizes to health centres which deliver the most doses. how long have we gone now? another half an hour- — how long have we gone now? another half an hour. this _ how long have we gone now? another half an hour. this is _ how long have we gone now? another half an hour. this is not _ how long have we gone now? another half an hour. this is not easy. - after three gruelling hours, we finally make it to the tribal village of kamlang. outside this school, they are already waiting for their jabs. it is quite a turnaround,

after villagers were scared to get a vaccine. this man was one of the many who needed persuading. "there were rumours that you would fall sick or die "after taking one", he told me. "most villagers did not want to come for the vaccine. "but health workers convinced us, so we agreed." it took months of work to overcome vaccine hesitancy among the district's 65,000 adults. india has just come out of a devastating second wave and the race is now on to get as many people vaccinated as possible, and nationally around one third of adults have had at least one dose and here, despite the odds they have done much better, more than 80% of people have had one shot. this vaccine programme is going against the grain. officials say

this is also boosting roll—out. in this is also boosting roll—out. in this farming community, it is an effective way to encourage people to show up. effective way to encourage people to show u -. ~ ., , effective way to encourage people to showu. ., , ., ., show up. most of the people are into agriculturenu _ show up. most of the people are into agriculture,... the _ show up. most of the people are into agriculture, . .. the idea _ show up. most of the people are into agriculture,... the idea behind - show up. most of the people are into agriculture,... the idea behind this l agriculture,... the idea behind this is putting things together is a so that they can spare only one day. they might be leading the way here in changlang, but india's vaccination programme is making slow progress. it still has a long way to go, if it wants to reach its target of immunising all 950 million adults by the end of this year. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, arunachal pradesh. tomorrow marks ten years since the death of the singing senation amy winehouse. she won a brit award and countless grammy�*s, but with international success came controversy and substance abuse. tomorrow a new exhibition at the brownsword hepworth gallery

here in london opens showing never before seen photos of amy. the man who was behind the camera phil griffinjoins me now. thank you very much for talking to us about your relationship with amy and about the new exhibition. the first thing to say is how was that relationship? how close does a photographer and a subject become when you are working with them so often and trying to capture more than just the public side of them? thank you for inviting me to come on. i think every relationship artistically but between collaborators is about trust. and once again that trust, you work again and again with the same people if you foster that environment where they can feel really safe with you to be who they are and know that you can translate them in a way that they recognise. in photographs we don't see ourselves, we see someone

else's version of ourselves and i always say that good photograph is not taken, it is given and as a photographer myjob is to be able to receive it. you photographer my “ob is to be able to receive it. ., ., , photographer my “ob is to be able to receive it. ., ., ., receive it. you almost become a curator of _ receive it. you almost become a curator of that _ receive it. you almost become a curator of that person's - receive it. you almost become a curator of that person's life - receive it. you almost become a curator of that person's life or . receive it. you almost become a curator of that person's life or a | curator of that person's life or a stage in their life. talk us through some of the photos that people will see when the gallery opens. imien see when the gallery opens. when the first see when the gallery opens. when they first asked _ see when the gallery opens. when they first asked me _ see when the gallery opens. when they first asked me to _ see when the gallery opens. when they first asked me to do - see when the gallery opens. when they first asked me to do this - they first asked me to do this exhibition i was hesitant because i think so much has been said about amy about what happened to her and what she represented but no one has looked at the colours that she was as a human. she was such a colourful human being, she laughed a lot and had such a joy to her. the first picture i did was this reflection image which is a mirror image of two different frames. one with her eyes open which represents her presence in our life is still and one with her eyes close which represents her

absence in our world as it were. find absence in our world as it were. and when i started _ absence in our world as it were. and when i started playing with those colours, the brightness of it and this idea of looking back and looking forward to being here and there, i got excited about this sort of new version of amy that could celebrate her withoutjust looking at what happened if that makes sense. it is very beautiful. we will take a look at the next one on this sequence. and this is more characteristic image. her laughing, mouth open, very relaxed. this characteristic image. her laughing, mouth open, very relaxed.- mouth open, very relaxed. this is one of the — mouth open, very relaxed. this is one of the first _ mouth open, very relaxed. this is one of the first pictures _ mouth open, very relaxed. this is one of the first pictures i - mouth open, very relaxed. this is one of the first pictures i took- mouth open, very relaxed. this is one of the first pictures i took of. one of the first pictures i took of amy. we were on the rehab should and no one wanted that video to exist in the way it did. some people wanted it to be the story of someone going to rehab and amyjust wanted her band around her. somehow my translation of her idea was we ended up translation of her idea was we ended up making a video where it was a bit about going to rehab but everywhere she went into her bathroom, bedroom, the doctors surgery, the band were with her. and that created what we call rehab, and it made her laugh a lot and make or break up with music everyday. and in that moment i was tying a probably bad atjoe. phii

tying a probably bad at joe. phil griffin i tying a probably bad atjoe. phil griffin i wish we had more time to look at this but people can see them at the brownsword gallery in london. good luck with the exhibition and thank you for giving us a more positive way to remember amy winehouse. hello. up until last saturday, northern ireland hadn't recorded a temperature above 31 degrees, but now it's happened three times in less than a week. once again on thursday afternoon, a new provisional record 31.4 degrees recorded at armagh. and northern ireland is going to be one of the slowest places to cool down over the next few days. this amber extreme heat warning from the met office across the south west of england, parts of wales and the midlands expires tonight, but this one across northern ireland continues to be in force throughout friday. and certainly very, very mild and muggy out there as we head through tonight. these are the midnight temperatures, 22—23 degrees in places, pretty uncomfortable for sleeping. through the early hours of friday morning, we're also going to bring more of this low cloud across parts of northern and eastern scotland, the eastern side of england.

some misty, murky conditionsjust as we've had in some of these areas over the last few mornings. so, some of that will linger for a time tomorrow, should tend to burn back towards the coast. and then for the majority, we're looking at another largely fine, sunny and very warm day. just one or two isolated thunderstorms, but signs of a change down towards the south. the wind will be starting to strengthen. we'll see this thundery rain pushing towards the far south west later in the day, and temperatures will be quite markedly lower across eastern and southern parts. highest temperatures further west. again in northern ireland, we could be looking at highs of 29, possibly even 30 degrees. as we head through friday evening, though, we will see this heavy, thundery rain beginning to drift up from the english channel into southern counties of england, perhaps south wales as well. all because of this area of low pressure, and this is really taking over as the big weather—maker for the weekend. this is going to bring some pretty wet weather in places, especially across england and wales. on saturday, we'll see rain pushing erratically northwards, heavy,

thundery rain which could cause some localised flooding and travel disruption. if it brightens up down to the south later, that could spawn some further big downpours and thunderstorms, but northern ireland and scotland will stay drier, brighter. still quite warm here, but not as warm as it has will stay drier, brighter. still quite warm here, but not as warm as it has been, 211—25 degrees. into sunday, more showers and thunderstorms to come, especially towards the south and the east. further north and west, it looks drier and brighter, and temperatures lower than they have been over recent days. we're looking at highs between 21—24 degrees.

this is bbc news, our top stories. people in china's henan province begin to pick up the pieces following record flooding that left more than 30 people dead. in the us house speaker nancy pelosi blocks two republican nominees who were to join the probe into january's capitol riot. more controversy at the tokyo olympics — the creative director of the opening ceremony is sacked the day before the event begins. and how do you stay funny during a pandemic? we talk to comedian ed byrne about hitting the road and getting laughs once again.

the capitol riot onjanuary sixth, for the briefest of moments, proved to be a unifying moment for those who experienced it. lawmakers looked out for each other as their place of work came under siege, condemenation from all sides followed in the immediate aftermath. that display of bi—partisanship seems a memory of a far off time, not six months ago. members of the us congress lock horns, unable to agree even who should serve on the committee probing the riot. in an unusual move, house speaker nancy pelosi blocked two republican nominees: ohio'sjim jordan and indiana'sjim banks, claiming they would jeopardise the integrity of the investigation. both had voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election. the top house republican kevin mccarthy has since announced his party will boycott the panel altogether. what to make of it? let's bring in our senior north america reporter anthony zurcher.

this america reporter anthony zurcher. does seem to b heightening of the this does seem to be quite a heightening of the tensions of this committee. i heightening of the tensions of this committee. ~ , committee. i think there definitely is the case here. _ committee. i think there definitely is the case here. you _ committee. i think there definitely is the case here. you have - committee. i think there definitely is the case here. you have to - is the case here. you have to remember this still a bipartisan commission because liz cheney, the republican from wyoming, was one of nancy pelosi's pics but she is an outspoken critic of donald trump. and have an independent bipartisan commission those going to be separate from members of congress, but they voted against that and essentially giving power to nancy pelosi to set up the select committee where she would that's what she exercised ragejim jordan is very theatrical and he was on the investigation as well and in particular, nancy pelosi did not want someone like him messing up the works of this investigation in these hearings. works of this investigation in these hearinas. ~ .,, works of this investigation in these hearinas. ~ , ., ., hearings. was the provocative of kevin mccarthy _ hearings. was the provocative of kevin mccarthy to nominate - kevin mccarthy to nominate these

two? i kevin mccarthy to nominate these two? ~ . , kevin mccarthy to nominate these two? ~ ., , , . two? i think it was expected. there are many republicans _ two? i think it was expected. there are many republicans that - two? i think it was expected. there are many republicans that are - are many republicans that are particularly theatrical. jim jordan being the best known of them. but he was putting people on there who opposed the idea of an investigation from congress who thought it was going to be bipartisan from the beginning. but many people do not expect nancy pelosi to come back and reject those two names but there's a lot of support on the left among democrats for which he did, this is not there is a lot of rally around the flag from the republican supporting jim the flag from the republican supportingjimjordan. the flag from the republican supporting jim jordan. i've already seen some fundraising e—mails from the republicans and jim jordan saying they were cancelled by nancy pelosi and need people to give money for them to mount an investigation and the disturbances of the united states. ., , states. some of the unfinished business of _ states. some of the unfinished business of the _ states. some of the unfinished business of the donald - states. some of the unfinished business of the donald from i business of the donald from presidency. a bit of an insight from joe biden about life inside the white house today. it is very hard to get

comfortable. _ today. it is very hard to get comfortable. like - today. it is very hard to get comfortable. like i- today. it is very hard to get comfortable. like i would l today. it is very hard to get - comfortable. like i would ordinarily be. for example, ithink comfortable. like i would ordinarily be. for example, i think all of the help that is their providing meals, i think they love us. they say, don't come in for breakfast. we can get her own breakfast because i like to walk out of my robe and go in. tells us cnn town hall event. what did you make of it? i tells us cnn town hall event. what did you make of it?— did you make of it? i think it is interesting _ did you make of it? i think it is interesting that joe _ did you make of it? i think it is interesting that joe biden - did you make of it? i think it is| interesting that joe biden loves did you make of it? i think it is i interesting that joe biden loves to interesting thatjoe biden loves to characterise himself as an average joe, man of the people and living in what bill clinton described as the crown jewel of the american penal system where everyone is watching you and on your hand and foot. i can understand being a bit ill at ease in the surroundings but to be quite honest, joe biden has been in

politics for 50 years, he has tried very hard to get into the presidency to sleep in the white house and now he has achieved that. if he feels a little uncomfortable, this still part of him who was really happy where he is. part of him who was really happy where he is— part of him who was really happy where he is. . ~' , ., , . as we've been discussing on the programme this week, the delta variant is by far the most prominent strain of the coronavirus in the us at the moment. we know it's highly transmissible, and that's a problem for states like arkansas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates across the country. and now doctors are warning that increasing numbers of children are finding themselves in hospital, critically sick with the virus. all this as the director of the centers for disease control and prevention struck a new tone of urgency about the situation. please know that we together are not out of the woods yet and you will want to make thoughtful decisions to protect your health and the health of your family and community. we are yet and another pivotal moment in

this pandemic. dr rick barr is the chief clinical officer at the arkansas children's hospital and joins us now. thank you very much for being with us on bbc news, particularly at this difficult time. can't tell us a bit about the situation affecting young patients that you're dealing with at the moment and how it contrasts with what you experienced previously in earlier stages of the pandemic. indie earlier stages of the pandemic. we have earlier stages of the pandemic. - have seen a significant increase in the increasing people admitted with covid—19 infections which is very different from the previous months of the pandemic we would have one or two children admitted to the hospital with a covid—19 infection and there be it symptomatic. now, children are really sick and we have 12 patients in the hospital and for mechanical ventilation due to symptomatic pneumonia. and so it seems to be affecting children very differently than what we saw with

the previous variance.— differently than what we saw with the previous variance. as far as you can tell, the previous variance. as far as you can tell. these _ the previous variance. as far as you can tell, these are _ the previous variance. as far as you can tell, these are not _ the previous variance. as far as you can tell, these are not children i can tell, these are not children that are particularly vulnerable to this? �* , ., ., . ., this? it's a mixture of children who have some — this? it's a mixture of children who have some pre-existing _ this? it's a mixture of children who have some pre-existing conditions| this? it's a mixture of children who l have some pre-existing conditions in have some pre—existing conditions in children that were previously healthy. the delta variant does not discriminate on whether or not yet a pre—existing condition or not. indie pre-existing condition or not. we talked to pre—existing condition or not. we talked to the vaccine officials were fired for outreach efforts to teenagers. are you navigating the particular issue in your state? indie particular issue in your state? we are particular issue in your state? - are highly recommending as a children hospital that all eligible children hospital that all eligible children be vaccinated and the parents to be vaccinated and i think our governor has done a good job of getting out into the rural communities advocating for vaccines and it is a constant message that the way to protect yourself and those that you love and your children is to get the covid—19 vaccine. children is to get the covid-19

vaccine. , ., ., , , vaccine. the question arises, what ha--ens vaccine. the question arises, what happens later— vaccine. the question arises, what happens later in — vaccine. the question arises, what happens later in the year- vaccine. the question arises, what happens later in the year and i vaccine. the question arises, what happens later in the year and the i happens later in the year and the not—too—distant future when children begin returning to school again if this variant is still circulating? great question. it is important for children to go back to school. we saw earlier in the pandemic with some of the social issues, we are advocating in following the recommendations that all children wear a mask and use hand sanitiser, socially distance and it is important that kids go back to school. , ., ~ , important that kids go back to school. , ., . , ., school. given that arkansas is of a rural state, preps the impact of i rural state, preps the impact of misinformation is quite widespread still, even among patients, its still, even among patients, it; combination of misinformation in rural areas and communities that really do not see the impact of the

viral infections. it certainly has changed with the delta variant. arkansas had a low vaccination rate which is why we are encouraging everyone that is eligible to get a vaccine. ~ .,, ., ., everyone that is eligible to get a vaccine. ~.,, ., ., , ., everyone that is eligible to get a vaccine. ~.,, ., ., i. ., vaccine. most grateful to you for our vaccine. most grateful to you for your time. _ vaccine. most grateful to you for your time, thank _ vaccine. most grateful to you for your time, thank you. _ it's the latest in a series of scandals to hit the tokyo olympics — the creative director of the opening ceremony, kentaro kobayashi, has been sacked, one day before the event is due to be held. it follows complaints, that he'd made anti—semitic comments, during his career as a comedian, more than 20 years ago. this is now the third high—profile figure, connected with the ceremony, to be fired. cindy boren is a sports reporter for the washington post and joins us now for more. talk about unlucky. this olympics is starting to feel cursed, isn't it? it is not the feel—good olympics, that's for sure. in a pandemic, who knew that having the olympics in a

pandemic would be a bad idea? onward they go. every day is another day in they go. every day is another day in the books of the olympics. {line they go. every day is another day in the books of the olympics.- the books of the olympics. one of the books of the olympics. one of the mistakes _ the books of the olympics. one of the mistakes that _ the books of the olympics. one of the mistakes that they _ the books of the olympics. one of the mistakes that they have madej the mistakes that they have made here is trying to be unrealistic about the challenge it was taking on. we had the boss of the ic saying, if this would be if we go, there will be no cases of the olympics but there have been cases and decide create a sense of, they are not really in control of what is happening? it is definitely wishful thinkin: happening? it is definitely wishful thinking and _ happening? it is definitely wishful thinking and the _ happening? it is definitely wishful thinking and the head _ happening? it is definitely wishful thinking and the head of- thinking and the head of the organising committee made waves when he said, the games can be cancelled at any time. the ioc owns the games they're not going to cancel. they want that tv money and they're going to say what ever will give pr, good pr buzz and say that they have it under control and the japanese have

clamped down. they really do have great controls in place and i know a couple of friends sat in the courtyard of their hotel with a bottle of wine awfully vaccinated and were told not to do that again. there really paying close attention and we know this virus can come down innocently. this and we know this virus can come down innocentl . , _, _, ., ., ., innocently. this could come tomorrow innocently. this could come tomorrow in the weekend _ innocently. this could come tomorrow in the weekend starting _ innocently. this could come tomorrow in the weekend starting up _ innocently. this could come tomorrow in the weekend starting up in - in the weekend starting up in earnest. we could be talking less about the preparations and the risks and more about the competition. who should we be watching out for, who's going to be the stars of the tokyo games? oi going to be the stars of the tokyo names? . ., , , going to be the stars of the tokyo iames? .., , , ,, ., games? of course, definitely simone biles show. she _ games? of course, definitely simone biles show. she is _ games? of course, definitely simone biles show. she is an _ games? of course, definitely simone biles show. she is an incredible i biles show. she is an incredible gymnast. the swimmer. nora liles is someone who might not be on everyone's radar but will be once the track events start and she's a

blazingly fast sprinter. and after their loss yesterday, i think the us women's soccer team is watching sweden beat them and again, they've lost to sweden before and so, that could be an upset their and that bears watching. and you never know, every day brings more athletes that are testing positive. and it’s are testing positive. and it's not necessarily party city _ necessarily party city down there. no, unfortunately ended usually is. cardboard beds but that is for recycling purposes and they can hold up recycling purposes and they can hold up to eaoo, some not terribly worried about that. but it's more of a bubble, distances was with the nba and they don't get out, they cannot go out to restaurants, they cannot really socialise or should not. and they probably will and i will probably lead to problems. that's human beings— probably lead to problems. that's human beings for _ probably lead to problems. that's

human beings for you. _ probably lead to problems. that's human beings for you. thank i human beings for you. thank you so much for being with us on bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: levels of boredom rose during the pandemic — but studies reveal boredom can also have adverse effects seven people who died in the croydon tram crash in 2016 were killed as the result of an accident, an inquest has concluded. the jury at croydon town hall ruled out a verdict of unlawful killing. the tram was travelling more than three times faster than a speed restriction caroline davies reports: it's been a [ls—year wait, but today's inquest does not provide the answers those who lost loved ones here have hoped for. it's a shambles. absolute shambles right from the beginning. before it even started, it was a shambles. it is a disgusting... the way the whole thing is been run. i'm absolutely - disgusted, absolutely.

seven people died on 9th november 2016 when the rush—hour service took a sharp corner, came off the tracks and tipped over. this reconstruction was shown at the inquest. investigators found there were no speed limit signs in the tunnel. the train was going at 45mph. the limit was 12mph. the inquest reported that the driver had become disorientated probably due to a lack of sleep. he did not brake in time. the jury found that the crash was an accident. transport for london and the tram operator were not called to give evidence, nor was the driver as he was too sick. outside court, there was anger. i don't believe that the jury could have ever come back| with a different decision. bearing in mind the evidence that they've heard. _ the evidence that has not been heard is, you know, it's crucial. _ drivers, other people that are part of these organisations, you know, | without that evidence, we never was going i to get a good ruling. but it's not the end.

this is only the beginning. transport for london said that the coroner had decided that it would not give evidence. since the crash, tfl say they have made changes to ensure nothing like this can happen again. the families plan to call for the high court to grant them a new inquest, saying theirfight forjustice continues. among the many emotions, you may have felt over the past year, it's highly likely you've been bored. in fact, the pandemic was almost the perfect breeding ground for boredom, and surveys from around the globe indicated that feelings of boredom and loneliness increased during lockdown. but experts have found that boredom can lead to dysfunctional behaviour and mental illness, and you might be surprised what one study found people would rather do than be bored. erin westgate is a professor

at the university of florida and an expert in the effects of boredom. thank you so much for being with us on bbc news and i'm intrigued to ask about this experiment which people were more willing to endure pain than boredom.— were more willing to endure pain than boredom. , , ., ., than boredom. yes, we brought folks into the live — than boredom. yes, we brought folks into the live and _ than boredom. yes, we brought folks into the live and asked _ than boredom. yes, we brought folks into the live and asked them - than boredom. yes, we brought folks into the live and asked them to i into the live and asked them to sit and entertain themselves with their own thoughts and wanted to get a sense of how hard this is for folks in the daytime if you want, you can sit and press the split no give you an electric shock we give them a chance to experience the shock for his sword wasn't new, they knew it was painful, they said they would pay money to not be shocked again and, when we asked them to sit, be alone with her own thoughts for about 15 minutes, but of 50 or 60% of the men and 25% of the women

actually give themselves electric shocks rather than sitting and ensuring their own thoughts. aha, shocks rather than sitting and ensuring their own thoughts. a very interestin: ensuring their own thoughts. a very interesting agenda _ ensuring their own thoughts. a very interesting agenda between - ensuring their own thoughts. a very interesting agenda between men i ensuring their own thoughts. a very interesting agenda between men and women but we can talk about that all evening. but this question of boredom itself as something the experience. i guess it's not good or bad but is it useful? i experience. i guess it's not good or bad but is it useful?— bad but is it useful? i think we have this _ bad but is it useful? i think we have this idea _ bad but is it useful? i think we have this idea that _ bad but is it useful? i think we have this idea that kids get i bad but is it useful? i think we i have this idea that kids get bored but adults don't, but boredom is something we all experience and what we're doing at the moment, and other doesn't feel meaningful to us or too easy, it is a signal to guide us towards activities that are appropriately challenging and meaningful. appropriately challenging and meaninaful. ., . , meaningful. how much worse is boredom as _ meaningful. how much worse is boredom as being _ meaningful. how much worse is boredom as being able - meaningful. how much worse is boredom as being able to i meaningful. how much worse is i boredom as being able to analyse the string the pandemic because there have been various countries at various times, some of the regional local and national lockdowns. yes. local and national lockdowns. yes, if ou local and national lockdowns. yes, if you look — local and national lockdowns. yes, if you look at _ local and national lockdowns. yes, if you look at the _ local and national lockdowns. yes, if you look at the data _ local and national lockdowns. yes, if you look at the data in _ local and national lockdowns. yes if you look at the data in the uk local and national lockdowns. 123 if you look at the data in the uk in the us, we see bored and jumps at

her on double right after lockdown and looking all around the globe, what we are seeing is modest increases in boredom. more bored than usual, but it's not as not as bad as i personally thought or maybe as some of personally experienced it is actually optimistically surprised that folks are bored but it's better than i would've thought.— that folks are bored but it's better than i would've thought. hasn't led us to kind of _ than i would've thought. hasn't led us to kind of start _ than i would've thought. hasn't led us to kind of start breaking the i us to kind of start breaking the rules? ., ., ,., , us to kind of start breaking the rules? ., ., , ., rules? know, in also be for politicians _ rules? know, in also be for politicians and _ rules? know, in also be for politicians and also - rules? know, in also be for. politicians and also researches knowing that people respond to boredom and less than healthy ways. emma thinks he might have done is sit at home the super boring, i'm going to go out and party or go to the beach, i live in florida see that, and will receive the data, some people got a bit bored, but that boredom didn't seem to increase and breaking social distancing or doing other the public health

experts tell us not to do. some people were bored but they don't with it. ., ., , with it. thanks for giving us the lease boring — with it. thanks for giving us the lease boring interview - with it. thanks for giving us the lease boring interview but i with it. thanks for giving us the i lease boring interview but boredom. thank you so much. in the past few minutes, the uk government has released a list of sectors where fully vaccinated workers may be exempt from isolation if they are told to quarantine after coming into close contact with a positive covid case. i'm joined now by ben wright at westminster. borisjohnson boris johnson talked borisjohnson talked about boris johnson talked about this borisjohnson talked about this on monday. taking the government until thursday evening uk time to release this list when so many people have already been forced forced to self—isolate? already been forced forced to self-isolate?— self-isolate? it is clear that the government has _ self-isolate? it is clear that the i government has been scrambling over the past few days to come up with a plan and now we have as of thursday evening, two schemes in place and one will apply to the food industry which will allow potentially thousands of people to return to work, you know they have been pinged. another will allow double

jab workers, including chemicals, medicine and border control, to return to work but it is a different scheme and will require their managers to apply to the government for permission for their workers to return to work if they have been toured to self—isolate. and this set of schemes and the government is resisting all pressure and politicians, including tory mps to discard now the self isolation for people who are paying. the rules are set to change on august the 16th. but for that to happen now, with the infections rising as far as they are with people storm ourjab, even that extra three weeks remaining in place can make a big difference. more than 600,000 people using the nhs covid—19 app in england and wales were sent

self—isolation alerts in the week between eight and 15july. it is have a devastating impact on many businesses — especially the arts. andrew lloyd webber�*s new musical cinderella and a revival of hairspray at the london coliseum are among the shows that have had to halt performances this month. leaving producers with massive holes in their box office receipts. it's also impacting comedians to — ed byrnes was forced to cancel a series of dates earlier this month after being told to self—isolate — it meant he had to cancel shows. he told us me a little earlier about the impact it had on him. my my wife got pinged and so, we all got ourselves tested and my wife came back positive and then we sort of, we thought, how will we do this? will we hide you in the attic and

without those been much and i thought, should we just have a juicy slit nog now so i can get it straightaway. —— snog now. slit nog now so i can get it straightaway. -- snog now. that's a shame. straightaway. -- snog now. that's a shame- and — straightaway. -- snog now. that's a shame. and never _ straightaway. -- snog now. that's a shame. and never got _ straightaway. -- snog now. that's a shame. and never got that - straightaway. -- snog now. that's a shame. and never got that juicy i shame. and never got that 'uicy sno: . shame. and never got that 'uicy snor. is shame. and never got that 'uicy snog. is always i shame. and never got that 'uicy snog. is always a i shame. and never got that 'uicy snog. is always a healthy i shame. and never got that juicy snog. is always a healthy future j shame. and never got that juicy i snog. is always a healthy future to look for. presumably, _ snog. is always a healthy future to look for. presumably, yet the i look for. presumably, yet the cancelled gigs?— look for. presumably, yet the cancelled “is? ., ., , cancelled gigs? yeah and between self isolation _ cancelled gigs? yeah and between self isolation actually _ cancelled gigs? yeah and between self isolation actually getting i self isolation actually getting covid—19, that meant i was out of action for 15 days rather than just ten. if we take in bold action early on, can shorten that impact both economically and physically and i think there's a lesson in there. 15 days and i had to cancel two tv shows and one was for the bbc show and the other was for comedy central and the other was for comedy central and the other was for comedy central and the others were for live gigs and the others were for live gigs and over the next few days there is things coming in that i would not

qualify for financial assistance, by roughly earning 10% of what i would normally do. i'm lucky as well and that i've been doing it long enough and i have equity and was able to remortgage to get myself through but it's been a very lean 18 months, because there's a lot of comics that just had to work in factories, because they just can't, just had to work in factories, because theyjust can't, there's nothing. because they 'ust can't, there's nothinu. ~ :, because they 'ust can't, there's nothinu. ~ ., because they 'ust can't, there's nothin_ . ., ., because they 'ust can't, there's nothinu. ~ :, ., ~' nothing. what impact do you think that has professionally _ nothing. what impact do you think that has professionally and a i nothing. what impact do you think. that has professionally and a sense, you could say hey, that's a whole new potential source of material if you are in a different environment and doing a differentjob. but those those other things like self—confidence that are pretty fragile for anybody who's in the performance business. it fragile for anybody who's in the performance business. it hasn't been a very creatively _ performance business. it hasn't been a very creatively for _ performance business. it hasn't been a very creatively for tile _ performance business. it hasn't been a very creatively for tile time - performance business. it hasn't been a very creatively for tile time when i a very creatively for tile time when everyone is locked away. i'm sure there's some terrible screenplays that have been written by comedians was fancied giving it a go. and i

don't envy the people who work for studios and will have to through a lot of first draughts scripts —— first draughts scripts. with the wear rate stand up, i'll have an idea and i tried out that night and a bit of paper and hands and work through it and find what's funny to the audience. that hasn't been available to me. and i haven't written anything virtually and a handful ofjokes and the little bit of bob covid—19. in the middle of the torah, was very happy with it and the audience was enjoying it at that as could be shelving it for a few months and so, rather than just sitting, watching various references in the show go out of date, it's curious the odd things that will just have to change, just talking about air travel, suddenly air travel is not a thing any more.

do stick with us —— up next for viewers in the uk is the bbc news at 10 with reeta chakrabarti and for those of you watching on bbc world news, jane o' brien has tonight's world news america. hello, there is a change on the way. after the heat of this week, temperatures are set to drop. and for some of us, that drop in temperatures will come with some very heavy downpours. this is bristoljust for an example of the conditions across a good part of england and wales. temperatures dropping from friday into saturday. some big thunderstorms through the weekend. further north and west, this is enniskillen, another pretty hot day for friday. those temperatures slowly drop through the weekend. it stays dry for a bit longer but much, much cooler as we head into next week. and the changes are brewing down to the south west. you can see this swirl of cloud on the earlier satellite picture, an area of low pressure which will be pushing in our direction through the next few days bringing very heavy thundery downpours particularly for england and wales. northern ireland and scotland

staying drier for longer, but it will turn cooler for all of us. still one more day though of this amber warning from the met office, an extreme heat warning which covers northern ireland throughout friday. that's where we'll see some of the highest of the temperatures. a lot of sunshine through the day but notice all of this cloud across eastern parts of scotland down the eastern side of england, some mist and murk, too, tending to retreat towards the north sea coast through the day. one or two isolated thunderstorms popping up but the winds starting to strengthen down to the south. some thundery rain showing its hand towards the far south west, and temperatures for many of us a little bit lower. but parts of northern ireland, western scotland as well, could get to 28 or 29 celsius but through friday night, we will see some heavy and potentially thundery bursts of rain drifting up from the south into southern parts of england, parts of wales as well. more low cloud for eastern coasts. another relatively warm night, perhaps not quite as warm as some recent nights and then into saturday, well, here comes this heavy thundery rain

drifting erratically northwards. it may brighten up to the south later but that could spawn some further showers and thunderstorms, perhaps enough rain to cause some disruption. scotland and northern ireland staying drier, brighter, and a bit warmer — temperatures still into the middle 20s for some. for sunday, we'll see further showers and thunderstorms especially towards the south and east of the uk. further north and west, it's drier and brighter. those temperatures still lower than they have been — 22, 23, 2a celsius at best. now as we head out of sunday into monday, low pressure still close by and as this low drifts its way north—eastwards, well it will leave us in a northerly wind. so, that's going to continue to knock those temperatures downwards. showers especially, i think, across the eastern half of the uk. potentially a little bit drier further west but look at that, just 20 celsius in belfast. 25 the expected height in cardiff. and into tuesday, our area of low pressure will still be with us very slowly drifting north—eastwards. could bring some quite heavy rain,

persistent rain at that, to parts of north east scotland. could well see some further showers pushing in towards the south west. there could be showers just about anywhere by tuesday. the detail will change between now and then, this is still a fair few days away but the temperatures much, much lower — 16 in the north, 22 celsius in the south east. as we head through the second half of next week, there are likely to be further pulses of wet weather at times. the big uncertainty in our forecast is the extent to which this area of high pressure will build in from time to time, giving drier interludes. so i don't think it's going to be raining all the time next week, but there will be some rain at times and certainly, it's going to be quite a lot cooler than it has been.

ministers say workers in parts of the food industry in england can test daily if contacted and told to self—isolate. it comes as more than 600,000 people were pinged by the nhs covid app in the week to 1athjuly, a record high. around 10,000 people working in food distribution will be exempt from isolation, following some reports of empty supermarket shelves. if we judge that we need to take action, to take action in good time to make sure that the food supply chain is not affected, then we'll take that action. we'll bring you details of the government's plan for the food sector, and we'll be examining its overall strategy. also tonight... nurses are to be consulted about industrial action by their union over the offer of a 3% nhs pay rise in england. a tram crash in croydon in 2016 which killed seven

people was an accident, an inquestjury has found.