welcome to newsday, reporting live. the final countdown to tokyo's delayed olympics, anticipation rises, but so do the covet cases and controversies. i'm sarah mulkerrins live in tokyo as the city is finally waking up the beginning of the games — with organisers hoping the sporting action on offer will boost the mood. china deals with the devastating aftermath of catastrophic flooding. thousands are evacuated from the huh—nan region — at least 33 people are confirmed dead. also on the programme, renewed friction between the us and china.

beijing rejects a plan by the who for a second visit to the country to investigate the origins of covid 19. this the response from washington: we are deeply disappointed. their position is irresponsible, frankly, dangerous. position is irresponsible, frankly, dangemus-_ position is irresponsible, frankly, dancerous. ., ., , ., dangerous. live from our studio in singapore- — dangerous. live from our studio in singapore- this — dangerous. live from our studio in singapore. this is _ dangerous. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc— dangerous. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. - dangerous. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's. singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to viewers around the world and in the uk. it's six in the morning in singapore and seven o'clock in tokyo where the much troubled 2020 olympics will finally open in a few hours' time. after a year's delay due to covid—19, the wait is almost over for more than 11,300 athletes trying to get their hands on an olympic medal.

there's already been a total of 91 coronavirus cases in tokyo directly linked the games. that's after a sixth member of the czech olympic team tested positive in the last few hours. beyond the athletes village, daily covid infections in tokyo are now higher than at any time since january. and with no fans allowed into stadiums, there are still calls for the games to be cancelled, despite a cost of $12.6 billion dollars. celebrations at the opening ceremony will be the most subdued of any olympics in history. nevertheless, our tokyo correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes has managed to track down some excited fans. finding olympic fans in tokyo these days isn't so hazy. but on this roof top at least, it's a different story. skateboarding is being the olympics for the first time, and with the hope of attracting young

new fans, and it seems to be working. translation: it new fans, and it seems to be working. translation: it would be cool to watch _ working. translation: it would be cool to watch great _ working. translation: it would be cool to watch great skateboarders i working. translation: it would be| cool to watch great skateboarders at the olympics. cool to watch great skateboarders at the olympia-— cool to watch great skateboarders at the olympig-_ i - cool to watch great skateboarders at the olympics._ i love | the olympics. translation: i love snowboarding. _ the olympics. translation: i love snowboarding, so _ the olympics. translation: i love snowboarding, so skateboarding . the olympics. translation: i love snowboarding, so skateboarding is| snowboarding, so skateboarding is -ood snowboarding, so skateboarding is good practice for me, and it's fine! at one _ good practice for me, and it's fine! at one time, — good practice for me, and it's fine! at one time, everyone here was an olympic fan. on the day tokyo won the bed back in 2013, people were delirious with joy. today, the bed back in 2013, people were delirious withjoy. today, the atmosphere couldn't be more different. the stadium where the opening ceremony will happen is surrounded by high the enormous cost of the main stadium, then problems with the olympic logo, then allegations of corruption, and then co. that hit. the whole games had to be moved by a year. this year, japan's of the pitch he had to step down over a sexism row. then the composer of music for the opening ceremony was forced out because of bullying

allegations. finally, one day before the games were due to open, the director of the whole opening ceremony has been fired because it turns out he made jokes about the holocaust. it's no wonder some people here think these games are cursed. ., , , , . , cursed. the worlds biggest city, more than _ cursed. the worlds biggest city, more than 10 — cursed. the worlds biggest city, more than 10 million _ cursed. the worlds biggest city, more than 10 million population cursed. the worlds biggest city, - more than 10 million population and still growing to a tokyo... it more than 10 million population and still growing to a tokyo. . ._ still growing to a tokyo... it was also different _ still growing to a tokyo... it was also different the _ still growing to a tokyo... it was also different the last _ still growing to a tokyo... it was also different the last time - still growing to a tokyo... it was| also different the last time tokyo had the games back in 1964. author robert whiting had arrived injapan two years earlier. it’s robert whiting had arrived in japan two years earlier.— two years earlier. it's too bad, one ofthe two years earlier. it's too bad, one of the really _ two years earlier. it's too bad, one of the really nice _ two years earlier. it's too bad, one of the really nice things about - of the really nice things about the 64 olympics was for two weeks, two and half weeks, the city was just failed with tourists. and athletes mingling with each other. the nice thing about the olympics is that they are a global festival. it really was a festival atmosphere. it was quite nice, and you know, now it's like the city is like a ghost town. ., ., .,, it's like the city is like a ghost town. ., ., , ., town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is sunposed —

town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is sunposed to _ town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is sunposed to be — town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is supposed to be under— town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is supposed to be under a _ town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is supposed to be under a state - town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is supposed to be under a state of. is supposed to be under a state of emergency, but you wouldn't know it with the famous nightlife district. like many others, the owner of this restaurant is refusing to close early or stop serving alcohol. he said he lost a quarter million dollars during the last shutdown. translation: i dollars during the last shutdown. translation:— dollars during the last shutdown. translation: ., , ., translation: iam struggling. i have friends who had _ translation: iam struggling. i have friends who had to _ translation: iam struggling. i have friends who had to close _ translation: iam struggling. i have friends who had to close the _ friends who had to close the restaurant. i was short of cash and had problems paying bills. that's why i decided to be opened. the government is not helping us, so i have to protect my own living. there are certainly those _ have to protect my own living. there are certainly those who _ have to protect my own living. there are certainly those who are - have to protect my own living. there are certainly those who are looking forward to tonight's opening ceremony. many of them are already lining up to take photos close to the main stadium, but overall, the mood in tokyo is more weary acceptance than eager anticipation. ruprecht wingfield hayes, bbc news, tokyo. we can go live now to our sports presenter sarah mulkerirns in tokyo. despite all the controversies and threats of cancellations — we're just about there aren't we?

you have been paying attention to a very exciting football match. brazil and germany. fail us in. absolutely. i willjust and germany. fail us in. absolutely. i will just tell you and germany. fail us in. absolutely. i willjust tell you firstly, write down below us in tokyo bay, it is the morning of the opening ceremony, but we do have triathletes down training below us in the bay as they get ready for the weekend competition, and that is what everybody is hoping to get, all the sport will take a we have had some action already come at the football you've been mentioning. brazil against germany, a rematch of the final in 2016. loads of goals in that game last night. 4—2, brazil beat germany. a first hat date neck have hat trick they are sending them on their way to an opening victory. tough news for france, though, they were beaten 4—1 by mexico. a bit of a shock, that one. it was tight in the first half, but than the mexicans scored four goals in the

second half, all different goal scorers and for and spas make only goal of the game came from a penalty. a couple of other quick results in the football to tell you about, host japan results in the football to tell you about, hostjapan off results in the football to tell you about, host japan off to a results in the football to tell you about, hostjapan off to a winning start can also news aliens, they registered their first win in men's olympic football. they had a 1—0 over south korea. australia beat argentina, so that's a big upset, and also romania back in the men's competition in football since 1964. they got off to a winning start against honduras. now, we are used to seeing the games, what about some of these new sports we are going to be looking at four serving as one of them, when i am particularly excited about. that will take place at the beach. that's about an hour and a half east from tokyo. one of the big names involved and that is brazil's gabrielle medina. he has a two—time world champion and he told us what he is hoping for a two—time world champion and he told us what he is hoping far ahead of these olympic

games. it feels amazing, the olympics are coming _ it feels amazing, the olympics are coming un — it feels amazing, the olympics are coming up. it's really big for us, you know. — coming up. it's really big for us, you know, for this port, and i'm excited — you know, for this port, and i'm excited to— you know, for this port, and i'm excited to go to japan. it will be a good event. hopefully we get some -ood good event. hopefully we get some good waves, you know chris mack and make _ good waves, you know chris mack and make the _ good waves, you know chris mack and make the best of it. i know we are not going to have people on the beach_ not going to have people on the beach there, not many, you know, likely— beach there, not many, you know, likely you — beach there, not many, you know, likely you still, but, yeah, i know everyone — likely you still, but, yeah, i know everyone is— likely you still, but, yeah, i know everyone is going to be reading for as and i_ everyone is going to be reading for as and i appreciate all the love and support _ as and i appreciate all the love and support. surfing is a very individual sport. you know? we are not having — individual sport. you know? we are not having a — individual sport. you know? we are not having a contest that is a real team _ not having a contest that is a real team you know? we are for presale, but i team you know? we are for presale, but i wonder— team you know? we are for presale, but i wonder when the goal that now called _ but i wonder when the goal that now called metal, everyone wants a gold

medal, _ called metal, everyone wants a gold medal, so _ called metal, everyone wants a gold medal, sojust one guy is gonna win. the sport— medal, sojust one guy is gonna win. the sport wiii— medal, sojust one guy is gonna win. the sport will grow even more, you know, _ the sport will grow even more, you know. and — the sport will grow even more, you know, and this is a great opportunity for everyone, you know? so it's— opportunity for everyone, you know? so it's good — opportunity for everyone, you know? so it's good for the spires, good for the _ so it's good for the spires, good for the new generation and, good for us. for the new generation and, good for us we _ for the new generation and, good for us we work— for the new generation and, good for us. we work really hard for this, you know? — us. we work really hard for this, you know? and we can inspire people all to— you know? and we can inspire people all to one _ you know? and we can inspire people all to one day become a professional surfer— all to one day become a professional surfer and _ all to one day become a professional surfer and change their life just like we did. i surfer and change their life 'ust like we did.�* surfer and change their life 'ust like we are.�* surfer and change their life 'ust like we did. . ., . like we did. i have to say, sarah, i am so envious, _ like we did. i have to say, sarah, i am so envious, you _ like we did. i have to say, sarah, i am so envious, you are _ like we did. i have to say, sarah, i am so envious, you are looking i am so envious, you are looking at skateboarding, surfing, the works, but against all of that commitment is a very serious backdrop to these olympic games with the rise in coronavirus cases amongst the czech team, for instance, all of this is surely putting more pressure on these games as we get under way. absolutely. that is really the

backdrop to this, and it has created a sense of anxiety for everybody involved, you know, support staff personnel, the japanese public, and also the athletes who have done their level best over the last year and a half to train and locked down and a half to train and locked down and to get here and to try and get here safely without picking up coronavirus. the check team that you talk about they are now investigating their charter flight and, because what we know now is that there are four members from the beach volleyball team that have now tested positive. so a couple of athletes and also a couple of their coaches. that's also spread to one of the table tennis players as well within the czech republic team, they are now looking into what happened on that charter flight over that they got in. they have heard lots of different cases of athletes around the where the potential they came into contact with a member of the public, they would have been deemed a close contact and maybe had to step away from training, so the biggest hurdle i think for a lot of these teams around the world was how

did they get their teams which have beenin did they get their teams which have been in bubbles and training fireballs in various countries safely into japan and then put them in their own? but this is a story that will continue and continue throughout these games, and how the organisers keep thousand athletes safe and away to stop any of transmission.— safe and away to stop any of transmission. ~ . . . ., transmission. what a challenging environment _ transmission. what a challenging environment for _ transmission. what a challenging environment for these _ transmission. what a challenging environment for these games - transmission. what a challenging environment for these games to | transmission. what a challenging l environment for these games to be taking place during time and for you too as well to be reporting from there, thank you so much, we will see later on in some of the later programmes. we will be back injapan later in this programme to talk to to our very own mariko oi, who's from tokyo, about the start of the games. and you can keep up to date with all of the action on our website — we'll have a special live page while the events are going on — just log on to bbc.com slash news. let's take a look at some of the stories making headlines in the uk. the government says it will allow daily testing for covid 19 to replace self—isolation

at around 400 sites, including supermarket depots and some food manufacturers. it comes after industry leaders said that a recent surge in what are known as �*pings' from the health service app — which note close contact with a confirmed covid case, and recommend self—isolation for ten days — have led to staff shortages in the food supply chain. there will be probably a, you know, because to the start of 10,000 possibly more staff that are working in these types of environments. we are talking principally here that supermarket they pause, the distribution centres where all of the work happens, to get food out to those supermarkets. it does not include stories at south, because that would be a big departure from the approach we have now. health unions say they intend to consult their members about industrial action, following the government's offer of a three percent pay rise for most nhs staff in england. some nursing leaders say they deserve more — the government says the offer is fair, and it recognises the extraordinary efforts made

during the pandemic. still to come on the programme — the latest on the growing row between the us and china on the investigation into how the covid pandemic started. but first... tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the region of huhnan in china as officials confirmed that at least ——of henan in china as officials confirmed that at least 33 people have died. they include a dozen commuters injeng — jhou who were caught on the city's underground as the carriages filled with water. jeng—jhou had a year's worth of rain in three days — and more is forecast. robin brant is there. 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. we arejust we are just showing the metro station where people died. 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 and in underpass? devastating images there. if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme, we'll be coming back — live — to tokyo with our very own mariko oi. that's right. i am outside the olympic stadium where people are queuing up to take a picture with the olympic rings, so i can sense a bit of excitement despite all the controversies. 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 spurn quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning spurn unable to swim properly. 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 newday on the bbc.

in singapore, our headlines... the final countdown to tokyo's delayed olympics. anticipation rises — but so do the covid cases and controversies. the opening ceremony is just hours away. china deals with the devastating aftermath of catastrophic flooding. thousands are evacuated from the huh—nan region — ——thousands are evacuated from the henan region — at least 33 people are confirmed dead. china has rejected a plan by the world health organization for a second phase of an investigation into the origins of covid—19. a senior chinese health official said the proposal, to consider whether the virus could have escaped from a chinese laboratory, did not respect science and disregarded common sense. well, the white house press secretaryjen psaki was asked about china's stance and gave this frank response. 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. for more on this we can talk to our north america correspondent david willis. had the heavy on programme, david. —— good to have you on the programme, daybed. we've just heard from the white house — it feels like a stalemate at this point, with china refusing to budge, and the us insisting that they do. where do we go from here? that as a very good question indeed. president biden, of course, has made countering chinese expansionism a central plank of his foreign policy. already the two superpowers have clashed over such things as cybersecurity, human rights, not to mention, of course, the global coronavirus pandemic. it's something thatjoe biden is keen to press the chinese on, not least because of the

more than 4 million people around the world who... here in the united states. now, back in may, president biden instructed his senior officials to get to the bottom of... we have to apologise for that line, the technical glitch with our correspondent, with david willis, we will get back to them if we can later on in the programme. let's take a look at some of the other stories in the headlines today. the united states has imposed sanctions on his senior cuban official and a security price which answers to the cuban interior over their response to antigovernment protests earlier this month. the us state department says the impression

of the demonstrations was a human rights violation and warned that more action could be taken. irate rights violation and warned that more action could be taken. we have tarueted more action could be taken. we have targeted then — more action could be taken. we have targeted then as part of— more action could be taken. we have targeted then as part of our- targeted then as part of our effort that is not over to be sure, to hold to account those actors in queue by who has been responsible for the crackdown for the human rights abuses on those in cuba who are doing nothing more than exercising their universal rights. several popular websites around the world have been affected by an outage of service, linked to problems at the web provider akamai. it says the issue has now been fixed. among the sites affected were air b'n'b, the ups delivery service, british airways and the playstation network used for online games. let's return to the olympics now — the opening ceremony gets underway in a few hours' time. one person who is following very closely how the games have changed tokyo is our very own mariko oi, because — this is her home city.

shejoins us now she joins us now outside the mean on the big stadium. i know how special a moment this is for you and how meaningful it must be despite all the worries and controversies we've seen. are there is also looking forward to the opening ceremony? well, i'm not sure if you can see behind me, but there is a long queue of people waiting to fit their turn to take their picture at the olympic rings. i think while people are fed up rings. i think while people are fed up with all the scandals surrounding the games, especially the opening ceremony, i think it's fair to say that some people are getting excited that some people are getting excited that they games are finally under way. as you say, i felt that same excitement eight years ago when my hometown tokyo won the right to host the summer games in 2020, which of course got delayed by a year because

of the pandemic. so i've put together a quick report about this conflicting emotion that i've had, so take a look. i am in tokyo, arguably my favourite place in the world. it's great to be back in japan, and reporting on the olympics and my hometown of tokyo, this is a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity, but it's farfrom once—in—a—lifetime opportunity, but it's far from the olympic dreams that many of us had when tokyo won the right to host the 2020 summer games. but this has changed all that is, and i once again, japan is facing a test of resilience and unity. it was supposed to make the country's recovery from the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. similarto devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. similar to when the city hosted the games in 1964. that was a powerful symbol of a new japan rising from the ashes of world war

ii l. rising from the ashes of world war u l. my rising from the ashes of world war ii l. my parents were in high school back then. they both remember they games vividly. my mum's dad, my late grandfather got tickets to see the event. i wish i could've asked and what it was like. now nearly six decades later, the games are back. it's a very different tokyo today from when my grandfather was here. without overseas visitors and spectators, it will be subdued games, for sure. while there is unease about having to games here now, in our hearts, my hometown will be rooting for the athletes and the olympic spirit. for the athletes and the olympic sirit. ., ., for the athletes and the olympic sirit. . ., , for the athletes and the olympic sirit. . , ., , spirit. that was 'ust lovely. partieulerry_ spirit. that was 'ust lovely. particularly to _ spirit. that was just lovely. particularly to be _ spirit. that was just lovely. particularly to be able - spirit. that was just lovely. particularly to be able to i spirit. that wasjust lovely. i particularly to be able to see spirit. that wasjust lovely. - particularly to be able to see your family and you as a child. you are very cute. i have to ask and i know there has been a lot of excitement amongst flag bearers there as well. can you tell us more?—

can you tell us more? yes, that's riaht, can you tell us more? yes, that's right. because — can you tell us more? yes, that's right, because we _ can you tell us more? yes, that's right, because we keep _ can you tell us more? yes, that's| right, because we keep comparing this particular games with the 1964 games that tokyo also hosted, but you know, this time tonight, inside this olympic stadium just behind me, there will be two flag bearers, one male athletes, one female athlete for the gender balance, so a bit like the bbc�*s 50-50 for the gender balance, so a bit like the bbc�*s 50—50 project, but also a basketball player, his father is from benin, and six years ago, i think it was fair to say that it would been unthankful for biracial japanese athletes to be representing the country, so slowly that gradually, we are seeing the change thatjapan is going through. thank that japan is going through. thank ou that japan is going through. thank you forjoining _ that japan is going through. thank you forjoining us _ that japan is going through. thank you forjoining us from _ that japan is going through. thank you forjoining us from tokyo. - that japan is going through. thank you forjoining us from tokyo. well, before we go, little test on our top story. the tokyo olympics as we have been saying committees are pictures of st luke's hospital in missouri which is hosting an olympic celebration of its own, addressing newborn babies in tiny team usa outfits, aren't they cute? they are

even awarding medals to these many athletes. that said for newsday, thanks so much forjoining us. 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 been, 24—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, the headlines tokyo's olympic organisers say friday opening ceremony will go ahead without any major changes — despite the sacking of the show�*s creative director. kentaro kobayashi was dismissed over past comments he made about the holocaust. china has ordered an urgent review into flood safety after twelve people died trapped in a flooded subway tunnel. more than 20 others have died and hundreds of thousands evacuated after devastating flooding in hunaan province. china has rejected plans for the who. to make a second visit to the country to investigate the origins of covid—19. washington has said its deeply disappointed by china's response. here, key parts of the food industry will be allowed to do daily covid testing instead of asking staff to self—isolate. the uk government said testing would be implemented at key sites, such as supermarket depots and food manufacturers.