welcome to newsday — reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the 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. i'm sarah mulkerrins live in tokyo as the city is waking up on the morning of the start of the games with organisers hoping the sporting action on offer will boost the mood of the nation. the devastating aftermath of catastrophic flooding in china that's claimed at least 33 lives. we speak to one woman who was trapped in her own home. 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're deeply disappointed, their position is irresponsible, and frankly, dangerous. live from a studio in singapore, this is bbc news. welcome to viewers around the world and in the uk. it's eight in the morning in singapore and nine o'clock in tokyo where the much troubled 2020 olympics will finally open in a few hours�* time. after a year 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. 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 easy. but on this roof top at least, it's a different story. skateboarding is in the olympics for the first time, in the hope of attracting young new fans, and it seems to be working. translation: it would be cool to watch great - skateboarders at the olympics. translation: | love _ snowboarding, so skateboarding is good practice for me, and it's fun! at one time, everyone here was an olympic fan. on the day tokyo won the bid back in 2013, people were delirious with joy. tokyo! today, the atmosphere

couldn't be more different. the stadium where the opening ceremony will happen is surrounded by high fences — spectators kept far away. first, there was the enormous cost of the main stadium, this then there were problems with the olympic logo, then there were allegations of corruption, and then covid hit. the whole games had to be moved by a year. this year, japan's olympic chief had to step down over a sexism 1’0w. 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. newsreel: the world's biggest city, more than | 10 million population and still growing, tokyo prepares... it was all so different the last time tokyo held the games back in 1964. author robert whiting had arrived injapan two years earlier.

it's too bad, one of the really nice things about the '64 olympics was for two weeks — two and a half weeks — the city was just filled with tourists and athletes mingling with each other. the nice thing about the olympics is that they are a global festival. it really was this festival atmosphere. it was quite nice, and you know, now it's like the city's like a ghost town. not quite a ghost town. tokyo is supposed to be under a state of emergency, but you wouldn't know it in the famous nightlife district. like many others, the owner of this restaurant is now refusing to close early or stop serving alcohol. he says he lost a quarter of a million dollars during the last shutdown. translation: i am struggling. i have friends who have had to close their restaurants. i was short of cash and had problems paying bills. that's why i decided to be open. the government is not helping us, so i 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. rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, tokyo. we can go live now to our sports presenter sarah mulkerirns in tokyo because despite all the controversies and threats of cancellations — we're just about there. i think we all wondered if we would get to the friday morning ahead of the opening ceremony of these delayed olympic games but we are, the city of tokyo is ready, as rupert outlined, it has been such a fraught and troubled build—up to these games. troubled build-up to these names. ~ ~ ., games. we know the ioc president _ games. we know the ioc president this _ games. we know the ioc president this week - games. we know the 10c. president this week finally admitted to some sleepless

nights in the build—up to this. so many concerns and a various range of issues here injapan. let's get the view from somebody here in tokyo. i'm joined by a local bar owner in tokyo, fumiki yukawa. in normal times, if we didn't have a pandemic, if you had lots of overseas tourists coming in, this could have been a boom time for your business? of a boom time for your business? of course. i have a bar right in the — of course. i have a bar right in the middle of tokyo, with a lot of— in the middle of tokyo, with a lot of hotels around so before the pandemic, iwould have a lot of— the pandemic, iwould have a lot of people from abroad. i would — lot of people from abroad. i would say about 85 countries, people — would say about 85 countries, people from around 85 countries would _ people from around 85 countries would visit my bar in 12 years. iwas — would visit my bar in 12 years. i was hoping to reach around 100 — i was hoping to reach around 100 this _ i was hoping to reach around 100 this time! it's quite disappointing there are no foreign _ disappointing there are no foreign people, people from abroad — foreign people, people from abroad around. in

foreign people, people from abroad around.— foreign people, people from abroad around. in terms of the ublic abroad around. in terms of the public polls — abroad around. in terms of the public polls that _ abroad around. in terms of the public polls that we _ abroad around. in terms of the public polls that we have - abroad around. in terms of the public polls that we have seen | public polls that we have seen about whether games should go ahead and the support for them, how do you feel now the morning of the games, finally getting under way? are you in favour or not? ~ , , ., not? well, entering this year i think the situation _ not? well, entering this year i think the situation was - not? well, entering this year i think the situation was not - think the situation was not improving in terms of the pandemic so i was personally hoping — pandemic so i was personally hoping that it would be postponed once again. but now that the — postponed once again. but now that the olympics are starting, ithink— that the olympics are starting, i think the athletes have nothing to do with the decisions that have been made so i decisions that have been made so i would _ decisions that have been made so i would like to cheer for the — so i would like to cheer for the athletes but it is kind of a complicated situation that we have _ a complicated situation that we have and — a complicated situation that we have and it's kind of confusing every— have and it's kind of confusing every day _ have and it's kind of confusing every day now. have and it's kind of confusing every day now— have and it's kind of confusing every day now. and talk to me about how _ every day now. and talk to me about how covid-19 _ every day now. and talk to me about how covid-19 and - every day now. and talk to me about how covid-19 and the i about how covid—19 and the pandemic has affected your business. what have you been able to do?— able to do? actually, there have been _ able to do? actually, there have been a _ able to do? actually, there have been a lot _ able to do? actually, there

have been a lot of - have been a lot of restrictions, i haven't been able — restrictions, i haven't been able to— restrictions, i haven't been able to open my bar. we were almost — able to open my bar. we were almost like, seven months, but during — almost like, seven months, but during this _ almost like, seven months, but during this time, i have tried to do— during this time, i have tried to do something new, which is the online _ to do something new, which is the online bar, i opened a zoom meeting — the online bar, i opened a zoom meeting and be a host, to have regular— meeting and be a host, to have regular customers and give them access— regular customers and give them access to — regular customers and give them access to it, they would pay to participate and we will facilitate them with random conversations and i think that was _ conversations and i think that was what _ conversations and i think that was what people were looking for, going to bars and restaurants for a chat so i had people — restaurants for a chat so i had people constantly participating and that has been working. yes, to feel those _ and that has been working. yes, to feel those connections - and that has been working. is: to feel those connections that we all like to feel as humans. i wonder, will you watch the opening ceremony later? i i wonder, will you watch the opening ceremony later? i will, i will definitely _ opening ceremony later? i will, i will definitely watch _ opening ceremony later? i will, i will definitely watch the - i will definitely watch the opening ceremony and the other thing _ opening ceremony and the other thing is — opening ceremony and the other thing is i — opening ceremony and the other thing is i have been chatting with— thing is i have been chatting with my— thing is i have been chatting with my customers, opening this bar is— with my customers, opening this bar is a _ with my customers, opening this bar is a cafe and some people

didn't— bar is a cafe and some people didn't even know that it was starting _ didn't even know that it was starting today. so, yeah, it's definitely— starting today. so, yeah, it's definitely something different that we are having compared to the ones — that we are having compared to the ones that we've had this week — the ones that we've had this week. ., ~ the ones that we've had this week. . ,, , ., the ones that we've had this week. . ,, i. . the ones that we've had this week. . ,, . ., week. thank you so much for “oininu week. thank you so much for joining us _ week. thank you so much for joining us here _ week. thank you so much for joining us here on _ week. thank you so much for joining us here on the - joining us here on the programme. we appreciate your thoughts. the opening ceremony getting under way about eight p m local time. much scaled back in terms of who will be present and also a more sombre tone than the usual razzmatazz we would expect from an opening ceremony. would expect from an opening ceremony-— would expect from an opening ceremony. would expect from an opening ceremon . ,., ., ., ceremony. even so, wonderfulto hear so many _ ceremony. even so, wonderfulto hear so many people _ ceremony. even so, wonderfulto hear so many people are - ceremony. even so, wonderfulto hear so many people are willing i hear so many people are willing and keen to watch it despite it is such an unusual set of olympics. we will be back in japan later, to talk to our correspondence 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/news let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the united states has imposed sanctions on a senior cuban official and a security force which answers to the cuban ministry of the interior over their response to anti—government protests earlier this month. the us state department says the repression of the demonstrations was a human rights violation and has warned that more action could be taken. 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, and was not caused by a cyber attack. among the sites affected were aianb, the ups delivery service, british airways and the playstation network used for online games. norway has marked the tenth anniversary of the utoya massacre with a ceremony on the island where 69 people were killed by anners baring brayvik. survivors of the attack called for more to be done to tackle racism and right wing extremism.

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 henan in china as officials confirmed that at least 33 people have died. they include a dozen commuters in zhengzhou who were caught on the city's underground as the carriages filled with water. zhengzhou 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. 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. i'm joined now byjing qian, a resident at zhengzhou city, who was trapped in her apartment when the floods hit. it's great to have you on the programme and in the first instance i want to say i hope you and your family instance i want to say i hope you and yourfamily are instance i want to say i hope you and your family are safe after that traumatic experience. can i ask what happened?— experience. can i ask what hauened? , , ., happened? yes, sure. the water started from _ happened? yes, sure. the water started from tuesday _ happened? yes, sure. the water started from tuesday lunchtime, after lunch my husband was going to another city for a business trip and i came to the train station and it was already hard for me to go back home. the whole afternoon i thought it was just like a normal big rain in the summer and i still made a joke, with my friends, the ocean has come

to visit us but after, i realised it was not a joke because my community management informed us to get... luckily, i did that, the water went, how do you say, it is like 50 centimetres or maybe 70 centimetres or maybe 70 centimetres deep. and i looked down at my yard and i found all the cars, they were submerged in the water. and i was just trapped in my home, i can't go out to buy anything but luckily i had food, water in my house. and just after 2a hours, i found, you know, on the streets, it seems everything already is back to normal and i was surprised so much. i was scared a lot and i was also

surprised a lot, and on public media ifound most people surprised a lot, and on public media i found most people are talking about the event, they are talking about the heroes, you know, talking about everything. i realised it was a nightmare, it was totally and absolutely true. we nightmare, it was totally and absolutely true.— nightmare, it was totally and absolutely true. we have been lookin: absolutely true. we have been looking at _ absolutely true. we have been looking at pictures _ absolutely true. we have been looking at pictures you - absolutely true. we have been looking at pictures you sent i looking at pictures you sent from your video camera and your phone, the water levels at that time. what is the water level like now and are you getting help from the authorities? you mean now? — help from the authorities? you mean now? it's— help from the authorities? you mean now? it's totally - help from the authorities? lj’frl. mean now? it's totally gone, on my street, i said to my husband, it'sjust like normal, husband, it's just like normal, people husband, it'sjust like normal, people driving on the streets and people going shopping, just like everything is back to normal now.— like everything is back to normal now. like everything is back to normalnow. ., ., normal now. thank you for your time. normal now. thank you for your time- you've — normal now. thank you for your time. you've been _ normal now. thank you for your time. you've been through - normal now. thank you for your | time. you've been through some devastating floods over the past couple of days, do stay

safe and thank you forjoining us. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you can get in touch with me about any of the stories we have been covering today. 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 ella big stadium and people are queueing up to take a picture with the olympic rings so i sense some excitement despite all the controversy! 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 that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now a decade later, it has been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in| sperm quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. _ 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 newsday on the bbc. the 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 henan region — at least 33 people are confirmed dead. china has rejected a plan by the world health organisation 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 are 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. all of this happening against the background of us china tensions. our north america correspondent david willis has the latest. us intelligence officials were considering a number of leads and theories, among them coronavirus could have resulted from a laboratory at accident in china and this gave momentum to a theory that up until then had been seen here as a right—wing conspiracy theory, the possibility that the virus was man—made in some form. and china hasn't really been helping itself in this regard, some might argue. officials from the world health organization were only able to get access to the wuhan area in january of this year, more than a year after the first cases of the virus came to light and now, beijing has flatly rejected a request from the who

for its investigators to be allowed to inspect the laboratories, the research institutes, in wuhan. in other news. the upper house of the czech parliament has approved a bill which would compensate hundreds of mostly roma women, who were forcibly sterilised. the practice began in the 1960s during the communist era, and continued until 2012. authorities would threaten to withhold state benefits — or even take away existing children — if they got pregnant again. the czech government issued a formal apology 11 years ago. large wildfires have been burning across the timber—rich region of karelia in northern russia. officials say there are about 30 fires across 9,000 hectares, close to the border with finland. a state of emergency was declared on tuesday. let's return to the olympics now — the opening ceremony gets under way 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! marikojoins me now from outside the main olympic stadium. mari, i know how special a moment this is for you — and how meaningful it must be — despite all the worries and controversies. are others also looking forward to the opening ceremony? i don't know if you can see the long queue behind me but people are waiting for their turn to take a picture with the olympic rings so while people are fed up rings so while people are fed up with all the scandal surrounding the games, i think it's fair to say some people are getting excited that they are getting excited that they are finally under way. i also felt that same excitement eight years ago when tokyo won the right to host these games and i put together this report about the conflicting emotions i've had. take a look.

i'm in tokyo, my favourite place in the world. it's great to be back injapan, reporting on the olympics in my hometown of tokyo. this is a 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 the pandemic has changed all of this. and now, once again, japan is facing a test of resilience and unity. it was supposed to mark the country �*s recovery from the 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. my parents were in high school back then, they both remember the games vividly. mum

�*s dad, my late grandfather, got tickets to see the event. i wish i could have asked him what it was like. now, nearly six decades later, the games are back. it's a very different to tokyo today from when my grandfather was here. without overseas visitors and spectators, it will be a subdued games, that is for sure. and while there is unease about having the games here now, in our hearts, my hometown will be rooting for the athletes and the olympic spirit. just as i did come up we keep talking about the comparison with the 64 games and won stark differences later tonight when the opening ceremony takes place in the stadium next to me, there will be two flag—bearers, one male and one female, just for gender balance, but one of the participants, his father, it would have been unthinkable for

biracialjapanese athletes to biracial japanese athletes to represent biracialjapanese athletes to represent the country so slowly, largely, we are seeing changes that japan is slowly, largely, we are seeing changes thatjapan is going through. changes that japan is going throu~h. , , , changes that japan is going throu~h. , ,, ., through. despite all the controversy _ through. despite all the controversy we - through. despite all the controversy we have - through. despite all the i controversy we have seen through. despite all the - controversy we have seen some change and i have to say, that picture of you in your kimono as a young child, so cute. when you get back, you will have to show me that kimono. thank you so much. before we go, a twist on our top story — the tokyo olympics. st luke's hospital in missouri is hosting an olympics celebration of its own, dressing newborn babies in tiny team usa outfits. they're even awarding medals to the mini �*athletes'. it goes without saying that each is a gold—medal winner, of course, with a few perfect ten scores. can't imagine explaining silver to any parent. certainly i am not that competitive! that's all for now.

thank you for watching. the heatwave is coming to an end, it may not feel like it right away because it's been so hot for so long. and in northern ireland on thursday, we beat the all—time high record once again, 31.4 celsius, that's three times in the space of a week that northern ireland has beaten its all—time high temperature record. and the amber warning from the met office of extreme heat is still in force for friday, that's because the temperatures will remain high during the night and during the daytime. you can see clear skies across many through the early hours in some areas, temperatures still around 20 degrees celsius. but it is quiet on the weather front, at least for now. areas, but through the evening

and into afternoon, some coastal towns and cities along the north sea coasts will probably stay cloudy, fairly cool as well, relatively speaking, but with a breeze blowing out of the east and that heat still travelling towards the west, this is where we are going to have the higher temperatures. so once again, 30 degrees is just about possible in northern ireland, high 20s across in wales, maybe the midlands. look at that, only 24 degrees expected in london. lots of sunshine, the possibility of a thunderstorm during the afternoon and then in the evening, clouds are increasing in the southwest of the country. so friday night, we could see some thunderstorms, and that heralds a really thundery weekend for many of us with slow—moving downpours brought by this area of low pressure on saturday and on sunday. the best of the weather will actually be across scotland and northern ireland, so this is where the sunshine will be. where it's further south, you can see from morning onwards, we've got cloud, outbreaks of rain, some thunderstorms, and remember, these are slow—moving storms, so a lot of rainfall

in a relatively small area, in a short space of time, leading to potential flash floods. temperatures quite a bit lower, mostly in the low 20s. similar weather expected on sunday, if anything, the storms could be even more severe across some southern and southeastern areas. again, the best of the weather out towards the northwest. glasgow could be the warm spot, possibly northern ireland as well, around 24 celsius. and the cool weather is expected next week with low pressure close by, bringing fresher conditions. that's it from me.

this is bbc news. the headlines and all the main news stories at the top of the hour. straight after this programme.

hello, it is adam in the studio. hello, it is adam in the studio-— hello, it is adam in the studio. �* ., ., �* hello, it is adam in the studio. ~ . ., ~ ., studio. and laura. and we are still two metres _ studio. and laura. and we are still two metres apart. - studio. and laura. and we are still two metres apart. even i still two metres apart. even thou:h still two metres apart. even though legally _ still two metres apart. even though legally we _ still two metres apart. even though legally we don't - still two metres apart. evenl though legally we don't need still two metres apart. even though legally we don't need to be any more. but though legally we don't need to be any more-— be any more. but people still takin: be any more. but people still taking precautions, _ be any more. but people still taking precautions, wearing l taking precautions, wearing masks and on transport as well, some forms of it, you still have to wear a mask. it some forms of it, you still have to wear a mask.- some forms of it, you still have to wear a mask. it is the last episode _ have to wear a mask. it is the last episode of _ have to wear a mask. it is the last episode of the _ have to wear a mask. it is the | last episode of the programme before the holidays, the last day of parliament before the holidays. guide a relaxed atmosphere.— holidays. guide a relaxed atmosphere. holidays. guide a relaxed atmoshere. ., atmosphere. there would never be a relaxed _ atmosphere. there would never be a relaxed atmosphere - atmosphere. there would never be a relaxed atmosphere in - atmosphere. there would never be a relaxed atmosphere in our| be a relaxed atmosphere in our newsroom, never ever. it’s be a relaxed atmosphere in our newsroom, never ever.- newsroom, never ever. it's not allowed — newsroom, never ever. it's not allowed. chris _ newsroom, never ever. it's not allowed. chris mason - newsroom, never ever. it's not allowed. chris mason is - newsroom, never ever. it's not allowed. chris mason is not. allowed. chris mason is not here. he is not in his cupboard. but we decided to replace him with friends of the podcast. restored to her rightful place on late night thursday night political television, it's liz kendall, the shadow care minister. hello. you used to do this for someone called andrew neil but i am not sure what happened to him. i i am not sure what happened to him. ., i am not sure what happened to him. . ., , ., ., him. i have not seen or heard from him _ him. i have not seen or heard from him since. _

him. i have not seen or heard from him since. have - him. i have not seen or heard from him since. have you - him. i have not seen or heard l from him since. have you been invited on _ from him since. have you been invited on gb _ from him since. have you been invited on gb news _ from him since. have you been invited on gb news yet? -