welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: the final countdown to the start of the delayed tokyo olympics. anticipation rises, but so too do the covid cases and controversies. the opening ceremony is just hours away. i'm sarah mulkerrins, live in tokyo, where organisers are hoping the sporting action will boost the mood of the nation. elsewhere, china deals with the devastating aftermath of catastrophic flooding. thousands are evacuated from henan province. at least 33 people are confirmed dead. the us government imposes sanctions on cuban security officials involved in the repression of peaceful protests. and the slovenian diver alenka artnik sets a new world record for free—diving

more than 120m. a very warm welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the world. we are just hours away from the opening ceremony for the much—troubled tokyo 2020 olympics. they were postponed last year because of the pandemic but now, the wait is almost overfor more than 11,300 athletes trying to get their hands on an olympic medal. despite being postponed, the games are not clear —— despite being postponed, the games are not clear of covid — there have already been more than 90 confirmed coronavirus cases in tokyo directly linked to the games. celebrations at the opening ceremony will be the most subdued of any olympics in history. but our tokyo correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes has still managed to track

down some excited fans. finding olympic fans in tokyo these days isn't so easy. but on this rooftop 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! tokyo! 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. and then this year, japan's olympic chief had to step down over a sexism row, then the composer of music for the opening ceremony was forced out because of bullying allegations. and 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 — 2.5 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. and 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. —— but you wouldn't know it in the famous nightlife district of shinjuku. like many others, the owner of this restaurant is now refusing to close early or stop serving alcohol. he says he lost $250,000 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. let's go live now to our sports presenter sarah mulkerirns, who's in tokyo, and we have some new olympic sports to look out for? we certainly do, good afternoon from tokyo. i think we all wondered whether we would get here with the opening ceremony just hours away here, eight pm local time in tokyo, and once we get through that, the sport will certainly grab the headlines free the pandemic one of the big talking points about these olympic games was these introductions, as you say, rich, of these new sports, all donein rich, of these new sports, all done in order to protect the future legacy of the international olympic committee and their games, they want to bring young people to the games, make sure they bring the demographics with them as the

games continue so we have here in the home of karate we have that as a new sport, injapan, but the three really interesting ones are the one of sport climbing, very exciting, and then especially this weekend a lot of people will be finding out about surfing and skateboarding. they get under way. the surfing is going to be taking place about 1.5 hours from here, just east of tokyo. it is dependent on the waves. we may have to hang around for a new —— a few days to whether it will have enough waves for 40 it will have enough waves for a0 of the best surfers from all around the world to take part and we are expecting the likes of the usa and brazil to dominate the podium in that, a lot of the top surface come from those countries. so let's listen to one person who is going to be taking part in this year's event, double world champion, brazil's gabrielle medina who will be hoping for

olympic gold here —— gabriel. it feels amazing, the olympic says— it feels amazing, the olympic says coming up, it's really big for us, — says coming up, it's really big for us, you _ says coming up, it's really big for us, you know, for the sport. _ for us, you know, for the sport. and _ for us, you know, for the sport, and i'm excited to go to japan — sport, and i'm excited to go to japan it— sport, and i'm excited to go to japan. it will be a good event. hopefully we get some good waves, — hopefully we get some good waves, you know and we will make — waves, you know and we will make the _ waves, you know and we will make the best of it. i know that— make the best of it. i know that we're not going to have people — that we're not going to have people on the beach there, not many, — people on the beach there, not many, know, like we used to but, — many, know, like we used to but. yeah. _ many, know, like we used to but, yeah, i know everyone will be on _ but, yeah, i know everyone will be on the — but, yeah, i know everyone will be on the internetjust rooting for us — be on the internetjust rooting for us and _ be on the internetjust rooting for us and yeah, appreciating all the — for us and yeah, appreciating all the love and support they give, — all the love and support they give, they give us. surfing is really— give, they give us. surfing is really an_ give, they give us. surfing is really an individual sport, you know? — really an individual sport, you know? we're not having a contest _ know? we're not having a contest as a real you know? i am from _ contest as a real you know? i am from brazil but i want to win the _ am from brazil but i want to

win the gold medal, people want me to _ win the gold medal, people want me to win— win the gold medal, people want me to win the gold medal and everyone _ me to win the gold medal and everyone wants the gold medal so everyone wants the gold medal soiust— everyone wants the gold medal sojust one guy is going to wih — sojust one guy is going to wih the _ sojust one guy is going to win. the sport will grow even more. — win. the sport will grow even more. you _ win. the sport will grow even more, you know? and this is a great — more, you know? and this is a great opportunity for everyone, you know? so it's good for the sport. — you know? so it's good for the sport, good for the new generation, good for us. we work— generation, good for us. we work really hard for this, you know. — work really hard for this, you know. and _ work really hard for this, you know, and we can inspire people to one _ know, and we can inspire people to one day— know, and we can inspire people to one day become a professional surfer and change their— professional surfer and change their lives, just like we did. inaudible gabriel medina does on the surfing when it gets under way on the weekend and is just one thing to bring you up to date with, we have updated figures on the number of coronavirus cases related to the olympic games, one athlete within the olympic village which isjust over within the olympic village which is just over my left hand shoulder has tested positive to

further —— two further athletes have also tested positive for coronavirus so it brings the total number to just over 100 coronavirus positive cases related to the olympic games, rich, on the start of the tournament with the opening ceremony a little bit later here in tokyo.— ceremony a little bit later here in tokyo. ceremony a little bit later herein to 0. ., ., ~ here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing _ here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us _ here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up _ here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up to _ here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up to speed - here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up to speed on l for bringing us up to speed on that. karate, surf climbing, surfing and skateboarding, four new sports to look forward to. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the central chinese region of henan as officials confirmed that at least 33 people have died. that includes a dozen commuters in the provincial capital zhengzhou, who were caught on the city's underground as carriages filled with water. the city had a year's worth of rain in three days and more is forecast. our correspondent robin brant is there and sent this report. 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. just show them 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 30km 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. 100m 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 in china. 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 lab, did not respect science and disregarded common sense. the white house press secretary, jen psaki, was asked about this in the last few hours and gave this 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. our north america correspondent david willis has the latest. china has not 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. what, more than one 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 and the research institutes in wuhan. the united states has imposed sanctions on a senior cuban official and a security force which answers to the cuban ministry of the interior. it's 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. earlier, i spoke to carmen pelaez, a cuban american film—maker and activist. she is a communications consultant and part of the biden administration's cuba policy change team. she also held a similar role with president obama. i asked her for her reaction to these new sanctions. well, i think they're the first step in letting the cuban people know that the regime will be held accountable by world governments. they were brutal in their response to peaceful protest and they need to know that the world is watching. to know that the world is watching-— to know that the world is . watching._ what to know that the world is - watching._ what are watching. -- protests. what are those who _ watching. -- protests. what are those who have _ watching. -- protests. what are those who have been _ watching. -- protests. what are those who have been protestingj those who have been protesting make of these functions. == make of these functions. -- these functions? _ make of these functions. -- these functions? have - make of these functions. -- these functions? have not l make of these functions. -- - these functions? have not quite rotten these functions? have not quite gotten word _ these functions? have not quite gotten word how _ these functions? have not quite gotten word how they _ these functions? have not quite gotten word how they feel - these functions? have not quite| gotten word how they feel about it but my assumption is that they've been asking for all along but their work is being seen —— these sanctions. they are asking for freedom and the freedom to protest and to hold the regime accountable without

being violently attacked by the regime. i think the more that we let the cuban people know that we see the work that they are doing, that we hear that they are calling for freedom for the human rights, the safer they will feel when holding that regime accountable for their own failures. president obama eased _ their own failures. president obama eased sanctions - their own failures. president obama eased sanctions on l their own failures. president - obama eased sanctions on cuba and there was a flooring in relation there and resident trump reimposed them. and president biden came into office there was a slight anticipation, expectation if you well, that the thawing may begin again. what are these sanctions say about the tone of future cuban— us relations? the future cuban- us relations? the roblem future cuban- us relations? the problem is _ future cuban- us relations? the problem is that _ future cuban— us relations? tue: problem is that in future cuban— us relations? tt;e: problem is that in that future cuban— us relations? t"t9: problem is that in that time, the cuban regime also increased their repression of the people. so they also showed that they were acting in bad faith. i think right now, nobody knows what is next but we're all looking towards cuban people to

see what they want to do next, how they want to protest and what difference they want to make for their own country. we are really following their lead and i think that's the right thing to do at this moment because a lot of people have opinions about cuba but they are living it. we need to send to them and sent to their voices and their actions. you are in florida _ voices and their actions. you are in florida and _ voices and their actions. you are in florida and there - voices and their actions. you are in florida and there has been cuban populations there, how much pressure is the community exerting on president biden and how much is this driving his agenda? and how much of that driving his agenda?— much of that driving his arenda? , �* , agenda? president biden is -robabl agenda? president biden is probably one _ agenda? president biden is probably one of _ agenda? president biden is probably one of the - agenda? president biden is probably one of the most i agenda? president biden is i probably one of the most truly moral leaders we have ever had. he is a man who says what he means. i think he understands the cuban dais bra and he understands their calls for accountability but let make no mistake he will always try to do the right thing —— diaspora and he is holding the actors

accountable and holding a failed state accountable. even though, yes, people are calling for it, also people in miami are calling for different things. many of us are calling for peaceful humanitarian international intervention and you have those who are calling violence for violence and i think president biden is doing the right thing by amplifying the right thing by amplifying the message of the cuban people, getting out through their cellphones or videos, showing world leaders and actors what is actually happening in cuba and trying to create the network to hold the regime, the regime switched to the fire. if you want to leave your people, you have to listen to them. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: our correspondent in tokyo looks ahead to an olympics in her home city and looks back at family memories of the last time the summer games came to japan.

mission control: we see - you coming down the ladder now. neil armstrong: 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's 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. crowd: three, two, one! thousands of households across the country are suspiciously- quiet this lunchtime - as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. -

this is bbc world news, our main headline: 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. let's stay with this — and 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! she's been gauging the feeling on the ground. i don't know if you can see behind me but there are many people waiting for their turn to take pictures with olympic rings and there was a long line here when we first got here at six in the morning so of the controversies and even the people are rather fed controversies and even the people are ratherfed up controversies and even the people are rather fed up about about all the scandals, i think it's fair to say that some people are getting excited at

the games are finally under way and ifelt the games are finally under way and i felt that exact excitement eight years ago when my home town won the right to host these games so i put together this report about the conflicting emotions i had. take a look. i'm at shibuya crossing in tokyo, arguably my favourite place in the world. it's great to be back injapan, reporting on the olympics in my home town 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 196a, that was a powerful symbol ofa newjapan, 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 home town will be rooting for the athletes and the olympic spirit. and we keep comparing this event with a 196a summer games the city also hosted but one big difference is that when the opening ceremony takes place,

there will be two flag bearers, one male and one female, gender balance, but a basketball player, his father is from bannon and it is fair to say that 60 years ago it would have been unimaginable for a biracial athlete to be representing japan so slowly and gradually we are seeing the changes that japan is and gradually we are seeing the changes thatjapan is going through. now to a sport which takes incredible athletic ability, endurance and training but is not in the olympics, it's free diving. the vertical blue freediving competition has been taking place at dean's blue hole in the bahamas over the last week, and some impressive records have been broken, including a new constant weight women's world record. slovenian diver alenka artnik, set a new world record, reaching a depth of 122 metres. that's a00 feet in 3 minutes and 3a seconds.

well, a short time ago, i spoke to alenka and asker how she is feeling after setting her third world record this week. amazing, you know, honestly, i think i will need a few more days to process this and what just happened. the last week, the last ten days actually were really, really intense so i'm looking forward to going home and just lay in my bed and process what just and just lay in my bed and process whatjust happened. tele health, 122 metres down, scuba divers don't even go that deep, what is it like down there? i've seen on the videos you have to wear a head torch? exactly, this dean's blue hole is very specific for this reason because actually below, at-90 reason because actually below, at—90 metres is pitch black basically you don't see anything and we need a little torch on our head for the

rotation so we are capable to see the rope in front of us. usually we are free diving in open sea and even though we are diving way below 100 metres we can always see something but here at dean's blue hole we see nothing. this is very specific for this place. on the other hand,it for this place. on the other hand, it gives us, i don't know, may be easier to relax because it's so dark and basically you close your eyes and at some point you start thinking and feel the sensation and it's really magical. let our stress _ and it's really magical. let our stress you _ and it's really magical. let our stress you are - our stress you are professional. the practice for this. this is not something people should try at home. how do you train for something like this? , :, , this? free diving is a very complex _ this? free diving is a very complex and _ this? free diving is a very complex and specific - this? free diving is a very i complex and specific sport. basically we need to train in sequence. like every athlete we spent a lot of hours in the gym and training is very important,

strength is important, we need to train in the pool to master the fin technique and many specific breeding training because we need to develop our toxic tolerance. for this reason, we are doing everything on a breath hold and there is this i would say really specific training for free diving which is the mental aspect which i think is actually important in all sports but in free diving it is even more. we have to spend a lot of time on the mental aspects and obviously as there is this big pressure down there, the pressure is really, really huge, we need to be very flexible and do a lot of exercises for rib cage flexibility as well. absolutely incredible stuff! _ flexibility as well. absolutely incredible stuff! before - flexibility as well. absolutely incredible stuff! before we i flexibility as well. absolutely i incredible stuff! before we go, the top story, the final countdown to tokyo's delayed

olympics and anticipation rises but so do the covid cases and controversy. the opening ceremony is just hours away. more on that on the bbc website and the bbc app. 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.a 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 through the early hours in some areas, temperatures still around 20 degrees celsius. it is quiet on the weather front and, at least for now,

clear skies across many western and southern areas but through the morning and into the afternoon, some coastal towns and cities along the north sea coast, probably staying cloudy, fairly cool as well, relatively speaking, with the breeze blowing out of the east and that heat still travelling towards the west, this is where we will have the higher temperatures so once again, 30 degrees is just about possible in northern ireland, high 20s across wales, may be the midlands, look at that, only 2a 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 south—west 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 south—eastern areas. again, the best of the weather out towards the north—west. glasgow could be the warm spot, possibly northern ireland as well, around 2a 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: tokyo's olympic organisers say the opening ceremony will go ahead in a few hours' time without any major changes, despite the sacking of the show�*s creative director over past comments he made about the holocaust. daily covid infections in tokyo are now higher than at any time since january. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the central chinese region of hunan, where officials have confirmed that at least 33 people have died after severe flooding. that includes a dozen commuters in the provincial capital zhengzhou who were caught on the city's underground as carriages filled with water. washington has imposed sanctions on cuba's defence minister and a unit of the country's security forces over the repression of 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. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk

with stephen sackur.