this is bbc news. i'm samantha simmonds with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. tokyo records its highest number of daily covid cases in six months with the olympics' opening ceremony now just hours away. i'm sarah mulkerrins, live in tokyo, where organisers are hoping the sporting action will boost the mood of the nation. new zealand suspends its quarantine—free travel bubble with australia for at least eight weeks as covid outbreaks continue to rise. france debates whether to extend a covid health pass scheme to restrict access to bars, restaurants and public transport with infection rates rising again. and british rock icon eric clapton refuses to perform at venues requiring covid

vaccines for concertgoers. hello and welcome to the programme. tokyo has recorded its highest number of new daily covid cases for six months ahead of the olympics' opening ceremony in a matter of hours. almost 2,000 infections have been reported as the host city remains under a state of emergency. the official opening of the games later will be a subdued affair, with just 1,000 guests due to attend. let's go live now to our sports presenter, sarah mulkerrins, who's in tokyo. and sarah, there's only a matter of hours remaining until the opening ceremony? good afternoon and welcome to

tokyo. we all wondered, didn't we, if we would ever get here to the opening day of the olympic games with the official ceremonyjust hours away. the coronavirus pandemic, well, it has altered the shape of these games into something we have never quite seen before for an 0lympics. they were delayed by one year, they are now here but they are, as you say, a more subdued affair. today we had got the latest numbers on coronavirus cases linked these games — three more athletes testing positive, one in the athletes�* village, 19 people in total related to the games have tested positive today so it brings the total number so far related to the olympic games with the positive tests to over 100. and when you think that you, you couple those cases with the incidences here in tokyo which have reached close to 2000 for the first time since january, to 2000 for the first time sincejanuary, you can to 2000 for the first time since january, you can really see why there is an awful lot of anxiety about the games

here. the official ceremony will take place a little bit later, eight o�*clock local time, not quite the show we would have seen in past 0lympics. it�*s always a moment, isn�*t it, for a nation to set its stall out on a global stage. there will still be lots of japanese culture and art involved but only 950 people in attendance, the amount of athletes in each team has also been cut down in order to keep everybody safe. but interestingly for the first time, each nation will have both a male and female flag bearer. this week we had president of the ioc thomas bach saying that he had a lot of sleepless nights in the build—up these games and i think everyone may well sleep a little easier if the ceremony and the games go to plan over the next couple of weeks. let�*s speak to our report on the ground in tokyo, mariko 0i. mariko, this pre—pandemic would have been such a proud moment

for people in tokyo, people all around japan and i wonder what sense you feel now about how people are feeling today? i think, as you say, i still remember vividly the moment that tokyo won the right to host — that tokyo won the right to host the _ that tokyo won the right to host the 2020 summer games which — host the 2020 summer games which of— host the 2020 summer games which of course have been delayed _ which of course have been delayed by one year. but people including — delayed by one year. but people including myself were all very, very— including myself were all very, very excited so it's been rather— very excited so it's been rather disheartening to see a scandal after scandal surrounding the games as well as, especially, i should say, the opening ceremony. but i was actually— the opening ceremony. but i was actually outside the olympic stadium earlier today and i saw a long queue of people waiting for their— a long queue of people waiting for their turn to take a photograph with the olympic rings — photograph with the olympic rings and of course they are hot — rings and of course they are not allowed to be inside the stadium _ not allowed to be inside the stadium so that is the only place — stadium so that is the only place where they could see anything remotely like the olympics but i think it is fair to say— olympics but i think it is fair to say that some people are at least _ to say that some people are at least starting to get excited so i least starting to get excited so i put _ least starting to get excited so i put together a report

about— so i put together a report about all of these conflicting emotions that i've been having so take a — emotions that i've been having so take a look. i met should be a crossing in tokyd — —— 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 1964, 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. sarah, we keep comparing this olympics with the 1964 games, 'ust olympics with the 1964 games, just as — olympics with the 1964 games, just as i — olympics with the 1964 games, just as i did, in the report. but — just as i did, in the report. but a _ just as i did, in the report. but a stark difference is that later — but a stark difference is that later today in the opening ceremony, as you mentioned, we will ceremony, as you mentioned, we wiii ail— ceremony, as you mentioned, we will all have — ceremony, as you mentioned, we will all have two flag bearers, one male _ will all have two flag bearers, one male and female athlete, but representing japan is louis

had to— but representing japan is louis had to mirror, his father is from — had to mirror, his father is from bennion and it's fair to say— from bennion and it's fair to say that— from bennion and it's fair to say that 60 years ago, it will be unimaginable to have a biraciai— be unimaginable to have a biracialjapanese athletes biracial japanese athletes representing the biracialjapanese athletes representing the country so slowly _ representing the country so slowly but surely we are seeing some _ slowly but surely we are seeing some changes that japan is going — some changes that japan is going through. —— benin. thank you very much forjoining us, a wonderful report and just on a whole range of emotions that i think everyone is feeling about these olympic games and to let you know, opening ceremony is hours away, there has been action already, the rowing venue is over to my right hand side and there have been some heat in that today, along with some artery and shooting and equestrian and i know i will be back a little later on where we can focus more on the spot, sam. sarah, we will see _ more on the spot, sam. sarah, we will see you _ more on the spot, sam. sarah, we will see you then. _ more on the spot, sam. sarah, | we will see you then. thank you for that. we will see you then. thank you forthat. —— we will see you then. thank you for that. —— focus on the sport. let�*s get some of the day�*s other news. the united states has accused china of "stonewalling" an international investigation into the origins of covid—19.

the white house said china�*s reluctance to allow the world health organization to audit some of its laboratories was "irresponsible" and "dangerous". china has strongly rejected a theory that the virus may have leaked from a lab in wuhan. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the region of hunan 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 rail system. 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. the french president emmanuel macron has changed his phone and number after it was reported to be on the list of targets of the israeli—made spyware pegasus. he has also ordered an overhaul of security protocols. thousands of people working in the food supply chain in england are to be excused from self—isolation if they�*re pinged by the nhs covid—19 app. they�*ll have to take daily coronavirus tests instead. the uk government has been

under pressure to change the system because of the huge number of people receiving alerts. italy is the latest country to announce it will introduce a mandatory coronavirus vaccination certificate scheme. starting next month, it will allow people who�*ve received at least one jab to access a range of indoor venues, including cinemas and gyms. in france, lawmakers are debating whether to restrict access to bars, restaurants and public transport to those who have had a covid vaccine, or can show proof of a negative test. our paris correspondent lucy williamson has been talking to those for and against the new rules. if the government had its way, a point of beer, a blistering ones, a morning coffee will all require proof that the customer

is covid — free. daniel runs this bistro a stone�*s throw from the old paris stock exchange. the bill being debated this week is designed to keep france open for business in the face of what the government is calling the fourth wave of infections. but daniel says it is going to be fun. �* ., ., ., ., fun. i'm never going to ask for the health _ fun. i'm never going to ask for the health advice. _ fun. i'm never going to ask for the health advice. i _ fun. i'm never going to ask for the health advice. i am - fun. i'm never going to ask for the health advice. i am not. fun. i'm never going to ask for the health advice. i am not a l the health advice. i am not a policeman, i don�*t have that kind of authority. no, i will not do it. i think it shows a lack of respect and is not the kind of congeniality we should have in france.— have in france. matthew will keep coming _ have in france. matthew will keep coming for lunch - have in france. matthew will. keep coming for lunch anyway. he works in finance and says there is no alternative to the health past. iiii there is no alternative to the health past-— there is no alternative to the health past. if you want to go to avoid another— health past. if you want to go to avoid another confinementj health past. if you want to go i to avoid another confinement in a couple of confinements, another painful thing and keep the economy going, no choice —— health pass. ads, the economy going, no choice -- health pass— health pass. a ma'ority here seem to support _ health pass. a majority here - seem to support the government plan but this being france, opposition to it has been vocal

too. more than 100,000 people protested here last week. and they have been fresh protests outside the national assembly. if you have compare the current government to the nazi occupation here. i government to the nazi occupation here.- government to the nazi occupation here. i am here because — occupation here. i am here because we _ occupation here. i am here because we need - occupation here. i am here because we need to - occupation here. i am here because we need to save l occupation here. i am here l because we need to save the freedom, freedom. i think that if you are obliged to do something, it�*s a kind of dictator. it�*s like if the government wanted to force us to have this vaccine. the vaccine _ to have this vaccine. the vaccine is _ to have this vaccine. the vaccine is seen as - to have this vaccine. the vaccine is seen as a - to have this vaccine. the l vaccine is seen as a way to avoid lockdown and this new law, the stick rather than the current in getting people to sign up. but for those who already see the government as arrogant and out of touch, it�*s another constraint, another control. he covid who is already required for entry to many public spaces, and that the eiffel tower, tests are

available for anyone who arrives without one —— a health pass. because even the most divisive ideas can sometimes become an accepted part of france. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. do stay with us. still to come: the south african swimmer hoping to add to his medal tally in tokyo, despite all the challenges of training during a global pandemic. 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 news. the latest headlines: tokyo has recorded its highest number of daily covid cases in six months, with the olympics opening ceremony just hours away. new zealand has suspended its quarantine—free travel bubble with australia for at least eight weeks as covid outbreaks continue to rise. a study by oxford university has found that daily lateral flow testing for pupils exposed to covid—19 may be

equally as effective as isolating "bubbles" to control transmission in schools. our health correspondent, naomi grimley has more. the isolating of bubbles in schools has no end of frustration in households in this pandemic. take last week for example, department for education says that onjuly 15, department for education says that onjuly15, over1 million state school pupils in england did not attend class for covid related reasons. of those, more than 930,000 were than 930 , 000 were self—isolating than 930,000 were self—isolating due to a possible contact with a covid case. but, a new study by oxford university suggests that daily testing is a safe alternative to isolating contacts. researchers followed pupils and staff in more than 200 schools. in more than half of the close contacts of

positive cases, they had to isolate for ten days. in the other half, however, close contacts of positive cases were offered supervised daily tests at school over seven days. they were allowed to carry on as normal ever negative. i think the results of this study are really, really reassuring for parents as well as for students and for teachers. what we see here is that for people in schools and colleges, the chances of getting infected with cubba 19 when there has been a case in a school or college, it is low, it is less than one and two, less than 50. they can also pick up these people that are most infectious even when they don�*t have symptoms. i am confident that what this study shows is and colleges. researchers said this would make _ and colleges. researchers said this would make encouraging l this would make encouraging reading for parents and teachers, especially as they believe daily contact testing could reduce covid related absences by as much as 39%.

let�*s go back to the olympics. our reporter is in tokyo. we are going to talk about all of the action now. yes, when you think of the olympics, two big events come into mind, the swimming which always takes over the first week, and then it moves into track and field, they are always the big events. the swimming will get under way on saturday morning, but no medals because they will come on sunday morning, it won�*t be long before we get some of those. when you think of some of the big names that might be competing here, there is always going to be dominant americans. however, caleb tressel is the swimmer that they hope to fill the shoes for a replacing member. another great swimmer

as katie led jackie, going for more medals there. they will have a great rivalry with the australians. there is one swimmer in particular, rel, she will probably push katie the most, so that�*ll be interesting to see how the battle plays out. if you think about the previous olympics in london and in rio, you remember one character in particular, a south african swimmer whose father was doing brilliant tv interviews. he won gold in london and silver in rio. he is determined he wants to leave a lasting legacy in his sport. he believes that he can be the best swimmer and leave that legacy for south africa, but he is — he has had a tricky time in the buildup to the pandemic. he had a very negative lead up to the games. he is concerned he may not

be as well—prepared as his competitors. our reporter here. i really do want to be recognised as the best, but i want — recognised as the best, but i want to— recognised as the best, but i want to say he is the best athlete _ want to say he is the best athlete south africa has had. he is— athlete south africa has had. he is working on his legacy, he has multiple commonwealth titles and four olympic medals, one of them goals from the 2012 games when beating michael phelps. in tokyo, he hopes to increase his tally, but preparations have been farfrom ideal. i have had a bad six months. we haven�*t had the greatest buildup in a south african swimming. we haven�*t had any facilities for the first week of january, south africa went into total lockdown. we couldn�*t travel. i think the biggest challenges is that all of my coaches have been overseas, stuck in europe. the rescheduling of the olympics has been controversial injapan. even last month, protesters were calling for the games to be called off. they are going to head—butt under

heavy restrictions. a state of emergency will be in place. 43, there is no doubt that holding there is no doubt that holding the games is the right position. we need to have the olympics, because we have trained so hard for this. we deserve an olympic games. people deserve a show. this could be a beacon of light for everyone around the world. over 19 has impacted more than his training for his third olympics. the south african has suffered personal loss. i lost my uncle just before christmas to covid. it put things in perspective, you know, i have had a tough time with my family, there has been cans in 2016, my mother. i was devastated with my results. looking back, iwas looking back, i was thinking, winning five gold medals, and the interest of my family — my mother was safe, she had cancer. looking back now, it wasn�*t that bad. 2016 wasn�*t that bad, it was nothing. people are losing lives to covid. chad le clos is using the experience of the last

three months due get motivation to win medals in tokyo. it is huge motivation for me. i will be raising two guys who have broken the records of michael phelps, but i believe i will be great, i will be in the mix for the medals, i will be in the mix for gold medals. i can�*t promise either all but i will fight to the end. chad le clos there, what a story for him, what a journey he has been on in recent years. we will be looking out for him. in fact, he will be in the opec stadium later because he is going to be one of those african athletes carrying the flag and that — into the stadium in the opening ceremony. the buildup really happening over the last one or two days. the one of the things we always associate with the olympics is the olympic flame and the torch relay. it has been around tokyo in the last couple of days. they have been instances of the torch relay

modified, of course, in a covid times. not the usual ones you would see making its way all around the nations that are hosting it, but it has had little moments of what it feels like for those people to be able to carry a bit of the olympic flame. that will make its way into the opec stadium at eight o�*clock local time for that opening ceremony. much scaled back, of course with all of the restrictions. 950 spectators will be in that stadium. cut down teams. it will be quite a different showing. it is interesting when you think about the olympic games in the opening ceremony, 1960 for, the tokyo games with the first to televise the opening ceremony, and they would have wanted to put on a show, so it will be quite different later. yes, and i rememberthe different later. yes, and i remember the olympic torch travelling through london summit years ago. it is quite a sight. thank you.

new zealand has suspended its quarantine—free travel bubble with australia for at least eight weeks. the bubble opened to great fanfare in april after both countries appeared to have controlled the pandemic. however, new zealand has been made to act. the prime minister has seven days to return to avoid quarantine. new south wales and south australia are in lockdown. new zealand has gone many weeks without a community case of coronavirus. british rock icon eric clapton, who had a severe reaction to the astrazeneca vaccine, has said he will not perform at venues that require concertgoers to be fully vaccinated against covid—19. he says he objects to having a "discriminated audience present". the uk prime minister boris johnson has said proof of vaccination must be shown at clubs and venues from september, as experts insist the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks for most people. mark lobel reports.

eric clapton spoke out about vaccines and it may, revealing his severe reaction to the astrazeneca one. he feared it would leave him unable to play music again, and earlier this week he had a bad reaction to this. we are planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gathered. following that, eric clapton issued a statement on the telegram account of an italian architect and covid sceptic. he

eric clapton�*s concerts hit america in september where vaccine proof is only required in a few venues, and there is a european tour next year, including london�*s royal albert hall and may. i am a huge fan of eric clapton and i am shone. you have got to be fair, think of the audience, think of 5000 people or 30,000 people they are all crowded together. you don�*t want to become a super spreader. are you worried this will put off people from getting vaccinated? i am 100% concerned that it will slow down the vaccination rate, and it has. but, in the uk, these protesters met outside parliament to demonstrate their objections to vaccinations, and there are reports that some politicians from inside boris johnson�*s conservative party may boycott that autumn conference if vaccines are entry requirement there. elsewhere, the lead singer of the british pop group, right

kappa said kappa fred, so that they are little more than lab rats. but not everybody sees it that way. so many rock stars are going on the other side. such as dave groll and the few fighters. they will not play a considered unless people show vaccination proof. i wish more artists were like them and said, get the vaccine, we need to stop this virus now while we can. concerns about side—effects contribute to hesitancy, but medical experts stressed that evenif medical experts stressed that even if people experience mild to moderate symptoms after vaccination, the benefit of vaccination, the benefit of vaccination outweighs the risk for the people. michael bell, bbc news. please stay with us, we will talk about the pingdemic and how being pinged by the nhs covid pass is affecting 70

industries. some people have had an exception. i will speak to the society of manufacturers. in the meantime, reach me on twitter. 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 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 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 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 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 with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. battling the �*pingdemic�* — uk businesses struggle with staff shortages as hundreds of thousands are told to self—isolate by the nhs app. service unavailable! thousands of major website — from aianb to hsbc — taken offline in a global internet outage. so what went wrong? tight times for tech. the chip shortage could be set to continue as intel warns it still faces supply constraints. life after trump for twitter — the platform sees users and revenues surge, despite calmer times in us politics and the ban on its tweeter in chief.

plus, crocs rock in lockdown dress—down.