this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines. a spectacular start to the olympic games with the opening ceremony under way now. more than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete. a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies could have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the victims�* families say they feel vindicated. for a very long time there's been no doubt in my mind that 0magh was a preventable atrocity, but nobody wanted to hear that message. not the irish government, not the british government. thousands of workers in the food supply chain in england no longer

need to isolate if pinged by the covid app, as long as they test negative. daily testing for pupils is just as effective at controlling covid in schools as self isolation, according to new research. a new study says an eight—week gap between the first and second doses of the pfizer vaccine is most effective for building immunity against covid. and the family of a british woman who went missing from her boyfriend's yacht in the caribbean, appeal for him to help police find out what happened on the night she disappeared. hello. good afternoon. good afternoon. it is one year late and has

been beset by problems, but the olympics are finally formally starting in toyko. the opening ceremony injapan�*s national stadium is under way. the three and a half hours long spectacle has been described as sombre, reflecting the mood of a nation which is having to host the biggest sporting event in the world during a pandemic. just 22 of team gb�*s 375—strong squad joined a much—reduced athletes�* parade. so let's take a look at some of the highlights of the opening ceremony so far. bombastic music plays. i would have said don't expect fireworks but there we are, we've gone early on the fireworks. the stadium itself forming the zero. indigo, blue and white. sombre music plays.

miyake yoshinobu, a former weightlifter. competed at four olympic games in a row. 0ne gold back to back in �*64 and �*68. this section begins with a rendition of the work song which has been sung since the edo period, the edo name being the original name for tokyo and the period beginning in 1603 and lasting for over 250 yea rs. just a flavour of the opening ceremony for you. our sports correspondent natalie pirks is inside the olympic stadium.

natalie, supposed to be the greatest show on earth but one with no spectators? show on earth but one with no spectators?— spectators? yeah, it's a very stranue spectators? yeah, it's a very strange affair _ spectators? yeah, it's a very strange affair it _ spectators? yeah, it's a very strange affair it has - spectators? yeah, it's a very strange affair it has to - spectators? yeah, it's a very strange affair it has to be - spectators? yeah, it's a very i strange affair it has to be said, being in here without spectators, because you can really hear when the other countries, the media coverfor those countries and start to clap and cheer for the country is coming in because normally of course you would hear the spectators doing that for them. we are still on the parade of nations, which takes two hours. we've got 60 countries to go but believe it or not they are getting through it them quite a rapid pace because as you said earlier, there are greatly reduced numbers of athletes here. more than 11,000 participating in the games but only around 5000 tonight coming into the stadium. forteam gb, there around 5000 tonight coming into the stadium. for team gb, there were just 22 and i not only that there is the olympic park, events all over the olympic park, events all over the place, but it also shows that there are worries and fears over covid problems. you do not want to

catch covid before you go into the biggest event of your life, so just 22 for team gb. the flag—bearers for the first time, a man and a woman, hannah mills both defending champions from rio and hannah said this was the greatest honour of her career. you know what this means to be athletes, but this was a very different opening ceremony. in the past for example, london we saw the queen parachuting in, someone looking like the queen parachuting, but this is very, very different. a sombre affair, muted, and i think it really reflects the times we have been living in a. it would be very difficult for the japanese to put on this huge celebration when the japanese public, who are paying for it, can't come in to see it, so i think it has been quite fitting that they have done it like this. the ioc president thomas bach said the olympics ascending hope to the

0lympics ascending hope to the fragile world uns of the opening ceremony highlights the themes of resilience, solidarity and unity for that there wasn't much unity from the protesters we could hear outside, quite a noisy minority i would say, whether is saying things like stop the games. they were loud enough to be heard inside here, so it's very clear not every single person in this country once these games. a recent survey suggested that two thirds of the public thought that japan could not deliver a safe games. covid infection levels are rising. there's been another 19 todayjust are rising. there's been another 19 today just from are rising. there's been another 19 todayjust from people excited from the olympics, three athletes, doing little to soothe the anxieties around the japanese public, but in a bet, once all this has finished, we will get the traditional lighting of the olympic cauldron. for the first time it will be done using hydrogen in a bid to keep these games environmentally friendly, and then we will have fireworks and that is the moment the olympic games are deemed open and we will have 18 days

of more sport and more events than we have ever seen in any other 0lympic we have ever seen in any other olympic games and it really hopes this will be the moment when the japanese public start to see their teams and individual athletes doing well and that will be the moment this really catches fire for them because japan should do well at these games forth in host nations tend to. japan has picked some new sports but i have got every chance of getting gold medals. so hopefully, the next 18 days will bring a smorgasbord of sport which will unite a world that sorely needs it. ., ., will unite a world that sorely needs it. . ., ., ~ will unite a world that sorely needs it. indeed, natalie, thank you very much indeed- _ a high courtjudge has ruled there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies could have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the attack, which was carried out by the dissident republican group the real ira, was the worst single atrocity of the conflict in northern ireland, resulting in the deaths of 29 people. in 2013, the government said it

would not hold a public inquiry. let's talk to our correspondent in 0magh, danjohnson. i suppose it must haunt the relatives of the victims, this idea that it could have been prevented? yes, that is the question that has stood out for them, what did the intelligence services know, how well with that information shared, and if that had been done better, more comprehensively, could that have been more action either to stop the bombing, to save more lives or even to bring to prosecution the people who committed that attack? that is never successfully happened either. the families have challenged through judicial review that decision by the uk government not to hold a public enquiry and thejudge has reported back today saying not necessarily a public enquiry is needed, but there is a need for some form of investigation into what the intelligence services were monitoring, what evidence they had, what phone calls have a listen to?

it was believed they had transcripts and the monitoring mobile phone calls as the bombers driven into northern ireland park from this memorial garden in 0magh. they had a short time to clear the area after a morning but because of the warning was not clear, the operation to try to evacuate the town centre of 0magh was not a very effective and that's why 29 people lost their lives in what was the single worst atrocity of the entire troubles. in delivering this judgment today, the high courtjudge said he was satisfied that there are certain grounds to give plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the bombing and he said any investigation will have to look at whether a more proactive campaign of disruption, especially of coordinated north and south of the border, had a prospect of preventing the bombing and whether the potential advantages of taking a much more aggressive approach towards suspected terrorists outweigh the potential disadvantages inherent in such an

approach. well, that news has been welcomed by the families of the victims, including michael gallagher, whose son aidan died here in the 0magh bombing in august 1998 and he said the families today feel vindicated. we and he said the families today feel vindicated. ~ . ., vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years- _ vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years- i _ vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years. i mean, _ vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years. i mean, let _ vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years. i mean, let me - vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years. i mean, let me put i vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years. i mean, let me put it| for 23 years. i mean, let me put it this way, — for 23 years. i mean, let me put it this way, for— for 23 years. i mean, let me put it this way, for a very long time this way, fora very long time there's— this way, for a very long time there's been no doubt in my mind that 0magh was a preventable atrocity — that 0magh was a preventable atrocity. but nobody wanted to hear that message. not the irish government, not the british government. but now we have an independent person who has said it and i_ independent person who has said it and i think— independent person who has said it and i think that is hugely relieving. i didn't sleep much last night _ relieving. i didn't sleep much last night but — relieving. i didn't sleep much last night but i — relieving. i didn't sleep much last night but i will sleep much better tonight — night but i will sleep much better tonight. we night but i will sleep much better toniaht. ~ ., ., , night but i will sleep much better toniaht. ~ ., , tonight. we will have to see exactly what form of _ tonight. we will have to see exactly what form of investigation - tonight. we will have to see exactly what form of investigation is - tonight. we will have to see exactly what form of investigation is now i what form of investigation is now put into place into those events backin put into place into those events back in 1998 but the initial response from the british government to the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis said he wanted to put on record the deep regret that the families had to wait so long to find out what had happened, he said they deserve answers and he had great

respect for their patience, grace and determination and so the british government recognise today that the court has set out their plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the 0magh bombing and more should be done now to investigate datums of the uk government will take time to consider thejudge government will take time to consider the judge statement and all its recommendations carefully but certainly it means that in terms of looking back at the past, particularly of the 0magh bombing, there will be more to come on this even though the uk government is trying to stop all historical investigations, enquiries, prosecutions into events during the troubles because the 0magh bombing took place in the summer of 1998 after the belfast good friday agreement the potential are still there for investigation and that's what a judge is now recommending. all right, thank you very much, dan johnson from 0magh. daily lateral flow tests for pupils may be just as effective as class bubbles to control transmission of covid in schools — according to a study by oxford university. more than a million children in england were forced to stay away

from school last week for covid—related reasons. our health correspondent, naomi grimley has more. the isolating of bubbles in schools has caused no end of frustration in this pandemic. last thursday, for example, more than a million state school pupils in england did not attend class for covid—19 related reasons. of those, more than 900,000 were self isolating, due to a possible contact with a case. but a new study by oxford university suggests that if daily lateral flow testing is done in school over seven days, it's just as good at preventing transmission as isolating pupils at home. what we see here is that for people in schools and colleges, the chance of getting infected with covid—19 when there has been a case in the school or college is low — it's less than 2%, one in 50. i am really confident that what this study shows us is that daily testing of contacts is a safe thing to do in schools and colleges. the researchers believe daily contact testing like this can help

reduce school absences. but can schools cope with this kind of intensive testing done on site? it's very difficult. we've made it work before. i'm sure with the help of my support staff we can make it work again, but we need to know exactly what is expected of us and we need to know as soon as possible. but we need clarity, we need consistency, we need our kids in school and the staff to be able to teach them. some experts worry whether lateral flow tests will detect enough positive cases, especially when infections are running high. but government advisers say the research is a breakthrough, considering how much learning has already been disrupted. naomi grimley, bbc news. thousands of people in the food supply chain in england, who are told to self—isolate by the nhs tracing app, are now allowed to carry on working as long as they test negative for covid. a government scheme has begun which means staff at 15 supermarket

depots are now able to take a daily test instead. and other key sectors will be able to join the scheme next week. simon browning reports. empty shelves, gaps in food supply. industry has blamed the problem on the amount of critical food sector workers being pinged and they wanted action. last night, the government intervened. now, supermarket depot workers and food manufacturers will be exempt from self—isolating rules. workers, regardless of vaccination status, will be able to do daily covid testing, instead of isolating. it's expected 10,000 workers will qualify. new daily testing measures are beginning at 15 supermarket depots, followed by 150 more next week. supermarket store staff are not included. industry has broadly welcomed the changes. i think any intervention is welcome. i think we were all feeling in the food industry in particular, that something needed to happen, something needed to change. any change, any improvement is welcome. we've got to see the devil in the detail here. it has been highlighted that only

certain companies are on the list. who is on the list? who has been identified? it is notjust the food sector that wants exemptions for isolating staff. the government is offering a limited number of exclusions for 16 critical industries, such as energy, the nuclear industry, medicines and water supply. those government departments will agree with these key businesses, people, and so for instance the water industry, the nuclear power industry agree with them the job roles that should be included in this and you'll have quite an expedited system where, if they want somebody to come off isolation, they'll simply provide the name and that will be agreed. but unions say with three weeks till self isolation rules change, these sectors are presented with difficulties because they expect some workers will qualify for exemption and others won't. in a power station, in telecommunications, critical defence infrastructure, these are all interdependent occupations. and just listing named individuals, which seems to be at the core

of this proposal, won't work. as businesses across the country adapt, the government maintains the app is doing itsjob and is needed to stem the rising tide of coronavirus infections. simon browning, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news. a spectacular start to the olympic games with the opening ceremony under way. now more than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete. a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies could have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the victim's families say they feel vindicated. thousands of workers in the food supply chain in england no longer need to isolate if pinged by the covid app, as long as they test negative.

a new study has concluded that an eight—week gap between the first and second doses of the pfizer—biontech vaccine is the best for building immunity against covid. the pitch study found it allows the body's immune system to produce more infection—fighting antibodies. dr thushan de silva is a senior clinical lecturer in infectious diseases at the university of sheffield, and co—author of this study. thank you for being with us to tell us a bit more about it. how did you reach this conclusion that eight weeks as a gap is the sweet spot? the first thing to say is that these are immunology results and we await data on the clinical vaccine effectiveness of the different dosing strategies, so we looked at 503 health care workers across five centres in england and compared how two different arms of immune response, antibodies and t cells, responded in people given the pfizer vaccine according to a short course, so average three weeks apart

compared to an extended or long interval, ten weeks apart, which as you know many people in the uk have had and we found two main thing is, firstly antibody levels fell significantly during the ten week long interval after the first dose. but t cell responses were maintained. and on average, people who had the long interval dosing ended up with higher antibody responses after the second dose compared to those with the short interval, including variants of concern. it's important to say that these are at a population level not individual, and there's a lot of variability in immune response and ultimately good responses were seen with both courses. qm. ultimately good responses were seen with both courses.— with both courses. ok, so translate what that might _ with both courses. ok, so translate what that might mean _ with both courses. ok, so translate what that might mean to _ with both courses. ok, so translatej what that might mean to somebody with both courses. ok, so translate - what that might mean to somebody who may be as had the firstjab of pfizer, perhaps rushing to get the second one, i know a lot of people are because i want to go on holiday for example, and what would you say to them? should they wait the full eight weeks or what is the difference if you only made four or

five weeks, how much difference does that make? , , , that make? yes, sure, the first thin to that make? yes, sure, the first thing to say _ that make? yes, sure, the first thing to say is _ that make? yes, sure, the first thing to say is that _ that make? yes, sure, the first thing to say is that if _ that make? yes, sure, the first thing to say is that if someone | that make? yes, sure, the first. thing to say is that if someone has already had the sword course you shouldn't be worried. most people have very good responses. in terms of the interval it's really about getting the balance right. with the current high levels of transmission, delta variant in the uk, we want as many people vaccinated with two doses as possible whilst trying to doses as possible whilst trying to do it in a way that maximises how protected you up afterwards, so i think based on this, our data would support an eight week interval and so it would be suitable. this support an eight week interval and so it would be suitable.— so it would be suitable. this was “ust the so it would be suitable. this was just the pfizer — so it would be suitable. this was just the pfizer vaccine, - so it would be suitable. this was just the pfizer vaccine, wasn't i so it would be suitable. this was | just the pfizer vaccine, wasn't it? what is the picture with the other vaccines as far as you know? yeah, with the astrazeneca _ vaccines as far as you know? yeah, with the astrazeneca vaccine - vaccines as far as you know? yeah, with the astrazeneca vaccine we i with the astrazeneca vaccine we actually have similar data from the original clinical trials and so individuals who had a 12 week interval between their doses actually had higher antibody levels and matched critical data showing protection, which is why that interval was chosen for the

astrazeneca vaccine to start with. all of this is very new, isn't it? it feels like this pandemic has been around forever but this sort of research are still very cutting edge and a very new. we've only had the vaccine for a very short period of time so we are finding out stuff like this all the time.— like this all the time. yeah, i auree. like this all the time. yeah, i agree- part _ like this all the time. yeah, i agree. part of _ like this all the time. yeah, i agree. part of the _ like this all the time. yeah, i agree. part of the reason - like this all the time. yeah, i agree. part of the reason to l agree. part of the reason to generate real—world data like this in pandemics is to refine what we do next. and that's what lots of studies, including our own, were set “p studies, including our own, were set up to do. studies, including our own, were set u- to do. studies, including our own, were set u. to do, ., studies, including our own, were set u- to do. ., ., ~ ., ., up to do. good to talk to you and aood luck up to do. good to talk to you and good luck with _ up to do. good to talk to you and good luck with your _ up to do. good to talk to you and good luck with your further - good luck with your further research. the government's plans to end the extra universal credit payment would be the biggest overnight reduction in the basic rate of social security since the creation of the welfare state. that's according to thejoseph rowntree foundation. the government introduced a £20 a week uplift to the basic entitlement at the start of the pandemic, but that's due to come to an end in october. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley has this report.

for many families, the pandemic has been a time of unprecedented challenges. the government added £20 a week to universal credit payments last march. it was a big increase, but it was temporary. and the uplift is due to come to an end in october. i'm anthony. i'm a father of two. i became redundantjust before the lockdown due to ill health. anthony says the end of the extra money will mean some tough choices. for us as a household, we are going to be left with the question of food versus fuel, or fuel versus clothes, you know, just the basic necessities. there are many households which have grown to rely on the uplift money as a source ofjust functioning. the number of universal credit claimants has almost doubled during the pandemic, and some are worried that taking away the extra money could have a big impact.

at the end of a year that's probably the worst many people have seen since the war, we're going to be hitting families right as we go into the winter. what we're going to find is that there are millions of families who are going to go hungry this winter, who are not going to be able to put the heating on. the uplift costs a lot though — £6 billion a year. in here, the treasury, the government is trying to bring spending down after the unprecedented emergency measures of the pandemic. ministers say the £20 a week extra was always due to come to an end. a government spokesperson said, "our focus now is on our multi—billion pound plan forjobs, which will support people in the long term. " some mps are worried, though, including many conservatives, and they intend to put pressure on the government for a rethink. nick eardley, bbc news. more bodies are being found in henan province after severe flooding and the death toll is rising. it

currently stands at 51 but it is expected to rise further. 0fficials expected to rise further. officials say nearly 400,000 people have been moved to safer areas and now the flooding has moved to different towns and cities in the province as more rivers burst their banks. china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports from beijing. people in their hundreds of thousands have been moved to safety in central china's henan province. deadly flash flooding following record—breaking heavy driving rain has shut down cities and towns across the region. some people have been trapped for days, cut off by the rising waters without fresh food or water. officials say tens of thousands of rescuers have been mobilised, including the military to reach stranded residents and evacuate the most dangerous areas. the rain has eased in zhengzhou city and water is being pumped from rail and car tunnels. as these tunnels are cleared, bodies are being found, pushing up the official death toll. while the emergency situation may

have improved in zhengzhou, elsewhere it's become more dire. floodwaters have spread to new locations with more rivers in henan province breaching their banks. makeshift bridges are being put in to allow emergency teams to operate. 0n social media, china's rapidly growing cities have been criticised for not better preparing for catastrophic weather events. at times, the drainage infrastructure here has not kept up with increased population density. chinese scientists are warning, though, that the source of this devastating weather can be traced back to climate change, leading to calls for a much more rapid plan to ameliorate it. over the coming days, the priority is going to be surviving the current flooding crisis. the rain hasn't stopped in henan and over the weekend, a typhoon is expected to hit to china's east coast. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing.

the opening ceremony of the olympics has begun in tokyo, despite concerns among the japanese public that the games could help spread coronavirus. the spectacle conveyed how excitement injapan at winning the bid was overshadowed by the pandemic, with images of athletes training during lockdown. fireworks then burst into the air around the stadium. we can speak now to robin kietlinski, associate professor of history at city university of new york. her research focuses on japanese society and sport, with a focus on the olympic games, and she's author ofjapanese women and sport: beyond baseball and sumo. thanks very much for being with us. the japanese public were so excited to be awarded the olympics, but now effectively they don't want them. public opinion polls have shown they are very hostile to these 0lympics are very hostile to these olympics in the middle of a pandemic. indeed,

i don't in the middle of a pandemic. indeed, i don't think— in the middle of a pandemic. indeed, i don't think any _ in the middle of a pandemic. indeed, i don't think any host _ in the middle of a pandemic. indeed, i don't think any host city _ in the middle of a pandemic. indeed, i don't think any host city wouldn't i i don't think any host city wouldn't be. �* , ., i don't think any host city wouldn't be. �* , . . i don't think any host city wouldn't be. �*, . . , . i don't think any host city wouldn't be. . , . ., be. it's a real shame for the japanese — be. it's a real shame for the japanese nation, _ be. it's a real shame for the japanese nation, isn't- be. it's a real shame for the japanese nation, isn't it? i be. it's a real shame for the i japanese nation, isn't it? they be. it's a real shame for the - japanese nation, isn't it? they love sport. i was there during the world cup and they absolutely embrace hosting an international tournament. they loved it. hosting an international tournament. they loved it— they loved it. yeah, the mood is a ve odd they loved it. yeah, the mood is a very odd one- _ they loved it. yeah, the mood is a very odd one. there's _ they loved it. yeah, the mood is a very odd one. there's two - they loved it. yeah, the mood is a very odd one. there's two parallel| very odd one. there's two parallel stories going on, isn't there? so what do you think they make a bid now? do you think once the games get up now? do you think once the games get up and running, we have the opening ceremony now, once the sport gets going, will that win over the japanese public, do you think? weill. japanese public, do you think? well, i think japanese public, do you think? well, i think there's _ japanese public, do you think? well, i think there's always _ japanese public, do you think? well, i think there's always this _ japanese public, do you think? in i think there's always this current of dissent and a certain portion of the population that is not accepting of the olympic games but i think it goes beyond japan this year. people love the human interest stories. people love the excitement of the games. again, ithink people love the excitement of the games. again, i think there will continue to be two parallel narratives going on.- continue to be two parallel narratives going on. talk to us about the _ narratives going on. talk to us about the history _ narratives going on. talk to us

about the history of _ narratives going on. talk to us about the history ofjapan i narratives going on. talk to us about the history ofjapan and | narratives going on. talk to us i about the history ofjapan and the about the history of japan and the olympics, because they have the 0lympics, because they have the games before in the 1960s and 19641 think it was. what did it mean to them in the post—war world? the? them in the post-war world? they actually won _ them in the post-war world? they actually won the _ them in the post-war world? they actually won the right _ them in the post—war world? tie: actually won the right to them in the post—war world? tte: actually won the right to host them in the post—war world? tt21: actually won the right to host in 1940 but of course that was cancelled. due to world war ii. following the war, they won the rights in 1959 to host the 1964 olympics, the time whenjapan were still very much in a period of rebuilding, following world war ii, and it was their chance to show off to the world that they had come back and wear peaceful and technologically advanced and modern. by technologically advanced and modern. by most accounts, the 1964 games was a success and it did launch a period of economic growth in the 1960s and 70s, and many people remember those 0lympics as a catalyst to economic growth and the return to the global stage. growth and the return to the global state, . ., , growth and the return to the global stale. ~ ., , ., growth and the return to the global stale. ~ ., , , growth and the return to the global stale. . ., , , ., , stage. was there that sense of pride when ja an stage. was there that sense of pride when japan was _ stage. was there that sense of pride when japan was first _ stage. was there that sense of pride when japan was first awarded - stage. was there that sense of pride when japan was first awarded these | when japan was first awarded these games? 0bviously,

when japan was first awarded these games? obviously, it's all gone wrong since then with a pandemic, but at the beginning was in a sense of national pride and that this was a huge global opportunity forjapan? absolutely to remember, in 2013 when they were awarded the 2020 olympics, it was shortly after the triple disaster of the nuclear plant meltdown injapan so this was a time when they saw the possibilities for returning strong and it's also been several decades of economic stagnation and this was going to be japan's chance to return both symbolically and economically to the global stage. figs symbolically and economically to the global stage-— global stage. as you mentioned at the beginning. _ global stage. as you mentioned at the beginning, in _ global stage. as you mentioned at the beginning, in a _ global stage. as you mentioned at the beginning, in a way, _ global stage. as you mentioned at the beginning, in a way, it's - global stage. as you mentioned at the beginning, in a way, it's a i the beginning, in a way, it's a poison chalice or any country hosting the olympics in the middle of a pandemic. hosting the olympics in the middle ofa pandemic. how hosting the olympics in the middle of a pandemic. how does japan make the best of it now? how does it show the best of it now? how does it show the world it is handling these 0lympic the world it is handling these olympic games as you can to the best possible extent?—

possible extent? well, i was quite moved by the _ possible extent? well, i was quite moved by the opening _ possible extent? well, i was quite moved by the opening ceremony. | possible extent? well, i was quite | moved by the opening ceremony. i thought they respectfully pointed out that these are not normal times and these are difficult conditions for the athletes training to go into this event. i think they will continue to be mindful of the global situation. i'm not sure. ithink continue to be mindful of the global situation. i'm not sure. i think the story remains to be told. what sort of athletic excitement is going to happen. but certainly i think that they will run the olympic games efficiently and hopefully as safely as possible. efficiently and hopefully as safely as possible-— efficiently and hopefully as safely as ossible. ., ., ~ ., as possible. indeed. good to talk to ou. as possible. indeed. good to talk to vou- thank — as possible. indeed. good to talk to you- thank you _ as possible. indeed. good to talk to you. thank you so _ as possible. indeed. good to talk to you. thank you so much _ as possible. indeed. good to talk to you. thank you so much for- as possible. indeed. good to talk to you. thank you so much for being i you. thank you so much for being with us. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. the heat is now beginning to ebb away. cooler weather on the way for the weekend. for some, there will be some heavy thundery downpours but the further north

and west you are actually there's still a lot of dry weather in the forecast. for the rest of this afternoon, still this met office amber extreme heat warning in force for northern ireland. most of the uk, sunny spells and the odd rogue thunderstorm through the rest of the day, but gusty winds developing down to the south with some thundery rain approaching. a cooler day for most places but toward the north—west of the uk, 28—29, maybe 30 degrees once again, across parts of northern ireland. then through this evening and tonight, heavy, thundery rain will drift up from the south affecting southern england, wales, the midlands, east anglia through tomorrow. torrential downpours at times with a risk of flooding. low cloud again for north sea coasts but for western scotland, northern ireland, we hold onto some sunshine and some warmth with highs of 26 degrees. we look ahead to sunday. a lot of dry weather around, especially towards the north—west. more thunderstorms in the south and east.

a spectacular start to the olympic games with the opening ceremony underway now. more than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete. a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies could have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998 — the victim's families say they feel vindicated. thousands of workers in the food supply chain in england no longer need to isolate if pinged by the covid app as long as they test negative. daily testing for pupils is just as effective at controlling covid in schools as self—isolation, according to new research. a new study says an eight—week gap between the first and second doses of the pfizer vaccine is most effective for building immunity against covid. and the family of a british

woman who went missing from her boyfriend's yacht in the caribbean appeal for him to help police find out what happened on the night she disappeared. sport now. and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin. good afternoon. the olympics opening ceremony is taking place in tokyo, and nations have been out for the parade in smaller numbers than previous games in light of the restrictions around covid. the organisers still put on a spectacular show for the world watching on — a fireworks sequence and a ceremony focusing on togetherness, connection and inclusion as well as reflecting the struggles of the pandemic greeted the athletes into a near empty stadium. britain were led by flagbearers hannah mills, the sailor, and rower mo sbihi — both gold medallists from rio 2016. heptathlon hopeful katerina johnson thompson, who competes in the second half of the games, is happy it's all going ahead but is wary

of the isolation rules surrounding athletes in the run up. it feels like it's pot luck whether you will get pinged or not, depending on what plane you are on. there are a lot of processes to get through. customs and stuff, we spent 80 minutes going through each station, but it's all very well organised, so i cannot afford it in that, and it is necessary in order to be able to compete so i'm just happy that the games are happening and other athletes are finally getting their chance after a year of waiting. but, as i said, it's hard, but you just have to deal with it. australia and new zealand's decision to pull out of the rugby league world cup was premature, according to australia�*s players�* union, who have claimed a number of its members wanted to travel to england

for the tournament this autumn. here�*s the union�*s chief exec, clint newton. it�*s always really important, if you�*re going to make a decision that�*s going to obviously impact the players, it�*s, we believe, fundamental to have the players as part of that decision—making process. and again, we have been speaking to the nrl, so i can be clear on that, but our view is that this decision was premature and that we would like to see what unfolds in the coming weeks. so frustration among many of those represented by the rugby league players association, but the new zealand rugby league chief has defended the withdrawal. if looking after human safety is cowardly, then i am a coward but i don�*t believe it is. i believe it�*s the only decision we could make. some of those comments quite honestly are

misjudged and ill—advised. some football transfer news to bring you now, and manchester united have confirmed the signing of england internationaljadon sancho. the forward joins from german side borussia dortmund for £73 million on a five—year deal. he was part of the england squad that reached the final of euro 2020 that lost on penalties to italy. 0njoining united, sancho said it was a "dream come true and ijust cannot wait to perform in the premier league". son heung min has signed a new four—year contract, keeping him at tottenham until 2025. son has scored 107 goals in 280 appearances for the club since joining from bayer leverkusen in 2015. he�*s also scored 27 times for south korea, appearing at two world cups. chelsea women have confirmed the signing of manchester united forward lauren james. lauren, who is the younger sister of england and chelsea right—back reece james, has agreed a four—year contract with the reigning women�*s super league champions. she scored united�*s first goal in the wsl and went on to be their top scorer in the 2019—20 season.

that�*s all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories as well as the latest on cricket�*s the hundred on the bbc sport website. it�*s birmingham phoenix against london spirit today. the women�*s match starts at three. parents are being warned to look out for the signs of a common respiratory illness known as rsv. the virus normally spreads in the winter, but social distancing and lockdowns kept it at bay earlier this year. cases are now on the rise since lockdown restrictions were eased, and some children could be at risk of serious complications, including breathing difficulties. i�*m joined now by calum semple, professor in child heath and outbreak medicine at the university of liverpool. tell us more about rsv and what the warning signs to look out for are. for starters, warning signs to look out for are. forstarters, it warning signs to look out for are. for starters, it is a surprisingly common viral condition amongst children. it affects nearly every children. it affects nearly every

child who would have caught it by the third year of life but it poses risks to newborn babies. we see 20-25,000 risks to newborn babies. we see 20—25,000 admissions every winter, 1% of the whole birthing cohort, so it�*s very common, but rarely, i must emphasise rarely, about 1000 babies throughout the whole of the uk are admitted to intensive care each year. death is incredibly rare again. babies present with feeding difficulties, often they are very snotty and have a wet cough. and difficulties, often they are very snotty and have a wet cough. and the oint is we snotty and have a wet cough. and the point is we are _ snotty and have a wet cough. and the point is we are seeing _ snotty and have a wet cough. and the point is we are seeing this _ snotty and have a wet cough. and the point is we are seeing this now, i point is we are seeing this now, especially in some other countries, france and the netherlands and so on, and that is an effect of the pandemic?— on, and that is an effect of the andemic? �* , . , , ., ., pandemic? it's really unusual and uuite pandemic? it's really unusual and quite interesting. _ pandemic? it's really unusual and quite interesting. we _ pandemic? it's really unusual and quite interesting. we noticed i pandemic? it's really unusual and quite interesting. we noticed out| pandemic? it's really unusual and i quite interesting. we noticed out of season outbreaks into different parts of australia, then it was reported in south africa, and now it

has been reported in france and holland. we started to see sporadic cases in the middle of the summer in the uk as well. this is very unusual, normally we would expect this in the winter season. we think it�*s because the pregnant mums who delivered these babies were not exposed themselves over the last yearin exposed themselves over the last year in winter because of the pandemic, but it also shows that there is no good reason why these viruses should be restricted to the winter, if we maintain good hand washing and respiratory hygiene we could have a huge impact on respiratory viruses overall. 50 could have a huge impact on respiratory viruses overall. so what should parents _ respiratory viruses overall. so what should parents do? _ respiratory viruses overall. so what should parents do? they _ respiratory viruses overall. so what should parents do? they might i respiratory viruses overall. so what should parents do? they might be| should parents do? they might be alarmed, watching you now, what sort of action should they take if they do think that their child has rsv? t do think that their child has rsv? i have emphasised that severe disease is rare and it is one of these viruses which we have all been living with and have got used to how to behave with it, so like any child

where the parents are concerned if their child is not feeding or behaving properly, they should seek assistance either from their midwife if it�*s a very newborn baby, health visitor, gp or call the 111 if they are concerned, but this is not the same as covid or flu. are concerned, but this is not the same as covid orflu. it is common, troublesome, it gives us adults are heavy, snotty cold every second or third year but it can be dangerous for babies and the frail elderly people too. for babies and the frail elderly people too-— for babies and the frail elderly people too. for babies and the frail elderly --eole too. �* ., , , ., people too. and more broadly, what ou the people too. and more broadly, what you the implications _ people too. and more broadly, what you the implications are _ people too. and more broadly, what you the implications are of- people too. and more broadly, what you the implications are of the i you the implications are of the pandemic for other infections, in terms of for example the timing, a different kind of timing, as we are seeing with this, actually? overall, we have seen _ seeing with this, actually? overall, we have seen a _ seeing with this, actually? overall, we have seen a complete _ seeing with this, actually? overall, we have seen a complete collapsel seeing with this, actually? overall, l we have seen a complete collapse of other infectious diseases, particularly the respiratory infectious diseases, this is sadly why i am being accused of being a do monger because we are quite confident that we will see a

resurgence of the usual respiratory viruses as we proceed on the pathway of unlocking and into this winter, which is why we are pushing heavily the influenza vaccination programme because that will help, anything you can do to treat something before it happens will help, but respiratory hand hygiene, washing hands, not passing the baby around the excessive kissing, that kinda thing, will help. excessive kissing, that kinda thing, will hel. �* ,, excessive kissing, that kinda thing, will hel. �* , excessive kissing, that kinda thing, will hel. �* ., excessive kissing, that kinda thing, willhel. �* ., ., ~ ., will help. always good to talk to ou, will help. always good to talk to you. thank _ will help. always good to talk to you. thank you _ will help. always good to talk to you, thank you much _ will help. always good to talk to you, thank you much indeed. i the family of a british woman who went missing from her boyfriend�*s yacht in the caribbean have appealed for him to help police piece together what happened on the night she disappeared. sarm heslop was last seen in march leaving a restaurant in the us virgin islands. her parents have been speaking exclusively to the bbc�*s graham satchell. sarm heslop has been missing since the beginning of march. she was last seen leaving a restaurant in the us virgin islands with her boyfriend,

ryan bane. the mystery surrounding her disappearance, the lack of information, has left her parents devastated. you would be doing something and you would suddenly feel guilty because you haven�*t thought about her. then, when you think about her, tears just come. i can�*t help it. i wake up every morning and it's the same nightmare. it'sjust horrible. i feel guilty because i can go to sleep. i don't go to bed till late because ijust can't get to sleep. then, when i do go to sleep and wake up in the morning, i feel guilty i've slept, i feel guilty when i smile, when i laugh. ijust feel awful — ijust feel... my heart's broken. sarm was working on ryan bane�*s yacht, seen here in the days after she disappeared just offshore.

at 2:30am on march the 8th, mr bane rang the police to say sarm was missing. they told him to contact the coastguard to start a search. ryan bane didn�*t call the coastguard until 11:46am the next day, almost ten hours later. we can't understand why it took him so long, i there's such a time—lapse. he's saying that it was two o'clock when he realised she was missing but, you know, nobody had seen her since she left the restaurant. there could have been something happen in those hours so it would have been a longer period before he phoned the coastguard. sarm was 41 when she went missing. she�*d worked as a flight attendant, travelled the world. she loved life, she was confident, loving, respectful.

she liked to see places, she liked to experience different cultures, meet different people. she'd met so many people when she was away. she befriended so many people all over the places that she went all over the world. popular? very popular, very loving, fun loving. always made you laugh. yes. brenda and peter have been helped in the last few months by sarm�*s friends. it�*s the first time they�*d been able to meet in person since she disappeared. family and friends have the same questions — why did mr bane refuse permission for the police to search his boat? why has he now left the area? the virgin islands police department told us...

ryan bane has a previous conviction for assaulting his ex—wife in 2011. officially, this is still a missing persons enquiry. police say mr bane is a person of interest but not a suspect. the day after sarm went missing, the us coast guard wrote this report obtained by the times. it describes ryan bane as heavily intoxicated and agitated and says mr bane physically placed himself at the entrance door of the vessel�*s main space, impeding the boarding team from completing an initial safety sweep of the vessel. mr bane�*s lawyer told that his client met with the us coast guard, answered all questions posed to him and gave them unfettered access to the vessel, as well as to sarm�*s personal belongings, including her phone and ipad. any reports to the contrary are categorically false. mr bane had nothing to do with sarm�*s disappearance and remains heartbroken that she is missing. sarm�*s parents haven�*t spoken publicly since their daughter went missing. this is their first interview. and they have a clear message for ryan bane.

any person, surely, any person would do everything they could to help find somebody that he was supposed to love. what sort of human being wouldn't be there to help? that's what i think he should do, he should just come forward. and cooperate. i would like bane to come forward and talk to the police, for a start. i would like a full forensic search of the ship, a full—on one, which i hope and hope they don�*t find anything. if they do, thatjustice be done, if there needs to be. that�*s what i want. i�*ve got no peace, i�*ll never had any real peace ever for the rest of my life, i don�*t suppose. i don�*t know whether it would help or not, to be quite honest, but i�*d still like to see it done, as hard as it may be, i�*d like to see it done. i have hope — i still have hope. i'll always think that she will be back through the door, always. i'll never give up on her, i'll never give up.

it is now almost five months since sarm went missing. her parents say they want, need and are demanding answers. graham satchell, bbc news. a spokesman from the foreign office said it remains in contact with the authorities on the us virgin islands and that the uk police are supporting the investigation. the debate over the safety of e—scooters has been in the headlines once again this week following two incidents involving children. a 16—year—old boy was killed on sunday after his e—scooter collided with a car and a three—year—old girl has been left with life—changing injuries after being hit by one. now some campaigners are calling for them to be banned in public places. adam mcclean reports. a scheme to rent e—scooters where people have to be over 18 and hold a provisional

or full licence. they can only be ridden in places where people can use bikes including roads and cycle lanes. the government says it will understand the benefit e—scooters can have. i do not ride on the pavement. i appreciate the scooters — they are lovely scooters. i do not want to lose the opportunity of having these for the public. the law says an e—scooter is as much a motor vehicle as a car or motorbike, so riding them illegally can attract six points and a £300 fine, plus the scooter being seized. there is no protection to the rider, they are completely exposed. if they are involved in a collision with a car, van or a bus or another motor vehicle, it is likely

that the e—scooter rider will come off a lot worse than the other person in the other vehicle. while there are risks to those who ride them unsafely, like this scooter on a motorway near bradford, pedestrians and other road users are at risk. philjones was on a mobility scooter when he found his route blocked by abandoned scooter. phil being phil, got— off his mobility scooter to move it, the scooter was too heavy, full steam back down - on the road and it fell on top of him and broke his hip. i the result and effect was he had |to go into hospital and he never| came out — he died 12 days later. dennis has delivered a petition to number 10, calling on the government to stop the hire schemes. these are some of the scooters he has found abandoned nearby. to rub salt into the wound, - when we were doing my brother's funeral arrangements, -

with them as one parked right outside the doorway to get into the funeral directors. i i was beside myself. i was so angry, ijust didn't know, really. the response from inside me was horrendous, you know? i in a statement the department for transport said... we continue to engage with vulnerable road user groups to help shape rules on top of existing safety features like compulsory haunts and bells and ensuring trial areas have sufficient parking to avoid street clutter. the australian state of new south wales is asking the federal government to send more vaccines and other resources urgently, and it�*s described the delta variant outbreak in sydney as a "national crisis". it comes as the city records its biggest daily rise in covid cases this year. 0nly12% of australians have been vaccinated so far. new zealand has now suspended its quarantine—free travel bubble with australia

for at least eight weeks. 0ur correspondent, phil mercer, has more from sydney. what we have seen it since the pandemic began in many ways is australia like a distressed submarine, those compartments of a submarine, those compartments of a submarine being closed off by states and territories around australia, western australia has put up a hard border with covid affected regions, queensland is doing the same as well. what we are hearing from the victoria state premier is wanting more of those restrictions around the greater sydney region to keep the greater sydney region to keep the people in and to keep the virus out of other parts of australia, so today new south wales with sydney as the state capital has recorded 136 new covid—19 infections, a new daily record for this latest outbreak. 136 infections might not sound much to

people in other countries but, in the australian context, it is extremely significant and you have to remember that australia has been pursuing a national policy of elimination, and that is why we are hearing those tough words from political leaders like dan andrews who wants to lock sydney down until the delta variant here is crushed. a group of former british army veterans, who all sustained life—chaging injures while serving in the forces, have been kayaking from lands end tojohn 0�*groats in a mammoth charity endurance challenge. john maguire has been following theirjourney from one end of britain to the other. when they started this odyssey, they had no idea if it would be possible. could a team of five military veterans, all with life—changing injuries, paddle in two—man kayaks from lands end tojohn 0�*groats? it would be notjust a great challenge, but also a series of individual challenges.

we�*ve all been through similar experiences in life. i stepped on an iud — it damaged my left leg. we�*ve all been through different levels of trauma but, when i got involved in this, i was, like, it sounds crazy, it sounds horrific, i�*m not comfortable out at sea, but i�*ll give it a go. it�*s all about pushing your comfort zone, really testing yourself. i focus my time and supporting others — i focus my time and supporting others as— i focus my time and supporting others as my way of getting what i want _ others as my way of getting what i want from — others as my way of getting what i want from it. and that seems to work for me _ want from it. and that seems to work for me personally, so i get a lot of benefit _ for me personally, so i get a lot of benefit from actually helping others — benefit from actually helping others. ,, ., . ,, benefit from actually helping others. ,, ., ., , others. stacked against them, the distance, 1400 _ others. stacked against them, the distance, 1400 kilometres, - others. stacked against them, the distance, 1400 kilometres, the i distance, 1400 kilometres, the weathering conditions, seasickness and strong headwinds were early problems, and their physical limitations. forsome problems, and their physical limitations. for some injuries to their limbs sustained during the military service, and for darren, paralysed from the chest down after climbing accident, he had to learn

to adapt quickly. i climbing accident, he had to learn to adapt quickly-— to adapt quickly. i felt like i was back running — to adapt quickly. i felt like i was back running or _ to adapt quickly. i felt like i was back running or in _ to adapt quickly. i felt like i was back running or in the _ to adapt quickly. i felt like i was| back running or in the mountain, really— back running or in the mountain, really pushing _ back running or in the mountain, really pushing myself. _ back running or in the mountain, really pushing myself. i- back running or in the mountain, really pushing myself. i got i back running or in the mountain, | really pushing myself. i got quite emotional— really pushing myself. i got quite emotional when— really pushing myself. i got quite emotional when i— really pushing myself. i got quite emotional when i reflected - really pushing myself. i got quite emotional when i reflected on i really pushing myself. i got quite i emotional when i reflected on what had happened — emotional when i reflected on what had happened because _ emotional when i reflected on what had happened because in _ emotional when i reflected on what had happened because in four- emotional when i reflected on what had happened because in four and. emotional when i reflected on what| had happened because in four and a half years— had happened because in four and a half years i— had happened because in four and a half years i was _ had happened because in four and a half years i was so _ had happened because in four and a half years i was so in— had happened because in four and a half years i was so in the _ had happened because in four and a half years i was so in the zone - had happened because in four and a half years i was so in the zone and i half years i was so in the zone and in the _ half years i was so in the zone and in the moment— half years i was so in the zone and in the moment that _ half years i was so in the zone and in the moment that i _ half years i was so in the zone and in the moment that i had - half years i was so in the zone and in the moment that i had kinda i in the moment that i had kinda forgotten — in the moment that i had kinda forgotten where _ in the moment that i had kinda forgotten where i— in the moment that i had kinda forgotten where i was - in the moment that i had kinda forgotten where i was and i i in the moment that i had kindai forgotten where i was and i was doing — forgotten where i was and i was doing but _ forgotten where i was and i was doing but at— forgotten where i was and i was doing. but at the _ forgotten where i was and i was doing. but at the end _ forgotten where i was and i was doing. but at the end of- forgotten where i was and i was doing. but at the end of the i forgotten where i was and i was| doing. but at the end of the day, thinking — doing. but at the end of the day, thinking about— doing. but at the end of the day, thinking about what _ doing. but at the end of the day, thinking about what happened, i| thinking about what happened, i realised — thinking about what happened, i realised the _ thinking about what happened, i realised the enormity _ thinking about what happened, i realised the enormity of - thinking about what happened, i realised the enormity of it - thinking about what happened, i realised the enormity of it then, j realised the enormity of it then, and that— realised the enormity of it then, and that will— realised the enormity of it then, and that will remain _ realised the enormity of it then, and that will remain a _ realised the enormity of it then, and that will remain a highlightl realised the enormity of it then, i and that will remain a highlight for me. , _, , and that will remain a highlight for me, , . ., , ., me. sometimes, completing ten hour da s and me. sometimes, completing ten hour days and more _ me. sometimes, completing ten hour days and more than _ me. sometimes, completing ten hour days and more than 90 _ me. sometimes, completing ten hour days and more than 90 kilometres, i days and more than 90 kilometres, the paddles seemed like wings, they were flying. 0ut the paddles seemed like wings, they were flying. out at sea, they earned an escort from fellow water dwellers, who last saw them off the west coast of scotland, tired but well into their stride. the difficult site _ well into their stride. the difficult site has - well into their stride. the difficult site has been i well into their stride. tt2 difficult site has been the main tour and psychological side, being away from family and my son, he is

six months old. i spend my evenings looking at photos and videos of him, heartbreaking in a way, but then i am looking at the bigger picture, what are we aiming to achieve? it�*s incredible. brute what are we aiming to achieve? it's incredible. ~ ., what are we aiming to achieve? it's incredible. ~ . ., ., ., ., incredible. we have had to abandon addle for incredible. we have had to abandon paddle for the _ incredible. we have had to abandon paddle for the day. _ incredible. we have had to abandon paddle for the day. you _ incredible. we have had to abandon paddle for the day. you spend i incredible. we have had to abandon} paddle for the day. you spend quite a lot of— paddle for the day. you spend quite a lot of time in tight confines with this lot _ a lot of time in tight confines with this lot. the continuance of terrible _ this lot. the continuance of terrible chat, basically! but morale is high _ terrible chat, basically! but morale is high and — terrible chat, basically! but morale is high and keeping each other entertained, it has been really good — entertained, it has been really good. everyone has kept everyone elses— good. everyone has kept everyone else's spirits high so it has been going _ else's spirits high so it has been going really well. find else's spirits high so it has been going really well.— else's spirits high so it has been going really well. and finally, the finish line was _ going really well. and finally, the finish line was in _ going really well. and finally, the finish line was in sight. _ going really well. and finally, the finish line was in sight. after- going really well. and finally, the finish line was in sight. after 21 i finish line was in sight. after 21 daysin finish line was in sight. after 21 days in the water, they reached john 0 groats, they had done it. mi; 0 groats, they had done it. my in'uries 0 groats, they had done it. my injuries physically i have struggled with. _ injuries physically i have struggled with. my— injuries physically i have struggled with. my left — injuries physically i have struggled with, my left arm _ injuries physically i have struggled with, my left arm has _ injuries physically i have struggled with, my left arm has been - injuries physically i have struggled with, my left arm has been in - with, my left arm has been in tatters — with, my left arm has been in tatters for— with, my left arm has been in tatters for the _ with, my left arm has been in tatters for the last _ with, my left arm has been in

tatters for the last few - with, my left arm has been in tatters for the last few days, i with, my left arm has been in i tatters for the last few days, but with, my left arm has been in - tatters for the last few days, but i struggled — tatters for the last few days, but i struggled for _ tatters for the last few days, but i struggled for a _ tatters for the last few days, but i struggled for a few— tatters for the last few days, but i struggled for a few days - tatters for the last few days, but i struggled for a few days before i struggled for a few days before that _ struggled fora few days before that i— struggled for a few days before that i had _ struggled for a few days before that. i had some _ struggled for a few days before that. i had some down- struggled for a few days before that. i had some down days, i struggled for a few days before - that. i had some down days, some days— that. i had some down days, some days where — that. i had some down days, some days where i— that. i had some down days, some days where i felt _ that. i had some down days, some days where i felt out _ that. i had some down days, some days where i felt out of— that. i had some down days, some days where i felt out of my - that. i had some down days, some| days where i felt out of my comfort zone, _ days where i felt out of my comfort zone. but _ days where i felt out of my comfort zone. but the — days where i felt out of my comfort zone, but the next _ days where i felt out of my comfort zone, but the next day— days where i felt out of my comfort zone, but the next day came - days where i felt out of my comfort zone, but the next day came and l days where i felt out of my comfort zone, but the next day came and i i zone, but the next day came and i pushed _ zone, but the next day came and i pushed on — zone, but the next day came and i pushed on and _ zone, but the next day came and i pushed on and it _ zone, but the next day came and i pushed on and it felt _ zone, but the next day came and i pushed on and it felt pretty - zone, but the next day came and i pushed on and it felt pretty cool, i pushed on and it felt pretty cool, and how— pushed on and it felt pretty cool, and how we — pushed on and it felt pretty cool, and now we are _ pushed on and it felt pretty cool, and now we are here _ pushed on and it felt pretty cool, and now we are here and - pushed on and it felt pretty cool, and now we are here and it's - and now we are here and it's overwhelming. _ and now we are here and it's overwhelming, it's _ and now we are here and it's overwhelming, it's a - and now we are here and it's overwhelming, it's a pretty. and now we are here and it's i overwhelming, it's a pretty cool achievement. _ overwhelming, it's a pretty cool achievement, really— overwhelming, it's a pretty cool achievement, really chuffed - overwhelming, it's a pretty cooll achievement, really chuffed with overwhelming, it's a pretty cool- achievement, really chuffed with how well we _ achievement, really chuffed with how well we have — achievement, really chuffed with how well we have done _ achievement, really chuffed with how well we have done and _ achievement, really chuffed with how well we have done and how— achievement, really chuffed with how well we have done and how strong i achievement, really chuffed with how| well we have done and how strong we finished _ well we have done and how strong we finished 50— well we have done and how strong we finished. . , well we have done and how strong we finished. ., , ., well we have done and how strong we finished. . , . ., , finished. so far they have raised more than _ finished. so far they have raised more than 6096 _ finished. so far they have raised more than 6096 of— finished. so far they have raised more than 6096 of the _ finished. so far they have raised | more than 6096 of the £100,000 more than 60% of the £100,000 target, the money will go to the armed forces paris no sport team, the charity that has helped all of them, and in the meantime proving to themselves and everyone that despite physical limitations, sheer determination can mean there are no limits. a man who was repeatedly attacked by a grizzly bear in the us state of alaska for an entire week is recovering from his injuries after being rescued by the coast guard. he was alone in a remote mining camp when the bear first attacked, dragging him down to a river. he escaped but then had to fend off

the animal as it returned to his shack every night. an sos sign was spotted during a routine helicopter flight last week. the man is suffering from a leg injury and bruised torso. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. this week's heat is slowly but surely starting to ebb away with cooler weather in prospect for the weekend. forsome, very cooler weather in prospect for the weekend. for some, very wet weather, heavy thundery downpours, especially in the south, drier weather for the north and west, but look at the earliest satellite picture and see these big blobs of cloud blossom to lie. we have seen lightning from this cloud and heavy thundery rain will approach the far south—west through the rest of the day. this amber warning for extreme heat through the rest of the day across

northern ireland, sunny spells for most, low cloud for north sea coasts but gusty winds developing the southern counties of england. another one day across the north west of england, western scotland, northern ireland, 29, 30 degrees, cooler further east, northern ireland, 29, 30 degrees, coolerfurther east, and northern ireland, 29, 30 degrees, cooler further east, and then through this evening and overnight our heavy thundery bursts of rain make their move northwards into southern parts of england, perhaps clipping into south wales as well. low cloud, mr mac for eastern parts of scotland and england, another pretty warm night, overnight lows of 17 degrees in places. but this area of low pressure in the south will bring some quite wet weather at times through the weekend. it is across the south of england and south wales where we have the risk of some severe thunderstorms, the potential for localised loading and transport disruption. it will not rain all the time, downpours will be hit and miss, rain all the time, downpours will be hitand miss, but rain all the time, downpours will be hit and miss, but where they do crop up hit and miss, but where they do crop up they could give you a lot of rain

in a short space of time, frequent lightning and strong and gusty winds. cloudy and murky again the eastern coast of scotland and north—east england but the north west england, western scotland, northern ireland and other dry and mostly sunny day and while temperatures are lower than they have been we are still looking at highs of 26 degrees, so still feeling pretty warm here. through saturday night into sunday, our area of low pressure lumbers its way eastwards, close to the centre of the low, maybe into the south—west and midlands, that is where we have the potential for vicious thunderstorms again. further north and west drier and brighter with spells of sunshine but temperatures are no longer in the 30s, highs of 23 or 26 degrees.

this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines. the greatest show on earth but with no spectators. the olympic games begin with a spectaclar opening ceremony. 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete. could the worst atrocity of the troubles have been stopped? a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies might have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the victims�* families feel vindicated. for a very long time there's been no doubt in my mind that 0magh was a preventable atrocity, but nobody wanted to hear that message. not the irish government, not the british government. thousands of workers in the food

supply chain in england no longer need to isolate if pinged by the covid app, as long as they test negative. new research shows daily testing of school pupils is just as effective at sending them into self isolation. a study says an eight—week gap between the first and second doses of the pfizer vaccine is the best way to build immunity against covid. hello. it is one year late and has been beset by problems, but the olympics are finally getting under way in toyko. the opening ceremony injapan's national stadium isjust about to come to a close. the three and a half hours long spectacle has been described as �*sombre', reflecting the mood of a nation which is having to host the biggest

sporting event in the world during a pandemic. just 22 of team gb�*s 375—strong squad joined a much—reduced athletes�* parade. joe lynskey has this. on the olympics first night, the sites felt the same, but the sound was empty. no event in tokyo has fans and to see it and so this opening ceremony took place in the silence. this was the start of an olympics whether backdrop is inescapable. it was different, it was solemn. inescapable. it was different, it was solemn-— inescapable. it was different, it was solemn. , . ., ,, ., ., was solemn. let us all take a moment to remember— was solemn. let us all take a moment to remember all of those friends - was solemn. let us all take a moment to remember all of those friends and i to remember all of those friends and loved ones who are no longer with us. in particular, because of the covid i9 us. in particular, because of the covid19 pandemic. us. in particular, because of the covid 19 pandemic.— covid 19 pandemic. there was reflection. — covid 19 pandemic. there was reflection, but _ covid 19 pandemic. there was reflection, but the _ covid 19 pandemic. there was reflection, but the theme was covid 19 pandemic. there was - reflection, but the theme was moving forward. in a tribute to how athletes have had to adapt, to 12

months of lockdown, at the front of it japan's boxer and months of lockdown, at the front of itjapan's boxer and nurse who missed out on a games when her qualifier was cancelled. japan's flag too was brought on by key workers, waived on in the stands by around 1000 dignitaries. the build—up has been fraught butjapan still wants to showjoy, and, just like in 2012, there was tradition. these are traditional carpenters who sing as they took full and sore. tokyo last hosted the games in 1964 when trees were planted, underwood has been used for these olympic rings. and so more than 200 nations converged on a city in a state of emergency. all in masks, the british team was trimmed down, just 22 of them marched, led by moe sbihi and hannah mills, a rower and a sailor. and so, in the grip of a pandemic

tokyo welcomes the world. for the next 17 days, they once thought to be the focus. —— they want a sport to be the focus. our sports correspondent, natalie pirks has been watching the opening ceremony from inside the stadium and has the latest for us. the world had been waiting a long time to see how tokyo would officially open these games. and it was no queen parachuting into the london olympic stadium, let's put it that way. but it was a very sombre intimate affair, especially with no spectators in the stadium. and i think it was reflective of the times that we are living in and i think it was fitting that they didn't have a massive celebration, especially when the japanese public, during the quietest part, you could hear some spectators outside, some protestors i should say, chanting things like "stop the games". i'd say it was a noisy minority, but it does show the strength of feeling here in japan. a recent survey said that two thirds

of the public didn't believe that japan could pull off a safe games and it hasn't helped that covid infection rates are rising. they are at their highest level now since january and we've had yet more positive cases today of people accredited for these games, including three athletes. everything was muted, including the traditional parade of nations. more than 11,000 athletes are here at these games, but only around 5,000 actually marched, including only 22 for team gb, so thatjust gives you an idea of how muted the celebrations are. overall, though, this ceremony was free of the bombast, i would say, that we've seen in the past. it was poignant. at times it was actually beautiful, and i think it was well pitched for where we're at, but over the next 18 days, we are going to some amazing sports, some true feats of athleticism and hopefully that will be the catalyst really for the japanese public to get behind these games.

a high courtjudge has ruled there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies could have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the attack, which was carried out by the dissident republican group the real ira, was the worst single atrocity of the conflict in northern ireland resulting in the deaths of 29 people. in 2013, the government said it would not hold a public inquiry. as our correspondent dan johnson explains, the families of the victims must now wonder whether their loved ones could have been saved. yes, that is the question that has stood out for them, what did the intelligence services know, how well with that information shared, and if that had been done better, more comprehensively, could that have been more action either to stop the bombing, to save more lives or even to bring to prosecution the people who committed that attack? that is never successfully happened either. the families have challenged

through judicial review that decision by the uk government not to hold a public enquiry and thejudge has reported back today saying not necessarily a public enquiry is needed, but there is a need for some form of investigation into what the intelligence services were monitoring, what evidence they had, what phone calls have a listen to? it was believed they had transcripts and the monitoring mobile phone calls as the bombers driven into northern ireland park from this memorial garden in 0magh. they had a short time to clear the area after a morning but because of the warning was not clear, the operation to try to evacuate the town centre of 0magh was not a very effective and that's why 29 people lost their lives in what was the single worst atrocity of the entire troubles. in delivering this judgment today, the high courtjudge said he was satisfied that there are certain grounds to give plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the bombing and he said any investigation will have to look at whether a more proactive campaign of disruption,

especially of coordinated north and south of the border, had a prospect of preventing the bombing and whether the potential advantages of taking a much more aggressive approach towards suspected terrorists outweigh the potential disadvantages inherent in such an approach. well, that news has been welcomed by the families of the victims, including michael gallagher, whose son aidan died here in the 0magh bombing in august 1998 and he said the families today feel vindicated. we have lived with that for 23 years. i mean, let me put it this way, for a very long time there's been no doubt in my mind that omagh was a preventable atrocity. but nobody wanted to hear that message. not the irish government, not the british government. but now we have an independent person who has said it and i think that is hugely relieving. i didn't sleep much last night but i will sleep much better tonight. we will have to see exactly

what form of investigation is now put into place into those events back in 1998 but the initial response from the british government to the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis said he wanted to put on record the deep regret that the families had to wait so long to find out what had happened, he said they deserve answers and he had great respect for their patience, grace and determination and so the british government recognise today that the court has set out their plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the 0magh bombing and more should be done now to investigate datums of the uk government will take time to consider the judge statement and all its recommendations carefully but certainly it means that in terms of looking back at the past, particularly of the 0magh bombing, there will be more to come on this even though the uk government is trying to stop all historical investigations, enquiries, prosecutions into events during the troubles because the 0magh bombing took place in the summer of 1998 after the belfast good friday agreement the potential are still there for investigation and that's what a judge

is now recommending. thousands of people in the food supply chain in england, who are told to self—isolate by the nhs tracing app, are now allowed to carry on working as long as they test negative for covid. a government scheme has begun which means staff at 15 supermarket depots are now able to take a daily test instead. and other key sectors will be able to join the scheme next week. simon browning reports. empty shelves, gaps in food supply. industry has blamed the problem on the amount of critical food sector workers being pinged and they wanted action. last night, the government intervened. now, supermarket depot workers and food manufacturers will be exempt from self—isolating rules. workers, regardless of vaccination status, will be able to do daily covid testing, instead of isolating. it's expected 10,000 workers will qualify. new daily testing measures are beginning at 15 supermarket depots, followed by 150 more next week. supermarket store staff are not included.

industry has broadly welcomed the changes. i think any intervention is welcome. i think we were all feeling in the food industry in particular, that something needed to happen, something needed to change. any change, any improvement is welcome. we've got to see the devil in the detail here. it has been highlighted that only certain companies are on the list. who is on the list? who has been identified? it is notjust the food sector that wants exemptions for isolating staff. the government is offering a limited number of exclusions for 16 critical industries, such as energy, the nuclear industry, medicines and water supply. those government departments will agree with these key businesses, people, and so for instance the water industry, the nuclear power industry agree with them the job roles that should be included in this and you'll have quite an expedited system where, if they want somebody to come off isolation, they'll simply provide the name and that will be agreed. but unions say with three weeks till self isolation rules change, these sectors are presented

with difficulties because they expect some workers will qualify for exemption and others won't. in a power station, - in telecommunications, critical defence infrastructure, these are all interdependent i occupations. and just listing named individuals, which seems to be at the core - of this proposal, won't work. as businesses across the country adapt, the government maintains the app is doing itsjob and is needed to stem the rising tide of coronavirus infections. simon browning, bbc news. let's speak to mike clancy, general secretary of the prospect trade union which represents, scientists, managers and engineers. good to have you with us. tell us a bit more about your thoughts about what the government are doing on this. ., �* ., ., . ., . ., what the government are doing on this. ., �* ., ., . ., this. now i've had a chance to look at the government _ this. now i've had a chance to look at the government website, - this. now i've had a chance to look at the government website, i - this. now i've had a chance to look at the government website, i think there's some interesting things for business and unions to consider. for all of us, the government are saying

that it's only intended to run until the 16th of august and i think we might all reflect whether those words only intended to run might herald an extension at some point. but the key issue is that the government should use all resources it has at its disposal to get these things right so we have a maximum covid security under maximum confidence about the stage we are in in combating this virus. in march and april 2020, they used unions and business and the expertise we have had to deal with a whole range of fresh challenges. they've just stop doing that now. as a result, they've made this scheme up a result, they've made this scheme up on the hoof. there are plainly some holes in it, not least as i've said earlier today, the interdependence of roles and it would be good if this process does need to expedited responses from government by think government gotta be pretty busy. this only three weeks until the 16th of august and i think businesses will have a dilemma about what i want to actually go

through the process here or wait for the 16th of august more general relaxation. ., �* ._ the 16th of august more general relaxation-— the 16th of august more general relaxation. ., �* ., ., , relaxation. you're saying for many businesses — relaxation. you're saying for many businesses is _ businesses is not worth bothering with because it's only three weeks to go until a rules change anyway? it should come as no surprise to government that essential workers which are reflected here often will be working in shifts for example and shift patterns are established weeks and weeks if not months in advance, quite complicated in a lot of places and many workers will be holding safety critical validations and we represent air traffic controllers and air traffic safety engineers and those people work together. if air traffic controllers are on the list of the engineers are not, that would be a glaring anomaly. if they talk to us, and use the resources of unions and businesses as they have done before rather than rushing these things out, we would help them with this, so we have delayed step for once in england and it will come as no surprise as we open up society

there will be more infection so what was a government thinking was going happen to employees and critical infrastructure? we happen to employees and critical infrastructure?— happen to employees and critical infrastructure? ~ , ., ., ., ., infrastructure? we should have had a [an for infrastructure? we should have had a plan for this- — infrastructure? we should have had a plan for this. when _ infrastructure? we should have had a plan for this. when you _ infrastructure? we should have had a plan for this. when you set _ infrastructure? we should have had a plan for this. when you set if- infrastructure? we should have had a plan for this. when you set if they . plan for this. when you set if they talk to us, you're saying they haven't told to these sorts of plans, because in a sense you need to talk to the people in these industries, for example air traffic controllers, absolutely critical workers, to get this right? well, es, air workers, to get this right? well, yes. air traffic— workers, to get this right? well, yes, air traffic controllers are - yes, air traffic controllers are critical because if you assume the definition means leisure travel is critical as opposed to for example incoming cargo, that'sjust one variable you might have to be clear about. what is essential infrastructure? in general, that points holes. the government rushed out its general advice ahead of the 19th without any consultation with business and with trade unions. that stands in complete contrast to how they conducted themselves at the beginning of a pandemic when we had the spectacle of government ministers thanking unions and

employers for us all pulling together to deal with the overarching health emergency. that stopped. that latest condensed guidance came out with no prior consultation and since we've had the unlocking and the rise in infections the government hasn't reached out to us and done what it should do, for example having sector by sector conversations. this is the positive part of the unions which sometimes is hidden from the public. we've got a deep expertise based on representatives working with employers and we could help the government with this. they've just missed a massive opportunity to do that and i think we will have hero situation we've had before with the government confronts fact that its own sometimes headlong rush into things comes up against practical reality and i can only hope in the next week or so we are actually able to engage with government and try to get some of this stuff right in the framework they've published. i framework they've published. i suppose the government will say i had to act pretty fast on this because prospect of empty shelves in

supermarkets? i because prospect of empty shelves in supermarkets?_ supermarkets? i think your viewers will say why — supermarkets? i think your viewers will say why did _ supermarkets? i think your viewers will say why did we _ supermarkets? i think your viewers will say why did we have _ supermarkets? i think your viewers will say why did we have to - supermarkets? i think your viewers will say why did we have to run - supermarkets? i think your viewers will say why did we have to run up. will say why did we have to run up to the possibility of empty shelves in supermarkets or critical workers being unavailable when we knew and modelling was predicting that they be an increase in virus levels across the country? what are the government think is going to happen to these individuals who were key to infrastructure when they themselves have greater social contacts? and they themselves will be taking advantage of some of the easing of restrictions? this was entirely predictable. that's why i've said in a number of places we can expect the government to plan for the obvious. mike, thanks for being with us. the general secretary of the prospect trade union. many thanks. the scottish government has confirmed that some essential staff working in critical areas, who are close contacts for covid cases, will no longer be required to self isolate. people working in a range of sectors including health and social care,

transport and the provision of food supplies, can apply for an exemption. they will only be granted for employees who agree not to self—isolate, they must be double vaccinated and have had their second dose at least two weeks previously. a negative pcr test and daily lateral flow tests will also be required. daily lateral flow tests for pupils may be just as effective as class bubbles to control transmission of covid in schools according to a study by oxford university. more than a million children in england were forced to stay away from school last week for covid—related reasons. our health correspondent, naomi grimley has more. the isolating of bubbles in schools has caused no end of frustration in this pandemic. last thursday, for example, more than a million state school pupils in england did not attend class for covid—i9 related reasons. of those, more than 900,000 were self isolating,

due to a possible contact with a case. but a new study by oxford university suggests that if daily lateral flow testing is done in school over seven days, it's just as good at preventing transmission as isolating pupils at home. what we see here is that for people in schools and colleges, the chance of getting infected with covid—i9 when there has been a case in the school or college is low — it's less than 2%, one in 50. i am really confident that what this study shows us is that daily testing of contacts is a safe thing to do in schools and colleges. the researchers believe daily contact testing like this can help reduce school absences. but can schools cope with this kind of intensive testing done on site? it very difficult. we've made it work before. i'm sure with the help of my support staff we can make it work again, but we need to know exactly what is expected of us and we need to know as soon as possible.

but we need clarity, we need consistency, we need our kids in school and the staff to be able to teach them. some experts worry whether lateral flow tests will detect enough positive cases, especially when infections are running high. but government advisers say the research is a breakthrough, considering how much learning has already been disrupted. naomi grimley, bbc news. a new study has concluded that an eight—week gap between the first and second doses of the pfizer—biontech vaccine is the best for building immunity against covid. the pitch study found it allows the body's immune system to produce more infection—fighting antibodies. dr thushan de silva is a senior clinical lecturer in infectious diseases at the university of sheffield and co—author of this study. he explained how they'd reached these conclusions. the first thing to say is that these are immunology results and we await data on the clinical vaccine effectiveness of the different dosing strategies, so we looked at 503 health care workers

across five centres in england and compared how two different arms of immune response, antibodies and t cells, responded in people given the pfizer vaccine according to a short course, so average three weeks apart compared to an extended or long interval, ten weeks apart, which as you know many people in the uk have had and we found two main thing is, firstly antibody levels fell significantly during the ten week long interval after the first dose. but t cell responses were maintained. and on average, people who had the long interval dosing ended up with higher antibody responses after the second dose compared to those with the short interval, including variants of concern. it's important to say that these are at a population level not individual, and there's a lot of variability in immune response and ultimately good responses were seen with both courses. ok, so translate what that might mean to somebody who may be as had the firstjab of pfizer, perhaps rushing to get the second one, i know a lot of people

are because i want to go on holiday for example, and what would you say to them? should they wait the full eight weeks or what is the difference if you only made four or five weeks, how much difference does that make? yes, sure, the first thing to say is that if someone has already had the short course you shouldn't be worried. most people have very good responses. in terms of the interval it's really about getting the balance right. with the current high levels of transmission, delta variant in the uk, we want as many people vaccinated with two doses as possible whilst trying to do it in a way that maximises how protected you up afterwards, so i think based on this, our data would support an eight week interval and so it would be suitable. this was just the pfizer vaccine, wasn't it? what is the picture with the other vaccines as far as you know? yeah, with the astrazeneca vaccine we actually have similar data from the original clinical trials

and so individuals who had a12 week interval between their doses actually had higher antibody levels and matched critical data showing protection, which is why that interval was chosen for the astrazeneca vaccine to start with. all of this is very new, isn't it? it feels like this pandemic has been around forever but this sort of research are still very cutting edge and a very new. we've only had the vaccine for a very short period of time so we are finding out stuff like this all the time. yeah, i agree. part of the reason to generate real—world data like this in pandemics is to refine what we do next. and that's what lots of studies, including our own, were set up to do. meanwhile, as water is pumped from tunnels submerged in deadly flash—flooding, more bodies are being found in china's henan province and the death toll is rising. it currently stands at 51 but is expected to rise further. officials say that nearly 400,000

people have been moved to safer areas and now the flooding has moved to different towns and cities in the province as more rivers burst their banks. china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports from beijing. people in their hundreds of thousands have been moved to safety in central china's henan province. deadly flash flooding following record—breaking heavy driving rain has shut down cities and towns across the region. some people have been trapped for days, cut off by the rising waters without fresh food or water. officials say tens of thousands of rescuers have been mobilised, including the military to reach stranded residents and evacuate the most dangerous areas. the rain has eased in zhengzhou city and water is being pumped from rail and car tunnels. as these tunnels are cleared, bodies are being found, pushing up the official death toll. while the emergency situation may

have improved in zhengzhou, elsewhere it's become more dire. floodwaters have spread to new locations with more rivers in henan province breaching their banks. makeshift bridges are being put in to allow emergency teams to operate. on social media, china's rapidly growing cities have been criticised for not better preparing for catastrophic weather events. at times, the drainage infrastructure here has not kept up with increased population density. chinese scientists are warning, though, that the source of this devastating weather can be traced back to climate change, leading to calls for a much more rapid plan to ameliorate it. over the coming days, the priority is going to be surviving the current flooding crisis. the rain hasn't stopped in henan and over the weekend, a typhoon is expected to hit to china's east coast. stephen mcdonnell,

bbc news, beijing. landslide attended india and submerged low—lying areas. officials said they had pulled out 32 bodies so far from a landslide. said they had pulled out 32 bodies so farfrom a landslide. it said they had pulled out 32 bodies so far from a landslide. it is feared more people trapped underneath the debris. the government's plans to end the extra universal credit payment would be the biggest overnight reduction in the basic rate of social security since the creation of the welfare state. that's according to thejoseph rowntree foundation. the government introduced a £20 a week uplift to the basic entitlement at the start of the pandemic, but that's due to come to an end in october. our political correspondent nick eardley has this report. for many families, the pandemic has been a time of unprecedented challenges. the government added £20 a week to universal credit payments last march. it was a big increase,

but it was temporary. and the uplift is due to come to an end in october. i'm anthony. i'm a father of two. i became redundantjust before the lockdown due to ill health. anthony says the end of the extra money will mean some tough choices. for us as a household, we are going to be left with the question of food versus fuel, or fuel versus clothes, you know, just the basic necessities. there are many households which have grown to rely on the uplift money as a source ofjust functioning. the number of universal credit claimants has almost doubled during the pandemic, and some are worried that taking away the extra money could have a big impact. at the end of a year that's probably the worst many people have seen since the war, we're going to be hitting families right as we go into the winter. what we're going to find

is that there are millions of families who are going to go hungry this winter, who are not going to be able to put the heating on. the uplift costs a lot though — £6 billion a year. in here, the treasury, the government is trying to bring spending down after the unprecedented emergency measures of the pandemic. ministers say the £20 a week extra was always due to come to an end. a government spokesperson said, "our focus now is on our multi—billion pound plan forjobs, which will support people in the long term. some mps are worried, though, including many conservatives, and they intend to put pressure on the government for a rethink. nick eardley, bbc news. a court has heard that former manchester united player ryan giggs allegedly kicked his ex—girlfriend in the back and threw her naked out of their hotel bedroom. the ex—footballer appeared at manchester crown court today, where he entered a not guilty plea to controlling and coercive behaviour while he was in a relationship with kate greville.

he also denied a charge of assaulting ms greville and caused her actual bodily harm last year, and denied one count of common assault by beating of ms greville's youngster sister, emma greville, in the same alleged incident. the case continues. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. the heat is now beginning to ebb away. cooler weather on the way for the weekend. for some, there will be some heavy thundery downpours but the further north and west you are actually there's still a lot of dry weather in the forecast. for the rest of this afternoon, still this met office amber extreme heat warning in force for northern ireland. most of the uk, sunny spells and the odd rogue thunderstorm through the rest of the day, but gusty winds developing down to the south with some thundery rain approaching. a cooler day for most places but toward the north—west of the uk, 28—29, maybe 30 degrees once again, across parts of northern ireland. then through this evening and tonight, heavy, thundery rain will drift up from the south

affecting southern england, wales, the midlands, east anglia through tomorrow. torrential downpours at times with a risk of flooding. low cloud again for north sea coasts but for western scotland, northern ireland, we hold onto some sunshine and some warmth with highs of 26 degrees. we look ahead to sunday. a lot of dry weather around, especially towards the north—west. more thunderstorms in the south and east. hello, this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines... a spectacular start to the olympic games in tokyo. more than 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete. a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies could have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the victims�* families say they feel vindicated. thousands of workers in the food

supply chain in england no longer need to isolate if pinged by the covid app as long as they test negative. daily testing for pupils is just as effective at controlling covid in schools as self isolation, according to new research. a new study says an eight—week gap between the first and second doses of the pfizer vaccine is most effective for building immunity against covid. sport and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here�*s gavin. good afternoon. the opening ceremony of the tokyo olympics is taking place in the rather surreal setting of a near empty national stadium. no fans are present as the games are officially opened without the mass celebrations of olympics past, owing to the covid situation in the country. the organisers still put on a spectacular show for the world watching on — a fireworks sequence and a ceremony focusing on togetherness, connection and inclusion as well as reflecting the struggles of the pandemic greeted the athletes

into a near empty stadium. britain were led by flagbearers hannah mills, the sailor, and rower mo sbihi — both gold medallists from rio 2016. heptathlon hopeful katerina johnson thompson, who competes in the second half of the games, is happy it�*s all going ahead but is wary of the isolation rules surrounding athletes in the run—up. it feels like it�*s almost pot luck whether you will get pinged or not, depending on what plane you are on. there are a lot of processes to get through. the customs and stuff, we spent 90 minutes going through each station, but it�*s all very well organised, so i cannot fault it in that, and it is necessary in order to be able to compete so i�*m just happy that the games are happening

and other athletes are finally getting their chance after a year of waiting. but, as i said, it�*s hard, but you just have to deal with it. australia and new zealand�*s decision to pull out of the rugby league world cup was premature, according to australia�*s players�* union, who have claimed a number of its members wanted to travel to england for the tournament this autumn. here�*s the union�*s chief exec, clint newton. it�*s always really important, if you�*re going to make a decision that�*s going to obviously impact the players, it�*s, we believe, fundamental to have the players as part of that decision—making process. and again, we have been speaking to the nrl, so i can be clear on that, but our view is that this decision was premature and that we would like to see what unfolds in the coming weeks. so frustration among many of those represented by the rugby league players association, but the new zealand rugby league chief has defended the withdrawal.

if looking after your people and human safety is cowardly, then i am a coward but i don�*t believe it is. i believe it�*s the only decision we could make. some of those comments quite honestly are misjudged and ill—advised. south korea�*sjeongeun lee birdied her last two holes to record the lowest round ever at either a men�*s or women�*s major. this chip at 17 was one of ten birdies that helped her to a round of 61 at the the amundi evian championship in france. she currently leads the field by five strokes. chelsea women have confirmed the signing of manchester united forward lauren james. lauren — who is the younger sister of england and chelsea right—back reece james — has agreed a four—year contract with the reigning women�*s super league champions. she scored united�*s first goal in the wsl and went on to be their top scorer in the 2019—20 season. and the third match of the women�*s hundred is underway. birmingham phoenix against london spirit at edgbaston. shafali verma scored

at a run a ball before she was eventually out for 15. phoenix are 58—3. follow it all on the bbc sport website. that�*s all the sport for now. i�*ll have more for you in the next hour. parents are being warned to look out for the signs of a common respiratory illness known as rsv. the virus normally spreads in the winter, but social distancing and lockdowns kept it at bay earlier this year. cases are now on the rise since lockdown restrictions were eased, and some children could be at risk of serious complications, including breathing difficulties. calum semple is a professor in child heath and outbreak medicine at the university of liverpool. he explained what signs to look out for. it�*s a surprisingly common viral condition amongst children. it affects nearly every child who would have caught it by the third year of life, but it poses risks

to newborn babies. we see 20—25,000 admissions every winter, i% of the whole birthing cohort, so it�*s very common, but rarely, i must emphasise rarely, about 1,000 babies throughout the whole of the uk are admitted to intensive care each year. death is incredibly rare again. babies present with feeding difficulties, often they are very snotty and have a wet cough. and the point is we are seeing this now, especially in some other countries, france and the netherlands and so on, and that is an effect of the pandemic? it�*s really unusual and quite interesting. we noticed out—of—season outbreaks in two different parts of australia, then it was reported in south africa, and now it has been reported in france and holland. we have started to see

sporadic cases in the middle of the summer in the uk as well. this is very unusual, normally, we would expect this in the winter season. we think it�*s because the pregnant mums who delivered these babies were not exposed themselves over the last year in winter because of the pandemic, but it also shows that there is no good reason why these viruses should be restricted to the winter, if we maintain good hand washing and respiratory hygiene we could have a huge impact on respiratory viruses overall. so what should parents do? they might be alarmed, watching you now, what sort of action should they take if they do think that their child has rsv? i have emphasised that severe disease is rare and it is one of these viruses which we have all been living with and have got used to how to behave with it, so, like any child where the parents are concerned if their child is not feeding or behaving properly,

they should seek assistance, either from their midwife if it�*s a very newborn baby, health visitor, gp or call the iii if they are very concerned, but this is not the same as covid or flu. it�*s common, troublesome, it gives us adults a really heavy, snotty cold every second or third year, but it can be dangerous for babies and for frail elderly people too. and more broadly, what you the implications are of the pandemic for other infections, in terms of for example the timing, a different kind of timing, as we are seeing with this, actually? overall, we have seen a complete collapse of other infectious diseases, particularly the respiratory and this is sadly why i am being accused of being a doom monger because we are quite confident that we will see a resurgence of the usual respiratory viruses

as we proceed on the pathway of unlocking and into this winter, which is why we are pushing heavily the influenza vaccination programme because that will help, anything you can do to treat something before it happens will help, but respiratory hand hygiene, washing hands, not passing the baby around for excessive kissing, that kind of thing, will all help. six people have been taken to hospital after a car crashed into a group of customers in a pub beer garden in south wales. one of the pedestrians has suffered life—changing injuries. our reporter, paul martin, is in pontyclun, where the accident happened. tell us more about what happened. in the hot sunny weather the area outside his pub in the main road here, it was really busy last night with people eating and drinking, and it was about 8:30pm for a car travelling on the opposite side of

the road came across and off the road and hit a group of people who were outside. it crashed through a table and benches and into the wall of the pub. as a result of that, one person was taken to hospital with what police have described as life changing injuries, and the driver of the car, a 79—year—old man, is in hospital as well in a critical condition. police say they believe the driver had a medical officer while he was at the wheel. several other people caught up in the crash and suffered minor injuries, i spoke to one of them earlier and he described the shock of having a drink outside with friends in the next minute being mocked with the floor and hearing the car crashed into the side of the pub and then rebound backwards, other eye witnesses have described the scene is chaotic with people screaming, people lying on the ground while others tried to help them by getting blankets, and the local mp said this morning it was a truly awful

incident and she said lots of people incident and she said lots of people in the community who are rallying round and trying to help as much as they can. round and trying to help as much as the can. �* , ., round and trying to help as much as the can. . , ., , , they can. and i must have been shock around there. — they can. and i must have been shock around there, this _ they can. and i must have been shock around there, this was a _ they can. and i must have been shock around there, this was a really - around there, this was a really horrific incident. it around there, this was a really horrific incident.— horrific incident. it is really horrible- — horrific incident. it is really horrible. because - horrific incident. it is really horrible. because of- horrific incident. it is really horrible. because of the i horrific incident. it is really - horrible. because of the weather, so many of us were enjoying a drink and food outside, pubs are often near busy all main roads, so this resonated with a lot of people and throughout the day hear people living locally have been down to the scene to have a look at what has happened. you can see this plastic barrier was put up earlier in the table that was broken and the chairs have been cleared away. so lots of shock locally and also the brewery commented earlier, saying they could do all they could to help the families involved. the pub is closed today. families involved. the pub is closed toda. . ~ families involved. the pub is closed toda . ., ,, families involved. the pub is closed toda . . ~' , families involved. the pub is closed toda. ., , . today. thank you very much indeed, our re ort today. thank you very much indeed, our report in — today. thank you very much indeed, our report in pontyclun _ today. thank you very much indeed, our report in pontyclun there. -

hosting the world�*s biggest sporting event comes with a hefty price tag, but is holding the olympics worth the investment for host cities? take a look at this. getting ready for the world�*s biggest sporting event is a massive task for host cities. there�*s a lot to plan, build and organise. it all comes with a hefty price tag. is hosting the olympics and paralympics really worth it all? the games are certainly expensive. just bidding to be a host can cost vast amounts of money. tokyo spent as much as $150 million on its failed 2016 bid, then half that much again on its successful pitch. tokyo�*s final budget stands at more than $15 billion. it�*s reportedly set to be the most costly summer games ever, but past events didn�*t come cheap either. according to one study, the average sport—related cost of hosting the olympic games between 2007 and 2016 was $12 billion and come over the past decades,

host cities have always ended up spending more than planned — much more. in grace, the cost of the olympics an offence has been blamed for contributing to the country�*s economic crisis and the games left a module laden with debt. the olympics also make a lot of money, there are revenues from tv deals and sponsorships for the interlayer —— international olympic committee. the recent games funded sport and winter games. they hope to see job creation, tourism and investment in infrastructure and sports facilities, redevelopment for the barcelona games has been credited with helping to turn the city into one of your�*s most popular destinations, but during the 2012 london olympics and paralympics there were few international business visitors to the uk compared to the year before. what is come and go many of the buildings and sporting facilities are here to stay. in london the olympic stadium is now west ham�*s football ground,

rio�*s olympic park host music festivals and e sports tournaments, but parts of it have been criticised for being poorly maintained an olympic sporting venues elsewhere have fallen into disrepair. in athens at some facilities were and and overgrown just ten years after the games. this can take a heavy toll on the environment and critics point out that the construction of new olympic sites is not environmentally sustainable. back in japan, the tokyo 2020 games have also had to deal with the burden of also had to deal with the burden of a global pandemic which has added billions in additional cuts. revenues will take a hit because stadiums in not before an international spectator is unable to attend but even without the effects of a pandemic after overspending, economists have generally been sceptical about whether hosting the olympics in kansas city�*s economic prospects, circular cities have put themselves forward to attend but even without the effects of a pandemic after overspending, economists have generally been sceptical about whether hosting the olympics in kansas city�*s economic prospects, circular cities have put

themselves forward this feature let�*s be clear, not everything can be measured neatly in numbers, there is the pride of hosting web�*s largest hosting event and the prestige that brings, the on a somewhat smaller scale, a special 50p coin has been olympic than just money. issued to support team gb, who will be competing where did you draw your inspiration from? some elements in the design, we wanted to bring to life and to represent what is going on at the tokyo olympics, trying to be inclusive of all the sports and athletes who have trained hard for their lives to dedicate it to spout. it is trying to bring all the spirit and put into this small canvas which was quite a challenge. bind and put into this small canvas which was quite a challenge.— was quite a challenge. and this is uuite was quite a challenge. and this is quite unique. _ was quite a challenge. and this is quite unique, this _ was quite a challenge. and this is quite unique, this coin, _ was quite a challenge. and this is quite unique, this coin, tell- was quite a challenge. and this is quite unique, this coin, tell us . quite unique, this coin, tell us about the various features of it.

there are numerous versions which are being released to collectors, we have got a gold and silver version and another standard coin you get in your pocket, the high quality finish on it. some of the elements and that design, we have the team gb logo, and also... on the one side, where you have the team gb logo and the icons you have a 2020 gate, and on the other sidejatta the pandemic we decided that the date of the queen has got 2021 and note which is a rarity for coins to be issued in that way. it rarity for coins to be issued in that way-— rarity for coins to be issued in that wa . , ~ ., .,~ , that way. it is. and that makes it very valuable _ that way. it is. and that makes it very valuable potentially - that way. it is. and that makes it very valuable potentially to - very valuable potentially to collectors. i very valuable potentially to collectors-— very valuable potentially to collectors. ithink so, ithink collectors — collectors. ithink so, ithink collectors are _ collectors. ithink so, ithink collectors are looking - collectors. ithink so, ithink collectors are looking for - collectors. i think so, i think- collectors are looking for details or differences, they can mark that

coin special for that collection, so this coin does that. because it is marking that moment in time, essentially the world stood still. coins capture moments in time and he offence so thatjust adds to the desirability of this design. 50 offence so thatjust adds to the desirability of this design. so you desi . ned it desirability of this design. so you designed it and _ desirability of this design. so you designed it and when _ desirability of this design. so you designed it and when you - desirability of this design. so you designed it and when you saw - desirability of this design. so you designed it and when you saw it i designed it and when you saw it being made, and now team gb athletes have it, you must feel very proud. it's it�*s definitely a proud feeling, working on something, you immortalise the metal, these days there are a lot of objects and we live in a throwaway culture but objects like coins will stand the test of time, it will hopefully be in people�*s collections hundreds of years from now, and to know that this will go to athletes who have dedicated their lives to training so hard for the olympics is a good

feeling. hard for the olympics is a good feelina. �* , .,, hard for the olympics is a good feelina. . , ., , ., hard for the olympics is a good feelina. ~ , . , ., , feeling. and it is as we have 'ust been seeing fl feeling. and it is as we have 'ust been seeing a i feeling. and it is as we have 'ust been seeing a very i feeling. and it is as we have 'ust been seeing a very unusual h feeling. and it is as we have just i been seeing a very unusual design, and there is in it, as you say, at a time when the world has stood still with the pandemic, this will go down in history. this with the pandemic, this will go down in histo . , , ., in history. this is something that n-eole in history. this is something that people can _ in history. this is something that people can collect _ in history. this is something that people can collect to _ in history. this is something that people can collect to mark- in history. this is something that people can collect to mark the i in history. this is something that i people can collect to mark the year i look back with firmness, and there are elements within the design that will capture the spirit of the games. i think the olympics, everyone from all over the world coming together, it is that spirit of unity which has been brought into the design as well.— the design as well. congratulations, david chan design _ the design as well. congratulations, david chan design that _ the design as well. congratulations, david chan design that specially - david chan design that specially issued 50p coin, many thanks. —— david, had designed. the coastguard has issued a plea for people to take care at the coast

after nine people have died while visiting the beach or coast during the last ten days. the rescue service is advising visitors to the beach to check weather and tide times and to be aware of sea currents, hidden depths and rip currents. it comes ahead of world drowning prevention day this sunday. joining me now is frances wilkins, senior coastal operations officer with the coastguard. such glorious weather attracting so many people to the coast and beaches, what are the principal dangers are there that people need to look out for?— dangers are there that people need to look out for? you mentioned a few of them there. _ to look out for? you mentioned a few of them there, the _ to look out for? you mentioned a few of them there, the sea _ to look out for? you mentioned a few of them there, the sea and _ of them there, the sea and currents that exist within the sea, it�*s really important you understand that it is not a swimming pool, the currents can take you out beyond your depth and quickly you can be in a position that is difficult for you to get yourself out of. we always advised to take care around cliffs and not walk around the edges of cliffs, they can fall away and

equally not sitting too close to the bottom of some cliffs of that word to happen, make note of tide times and make sure you have a route to get off and you understand what those tight times mean. just really having an appreciation of the different things that can happen at the seaside and planning that into your day. bind the seaside and planning that into ourda .�* ,..,, the seaside and planning that into ourda. ,, ., your day. and because of the pandemic. — your day. and because of the pandemic, because - your day. and because of the pandemic, because people i your day. and because of the l pandemic, because people are your day. and because of the - pandemic, because people are not on the whole travelling abroad very much because they can�*t, they are spending more time in this country so the coasts and beaches are fuller than usual, plus amazing weather at the moment, we have got a heatwave, is there a danger of complacency when people go to the beach or coast? , , , ., , , ., coast? definitely. the seaside is a beautiful place _ coast? definitely. the seaside is a beautiful place to _ coast? definitely. the seaside is a beautiful place to be, _ coast? definitely. the seaside is a beautiful place to be, really - coast? definitely. the seaside is a beautiful place to be, really nice l beautiful place to be, really nice place to spend time, and people get sucked into that, that image of it being a lovely safe place, the reality is different. even if you are local to an area, things can

change, the weather can change quickly, so can the sea and currents, and we are seeing more people on the beaches and perhaps people on the beaches and perhaps people that would not normally go to the beaches and places they are heading to, so it�*s really important, so give it respect, take a few minutes to find out about where you are, what particular circumstances happen at that beach, and identify where it�*s safe to go, look for whether lifeguards are on the beach if you are going to go swimming, look at designated swimming, look at designated swimming places, designated for water sports and keep to your own area then you won�*t mix with perhaps boats you don�*t want to be near. it is about taking time and planning. respect is the keyword. and your team has been busier than ever, i mentioned that statistic at the beginning, nine people losing their lives in the space of ten days. absolutely, we have been very busy, particularly with these restrictions are more people travelling and that

has combined with a lovely weather which is great and it�*s so nice to see the beach is busy but it has resulted in a massive spike in incidents, some of which have been life changing for those involved, some have been —— resulted in deaths and injuries, nine in ten days will go and injuries, nine in ten days will 9° up and injuries, nine in ten days will go up unfortunately and we want everyone that goes to the beach to come back from the beach, enjoy it, and then go again another day, so it isjust about taking and then go again another day, so it is just about taking time and if you do get into difficulty or you see someone in difficulty, call 999, asked for the coast guard, tell us what is going on and we can get emergency services to you and we will do our best to help anybody who needs help but we would rather not go where it can be no —— where it can be avoided. go where it can be no -- where it can be avoided.— go where it can be no -- where it can be avoided. good luck with the rest of the — can be avoided. good luck with the rest of the summer, _ can be avoided. good luck with the rest of the summer, many - can be avoided. good luck with the rest of the summer, many thanks l can be avoided. good luck with the i rest of the summer, many thanks for joining us.

we�*re expected to spent nearly £9 billion on domestic holidays this year — that�*s a ten—year—high. new statistics from mintel suggest more than 3 in 5 british people plan to holiday in the uk this year compared with just 2 in 5 before the pandemic. victoria fritz has been following the story and reports for us from north wales. welcome to the seaside resort in north wales. it is places like these that will be the big beneficiaries of a boost to domestic tourism this year. in fact new figures compiled for the bbc show that we are due to spend almost £9 billion this summer alone on domestic holidays. that figure is a ten year high. 62% of us in fact will spend our summer holidays here in the uk and do plan to spend some time elsewhere. we will not spend all our times in our homes, we are going to places like this, and no wales and cumbria have taken the top spot in terms of most popular places, not devon, dorset or

cornwall. and loads of places are fully booked, including presumably holiday parks, you have got lots of bookings this year, joseph, how do you prepare for a season like this? it has been difficult for everybody involved, especially in the domestic tourism market where we have seen a massive demand coming through, people have had enough, they try to make a booking abroad and realised it has been a waste of time. it�*s unfair for the it has been a waste of time. it�*s unfairfor the individual so it has been a waste of time. it�*s unfair for the individual so we are getting a lot of that footfall coming through and we�*re just hoping we will continue without where people have had a nice time, they enjoy this type of weather. they will keep coming back, returning year on year. will keep coming back, returning year on year-— will keep coming back, returning earon ear. ., ., ., ., year on year. how are you managing demand when — year on year. how are you managing demand when you _ year on year. how are you managing demand when you have _ year on year. how are you managing demand when you have so _ year on year. how are you managing demand when you have so many - year on year. how are you managing | demand when you have so many staff who do not know what is going on because they�*re being sent home? it's because they�*re being sent home? it�*s been a week or ten days of difficult decisions for us as a group. we seem to get a lot of stuff getting pinged and unfairly so, they have only been in contact with

somebody from maybe a minute or two where they have been told to isolate. the sooner the better they can get a test to return back to work. the legalities on this, whether they can get back into work as soon as they get a negative test would be great for us.— as soon as they get a negative test would be great for us. there is more of a mixture — would be great for us. there is more of a mixture in _ would be great for us. there is more of a mixture in terms _ would be great for us. there is more of a mixture in terms of— would be great for us. there is more of a mixture in terms of the - would be great for us. there is more of a mixture in terms of the people i of a mixture in terms of the people who are coming to holiday resorts, perhaps people who would otherwise go to other places in europe are coming here as well. is that putting extra the older holiday—makers who would ordinarily come here feeling a little bit uncomfortable, perhaps, about the excess volumes are people here? , ., ., , , ., here? they would not be used to the volume coming _ here? they would not be used to the volume coming through _ here? they would not be used to the volume coming through the - here? they would not be used to the volume coming through the doors i volume coming through the doors at the moment but i think they understand. they understand that the individuals who would normally go to europe or america, they are now here, holidaying, and everybody understands the situation we are in, and isjust a matter of understands the situation we are in,

and is just a matter of enjoying the best of a bad situation, and i think they are really starting to enjoy it. they are really starting to en'oy it. ., they are really starting to en'oy it. . . ., , ., they are really starting to en'oy it. . .. ,., ., it. one thing that we can report on here is that _ it. one thing that we can report on here is that there _ it. one thing that we can report on here is that there have _ it. one thing that we can report on here is that there have been - it. one thing that we can report on here is that there have been cases| here is that there have been cases of verbal abuse for staff in restaurants and also hear people working on the pier because there is a lot of confusion about restrictions because restrictions are different in wales to the ones we have in england so as a result there can be a bit of trouble as a result of that and i have been problems locally in this area. but overall, the great british holiday seems to be doing incredibly well and numbers are at a ten year high. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello there. this week�*s heat is slowly but surely starting to ebb away with cooler weather in prospect for the weekend. for some, some very wet weather, some heavy thundery downpours, especially in the south, drier weather further north and west, but look at the earlier satellite picture and see these big

blobs of cloud blossoming to life. we�*ve seen quite a lot of lightning from this cloud and this heavy thundery rain will approach the far south—west through the rest of the day. still this amber warning from the met office for extreme heat through the rest of the day across northern ireland, sunny spells and thunderstorms for most, low cloud for north sea coasts, but gusty winds developing for southern counties of england as the heavy thundery rain approaches. another warm day across the north—west of england, western scotland, northern ireland, 29, 30 degrees, coolerfurther east, and then through this evening and tonight our heavy thundery bursts of rain really start to make their move northwards into southern parts of england, perhaps clipping into south wales as well. a lot of low cloud, mist and murk once again for eastern parts of scotland and england, another pretty warm night, overnight lows 15—17 degrees in places. but this area of low pressure in the south will bring some quite wet weather at times through the weekend.

it is across the south of england and parts of south wales where we have the risk of some severe thunderstorms, the potential for localised flooding and transport disruption. it won�*t rain all the time, downpours will be quite hit and miss, but where they do crop up they could give you a lot of rain in a short space of time, frequent lightning and some strong and gusty winds. cloudy and murky again for eastern coasts of scotland and north—east england, but for north—west england, western scotland, northern ireland, it is another dry and mostly sunny day and, while temperatures are lower than they have been, we�*re still looking at highs of 26 degrees, so still feeling pretty warm here. through saturday night into sunday, our area of low pressure lumbers its way slowly eastwards, close to the centre of the low, across east anglia, the south—east of england, maybe into the south—west and the midlands as well, that�*s where we have the potential for some vicious thunderstorms again. further north and west, it should be drier and brighter with some spells of sunshine, but temperatures no longer in the 30s, highs

of 23 or 26 degrees.

this is bbc news. i�*m ben brown. the headlines. the greatest show on earth but with no spectators. 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in this year�*s tokyo olympics. the 32nd summer games was declared open as the olympic flame was [it at the spectaclar opening ceremony. could the worst atrocity of the troubles have been stopped? a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies might have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the victims�* families feel vindicated. for a very long time there�*s been no doubt in my mind that 0magh

was a preventable atrocity, but nobody wanted to hear that message. not the irish government, not the british government. thousands of workers in the food supply chain in england no longer need to isolate if pinged by the covid app, as long as they test negative. several trainlines are reducing their services as hundreds of staff are asked to isolate to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. an urgent plea from the coastguard for people to be careful on the coast after nine deaths in the past ten days. hello. it�*s one year late and has been beset by problems,

but the olympics are officially under way in toyko. the opening ceremony injapan�*s national stadium hasjust come to a close with the lighting of the olympic cauldron. the three and a half hours long spectacle has been described as sombre, reflecting the mood of a nation which is having to host the biggest sporting event in the world during a pandemic. just 22 of team gb�*s 375—strong squad joined a much—reduced athletes�* parade. joe lynskey reports. on the olympics first night, the sights felt the same, but the sound was empty. no event in tokyo has fans in to see it and so this opening ceremony took place in the silence. this was the start of an olympics where the backdrop is inescapable. it was different, it was solemn. let us all take a moment to remember all of those friends and loved ones who are no longer with us. in particular, because of

the covid—19 pandemic. there was reflection, but the theme was moving forward. in a tribute to how athletes have had to adapt, to 12 months of lockdown, at the front of it japan�*s boxer and nurse who missed out on a games when her qualifier was cancelled. japan�*s flag too was brought on by key workers, waved on in the stands by around 1000 dignitaries. the build—up has been fraught but japan still wants to showjoy, and, just like in 2012, there was tradition. these are traditional carpenters who sing as they chisel and saw. tokyo last hosted the games in 1964 when trees were planted, and the wood has been used for these olympic rings. and so more than 200 nations converged on a city in a state of emergency.

all in masks, the british team was trimmed down, just 22 of them marched, led by mo sbihi and hannah mills, a rower and a sailor. and so, in the grip of a pandemic tokyo welcomes the world. for the next 17 days, they want a sport to be the focus. our sports correspondent, natalie pirks was watching the opening ceremony from inside the stadium. the world had been waiting a long time to see how tokyo would officially open these games. and it was no queen parachuting into the london olympic stadium, let�*s put it that way. but it was a very sombre intimate affair, especially with no spectators in the stadium. and i think it was reflective of the times that we are living in and i think it was fitting that they didn�*t have a massive celebration, especially when the japanese public, who are paying for this, can�*t be part of this party.

during the quietest part, you could hear some spectators outside, some protestors i should say, chanting things like "stop the games". i�*d say it was a noisy minority, but it does show the strength of feeling here in japan. a recent survey said that two thirds of the public didn�*t believe that japan could pull off a safe games and it hasn�*t helped that covid infection rates are rising. they are at their highest level now since january and we�*ve had yet more positive cases today of people accredited for these games, including three athletes. everything was muted, including the traditional parade of nations. more than 11,000 athletes are here at these games, but only around 5,000 actually marched, including only 22 for team gb, so thatjust gives you an idea of how muted the celebrations are. overall, though, this ceremony was free of the bombast, i would say, that we�*ve seen in the past. it was poignant. at times it was actually beautiful, and i think it was well pitched for where we�*re at,

but over the next 18 days, we are going to some amazing sports, some true feats of athleticism and hopefully that will be the catalyst really for the japanese public to get behind these games. let�*s bring you the latest coronavirus data that we have had in from the government. you can see the number of cases there, daily cases, 36,000 389. that's number of cases there, daily cases, 36,000 389. that�*s actually a drop on thursdays figure which was nearly 40,000 on thursday. so there does seem to be a steady drop in the number of cases actually. 36,000 is there. in terms of deaths, 64. 64

deaths. the vaccination figures, let�*s have a look at those now. total first dose 46,476,000. 87.9% of the population who have the first dose. 36,762,000 about the second dose, very close to 70% of the population. 69.5% of the population have been double vaccinated. deaths, 64. daily cases, 36,000. more analysis in detail on that little bit later on. a high courtjudge has ruled there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies could have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the attack, which was carried out by the dissident republican group the real ira, was the worst single atrocity of the conflict in northern ireland, resulting in the deaths of 29 people. in 2013, the government said it would not hold a public inquiry. as our correspondent

dan johnson explains, the families of the victims must now wonder whether their loved ones could have been saved. yes, that is the question that has stood out for them, what did the intelligence services know, how well with that information shared, and if that had been done better, more comprehensively, could that have been more action either to stop the bombing, to save more lives or even to bring to prosecution the people who committed that attack? that is never successfully happened either. the families have challenged through judicial review that decision by the uk government not to hold a public enquiry and thejudge has reported back today saying not necessarily a public enquiry is needed, but there is a need for some form of investigation into what the intelligence services were monitoring, what evidence they had, what phone calls have a listen to? it was believed they had transcripts and the monitoring mobile phone calls as the bombers driven into northern ireland park from this memorial garden in 0magh.

they had a short time to clear the area after a morning but because of the warning was not clear, the operation to try to evacuate the town centre of 0magh was not a very effective and that�*s why 29 people lost their lives in what was the single worst atrocity of the entire troubles. in delivering this judgment today, the high courtjudge said he was satisfied that there are certain grounds to give plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the bombing and he said any investigation will have to look at whether a more proactive campaign of disruption, especially of coordinated north and south of the border, had a prospect of preventing the bombing and whether the potential advantages of taking a much more aggressive approach towards suspected terrorists outweigh the potential disadvantages inherent in such an approach. well, that news has been welcomed by the families of the victims, including michael gallagher, whose son aidan died here in the 0magh bombing in august 1998 and he said the families today feel vindicated.

we have lived with that for 23 years. i mean, let me put it this way, for a very long time there's been no doubt in my mind that omagh was a preventable atrocity. but nobody wanted to hear that message. not the irish government, not the british government. but now we have an independent person who has said it and i think that is hugely relieving. i didn't sleep much last night but i will sleep much better tonight. we will have to see exactly what form of investigation is now put into place into those events back in 1998 but the initial response from the british government to the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis said he wanted to put on record the deep regret that the families had to wait so long to find out what had happened, he said they deserve answers and he had great respect for their patience, grace and determination and so the british government recognise today that the court has set out their plausible allegations that there was a real prospect of preventing the 0magh bombing

and more should be done now to investigate datums of the uk government will take time to consider the judge statement and all its recommendations carefully but certainly it means that in terms of looking back at the past, particularly of the 0magh bombing, there will be more to come on this even though the uk government is trying to stop all historical investigations, enquiries, prosecutions into events during the troubles because the 0magh bombing took place in the summer of 1998 after the belfast good friday agreement the potential are still there for investigation and that�*s what a judge is now recommending. thousands of people in the food supply chain in england, who are told to self—isolate by the nhs tracing app, are now allowed to carry on working as long as they test negative for covid. a government scheme has begun which means staff at 15 supermarket depots are now able to take a daily test instead. and other key sectors will be able to join the scheme next week. simon browning reports.

empty shelves, gaps in food supply. industry has blamed the problem on the amount of critical food sector workers being pinged and they wanted action. last night, the government intervened. now, supermarket depot workers and food manufacturers will be exempt from self—isolating rules. workers, regardless of vaccination status, will be able to do daily covid testing, instead of isolating. it�*s expected 10,000 workers will qualify. new daily testing measures are beginning at 15 supermarket depots, followed by 150 more next week. supermarket store staff are not included. industry has broadly welcomed the changes. i think any intervention is welcome. i think we were all feeling in the food industry in particular, that something needed to happen, something needed to change. any change, any improvement is welcome. we�*ve got to see the devil in the detail here. it has been highlighted that only certain companies are on the list. who is on the list? who has been identified? it is notjust the food sector that wants exemptions for isolating staff.

the government is offering a limited number of exclusions for 16 critical industries, such as energy, the nuclear industry, medicines and water supply. those government departments will agree with these key businesses, people, and so for instance the water industry, the nuclear power industry agree with them the job roles that should be included in this and you'll have quite an expedited system where, if they want somebody to come off isolation, they'll simply provide the name and that will be agreed. but unions say with three weeks till self isolation rules change, these sectors are presented with difficulties because they expect some workers will qualify for exemption and others won�*t. in a power station, - in telecommunications, critical defence infrastructure, these are all interdependent i occupations. and just listing named individuals, which seems to be at the core - of this proposal, won't work. as businesses across the country adapt, the government maintains the app is doing itsjob

and is needed to stem the rising tide of coronavirus infections. simon browning, bbc news. transport links have also been impacted by people being pinged by the nhs app. let�*s get more from our transport correspondent caroline davies. caroline, reduced services, few consolations, what�*s the picture? it's consolations, what�*s the picture? it�*s obvious it�*s now starting to cause a problem for some of these rail operators. west midlands railway and london northwest, one operator, they cancelled 600 trains last week and i was told they went from having 32 people self isolating on the 21st ofjune up up to 131 by the 21st ofjuly quite significant. they�*ve chosen they are going to cut their timetable for london north west and services from

tomorrow. we do also know there are other operators cutting the timetables. gwr, tansley, southern, they will make that decision. it�*s sometimes difficult to differentiate how much this is to do with being pinned, isolating, for covid, holiday, but it�*s obvious there are limitations happening here because the rail operators feel they need to reduce the service because they don�*t have enough staff to be to keep the service is planned going. presumably this could get worse in the next two or three weeks? that is the next two or three weeks? that is the big concern. _ the next two or three weeks? that is the big concern, this _ the next two or three weeks? that is the big concern, this is _ the next two or three weeks? that is the big concern, this is about - the next two or three weeks? that is the big concern, this is about to - the big concern, this is about to get worse than batter and speaking to one senior rail source earlier, they called the government plan for applying these exemptions to be unmanageable and said it will take longer to apply for an exemption to be able to have someone come back to work state had been doublejump be able to have someone come back to work state had been double jump than it were to actually wait for them to finish the isolation of their own so they are not convinced the governments plan to cover train operators is in place. from the governments point of view, they are quite clear there is a very high bar about who might be able to get one of these exemptions. they require it

to be major detrimental impact in order to be able to allow for these exemptions. in the first instance, if an operator feels like it doesn�*t have enough staff to keep the current service is going, they will cut down their version of its first but how long that will be possible for, whether operators will see that they have far fewer staff and have to make further cuts and further cancellations or potentially apply to the government for exemptions, we willjust have to see.— willjust have to see. caroline, thank you _ let�*s speak to tom bradshaw, vice president of the national farmers�* union. thanks very much indeed for being with us. we have seen this government scheme which means staff at 15 supermarket depots can take a daily test instead of self isolating. would you like to see that extended, that scheme? yes. that extended, that scheme? yes, it's ureat that extended, that scheme? yes, it's great that _ that extended, that scheme? yes,

it's great that they _ that extended, that scheme? yes it's great that they recognise the it�*s great that they recognise the importance of maintaining food supply but if you�*re trying to secure a supply chain you got to look after all points of the supply chain right back to the farm where the food is produced because of the country and harvested and packed and packed there is no way of getting it through the supply chain to the supermarket depots. i5 through the supply chain to the supermarket depots.— supermarket depots. is that happening _ supermarket depots. is that happening in _ supermarket depots. is that happening in terms - supermarket depots. is that happening in terms of - supermarket depots. is that happening in terms of a - supermarket depots. is that happening in terms of a lot| supermarket depots. is that i happening in terms of a lot of farmers who are having to self—isolate to stop work because of the pandemic? i self-isolate to stop work because of the pandemic?— the pandemic? i think there was a real concern. _ the pandemic? i think there was a real concern, we _ the pandemic? i think there was a real concern, we got _ the pandemic? i think there was a real concern, we got example - the pandemic? i think there was a real concern, we got example is i real concern, we got example is there are groups within houses having to isolate, where there�*s key workers on agriculture but we are asking for absolute clarity about which businesses will be exempt and we would like to see the daily testing routine brought in across all food production businesses right from a farm level right the way through the supply chain including the hauliers to make sure everybody is able to work and get the food that there is in the country out to those who require it so customers can buy it in the supermarkets. what can buy it in the supermarkets. what is the evidence? _ can buy it in the supermarkets. what is the evidence? are _ can buy it in the supermarkets. what is the evidence? are there shortages in shops and supermarkets? are there

many empty shelves? what�*s your information on that generally? the last thin information on that generally? the: last thing you want information on that generally? ii9 last thing you want to do was panic because there is plenty of food available in the supply chain, it�*s just making sure we can get it from the way through to the supermarket and we need for the government to be pragmatic and proactive and make sure they don�*t wait until there is a problem. they started to do that with exemptions they put in place but they need to be extended right the way back to primary production and not wait until the 16th of august. and not wait until the 16th of aunust. :, and not wait until the 16th of aunust. ., ,., ., and not wait until the 16th of aunust. ., ., ., ., august. there are some that long to no until august. there are some that long to go until the — august. there are some that long to go until the 16th _ august. there are some that long to go until the 16th of— august. there are some that long to go until the 16th of august. - august. there are some that long to go until the 16th of august. do - august. there are some that long to go until the 16th of august. do you i go until the 16th of august. do you think there could be a change of heart on this as far as your members are concerned by them?— are concerned by them? there really needs to be- — are concerned by them? there really needs to be. we've _ are concerned by them? there really needs to be. we've got _ are concerned by them? there really needs to be. we've got a _ are concerned by them? there really needs to be. we've got a business i are concerned by them? there reallyj needs to be. we've got a business at needs to be. we�*ve got a business at the moment which run 24 hours a day and there is no spare capacity but then you got somebody in the group was gone down as a close contact, that�*s now isolating and the harvest

is ready so ultimately if we don�*t harvested now there�*s no way it can wait until the 16th of august and that could be replicated right the way across the supply chain. [30 that could be replicated right the way across the supply chain. do you think this wasn't _ way across the supply chain. do you think this wasn't very _ way across the supply chain. do you think this wasn't very well _ way across the supply chain. do you think this wasn't very well thought i think this wasn�*t very well thought through? when restrictions were lifted in england on the 19th it was widely predicted there would be a big increase in cases and therefore a big increase in the number of people being alerted by the app and so on. i people being alerted by the app and so on. ~' f , people being alerted by the app and so on. ~' j , ., so on. i think they're trying to weiah so on. i think they're trying to weigh pp _ so on. i think they're trying to weigh up the _ so on. i think they're trying to weigh up the need _ so on. i think they're trying to weigh up the need to - so on. i think they're trying to weigh up the need to keep - so on. i think they're trying to | weigh up the need to keep the so on. i think they're trying to - weigh up the need to keep the virus under control whilst also trying to unlock and i guess we have been recognised as a key part of the food supply chain right the way through the pandemic and just at the last hurdle we need to make sure government recognises the critical role of farmers. and what happens if we can�*t get the livestock and crops through the supply chain onto the shelves. there is no need to panic. there�*s plenty of food there. we need to make sure there is no supply chain issues.

need to make sure there is no supply chain issues-— chain issues. tom, thank you very much. the scottish government has confirmed that some essential staff working in critical areas, who are close contacts for covid cases, will no longer be required to self isolate. people working in a range of sectors including health and social care, transport and the provision of food supplies, can apply for an exemption. they will only be granted for employees who agree not to self—isolate, they must be double vaccinated and have had their second dose at least two weeks previously. a negative pcr test and daily lateral flow tests will also be required. daily lateral flow tests for pupils may be just as effective as class bubbles to control transmission of covid in schools according to a study by oxford university. more than a million children in england were forced to stay away from school last week for covid—related reasons. our health correspondent, naomi grimley has more. the isolating of bubbles in schools has caused no end

of frustration in this pandemic. last thursday, for example, more than a million state school pupils in england did not attend class for covid—19 related reasons. of those, more than 900,000 were self isolating, due to a possible contact with a case. but a new study by oxford university suggests that if daily lateral flow testing is done in school over seven days, it�*s just as good at preventing transmission as isolating pupils at home. what we see here is that for people in schools and colleges, the chance of getting infected with covid—19 when there has been a case in the school or college is low — it�*s less than 2%, one in 50. i am really confident that what this study shows us is that daily testing of contacts is a safe thing to do in schools and colleges. the researchers believe daily contact testing like this can help reduce school absences. but can schools cope with this kind

of intensive testing done on site? it's very difficult. we've made it work before. i'm sure with the help of my support staff we can make it work again, but we need to know exactly what is expected of us and we need to know as soon as possible. but we need clarity, we need consistency, we need our kids in school and the staff to be able to teach them. some experts worry whether lateral flow tests will detect enough positive cases, especially when infections are running high. but government advisers say the research is a breakthrough, considering how much learning has already been disrupted. naomi grimley, bbc news. in western india, at least 50 people have been killed after torrential monsoon rains triggered landslides and flooding that submerged low—lying areas in the state of maharashtra. officials said they had pulled out 32 bodies so far from a landslide in a village in the district of raigad. it�*s feared more people

are trapped under the debris. a court has heard that former manchester united player ryan giggs allegedly kicked his ex—girlfriend in the back and threw her naked out of their hotel bedroom. the ex—footballer appeared at manchester crown court today, where he entered a not guilty plea to controlling and coercive behaviour while he was in a relationship with kate greville. he also denied a charge of assaulting ms greville and caused her actual bodily harm last year, and denied one count of common assault by beating of ms greville�*s youngster sister, emma greville, in the same alleged incident. the case continues. the government�*s plans to end the extra universal credit payment would be the biggest overnight reduction in the basic rate of social security since the creation of the welfare state. that�*s according to thejoseph rowntree foundation. the government introduced a £20 a week uplift to the basic entitlement at the start of the pandemic, but that�*s due to come to an end in october.

our political correspondent nick eardley has this report. for many families, the pandemic has been a time of unprecedented challenges. the government added £20 a week to universal credit payments last march. it was a big increase, but it was temporary. and the uplift is due to come to an end in october. i�*m anthony. i�*m a father of two. i became redundantjust before the lockdown due to ill health. anthony says the end of the extra money will mean some tough choices. for us as a household, we are going to be left with the question of food versus fuel, or fuel versus clothes, you know, just the basic necessities. there are many households which have grown to rely on the uplift money as a source ofjust functioning. the number of universal credit claimants has almost doubled during the pandemic, and some are worried that taking away the extra money

could have a big impact. at the end of a year that's probably the worst many people have seen since the war, we're going to be hitting families right as we go into the winter. what we're going to find is that there are millions of families who are going to go hungry this winter, who are not going to be able to put the heating on. the uplift costs a lot though — £6 billion a year. in here, the treasury, the government is trying to bring spending down after the unprecedented emergency measures of the pandemic. ministers say the £20 a week extra was always due to come to an end. a government spokesperson said, "our focus now is on our multi—billion pound plan forjobs, which will support people in the long term. some mps are worried, though, including many conservatives, and they intend to put pressure on the government for a rethink. nick eardley, bbc news. official figures show retail sales increased by 0.5% last month, helped by the euro 2020 football tournament. sales at food stores

were up by more than 4%, as fans stocked up on drinks and snacks, as our business correspondent, katy austin, explained earlier. well, apparently the euro 2020 football championship helped along the sales of food and drink. that was at the end ofjune. if we look back here, it�*s interesting to have a bit of a context. so, in april when physical shops reopened there was — quite understandably — a huge spike in retail sales. people went out to the shops for the first time in a long time and bought things. and there was a bit of a drop—off in may, which, again, you might expect once that pent—up demand had been released. so what we were expecting injune was something not so dramatic, not such a dramatic change and that�*s exactly what happened. there was a 0.5% overall increase in retail sales but much of that was driven by food and drink which was up much more. that was over 4%, the increase in food and drink sales. as i say, the office for national statistics think anecdotally the football will have helped that along, but, actually, if you look at non—food, so clothes and furniture items, that was down a bit.

down 1.7% compared to may, so people seem to have reined back in that way but splashed out a bit more on food and drink. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. the heat is now beginning to ebb away. cooler weather on the way for the weekend. for some, there will be some heavy thundery downpours but the further north and west you are actually there�*s still a lot of dry weather in the forecast. for the rest of this afternoon, still this met office amber extreme heat warning in force for northern ireland. for some, some very wet weather, some heavy thundery downpours, especially in the south, drier weather further north and west, but look at the earlier satellite picture and see these big blobs of cloud blossoming to life. we�*ve seen quite a lot of lightning from this cloud and this heavy thundery rain will approach the far south—west through the rest of the day. still this amber warning from the met office for extreme heat

through the rest of the day across northern ireland, sunny spells and thunderstorms for most, low cloud for north sea coasts, but gusty winds developing for southern counties of england as the heavy thundery rain approaches. another warm day across the north—west of england, western scotland, northern ireland, 29, 30 degrees, coolerfurther east, and then through this evening and tonight our heavy thundery bursts of rain really start to make their move northwards into southern parts of england, perhaps clipping into south wales as well. but this area of low pressure in the south will bring some quite wet weather at times through the weekend. it is across the south of england and parts of south wales where we have the risk of some severe thunderstorms, the potential for localised flooding and transport disruption. it won�*t rain all the time, downpours will be quite hit and miss, but where they do crop up they could give you a lot of rain in a short space of time, frequent lightning and some strong and gusty winds. cloudy and murky again for eastern coasts of scotland and north—east england, but for north—west england, western scotland, northern ireland, it is another dry and mostly sunny

day and, while temperatures are lower than they have been, we�*re still looking at highs of 26 degrees, so still feeling pretty warm here. through saturday night into sunday, our area of low pressure lumbers its way slowly eastwards, close to the centre of the low, across east anglia, the south—east of england, maybe into the south—west and the midlands as well, that�*s where we have the potential for some vicious thunderstorms again. further north and west, it should be drier and brighter with some spells of sunshine, but temperatures no longer in the 30s, highs of 23 or 24 degrees.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the greatest show on earth, but with no spectators. 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in this year�*s tokyo olympics. the 32nd summer games was declared open as the olympic flame was [it at the spectaclar opening ceremony. could the worst atrocity of the troubles have been stopped? a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies might have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998.

the victims�* families feel vindicated. thousands of workers in the food supply chain in england no longer need to isolate if pinged by the covid app as long as they test negative. several train lines are reducing their services as hundreds of staff are asked to isolate to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. an urgent plea from the coastguard for people to be careful on the coast after nine deaths in the past ten days. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here�*s gavin. good afternoon. the olympics are officially open after the cauldron was [it in the stadium in tokyo by naomi osaka. the tennis star will compete forjapan for the first time since taking a break from the sport partly down to the pressures of media scrutiny. no fans were allowed inside, but millions watched around the world. the organisers still put

on a spectacular show and a ceremony focusing on togetherness, connection and inclusion. only 22 of team gb were there led by flagbearers hannah mills, the sailor, and rower mo sbihi — both gold medallists from rio 2016. and then the olympic stadium and was passed to the final torchbearer — naomi osaka, one of the faces of the games, to light the cauldron, which will burn for the next 16 days. jeannette kwayke is there for the bbc. it was just fantastic to see, when the athletes came in, the energy that they brought to the ceremony. of course, it was toned down an understated and for a lot of people watching they were thinking of the spectacular things we may have seen a previous olympic games but this was reflecting the time we are living in at the moment. there were some standout moments, the drone live was fantastic to watch, along with naomi sucker letting the torch,

that a responsibility! heptathlon hopeful katerina johnson thompson, who competes in the second half of the games, is happy it�*s all going ahead but is wary of the isolation rules surrounding athletes in the run—up. it feels like it�*s almost pot luck whether you will get pinged or not, depending on what plane you are on. there are a lot of processes to get through. the customs and stuff, we spent 90 minutes going through each station, but it�*s all very well organised, so i can�*t fault it in that, and it is necessary in order to be able to compete, so i�*m just happy that the games are happening and other athletes are finally getting their chance after a year of waiting. but, as i said, it�*s hard, but you just have to deal with it. australia and new zealand�*s decision to pull out of the rugby league world cup was premature, according to australia�*s players�* union,

who have claimed a number of its members wanted to travel to england for the tournament this autumn. here�*s the union�*s chief exec, clint newton. it�*s always really important, if you�*re going to make a decision that�*s going to obviously impact the players, it�*s, we believe, fundamental to have the players as part of that decision—making process. and again, we have been speaking to the nrl, so i can be clear on that, but our view is that this decision was premature and that we would like to see what unfolds in the coming weeks. chelsea women have confirmed the signing of manchester united forward lauren james. lauren, who is the younger sister of england and chelsea right—back reece james, has agreed a four—year contract with the reigning women�*s super league champions. she scored united�*s first goal in the wsl and went on to be their top scorer in the 2019—20 season. and the third match of the women�*s hundred is underway. captain amyjones got the only six

for birmingham phoenix in their 128 against london spirit at edgbaston. that should have been caught by freya davis, but she palmed it over the boundary. spirit need 112 runs. follow it all on the bbc sport website. that�*s all the sport for now. let�*s go back to our top story, and the start of the olympics. it�*s a hot and humid summer in tokyo, making conditions difficult for the athletes. i�*m joined now by professor mike tipton from the university of portsmouth. he�*s been working with the british olympic team to prepare them for the heat. how do they prepare for the heat? there is a range of things they

consider, from the clothing they will wear, the design of the clothing, rehydration strategies, race strategies, but the number one thing you can do to prepare for the heaters acclimatise in the english institute of sport have had heat acclimatisation camp running for many weeks now, and they have had various sports going there, and the athletes acclimatise to heat over 1-2 athletes acclimatise to heat over 1—2 weeks. athletes acclimatise to heat over 1-2 weeks-— athletes acclimatise to heat over 1-2 weeks. : ., ., 1-2 weeks. and to what extent... that obviously _ 1-2 weeks. and to what extent... that obviously helps, _ 1-2 weeks. and to what extent... that obviously helps, but - 1-2 weeks. and to what extent... that obviously helps, but if- 1-2 weeks. and to what extent... that obviously helps, but if you i 1-2 weeks. and to what extent... i that obviously helps, but if you are an athlete coming from a very hot country, do you have an inherent advantage?— country, do you have an inherent advantane? , .,, , advantage? probably you do because ou have advantage? probably you do because you have just — advantage? probably you do because you have just spent _ advantage? probably you do because you have just spent so _ advantage? probably you do because you have just spent so much - advantage? probably you do because you have just spent so much time - you have just spent so much time exercising in those environmental conditions and it is particularly the humidity that catches a lot of people out. but you have got used to those conditions and you have learnt how to adapt to them in terms of race strategies and pacing. however, that does not mean that with good

acclimatisation strategies as we have had running of the uk you can�*t get our athletes pretty close to being able to perform at their best. there are so many different sports, clearly something very intense like the marathon or triathlon, that would take a lot out of you in these kind of conditions, but what about shooting or something, less of an endurance sport?— shooting or something, less of an endurance sport? there is an impact on performance _ endurance sport? there is an impact on performance right— endurance sport? there is an impact on performance right across - endurance sport? there is an impact on performance right across the - on performance right across the board because even something like shooting, where you need incredible concentration and accuracy, feeling uncomfortably hot, having a bead concentration and accuracy, feeling uncomfortably hot, having a head of sweat dripping down your brow, can put you off, and also just being sweat dripping down your brow, can put you off, and alsojust being in that posture can after time in a hot environment because a problem. i think there has already been... and archer has collapsed as a result of being in the heat and that is not a sport which produces vast amounts of

heat, however, once you get into sports where you are running and producing heat like triathlons of the marathon you now have a second problem of the heat you generate within the body, which can be up to the equivalent of two kilowatts so you have an environmental load as well as a metabolic load to deal with. , ., ., , with. does that mean we might see fewer records _ with. does that mean we might see fewer records being _ with. does that mean we might see fewer records being broken - with. does that mean we might see fewer records being broken at - with. does that mean we might see| fewer records being broken at these olympics? fewer records being broken at these ol mics? , , ., , fewer records being broken at these olm-ics? , , ., , ., olympics? yes. it is really what you are t in: olympics? yes. it is really what you are trying to — olympics? yes. it is really what you are trying to do _ olympics? yes. it is really what you are trying to do when _ olympics? yes. it is really what you are trying to do when you _ olympics? yes. it is really what you are trying to do when you get - olympics? yes. it is really what you | are trying to do when you get people prepared to perform in these temperatures. it is minimise the decrement in their performance. certainly in the endurance events, it would be remarkable if we see world records or national records, even, and there will be a risk, particularly if temperatures stay high and humidity stays high, of there actually being some heat illnesses. ., , ~ ,,

there actually being some heat illnesses. ., ~ ,, ., illnesses. professor mike, at the university of _ illnesses. professor mike, at the university of portsmouth, - illnesses. professor mike, at the university of portsmouth, thank| illnesses. professor mike, at the . university of portsmouth, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. the prevalence of covid—19 infections in england is estimated to have risen to one in 75 people in the week to 17thjuly, up from one in 95 recorded in the previous week before. the figures from the the office for national statistics show a similar picture in the other nations. let�*s speak to our health reporter, michelle roberts. talk us through these figures and their significance.— their significance. they go up to their significance. they go up to the 17th of _ their significance. they go up to the 17th ofjuly. _ their significance. they go up to the 17th ofjuly, so _ their significance. they go up to the 17th ofjuly, so it _ their significance. they go up to the 17th ofjuly, so it is - their significance. they go up to the 17th ofjuly, so it is not - the 17th ofjuly, so it is not today�*s figures but an estimate and it�*s based on swabs in the community, so people who volunteered to have a covid test and see whether they are positive or not, and for they are positive or not, and for the uk it suggests one in 80 people you meet might have coronavirus. the previous report the week before, it

was one and 100, so it�*s increasing, and we have had latest daily figures out which are different statistics which also show that rates have been increasing but they have been dipping a bit in recent days, it is too early to call a trend on this. but they have done this slight downward turn, which is good news. the daily figures were running at around 50,000. we the daily figures were running at around 50,000.— the daily figures were running at around 50,000. ~ . :: :: :: ., , around 50,000. we had 54,000 last saturda , around 50,000. we had 54,000 last saturday. and _ around 50,000. we had 54,000 last saturday, and today _ around 50,000. we had 54,000 last saturday, and today we _ around 50,000. we had 54,000 last saturday, and today we have - around 50,000. we had 54,000 lastl saturday, and today we have 36,000, so a slight dip down. it�*s saturday, and today we have 36,000, so a slight dip down. it�*s a saturday, and today we have 36,000, so a slight dip down.— so a slight dip down. it's a dip but we don't yet _ so a slight dip down. it's a dip but we don't yet know _ so a slight dip down. it's a dip but we don't yet know whether - so a slight dip down. it's a dip but we don't yet know whether that i so a slight dip down. it's a dip but we don't yet know whether that isj so a slight dip down. it's a dip but i we don't yet know whether that is a we don�*t yet know whether that is a consistent pattern and a trajectory that we can then project onto? exactly and we don�*t yet know the impact of all the unlocking that has recently happened, that will take a while to filter through in the stats, but we know that more people are getting vaccinated, which is brilliant news, we have over two thirds of adults who have had two jobs, and we do know that is having

an impact on hospitalisations and deaths, so we are seeing this weakening of the link between cases which are looking like back in february and hospitalisations, which are looking much lower, although they are creeping up a bit. just on they are creeping up a bit. just on the vaccination, _ they are creeping up a bit. just on the vaccination, although - they are creeping up a bit. just on the vaccination, although the - the vaccination, although the numbers are going up by the day, actually, the number of people getting the vaccination is falling off a little, and we are not seeing huge numbers each now getting vaccinated. huge numbers each now getting vaccinated-— huge numbers each now getting vaccinated. . , ., , , ., ., vaccinated. equally, as you get more ofthe vaccinated. equally, as you get more of the population _ vaccinated. equally, as you get more of the population vaccinated, - vaccinated. equally, as you get more of the population vaccinated, there i of the population vaccinated, there are fewer to grab and encourage to have, so you will naturally see a slight waning with that, but the uptake has been really quite high across the age groups, which is really positive, but the job is not done, there are lots of people still there are encouraged to come forward. ,., ., there are encouraged to come forward. ,., :, :, there are encouraged to come forward. ,., ., ., , there are encouraged to come forward. ., , ,., there are encouraged to come forward. ., ,, there are encouraged to come forward. ., , ., ,, forward. good to see you, thank you ve much forward. good to see you, thank you very much indeed. _ parents are being warned to look out for the signs of a common

respiratory illness known as rsv. the virus normally spreads in the winter, but social distancing and lockdowns kept it at bay earlier this year. cases are now on the rise since lockdown restrictions were eased, and some children could be at risk of serious complications, including breathing difficulties. calum semple is a professor in child heath and outbreak medicine at the university of liverpool. he explained what signs to look out for. it�*s a surprisingly common viral condition amongst children. it affects nearly every child who would have caught it by the third year of life, but it poses risks to newborn babies. we see 20—25,000 admissions every winter, 1% of the whole birth cohort, so it�*s very common, but rarely, i must emphasise rarely, about 1,000 babies throughout the whole of the uk are admitted to intensive care each year. death is incredibly rare again.

babies present with feeding difficulties, often they are very snotty and have a wet cough. and the point is we are seeing this now, especially in some other countries, france and the netherlands and so on, and that is an effect of the pandemic? it�*s really unusual and quite interesting. we noticed out—of—season outbreaks in two different parts of australia, then it was reported in south africa, and now it has been reported in france and holland. we have started to see sporadic cases in the middle of the summer in the uk as well. this is very unusual, normally, we would expect this in the winter season. we think it�*s because the pregnant mums who delivered these babies were not exposed themselves over the last year in winter because of the pandemic, but it also shows that there is no good reason why these viruses should

be restricted to the winter, if we maintain good hand washing and respiratory hygiene we could have a huge impact on respiratory viruses overall. so what should parents do? they might be alarmed, watching you now, what sort of action should they take if they do think that their child has rsv? i have emphasised that severe disease is rare and it is one of these viruses which we have all been living with and have got used to how to behave with it, so, like any child where the parents are concerned if their child is not feeding or behaving properly, they should seek assistance, either from their midwife if it�*s a very newborn baby, health visitor, gp or call the 111 if they are very concerned, but this is not the same as covid or flu. it�*s common, troublesome, it gives us adults a really heavy, snotty cold every second or third year, but it can be dangerous

for babies and for frail elderly people too. and more broadly, what do you think the implications are of the pandemic for other infections, in terms of for example the timing, a different kind of timing, as we are seeing with this, actually? overall, we have seen a complete collapse of other infectious diseases, particularly the respiratory and this is sadly why i am being accused of being a doom monger because we are quite confident that we will see a resurgence of the usual respiratory viruses as we proceed on the pathway of unlocking and into this winter, which is why we are pushing heavily the influenza vaccination programme because that will help, anything you can do to treat something before it happens will help, but respiratory hand hygiene, washing hands, not passing the baby around for excessive kissing,

that kind of thing, will all help. the headlines on bbc news... the greatest show on earth, but with no spectators. 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in this year�*s tokyo olympics. could the worst atrocity of the troubles have been stopped? a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies might have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. thousands of workers in the food supply chain in england no longer need to isolate if pinged by the covid app, as long as they test negative. an update on the market numbers for you — here�*s how london�*s and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states, this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on.

six people have been taken to hospital after being struck when a car crashed into a group of customers in a pub beer garden in south wales. one of the pedestrians has suffered life—changing injuries. our reporter, paul martin, is in pontyclun, where the accident happened. it was about 8:30pm when the car travelling on the opposite side of the road came across and off the road and hit a group of people who were outside. it crashed through a table and benches and into the wall of the pub. as a result of that, one person was taken to hospital with what police have described as life—changing injuries, and the driver of the car, a 79—year—old man, is in hospital as well in a critical condition. police say they believe the driver had a medical episode while he was at the wheel. several other people caught up in the crash suffered minor injuries. i spoke to one of them earlier and he described the shock of one minute having a drink outside

with friends and the next minute being knocked to the floor and hearing the car crash into the side of the pub and then rebound backwards. other eye witnesses have described the scene as chaotic with people screaming, people lying on the ground while others tried to help them by getting blankets, and the local mp said this morning it was a truly awful incident and she said lots of people in the community were rallying round and trying to help as much as they can. and there must have been shock around there, this was a really horrific incident. it�*s really horrible. because of the weather, so many of us were enjoying a drink and food outside pubs often near busy or main roads, so this resonated with a lot of people and throughout the day here people living locally have been down to the scene to have a look at what has happened. you can see this plastic barrier was put up earlier and the table that was broken and the chairs have

been cleared away. so lots of shock locally and also the brewery commented earlier, saying they were doing all they could to help the families involved. the pub is closed today. the coastguard has issued a plea for people to take care at the coast after nine people have died while visiting the beach or coast during the last ten days. the rescue service is advising visitors to the beach to check weather and tide times and to be aware of sea currents, hidden depths and rip currents. it comes ahead of world drowning prevention day this sunday. earlier i spoke to frances wilkins, senior coastal operations officer with the coastguard. i began by asking her about the dangers people need to look out for. you mentioned a few of them there, the sea and currents that exist within the sea, it�*s really important you understand that

it is not a swimming pool, the currents can take you out beyond your depth and quickly you can be in a position that is difficult for you to get yourself out of. we always advise to take care around cliffs and not walk around the edges of cliffs, they can fall away and equally not sitting too close to the bottom of some cliffs if that were to happen, make note of tide times and make sure you have a route to get off and you understand what those tide times mean. just really having an appreciation of the different things that can happen at the seaside and planning that into your day. and because of the pandemic, because people are not on the whole travelling abroad very much because they can�*t, they are spending more time in this country, so the coasts and beaches are fuller than usual, plus amazing weather at the moment, we have got a heatwave, is there a danger of complacency when people go to the beach or coast? definitely.

the seaside is a beautiful place to be, really nice place to spend time, and people get sucked into that, that image of it being a lovely safe place, and the reality is different. even if you are local to an area, things can change, the weather can change quickly, so can the sea and currents, and we are seeing more people on the beaches and perhaps people that would not normally go to the beaches and places they are heading to, so it�*s really important, so just give it respect, take a few minutes to find out about where you are, what particular circumstances happen at that beach, and identify where it�*s safe to go, look for where the lifeguards are on the beach if you are going to go swimming, look at designated swimming places, designated for water sports and keep to your own area then you won�*t mix with perhaps boats you don�*t want to be near. it is about taking time and planning. respect is the keyword.

and your team has been busier than ever, i mentioned that statistic at the beginning, nine people losing their lives in the space of ten days. absolutely, we have been very busy, particularly with these restrictions and more people travelling and that has combined with lovely weather which is great and it�*s so nice to see the beaches busy but it has resulted in a massive spike in incidents, some of which have been life changing for those involved, some have resulted in deaths and injuries, nine in ten days will go up unfortunately and we want everyone that goes to the beach to come back from the beach, enjoy it, and then go again another day, so it is just about taking time and, if you do get into difficulty or you see someone in difficulty, call 999, ask for the coast guard, tell us what is going on and we can get emergency services to you and we will do our best to help anybody who needs help but we would rather not go

where it can be avoided. a man who was repeatedly attacked by a grizzly bear in the us state of alaska for an entire week is recovering from his injuries after being rescued by the coast guard. he was alone in a remote mining camp when the bear first attacked, dragging him down to a river. he escaped but then had to fend off the animal as it returned to his shack every night. an sos sign was spotted during a routine helicopter flight last week. the man is suffering from a leg injury and bruised torso. 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. the so—called health pass has already been introduced for most cultural and indoor sports venues. the law is being sped through parliament with infection rates rising sharply again. our paris correspondent,

lucy williamson, has been talking to those for and against the new rules. if the government has its way, a pint of beer, a bistro lunch, a morning coffee will all require proof that the customer is covid—19 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 a fourth wave of infections. but daniel says it�*s going too far. translation: i am never going to ask for the health pass. _ i am not a policeman. i don�*t have that kind of authority. no, i won�*t do it. i think it shows a lack of respect and it�*s not the kind of conviviality we should have here in france. mattieu will keep coming for lunch anyway. he works in finance and says there is no alternative

to the health pass. if we are going to avoid another confinement, a fourth confinement and all that painful thing and keep the economy going, no choice. 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 there have been fresh protests outside the national assembly. a few have compared the current government to the nazi occupation here. i am here because we need - to save the freedom, freedom. i think that, if you are . obliged to do something, it is a kind of dictator. it's like if the government wanted |to force us to have this vaccine. i

the vaccine is seen as the way to avoid lockdown and this new law the stick rather than the carrot in getting people to sign up, but for those who already see the government as arrogant and out of touch, it is just another constraint, another control. a health pass is already required for entry to many public spaces — at the eiffel tower, tests are available for anyone who arrives without one. because even the most divisive ideas can sometimes become an accepted part of france. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello there. this week�*s heat is slowly but surely starting to ebb away with cooler weather in prospect for the weekend. for some, some very wet weather, some heavy thundery downpours, especially in the south, drier weather further north and west, but look at the earlier satellite picture and see these big blobs of cloud blossoming to life. we�*ve seen quite a lot of lightning from this cloud and this heavy

thundery rain will approach the far south—west through the rest of the day. still this amber warning from the met office for extreme heat through the rest of the day across northern ireland, sunny spells and thunderstorms for most, low cloud for north sea coasts, but gusty winds developing for southern counties of england as the heavy thundery rain approaches. another warm day across the north—west of england, western scotland, northern ireland, 29, 30 degrees, coolerfurther east, and then through this evening and tonight our heavy thundery bursts of rain really start to make their move northwards into southern parts of england, perhaps clipping into south wales as well. a lot of low cloud, mist and murk once again for eastern parts of scotland and england, another pretty warm night, overnight lows 15—17 degrees in places. but this area of low pressure in the south will bring some quite wet weather at times through the weekend. it is across the south of england and parts of south wales where we have the risk of some severe thunderstorms, the potential for localised flooding

and transport disruption. it won�*t rain all the time, downpours will be quite hit and miss, but where they do crop up they could give you a lot of rain in a short space of time, frequent lightning and some strong and gusty winds. cloudy and murky again for eastern coasts of scotland and north—east england, but for north—west england, western scotland, northern ireland, it is another dry and mostly sunny day and, while temperatures are lower than they have been, we�*re still looking at highs of 26 degrees, so still feeling pretty warm here. through saturday night into sunday, our area of low pressure lumbers its way slowly eastwards, close to the centre of the low, across east anglia, the south—east of england, maybe into the south—west and the midlands as well, that�*s where we have the potential for some vicious thunderstorms again. further north and west, it should be drier and brighter with some spells of sunshine, but temperatures no longer in the 30s, highs of 23 or 24 degrees.

this is bbc news. i�*m jane hill. the headlines at 5pm — music. the greatest show on earth, but with no spectators — 11,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in this year�*s tokyo olympics. the 32nd summer games was declared open as the olympic flame was [it at the spectacular opening ceremony. a high courtjudge rules there should be a new investigation into whether state agencies might have prevented the 0magh bombing in 1998. the victims�* families feel vindicated. for a very long time, there�*s been no doubt in my mind