this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. fireworks light up the night sky in tokyo, as the olympics finally get under way in a pared back — covid safe — ceremony, small groups of athletes from more than 200 countries marched in the teams�* parade here in the uk, there's growing confusion over the government's plans to relax covid isolation rules for key workers in the food industry and we hear from the supermodel who's given up her career, saying it's incompatible with her muslim faith.

hello. welcome to bbc news in the uk and around the world. after months of uncertainty, and a build—up marred by controversy and resignations, the delayed 2020 tokyo 0lympics are finally under way. although the japanese capital is under a state of emergency because of covid, 0lympic officials still managed to pull off a thoughtful opening ceremony watched by millions globally. lucy hockings is in tokyo there wasn't exactly a party —like atmosphere in tokyo today, still a lot of fear and anxiety around the rising covid—19 infection rates is the city in the state of emergency or bars and restaurants are shutting at eight o'clock and people are being told to stay home and stay safe because of the pandemic and because of these on games and the pandemic means there's been a lot of

protests. recent opinion polls say that over 55% of the japanese public didn't want these 0lympics that over 55% of the japanese public didn't want these olympics to happen and even of the olympics there has gone it away. we see —— gonna it away. we still see a vocal group of protesters saying stop the protests and how do you call this a festival of peace. he can see the emotions and the japanese capital today. but the ceremony has started with fireworks it was very stripped down and simple in terms of the ceremony. less than a thousand foreign dignitaries there. not nearly the number of athletes we would see in the stadium, but a message of hope, that the olympics can be the light at the end of the tunnel in the pandemic, very sombre moment when they paid tribute to those who have died from covid—19 and those who have cared for people around the world. so, very much in nod throughout much of the ceremony of

what the world is facing right now. the fragile place the world is in right now. and as the games finally do take off, the organisers are hoping that our attention turns towards the games being played and the massive challenge of keeping everyone connected to these games safe. these games have been a long time in the making. 0ur correspondent rupert wingfield hayes is in tokyo and has been assessing the hurdles these games have had to encounter. for this family it has been a long, anxious wait to get to this moment. they are serious 0lympic fans. dad has spent over £3000 on 0lympic tickets. so you can imagine the mixed emotions they are feeling tonight. yeah, we think about, you know, the kids, it's their very first time to have the olympics injapan, so we were excited. i am very disappointed, he says. if they were not going to have

spectators, they should have postponed again until next year. then we could have welcomed people from abroad properly. those who think the whole show should have been scrapped long ago were out on the streets again this evening. but they were vastly outnumbered by the crowds that have turned out to try and get a glimpse of the action. this was shinjuku park at lunchtime, as japan's airforce display team painted the olympic rings across the sky. the olympics is very, i mean... it's one of the... a once—in—a—lifetime kind of event, right? so ijust wanted my kids to have the experience, to see those athletes, at least. but, i mean... due to this covid—19, i guess, you know, it has got to be the way it is. for months, we've heard that japan doesn't want the games, that people are afraid. it didn't look like it tonight.

the contrast between what's going on inside the olympic stadium tonight and what's going on outside in tokyo could not be more stark. because of covid, because of the state of emergency, the stadium seats are empty, and yet here we are, right outside — tens of thousands of people gathered in public squares and public parks to try and glimpse a bit of the action. and if you go in the streets around here, the restaurants are all full, life is going on as normal. there's some pretty strange logic going on here. translation: | am sure _ the government is taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus by separating the athletes from the public. so i am not worried. for some, these scenes show the ban on 0lympic spectators is unnecessary. but with covid cases in tokyo claiming rapidly, others will say this demonstrates exactly why the spectator ban is needed. so what will it be like for athletes to compete without spectators? dr david fletcher is a sports psychologist at loughborough university.

it varies from athlete to athlete. and getting really quite nervous and sing, it's like no other cauldron of the credits of connector dynamic to that and of course, japanese athletes, they would have benefited from the home support and they will no longer have that. so, it is very much a case by case basis. but i personally think the majority of them are athletes and won't actually make much difference because we think about it, they train on a day—to—day basis without big crowds watching them and also the been competing in the league of low numbers of crowds are no crowds at all. so, for example, the olympic trials from all different sports or having minimal crowds. and i think the be ready for this and it won't be a key factor in the fact that

there will be an olympic medal in there will be an olympic medal in the finals will be a enough motivation. there's confusion and growing criticism over the uk government's plans to allow some key workers in england — from transport workers and police to those controlling the power network — to take daily covid tests instead of self—isolating. business leaders says the scheme needs to be significantly expanded within days to tackle staff shortages. but there's still uncertainty about how that mass testing will be carried out. 0ur economics correspondent dharshini david reports. from the outside, not much to tempt the taste buds, but supermarket depots keep us all fed. they're taking on a new order, acting as testing centres to allow staff at risk of infection to keep working. it comes as over a million people across the country isolate, meaning some gaps on shop shelves and even closures. it's great that depot workers and food manufacturers will be exempt from government rules,

but it is borderline pointless if you're not going to make all of the chain exempt. we need food store workers to be omitted from the list immediately. and tonight, it's emerged that those first testing sites won't be ready until monday despite earlier government assurances, raising questions about plans for expansion. supermarkets see this as a step forward, but not the solution. the 10,000 workers involved in manufacturing and distribution who could be exempt are just a fraction of the 4 million involved in bringing ourfood from farm to plate. the government argues that you relax restrictions too much, you could see infection rates soaring, but some businesses are concerned they could be overlooked. this wholesaler in burnley is already pulling out all the stops to supply care homes and schools. they don't know if or how the scheme can help them. something is happening, but is it going to be apparent for us?

we're not sure. and if it does become apparent, we have to e—mail defra with every individual case. how long is that going to take? is that a 24—hour turnaround? is it a two—day turnaround? we've already lost a couple of days for that person getting the pcr test. so, we just don't know. over at the ports, they're getting to grips with an alternative scheme designed for a few other critical industries, similar to one unveiled in scotland today, where they have to apply for exemption for selected named vaccinated staff. we have to go through this highly | bureaucratic process of supplyingj lists of individual names as well as functions, - whereas the supermarket supply sectorjust seemsl to have a blanket exemption. for us, it seems unfair that there's one rule for one sector— and another rule for another. railway signalling staff will be exempt, but drivers may not be, so there could be more train cancellations to come. increasingly, businesses are asking why the date

for scrapping isolation rules, just three weeks away, can't be brought forward? once again, this pandemic means balancing public health with our social and economic well—being, and everything has a cost. dharshini david, bbc news. there's been another fall in the number of new cases across the uk — for the sixth day in a row — they're down a third on this time last week. the latest government figures show 36,389 new infections in the latest 24—hour period — which means an average of 44,219 new cases per day in the last week. 5,000 people are now in hospital with coronavirus — figures not seen since the end of march. and 64 deaths were recorded in the most recent 2a hour period. nearly 46 and a half million people have now had their firstjab — 88.2% of the adult population.

and more than 36.7 million people are now fully vaccinated — almost 70% of all uk adults. the british medical association has criticised changes to the self isolation rules and warned that exempting healthcare staff is potentially unsafe. the head of the newly—formed uk health security agency, jenny harries, said the nhs covid app was essential and it was inevitable that a large number of people would be asked to isolate, given the steep rise in cases. here's our health editor hugh pym. covid case surges in some communities are now putting increasing strain on local hospitals. in liverpool, patient numbers have increased sharply. some non—urgent operations are being cancelled to free up beds, with staff moved to support colleagues in critical care. this wave is different. the people we're seeing are younger, and that's really very distressing for our staff. i think sometimes, people think because they're young, that covid can't affect them, it can't damage them. that's absolutely not the case. it can affect everybody.

health leaders argue that with the risk of a further spread of infections, self—isolation is essential when required, and they've defended the nhs covid app. the pinging, the pingdemic, is because we have a pandemic. we know that you're five times more likely to become a case yourself if you've been a close contact, and this is the way that we stop transmission occurring through the country. so, this is not an inconvenience, it is actually an essential intervention for all of us. the office for national statistics infection survey suggests there were just over 830,000 people in the uk who had the virus last week — up 27.5%, though a slower rate of increase than in the previous two weeks. in england, it was one in 75 with the virus. in wales, one in 210. and northern ireland, one in 170 people. in all three of which, there were increases. but in scotland, with one in 180, the trend was said to be "uncertain". if ijust take your temperature...

luke had opted not to have the vaccine. he tested positive for covid and needed hospital treatment. he thinks he caught the virus when watching euros football in the pub with friends. a lot of people in there had to self—isolate, but i'm the only one that i know of that's got it, and got it quite bad. so i'm the unlucky, one of the unlucky few, but you've got to sort of re—evaluate, you know, your options and, you know, get the jab. health officials confirm the gathering of fans for the euros in england could well have fuelled higher case rates, with more men than women testing positive and behaviour away from the matches being a key factor. for example, long—distance travelling in a coach, or the socialising, you know, drinks and close social contact around the event. but, yes, we have seen a little bit of a spike in cases, which would fit with the timeframe from some of those events. as to what happens next,

a lot will depend on how much people mix with others, following the lifting of legal restrictions in england. quarantine—free travel between australia and new zealand will be paused for at least eight weeks from today. new zealand's prime ministerjacinda ardern suspended called off the arrangement, which began in april, as the number of australian infections continues to rise. half of australia's population is now living in lockdown. fewer than 12% of adults are fully vaccinated. stay with us on news, still to come: for many 0lympic athletes, pandemic lockdowns have complicated training. we hearfrom one south african swimmer. coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire

is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred to that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now a decade later, it has been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in spurn quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is news, the latest headlines. the opening ceremony of the tokyo 0lympics has taken place in a largely empty stadium,

but the man in charge has described this as a day of hope. in western india, more than 100 people have been killed after torrential monsoon rains triggered landslides and flooding in the state of maharashtra. officials say dozens of bodies have been recovered from a landslide in the district of rye—gad, with more feared trapped. hundreds of villages and towns are without electricity and drinking water. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell reports. whole areas of the state are underwater. the result of torrential rain triggering devastating landslides. battling fast flowing currents and submerged dangers, the countries natural disaster response force. houses of collapsed because of the ring and the operation is there going on and as of the latest report, we have recovered 32 bodies and some more are said to be trapped there.

residents are now counting the cost of the losses. their homes and possessions lost or destroyed. translation: i had three vehicles and there are also immersed - in the floodwaters, they are all damaged. the furniture in my house and outside is also been damaged. and outside has also been damaged. this is monsoon season, the rain has been too much for areas to cope with. it's thought more than half a metre of rain fell in parts of india's west coast in just 2a hours. the authorities were forced to evacuate people from low—lying areas as rain was released from dams that were threatening to overflow. translation: if the water | released from the dam today and the rain continued, _ flood water could enter our homes. and the situation is set to worsen. the meteorological department issued red alerts indicating

the torrential rainfall is expected to continue. there've also been floods in china, where more bodies are being discovered, as water is pumped from tunnels in henan province. the death toll currently stands at 51 but is expected to rise officials say that nearly 400,000 people have been moved to safer areas and now the flooding has moved 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. president xijinping has paid a surprise visit to the politically sensitive region of tibet, the first by a chinese president in more than thirty years. his visit is only being covered by state media because of the sensitivities of the trip. many exiled tibetans accuse beijing of religious repression. there have been tensions too with india. the head of the bbc�*s chinese service, howard zhang gave us his view of the purpose of the visit. there is speculations and analysis from different walks. one of the main thoughts is that xijinping is trying to emphasise his push for a different type of nationalist agenda. in recent years, people have noticed changes in some of the chinese ethnic policies, such as trying to force different ethnic groups to have a national identity, a melting pot identity, and trying to make their religion

and cultures more secularised, more fitting into the main kind of a communist—led state structure. i think that's many people's interpretation. he's trying to put more emphasis on that. but, of course, the timing is also quite crucial, because it's also at the juncture of 70 years of the chinese army entering tibet and signing what they called the peaceful liberation treaty. so, i think there are multiple factors here. when the supermodel halima aden announced she was quitting modelling in november last year — because it was incompatible with her muslim faith — her exit sent shockwaves through the fashion industry. now — halima, who became a trailblazer for wearing her hijab on the catwalk and in photoshoots, has told the bbc in a new documentary that towards the end of her modelling career she felt she had lost control of her identity. here's what she had to say.

you know, it's not that i was made to do things that i didn't want but i think like many models, you start off very young. i was 19 when i started modelling and i remember bringing a suitcase to sets full of hijabs and fabrics and leggings and sweaters and turtlenecks, and all these things that i would bring and work with the stylist onset to achieve the shoot. and then the last two years of my career, i kind of trusted the stylist onset to style me, and that's when i saw that my image was changing. my hijab style was changing — it kept getting smaller and smaller. and in a way, i had almost lost my true identity as a hijab—wearing muslim woman because the styles that they were dressing me in didn't really make it a hijab. it was hats and accessories and jeans and versace this and that! in place of a traditional hijab is my point. so, you know, when i along with a lot of people when covid—19 happened, i had the chance to stay off

and reflect and like many people, i decided that i wanted to make career changes. let's return to our top story, the opening of the olympic games in tokyo. south africa swimmer chad le clos is determined to leave a lasting legacy in his sport. he believes he can do that by being the best swimmer south africa has ever had. bbc sport africa's celestine karoney reports. i really do want to be recognised as the best, but i want them to say chad le clos, not only the guy that beat michael phelps. i want them to say, "the best athlete south africa's ever had." south african swimmer chad le clos is working on his legacy. he has multiple world and commonwealth titles and four 0lympic medals, one of them gold from the 2012 games when beating american michael phelps. in tokyo, he hopes to increase this tally, but his preparations have been farfrom ideal. i've had a bad six months. it's no secret, you know,

we haven't had the greatest pool and south african swimming. we haven't had any facilities to train at. in the first week of january, south africa went into total lockdown and we couldn't travel. the biggest challenge for me was the fact that my coaches in my training partners were all overseas, they were all stuck in europe. the rescheduling of the tokyo 0lympics has been controversial in japan. even last month, protesters were calling for the games to be called off. they're going ahead but under heavy restrictions. a state of emergency will be placed. for chad le clos, there's no doubt that holding the games is still the right decision. you have to have the olympics because we've trained so hard for this. we deserve an olympic games, you know? people deserve the show. i think this could be a beacon of light for everyone around the world. covid—19 has impacted more than his training for his third 0lympics. the south african has also suffered personal loss. i lost my uncle just before christmas to covid. it puts things into perspective, you know? and i've been through tough times. my family have had cancer. 2016 before the olympics, my mum was very, very sick. i came home with two silver medals and i was

devastated with my results. looking back, that was like winning five gold medals considering what we went through in the family. and my family was safe, my mum came out and beat cancer. looking back now, it wasn't that bad! 2016 wasn't that bad, it was nothing because people are losing lives to covid. chad is using the experience of the last 18 months as motivation to win medals in tokyo. it's going to be a huge challenge for me. i will be a huge underdog at the olympics. i'm racing to guys that have broken michael phelps's world records, but i do believe that i'll be very competitive. i'll be in the mix for medals, absolutely. i'll be in the mix for a gold medal. i can't promise either/or, you know, but i will fight to the end. and let's leave you with some of these pictures from tokyo where fireworks lit up the night sky, as the olympics finally got under way. the stripped down ceremony was watched by a tv audience of millions globally. inside the head of the international

olympic committee thomas bach said today is a moment of hope, as the games finally got under way, more than a year later than planned. good evening. well, northern ireland saw temperatures up around 30 degrees once again today. further south, the storm clouds were gathering, and that sets us up for the weekend. a cooler feel to the weather, with some really intense downpours for some of us. now, a lot to look at on this satellite picture. this beautiful swirl of low cloud in the north sea, that's been turning things quite murky for some north—eastern coasts. these clouds to the south—west are the storm clouds. we've had a lot of lightning from these clouds as they've been approaching our shores, and through this evening and tonight, this rain, this thundery rain will push in across southern counties of england, getting into the far

south of wales, too. at the same time, this mist and murk and low cloud will once again roll in across north east scotland, the eastern side of england on what will be another pretty warm night. but as we head into tomorrow, this area of low pressure will dominate the scene across the southern half of the uk. where you're close to the centre of this low, you can expect some really intense downpours and thunderstorms. across southern parts of england and south wales especially, there is the risk of flooding and transport disruption. now, it won't be raining all the time. there will be some gaps, some bright or sunny spells between the downpours. but where the showers do show up, they could give you a lot of rain in a short space of time, with frequent lightning and some rather gusty winds. this mist and murk and low cloud will cling to some of the north sea coasts. but for north wales, north west england, nothern ireland and a good part of scotland, we'll see some sunshine and still some warmth through tomorrow afternoon, with highs of around 26 degrees. the showers and storms, though, in the south will continue to rumble around for a time during saturday evening. and as we get into the second half of the weekend, our area of low pressure will still be with us. it'll lumber perhaps just a little further eastwards,

so that's going to focus the showers and thunderstorms across south—eastern parts of the uk, especially through east anglia, parts of south east england, maybe the south west and parts of the midlands as well. some further heavy and potentially disruptive thundery downpours. further north and west, drier, brighter with quite a lot of sunshine, but temperatures lower than they have been recently, between 20—211 degrees in most places. and as we head into next week, things will continue to turn cooler. we'll see some further rain at times. some of that rain will be heavy and thundery, but with some drier, brighter spells in between.

this is bbc world news. the headlines.

the delayed 2020 tokyo 0lympics have got under way with a modest opening ceremony, reflecting the impact of the pandemic. the stadium was almost empty and the show included a moment of silence to honour covid victims. tennis star naomi 0saka lit the olympic cauldron — marking the official start of the 32nd 0lympiad. the message from the man in charge of the international olympic committee was that this is a day of hope. president xijinping has paid a surprise visit to the politically sensitive region of tibet, the first by a chinese president in more than 30 years. his visit is being covered by state media because of the sensitivities of the trip. there's confusion and growing criticism over the uk government's plans to allow some key workers in england to take daily covid tests instead of self—isolating. key employees include transport workers and police. at ten 0'clock sophie raworth will be here with the bbc news at ten.