this is bbc news. i'm sarah mulkerrins, live in tokyo, where the olympic games are now underway. there were fireworks but no spectators as the opening ceremony took place a year later than planned. saturday will see the first medals being awarded as athletes try to focus on competition rather than covid. i'm lewis vaughan jones in london. the rest of the day's headlines: in england, there's confusion over government plans to exempt some key workers — like those in food depots — from covid self—isolation. more than 100 people have died in western india in landslides and flooding triggered by torrential monsoon rains.

and we get the story behind the soaring price of the beans in your coffee. the delayed 2020 tokyo olympics are finally under way. it follows months of uncertainty, and a build—up marred by protests and the resignations of senior japanese officials. but for the athletes, the day is here. 11 gold medals are up for grabs on saturday, and day one of the official olympics schedule is packed, with plenty of key events to keep an eye on in the coming hours, including: the first gold medal — it's expected to go to the winner of the 10 metre air rifle for women.

we will also keep an eye on cycling. the 234km men's road race starts in about two hours time and is expected to take around seven hours. slovenia's tadej pogacar goes in this, fresh from winning the tour de france. also, look out for the tennis. just two weeks after wimbledon, the competition for olympic gold begins with novak djokovic on court. he's going for the golden slam — which would be gold here along with four grand slam titles. and home support forjapan is likely to be high at the womens�* football match against team gb. japan were silver medalists in 2012. meanwhile, team usa will hope to overcome their disappointing defeat to sweden in the opener when they play new zealand. and there is a debut for a new form of basketball — a three—a—side event, it's played on a half court with both teams shooting into the same hoop. well, these games have been

a long time in the making. and our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes was with a family as they watched the opening ceremony. for the uno family, it has been a long, anxious wait to get to this moment. the unos are serious olympic fans. dad has spent over £3000 on olympic tickets, so you can imagine the mixed emotions they're feeling tonight. yeah, we think about, you know, the kids. it's their very first time to hold their olympics injapan, so we were excited. "i am very disappointed," masato uno 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." chanting. those who think the whole show should've been scrapped long ago were out on the streets again this evening. cheering. 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 air force display team painted the olympic rings across the sky. the olympics is very... i mean, it's a once—in—a—lifetime kind of event, right? so, ijust wanted to have my kids have experience to see those athletes at least. but, i mean, due to this covid—19, i guess things have 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

round here, the restaurants are all full, life is going on as normal. there's some pretty strange logic going on here. translation: i am sure the government is taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus by separating the athletes from the public, so i'm not worried. for some, these scenes show the ban on olympic spectators is unnecessary, but with covid cases in tokyo climbing rapidly, others will say this demonstrates exactly why the spectator ban is needed. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, tokyo. i'm joined now by jules boykoff, former athlete, now a professor of politics and government at pacific university, oregon, researching the politics of the olympic games. iimagine the i imagine the research is quite heavy on these olympics in particular. now that the action is under way, what do you make of the journey to get to hear?

it has been an unparalleled journey, sarah, to make it to this point. a lot of people didn't think we should get this far. a lot of people didn't want us to get this far. and here we are, nevertheless. there is this raging coronavirus situation across the world. in the united states, it was reported only 83% of the athletes going to tokyo are vaccinated. there is news of the pitch all over the place. unlike previous olympics where we tend to on the athletes focus at this point, i think we will have off the pitch, off the track stories around his olympic games. what have ou around his olympic games. what have you made — around his olympic games. what have you made of _ around his olympic games. what have you made of the _ around his olympic games. what have you made of the ioc- around his olympic games. what have you made of the ioc and their role in these olympic games, and, isuppose, the questions for the future of the olympic games? i questions for the future of the olympic games?— questions for the future of the olympic games? i have been very concerned — olympic games? i have been very concerned with _ olympic games? i have been very concerned with the _ olympic games? i have been very concerned with the way _ olympic games? i have been very concerned with the way the - concerned with the way the international olympic committee has handled the tokyo olympics. if you don't want to take it from this political scientist, take it from the medical scientists who have been jumping up and down for a long

time saying that these olympics should be cancelled because they are a risk to global public health. an editorial excoriated the ioc that pointed out a number of shortcomings in the preparations, safety preparations, for athletes and those inside the olympic bubble from having multiple people in a room to having them provide their own masks instead of providing high—quality n95 masks. these olympics have stripped the advantage of the wider project and given the public a closer look at how the ioc operates and it has raised eyebrows around the world. jules, i know the who have been in town this week and say they think this is a symbol of hope and a sign of how we can progress as a society in terms of pandemic. one of the things

about this olympics is athletes' activism. do you think this could be a talking point, with athletes gently protesting around his games? it is very possible. after all, it seems to me we're living in the midst of what we might call athlete empowerment era where more athletes are willing to speak out. we have vibrant social movements around the world, standing up for black lives matter, standing up for the extended #metoo moment. in this space, that allows athletes to be activates. the ioc has slightly lizard �*s rules on whether athletes can engage in protests. they could do so before the matches, as we saw in the women's soccer matches went players took any. it remains to be seen if athletes will push the envelope, even though the ioc celebrates the two athletes

that famously trust their fists into the mexico city sky in 1968. the new guidelines still prevent an athlete at 2020 from doing the very same thing. jules, really appreciate your time with us here on the programme. jules boykoff, professor in oregon. the bbc�*s mariko oi is in tokyo. we saw the seeds at the opening ceremony last night much scaled—down compared to what we would have seen before the pandemic. we saw some protests, some of that newsletter because there were no there. i wonder howjapan is there were no there. i wonder how japan is feeling around that opening ceremony. i suppose that sense of pride that could have come with it a few years ago, when you think the feelings are now?-

the feelings are now? rupert mentioned — the feelings are now? rupert mentioned a _ the feelings are now? rupert mentioned a couple - the feelings are now? rupert mentioned a couple of- the feelings are now? rupert mentioned a couple of 100 i mentioned a couple of 100 people gathering here last night and they were very excited to see that globe made by some 2000 drones. they were excited to see that. i managed to grab some newspapers view this morning. this is a delayed by a year, no cheers. but it also says that let's hope the games bring some joy. also says that let's hope the games bring somejoy. it wishes the athletes good luck but to stay safe and healthy. it is also featuring emily the person who let the cauldron in the opening ceremony. and i want to show you this picture of the emperor, who declared the opening of the tokyo olympics just like his grandfather for the 1964 games. there were some people on twitter who were comparing the duration of the emperor's speech, which was not long, versus thomas box' speech

which went for ten minutes. the people were feeling quite positive about the opening ceremony last night, no matter how subdued it may have been. mariko, in terms of the action, then, who are the locals going to be getting behind over the next couple of weeks? welcome toda , next couple of weeks? welcome today. we _ next couple of weeks? welcome today. we will — next couple of weeks? welcome today, we will see _ next couple of weeks? welcome today, we will see ike, - next couple of weeks? welcome today, we will see ike, the - today, we will see ike, the swimmer diagnosed with leukaemia two years ago, having her first leukaemia two years ago, having herfirst swim. she leukaemia two years ago, having her first swim. she was diagnosed with leukaemia two years ago. had the games not been postponed she probably would not have made it. but when she qualified this year, there was a lot of excitement and she managed to inspire a lot of people. also this weekend, people will watch out for the judo matches, weekend, people will watch out for thejudo matches, with a brother and sister hoping for double medals for the family. we will be watching for that.

wonderful stuff, we will be watching for that. wonderfulstuff, mariko. but for the moment, let's hand back to lewis for the rest of the news. in western india, more than a hundred 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 raigad, with more feared trapped. hundreds of villages and towns are without electricity and drinking water. our correspondent sarah campbell reports. whole areas of the state of maharashtra are underwater, the result of torrential rain triggering devastating landslides. battling fast—flowing currents and submerged dangers, the country's national disaster response force. 32 houses have collapsed in the landslide because of

the rain, and the rescue operation is there going on and the relief is there. as per their latest report, we have recovered 32 bodies, and some more are said to be trapped there. residents are now counting the cost of their losses, their homes and possessions lost or destroyed. translation: i had three vehicles. - all of them got submerged in the floodwater. they are all damaged. the furniture in my house and outside also got damaged. this is monsoon season, but the rain has been too much for many areas to cope with. it's thought that more than half a metre of rain fell in parts of india's west coast in just 24 hours. the authorities were forced to evacuate people from low—lying areas as water was released from dams which were threatening to overflow. translation: if the water'sj released from the dam today and the rainfall continues, floodwater could enter our homes.

and the situation is set to worsen. india's meteorological department has issued red alerts, indicating the torrential rainfall is expected to continue. sarah campbell, bbc news. in england, there's confusion and growing criticism over the government's plans to allow some key workers to take daily covid tests instead of self—isolating. this would include transport workers, police and those controlling the power network. business leaders says the scheme needs to be significantly expanded within days to tackle staff shortages. our 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 — we 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, you know, highly bureaucratic process of supplying lists of individual names as well as functions, whereas the supermarket supply sector just seems 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. this is bbc news. the headlines: the sport is under way: the opening ceremony of the tokyo olympics has taken place and the man in charge has described it as a day of hope. in england, there's confusion over government plans to exempt some key workers — like those in food depots — from covid self—isolation. a high courtjudge in northern ireland has said there should be an investigation into whether the security services could have prevented the ira bombing in the town of omagh in 1998.

29 people were killed in what was the worst single atrocity during the decades of civil unrest in the british province. on a busy summer's day, the bomb which exploded in the centre of omagh was the single worst atrocity of the northern ireland troubles. no—one was ever convicted. today, relatives of victims welcomed the ruling of a high courtjudge, who said there was a very real prospect that it could have been prevented by the security services, and called for new investigations on both sides of the irish border. nobody wanted to hear that message — not the irish government, not the british government. but now, we have an independent person who's said it, and i think that's hugely relieving. i didn't sleep much last night, but i will sleep much better tonight. families of victims have long called for a public inquiry, which was originally rejected by the government in 2013.

michael gallagher's son aidan was one of the 29 who lost their lives that day. how does it feel to hear those words, that this could have been prevented? well, that is... that — that is very difficult. you really don't want to think too much about that. the judge said any investigation in future must look at whether intelligence held at the time by m15 and police in ireland could have been used to disrupt the activities of prominent dissident republicans leading up to the attack. what happened at this spot changed so many people's lives forever, so the judge's words will have huge importance here today, and particularly that idea that bringing together intelligence from both british and irish state agencies could provide new answers. to think that they didn't have to die in the way they did, the fact that this could have been prevented, there needs to be some sort of further investigations into why this happened.

the ruling cannot compel the irish authorities to take any action, but the judge said he hoped they would investigate. the british government has said it will consider the recommendations, as the case provides fresh hope for those who have long campaigned to shed new light on the horrors of one of northern ireland's darkest days. emma vardy, bbc news, omagh. now, we could soon be paying more for our cappuccinos and lattes because the price of coffee beans has gone through the roof. arabica coffee futures have risen around 25% in a week to their highest in more than 6.5 years. so what's behind the record spike? there has been a big frost in the minas gerais region, the prime coffee—growing region of brazil. pedro dias is a brazilian coffee farmer who has been badly affected by the bad weather. thank you very much for coming on the programme. hi.

thank you very much for coming on the programme.— on the programme. hi, how are ou on the programme. hi, how are you doing? _ on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good _ on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good evening. - on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good evening. i - on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good evening. i am| you doing? good evening. i am sorry about _ you doing? good evening. i am sorry about the _ you doing? good evening. i am sorry about the bad _ you doing? good evening. i am sorry about the bad weather i sorry about the bad weather having such a dismal impact on what you are trying to do there. i'm told that you've got an example of the damage that this cold weather has been doing. could you just show it to us and talk us through what's happened?- to us and talk us through what's happened? yes. i tried to ick a what's happened? yes. i tried to pick a few _ what's happened? yes. i tried to pick a few branches - what's happened? yes. i tried to pick a few branches in - what's happened? yes. i tried to pick a few branches in our. to pick a few branches in our coffee crop to try to show you this damage. it's not the same thing as being here and looking with your own eyes at the damage and how heartbreaking it is to see and to predict that our next crop will be affected. the only thing is it's too early to figure out how much it's going to affect because there's frost coming on the

forecast. just a few examples. this is a branch that got it by the frost. you can see the leaves are falling down. the top of the branches are just breaking. and it's pretty dry. it is not really good. this is how it should be looking right now, with the buds here for the next season's crop, you know, all beautiful, all coming out ready for their spring blooming in a couple of months. but is not, it's all dry and toasted. i see, we can really see the difference. we can really see the difference in what you just showed us there. how much of your crop is affected?- your crop is affected? well, it's a bit _ your crop is affected? well, it's a bit too _ your crop is affected? well, it's a bit too early _ your crop is affected? well, it's a bit too early to - your crop is affected? well, it's a bit too early to say - your crop is affected? well, | it's a bit too early to say how much in a percentage, brazil —wise, but for example on my

farm, from what we've seen and the stories that we've been marking down from what my parents passed to me, we are afraid that it could go up to about 50% breakage for the next year, but this is my case. according to what the frost hit me. so this happened this past tuesday, from monday to tuesday evening, and in another week with the forecast showing another one coming, so we have to see then it'll go by and after the winter season, we can tell more exactly on that percentage but it's still going to be a lot, that's for sure. pedro, thank you so much for coming on and showing us, and good luck. back now to our top story, as the olympics begins its first full day in tokyo. one new sport for this games is skateboarding. there are two disciplines,

park and street, and one of the oldest debutantes will be the american alexis sablone. at 34 years old, this street skater is a role model for many of the younger competitors. she's been talking to the bbc. when i started skating, i felt like it wasn't cool, you know? it was, like, punks and kids that didn't fit in. and the olympics does feel like this point of no return. and maybe it's already reached that, but skateboarding will look dramatically different. it gives it this different kind of status. you know, when i was ten in, like, the mid �*90s in a small town in connecticut, i was the only one in my town that even skateboarded. if you saw someone with certain shoes on, you knew for a fact that was a skateboarder. you know, it was exciting to see another one because it felt, like, rare. i think it's kind of fitting. i get one shot. it's going to be the first time for skateboarding, and i've seen it change so much and it doesn't get much bigger than this, you know? i make sculptures and i have a studio space.

i made, like, a large—scale skateable sculpture in malmo in sweden. it's in a public square and it's open to the skaters for them to use, but it can be shared by, you know, all different user groups. skateboarding's always going to be a part of my life in one way or another. even when you're old, it makes you feel young. it's just so nostalgic. it's, like, this is the same thing i've been doing since i was ten years old. i can't imagine my life without it because it's just so woven in there. for women in skateboarding, i think it's been, like, a really positive thing. i think it's given us way more, like, visibility. there's going to be a world stage and there's going be men and women on it with skateboards. suddenly, everyone started to care more. we can't be ignored now. competition — it's, like, when i win, ifeel great, and when i lose, i don't, you know? and then i say, like, "why am i doing this to myself?" but, you know, i do it all over again because there must be some part of me that

really wants that. that is it. this is bbc world news. i am that is it. this is bbc world news. iam lewis that is it. this is bbc world news. i am lewis vaughanjones. we will pause to say goodbye to our international viewers here in the uk, it's time for the weather. hello. after another fairly warm and mostly dry day on friday, things are now changing with the weather. we've got some heavy showers and some thunderstorms moving their way in from the south—west and through the course of the weekend, it's going to turn cooler and fresher with some downpours for some places, particularly towards the south. that's down to the fact that this area of low pressure is pushing its way in, and that's going to generate some really heavy downpours at times, some showers, some thunderstorms as well. and if you do catch some of those thunderstorms, they could bring some disruption to travel, particularly across parts of southern england and south wales. there is a risk of some localised flooding. so as we head through saturday morning, then, initially the heaviest of the downpours will be close to the south

coast and they'll slowly work their way northwards across the southern half of england and wales as we head through the day. some of them bringing some thunderstorms, some hail and some gusty winds mixed in with some of those heavy showers. further north across the uk, most places staying dry with some warm sunshine. temperatures around 26, possibly 27 degrees in the warmest spots towards the north—west. we've got more cloud just lurking around those eastern coasts of scotland and north—east england as well. into saturday evening, we keep that threat of heavy showers and thunderstorms going on across some southern and south—eastern parts of england. they should ease a little bit overnight. many places starting sunday morning on a dry note and temperatures a little bit fresher overnight than they've been recently, between about 12 to perhaps 16 degrees or so. now, through the second half of the weekend, then, low pressure still not far away. it's just starting to drift its way a little bit further eastwards, so that's going to bring another day of fairly heavy showers and thunderstorms. but i think the focus of most of them during sunday will be across southern and south—eastern parts of england, perhaps one or two into south wales, too. but for the rest of the uk, once again, some dry and some warm weather with fairly

light winds and long spells of sunshine. temperatures down a notch on recent days, so by the time we get to sunday, highs typically about 20—24 degrees for most of us. again, watch out for localised flooding with those torrential hit—and—miss heavy showers. into monday, and another day of a few showers around across southern parts of england and wales and if you do catch one, it could be heavy and thundery as well. but i think much of the uk seeing again some spells of sunshine and largely dry conditions with temperatures about 20—24 degrees on monday. into the working week, it does remain pretty unsettled. more showers in the outlook, as you can see, but turning a little bit drierfurther south across the uk. bye— bye.

this is bbc news.

the headlines. emperor naruhito ofjapan has formally opened the olympic games at a ceremony in tokyo. it took place in an empty stadium with fewer than a thousand spectators because of the pandemic. the ioc president said preparing for the games had been a difficultjourney with unprecedented challenges. 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. more than 100 people have been killed after torrential monsoon rains triggered landslides and flooding in western india. officials say that dozens of bodies have been recovered from a landslide in the district of raigad.

now on bbc news, click.