tv BBC News BBC News July 31, 2021 11:00am-11:31am BST
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this is bbc news. i'm ben mundy. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a great start for team gb on super saturday at the tokyo olympics. gold — and a world record — in the 4 x 100 metres mixed medley relay. add to that another gold in the triathlon mixed relay event — including a first gold medal forjonny brownlee. fighting is raging around three strategic cities in afghanistan — which the security forces are trying to defend from taliban militants. reports say fighters have breached the front lines in the southern part of herat. donald trump's been ordered to hand over his tax returns to congress. the usjustice department overturned a ruling — made when he was in office — that the information
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could remain private a british satellite has launched from french guiana — in a boost to the uk tele communications industry. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. it's been another great start for team gb at the tokyo olympics — adding two more gold medals to their tally — in new events involving both men and women. the first came in the triathlon mixed relay. alex yee and georgia taylor brown added to their individual silvers from the opening week at the games; they were joined byjonny brownlee and jessica learmonth. then, in the swimming pool, great britain claimed another gold. this time in the mixed 4 x
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100 metres medley. so where does that leave the medal table? well, team gb remain sixth — they have picked up eight gold medals and 27 in total. at the top is china with 21 golds and 45 overall. meanwhile, the american gymnast, simone biles, has pulled out of two more 0lympic events — as she deals with mental health issues. 0n the track, the leading nigerian sprinter, blessing 0kagbare, has failed a drugs test and is out of the games. she won her heat in the 100 metres on friday and had been due to run in the semi—finals later. let's take you now live to tokyo and speak to the bbc�*s sarah mulkerrins who's following all the action. sarah — a strong start from team gb today — in these new mixed events... good evening from tokyo. this morning was really successful for team gb, as you say, in these new mixed events, which combines the very best of male athletes and the very best of male athletes and the very best of male athletes and the very best female athletes competing for their nation, so we will start with the triathlon first. that took place just behind us
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with the triathlon first. that took placejust behind us here on with the triathlon first. that took place just behind us here on tokyo bay and then out on the streets around tokyo as they took to the bikes and their runs. it was the first time it had been held at the olympics, team gb have a very strong 0lympics, team gb have a very strong history and tradition in triathlon, the sport which first appeared at the sport which first appeared at the olympics back in 2000. we know there have been two silver medals in there have been two silver medals in the individual events, and then it was alex yee on that final leg for them. he did get overtaken for a slight time on the bike, however he was able to pull it back. the run is his strong point and he was able to run clear, much to the delight of his team—mates, who were waiting for him at the finish line. just a note onjonny brownlee, because he had won bronze in 2012 in london, silver then in rio, he was going to retire after this, so he can go out now with a gold medal. as he said himself, he has completed the olympics. the swimmers from team gb have also completed the olympics, essentially, because they have been swimming so brilliantly and winning
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medals forfun. adam pt, the star swimmerfor them, medals forfun. adam pt, the star swimmerforthem, he medals forfun. adam pt, the star swimmerfor them, he set medals forfun. adam pt, the star swimmer for them, he set things up with this individual gold medal and he was one of the key members in the next medley relay that was under way couple of hours after the try at the london, where they do the breaststroke, backstroke, preshow and butterfly and it is two and two again —— adam peaty. it is nice to be able to see countries compete like that and the swimmers able to come together and did it in a world record time. tactics are always really interesting in this one. how you put on which light, where the strengths are and it was interesting that anna hopkin, who swam the final leg, the freestyle, was out in front and had the great caleb drexel, the american star doing ever so well at these games, chasing her but able to hold him off. i these games, chasing her but able to hold him off-— hold him off. i was worn out 'ust watching. — some other good stories happening on day eight —— the women's 7s has finished in the last hour.
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it has an delight for new zealand. we know they are a rugby powerhouse but they have their first ever 0lympic but they have their first ever olympic gold medal in rugby sevens, with the women winning the final there. they outclassed france 26—12. big smiles on their faces there. they won silver last time out, the men lost to fiji a couple of days ago, so the women are bringing home ago, so the women are bringing home a gold medal to new zealand. heartbreakfor great a gold medal to new zealand. heartbreak for great britain in the bronze medal match, they finished fourth in five years ago, finished fourth in five years ago, finished fourth again to stop fiji, a great story for them, first ever 0lympic story for them, first ever olympic gold medalfor any fijian story for them, first ever olympic gold medal for any fijian women, story for them, first ever olympic gold medalfor any fijian women, so a great result for them adding to what the men defended so successfully about three days ago. we have had some tennis, djokovic going for the golden slam, knocked out of the singles last night, in action in the bronze medal match but
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lost the first set, came back to when the second, but losses temper any third and went on to lose the match. at one stage he threw his racket into the empty stadium and at another stage he used his racket and throughout and it hit the net post as well. pretty ill tempered for djokovic they are, goes home with no medals there. also enter in the mixed doubles and a little later we will have the women's singles final, naomi 0saka out earlier in the tournament. naomi osaka out earlier in the tournament.— naomi osaka out earlier in the tournament. . ., ., ., ., , ~ tournament. was going on already. a busy session — tournament. was going on already. a busy session on _ tournament. was going on already. a busy session on the _ tournament. was going on already. a busy session on the track— tournament. was going on already. a busy session on the track to - tournament. was going on already. a busy session on the track to come. i busy session on the track to come. what should be looking out for a? is going to be all eyes on the best sprinters in the world in the women's 100 sprinters in the world in the women's100 metres, because we are going to have the semifinals in about ten minutes' time, the three semifinals, and then the final later on. we are going to have shelly ann
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fraser, who has won two 0lympic on. we are going to have shelly ann fraser, who has won two olympic gold medal so far, the fastest runner in this field this year, she is in brilliant form. also in good form is the defending champion from rio, and there is great britain's dean asher smith, world silver medallist from my shirt looking to become the first british sprint champion for women she was to be able to do it, but there is so much competition in that event. —— dina asher—smith. we will have the four by 400 metres mixed relay, two men and two women competing in that as well. we will have the discus final and just let you know, we have news about blessing being sent home from the olympics over her positive out of 0lympics over her positive out of competition test in any last hour or so we have had another news of an
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unnamed kenyan male sprinter who has tested positive for a banned substance. he has requested his b sample to be tested but he is provisionally suspended, so he won't take part in the qualifiers, the men's100 metres heats also taking place a little later as well. maw; place a little later as well. many thanks the _ place a little later as well. many thanks the update. _ well, sarah mentioned the gold for team gb in that new traithlon event. andy salmon, is the ceo of british triathlon. he told me what the team's success was down to. lots and lots of hard work, a little bit of good fortune and it is very tactical. if you think about each of the four individuals they all played a significant part, it would be wrong to single out any one of them and i'm sure they would all say the same. jess always goes first for us, she has a phenomenal swimmer and gets us right to the front of the race. she did a fantasticjob on the bike on the run. jonny brownlee helped with the athletes until the run
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and then pulled away, gave georgia a lead, she increased the lead towards the end of the run, she handed over to alex. what about his composure for a 23—year—old, to have vincent louise pass you on the first lap, but to have the composure to know that he could pull away on the run, and that is exactly what he did. all four of the transitions were exceptionally good. you put all of those things together, and a fantastic preparation these guys have. we are lucky in britain, because of the national lottery, we are able to invest in supporting these athletes in perhaps ways that athletes in other countries are not supported. we are very grateful for that. staying on the games — and tokyo has reported that new daily coronavirus cases have surged to a record high of 4,058. a spike in cases in recent days has prompted an extension of the capital's state of emergency.
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it's also been expanded to cover other parts of the country. 0lympics organisers have reported 21 new games—related covid cases. no athletes are affected by the latest cases, but this takes the total games—linked number of infections since july the 1st to 241. to afghanistan, where the fighting has escalated around three strategic cities, that security forces are trying to defend from taliban militants. the insurgents have intensified their attacks on herat in western afghanistan and clashes are continuing in lashkar gah and kandahar in the south of the country. with us—led foreign forces nearing a complete withdrawal of troops, the taliban have made swift territorial gains over the last two months. the eu special envoy for afghanistan tomas niklasson, who'sjust visited kabul and doha, described it as a very, very serious moment for afghanistan. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, who's in kabul, asked him if he feared the situation would get even worse.
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i would of course like to say that the best way forward is a ceasefire, universal, immediate, declared today, implemented tomorrow, and peace talks to resume in doha after a few days. i find that an unlikely scenario. i think what the best scenario, which is so much worse than the best one, the best realistic scenario is one where the taliban offensive is held back, whether there is a bit of pushback, a bit of rebalancing, all these nice words which still mean further suffering, further deaths, a large number of afghans dying in those sides, more people on the run, leaving their homes. but that with this recalibration, rebalancing, the taliban would then, after some time, be ready to come back to negotiations in doha or start negotiations in doha in earnest, to find a negotiated
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solution to afghanistan's problems. you've had many talks with taliban leaders. do you believe that they do want a political solution or is it one which is basically tantamount to surrender for the afghan government? i have to qualify that. i have had a number of talks with taliban members of the negotiation team in doha, and a significant part of the taliban leadership lives elsewhere and i haven't had the opportunity... lives in pakistan? lives in pakistan, yes. the primary objective is to return to power or have a very significant share in power in afghanistan. whether that happens through negotiation, which they would find preferable, or whether it is through a military
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victory, i think it is perhaps secondary in the thinking and i think the focus is really on coming back to something they had in the past, re—establishing, as i see it, the islamic emirate, even though they use that term less frequently and vocally than they did a few months ago. they tell us that europe, envoys like you, have a vision for afghanistan which is not consistent with afghan values, with the rules of islam. i'm sure they say that to you. what is your response? they are more polite to me. they don't say that but they say they have a vision for afghanistan which has to be consistent with afghan culture, afghan tradition, afghan values and with sharia and every time we talk about that i ask them to explain and define because i say all of these concepts can have different meanings, including sharia, by the way. and it is difficult to get precise answers. for example, we talk about girls' education, they say, yes, we are all in favour,
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if i have education as a man why should my sister not have it? but then they still refer to these islamic law or afghan culture and are not willing to go into a discussion on precisely what they mean. the former head of the british armed forces has warned that the western pull—out from afghanistan could lead to a renewed terrorist threat. david richards said the withdrawal could result in the collapse of the afghan army's morale, allowing the taliban to regain control and let in even more militant groups. morale is three times more important commitment are my biggest worry at the moment is with the western forces having pulled out, with no added explanation of what is going to replace them, we are going to see a potential collapse in afghan armed forces morale. as good as many of them are. israel has accused iran
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of being behind an attack on an oil tanker in which two crew members were killed, including a british national. the mv mercer street, was off the coast of oman in the arabian sea when the incident occurred on thursday. israeli sources say the tanker was attacked by a drone. the briton, and a romanian national who was also killed, have not yet been named. the usjustice department says tax returns belonging to the former president, donald trump must be handed over to congress. the decision reverses a previous ruling. 0fficials now say lawmakers have legitimate reasons for asking to see the documents. 0ur north america correspondent, david willis, reports. donald trump has fought hard to prevent the release of his tax returns. this isjust a continuation of the most hideous witch—hunt in the history of our country. this latest ruling could mark the beginning of the end
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of his ferocious effort to keep those documents out of the public eye. then treasury secretary steven mnuchin's refusal to comply with a subpoena back in 2019 prompted a two—year battle for documents including asset, income and tax payment data on the part of the democrat—led house ways and means committee, which is investigating potential conflicts of interest on the part of the former president and the possibility of foreign interference. now, in a 39—page ruling, the usjustice department has reversed a ruling made when trump still in office and has ordered the treasury to release six years' worth trump tax returns —— a move hailed by the house speaker, nancy pelosi, who called access to the documents: every president since richard nixon has disclosed details of their tax returns, the one exception being donald trump. he claimed before he was elected that his records were under
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ordered by the authorities, a process that was apparently audit by the authorities, a process that was apparently still under way by the time he left office. republicans say the entire issue is politically motivated. they have denounced thejustice department decision and donald trump is widely expected to challenge it in court, meaning that if those highly anticipated documents are to be made public it could still be many, many months away. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. the uk tele communications industry hopes a satellite that has gone into orbit will help maintain its global leadership in the sector. a quarter of the world's big telecoms spacecraft are manufactured in britain, and the new quantum platform is billed as the market's next—generation product. quantum was launched on an ariane rocket from french guiana on friday night. here's our science
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correspondentjonathan amos. another rocket climbs skyward to bolster a sector that europe, and the uk in particular, has come to dominate — the business of telecommunications satellites. there are hundreds of these spacecraft overhead, bouncing tv, phone calls, broadband and other data services around the planet. but the new satellite going into orbit, called quantum, represents a big step forward in technology. while traditional telecom spacecraft are configured before launch to do very specific tasks, quantum has been built for flexibility. it is the sector's first fully reprogrammable spacecraft. it is able to rapidly change the coverage, bandwidth, power and frequency of its signals. one of its uses will be for disaster response, providing emergency communications to the teams that are sent to help people in places hit by catastrophic
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floods or earthquakes. quantum's manufacturers in the uk, that is airbus and surrey satellite technology ltd, will incorporate the prototype's technology into their future spacecraft, hoping to maintain their world leading status in what has become a highly competitive field. i'm joined now by emily gravestock — head of applications strategy at the uk space agency. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. these types of satellites are the giants of the sky. could you explain a bit more about what they do? . , , explain a bit more about what they do? ., , , ., explain a bit more about what they do? ., , ,., , ., ., do? there absolutely. three and a half tonnes _ do? there absolutely. three and a half tonnes going _ do? there absolutely. three and a half tonnes going up _ do? there absolutely. three and a half tonnes going up last - do? there absolutely. three and a half tonnes going up last night. i half tonnes going up last night. they deliver all sorts of services we rely on on a day—to—day basis. this is a telecommunications satellite and it is going to deliver the ability to make phone calls, deliver messaging and internet to people in aeroplanes, and supporting communications with boats in the
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maritime sector, right across the middle east, north africa, mediterranean and all—round that part of the world, for the satellite in particular. the beauty of it and the worlds first about it as it will be able to change what it does as our needs here on earth change. if we need more ban with any particular point, i will be able to change the focus of this beam to provide that to the people of earth. traditionally these are configured in the factory, so how much of a breakthrough is that? that in the factory, so how much of a breakthrough is that?— in the factory, so how much of a breakthrough is that? that is in an enormous breakthrough. - breakthrough is that? that is in an enormous breakthrough. it - breakthrough is that? that is in an enormous breakthrough. it really. enormous breakthrough. it really does give the uk the leading edge in the technologies of the future, because the fact that this is reprogrammable and going to be up there for around 15 years in its lifetime means that as our needs change, if you think back 15 years ago how our lives are different, in 15 years time is likely they will be different again, so the fact we have got and delivered this from the uk is a real milestone for space technology. we are already at the point where airbus is receiving orders for another version of the same type of technology and
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capability, putting them at the forefront of a major space initiative. forefront of a ma'or space initiativeh forefront of a ma'or space initiative. . ., . ., initiative. the manufacturing of this has been _ initiative. the manufacturing of this has been let _ initiative. the manufacturing of this has been let in _ initiative. the manufacturing of this has been let in the - initiative. the manufacturing of this has been let in the uk - initiative. the manufacturing of this has been let in the uk but| initiative. the manufacturing of. this has been let in the uk but had involvement from elsewhere. how important is thatjoint approach to these types of satellites? i important is that joint approach to these types of satellites?- these types of satellites? i think workin: these types of satellites? i think working within _ these types of satellites? i think working within the _ these types of satellites? i think working within the european - these types of satellites? i think l working within the european space agency and the member states family, for the uk space agency, is absolutely brilliant. we are the leaders in europe for the time of technology through our investment in programmes, but pairing up with other member states and europe means we can bring the best of the best and take companies like airbus and bring people together to work on it. more than 1000 people across europe have worked on the satellite over the last four years as it has gone towards orbit and actually bringing together the european family to deliver is brilliant.— together the european family to deliver is brilliant. going forward, what can we _ deliver is brilliant. going forward, what can we now _ deliver is brilliant. going forward, what can we now learn _ deliver is brilliant. going forward, what can we now learn that - deliver is brilliant. going forward, what can we now learn that it - deliver is brilliant. going forward, what can we now learn that it is i deliver is brilliant. going forward, | what can we now learn that it is in orbit? ~ u, what can we now learn that it is in orbit? ~ ., ., what can we now learn that it is in orbit? . u, . ., ., orbit? we can learn that we have the o- ortuni orbit? we can learn that we have the
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opportunity to _ orbit? we can learn that we have the opportunity to revolutionise - orbit? we can learn that we have the opportunity to revolutionise space i opportunity to revolutionise space technologies, as we realise the underpinning are a lot of what we do on earth, satellite broadcasting, remote medicine and health care, utilisation is like that. what this can do is change with us as we train journeys on earth. that is what it will give us in the future, the opportunity to manipulate the satellites we put in space, to grow with this to mean there will be less spacejunk in the with this to mean there will be less space junk in the future.— space junk in the future. great talkin: space junk in the future. great talking to _ space junk in the future. great talking to you. _ medical experts are warning that an oxygen monitoring device, called an oximeter, works less well for people with darker skin tones. nhs england and the medicines regulator, the mhra, say pulse oximeters can overestimate the amount of oxygen being taken in. authorities are advising patients to speak to health care professionals before using the devices and not to rely on a single reading.
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although a valuable clinical tool, what we do know is that clinicians are increasingly becoming more aware of the potential errors or inconsistencies in the interpretation associated with pulse oximeter readings, so we need to have these points in mind when using these devices. this is an example of health inequalities that we see, an example of the disproportionate kind of stratification we have in terms of stratification we have in terms of accessing health care. what we do know is that oxygen is probably the most common drug used in the care of patients who present medical emergencies, and health care professionals are increasingly reliant on the pulse oximeter to detect early deterioration, and to inform clinical decision—making, so we need to get this right. residents in the chinese city of nanjing are being asked not to leave the area, in an attempt to contain the latest outbreak of coronavirus. more than 200 people have been infected since the virus was first detected at the city's busy
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airport onjuly the 20th. cases have now spread to several other provinces and to the capital beijing. all flights from nanjing airport have been suspended for the next two weeks. australia's third largest city, brisbane, is to go into lockdown again in another attempt to contain the spread of the delta variant of coronavirus. the deputy premier of queensland said millions of residents in brisbane, and several other areas, would be ordered to stay at home for three days. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil has the latest. queensland has always been the example relate of notjust containing and eliminating the virus for many months, but even when i travel there in a few months ago, it just seemed to be going back to normal, it was easy to forget about covid—19 when you were in queensland, but that is the challenge relate with the delta variant. six newly locally acquired
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cases of covid—19, all delta variant, and all linked to a 17—year—old student who tested positive on thursday, and that is why the queensland state government has said that 11 areas in brisbane are going to go under strict lockdown until tuesday, so nobody is allowed to leave the house except for the essential reasons, and to go for the essential reasons, and to go for a covid test or a covid vaccination. people are not allowed to travel further than ten kilometres from their homes, and students and teachers in high school will have to wear facemasks. this has been described as the strictest lockdown for brisbane. we did hear from the deputy premier, who said that we had been here before, but this time it is different, citing the transmissibility of the delta variant. what is worrying medical officials is the high number of the exposure sites that are likely to
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increase, that means contact cases will also turn up. you are watching bbc news. health officials in england are urging anyone who's not had their coronavirus jab yet — to get vaccinated this weekend. all adults have been able to book a first dose since mid—june, but latest figures show that nearly a third of young adults still haven't had one. walk—in centres opening over the coming days include one at premier league football club burnley and a circus in halifax. we've seen a great response to the vaccine programme so far, with nearly nine out of ten people having had their firstjab and over seven out of ten now fully—immunised, but we're going to pull out all the stops this weekend. we know that getting vaccine sites popped up at those places where people are going to be is really important, so whether you are with the jugglers in the circus in halifax,
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whether you are with the football fans in burnley or with the runners and riders at the racecourse in goodwood, if you haven't had your jab, this is the weekend to get it. two women have been seriously injured by a falling tree after strong winds struck the south of england. emergency services were called to ubbeston in suffolk on friday evening. police say the two, who are in their 20s were at an outdoor party. it came after storm evert led to gusts of winds nearing 70mph across cornwall — prompting a number of rescues. the england cricketer ben stokes has been praised after it was announced he's taking an indefinite break from the sport with immediate effect. he has withdrawn from england's squad for the five—test series against india to prioritise his mental wellbeing and rest a finger injury. in a tweet the england and wales cricket board said he had shown tremendous courage to open up about his feelings. and after 17 years at radio 1, annie mac has presented herfinal show on the station.
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the last 17 years have been the most amazing, magical experience... thank you so much for listening. the dj and broadcasterjoined radio1 as an assistant producer before hosting her first show in 2004. she's previously said one of the reasons she's leaving the station is to spend more time with herfamily. hello, there. we saw some disruption across england and wales from storm evert, which brought very strong winds for the time of year and also some hefty downpours. this weekend is looking better. there will still be some showers around, but we should see some sunshine around, lighter winds, but it will feel on the cool side. that's because we've got northerly winds blowing down across the country, certainly across the northern half of the country through today, whereas further south the wind will be coming in from a westerly direction. nowhere is immune to a shower, but i think most of them will be across eastern scotland, north—east england and parts
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of central, southern england and wales — the odd heavy, thundery one mixed in there too. winds will be lighter across the south and it could be a little bit warmer than yesterday at 21 to 22 degrees, but a cooler feel to things across the north. that's because this weather front sinking southwards will be introducing some slightly fresher air right across the country, so for sunday it looks again like a mixture of variable cloud, sunny spells and a few showers. most of the showers across southern parts of the uk, with the odd heavier one. temperatures 20, maybe 21 degrees. feeling cool in the north. hello — this is bbc news. the headlines: a great start for team gb on �*super saturday�* at the tokyo 0lympics. gold — and a world record — in the 4—by—100—metres mixed medley relay. add to that another gold in the triathlon mixed relay event — where the team included jonny brownlee, who won his first gold medal in his third olympic games.
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fighting is raging around three strategic cities in afghanistan, which the security forces are trying to defend from taliban militants. reports say fighters have breached the front lines in the southern part of herat. donald trump's been ordered to hand over his tax returns to congress. the usjustice department overturned a ruling — made when he was in office — that the information could remain private. a british satellite has launched from french guiana, in a boost to the uk telecommunications industry. now on bbc news, dateline london with shaun ley. hello and welcome to the programme,
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