this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the globe. our top stories... day nine of the tokyo olympics and more gold for team gb — while australia dominate in the pool and the fastest men in the world line up for the 100 metres final later. the taliban ramp up their offensive on afghan cities with reports of heavy fighting in lashkar gah in helmand province. we're live in kabul. young people in england are to be offered discounts including from uber and deliveroo, to get their covid—19 jabs. banning the big boats — after years of environmental

protests large cruise ships can no longer dock in the centre of venice. hello and welcome. we start with the olympics — and we've now reached day nine of the games. here's the medal table as it stands at the moment — china is on top with 22 gold medals followed in second place by the united states with 19 golds and the host nationjapan currently in third on 17 golds. let's find out more about today's action from gavin ramjaun at bbc sports centre. great to see you. let's start with the swimming. great to see you. let's start with the swimming-— great to see you. let's start with the swimming. great to see you. let's start with the swimminu. . , ,, ., , the swimming. kaleb tressel has been on fire. he

the swimming. kaleb tressel has been on fire- he has— the swimming. kaleb tressel has been on fire. he has helped _ the swimming. kaleb tressel has been on fire. he has helped the _ the swimming. kaleb tressel has been on fire. he has helped the us - the swimming. kaleb tressel has been on fire. he has helped the us aid - the swimming. kaleb tressel has been on fire. he has helped the us aid to i on fire. he has helped the us aid to five golds at these games. two amassed today at the aquatic centre as the us absolutely dominated the swimming. he is now level with michael phelps. he swam of the butterfly leg as the american set a world record in the men's four by 100 metre medley. he won that with the team there in the three minutes and 27 point 78 seconds, beating the record they set in 2009. that team formidable. it was a race they had to be good in because the great britain team have been so good so far, they needed to be be put inside with adam peaty and duncan scott. they won that in a world record time. for britain, it is their eighth medal with the silver. duncan scott became the first british

athlete to win four medals at an olympic games. australia's emma mckeon claimed an olympic record in the women's 50 metre freestyle, helped the aussies to gold in the 400 metres, fell by 400 metre medley. they got a new australian record. so they have nine golds in the pool, second to the usa who have 11. ., ., , �* ,., the pool, second to the usa who have 11. now under team gb, some success in bmx? an _ 11. now under team gb, some success in bmx? an exciting _ 11. now under team gb, some success in bmx? an exciting new _ 11. now under team gb, some success in bmx? an exciting new cool - in bmx? an exciting new cool discipline _ in bmx? an exciting new cool discipline the _ in bmx? an exciting new cool discipline the freestyle, - in bmx? an exciting new cool| discipline the freestyle, which in bmx? an exciting new cool - discipline the freestyle, which was in the early hours. it bmx freestyle about expanding the new audience to about expanding the new audience to a generation not particularly involved or excited perhaps in some disciplines, but this one was great, we saw some tricks and stunts that were absolutely thrilling. charlotte worthington took the gold in this one stop take a look at some of

these stunts. up against the formidable american hannah roberts. nowhere did she pull it out of the bag. she fell in the first round but pulled it out here. this is a sport that will only grow in popularity. these stunts were absolutely spectacular. also in the men's event it went to the australian martin logan. he beat his venezuelan and british rivals.— british rivals. great to see the ictures british rivals. great to see the pictures as — british rivals. great to see the pictures as well _ british rivals. great to see the pictures as well of _ british rivals. great to see the pictures as well of the - british rivals. great to see the pictures as well of the new - british rivals. great to see the i pictures as well of the new sport. now is a gymnastics, a bit more of a traditional sport. now is a gymnastics, a bit more of a traditionalsport. simone now is a gymnastics, a bit more of a traditional sport. simone biles, who everyone has been talking about going into games and still now. what the latest? she going into games and still now. what the latest? ,, ., , ., going into games and still now. what the latest? ,, ., , ., the latest? she has now pulled out ofthe the latest? she has now pulled out of the flower _ the latest? she has now pulled out of the flower finals _ the latest? she has now pulled out of the flower finals and _ the latest? she has now pulled out of the flower finals and that - the latest? she has now pulled out of the flower finals and that is - the latest? she has now pulled out of the flower finals and that is an l of the flower finals and that is an event on monday, in addition to the

one she had chosen not to compete in. she had chosen to miss the finals of two individual events to date, the vault and bars. she was expected to win a gold there. that is her prioritising her mental health, she feels unable to perform as you would like to after pulling out of the team event last week. she was very much the superstar of the us coming into these games, everyone expecting her to build on the four gold she won in rio but she has been out of form and seems to be having the twisties, as she calls it. and simone biles has been out supporting her team—mates that they have been competing in and speaking out about the mental health issues around performance at the top level. it has gained a lot of support with other athletes and celebrities, people

wanting her to feel better and needing to effectively prioritise her own well—being effectively over performances at the olympics because if she does falter, she could seriously injure herself and put her performance in jeopardy and affect the team's scores. she has yet to decide whether she will go for the beam on tuesday but we await news of that as well. ., ~ beam on tuesday but we await news of that as well-— that as well. thank you for that. see ou that as well. thank you for that. see you later- — rockets have been fired at kandahar airport as the taliban continues its offensive against the afghan government. two of the missiles hit the runway and the airport has now been closed to all flights. the militants are trying to seize three major cities in the south and west. they've now entered parts of herat, lashkar gah, and kandahar — afghanistan's second biggest city. let's speak to our afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani, in kabul.

we have reported of the last few weeks of the advances made in rural areas by the taliban. this feels very different.— areas by the taliban. this feels very different. areas by the taliban. this feels ve different. ~ , , ., ., very different. absolutely, detail a ban already _ very different. absolutely, detail a ban already captured _ very different. absolutely, detail a ban already captured around - very different. absolutely, detail a ban already captured around half. very different. absolutely, detail a | ban already captured around half of the country, largely in more rural areas, they have not ever in fact during their 20 year insurgency been able to capture and take hold of and retain hold of a major city, a provincial capital. that seems like what they are trying to do now. 0ut what they are trying to do now. out of all of the fighting i think the most serious has taken place in lashkar gah in the south. 0vernight there was heavy fighting there, air strikes by both the afghan and american air force, we understand. government forces, afghan government forces say they killed dozens of taliban militants, but fighting is continuing this morning, the special forces were flown in yesterday after the taliban arrived at one point

just a few 100 metres from the governor's office in the centre of the city. as you say fighting has been taking place elsewhere, rockets launched overnight at kandahar air part leading to the closure of the airport today. in herat there have been clashes for a number of days on the outskirts of the city. extra reinforcements have now arrived and they're fighting with the taliban seems to be going the way of the government, they seem to have pushed the taliban further back, but real concern about what is to come. and all of this fighting displacing tens of thousands of ordinary afghans. you hinted at it there, i am wondering what the general assessment is of the strength of the afghan government forces and their ability to withhold the attacks. the afr han ability to withhold the attacks. tue: afghan government ability to withhold the attacks. t'ta: afghan government forces ability to withhold the attacks. tt2 afghan government forces have already for a number of years been at the forefront of the fight

against the taliban, the international forces that have been here have been in a training and advisory role rather than leading on the battlefield. it is not as if international troops are leaving and the afghan government is for the first time at the forefront of the battle. having said that us air strikes have always been particularly useful tool in holding back the taliban advance and we understand or it seems as if that come the end of august, at the formal end of the military mission, that the air strikes, the us air strikes against the taliban will no longer continue. the afghan government does have its own air force and a widely praised special forces, but there are concerns that both the air force and the special forces are really being overused and could end up being exhausted because they are in a state of constant battle, really, at the moment. thank

ou for battle, really, at the moment. thank you forthat — battle, really, at the moment. thank you for that update. _ battle, really, at the moment. thank you for that update. it _ battle, really, at the moment. thank you for that update. it is _ battle, really, at the moment. thank you for that update. it is a _ battle, really, at the moment. thank you for that update. it is a crucial- you for that update. it is a crucial time in afghanistan. young people in england are to be offered incentives, such as discounts from uber and deliveroo, to get their covid—19 vaccinations. ministers are hoping to make further offers involving cafes and restaurants in the coming weeks to try to improve uptake of the jabs. simon jones has more. a day out with a difference. a pop—up vaccination centre was set up last week at the thorpe park theme park in surrey — part of a drive to get more younger people vaccinated. hi, guys. we're doing covid vaccines today. just over two thirds of adults aged 18—29 in england have received their first dose. that is a lower uptake than in the wider population. overall, 88% of people across the uk have had a firstjab. now there will be new incentives. uber is to give discounted trips to young adults who get vaccinated. the ride—hailing app bolt will be

offering free ride credits to vaccination centres. deliveroo is set to offer vouchers to young people who getjabbed, though how exactly these schemes will work has yet to be revealed. but it is a carrot—and—stick approach. cheering ministers have warned that they will introduce covid passports in certain places from september, meaning those who have not been vaccinated won't be able to get into nightclubs. asking festival—goers to show proof of their covid status is being used at this weekend's camp bestival music event in dorset. you know, we've got very stringent measures here — double—vaccination proof or lateral flow negative test for people over the age of 11, more sanitation, really great compostable toilets with a lot more air space in them, things being wiped down, hand sanitiser. the uk isn't the first to try new incentives. in the us, the governor of newjersey launched shot and a beer in may, offering

a free drink to those over 21 getting vaccinated. and in colorado, some vaccination sites are giving out $100 supermarket gift cards to the jabbed. if i can get it, y'all can get it. i'm a cancer survivor. i recommend y'all have it. the hope is people won'tjust grab a vaccine, but a bargain too. around 4,000 children and young people in scotland will be offered the pfizer vaccine before the start of the new school term injust over two weeks. it will be on offer to those with conditions which make them more vulnerable to covid—19 — such as down's syndrome, learning disabilities, and illnesses which affect the immune system. it will give them some protection after that first dose. but we'll need to wait until they've had their second doses, which will need to be eight weeks after that first dose, so we're really looking towards this protection being in place for them into the autumn and through

the winter months as well. the head of the burmese military government has promised to hold multi—party elections and work with fellow asean states, six months after seizing power. speaking in a television address, described the party he forced from office as "terrorists". that's the national league for democracy of aung san suu kyi. myanmar has been engulfed by violence since the army took control on the first of february. nationwide street demonstrations in favour of aung san suu kyi have been suppressed with violence. i spoke with a burmese human rights activist. well, this is not the first time the military is promising that there would be an election. back in 1962 when the first coup took place, the same promise was made by the generals at that time, and it took 50 years to be going back to the seeming path of democracy, in 2010.

so it's a lie. it's not going to be happening, and that's not what the people of myanmar want. so again, it's an unrealistic — something that people wouldn't trust at all. the people of myanmar wouldn't trust such kinds of promises on the television being made, because the history suggests it didn't work in the past, and it took 50 years from one year. now, again, it's the same game being played. ok, so if you are dismissing the promise as something that won't happen, what do you think is more likely to happen in the months ahead? well, there will continue to be collapse in the economy. and the likelihood of the people in myanmar will remain fragmented, and people will stand firmly on what they want — democracy, equality and federalism for all people of myanmar.

people will keep fighting for it and there will be a political excuse by the military, to continue to keep their power in the country and play the same game that they played in the past. one of the other things the general mentioned was his promise to work with neighbouring countries, perhaps less interested in his promise. what do you think other neighbouring countries should be doing? instability in myanmar is not internal alone. of course for neighbouring countries, particularly the asean places, it is very important rule. but asean came into the politics of myanmar with consensus. so far no progress has been made, and asean significantly failed to implement any of those. the very first step is to send

asean delegates, envoys, to look into myanmar issues — which is not being completed. it has been six months now since the coup took place in myanmar and we haven't seen any result, despite letters being released and promises being made on meetings and conferences. large cruise ships have been banned from the centre of venice, after years of environmental protests. vessels of more than 25,000 tonnes will no longer be allowed to dock in the central canal. campaigners and residents say the ships pollute the air and water, and cause erosion. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen reports. it's been venice's david versus goliath. for years, protests by locals in their small boats against the mammoth cruise liners

clogging its waterways. critics say they pollute, damage venice's ecosystem and erode foundations with their large waves. finally, victory. from today, any ship over 25,000 tonnes is now banned from the city's central canal. they brought significant amount of fear and hopelessness because every time we saw one of these ships coming towards us in piazza san marco, it just brought to the front of our minds just how little everybody cares about venice as world heritage and about environmental and social justice in general. the cruise ships have been seen as symptoms of venice's over—tourism. hordes of day—trippers not the model of sustainable tourism many here want.

and they've contributed to the flooding that's long plagued venice. the high tide in 2019 the worst in 50 years, inundating st mark's square and devastating homes and businesses. a new port in the nearby city of marghera will be fast tracked for the cruise liners, but those depending on the industry are worried. translation: such a decision taken so quickly without planning is absurd. in our opinion it is evil and a crime against the workers. �*la serenissima' venice was called — the most serene. but its beauty is fragile. the battle over who can drift through the city of water might now help preserve this jewel of civilisation. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. jyoti hosagrahar is deputy director for the world heritage centre at unesco. she gave me her reaction to the ban.

well, of course we welcomed the decree to prohibit ships larger than 25,000 tonness from passing through the canal in the venice lagoon. as you know, the state of conservation and its lagoon has been reviewed by the world heritage committee since 2014 for a number of different issues, many of which have to do with the impacts of excessive tourism. and suddenly large cruise ships traversing through the heart of the city's a significant issue and we very much thank the state party for all the efforts to address the recommendations of the world heritage committee, but we do look forward to receiving the full details of how these large ships will be circulating

and where they will be moored, because we don't have these details yet. and so while we very much appreciate the willingness to find solutions, there does need to be a clear plan on how these will be moored to be able to assess what impact they will have. just to jump in there. if the principle of this move is welcomed and you are waiting on the details of where these big ships will go, that suggests this is one issue, but are there other issues with just the number of tourists in venice itself, whether they're on the big ships or not? are there other issues that need to be addressed there? yes, absolutely. in fact, it is a very complex situation because there is a number of interconnected issues to say which have an impact

on the properties, outstanding universal value which you know is protected for world heritage. first of all, the statement about universal value talks about, and i want to quote here, the result of dynamic process which illustrates the interaction between people and the ecosystem of their natural environment over time, so there is a very, it is a very interconnected value to begin with and it has, the negative impacts of mass tourism have been really significant which, as you know, the cruise ships is only one of them. the cruise ships traversing through the city. there is also the transformation of the historic centre, the decreasing number of local inhabitants and so on. in addition to that, we have human induced changes in the ecosystem of the lagoon, we have the need for more

governance and management, the climate change is also affecting. there needs to be a kind of solution which is multisector or multi— little bit of breaking news from the olympics. the more medals being won, this time in the gulf and the american xander schauffele has won the gold. there was a tie for third place, so the bronze medal will be decided by a player. but the us and xander schauffele winning. new zealand's prime ministerjacinda ardern has formallay apologised at a ceremony in auckland for police raids which disproportionately targeted pacific communities in the 1970s. the so—called "dawn raids"

were carried out to find, convict and deport people from the pacific islands suspected of overstaying their visas — but never those from the uk or the us. our correspondent phil mercer in sydney explains why the prime minister decided to apologise now. new zealand rarely apologises for past injustices. but such was the gravity of these immigration raids between 1974 and 1976 in new zealand that it has prompted the prime minister, jacinda ardern, to issue this formal apology at the auckland town hall. now, these raids spread panic and terror through pacific communities in the 1970s. after the second world war, new zealand invited thousands of pacific islanders in to work to boost a workforce that had been depleted by conflict overseas. but in the 1970s the new zealand economy was beginning to falter, and all of a sudden those valuable,

welcomed migrant workers were turned upon and were accused of taking jobs away from new zealanders, and that prompted a wave of police raids. this crackdown included churches, schools, workplaces and also homes, many homes raided in the middle of the night, and thousands of people were arrested and deported. and what has the reaction been to the apology? both major political parties in new zealand accept that the raids were racist. as you said earlier, these raids targeted pacific island communities from countries such as tonga and samoa. but at the time about 40% of overstayers in new zealand were visitors from the united kingdom and the united states, and those visitors were rarely if ever targeted for deportation. there has been this heartfelt apology by the prime minister, jacinda ardern.

she has expressed her government's sorrow and remorse. many pacific island communities will be welcoming this apology, that has taken 45 years to come to fruition. there is also a call that the government needs to do more practical things for pacific island communities in new zealand to address inequality in terms of poverty, education and health. but for the most part, this apology by jacinda ardern has been well received by pacific island communities. prime minister borisjohnson's wife carriejohnson says she feels blessed and "incredibly grateful" to be pregnant again after having a miscarriage at the start of this year. the couple — who also have a one—year—old son, wilfred — are expecting their new arrival around christmas. charities have praised mrs johnson for sharing her experience of miscarriage. i think it can only be helpful to open up the conversation about miscarriage.

to understand, actually to know some of the facts, but also to understand the whole range of feelings that people have which are so often to do with who they are but also what this pregnancy means for them. this is bbc news. part two of the weekend is looking pretty similar to how we sell conditions yesterday, mainly dry with some sunshine but also some showers and they are likely to pop up around more and southern parts of england and further market should be drier. further north it should tend to be drier but with our winds coming down from the north it's not going to feel particularly warm for the time of year, but it's this whether front moves towards the south of britain which is going to generate these showers through the afternoon. again, some of them could be heavy and thundery so as we move through the morning, these showers will get

going pretty quickly. you see the bright colours indicating some heavy showers and thunderstorms mixed in there. further north, mainly dry with a good deal of sunshine around. still a bit of cloud across northern, eastern scotland, eastern england where they could be the odd shower. most places further north would be dry. there's your temperatures then — high—teens for most. could see the odd 21 across southern england so here slightly warmer than elsewhere. so a rather cool feel to things for the first of august. as we head on into this evening and overnight, those showers and storms fade away from the south. most places will be dry. clear spells, variable cloud, it will turn quite chilly in one or two spots, particularly across the northern half of the country, we could see those values into single digits out of town. double figure values further south. as we go into monday, we start the new week with this ridge of high pressure. it means it'll bring a lot of dry weather around but not completely dry. again, we'll still have enough instability in the atmosphere to produce the odd shower, particularly as we head on into the afternoon as those temperatures begin to rise. the greatest risk of showers on monday again will be parts

of england and wales, but they will be hit and miss. many places will be dry. if you catch a shower, it could be heavy and torrential. further north, largely dry with some sunshine. high—teens celsius but also a cooler feel right across the board. could just see 20 degrees through the central belt of scotland. then as we move out of monday, deeper into the week, high pressure dominates, certainly for the first half of the week. low pressures starts to invade in from the west though, so although it'll start fine with a lot of dry weather around, just one or two showers around, it will turn more unsettled by the end of the week with low pressure systems bringing wet and windy conditions. you can see that here on the outlook for the capital cities. a largely dry start and then it turns wetter and windier towards the end of the week and it will continue to feel cool for the time of year.

this is bbc news, the headlines. at the olympics in tokyo, there's been more success for team gb — charlotte worthington has won britain's ninth gold of the games in the bmx freestyle event. meanwhile in the pool the team have won their eighth medal taking silver in the medley relay. rockets have been fired at kandahar airport as the taliban continues its offensive against the afghan government. two missiles hit the runway and the airport has been closed to all flights. are to be offered incentives,

such as discounts from uber and deliveroo, to get their covid—19jabs. ministers are hoping to make further offers in the coming weeks, to try to improve the uptake of vaccinations.