on the anniversary of a deadly explosion that destroyed parts of the city. demonstrators are angry no one has been held accountable for the blast. meanwhile, a short distance away, a minute's silence has been held to remember the victims of the explosion. over 200 people were killed — it's been described as one of the biggest non—nuclear explosions in history. around 1.5 million teenagers can be included in the plan. the olympic athlete from belarus who refused her team's orders to fly home from the games has landed in vienna. she's expected to fly on to poland shortly after being granted a humanitarian visa. you're watching bbc news. more now on news that scientists

advising the government have given the go—ahead for 16—17—year—olds to be given the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation held a news briefing this afternoon. let's take a look at the key points. thejcvi says it's advising all 16—17—year—olds to receive their first dose, with the second dose some time later. they say there have been big changes in the way covid—19 is spreading in recent weeks — particularly in younger age groups. and went on to say, as the adult vaccine roll—out has progressed successful — more safety data has come available — so it was important to review the advice for the vaccination of young people. in response, the health secretary sajid javid says the government is accepting the advice and has asked the nhs to prepare to vaccinate those eligible as soon as possible. the devolved administrations of scotland, wales and northern ireland have confirmed 16—17—year—olds there will also be offered a vaccine. the prime minister said he was pleased that the advice had changed from thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation.

he was speaking during a two—day visit to scotland to bbc scotland's political editor, glenn campbell. we're going to get some extra protection by encouraging 16—17—year—olds to come forward and get a vaccination. you think it's a good idea? i do think that's a good idea, and i agree very much with the first minister of scotland about that. are you keen that if the evidence is there, that, in time, could be extended to 12—15—year—olds? i think it's very important when you look at these issues — you're talking about the vaccination of children, where families will be thinking very carefully about it. it's very important to stress that whatever is done must be in the interests, the medical and clinical interests of the individual child, the individual young person. so you've got to listen to the medical advice, to the clinicians, to thejcvi — and that's what i'll be doing.

i'm glad — but if you want my view about 16—17—year—olds, i'm glad they've said what they said. i do think that when you look at the way covid progresses, there's no question that it gets a head of steam up in the younger groups, it gets a head of steam up in the schools amongst the adolescents, and then, you know, it searches out into the older groups. —— surges. so if we can protect those younger people, then i think we can do even more good. the director of the oxford vaccine group, professor sir andrew pollard, has told the bbc�*s hardtalk programme that vaccinating children or teenagers should not be a priority when there were "plenty of other people who are at serious risk of death". he also agreed with today's statement from the world health organization urging wealthy governments to pause plans for coronavirus boosterjabs until more of the world's population had received their first dose. well, i think at this moment, the key question for teenagers

and younger children is whether or not vaccination of both groups has any direct benefit for them. —— of those groups. and there probably is a subgroup of children who are at a slightly increased risk of severe disease — and definitely, i think they should be included in vaccine programmes. but broader vaccination in childhood doesn't have so much direct benefit for them. so the real question is, will it prevent transmission and protect adults? and in a country like the uk, where the vast majority of adults are vaccinated, it's not such an important issue to vaccinate children in order to protect the adults and reduce transmission. because first of all, children are not the major drivers of transmission. secondly, most adults are vaccinated, and thirdly, we know the virus can still infect vaccinated people, so it doesn't fully prevent vaccination in order to do that. —— fully prevent transmission. the biggest problem i see with vaccinating children is actually the timing — at this moment, there's plenty

of other people who are at serious risk of death and severe disease. they need to be vaccinated first. i'm joined now by dr sakthi karunanithi, director of public health for lancashire. doctor, thank you very much for being blessed on bbc news again. your reaction first of all to the advice from the joint committee and the government accepting it? i really welcome the advice is a local director of public health. many of us have always had the attitude based on the experience and evidence from other countries, including mhr a. from other countries, including mhr a, vaccinations are the best scientific backs and the micro advancement we could have at this point in the pandemic, —— best advantage. point in the pandemic, -- best advantage-— point in the pandemic, -- best advantaae. , , �* advantage. this is something i'm ri . ht in advantage. this is something i'm right in saying — advantage. this is something i'm right in saying you've _ advantage. this is something i'm right in saying you've been - advantage. this is something i'm i right in saying you've been pressing for lancaster for some time, i remember the queues of people when you were a boosting vaccination in

areas like blackburn and darwin, for example, telling people to come and get as many people at vaccinated as possible, and many turning up to find they weren't old enough or fit the criteria — has it been a frustration given how prevalent the delta variant has become in some parts of lancaster?— parts of lancaster? indeed it has been, parts of lancaster? indeed it has been. and _ parts of lancaster? indeed it has been. and if _ parts of lancaster? indeed it has been, and if you _ parts of lancaster? indeed it has been, and if you look _ parts of lancaster? indeed it has been, and if you look at - parts of lancaster? indeed it has been, and if you look at the - been, and if you look at the demographics, not every area has a similar proportion of young people. in some of our communities, it is because we've got a higher younger of dutch population of younger people that the facts disease has been spreading. it can reduce deaths in transmission, but also young people are missing out already because they're having to isolate and miss out on their education. and indeed, as wider society reopens, it's important to have as much protection from the vaccination as possible. protection from the vaccination as ossible. ~ ., ., i. protection from the vaccination as ossible. ~ ., ., .,~ ., ,, possible. what do you make of sir andrew pollard's _

possible. what do you make of sir andrew pollard's argument - possible. what do you make of sir andrew pollard's argument that i andrew pollard's argument that actually, young people are not — and i use this phrase advisedly because i use this phrase advisedly because i appreciate there are some people who are vulnerable and have conditions — but in general the young population is not immediately vulnerable to delta or the the of her variance. there are lots of adults are the world who haven't even yet had a first dose of vaccine. we are privileged and so many ways in this country, is that one way in which we are privileging ourselves too far? it’s one way in which we are privileging ourselves too far?— ourselves too far? it's a more sophisticated _ ourselves too far? it's a more sophisticated argument - ourselves too far? it's a more sophisticated argument then l ourselves too far? it's a more i sophisticated argument then and either— or. actually it really depends on the objective of the vaccination programme. if you balance that, yes, we do need to continue to support other countries, and it is very important because it's not over until it's over

everywhere. but at the same time, given we've been enduring this level of burden for them the pandemic for over 18 months, it is very important that we do look after younger sections of our community so they don't have the impact that — currently if you look at the rates in young people, it's at least twice or thrice higher compared to 60—70 years old and above. we need to vaccinate everybody in order... but we must not forget our younger communities where the virus is very prevalent. but communities where the virus is very revalent. �* , _, , ., communities where the virus is very revalent. �* , , ., ., prevalent. but it becomes a bit of a ush and prevalent. but it becomes a bit of a push and pull _ prevalent. but it becomes a bit of a push and pull thing _ prevalent. but it becomes a bit of a push and pull thing because - prevalent. but it becomes a bit of a push and pull thing because here'sl push and pull thing because here's the government suddenly saying to young people, "you won't be able to get into a nightclub if you don't have proof of vaccination, you might not be able to go to university or attend lectures, your social life will be curtailed after 18 months, the solutions vaccination". if you push them that way, many people

won't be that interested in getting vaccinated at the stage of their life, would they? you vaccinated at the stage of their life, would they?— vaccinated at the stage of their life, would they? you make a very valid point. _ life, would they? you make a very valid point, it's _ life, would they? you make a very valid point, it's not _ life, would they? you make a very valid point, it's notjust _ life, would they? you make a very valid point, it's notjust a - life, would they? you make a very valid point, it's notjust a push - valid point, it's notjust a push and pull, but the central argument here is to protect people from severe disease, although it is very young people. but we have to try different ways of encouraging people without causing them just coursing them or giving them information to continue engaging with various communities to get to the point where at least 95% of our population are more vulnerable are at least having double jabs before we get into the autumn and winter months ahead. ., ., ~ ,, , into the autumn and winter months ahead. ., . ~ ,, , . ahead. doctor, thank you very much for bein: ahead. doctor, thank you very much for being with _ ahead. doctor, thank you very much for being with us, _ ahead. doctor, thank you very much for being with us, good _ ahead. doctor, thank you very much for being with us, good to _ ahead. doctor, thank you very much for being with us, good to speak - ahead. doctor, thank you very much for being with us, good to speak to l for being with us, good to speak to you. the number of daily coronavirus cases has risen for the first time in nearly a week. the latest official figures show there were 29,312 new cases in the latest 24—hour period. last wednesday, there were just under 28,000. there have been an average of 26,330 new cases per day in the past seven days.

119 deaths were recorded in the past 2a hours — that's an average of 81 deaths a day in the past week. the number of people in hospital with covid seems to have levelled off atjust under 6,000. almost 89% of uk adults have now had their firstjab, and just over 73% are now fully vaccinated. the british security guard who died last thursday in a drone attack on a ship off the coast of oman has been named as adrian underwood. a romanian sailor was killed in the same attack on the vessel mercer street. police are investigating the incident which britain, the us and israel have blamed on iran's revolutionary guard. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has said that people will find it "a bit odd and a bit strange" that the prime minister, borisjohnson, has not

accepted her invitation to meet during his two—day visit. mrjohnson denied that he'd turned down an invitation. his visit to scotland comes ahead of the global climate conference, to be held in glasgow in november. our scotland correspondent james cook has more. this is borisjohnson reminding us that he is prime minister of the entire united kingdom. policing in scotland is usually a matter for the scottish government. you will be on the ground for cop26. but with the climate conference known as cop26 approaching, borisjohnson made this unusual visit to police scotland's headquarters to see preparations for himself. it's going to be a massive effort for the whole of the country. police scotland, obviously, going to be in the lead, but they're going to be supported symmetrically by 7000 other officers from around the uk. the government of the uk, the scottish government at all levels work together on the things that matter to the people of our country.

scotland's first minister, meanwhile, wasjust down the road — meeting not borisjohnson, but little emma. it looked like fun. but was nicola sturgeon secretly annoyed that the prime minister hadn'tjoined herfor their own fireside chat? there's a lot for us to co—operate on, so a missed opportunity, but that's on him. i stand ready to work with whoever, however i can to get scotland through covid and into recovery. borisjohnson said he has not in fact declined the offer of a meeting and is always delighted to see nicola sturgeon, although he won't have fond memories of last time they met in edinburgh. and that is the leader of opposition strolling around this glasgow park. scotland was once a labour stronghold, but an snp surge threw rocks in keir starmer�*s path to power. would he ever do a deal with the snp?

there will be no coalition into that next general election, no coalition coming out of it. my message will be we need a strong labour government to build that better future, to deal with the climate crisis. it feels like a campaign, although he is trying to avoid one, refusing to accept there should be another independence referendum any time soon. the trip is designed to show a uk government committed to scotland's future and deeply involved in is in nation. —— in this nation. but the choice of people is controversial. borisjohnson is not necessarily the most popular politician in scotland, to put it mildly, and his visit does risk backfiring and perhaps even stirring up more support for independence. james cook, bbc news, glasgow. day 12 of the olympic games in tokyo have come to a close — and the medals keep rolling in for team gb as they move up

to fourth in the medal table. history was made in the skate park with sky brown, who's just 13, taking britain's first skateboarding medal and securing her place as the country's youngest ever olympic medallist. ben meher has secured individual showjumping gold on his horse, explosion w. and there was a gold in sailing for hannah mills and aylie mcintyre, winning the 4—70 class, making mills the most successful female olympic sailor of all—time — after her gold in rio, and a silver at london 2012. there were two more boxing medals, with ben whittaker taking silver in the light heavyweight category, and frazer clarke claiming bronze in the men's super—heavyweight division. but there's also disappointing news this afternoon, as the reigning world champion, katarina johnson—thompson is out of the heptathlon after a calf injury in the 200 metres. as we've heard, 13—year—old sky brown has become great britain's youngest ever olympic medallist after winning bronze in the women's park skateboarding.

her stunning performace comesjust a year after she suffered serious injuries in an accident during training. our sports correspondent natalie pirks has the story. sky brown will take bronze. she's already lived her young life in the spotlight. 13 years of age. but for the girl born injapan, draped in the british flag, this was the best feeling in the world. so much height, but the talk is over. thejudges were looking for difficult tricks, quality and consistency. sky brown has a giant trick bag. strap yourselves in, here we go. straight in... all she needed was a smooth run. 0h! going for that kick flip indy, we knew it was going to come out. not ideal, but with three runs allowed there was still hope. just missing the kick flip indy. the pressure is on that third and final run now. time for a pep talk. and in the searing heat

of the ariake skatepark, one british teenager shook off the nerves and kept her cool. there it is. that's what we needed. there is the kick, the fakey, hands in the air, yes, sky. third time's a charm, team gb had everything crossed. only the world champion could deny her a medal now. she is not fazed. the bronze was in the bag and history was made. and as the tears flowed, the camaraderie was clear. friends, and teenage girls, living out a dream. it is so cool because i got to be on the podium with my friends, kokona and sakura. just being in tokyo and eating my favourite food, spending time in the village, this is honestly one of my best memories. sky said she simply wanted to come here, have fun, and inspire girls around the world. britain's youngest ever medallist did all of that, and so much more. she was born injapan, to mum mieko

and her british father stu. at the age of ten, british skateboarding spotted her talent and saw an opportunity. wejust said like, if you want to give it a go, we're skateboard gb, we don't have much resource, we don't have much capacity but we would be honoured to help you in thatjourney in any way we can. who knew she would be an olympian and a bronze medallist? daddy, look at this. when i filmed with her in la in 2019, she had her head and heart firmly set on her olympic dream. but it almost didn't happen, when last year she fell 15 feet while her dad was filming. she was airlifted to hospital, with skull fractures and broken bones, with doctors saying her helmet saved her life. every time she goes in the air, iflinch, i can't watch it, my wife can't watch it. i just tell her you're an amazing skater and the olympics doesn't define you, and the fact you are going for it is what skateboarding is about. it is not about holding back,

it is about going for it. that is what sky's about. and she went for it and she got it. her aim is now to qualify for paris in three years' time in skateboarding and surfing. don't believe her? just watch. natalie pirks, bbc news, tokyo. let's get more on this from amber edmondson, skateboarding coach and founder of women skate the world. shejoins us now. what more can she joins us now. what more can you say about sky? an incredible achievement, and at 13 — how valuable do you hope it will be in a tract dust attracting girls at a younger age to get interested in skateboarding is up but —— as a sport? pm skateboarding is up but -- as a sort? �* ., ., skateboarding is up but -- as a sort? ~ ., ., ., sport? an amazing achievement for sky brown- — sport? an amazing achievement for sky brown- she's — sport? an amazing achievement for sky brown. she's already _ sport? an amazing achievement for sky brown. she's already done - sport? an amazing achievement for sky brown. she's already done so l sky brown. she's already done so much for women and girls skateboarding, she is such an integration to girls who want to give skateboarding a go and get on a

board. before she took to the olympic stage, to have that beamed into the front rooms of people who may be otherwise wouldn't take a look at skateboarding is incredibly valuable. ~ ., ., ~' look at skateboarding is incredibly valuable. ~ ., ., ~ ., valuable. what do you think of the wa the valuable. what do you think of the way the sport _ valuable. what do you think of the way the sport has _ valuable. what do you think of the way the sport has been _ valuable. what do you think of the way the sport has been presented | way the sport has been presented during the olympics? there's been a big debate anyway, i think i'm right in saying, amongst skateboarding enthusiasts about whether it's a good thing or not to be recognised as an olympic sport. what you make of it? ., ., �*, ., as an olympic sport. what you make ofit? ., ., �*, ., , of it? you are right, it's a big controversy _ of it? you are right, it's a big controversy in _ of it? you are right, it's a big controversy in the _ of it? you are right, it's a big controversy in the skate - of it? you are right, it's a big - controversy in the skate community over whether it's a good or bad thing. a lot of people are upset and scared that they are counterculture aspect will be lost or the realness of skateboarding will be lost when it's put on the olympic stage. i think over the past few days, seeing it — think over the past few days, seeing it - i think over the past few days, seeing it — i think skateboarding culture has come through. seeing scott brown go from twice the indicate clip and

crash, then get up again — that is skateboarding culture, trying, failing, trying again —— scott brown. and how hyped all the players were in this industry final — you don't see this in other olympic sports —— sky brown. you don't see this in other olympic sports -- sky brown. you work with skaters not — sports -- sky brown. you work with skaters not just _ sports -- sky brown. you work with skaters notjust in _ sports -- sky brown. you work with skaters notjust in the _ sports -- sky brown. you work with skaters notjust in the uk, - sports -- sky brown. you work with skaters notjust in the uk, but in i skaters notjust in the uk, but in lots of other countries around the world, some countries where there isn't much education opportunity for girls, never mind sporting opportunities. what's the value of it, do you think, beyond just the pleasure of skateboarding? skateboarding is a fantastic tool for youth and youth development. it can open up a lot of conversations — i've taught all over the world, i've taught girls all over the world, and what i've found, especially in working with teenagers, is that you are not a teacher, but you do have

their trust. and when their learning dell market learning things, you are the one who literally catches them when they fall. do you have this element of trust, and when it becomes a conversation about something more difficult, even things like menstrual health, you can have that connection and open doors that a traditional teacher wouldn't have. and even though sky brown has done a lot for skating all over the world, more than just her olympic achievements, she's done a lot for women and girls skateboarding in the uk and abroad. how do you rate her in the overall skateboarding performance when you look at other men, women, girls, boys who are actually doing this at the standard?— the standard? she's up there - there's a reason _ the standard? she's up there - there's a reason she _ the standard? she's up there - there's a reason she got - the standard? she's up there - i there's a reason she got bronze, she's not, you know, she absolutely earned it. and to come back from that injury to get olympic bronze is incredible! her repertoire of tricks is amazing, and sometimes — there's

no reason a smaller body can't succeed in skateboarding, but sometimes with younger skaters, they just don't have that repertoire of tricks because they've been skateboarding for less time. sky brown has that and she's at that through hard work. i would say that as much as it's amazing to see skateboarding in the olympics, i'm hoping that this will lead notjust inspiration for young girls, but investment in grassroots organisations. there is a lot of incredible work being done that needs funding. and who's to say how many other sky browns are out there that don't have access to a skateboard?— that don't have access to a skateboard? �* , ., ., ., ~' that don't have access to a skateboard? �* , ., ~ ., skateboard? it's good to think about the future as — skateboard? it's good to think about the future as well— skateboard? it's good to think about the future as well as _ skateboard? it's good to think about the future as well as the _ skateboard? it's good to think about the future as well as the success - the future as well as the success of today. it really is a day but that belongs to sky brown. amber edmondson. let's see where today's medals leave us in the medal table. team gb is fourth with 15 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze medals —

a total of 48 in all. then we have the paralympics for two weeks to look forward to. the price of timber has risen sharply, and the construction industry is struggling to get supplies. the huge boost in demand because of lockdown building projects is the main cause. at the same time, climate change is increasing pressure on availability as wildfires damage vast areas of woodland in parts of the world. the uk imports around 80% of its timber, many now are calling for the country's forestry industry to be supported to enable more sustainable supplies of wood. our environment and rural affairs correspondent claire marshall reports. in rural herefordshire, the architects of the future are at work. they are piecing together a timber frame house. they are students, learning to build in a sustainable way with a low carbon footprint. but there is a problem.

this build, along with countless others across the country, has been badly hit by the worldwide shortage of wood supplies. in every sector of the timber supply market, prices have gone up, supply chains have been less reliable, delivery drivers have been hard to get, so just everything has been difficult. on top of problems caused by the pandemics, forests around the world are ablaze. oh, my god, look at that! canada, one of the world's biggest timber supplies, has cut the amount it will sell, blaming it largely on climate change. fire, weather, drought and now things like bugs and beetles, meaning that a lot of the timber cannot be used, that the trees can get damaged and destroyed, that the timber will not be the right quality needed for construction and those forests have to be chopped down. that is what is happening on this estate in herefordshire. a stand of ashes being felled. the trees were infected with ash dieback. currently we import

about 80% of our wood. this woodland is being managed sustainably, but with prices around the world for timber getting so high, the demand for illegally logged timber is sure to increase. all this is feeding into calls for the uk to improve its own home—grown industry. forestry needs to change. many foresters believe it is about planting the right tree in the right place. we need to be looking at the lower grade land where forests have traditionally existed and deliver a blend of forests that can grow economically on that land. a big global shift is happening away from concrete, which is carbon intensive and bad for the environment. demand for timber is rising quickly. wood is beautiful. it is a very beautiful material. we have enough of it, but we just need to be able to take care of it at the same time. i think we are using and using and using because it seems like there is a lot,

but we need to also take care of the actual portion that we are using, because then we will not need to take so much. the uk has the lowest tree cover in europe. the government has set some ambitious tree—planting targets. the question now is whether they will be met. claire marshall, bbc news, herefordshire. now, stav danaos has the weather. hello there. much of the country today had a fine one with plenty of sunshine. it felt quite warm, too, but there were some heavy, thundery showers across parts of the midlands and northern england. these will tend to fade away. many places turning drier tonight, but we start to see some rain pushing into western areas, courtesy of this new area of low pressure which is going to be with us for quite a few days. you can see ahead of it very light winds. it turns drier as we start the early hours of friday for many central, southern and eastern areas, but the cloud continues to build up across western scotland and certainly across northern ireland as this low pressure system moves in. by the end of the night,

we'll start to see some rain, which could become more persistent and heavy at times and the breeze picking up, too. temperatures lifting across the south —12—15 degrees, one or two cooler spots further north and east. so, for the end of the week, it's looking a lot more unsettled with low pressure pretty much slap bang on top of us. that's going to bring showers or longer spells of rain, and it's going to turn windier, too. it moves very slowly, affecting western areas through thursday morning, and then eventually starts to reach eastern areas through the second half of the day. so, it does mean it's going to start dry perhaps in some early sunshine for central and eastern england, eastern, northeastern scotland, where it could stay dry all day. but the rain will eventually push in towards the central and eastern areas into the afternoon. some of it will be heavy, perhaps thundery and places. that'll be followed by heavy and blustery showers and some sunny spells across southern and western areas into the afternoon. so, high teens celsius across many areas, but we could just see 20 or 21, given that dry, bright, sunny start. into friday, low pressure very much dominating the weather scene.

it's going to be a pretty unsettled day with that. showers or longer spells of rain, some of which could be very heavy and could give rise to some localised flooding through central and northern areas. i think for the midlands southwards into wales, here it's going to be a mixture of sunny spells and some showers, which could be heavy and thundery. in the sunshine, despite the wind, we could see 20 or 21 degrees. otherwise, for most, i think the high teens celsius. into the start of the weekend, we've got low pressure still on top of us, this feature running across southern areas which could bring an area of more persistent rain at times, then followed by sunshine and showers again into sunday. it really is looking unsettled this weekend as well with temperatures below par for the time of year. however, there will be some sunshine in between the rain.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. lebanon remembers — thousands gather a year after the deadly blast that shattered beirut. a glimpse inside the afghan city of lashkar gar — as fierce fighting continues — between the taliban and government forces. a sprinter from belarus who defied her country's attempt to send her home from the olympics has arrived in warsaw. the latest from the olympics as canada's andre de grasse wins the 200 metres final — succeeding usain bolt as the new champion. and the hurdles records keep falling — as team usa's sydney mclaughlin smashes her own world record — by almost half a second in the 400 metre hurdles.