tonight at ten, changes to the rules on foreign travel leave thousands of british tourists scrambling to get home from mexico by sunday morning. holidays are being cut short as the country is placed on the travel red list. we can't afford another £3000 and also with my work i can't take any extra time off and i can't work in the quarantine hotel, so we had to get back before sunday. but travellers who've been double jabbed will no longer have to quarantine on their return from france. also tonight... seven men are jailed for the murder of aya hachem, a student mistakenly shot dead, in a business vendetta. the mother of a british soldier killed in afghanistan says foreign troops shouldn't return, despite the taliban now threatening to take control.

i don't think we should go back or have any involvement whatsoever. just leave them. just leave them to it. £100 million for midfielderjack grealish. manchester city smash english football's transfer fee record. he was tactically masterful and it has led to a gold medal for great britain. and matt walls�* victory in the omnium helps take team gb�*s medal tally above 50. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, the end of an era. barcelona say lionel messi will not be staying at the club "because of financial and structural obstacles". good evening.

the government has been defending new changes to the rules governing foreign travel, with thousands of british tourists trying to get home from mexico by sunday morning. the country has now been placed on the red travel list which means those returning to the uk will have to quarantine in a designated hotel at their own expense. spain remains on the amber list, but the government is now urging travellers to take a pcr test rather than the quicker lateral flow test before flying home. from 4am on sunday those arriving from france won't have to self—isolate if they've been fully vaccinated. and india moves from the red list to amber, but people will still have to test for coronavirus. the changes affect international travellers returning to all four home nations. here's our transport correspondent caroline davies. the only cancun sunrise robin and his wife viv will see this trip. their pre—holiday excitement soured quickly when they landed in mexico last night and heard that itjoins the red list on sunday morning.

my wife's been really upset the last few hours and the holiday itself was about £6,000 so we were really treating ourselves for just a week's holiday. another couple of thousand for the additional flights that we've got, plus we're still paying for all of the tests when we get back, as well. so, yeah, it's been a fair bit of money for effectively a day out. he's among 5,000—6,000 british tourists currently in mexico. more flights have been added to get them home. so there's 11 of us, it's a family holiday. 0ur parents have taken us away. we have had, you know, quite a bad year and we just wanted to spend some quality family time together, which has now been destroyed in one fell swoop by a government that's nothing less than shambolic. the prime minister has asked people to be patient as travel changes. the plans have also been criticised for new rules for spain — now advising but not requiring travellers to have pcr tests rather than the cheaper lateral flow test.

now, we set a very high specification, so—called the sensitivity and specificity — for that test, which in the case of spain means that virtually everyone�*s already taking a pcr test. that's helpful. but one of the biggest holiday operators, tui, had said that 90% of its holiday—makers use lateral flow tests. some conservative politicians have said pcr tests need to be dropped altogether. pcr tests can be two to three times the cost of lateral flow testing — it's pricing out holidays for those that don't have the means to pay for those tests. i wouldn't mind if the tests were going to be used for sequencing so we can find all variants of concern — but if only 5% of pcr tests are being sequenced, then surely it's a complete waste of money! yesterday's news could be a late push for tourists to france. eurotunnel and eurostar have reported an increase in bookings. this kayak club north of toulouse say they have missed uk holiday—makers, but don't know how many will be back soon.

translation: we are relieved restrictions have been lifted, . but we're still dubious. everyone anticipates and plans their holidays in may and june, and while i hope the british come back, i'm not sure they will. with the rules in place, i'm not convinced it will be that easy for them to travel here. india and the uae will go from red to amber, while seven new countries in europe go green. but there's still some criticism about neighbouring countries being treated differently. to have india on the amber list, and its neighbouring country pakistan on the red list, makes no sense. what we have to do is, if any country anywhere in the world is showing evidence of a variant of concern, we want to put them on a red list plus plus. back in mexico, robin is determined to enjoy his few hours of holiday. i'll try and go for a little wander along the beach. we will get as much squeezed

into this 2a hours. escaping abroad might be easier, but uncertainty still hangs over holidays. caroline davies, bbc news. the number of daily coronavirus cases has gone up. the latest figures show there were 30,215 new infections in the latest 24—hour period with an average of 26,201 new cases per day in the last seven days, so the longer term trend is still down. 86 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours, that's an average of 82 a day in the past week. the number of people in hospital with covid is now below 5,700. more than 88% of adults in the uk have had theirfirstjab and over 73% are now fully vaccinated. the new head of the nhs in england, amanda pritchard, has told the bbc she's "cautiously optimistic" about the outlook for hospitals in the coming weeks, as more people get vaccinated against covid.

she's urging everyone to remain cautious, but the number of people being pinged by the covid app in england and wales has fallen significantly. with more, here's our health editor, hugh pym. how long have you been volunteering? first week in the job, and the new head of nhs england made a point of visiting a vaccination centre. there's more and more young people coming through. but it seems still not enough young people, with news that one in five covid hospital admissions last month were for patients under 35. older people who are more vulnerable are better protected thanks to the vaccines. and amanda pritchard says there's a lesson for 18 to 34—year—olds. so, young people are not immune and the best way they can protect themselves absolutely is to get that vaccine if they haven't already. fita is an international student. he had to delay his jab because of travel, then caught covid and developed a blood clot on his lungs. he's in hospital in leeds, where managers want to highlight

the risks for those who haven't been vaccinated. i'm 25 and then suddenly, like, just in, i don't know, a couple of hours, i'm in this hospital in pain. i mean, i never imagined that, like, it will be that quick, it will be that pain. with the trends for cases falling, the number pinged by the covid app, having risen steeply, has started coming down. in the last week ofjuly in england and wales, there were fewer than 400,000 alerts sent out telling people to self—isolate, compared with nearly 700,000 the previous week. as for daily covid hospital admissions in england, having gone up a lot, they've continued to level off. nhs chiefs now think the pressure on hospitals won't be as bad as predicted. i think it's very difficult to predict the future, but i think what we certainly can say is that the number of patients being admitted to hospital with covid has flattened out over

the course of the past few days. so, i think we would agree that there is some grounds for cautious optimism. but there's still a growing backlog of nonurgent operations to be carried out, with more than 5 million on the waiting list in england. what do you say to a patient who's waited more than a year for a hip replacement, a knee replacement or another important operation? that is absolutely our focus now. yes, today's challenges, yes, the covid vaccination programme, the booster programme. but yes, really now coming together across the nhs in the same way that we have done over the last 18 months to tackle those backlogs. so, there are many big challenges for the new boss of nhs england, and now there's a new one, rolling out the vaccination programme to 16 and 17—year—olds, which ministers want to see getting under way within weeks. hugh pym, bbc news.

the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, is to confirm the country will to move to alert level zero, on saturday, in the biggest easing of restrictions since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith, joins us now. what does alert level zero actually mean? ~ , ., , mean? well, it is a hugely significant _ mean? well, it is a hugely significant step, _ mean? well, it is a hugely significant step, if- mean? well, it is a hugely significant step, if not - mean? well, it is a hugely significant step, if not the | significant step, if not the terminus date of this very long journey we have been on in wales. more significantly may the rules on social distancing and limits on people meeting indoors will end on saturday, so friends and family can meet in each other�*s homes unrestricted. people can drink at the bar once again. changes made in england three weeks ago which the welsh government held back from until now. however, there will be changes coming in wales ahead of other parts of the uk. the rules on self—isolation will change on

saturday, which means children and adults who have had a double dose of the vaccine will no longer have to self—isolate if they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive. so the end of the ping pandemic,. but the rules and facemasks will largely stay in place and they are still needed in wales in shops, transport and in other health care settings, but not in pubs, bars and restaurants. first minister mark drakeford will stress minister mark dra keford will stress the minister mark drakeford will stress the need for caution and says this is not a free for all and he asks people to keep on meting out doors to keep their distance, to keep on working from home, measures which are likely to remain in place potentially for months, all suggesting we are not at the end of this journey yet. suggesting we are not at the end of this journey yet-— seven men have beenjailed for the murder of aya hachem, a student who was shot dead in a drive—by shooting. blackburn tyre firm boss feroz suleman had arranged the killing of a rival tyre company executive, but the gunman he hired shot the 19—year—old

law student instead. 0ur north of england correspondent judith moritz reports. aya hachem fled violence in lebanon for a better life here, but she was murdered on the very street where she should've been safe. aya was preparing to break the ramadan fast with her family, going to the shops to buy food. but she walked into the path of a feud between rival tyre businesses in blackburn. shots were fired from a passing car. 0ne hit a window, blowing out the glass. moments later, the second hit aya. the gunman had missed his intended victim, who phoned 999. they started shooting on me. she was just walking around. she was walking... she was going to go somewhere, i think. so, you think that they were shooting at you and caught her instead. aye. is she responsive? is she breathing? no, she's not responsive. she's got a very weak pulse.

today, the seven men guilty of aya's murder were each jailed for life to serve between 27—34 years. stay where you are, yeah? keep your hands out, all right. i've got a taser, 0k? the gunman, zamir raja, had been arrested at heuston station after going on the run. sentencing, mrjustice turner said that none of the men had shown any remorse and they tried to lie, plot and scheme their way out of trouble to save their own skins. no matter what the sentence they get, aya's gone. nothing's going to bring her back. but i'm glad that a lot of people are going to be safe from these thugs. no—one else is going to be hurt. no other person's going to be killed because of them. and i hope these people rot in prison. aya was studying law. herfather told her she could be prime minister one day. today, her family said the light in their lives had gone out and all their hopes and dreams had gone. judith moritz, bbc news.

the prime minister has been criticised after making controversial comments about the mining industry whilst on a visit to an offshore wind farm in scotland. he said margaret thatcher had given the uk a "big early start" in the fight against climate change when she closed coal mines in the 1980s — a comment labour has called "shameful". let's talk now to our political correspondent, ben wright. what exactly did borisjohnson say? this was borisjohnson's what exactly did borisjohnson say? this was boris johnson's first visit to scotland since january. a chance for him to trumpet the union and his own policies on climate change. instead it is his comments about margaret thatcher that were leapt on by his political opponents and i think have left some scottish conservatives holding their heads in their hands. the prime minister was talking to reporters and marvelling at the move away from fossil fuels

over recent decades and he said, thanks to margaret thatcher, who closed so many coal mines across the country, we had a big early start and we are now moving rapidly away from coal altogether. now, and we are now moving rapidly away from coalaltogether. now, it and we are now moving rapidly away from coal altogether. now, it seems these comments were made fairly tongue in cheek but the political condemnation was swift. the scottish first minister and leader of the snp at nicola sturgeon said the closure of the man's devastated lives and communities and have nothing to do with climate change at the time for such she called the remarks crass and the labour leader dick sir keir starmer said they were shameful. the last couple of years the tories have done well at making progress in former coal—mining seats in england, but as the party tries to broaden its appeal across the uk, including in scotland, i'm not sure this remark will have helped. qm. in scotland, i'm not sure this remark will have helped. 0k, thank ou. ben remark will have helped. 0k, thank yon iten wright — remark will have helped. 0k, thank you. ben wright at _ remark will have helped. 0k, thank you. ben wright at westminster. i the taliban are continuing their rapid advance in afghanistan, with most us—led foreign troops due to leave by next month. insurgents now control large parts

of the city of lashkar gar in helmand province, with reports of bodies lying in the streets after intense fighting with government troops. helmand was under the control of british forces after a us—led coalition invasion in 2001 following the september 11th terror attacks. in march 2012, corporaljake hartley was one of six british servicemen killed in helmand when a bomb detonated beneath their armoured vehicle. at the time it was the biggest single loss of life suffered by the british military in the campaign. well, in the last week jake's mother, nathalie, has been watching events unfold in afghanistan and she's been speaking to our special correspondent, ed thomas. i light my candles and i'd touch that picture. i'd say good morning, good night. i'll talk to him, it's like he's here. holding on. memories of corporaljake hartley. i have jake's old iphone and wallet with money and items and cinema tickets.

i've got his best clothes, and i polish his buckle. and i still have his shoes in t�*shoe rack. they're just little comforts. it might seem crazy to some people, but... yeah. it's nearly ten years since jake was killed in afghanistan. losing jake has caused so much pain. so much pain. he was 20 years old. i've not wanted to be here. i have attempted, i have. it's... it's like i'vejust wanted to go to him. and ijust want the pain and...everything to just go away. after two decades of conflict, this is lashkar gar now — with the taliban taking afghanistan to the brink of civil war. gunfire.

i don't think we should go back or have any involvement whatsoever. we've done what we can and its cost a lot of lives — too many. it makes me angry. yeah, it makes me angry. he gave his life for queen and country and for us to be safe. we're all seeing the taliban pushing across the country, across helmand, where jake was. and how difficult is it to see those images? it's just a waste. it's just... it does feel like a waste. but i think that... ..there's no comeback. there's nothing we can do. corporaljake hartley was one of a57 british military deaths in afghanistan. jake paid the ultimate sacrifice, but so do the families. you know, we have definitely

been forgotten about. jake's last letter, the first line states, "hello, family. "please don't cry, mum. "i am not here now. "i'm in a better place." if you could say one more thing to him? i love you so much. and i'd have to finish with... my little nut brownie. nathalie bouzigues speaking to ed thomas. the bank of england is keeping interest rates at the record low level of 0.1%, despite fears over rising prices. inflation is forecast to hit 4% by the end of the year — double the bank's target, and the fastest rise in the cost of living for more than a decade. but the governor, andrew bailey, says interest rates won't be raised above half a percent for at least three years, insisting rising

inflation is temporary as the country emerges from the pandemic. there have been some major developments tonight in the world of football. barcelona have announced that the argentinian star lionel messi will have to leave the club. it's believed the terms of a new contract would break financial rules. and here, manchester city have smashed the transfer fee record for an english club, signing the midfielder jack grealish from aston villa for £100 million. that surpasses the 89 million paid by manchester united for paul pogba in 2016. well, our sports correspondent nesta mcgregor is at manchester city's etihad stadium for us tonight. hi, there, nesta. hello. there is that well-known _ hi, there, nesta. hello. there is that well-known phrase - hi, there, nesta. hello. there is that well-known phrase that - hi, there, nesta. hello. there is that well-known phrase that you j that well—known phrase that you can't put a price and quality. clearly when it comes to football but is not the case. like you say,

manchester city tonight breaking the british transfer record. £100 million grealish. this, the etihad stadium, will be his new home. he had been at aston villa, he is 25, he had been there since he was six and says he still loves the club foot hopes fans can understand he has left to pursue a new challenge. posted by manchester city, a video showing off their new number ten — jack grealish, the most expensive british footballer ever. the 25—year—old is well known for wearing his socks low, but his stock is high. he signed a six—year dealfor a transferfee estimated to be £100 million. grealish. .. 0h, a lovely—looking ball. he's put it into the back of the net! a standout player for england at euro 2020, he also led aston villa to a credible 11th place finish in the premier league last season. so, it's been no surprise that one of the so—called bigger

clubs came knocking. i think they're getting one of the most exciting players in the premier league at this moment in time. he's somebody where you can see he's got huge potential, but he's also got a great level of talent right now. you know, he's been the main guy for aston villa the past couple of seasons at least, and he's somebody as i say who you can picture in that man city side that could potentially take them to a whole new level. a list of the most expensive signings by british clubs might be dominated by the red half of manchester, but this deal means city are now number one. clear goals for the season — defending their premier league title and getting their hands on that elusive champions league trophy. like his trademark haircut, on the pitch, grealish is sharp, stylish and resilient, although he's also made headlines away from football. last december, he received a driving ban for motoring offences. aston villa made it clear they tried to keep him at the club, but the money from this transfer has already been spent buying players to try and replace him. birmingham—born grealish joined

aston villa as a six—year—old, building a special relationship with fans. not only is he a villa . fan, but also his whole family are villa fans. and i can't see him, like, you know, jumping forioy to be _ leaving villa, definitely not. jack grealish becomes part of a team already rich with international talent. and who knows? he could soon be joined by a familiar face he spent some of the summer with. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. team gb's medal tally at the tokyo 0lympics has now passed 50 with 16 golds, including matt walls today winning in the velodrome in the men's omnium race. there was bronze for holly bradshaw in the women's pole vault, and liam heath also took bronze in a photo finish in the 200m kayak single. 0ur sports editor, dan roan, has the latest. britain's dominated in the velodrome at the last two games, but here in tokyo they had to wait until day 4 on the track for a first gold. 0ldham's matt walls,

master of the omnium. one of the sport's most brutal spectacles, it features four races, culminating in a 100—lap epic. the 23—year—old dominating from start to finish to clinch the title. fortune favours the bold, and there were none bolder than walls in this one. not yet a household name, walls is now british cycling's latest star, after a win he dedicated to his family. i wouldn't be here without them, especially my parents. when i was youth, growing up, travelling around the country, racing, yeah, no chance i'd be here without them, so a big thank you to them. elsewhere, however, britain's cyclists have continued to struggle here. jason kenny's nine—year reign as 0lympic sprint champion over, as he was beaten in the quarterfinals. and in the women's keirin, there was an abrupt end to katy marchant�*s chances as her hopes of victory came crashing down. but at the national stadium, holly bradshaw was trying to secure her first medal in this, her third 0lympics. this clearance securing a place on the podium.

yes! so far, these have been a frustrating games for britain's athletics team, but holly bradshaw is now guaranteed a medal — the question is, what colour will it be? ..the pole vault final. bradshaw... 0h! having failed to match her british record of 4.90 metres, bronze it was, but the 29—year—old still able to celebrate britain's first—ever 0lympic pole vault medal. i don't know what emotion this is that i'm feeling. it's relief, pure, like, enjoyment and just excited and just proud of myself for sticking with it. 0n the track, someone else sticking with it was dina asher—smith. after pulling out of the 200 metres due to injury, she returned for the relay heats, and helped the british team into the final with a new national record. after asher—smith's tears at the weekend, it was all smiles. in the boxing, britain's galal yafai now has gold within his reach after a stunning victory

in his flyweight semifinal. it is yafai! delight for the 28—year—old, whose two elder brothers are also boxers. we talk about it at home, me and my brothers, and now i'm fighting in front of everyone, in front of them, my mum, my family and my friends, the whole team, the whole world watching me now in the olympic final and i've just got to deliver the goods and take that gold medal back home. meanwhile, in the kayak final, britain's liam heath was paddling to preserve his 0lympic title. after a sluggish start, he came roaring back and, third from the top, it was agonisingly close. it's totka who takes the gold for hungary. but behind him, heath had taken bronze in the tightest of photo finishes. great britain! this, his fourth olympic medal, confirming his status as britain's most successful canoeist. dan roan, bbc news, tokyo. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

hello there. certainly not going to feel very much like august over the next few days thanks to low pressure. it's going to bring fairly cool conditions for the time of year, windier weather and also some heavy rain, some thundery downpours in places. but there will be some sunshine around as well. it's not going to be a complete wash—out. here it is, this area of low pressure, which is going to stick around for quite a while. it's been moving across our shores during thursday, and through tonight into friday, it'll be bringing bands of showers, longer spells of rain, some of them thundery again. in between, there will be some drier interludes, but i think tonight it's going to be fairly mild with temperatures no lower than around 111—15 degrees for many of us. so, into tomorrow, then, it's going to be a breezy one. certainly a mixture of sunshine and showers, maybe some longer spells of rain, a chance of some thundery downpours across parts of scotland, northern ireland, northern england, into north wales and the midlands. greater chance of seeing lengthier sunny spells across the south, where we could see 22 degrees.

generally the high teens celsius elsewhere.

this is bbc news.

the headlines. government forces in afghanistan claim to have pushed back a new taliban offensive on the city of herat. reports also suggest that dozens of taliban fighters have been killed in lashkar gah. the belarus sprinter who refused to return home because of fears about her safety — says a phone call from her grandmother persuaded her not go back. she added that her criticism of officials was purely sporting, not political. one of the world's greatest footballers, lionel messi, is leaving barcelona, the club where he's spent his entire career. the club said �*financial and structural obstacles' had prevented a new contract deal with the argentine striker. and in the uk — fully vaccinated people returning from france to the uk will no longer need to quarantine from sunday. right now because according to the government's numerals which have changed.