this is bbc news. i'm sean way. the headlines at seven: lau ra laura kinney becomes britain's most overrated olympians. —— celebrated olympian. i overrated olympians. -- celebrated ol mian. �* ., ., olympian. i couldn't have done it if we didn't have _ olympian. i couldn't have done it if we didn't have that _ olympian. i couldn't have done it if we didn't have that relationship. i team gb's men were edged out of first place byjust one hundredth of a second — in the four by 100 metres relay. gas and electricity bills will go up for millions of people, after the regulator raised the energy price cap by a record amount. thousands sign a petition to save an alpaca who faces being put down after testing positive for bovine tb.

a trend for rates across most of the uk is falling as nearly 89% of adults in the country have had their first vaccine jab. and coming up in half an hour, foreign correspondents based in london give an outsider�*s view of events in the uk in dateline. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the cyclist laura kenny has become britain's most successful female olympic athlete, after she and her team—mate, katie archibald, won the women's madison event in the velodrome, at the tokyo olympics. they dominated the 120 lap race winning ten of the 12 sprints. kenny has now taken gold in three consecutive olympic games.

our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, now reports on a historic achievement. two special athletes who complemented each other beautifully. when nine years of brilliance culminates in one record—breaking moment. joy for katie archibald, history for laura kenny — the first british woman to win gold at three successive olympics. the madison was a new olympic event for women, requiring tactics, endurance and speed, something this dream team have in abundance. so, away we go... but this lengthy relay race, with a slingshot twist, is a game ofjeopardy. a little bit caught in the traffic in the middle... oh, and the dutch are down, the dutch are down! britain, meanwhile, were sailing serenely, winning sprint after sprint. and with 20 laps left, it was britain's to lose. great britain, extraordinarily, claim maximum points yet again... winning ten out of 12 sprints with a 43 point margin, this wasn't merely a victory, it was an annihilation. they haven't put a foot wrong.

they have dominated the race, from start to finish. gold in tokyo, the cherry on the top of the gold katie archibald won in rio. i feel like ifeel like i'm racing i feel like i'm racing with my sisten — i feel like i'm racing with my sisten i've _ i feel like i'm racing with my sister. i've never— i feel like i'm racing with my sister. i've never wanted - i feel like i'm racing with my sister. i've never wanted tol i feel like i'm racing with my. sister. i've never wanted to win i feel like i'm racing with my- sister. i've never wanted to win a race _ sister. i've never wanted to win a race so_ sister. i've never wanted to win a race so badly— sister. i've never wanted to win a race so badly in _ sister. i've never wanted to win a race so badly in all— sister. i've never wanted to win a race so badly in all my— sister. i've never wanted to win a race so badly in all my life. - sister. i've never wanted to win a race so badly in all my life. thatl race so badly in all my life. that makes laura — race so badly in all my life. that makes laura kinney _ race so badly in all my life. that makes laura kinney the - race so badly in all my life. makes laura kinney the most successful female cyclist of all time from any nations. she's not done yet and shall go for her sixth on sunday to match sir chris hoy and her husband, jason kenny. first, time for reflection. it was hard to believe she was born six weeks early with a collapsed lung. laura became laura kinney when she married jason

shortly after rio. a year later, their son was born. through the beautiful chaos of becoming a mother to delivering a master class in composure today, britain's most successful female olympian isn't going anywhere yet. she successful female olympian isn't going anywhere yet.— successful female olympian isn't going anywhere yet. she has a long career ahead _ going anywhere yet. she has a long career ahead of _ going anywhere yet. she has a long career ahead of her— going anywhere yet. she has a long career ahead of her still. _ going anywhere yet. she has a long career ahead of her still. we're - career ahead of her still. we're talking as if it's the end of her career. it's not. she can be in two or three games beyond. jack claims the bronze medal! _ or three games beyond. jack claims the bronze medal! after _ or three games beyond. jack claims the bronze medal! after 120 - or three games beyond. jack claims the bronze medal! after120 laps. or three games beyond. jack claims the bronze medal! after120 laps of| the bronze medal! after 120 laps of bike in bed long, _ the bronze medal! after 120 laps of bike in bed long, it's _ the bronze medal! after 120 laps of bike in bed long, it's now— the bronze medal! after 120 laps of bike in bed long, it's now familiar l bike in bed long, it's now familiar stepped to the top of the podium became a coronation. the madison's first female olympian champions and perhaps a first site of dame laura kinney. it's also been a good day for the athletes on track. there was also

bronze for the women in their sprint relay. dan roan watched all the action. one of the olympics' toughest and most curious events, the modern pentathlon features a variety of disciplines. sitting sixth after the fencing round, britain's kate french stayed in contention during the swimming and then excelled at the showjumping, with competitors asked to rise a horse selected at random and givenjust 20 minutes to become familiar with the animal. with that scuppering some rivals' chances, french sealed victory in the final round, a combination of running and shooting, becoming briton�*s second olympic champion in the event. kate french, the new olympic champion here at tokyo 2021. i don't know whatjust happened, i can't really believe it right now. i knew i could do it if i focused on my shooting and ran as hard as i could.

yeah. that was team gb's 18th golden 55th medal of what is becoming an increasingly successful games here in tokyo. but at this stage, their track and field athletes have only delivered two medals. here at the national stadium this evening, there was the prospect of some more. having chosen to focus purely on the 1500 metres here, laura muir knew this was her chance to meet the podium on such a stage for the first time. in the best performance of her career, scott proved too strong. no one was catching the defending champion but a brilliant run insured laura muir took silver and smashed the british record. the relief at ending her near decade—long quest for a major medal clear to see. i've worked so hard for so long! yeah, that a dot in the 4x100

metre british relay, favourites jamaica dominated but team gb managed bronze, a repeat of their performance in rio. favourites jamaica dominated but team gb managed bronze, a repeat of their performance in rio. but the most thrilling drama was still to come. but nethaneel mitchell—blake was overtaken on the line by italy puts mac. replays showing team gb had been picked to go byjust 100th of a second. what in 20 years when we retire, we'll look at _ what in 20 years when we retire, we'll look at this _ what in 20 years when we retire, we'll look at this is _ what in 20 years when we retire, we'll look at this is one _ what in 20 years when we retire, we'll look at this is one of - what in 20 years when we retire, we'll look at this is one of the - we'll look at this is one of the best— we'll look at this is one of the best night in our life. was we'll look at this is one of the best night in our life. was still a successful— best night in our life. was still a successful night _ best night in our life. was still a successful night for _ best night in our life. was still a successful night for britain's - successful night for britain's athletes. dan roan, bbc news, tokyo.

team gb has moved into fourth position in the medals table with 18 goals. tomorrow is the penultimate days with 3a medals up for grabs. gas bills will increase for millions of people this october after the energy regulator raised the price gap by a record amount. on average, a house sold on a standard tariff will pay an extra £139 a year for fuel. that's electricity and gas. charities warned that the timing will hit struggling families hard. the burton clan are letting their hair down. alison and ashley are here with their mum and nine of the kids. but days out don't come cheap. it costs you a fortune, yeah. especially when you've got a big family as well. after spending extra for the summer holidays, things always get tight

in the autumn. you live and you work to pay your bills, and that's how it goes. so the thought of even more on their energy bill is a scary one. you never hear any good news about it going down. we only ever hear about it going up. is that how it feels? yeah, it does. that is definitely how it feels. yeah. and that's what will be happening from the 1st of october. the regulator says it's only fair that energy companies are allowed to raise prices. this will impact everyone on prepayment metres all the default standard variable tariffs. that's half of all households in britain. the price cap was introduced to put a limit on those really expensive rates at the top end, to make sure that we're not being ripped off, but it hasn't brought prices down overall. there are still plenty of ups and downs and it's definitely not the best deal on the market. but energy companies say it has shielded people from constant rises.

the cost of gas globally has trebled in the last 12 months. _ if it weren't for the price cap, - it might add as much as another 200, £300 to bills compared to where we are today. | with plenty of people still expecting to be working from home in the autumn, fuel costs are going to start racking up. citizens advice say nearly 2 million households are already behind on their energy bills. we're particularly concerned for people on universal credit. the government's planning to cut their benefit by £20 a week in the autumn, so they're going to be facing a perfect storm of rising energy bills and a decrease in their universal credit payments. with another two months to go until prices go up, there's still time to shop around for a better deal. colletta smith, bbc news, in warrington. joining us now is peter smith. thank

you very much for being with us. an increase was predicted because of the rise in gas prices. the obvious question first is what impact is not likely to have on household bills? well, the near—term impact is the household will be receiving the news that they're likely to see a very significant increase, the biggest their regulator has a good introduced since the cap was introduced. this at a time when millions of households would see huge reductions in their incomes. as a result of furlough coming to an end or the end of the uplift to universal credit. all the while, wholesale prices are soaring and inflation for other items like food is soaring, so it's a very difficult picture. we understand is a charity

all too well the impact this will have, specifically in terms of the physical impact. it's likely to badly hit existing people with conditions such as respiratory illness and circulatory problems, which means they're far more likely to see repeated hospital admission this winter at the time when the nhs is absolutely struggling. and we know all too well about the mental impact. households who are already really, really stretched are going to be just at their wits end this enter. —— this winter. you to be just at their wits end this enter. -- this winter. you heard from the — enter. -- this winter. you heard from the head _ enter. -- this winter. you heard from the head of— enter. -- this winter. you heard from the head of energy - enter. -- this winter. you heard from the head of energy in - enter. -- this winter. you heard from the head of energy in that| from the head of energy in that report that given the increase in the charge that energy companies have to pay in order to buy the energy, there is a logic to this increase and the cap at least means it's not as bad as it would

otherwise be. are we in in better position than perhaps might have been the case if the cap had not been the case if the cap had not been introduced in the first place? when you take it across the board, when you look at the tariffs, that they get no benefit for and punished for, also in terms of the range of options that people can buy or shop alone. i options that people can buy or shop alone. ~ �* , options that people can buy or shop alone. ~' �* , ., options that people can buy or shop alone. ~' �*, ., ., , alone. i think there's no doubt that the existing _ alone. i think there's no doubt that the existing price _ alone. i think there's no doubt that the existing price provides - alone. i think there's no doubt that the existing price provides a - alone. i think there's no doubt that the existing price provides a level. the existing price provides a level of perfection which previously was sent —— level of protection. increasing prices with little transparency about whether or not that was being driven by wholesale prices or policy cost or simply rent or profit. i think the more constrained environment now has been to the impediment of consumers. we've been very clear with ofgem we

think vulnerable consumers in particular, prepayment metres, need to benefit from levels of protection. those people that are currently protected by the default tariffs are a mix of households that are either the type of household we represent, those on the lowest incomes in the most vulnerable, or people who have a better deal. i think the contention is that we've got to disaggregate those two groups and provide much better support. peter smith, thank you very much for joining us on the programme this evening. a woman who left her daughter alone for six days resulting in her starving to death has been jailed for nine years. she admitted to the manslaughter of her 20—month—old daughter, who she left

alone in herflat in brighton in order she could go out and celebrate her 18th birthday. the taliban has captured its first capital and afghanistan for five years. an official said the province, close to our ron and the south, fell because of a lack of government reinforcements from kabul. —— close to iran. it previously failed to see any urban centre. they killed the head of the afghan government's media centre. the un security council has been meeting in a special session to discuss the worsening situation in the country. the united nations' envoy to afghanistan deborah lyons called on the taliban to cease its attacks on major cities immediately, as she warned the conflict—torn country was heading for "catastrophe." there have been an expectation when the us tele man dale was kind and

very —— taliban deal was signed. we would see a reduction of violence. we did not. there had been an expectation when the talks between the afghan republic and the taliban began in september of last year that we would see a reduction of violence. we have not. there had been an expectation that when the international troops left, we would see a reduction of violence. we did not. instead, despite significant concessions for peace, we have seen a 50%, five 0% increase, and civilian casualties. there are certain to be many more as the cities are attacked. we certain to be many more as the cities are attacked.— certain to be many more as the cities are attacked. we will have more of this _

cities are attacked. we will have more of this in _ cities are attacked. we will have more of this in dateline. - the headlines on bbc news: laura kinney has become britain's most decorated olympian in history. team gb's men were edged out of first place by 100 to one second in the four by one m relay. gas and electricity bills will go up for millions of people after the regular tater raised the price by a record high. music festivals and other live events are to be protected by government—backed insurance if they have to cancel because of covid. if they have to cancel the £750 million scheme, which begins next month, comes after organisers appealed for more support. more than half of all festivals have been cancelled this summer. it's a timely story because the edinborough festival begins at this week. well, we can speak now to paul reed,

who's the ceo of the association of independent festivals, which had represented around 85,000 workers back in 2019 before the pandemic struck. as with so many things. presumably, any support is welcome. is this support going to be enough, do you think, to give festival organisers confidence to go ahead with the events from september? goad confidence to go ahead with the events from september? good evening. yeah, the events from september? good evening. yeah. they have — events from september? good evening. yeah, they have been _ events from september? good evening. yeah, they have been campaigning - events from september? good evening. yeah, they have been campaigning for. yeah, they have been campaigning for 12 months now and presenting data and evidence to support the case. so it is hugely possible that government is listening, and acknowledging there is a mark of failure and intervene by announcing this scheme. so yeah, it will certainly help with increasing confidence for planning as we look

towards 2022. obviously, it comes at a time at which other half of uk festivals are already cancelled. unfortunately, it is too late for that, but it is very positive that we at least have an option. do you understand — we at least have an option. do you understand why — we at least have an option. do you understand why it's _ we at least have an option. do you understand why it's taken - we at least have an option. do you understand why it's taken this - we at least have an option. do you| understand why it's taken this long to get it in place? some people might say september 2021 is the month when, dare i tempt fate, say we're getting back to normal. this is a great thing that's kind of like the flooding insurance. for many, it will come far too late.— will come far too late. yes, quite. i think government's _ will come far too late. yes, quite. i think government's view - will come far too late. yes, quite. i think government's view is - will come far too late. yes, quite. l i think government's view is to look at this issue seriously once they have certainty that festivals and events can operate at full capacity. according to the argument that we are making, organisers need insurance in order to take those

risks and invest and continue planning —— assurance. that's a great deal of lost revenue as well. the festival industry generates 1.6 billion of economy. governments did interview earlier —— intervene. there are a lot of events that have cancelled that could have taken place throughoutjuly and august. the question i suppose for the future is how difficult festivals are going to find it to pick up where they left off, given that presumably, notwithstanding things like furlough, because a lot of your people were cum chapter �*s —— contractors. a lot of those people are no longer there. unfortunately, that is the case. _ are no longer there. unfortunately,

that is the case. festivals _ are no longer there. unfortunately, that is the case. festivals support | that is the case. festivals support estimated 85,000 jobs, and it's not unusualfor estimated 85,000 jobs, and it's not unusual for there to be two or three full—time employees at a festival and hundreds of clear answers. surrounding... it's challenging. many companies have closed down or gone into other areas of business. although this scheme will help, there are certain areas that they don't cover. it covers complete government shutdown, even on an actual level, it wouldn't cover restrictions such as social distancing and of festival had to cancel or reduce its capacity. there are gaps in schemes. paul cancel or reduce its capacity. there are gaps in schemes.— are gaps in schemes. paul reed, chief executive, _ are gaps in schemes. paul reed, chief executive, thank _ are gaps in schemes. paul reed, chief executive, thank you - are gaps in schemes. paul reed, chief executive, thank you so - are gaps in schemes. paul reed, i chief executive, thank you so much forjoining us this evening. the number of daily

coronavirus cases has gone up slightly again. there were nearly 32,000 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, but that makes an average of 26 and a half thousand new cases per day, over the last seven days, so the longer term trend is still down. 92 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours. chart) that's an average of 85 a day, in the past week.(oov5 — the longer term trend for coronavirus infection rates has been down across the uk, except in northern ireland where case numbers are rising, according to the office for national statistics. whilst england has launched a new campaign, encouraging young adults to get theirjabs, northern ireland has now become the first of the home nations, to start vaccinating 16 and 17—year—olds. here's our health editor, hugh pym. a uk first — the start of vaccinations for all 16 and 17—year—olds.

in northern ireland, teenagers in that age group came forward just two days after experts gave the go—ahead for the extension of the programme. yeah, ijust want everything back to normal and you're going to have to get it, so might as welljust get it now. at this theatre school in lincoln, those we spoke to said they were thinking hard about it. invitations to 16 and 17—year—olds to getjabbed in england, scotland and wales are going out from today. we talk about vaccine quite a lot, mainly because people are quite, like, not sure whether to get it or not. i've seen things online and things like that, but at the end of the day, i think they know what's right and i'm happy to get it. say if i wanted to go - on holiday with my mates, i will have the vaccine. like, i'm not going to miss outjust because i haven't had the vaccine. i "don't miss out" is the message in a new drive in england to boost take—up of the vaccine among 18 to 30—year—olds. with reminders that to get

into nightclubs from late september, proof of being double jabbed will be required. the venues themselves will be promoting those messages. this central london nightclub, heaven, is even hosting a pop—up vaccination site on sunday. it'll be open right through from 12 noon till nine in the evening. the aim's still to reduce the spread of the virus. the office for national statistics survey of community infections, which covers people with and without symptoms, showed showed the first fall in uk cases last week since early may. in england, one in 75 people had the virus. in scotland, one in 120. in wales, one in 230, all of which were down. but in northern ireland, it was one in 55 — an increase — though experts say the delta variant spread later than elsewhere. rates are still relatively high in many parts of the country, but i would have to say that the evidence very much is on a decline everywhere. i'm expecting a continued decline,

not incredibly steep, but i think we will see a continued decline. but he added things might change in september after the holiday season. public health experts say levels of the delta variant can remain high, even in people who are vaccinated while still offering strong protection against serious illness — another reminder there is still much to learn about covid and its spread. hugh pym, bbc news. most of wales' remaining covid rules will be scrapped from tomorrow. social distancing rules and limits on indoor meetings will no longer apply, and nightclubs can reopen — the first young people aged 16 and 17 have received a vaccination in northern ireland. more than 180 were administered at the arena in belfast

on sunday morning. northern ireland is the first part of the uk to give jabs to teenager in this age group. borisjohnson is not self—isolating despite a staff member on a trip to scotland having tested positive for coronavirus. the store sold the bbc the prime minister was close to the person who requested positive —— the source. they travel on a plane together on wednesday. downing street denied they came into close contact. downing street also says there are no plans to cancel decision to put down an alpaca on a farm in gloucestershire whose tested positive twice for the infectious disease bovine tv. tens of thousands signed a position calling for depree for the animal. his name is geronimo and a judge ruled he should be put down. andrew plant has more. geronimo, in quarantine at this gloucestershire farm for the past four years, since he was imported from new zealand. now, though, he's set to destroyed after owner helen lost her fight

now, though, he's set to be destroyed after owner helen lost her fight against his positive tests for tb. just frustrating. anxiety, trauma, constant letters backwards and forwards, constant legal options of what do we do. it's taken over my life. all of this was avoidable. we've had four years ofjust trying to sit down and rationally discuss the science. the science is just not there. today, downing street said they understood how distressing it was to lose an animal, but said that everything needed to be done to tackle tb. if we get a positive, they're under a compulsory slaughter order. paul westaway has to test his 150 cows every six months. last year, two were infected among the 40,000 cold because of tb that year. what do you make of geronimo the alpaca's plight? i feel unbelievably sorry for the lady. i feel really sorry for geronimo. but the law is the law, and geronimo, an alpaca, cannot be more important than a cow.

it's an animal, and every one of the owners of those 40,000 cows that had to have the same fate last year loved them just as much, probably, as the lady loves geronimo, so i feel really, really sorry for her, but the law's the law. that law, defra says, is vital, and the decisive action that the uk needs to fight the disease. meanwhile, helen believes the tests and geronimo were flawed, on geronimo were flawed, and is still hoping there's some way her eight—year—old alpaca can be saved. andrew plant, bbc news. may be facing execution, but at least we might have sunny weekend. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello. the weather story is a bit of a lottery over the next couple of days. generally we are stuck in repeat mode under an influence of low pressure, which is producing plenty of frequent, thundery showers. that means that some of us will skip them altogether and others will see some torrential downpours which will continue for much of the day. so, on saturday, most frequent

showers first thing will be out to the west and then these are likely to drift their way steadily eastward, driven along by a brisk north—west to westerly wind. temperatures will struggle underneath the sharper showers, with gusts of wind in excess of 30—a0 mph on exposed coasts and just a maximum of 20 degrees, 68 fahrenheit. the low pressure shifts a little bit further east on sunday. that means that perhaps central and southern parts of england away from that low will see fewer showers around, but generally, the theme over the next few days is sunny spells and scattered showers, and the temperatures disappointing for the early half of august. take care.

hello and welcome to the programme that brings together bbc specialists and the foreign correspondents who write, blog and broadcast to audiences back home from the dateline london. this week: one virus, three countries — the contrasting covid fortunes of china, the united states and the uk. afghanistan's president says it'll take six months to rout the taliban. does he have six weeks? joining me this week:

henry chu, uk bureau chief of the american paper