living this is bbc news, i'm ben boulos with the latest headlines. after more than two weeks of thrilling sporting action — the tokyo olympic games end with a spectacular closing ceremony. team gb cyclist jason kenny successfully defends his keirin title to become the first briton to win seven olympic gold medals. lauren price wins the women's middleweight final becoming the first welsh boxer to claim olympic gold. i cannot believe no one can pass, i felt like i was standing still and that last corner. i was just tell myself it's a medal, and then when i cross the line i was like the bloody gold medal.

reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy heavy fighting fighting in the city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. new changes to the uk's covid travel restrictions come into force. double—vaccinated people travelling from france to the uk will no longer have to isolate. thousands flee their homes in greece as forest fires burn out of control — the country faces its most intense heatwave in more than 30 years. the argentine football star, lionel messi, is emotional as he confirms that he is leaving barcelona after 20 years at the club. the closing ceremony of the tokyo olympics is under way after a final day of competition.

team gb have matched their medal total from london 2012 with 22 golds, and 65 medals in total. jason kenny won gold in the men's kieren cycling event in the velodrome. that makes him britain's most successful male athlete with a total of seven olympic gold medals under his belt, a total of nine olympic medals in all. in the boxing ring, a gold for lauren price in the women's boxing middleweight final. she beat china's li qian in a 5—0 points victory. also in the boxing ring, irish boxer kellie harrington won gold after defeating brazil's beatriz ferreira in the women's 60kg lightweight final. that win sparking celebrations in her home town in dublin. the usa continued their dominance in the basketball, winning gold in the women's final. they defeated japan to take their seventh consecutive olympic basketball gold medal. and in the men's marathon, kenya's eliud kipchoge successfully defends his olympic title.

kipchoge is only the third person to win successive olympic marathons and is now widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time. let's cross live to the bbc sport centre and speak to gavin. what a great day to round off a great two weeks? a, great day to round off a great two weeks? �* , , , ., great day to round off a great two weeks? , , , ., weeks? a superb two weeks it has been. weeks? a superb two weeks it has been- britain _ weeks? a superb two weeks it has been. britain winning _ weeks? a superb two weeks it has been. britain winning two - weeks? a superb two weeks it has been. britain winning two is - weeks? a superb two weeks it has been. britain winning two is on - weeks? a superb two weeks it has| been. britain winning two is on the final day of the tokyo games, taking their tally to 22. it final day of the tokyo games, taking their tally to 22.— their tally to 22. it matches their achievement _ their tally to 22. it matches their achievement in _ their tally to 22. it matches their achievement in terms _ their tally to 22. it matches their achievement in terms of- their tally to 22. it matches their achievement in terms of overalll achievement in terms of overall medal hall from london 2012. lauren price took a boxing gold and that was a historic victory forjason kenny forjason kenny on the cycling track. hold the front page. jason kenny a picture of delight after hurtling into the record books. the keirin is usually a slow burner of a race before

a frantic late dash, but with three laps still to go, kenny took his rivals completely by surprise. kenny sensed an opportunity, and jason kenny is going to go for it here for great britain. and in a flash he was out of sight, kenny charging clear and heading where no british athlete had ever been before. and they're not going to catch him! kenny comes into the finish here, and we're watching british olympic history as jason kenny takes the title! his seventh gold, the most by any british olympian, a remarkable feat achieved in utterly remarkable fashion. i can't believe that no—one came past. i felt like i was standing still round that last corner. i was hacking away. but ijust kept telling myself, it's a medal, it's a medal, even if one comes, it's still a medal. and then when i crossed the line, i was like, it's a bloody gold medal! so, yeah. i couldn't believe it. it's just bizarre, amazing. and while there was history for one kenny, there was frustration for another. there is a big crash! laura could only finish sixth in the omnium after an early crash. but disappointment was outweighed

by pride for her husband. the amount of people who have come . up to me afterwards and was like, l "i'd have counted him out of this." and to be honest, so had i! just speaking to him i last night, he was like, "i just want to go home." and then obviously when he went, i was like, - he's only gone and done it. typicaljason, that. lauren price! and britain's boxers rounded off their best games for a century in more glory. lauren price has played football for wales and won a kickboxing world title. now, after a dominant display, she's an olympic champion. for the 27—year—old who has battled up through the ranks, the ultimate reward. yeah, i still can't believe it. i've got to pinch myself. but itjust goes to show, years of hard work, if you dream and you work hard enough, you can achieve anything. it looks like we're getting a gold postbox in ystrad mynach right outside my house! so, happy days. for team gb, a suitably golden end to a glittering games.

andy swiss, bbc news. what are games for lauren price. kellie harrington and said she had a sense of relief after winning goal for ireland in the lightweight division. she lost the opening round but went on to win on a unanimous decision. there is only ireland �*s code metal, handing follows in the footsteps of katie taylor who won in 2012. these were the scenes in dublin, celebrating. kellie harrington said it would not register she was an olympic champion until she got home, as you can expect a very warm welcome for sure. earlier b said he had fulfilled his destiny after winning the marathon in tokyo. he ran the marathon in less than two hours and 2019. he

said he was really glad the olympus has gone ahead, saying it was a sign of life hopefully getting back on track after an incredibly tough year for all. track after an incredibly tough year forall. —— kipchoge track after an incredibly tough year for all. —— kipchoge he said. a little earlier, i spoke to our total corresponding, medical oi, who is outside the turku stadium that closing ceremony is taking place. —— mariko oi. i asked her how the games have been perceived injapan. the have been perceived in japan. the closin: have been perceived injapan. tue: closing ceremony have been perceived injapan. tte: closing ceremony taking have been perceived injapan. tt2 closing ceremony taking place just closing ceremony taking placejust behind me, no spectators aloud. we can't exactly find out what is happening from here but we are expecting the ioc to mark the atomic bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki. the ioc came under quite a lot of criticism here injapan for not marking the event at 8:15am local

time on august 6, two days ago. of course nagasaki was bombed on august 9, the ioc said they will make a mention of them during the ceremony. it has been an incredible three weeks here injapan, a lot of controversies in the lead up to the games. we had an overwhelming majority of the japanese public, who were opposing the games. they wanted to be either cancelled or postponed, but once of the game started, we sought the opinions shift slightly because of all the gold rush, the medal is the japanese team has won. japan has done incredibly well, it has managed to win 58 medals in total, including 27 golds, the best performance ever first—team japan. that has shifted the opinion slightly. but of course we are now continue to see the surge in covid—19 cases and a lot of concerns about how hospitals are getting

overwhelmed. the government is now asking covid—19 patients with mild scent tends to stay at home instead of putting extra pressure on at the hospitals and that has not been going down too well. —— mild symptoms. when we set now into symptoms. when we set now into symptoms they could be having breathing difficulties and so on. a lot of excitement as well about the paralympics, which is going to start and a few weeks. of course we are going to see a lot of staff and volunteers continuing to work and leaving is being used. we will have all the latest coverage on that as well. meanwhile, ithink all the latest coverage on that as well. meanwhile, i think it is fair to say that the japanese government are probably pleas that the olympic games have at least gone quite smoothly. the president of the organising committee said that it went really well. the ioc has also been saying that the games have exceeded their expectations. now i have to say when thomas bach, the

boss of the ioc, when he was asked about the cost, the ioc actually did this to give an opportunity to japan he said. that didn't go down too well, the ioc hasn't been too popular here injapan. lot of schizophrenic reaction among the japanese public, but still a lot of excitement about the japanese athletes. the young skateboarders have done extremely well, but also judo really making a comeback. we saw so many medals, including from a brother and sister team winning gold medals. we also had a wrestling doing really well. swimming also, a japanese swimmer winning double gold medals for the first time as well. we have had a lot of exciting moments, athletic achievements here injapan despite all the in japan despite all the controversies.

injapan despite all the controversies. many of the athletes to me they felt really conflicted about the public opposition, but they have really achieved something amazing. they had been tweeting to thank all the staff and volunteers on social media with a specific hashtag, which is very, very japanese. reports from northern afghanistan say there's heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. a taliban spokesman said their fighters had already captured some districts and were inching towards the centre of the city. on saturday, us central command said it had intensified air strikes in support of the afghan government. earlier, the taliban said they had taken control of sheberghaan — the second provincial capital to have fallen in two days. our correspondent in delhi, anbarasan ethirajan, is following developments in afghanistan and how the taliban is driving the situation. yes, the taliban have scored quite a few military victories in recent months,

capturing vast rural areas in the south and west, and now the north. after capturing the countryside they are focused on the provincial capitals, sending out a very clear message to the government and international community they will not keep quiet with what they have. it is suggested they have nearly half the country's districts. kunduz city, heavy clashes inside the city, even though earlier reports suggested the taliban could have captured more parts of the capital. afghan special forces say they are fighting the militants inside the city. intense clashes going on now. a taliban spokesman told me a short while ago they have captured most parts of the city but no independent confirmation yet. the ground report is changing even before the authorities

in kabul could realise. this will have a major impact in the whole region. interesting developments in the last few weeks, the taliban starting to capture cities whereas traditionally their strongholds have been outside of the cities, the more rural areas. they have changed their strategies. it will be a big propaganda victory if they can capture some provincial capitals. next time they go to doha for any peace talks they can talk from a position of strength. they are also showing increasing military capability, look at the number of fighters fighting all across the country, not only across the south, the traditional stronghold. they are getting enough resources, fighters and weapons, that is why they were able to launch major attacks on different cities. there is a domino effect, if you capture for example

a city in the south, you get access to four or five provinces, you do not have to go step—by—step. in kunduz, if it falls it will have an impact on other cities in the northern region, denting the confidence of the government. the taliban are very clever in playing a very psychological game, taking out key cities, sending messages to the rival commanders asking them to surrender. it will be a huge challenge not only for the afghan government and also the international players who are bringing them to the peace talks. anbarasan ethirajan. people fully vaccinated against coronavirus can now visit france without quarantining on their return to the uk. it's one of several changes to the government's travel list that have come into effect this morning. seven countries, including germany, have been added to the green list — but mexico is now on the red list,

meaning a mandatory ten—day stay in a hotel for visitors coming back to britain. for some passengers heading to france on holiday this morning, the fact that they won't have to self—isolate when they return to the uk is a relief. we will no longer have to quarantine. so what does that mean for you? is that good in terms of work or anything like that? it means we can come back to work, i am self employed, and we get to see his family. brittany ferries has seen a surge in bookings but still only hopes to carry 500,000 passengers this year, less than a quarter of pre—pandemic numbers. the season 21 will be worse than the season 20 for brittany ferries, so i guess it is more than welcome, this announcement, it is good news, but it comes in a year where, at the end of the day, for us, everything is about 22 and making 22 a really good year, hopefully. also from today, india and a handful of other places have moved to the amber list.

however, mexico is among those joining the red list, and that means paying for hotel quarantine. to avoid it, this couple celebrating their anniversary after a tough year scrambled to fly back to england a week early. i would be lying to you if i told you that i wasn't incredibly upset when it happened. i know that people say it can change quite quickly, but three days notice to travel from halfway across the world. struggling tourism and aviation businesses saw this season as crucial. one travel agent told me testing requirements were still putting many brits off booking foreign trips and the latest change had only made a small difference. it is far too late to save the summer, a lot of consumers have already made their plans, and while we have seen an increase, literally from the next day we have seen an increase, it is marginal, and when you think most businesses are trading 80% down, you need a huge amount of volume to make up anywhere near

the shortfall they are experiencing. those who do now want to book a getaway will still need to check what the rules are for holiday—makers arriving at their destination. katy austin, bbc news. isa is a leading research organisation has won the number of patients on nhs waiting lists in england could easily exceed the government's estimate of 30 million by autumn of next year. the institute for fiscal studies believes there is a hidden backlog of patients on top of the 5.3 million people already know and to be waiting for procedures and appointments. the department of health says it is giving the nhs £1 billion to start clearing waiting lists. the headlines on bbc news this hour. team gb cyclist jason kenny

successfully defends his title to become the first briton to win seven olympic gold medals. reports from northern afghanistan say there is heavy fighting in the city of kunduz, where government forces are trying to push back taliban militants. no changes to the uk's travel restrictions come into force. double vaccinated people travelling from france to the uk will no longer have to isolate. with temperatures in the high 40s advancing wildfires on the greek island of evia have forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents. thousands of locals and tourists have also been evacuated from athens' northern suburbs, and others have had to abandon their homes elsewhere. the greek army has been deployed to help fight the blazes, and several countries including britain and germany have sent emergency aid teams to help. helena wilkinson has the latest. this is greece's second biggest island, evia. the scenes are devastating.

wildfires are continuing to break out on this island. dozens of residents have had to leave their homes. i closed all the windows. put the water around it. firefighters are doing all they can under extreme conditions. but strong scorching winds have made the situation worse. flames have ripped through vast areas, destroying homes and burning forest. more than 2000 people from the island had to be carried to safety after they fled to the beaches. one man filmed the inferno once he was safe on a ferry. ten ships remained on standby ready to evacuate more people if needed. the greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis has called this a nightmarish summer. he speaks greek. he said the government's priority

was to protect human life. people scream. "help, help," they scream in athens as the flames grow closer. people are trying to put out the fires in any way they can. thousands of people have been evacuated. a big national tragedy. i don't live here, my sister lives here but it is horrible for the whole of greece. greece is experiencing its worst heat wave in more than 30 years. authorities have warned that the risk of further fires remains high in many parts of the country. helena wilkinson, bbc news. tony brown is heading out to greece as part of the uk contingent.

our mission is to assist the greek authorities and the civil protection to supplement their firefighting efforts. we have a number of experts within the team who are wildfire experts, who are european and world trained. we have a team of 21 firefighters to assist, what we are going to do tomorrow and this evening is fit into their tactics, that is myjob to understand how we are going to fit into their plan. whether that plan from our point of view is considered and safe for our firefighters. we will be working that out and we will be working the language and communication out. most of us, especially the management team, are trained in the civil protection for european disasters and we understand how we communicate. in california, officials say three firefighters have been injured tackling a huge wildfire in the north of the state. five people are missing

after the dixie fire, the largest active blaze in the us, swept through two towns, destroying more than 180,000 hectares in four counties. california's fire services said only around a fifth of the blaze has been contained. he told the observer newspaper his visits to 30 nations in the past seven months made a "vital difference" to his work. teachers, secondary school pupils, prison officers and prisoners will all be offered the flu vaccine this winter in scotland. it's the biggest seasonal vaccine programme the country has ever done and means three quarters of the scottish population can get a jab for free. the programme will run from september until march 2022. sir keir starmer has warned the

government that a second summer of exam disruption is not an option. concerns have been raised about possible grade inflation as pupils are again being assessed by teachers rather than formal exams and some experts are predicting increased competition for places at the most popular universities as a result. the department for education say they've put in place a "rigorous system", but sir keir says it's vital that young people don't miss out on opportunities. stu d e nts students are young people are entitled to a government that plan into the summer of this year. instead we are facing the prospect of chaos. we the labour party called on the government in autumn of last year to have a plan b in case exams couldn't be taken, they happen this week. i want the prime minister to step up now, show some leadership.

a drug to treat cystic fibrosis, that became available on the nhs in england last year, is transforming lives. medics at the royal papworth hospital in cambridge say kaftrio is having an impact that some have described as "mind—blowing". the bbc�*s science correspondent richard westcott went to meet laura — who had been told she may not live beyond 30, but who has now celebrated that birthday in good health, and has even started a family. this is life with cystic fibrosis. a few months ago laura filmed herself exhausted by a simple walk. the transformation is incredible. after taking a newly available drug, kaftrio, she has got her life back and created a new one. laura, when this drug first came out, we all heard how amazing it was, but did you dare to hope it could have this kind of impact on your life? not really. because of how you feel with cystic fibrosis and how scary it can be, i just thought two tablets in the morning, a tablet at night, how can that do everything everybody is telling me it is doing? it made me feel so much better,

clearer, i could breathe better. ijust couldn't believe the effects it was having on me even in the first few days. laura's lung function went from 52% to 92% in a matter of weeks. after years of struggling to start a family... i only took seven weeks to fall pregnant, which is obviously incredible and it has just been the best thing ever because we have wanted to be parents for so long. we finally got our miracle baby. while we were filming, cystic fibrosis nurse chi came along. you have looked after laura for years, what difference have you seen? it'sjust amazing. i saw her since she was 16, now she is a mum, now it is like a 360. it's amazing to see her having her dream come true and it's all very emotional.

what do you think of little louis? 0h, ijust want to cuddle! i want to take him home. one of laura's consultants said the drug is transforming life expectancy. you have been in medicine a long time, have you ever seen a drug have this kind of impact? no, definitely not. this is really unique - in my career in medicine. when i first started looking - after cf patients we were lucky if they would survive . into their 30s and 40s. now with this new treatment i think it will change at all. _ this year has been a big year for laura, she was told she probably wouldn't see her 30th birthday. she has turned 30, she got kaftrio. now we have got a family. the whole thing has changed life completely. louis, you're few weeks old, your views on life so far? yeah, good answer. the argentine footballer lene messi

has made a tearful farewell to barcelona, the spanish club he joined at the age of 13. —— why no messy. he has helped the club when the 34 messy. he has helped the club when the 3a through fees. barcelona said it was letting him go because i could not afford to pay his wages. the 34—year—old said he did not know what he was going to do next but a move to psg was also a possibility. he also expressed his deep affection for the club where he has spent so much of his life. translation: many beautiful things happened to me here, bad too, - but all this helped me to grow, improve and made me the person i am today. we've had very good moments, bad ones too, but the affection of the people has been constant, i always felt it, the recognition, the love. i felt it towards them too and the club and will do

all my life i hope. thousands of fans gave comedian peter kay a standing ovation as he made his return to the stage last night. after several years away, he put on two sold—out charity shows at the manchester apollo in aid of a local university student, who's undergoing treatment for brain cancer. peter said getting back on stage was like "getting in a hot bath". i assume that is a good thing. time now for a look at the weather. a real mix of weather out there today. if you haven't had your brolly or raincoat at hand you might have been caught out in a downpour. they come out of nowhere, don't they? it looks as though all of the cloud and heavy showers is here to stay through the afternoon. the heaviest showers are across more

northern parts of the country, from northern parts of the country, from northern england into central scotland. they are also slow—moving, thatis scotland. they are also slow—moving, that is a very little when to push them around. flash flooding is a possibility. could brighten up elsewhere for a time this evening before more showers run a long southern counties during the course of the night. not particularly cold tonight, 13 or 1a degrees. tomorrow, the shallows will be less frequent, still some heavy ones around but i think more sunny spells around. the really dry warm weather is not expected until around wednesday, so another two or 3 days of the showers to get through.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: after two weeks of thrilling sporting action — the tokyo olympics ends with a spectacular closing ceremony.