tonight at ten — we're live in birminghan where the hosts england made it a golden start to the 22nd commonwealth games. commentator: alex yee of england wins the first gold! _ alex yee stormed to victory in the triathlon — taking the first gold of the games. commentator: he has successfully defended the — commentator: he has successfully defended the title. _ para—cyclist neil fachie won

scotland's first gold medal in the velodrome. it is so proud to be here, to see all these different people, and amazing day for triathlon. i’m all these different people, and amazing day for triathlon. i'm so roud to amazing day for triathlon. i'm so proud to do _ amazing day for triathlon. i'm so proud to do this _ amazing day for triathlon. i'm so proud to do this for _ amazing day for triathlon. i'm so proud to do this for scotland - amazing day for triathlon. i'm soi proud to do this for scotland and for my— proud to do this for scotland and for my family here. and the other headlines tonight... victims of the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and �*80s — a judge says people should receive immediate six—figure compensation. we have a special report on the resistance in ukraine operating in russian—occupied territory. rebekah vardy loses her libel case against colleen rooney — the judge says significant parts of vardy�*s evidence wasn't credible. and coming up on the bbc news channel... it's commonwealth gold for england's men in the gymanstics artistic team final, as they beat canada to the top spot.

good evening. the opening day of competition at the commonwealth games has seen athletes from all uk nations win medals, many in this evening's competitions. the first gold of the games went to england's alex yee here in birmingham, with his team securing six medals so far. neil fachie was victorious in the velodrome, winning gold and equalling the record for the most commonwealth titles won by a scot, with scotland's tally at six medals. wales started with success in cycling too and netted two medals, whilst there was a record for northern ireland as barry mcclement won their first ever swimming medal in the history of the games. our sports correspondent nesta mcgregor has the latest. welcome everyone to the birmingham

2022 commonwealth games. as far as sports go, you'd hardly describe triathlon as a walk in the park. well, unless you live round the corner. for me, coming and watching it at the park was brilliant, because it's usually dogs swimming in the lake, let alone people. it was great. watching the ceremony last night was quite amazing, really. - all eyes were on england's alex yee. however, hayden wilde seemed keen to cause an upset. the athlete from new zealand was always in the lead or thereabouts. but this is a test of endurance and stamina. in this event, it's not always who starts best but more often who finishes strongest. and there you have it, the first gold medal of these games, and it's gone to england's alex yee. medal secured, a hug from mum and dad, a curry later to celebrate — dad's paying apparently. what does this mean compared to the olympics silver and all the other titles? well, i keep saying it,

but i think this is probably my most treasured moment ever, so i think for me to be able to pick up a flag and, yeah, i worked hard towards this race since last year. this was one of my focuses, so, yeah, it'sjust cool. alex yee, full of glee, and soon after attention turned to the women's race, and the crowd were treated to a dominant display from bermuda's dame flora duffy. gold in australia four years ago, gold again today in the birmingham sunshine. england's georgia taylor—brown finished second, and there was a bronze medalfor scotland's beth potter. the first medal for wales was won by the paris cycle is james ball —— para cyclist. the gold went to scotland's neil fachie. their delight was apparent. at the newly built aquatics centre there was a deluge of medals, none more deserving than for barry mcclements. a bronze medalfor him in the

ioo—metre backstroke. gymnastjoe ioo—metre backstroke. gymnast joe fraser grew ioo—metre backstroke. gymnastjoe fraser grew up just a few miles from the arena birmingham where he was competing. it high byte routine even more impressive when you consider it his appendix was removed just a few weeks ago —— high bar. the 23—year—old's performance helped england secured the men's team final gold. a beaming brummie. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. of course, it's notjust here at the commonwealth games that we'll see international sporting action this weekend, because attention is very much turning to the euro 2022 final at wembley stadium, where england's women will be taking on germany. our sports correspondent natalie pirks looks ahead to the match. commentator: lovely build-up. in the footballing lesson dished out

to sweden, one goal will be remembered above all. oh! oh, wow! she might not have started a game yet, but supersub alessia russo's outrageous back heel has inspired a legion of copycats. come on, england! yeah! _ at charlton athletic, where russo learned her trade, they've all been having a go. here, she's always been a star. her audacious ability no revelation. i'm not surprised that she's done something as spectacular as that, because i know what she's capable of doing. you know, if we ever got to the cup final, or the knockout stages of a tournament, you know, alessia would always be the one to score the winning goals. commentator: germany are pressing... she has a rival in the great goal stakes, though. her second in the game and germany lead withl a quarter of an hour to go. that was alexandra popp's sixth of the tournament, and was confirmation that germany are back as a football powerhouse.

played in by griggs. chance for six. - six scored by germany. the eight—time european champions beat england in the 2009 final — a 6—2 thrashing in helsinki. midfielderjill scott is the only current squad member who experienced that defeat. it's like night and day, really, but we don't want to forget everybody that came before and wore the shirt, because that is why we're here today. so it's going to be a great moment, even thinking about it, i think my voice goes a little bit, but we just have to try to remain logical, and it's one more game to go out there and achieve our dreams. game to go out there after the world cup semi—final defeat in 2019, results dipped, but sarina wiegman�*s reign has been transformative. since the dutch coach took thejob 19 games ago, the lionesses are unbeaten. they have scored a remarkable 104 goals with just four goals conceded. victory on sunday would seal an astonishing turnaround in fortunes in under a year

in thejob. most of all what we wanted to do, of course, to make a difference, to have done, a little bit. we just hope we do really well and win the game and have a party afterwards. is it "coming home"? that's something english, too, i learned. i know the fans are singing it in the stadium, and it's really nice because we get so much energy from our fans, and they have supported us so well. i hope we win the trophy. let's keep it with that. a wembley showdown against germany in front of the largest crowd seen for a women's european final. if that doesn't inspire a generation, nothing will. natalie pirks, bbc news. and our sports editor dan roan is here with me now. so much top quality sport, we are spoilt for choice.— spoilt for choice. absolutely. ever since we knew— spoilt for choice. absolutely. ever since we knew the _ spoilt for choice. absolutely. ever since we knew the women's - spoilt for choice. absolutely. ever since we knew the women's euros would be postponed by a year we have

known these two great events that england are hosting would coincide but now the lionesses have made the final we are in store for a blockbuster sporting weekend. plenty of action to enjoy in birmingham, as well, australia the early leaders on the medals table with eight gold medals so far but plenty of home nation success, the likes of alex yee of england, neil fachie of scotland, the english gymnasts, as well, with the team gold. a reminder ofjust how well, with the team gold. a reminder of just how special these well, with the team gold. a reminder ofjust how special these games can become a fully integrated parrot sports programme, women's cricket, as well, and these are the atmospheres —— para sports. the athletes were denied these kind of atmospheres last year in tokyo because of the ban on spectators there, this is also the best attended commonwealth games the uk has ever hosted, but sunday, the attention will be on wembley, and the lionesses bid for history, a first major tournament title is the

prize on offer, if they can prevail against germany on what should be a defining day for women's sport. they talked about super saturday a decade ago at the olympics but this could be super sunday.— that's it from us here in birmingham. for all the rest of the days news, let's joinjane in the studio. more than 4,000 people affected by the infected blood scandal should receive immediate compensation of at least £100,000 each. that's the recommendation of the judge leading the public inquiry into what's been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the nhs. the government says it will consider the recommendation with the "utmost urgency" — if it accepts it, it'll be the first time compensation will have been paid in the uk — after thousands of people were infected with lethal viruses, including hiv and hepatitis, through contaminated treatments in the 1970s and 80s.

our health correspondent jim reed has this report. in 1978 richard warrick was given a new treatment for the blood disorder haemophilia. he later found out it was contaminated with two forms of hepatitis and hiv. the impact on his life was devastating. no life insurance, no pension. everything that the normal guy on the street that would be the norm, that isjust gone. we were advised, well, we were told in no uncertain terms to have our one and only child aborted, so we lost a child because of the risk to the child of hiv. but richard and other victims of this disaster have often had to survive on benefits and annual support payments. unlike in other countries, full compensation has never been paid. it is recognition of the harm that has been done to us. compensation to families and victims will enable them to get on with their lives and...

yeah. you've been waiting a long time for this. been waiting a long time for this. too long. today, then, an important moment. the chair of the public inquiry made his first formal recommendation, that some interim compensation should be paid now, with more possible later. i've decided to recommend interim payments of no less than £100,000 are made to all the infected people and all the bereaved partners currently registered with the schemes. in a room in the inquiry building messages are left in bottles, remembering loved ones. since the start of the inquiry in 2019 one infected person has been dying every four days. in total 2,500 have lost their lives. steve always felt that the treatment destroyed his life. sue remembers her husband steve, as she visits his grave in devon. he was infected with hepatitis c after being given contaminated

treatment, and died in 2018. i had my earning power taken away from me. my husband had his earning power taken away. we lost our home, we lost everything we had. why shouldn't i financially — cos that is the only thing the government can now give me — have some part of what i lost? thousands of victims were affected by this historic disaster. the government has said it would now consider the recommendations with utmost urgency. if it agrees, thousands of victims could receive the first ever compensation payments before the end of the year. jim reed, bbc news. andjim is with me — how have families and survivors reacted to this news? just after thejudge gave just after the judge gave that statement, i was receiving text messages from families and survivors who were in the room itself, talking about how emotional that moment was and how some people were in tears

and how some people were in tears and that is because symbolically this is a very important moment. the first time compensation has been recommended. there is still some way to go and this is just a recommendation from the judge and they can't order this money to be paid so we have to see what the government says, and there are questions over costs, the initial bill could be £400 million, so we have to see how the government response to that and how it might find the money. not everyone will qualify straightaway, and for example the children of people infected would not be included at least to begin with the man i spoke to one lady, lauren palmer, just nine years of age in 1983, when she lost her mother and father to hiv aids as a result of this —— 1993. she will have to wait until the end of the inquiry next year to see she qualifies for compensation. overall survivors say this is a very big step towards the state acknowledging what was a complete treatment disaster. ., . ., , ,.,

disaster. our health correspondent, jim reed. thanks _ disaster. our health correspondent, jim reed. thanks for _ disaster. our health correspondent, jim reed. thanks forjoining - disaster. our health correspondent, jim reed. thanks forjoining us. - there's more updates, news and analysis on bbc news online — that's bbc.co.uk/news — and by using the bbc news app. two footballers' wives, both with huge social media followings and brands in their own right. rebekah vardy, married to leicester city striker, jamie vardy, and coleen rooney, wife of england's all—time top goal—scorer, wayne rooney. our correspondent colin paterson has followed the trial and sent this report. two footballers' wives, both with huge social media followings and brands in their own right. rebekah vardy, married to leicester city striker jamie vardy, and coleen rooney, wife of england's all—time top goal—scorer, wayne rooney. they went head—to—head in a libel trial at the high court. today's judgment could not have gone much worse for rebekah vardy, her evidence described by the judge as "not credible, and on occasions,

"manifestly inconsistent, evasive or implausible." it's a disaster for rebekah vardy. you know, her brand, her career in the sense of, you know, being a personality, has been completely ruined because she's effectively been found to be a liar by a high courtjudge, which is going to be hanging around her neck for the rest of her life. the case all centred on detective work coleen rooney conducted in october 2019. which ended with her accusing vardy, online, of leaking private stories about her to the sun. rebekah vardy said that this accusation had caused untold damage to her reputation and she was left with no option but to sue coleen rooney for libel. but in court, things began to go wrong for mrs vardy. coleen rooney's legal team accused her of being evasive and of changing her story. today, the judge said that rebekah vardy had actively engaged time and time again in the process of selling stories

about coleen rooney to the sun via her agent, caroline watt — seen here on the left. the judge said that it was likely both of them had destroyed crucial evidence, including caroline watt�*s phone being dropped into the north sea. when rebekah vardy was giving her evidence at the high court, i was sitting about five feet away and saw as she repeatedly broke down, and when she was accused of lying under oath, she put her head in her hands and sobbed. she looked like she was thinking, "why have i brought this to the high court?" and with today's judgment, she will be seriously regretting doing so. crucially, coleen rooney's original post, with the accusation, was ruled to have been substantially true. in a statement, coleen rooney said... coleen rooney has struck a major victory, a major, major home run here. and it makes her look, in a sense, a certain amount

of statesperson over this. she understands the game. vardy doesn't. this afternoon, rebekah vardy said that she was disappointed and devastated by the judge's finding. she also asked for an end to what she called the vile abuse against her family. abuse the judge condemned. rebekah vardy hoped this case would restore her reputation, that reputation has now fallen further. colin paterson, bbc news, the high court. with the price of gas and electricity climbing, the government has unveiled details of its plan to support people all households in england, scotland and wales will be given £400 this autumn to help towards fuel bills. so how will we get the money? our business correspondent emma simpson is here to explain. thanks, jane. this is a key part of the government's £15 billion

support package. every household is eligible for the £400 payment, which comes off energy bills. it starts in october with a discount of £66, rising to £67 a month from december to march next year. how you receive this money depends on how you pay your bill. if you pay by direct debit, you'll see an automatic deduction. more than four million households use prepayment meters. if you have a so—called smart meter, you'll also see an automatic top—up added to your account. but it's a bit more complicated if you're on a traditional prepayment meter. customers will get a voucher via text, email or in the post which they'll need to redeem in person at their usual top—up point. the discount may not touch the sides given what's happening to gas prices and the implications for our bills. have a look here at the wholesale price of gas in the uk. you can see how it spiked

to record levels after russia invaded ukraine — and it's rising once again. that's because russia has tightened the squeeze on the flow of gas to europe, and concerns are growing there about whether there will be enough supply when winter arrives. this is berlin cathedral, almost in darkness. some german cities are already trying to reduce energy consumption by turning off the lights on public monuments and imposing cold showers in swimming pools, in what is a deepening crisis across europe, jane. emma, thank you. the us and russian foreign ministers have spoken for the first time since moscow invaded ukraine. us secretary of state antony blinken said he warned against further russian annexation of ukrainian territory — his counterpart sergei lavrov insisted the kremlin would achieve the goals of what he called its "special military operation".

the ukrainian campaign to retake the occupied southern region of kherson is gathering pace, according to western military sources. earlier this week, a key bridge in moscow—controlled territory was destroyed, effectively cutting off the russian troops. there's been civilian resistance to the russian occupation of kherson throughout — our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has been to meet some of the ukrainians working behind enemy lines. they tumble off buses every day here, mostly women and children fleeing russian occupation in southern ukraine. exhausted and still wary, because it's a long, tense trip from a life where even a text message supporting ukraine can get you arrested. "it's hard," sasha tells me. "the russians are everywhere in kherson, wherever you turn". when russian forces invaded

kherson, big crowds came out in protest. they chanted at heavily— armed troops to go home. and then the russians hit back. explosions and gunfire but the resistance didn't die. it moved underground. we arranged to meet some of that shadow army. they asked us not to reveal where or who they are. translation: the resistance movement is huge. _ it's total resistance. this man told me how the partisans operate behind enemy lines. translation: so look. here, someone's driving. they know there's a military base that the occupiers have taken over, so they drive by and film it all. that way we know what kind of kit the russians have. the information

is then passed on... ..to ukraine's military. another team flies drones across the front line, hunting down more targets. they're civilians, not soldiers... gunfire ..but they joined the fight to stop the occupation of kherson... gunfire continues ..becoming permanent. resistance is dangerous, though. denis mironov was caught gathering intelligence and weapons for the partisans. he was beaten so badly, he died in custody. his mother has evidence denis was tortured by russia's fsb security service. translation: but they simply beat him to death. _ they tied him to a door,

wrapped tape around his head and they beat my son so badly that his ribs were broken by the first blow. they pierced his lungs. he couldn't move. he couldn't lie down or even stand. i asked the fsb how denis died. they didn't respond. explosions but it looks like the fight back for kherson has begun. ukraine says it's destroying russian ammunition depots, hitting key bridges to disrupt their supply lines. weapons from the west are starting to make a difference here. and so — this fighter tells me — is the resistance. he had to flee kherson to escape arrest for his own activity behind the lines. but he tells me the russians have very little real support there. translation: of course, -

the russians have scared people physically and psychologically, but the vast majority want life to be like it was before the invasion. they are waiting for kherson to be freed, to be in ukraine again. and if that battle does begin in earnest, the partisans say they're ready to step out of the shadows. sarah rainsford, bbc news, in southern ukraine. now a look at some other stories making the news today. two people have been arrested in connection with the death of a nine year old girl, after a suspected stabbing in lincolnshire. police launched a murder investigation following the incident in boston last night. the girl has been named as lilia valutyte and lincolnshire police say they believe it was an isolated incident. the united nations has requested that 12 year—old archie battersbee's life support continues while it considers the case.

archie has been in a coma for three months after suffering "catastrophic" brain damage. his parents took the case to the un committee on the rights of persons with disabilities, after rulings from the highest uk courts said life—support treatment could be withdrawn. the record temperatures in the uk last week would have been "almost impossible" without human—induced climate change, according to leading scientists. the uk recorded temperatures above 40 celsius for the first time on the 19th ofjuly. experts say without human—caused climate change these would have been 2—4 celsius cooler. 5,000 train drivers are due to walk out on strike tomorrow, in a dispute about pay. their union aslef has described the action as a last resort, saying the rising cost of living means workers are facing a real—terms pay cut. and there are more strikes planned in the coming weeks. our transport correspondent

katy austin is at paddington station in london. katy, is the walk—out already being felt? we have already had strikes by the rmt union this summer. tomorrow a big walk out as planned by drivers, set to cause a lot of disruption. their union, aslef, says drivers need a pay rise that reflects the rising cost of living and that terms and conditions need to be protected. the train company say they want to give a pay increase, but that reforms need to be agreed to afford that and have caught the proper talks. for now they strike tomorrow is set to go ahead at seven train companies. some of them will have no trains at all, some will only run a very limited service, and in addition to these, heathrow express and london northwestern will be affected even though they are not directly involved in the dispute.

another strike is planned at nine train companies were sat at the 13th of august and there is other industrial action in the diary as well with the next national rmt strike set for the 18th of august and then the 20th of august, and then the tssa union has action plan for those dates so unless a settlement can be reached in the meantime a summer of disruption on the railways is set to continue. the american actor will smith has reiterated his apology to chris rock, after he slapped him on stage at the oscars in march. in his first public statement for three months, smith said he had reached out to rock, but the comedian had said he was not yet ready to talk. there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave, in that moment.

there is no part of me that thinks that's the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect, or insults. southern water has announced that a temporary hosepipe ban is to come into force next friday across hampshire and the isle of wight. the firm said the move was necessary to protect the environment during one of the driest years on record. customers in the region will be restricted from using hosepipes to water their gardens or clean their cars. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. and one as well. there has been some sunshine and that has lifted temperatures across southern england

up temperatures across southern england up to 28 celsius. a bit of a mixture this weekend. look at the satellite picture. we have this conveyor belt of cloud streaming in from the atlantic bringing rain across northern ireland. that thickening cloud takes rain east was across scotland through the rest of the night. and we have a little bit of rain across north wales and northern england. furthersouth rain across north wales and northern england. further south the winds are lighter and it will be dry with clearer skies, and a warm night for all of us, temperatures between 14-16, all of us, temperatures between 14—16, warmer than northern ireland last night when temperatures down to 4 degrees. tomorrow, gradually brightening up in scotland and northern ireland, with sunny spells in the afternoon. further rain coming into north england and north wales, staying dry with sunshine further south. a warm day across the south—east of england, east anglia, 26-27 south—east of england, east anglia, 26—27 and warming up across eastern scotland when we get some sunshine in the afternoon. should be a quite warm day for the commonwealth games tomorrow. a brighter day with some cloud around but the cloud may be

thick enough on sunday to give some