deputy mayor, i visited rochdale the deputy mayor, i visited rochdale this morning and met with around a0 community partners, and was grateful for the honest conversations we had. people spoke of the family's appeal for calm. it was echoed in the room. and i am today amplifying that message as loudly and clearly as i can, so that everyone hears it. lots of people this week have had their say on the fence here, and it is important now for those people to hear what people in greater manchester want to happen next. what they want is a process that is fair to everyone, rigorous, swift, and

has input from greater manchester communities, and that has got to the depravity now, so that the full facts can be established and get the full truth of what happened, that is in everyone's interests. what people here don't want, and i heard this very clearly in the room this morning, as politicians without possession of the facts exploiting the situation for their own political agenda, with zero regard for the effect on the ground in communities in greater manchester. i want to finish by repeating the call for calm, particularly over the coming weekend. things are now moving forward, the right steps are being taken, and people's voices are being taken, and people's voices are being heard. it is an everyone's interests that from here, we proceed

with things in a measured and a peaceful way. thank you very much indeed for coming, everybody, and i will now be available for individual interviews. thank you. a short statement there from andy burnham, the mayor of greater manchester, following that incident filled in manchester airport on tuesday night where greater manchester officer was seen kicking and stamping on the head of a suspect lying on the floor. —— filmed in manchester airport. there is now an investigation under way, but there has been some unrest in rochdale, where the suspect was from, and also in other areas of manchester, the mayor there appealing for calm. he said he had a

meeting with local people in rochdale this morning, he said that he alongside the family of the gentleman involved are also appealing for calm, he is amplifying that message very much so that everyone, he says, he has it clearly. this is the full facts must be established into what happen so they can get into the full truth of what happened, he said they do not want people with politicians with their own agendas exploiting the issue, so he is very much looking ahead to the weekend and wants to make sure that there is calm in all communities. you are watching bbc news.

destruction occurring just hours before the opening ceremony of the palace 202a 0lympics. i ask the games�* executive director about whether he is worried about these delays and the impact they may have. the organisers, including the authorities and for that matter, you have to prepare for different scenarios, and what i see here is a very very quick reaction, and that gives me a lot of confidence, although at the same point we have to feel for all those impacted by these delays, the train commute to paris will be much slower, people will arrive in paris, but a lot of people are impacted by these events. so it is a mixed view for all those who are going through a very tough time, but also the confidence that the organisers are very well

prepared for any kind of situation. this is definitely one. fire prepared for any kind of situation. this is definitely one.— this is definitely one. are you in touch with _ this is definitely one. are you in touch with the _ this is definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf _ this is definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf of - this is definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf of the - this is definitely one. are you in touch with the sncf of the train | touch with the sncf of the train operators at the moment? is there any kind of communication between the ioc and the train operators? hal the ioc and the train operators? not directl , the ioc and the train operators? iifrt directly, but through the organising committees, we have a superb relationship, so we are being kept appraised, the first thing we had very quickly this morning is that he works on the train tracks, east, west, and north, were very quick with teams on board to make sure the traffic could resume, albeit at slower pace, but yes, very we were informed by the organising committees, and that is the way it should be, they are the entry point for us. . . ., ., for us. the executive director of the games _ for us. the executive director of the games there, _ for us. the executive director of the games there, talking - for us. the executive director of the games there, talking to - for us. the executive director of the games there, talking to me| for us. the executive director of- the games there, talking to me about the games there, talking to me about the impact of those attacks.

the tv to director give this update at a train station in paris. translation: it is extremely disappointing that it _ should happen now. the teams are particularly under pressure. 0ur priority is to make sure that everything gets back to normal as soon as possible, making sure that our first priority to get people to their destinations is realised. no injuries whatsoever, and of course what we're doing is to take care of everybody who was shocked or who needed care, reassuring them that they would be

taken care of, and we have distributed tens of thousands of bottles of water, for example, and we are doing it with all the means we have available, that is to say all the administrative staff are deployed in stations, and we have got all the volunteers also working with us for the olympic games. and so we are really working on making sure that the greatest number of passengers get to their destination safely. no, there were four olympic games trains which were cancelled, but we are getting the athletes to their destination. i am not particularly concerned about them because i think they will be taken care of.

now a closer look at the impact of this en france's rail lines. let's look at the overall picture in france, this map shows the high—speed lines that have been affected. there are three main ones here because of these three attacks in these areas. you will also notice there is one attack here in blue, that is a foiled attack. according to local media reports in the area of lyon, there was an attack foiled in the early hours of this morning. according to the sncf, a state—owned rail company, 250,000 people will have their journeys affected today. overall, 800,000 people will be affected across the weekend. so this is not a one day story.

why? well, according to the sncf, it is because these fires affected conduits carrying multiple fibre—optic cables, and those cables were meant to pass on safety information to the drivers. it's going to take days and hundreds of workers to fix these cables one by one, and it is going to take a huge concerted effort. now, it's also affecting the eurostar, it has already announced that one in four trains will be cancelled today, and it expects this to happen on saturday and sunday as well, so this will affect their operations through till monday. let's go back to our map to try to understand why the eurostar is being affected. they use this line here from lille to paris, and because of this one attack here, it will affect all trains going each way. and so they have said that, because of — in their words — these acts of vandalism, they are going to have to use the classic line,

that's what they call it, and that will add an hour and a half ofjourney time for customers. now, there's a bigger picture here, and that is that the olympics are going on. the sports minister has said to play against the games is to play against france, it's to play against your camp. she said france is meant to shine in front of the world, and these games do not belong to the government, but to the people who have been working for years, thousands of people, to pull off these games. they belong to the people of france, to the country, they belong to the athletes who have been dreaming of these olympic games. let's ta ke let's take you back now to the olympics themselves, and preparation has been going on for years. it was 2017 when france was first awarded the olympic games. now, seven years down the line, that moment has finally arrived, and french president emmanuel macron is making the most of it. he has been

welcoming world leaders throughout the day at the elysses palace. he has been meeting keir starmer, there years with his wife, walking along the red carpet, past the band and towards french president emmanuel macron and his wife —— elysees palace. this will be part of an evening event, sir keir starmer will be able to enjoy the opening ceremony, as will many other dignitaries and sporting figures past and present. if anyone welcome between the four of them. after this, keir starmerwill between the four of them. after this, keir starmer will attend the opening ceremony, which as i mentioned earlier, that will be

taking place along the seine. apologies, that was not keir starmer�*s wife, that was misinformation. let's now speak to hugh schofield at a train station in paris to get the lowdown on what is happening in france right now. how bad is the destruction where you are? —— disruption. it bad is the destruction where you are? -- disruption.— are? -- disruption. it has been terrible, _ are? -- disruption. it has been terrible, but _ are? -- disruption. it has been terrible, but it _ are? -- disruption. it has been terrible, but it is _ are? -- disruption. it has been terrible, but it is beginning - are? -- disruption. it has been terrible, but it is beginning to i terrible, but it is beginning to improve, they have the worst of it here because it was on the lines going west to the atlantic in the south—west but most disruption happened, and there were no fast trains running out of here at all for many hours this morning. they are beginning to run again now, one in three trains is running, but they are running slow, and there are fewer of them, so it will be some time before the backlog of

travellers has been able to move, and it will be not until monday that things are back properly functioning because it is only then that the cables will have been reconnected in the system will be able to operate properly once again. it is the system will be able to operate properly once again. it is important to understand _ properly once again. it is important to understand that _ properly once again. it is important to understand that the _ properly once again. it is important to understand that the way - properly once again. it is important to understand that the way that - to understand that the way that these attacks happened, they really happened in a way that course to be maximum disruption on those lines where they occurred. —— caused the maximum disruption. it where they occurred. -- caused the maximum disruption.— maximum disruption. it certainly seems that _ maximum disruption. it certainly seems that the _ maximum disruption. it certainly seems that the people _ maximum disruption. it certainly seems that the people who - seems that the people who perpetrated these acts knew what they were doing. they knew where they were doing. they knew where they were doing. they knew where they were going to get these fibre—optic cables which run in a trench, they knew that by destroying these cables, they would effectively stop the train from running. they

also did it right at the point where the lines fork, because that way they would disrupt both branches which is what they did, i don't think there's any doubt in anyone's's mind that this was done by people who knew what they were doing and had a very clear idea of disrupting the games to make the country and french president emmanuel macron look bad. it was not an act of vandalism in the loosest sense, it was something done with intent to cause harm to the image of france and to french president emmanuel macron. but that was a group of people from the ultra left, is certainly a possibility, we don't know, whether it was organised or commanded or under instructions from

abroad, we don't know either, but these are avenues which the intelligence services and the police will be looking into.— will be looking into. hugh, thank ou ve will be looking into. hugh, thank you very much- _ will be looking into. hugh, thank you very much. now _ will be looking into. hugh, thank you very much. now we - will be looking into. hugh, thank you very much. now we go - will be looking into. hugh, thank you very much. now we go to - will be looking into. hugh, thank| you very much. now we go to our correspondence at st pancras station in central london, and tell us exactly what the disruption is there. eurostar have said they are cancelling a quarter of their trains today. cancelling a quarter of their trains toda . , ,, cancelling a quarter of their trains toda. ,,, ., . cancelling a quarter of their trains toda. ,,, ., , ., today. yes, st pancras is the main train station _ today. yes, st pancras is the main train station that _ today. yes, st pancras is the main train station that connects - today. yes, st pancras is the main train station that connects the - today. yes, st pancras is the main train station that connects the uk | train station that connects the uk to mainland europe by rail, so it is a very— to mainland europe by rail, so it is a very important connection for people — a very important connection for people hoping to get to paris for the olympics, orjust to go to europe — the olympics, orjust to go to europe for holidays. eurostar are cancelling — europe for holidays. eurostar are cancelling one in four trains across its entire _ cancelling one in four trains across its entire network, that will be the case tomorrow, today, and sunday. and it _ case tomorrow, today, and sunday. and it says— case tomorrow, today, and sunday. and it says that the trends that are

running _ and it says that the trends that are running will take an extra hour and a half. _ running will take an extra hour and a half. and — running will take an extra hour and a half, and that is because the attacks— a half, and that is because the attacks we have been hearing about from colleagues in france hit their normal_ from colleagues in france hit their normal route going down through france _ normal route going down through france down to paris, so we have had to redirect— france down to paris, so we have had to redirect their trains along what they call— to redirect their trains along what they call the classic route, and that— they call the classic route, and that it — they call the classic route, and that it does take an extra 90 minutes _ that it does take an extra 90 minutes. there is a steady stream of people _ minutes. there is a steady stream of people going into the eurostar terminat— people going into the eurostar terminal at the moment, there has been _ terminal at the moment, there has been quite — terminal at the moment, there has been quite a substantial queue today, — been quite a substantial queue today, and then staffing the station were keen — today, and then staffing the station were keen to stress that while there were keen to stress that while there were a _ were keen to stress that while there were a lot _ were keen to stress that while there were a lot of people in there waiting — were a lot of people in there waiting to get the train, it is not a huge — waiting to get the train, it is not a huge amount more than they would expect— a huge amount more than they would expect for— a huge amount more than they would expect for a _ a huge amount more than they would expect for a peak mid summer friday when _ expect for a peak mid summer friday when you _ expect for a peak mid summer friday when you have, even aside from the oiyrnpics— when you have, even aside from the olympics happening, you have holiday—makers olympics happening, you have holiday— makers and people olympics happening, you have holiday—makers and people hoping olympics happening, you have holiday— makers and people hoping to id holiday— makers and people hoping to go away _ holiday— makers and people hoping to go away for _ holiday— makers and people hoping to go away for a long weekend, so they were expecting a lot of crowds today

anyway, _ were expecting a lot of crowds today anyway, and the queue, if you can see there. — anyway, and the queue, if you can see there, st pancras has a long concourse, — see there, st pancras has a long concourse, and the queue runs alongside — concourse, and the queue runs alongside the concourse, so it is managed. — alongside the concourse, so it is managed, staff are managing to keep them out _ managed, staff are managing to keep them out of the way of another steady — them out of the way of another steady stream of traffic, people hoping — steady stream of traffic, people hoping to get domestic trains, but of course — hoping to get domestic trains, but of course even though things are being _ of course even though things are being managed and things are not too chaotic, _ being managed and things are not too chaotic, these delays and these cancellations are causing disruption for people — cancellations are causing disruption for people trying to get to france. as we _ for people trying to get to france. as we heard, prime minister keir starmer— as we heard, prime minister keir starmer had to reschedule his plans, and instead _ starmer had to reschedule his plans, and instead of getting the eurostar as he _ and instead of getting the eurostar as he had — and instead of getting the eurostar as he had planned today, he has to fly. as he had planned today, he has to fly it— as he had planned today, he has to fly it he _ as he had planned today, he has to fly. if he was worried about getting his money— fly. if he was worried about getting his money back for his ticket, he needn't — his money back for his ticket, he needn't worry about that, because eurostar— needn't worry about that, because eurostar have said that anyone who needs— eurostar have said that anyone who needs to _ eurostar have said that anyone who needs to cancel their bookings or modify— needs to cancel their bookings or modify their bookings cannot do so with no— modify their bookings cannot do so with no charge, and if they cancel they witi— with no charge, and if they cancel they will get a full refund. gk, they will get a full refund. 0k, thank you _ they will get a full refund. 0k, thank you very _

they will get a full refund. 0k, thank you very much _ they will get a full refund. (iii, thank you very much indeed. they will get a full refund. ok thank you very much indeed. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this will be the first olympic games opening ceremony to be held outside a stadium. let's take a look at what we know so far. this map from french news website le monde shows the route down the river seine, starting in the east end, finishing in the west by the eiffel tower. the heart of the french capital has been transformed into a stadium in theatre running along the river seine. the traditional parade of athletes will take place in dozens of boats along the seine, passing the most iconic parisian landmarks on a six kilometre floating parade. the content and details of the ceremony remain under wraps, but the organisers have

promised a show like no other and say it will be "daring and joyful". so things will be very different this year, but let's take a brief look back at ceremonies gone by. tokyo 2020 was a very different ceremony due to the covid pandemic. in brazil in 2016, rio dejaneiro brought the carnival atmosphere to their opening ceremony. and in london 2012, we were treated to delights from the spice girls and the queen's stunt with james bond. earlier, we heard from the executive director, christophe dubi — well, i also asked him how he is feeling about the opening ceremony and the games ahead. i'm incredibly excited, but at the same time the pressure of the work

from the organisers and all of us in the sporting movement is revealed to the sporting movement is revealed to the world, this is the pressure you are under. so it is a mix of excitement and very humbling as well because you know what is at stake, the world is watching. probably the biggest live show ever planned and delivered in a few hours, so it is amazing moments in one's individual life. a billion probably watching tonight, they will see something absolutely stunning, and a few of us will also be looking at all the details behind the scenes, and it is an amazing feeling, honestly. the river seine _ an amazing feeling, honestly. the river seine has been at the heart of many discussions ahead of the games. it will take centre stage later as it hosts the much anticipated opening ceremony. but it was the clarity of the water that originally had organisers worried. it's clean up had organisers worried. it's clean

up has been an enormous project in advance of the games. the river seine can now be swum in for the first time in essentially, it will receive athletes for open water swimming and triathlon events. joining me now is a nature writer who knows a little bit about rivers and nature and what they mean, and what is beautiful about this olympics is how much the river seine features, not only in the opening ceremony but also in the event is likely triathlon.— likely triathlon. yes, it is very impressive — likely triathlon. yes, it is very impressive to _ likely triathlon. yes, it is very impressive to see _ likely triathlon. yes, it is very impressive to see these - likely triathlon. yes, it is very l impressive to see these events taking place in the second match, but what is even more impressive is what is taking place under the seine, where there is a very rich biodiversity thanks to all the efforts of both the municipal powers and the fishing association to reintroduce aquatic life and to make the habitat suitable for it. so now it is treasurer of biodiversity we have in the seine in the middle of

paris. ., , , , ., , ., paris. one wonders why this was not done earlier— paris. one wonders why this was not done earlier if _ paris. one wonders why this was not done earlier if it _ paris. one wonders why this was not done earlier if it is _ paris. one wonders why this was not done earlier if it is such _ paris. one wonders why this was not done earlier if it is such a _ paris. one wonders why this was not done earlier if it is such a lovely - done earlier if it is such a lovely idea and has made such a difference. it was done in long time ago, a very long project, we talk a lot about the olympics, but in fact the main phase of cleaning of the river seine took place between the 19805 and the 19205, so the main cleaning was done a long time ago, the olympics were only focusing on a few bacteria that remain too high for the legal threshold of swimming. but for the quality of water, it has been improving for a very long time. so now it is clean enough for swimmers to go in. will it stay clean enough after the olympics? taste to go in. will it stay clean enough after the olympics?— to go in. will it stay clean enough after the olympics? we can hope that it will stay clean _ after the olympics? we can hope that it will stay clean enough, _ after the olympics? we can hope that it will stay clean enough, and - after the olympics? we can hope that it will stay clean enough, and even i it will stay clean enough, and even better, it will keep improving, because there has been a lot of effort put into that question. what i would personally like is that part

of these efforts will be put as well to improve other kinds of pollutions, because the pollutions affecting swimmers have been targeted extremely well, and even a bit too well. there was 1.7 billion euros put into reducing the amount of two bacteria. and if even a little part of that money would go into protecting aquatic life, it would be much betterfor the whole environment, so i hope swimming is a big thing, but i hope other aquatic creatures will be taken into account as well. ,., ., ., creatures will be taken into account as well. ., ., ~ creatures will be taken into account aswell. ., ., ,, ., ., as well. good to talk to you, thanks so much for— as well. good to talk to you, thanks so much forjoining _ as well. good to talk to you, thanks so much forjoining us. _ as well. good to talk to you, thanks so much forjoining us. let's - as well. good to talk to you, thanks so much forjoining us. let's speakl so much forjoining us. let's speak to sir hugh robertson, spokesman of sturgeon in the london 2012 olympics, and is currently chair of the british olympic association. such a pleasure to talk to somebody with such olympic pedigree who has

been there, done that, got the t—shirt, and in fact you are wearing it. what does it take to organise an olympics like this, because it is, for france, the biggest event it has ever organised, really.— ever organised, really. somebody said to me — ever organised, really. somebody said to me when _ ever organised, really. somebody said to me when i _ ever organised, really. somebody said to me when i took— ever organised, really. somebody said to me when i took over - ever organised, really. somebody said to me when i took over as . ever organised, really. somebody i said to me when i took over as pixel pics minister back in 2010 that you are engaged in three simultaneous projects, the first is, in the case of london, we were engaged in a large —— of the largest building project anywhere in europe, secondly you are engaged in the largest operational challenge aside from taking your country to war, and you also have to make it mean something afterwards in the legacy, so it is a unique triple challenge, and one that a succession of countries have found it very difficult to meet. but i think the french have done a fantasticjob and i think we are in for a real show stopper this evening. for a real show stopper this evening-— for a real show stopper this evenin., . ., ., , w ., evening. what does it take to oruanise evening. what does it take to organise something - evening. what does it take to organise something of- evening. what does it take to organise something of this i evening. what does it take to - organise something of this scale? i organise something of this scale? 1 think you have got to bring the whole of the country together, and focus it on this one particular

event, and i think the story has been told many times, the london organisation committee right from the start said 1500 mondays to go until the opening ceremony, they counted down from there. it is huge numbers, a massive posting operation, a massive administrative operation, a massive administrative operation, huge great building projects, and then on top of it, of course, you have got whatever letters, 30 simultaneous world championships, going on at generally speaking and one capital city, so it is an enormous undertaking that gives this fantastic globally appealing 17 days of world—class sport. appealing 17 days of world-class sort. ~ ., �* ., ., appealing 17 days of world-class sort. ~ .,�* ., ., ., , appealing 17 days of world-class sort, ., ., ., ' ., appealing 17 days of world-class sort. . . . ' ., ., sport. we don't have an awful lot of time before — sport. we don't have an awful lot of time before you _ sport. we don't have an awful lot of time before you go, _ sport. we don't have an awful lot of time before you go, what _ sport. we don't have an awful lot of time before you go, what is - sport. we don't have an awful lot of time before you go, what is your. time before you go, what is your favourite of export, what are you most looking forward to watching this time? ., , .,

this time? one of the “oys about runnina this time? one of the “oys about running the h this time? one of the “oys about running the british _ this time? one of the joys about running the british olympic- running the british olympic association as we try not to favour individual athletes or sports, so what we do we want is for all the team to get out there and hopefully to do the best they can and make sure we win as many gold medals as possible, and make the nation proud. we have done that for the last three orfour we have done that for the last three or four olympics, we have done that for the last three orfour olympics, lets hope we do it again in paris. or four olympics, lets hope we do it again in paris-— again in paris. absolutely. thank ou ve again in paris. absolutely. thank you very much — again in paris. absolutely. thank you very much indeed _ again in paris. absolutely. thank you very much indeed for - again in paris. absolutely. thank you very much indeed for that, i you very much indeed for that, lovely to speak to you. you are watching bbc news. i am live in paris for the rest of the day. stay with us on the bbc. hello. our weather is set to get quite a lot warmer and sunnier as we go through this weekend and into next week, as we'll see injust a moment. mind you, today is not a bad day for most of england and wales. it's dry with lots of sunshine around, just an odd isolated shower for wales and northern england. you can count yourself very unlucky if you get one of those in scotland and northern ireland, 0k, there will be quite a few

showers here, but even so probably just one 20 minute shower then the sun is out again and it will probably stay out for the rest of the day. so, overall, it's not a bad looking picture and temperatures running close to average for the time of year. for the olympics opening ceremony this evening, quite a high chance of seeing some thundery rain moving in for a time, so it might rain on the parade here. back home, it's looking like a largely dry start to the night. we could see a few mist and fog patches forming around coastal areas for wales and western england and a threat of some rain moving into northern ireland towards the end of the night. through the weekend ahead, though, it is a weekend where things will improve, it will become drier, sunnier and warmer. that said, saturday is going to be quite a showery day and that's because we've got this trough in the jet stream pattern. by sunday, a massive change in the jet stream. we get a ridge pattern over the uk and what that does is it builds an area of high pressure, so we lose these weather fronts and, by sunday, we say hi to the high. saturday, then, weather—wise, it's another showery kind of day. we start off with a bit of rain across western areas, a few mist and fog patches too. sunny spells elsewhere

to start the day. into the afternoon there will be some showers around and the heaviest of these looks set to form across eastern scotland and parts of north—east england. still, between the downpours and thejuly sunshine it's going to feel very pleasant, with temperatures quite widely into the 205. the heat starts to build on sunday as high pressure settles the weather down, so a dry day, plenty of sunshine and those temperatures widely climbing into the 205, reaching highs of up to 26 in the capital. for next week it is across parts of the midlands, east anglia, south—east england that we will see the highest temperatures, quite often reaching the high 205, maybe even the low 305, in the very hottest spots. further north and west, we'll keep the fine and dry weather for a couple of days as well, with temperatures continuing to run above average. there is a risk of seeing some thundery rain for some of us by wednesday.