jenny hill, bbc news, schuld.chancellor angela merkel has called the floods in a her country a disaster. she has been in washington, meeting president biden in her farewell visit to the white house before she leaves office later this year. since coming to power in 2005 she has met and worked with four us presidents. i have been speaking to geoffrey rasco, president of the institute for canterbury german studies at the gene todt inns university. president biden, in the press availability today made the remark that friend sometimes disagree and i think that is the way that the united states and germany are trying to characterise their relationship now. it is a productive forward—looking partnership without agreement on every single area but i think climate is emerging as one where the biden administration views are much more closely aligned with those of the german government, that has been the case certainly under the trump administration. we often talk and hear about the special relationship between the us and the

jenny hill, bbc news, bad munstereifel.ave also been seeing heavy rains and flash floods. hundreds of caravans and tents on a camping site in belgium's arden area were damaged when the nearby river burst its banks. many owners were left looking for their properties and salvaging what they could. austria's scenic town of hal—ine suffered severe damage when torrential rain sent flood water rushing throught the town centre, dragging along anything in its path including cars. and in parts of sicily�*s capital, palermo, sudden thunderstorms and heavy rains hit the italian island, turning roads into rivers. the fire brigade had to rescue drivers trapped in their cars in dinghies. many people may have been spied on using spyware according to a massive datalink. misuse of a spyware sold and developed by an israeli surveillance company — the company in question have denied the allegations against them and say that technology is only sold to the law enforcement and technology agencies of vetted companies. the software is known as peg

jenny hill, bbc news, erftstadt.d germany — the extreme weather has touched parts of the netherlands, luxembourg, switzerland and belgium. 0ur correspondent anna holligan assesses the scene for us, beginning in belgium. homes engulfed, whole villages submerged. parts of liege annihilated by the elements. rescuers are still navigating areas to the west, in the town of pepinster. the military was drafted in to assist the stranded on land and by air, and for some it's a desperate wait to find out whether their loved ones made it. translation: my wife | is looking for her mother who lives in a town nearby. we have no means of communication. we don't know where she is or how she's doing. in nearby verviers, the waters have receded, but they're still stunned by the extent of the destruction. translation: this shop has been open for three years. _ we had to go through renovations. we had to live through covid. we were hoping to get back on ourfeet. and now this. in the netherlands, this was roermond. swathes of the city hav

jenny hill, bbc news, bad munstereifel. stay with us on bbc news.e back of a lorry and finally reunited with his family in honduras. radio: we see you coming down the ladder now. - that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence - and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. . but now, a decade later, - it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunctioning sperm, unable to swim properly. all count: seven, six, five, four, three...! - thousands of households across the country are suspiciously- quiet this lunchtime - as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. - this is bbc world news. i'm david eades. the latest headlines: athletes continue to arrive in tokyo ahead of this weeks olympics — more test positive for covid. journalists a

with more, here's our berlin correspondent, jenny hill.ahrweiler, everything, everyone, is covered in a thick, sticky mud. there is no power, nowhere to buy food, not much mobile reception. but they're doing what they can. willie told us they've never seen anything like it here, not even in his parents', grandparents�*, time. "the water rose two metres in 15 or 20 minutes," he told us. "people tried to save their things, went into their basements and unfortunately got trapped. i was lucky," he said, "i could get out the back of my basement." around 100 people have died in this district alone. many more are still missing. there was so little time to run, people tell us. look at the force of this flood... ..and the damage it left behind. the water's receding, but the number of dead is expected to continue to rise. search and rescue, it's feared, will soon be a recovery operation. today, the german president described the loss as heartbreaking. translation: it's a time of. misery, and in times of misery, our country sticks together. i'm glad

jenny hill, bbc news, bad munstereifel. merkel has also said on her visit that the world needs to pick up the pace in its battle against global warming. climate change campaigner luisa neubauer says the effects are already being felt in germany. i mean, eventually, we are talking of germany, that is one of the richest countries on earth, and for a long time, people discussed climate change here as an issue that would not concern them, that was an issue of the others or of the future. and now we are seeing one of the richest parts of the world getting hit this hard, it's taking home. so of course some part of the debate will be talked about differently, because right now we're not talking about the costs of action any more, we're talking about the costs of inaction. and effectively what we're seeing right now, with all the devastating damage that is happening right now, we cannot afford inaction any longer. and that's becoming not only clear to our leaders but also for people who are going voting in september, and we are ver

generally, thank you very much, jenny hill inj thank you very much, jenny hill in ahrweiler. calls for greater mental health support to continue for people with anxiety as we emerge from lockdown. the mental health charity mind says the mental health consequences of coronavirus require an immediate and long—term commitment from government. colleen harris reports. there is just this sense of, like, overwhelming anxiety of being around large groups of people. not everyone is looking forward to restrictions easing. lauren developed anxiety and depression in her teens. just the thought of socialising can be a challenge. i would struggle a lot previously with not, i couldn't leave the door, and the build—up to it was just awful, and i'd sit here and kind of pick holes in myself, and it just all spirals. this is a song that i've been working on. it's called merry go round. like lauren, angelica jane also has anxiety and depression, but found lockdown helpful and life less overwhelming. stepping out of that is causing her worries. it would be nice to be able to actually go out with

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler. 0ur correspondent damian mcguiness is in?n germany. a short time ago he told me about the scale of the rescue operation. beside this building, there is a centre — beside this building, there is a centre where all the emergency services — centre where all the emergency services are gathered. there are about_ services are gathered. there are about 3—400 emergency service vehicles — about 3—400 emergency service vehicles out there, hundreds of ambulances from different organisations, army vehicles. they are being _ organisations, army vehicles. they are being deployed constantly, looking — are being deployed constantly, looking for people. i talked to some of those _ looking for people. i talked to some of those rescue workers last night and they— of those rescue workers last night and they were telling me that the difficulty— and they were telling me that the difficulty is that the longer that this goes on, the more rather than looking _ this goes on, the more rather than looking for— this goes on, the more rather than looking

jenny hill, bbc news, bad munstereifel.cians around the world may have been spied on using mobile phone malware that is intended to be used against criminals and terrorists, according to a massive data leak. reports suggest widespread misuse of spyware sold and developed by an israeli surveillance company. the company in question have strongly denied the allegations against them and say their technology is only sold to the law enforcement and intelligence agencies of vetted governments. the software is known as pegasus. so how does it work? one click on a malicious weblink can install the software without the owner having any idea. that is not the only means of attack. a simple missed whatsapp call can install it. researchers even found that patches in iphone security meant it had been installed, again without the user's knowledge, simply when the phone's owner received an imessage. and its capabilities are vast. among them, it can read text messages and conversations in chat apps like whatsapp, emails, and even listen in t

norah. >> o'donnell: jenny hill, thank you.e're learning more tonight about an alleged plot to blow up the headquarters of california's democratic party. federal prosecutors say two suspects, now charged, used chad encrypted messaging apps to plan a series of attacks to avenge president trump's defeat in the 2020 election. the men armed with machine guns and bombs hoped to inspire a movement and reached out to an antigovernment militia group for support. in other news, tonight n.f.l. star richard sherman is speaking out for the first time since being arrested for trying to force his way into his in-laws' home. and we're seeing the disturbing video of the moments before police arrived. cbs' anna werner has the new details. >> is your true name richard evan sherman? >> yes. >> reporter: richard sherman appeared before a judge to face five misdemeanor charges filed against him including d.u.i., criminal trespass and resisting arrest. >> enters a plea of not guilty to all of the charges. >> reporter: early wednesday morning the n.f

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.people are known to have died in neighbouring belgium, where rescue operations are continuing. from there, anna holligan sent this report. this is the revenues and if you look carefully you can see some of the degree has been carried downstream and the smell of oil, the stands is something that you can smell all around here. this is the belgian city of liege and rescue workers were sent from italy, france and austria to help with the recovery effort here and the evacuations, to. most people are now returning to their homes but the belgian prime minister has declared july 20 a national day of mourning. at least 20 people have been killed here alone, they say they have never experienced catastrophic floods of this scale before. now, across the border, not far from scale before. now, across the border, not farfrom here in the netherlands, the emergency services are still trying to reconnect the power supplies. but there, so much of the country lies ten metres below sea level. they have so

jenny hill, bbc news, erfstadt.n severely hit by flooding is insul, outside bonn, damien mcguinness is there. here in the centre of this small village you can see the extent and the impact of the destruction. usually the two sides of this village are connected by an old, very solid stone bridge. that bridge has been completely swept away. now it is impossible to go from one side of the village to the other. so local people have to shout across to see if everyone is ok. you cannot call either or send e—mail but because the internet is down, telecommunications are down and mobile connections are down. it's a really difficult situation for people here. 0n the side of the village people are clearing up and mud is being swept away and the slime is being pulled out of peoples houses. on that side of the village, the situation even worse because it's not a question of clearing up it's the question of rebuilding the destruction. belgium has also found itself impacted by the floods — at least 20 people have been confirmed de

chancellor merkel is due to visit affected areas later today. 0ur europe correspondent jenny hill has is covered in a thick, sticky mud. there's no power, nowhere to buy food, not much mobile reception. but they're doing what they can. willie told us they've never seen anything like it here, not even in his parents�* grandparents�* time. "the water rose two metres in 15 or 20 minutes," he told us. "people tried to save their things, went into their basements and, unfortunately, got trapped. i was lucky," he said, "i could get out the back of my basement." around 100 people have died in this district alone. many more are still missing. there was so little time to run, people tell us. look at the force of this flood. and the damage it left behind. the water's receding, but the number of dead is expected to continue to rise. search and rescue, it's feared, will soon be a recovery operation. so many people just want to help, donations piling up, overwhelming the volunteers at this makeshift warehouse. translation: i can't imagine what it must be like to be affected. - that's why i'm here

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.the devastation and people are just trying to get their heads around what they are seeing. it has, as angela merkel described, a catastrophe for the people here. when you drive through the small towns, washing machines, trampolines, children's stuff piled onto the floor, covered in this sludge that has been excavated, dredged from people's homes. it is overwhelming, quite frankly. angela merkel has been visiting one of the badly affected areas, a place called nuremberg and damien mcguinness joins us now. that nuremberg and damien mcguinness joins us nova— joins us now. that is right, angela merkel is just _ joins us now. that is right, angela merkel isjust a _ joins us now. that is right, angela merkel isjust a few— joins us now. that is right, angela merkel isjust a few kilometres . joins us now. that is right, angela i merkel is just a few kilometres away from this— merkel is just a few kilometres away from this rescue centre. she has been _ from this rescue centre. she has been talk

jenny hill, bbc news, bad munstereifel.in the uk, as england prepares for most covid restrictions to be lifted on monday, the prime minister is self—isolating following contact with the health secretary, sajid javid, who has coronavirus. downing street initially said both borisjohnson and the uk chancellor, rishi sunak, would be part of a pilot scheme allowing them to keep working. but a barrage of criticism was followed by a rapid u—turn, and now downing street has pulled out of the pilot scheme entirely. this report from our political corresponent nick eardley. life might be feeling a bit more normal, but the impact of the pandemic is far from over. hundreds of thousands of people have been told to self—isolate in recent days. and now track and trace has hit the heart of government. the prime minister and chancellor are self—isolating after the health secretary tested positive for covid yesterday. boris johnson posted this video on twitter. we did look briefly at the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme which allows

jenny hill there.ome the first to test positive for coronavirus at the tokyo athletes�* village. they are both footballers from the south african men's team. one of the squad's support staff also tested positive yesterday and the rest of the team are now isolating in their rooms. there are five days until the start of the re—arranged games. as the pandemic—hit school year draws to a close this week for most for the summer holidays, bbc research has shown a sharp rise in the number of children being home—educated in england, scotland and wales. more than 40,000 children were newly—registered with their council as being home—schooled between september last year and this april, that's a 75% increase in registrations compared with the average in the previous two years. our education correspondent, elaine dunkley, reports. for naomi and her son zion, the pandemic has led to some life—changing decisions. the first lockdown gave this family in manchester the chance to experience learning at home. they've now

jenny hill, bbc news, bad munstereifel.ticians around the world may have been spied on using mobile phone malware that is intended to be used against criminals and terrorists, according to a massive data leak. reports suggest widespread misuse of spyware sold and developed by an israeli surveillance company. the company in question have strongly denied the allegations against them and say their technology is only sold to the law enforcement and intelligence agencies of vetted governments. we can now speak to bill marczak, who is senior research fellow at citizen lab. bill was the first person to discover an iphone hack used by the israeli cyber—warfare company nso group which was used to infect targets with pegasus spyware through links in sms text messages. thank you very much indeed for joining us, bill. can you just explain how readily this can be done, first of all?— done, first of all? well, nso grou done, first of all? well, nso grow) sells _ done, first of all? well, nso group sells the _ done, first of all? well, ns

jenny hill, bbc news, erfstadt. flooding has been a tragedy for several countries across western europe. this was the scene last night in a town just outside liege in belgium. homes engulfed in flames, making it difficult for the rescue services. not far away, in the town of pepinster, the army was having to airlift people to safety. all around homes destroyed and businesses wiped out. and this is the city of roermond in the netherlands, that remains submerged. just south from here, in maastrict, around 10,000 people have been advised, to leave their homes. 0ur correspondent anna holligan is in valkenburg, which is just outside maastrict, and joins us now. just explain some of these scenes that you have seen today. the emergency — that you have seen today. tue: emergency services that you have seen today. tte: emergency services here are still working to restore the essentials, water and electricity, but throughout the day we have seen local people pitching in, sweeping, pumping, serving coffee. thousands of people

jenny hill, bbc news, erfstadt.th his family as water rose all around them. , ,., them. yes, there were some terrible scenes _ them. yes, there were some terrible scenes yesterday. i and the evacuation started yesterday morning a few metres away we were about 200 metres down, that water was rising. the flooding had started already and it was coming to our side. 0ur basement was like one metre underwater already. actually the military where they are because they had to back up the fire brigade so they had to call as well and they told us that we have to go to a meeting point where we would be collected in some minutes or sometime. so i had kids as well. my wife was at work. in the morning there was no flooding in our streets. so that was the point that we decided to go away. 50 that was the point that we decided to go away. so you and our decided to go away. so you and your children, _ decided to go away. so you and your children, you _ decided to go away. so you and your children, you left - decided to go away. so y

laura: jenny hill, thank you. has been reporting, german politician say the extreme weather is a result of climate change and they are calling for urgent action to protect the climate. justin reports on how climate change affected that record rainfall in germany. reporter: the floods in germany are not the only extreme weather event we have seen this summer. there was a dramatic heat wave in canada last month and russia, mexico, new zealand have been experiencing unusually high temperatures. the climate science is clear. it has been predicting not just for years but for decades that if we continue to pump huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, we will experience increasingly high temperatures. and because warm air holds more moisture, that means heavier rainfall and therefore floods. >> we only have to look at the pictures of these devastating floods to know we need to do better. it is not ok for this number of people to die in 2021 from reporter: is the world doing enough to tackle climate change? th

they wait anxiously.d fearful, jenny hill, bbc news.: we go to south africa next, where 25,000 troops are being deployed after days of violence and looting. one hundred 17 people have died so far. the clashes began when the former president was jailed after he refused to appear at a corruption inquiry. 27 years after the end of apartheid, there is widespread anger over inequality. people are struggling to find food and fuel. reporter: residents of johannesburg contacting their livelihoods, guarding against rioters and looters since the beginninof this week. checkpoints have been set up across this city. people looking to protect themselves and their businesses. >> people are hungry at the moment. people haven't had an opportunity to stock up so they are desperate for food, for supplies for their kids. they don't have formula. they don't have ppies. reporter: now that looting has died down, these fears or fuel and food shortages mean long queues outside shops and petrol stations. he admitted the government should've put a stop to this mu

for now, homeless and fearful, they mourn their dead and wait, anxiously. jenny hill, bbc news, schulden bett is here— what caused these flash floods and is it part of long term trend? you remember the flooding in london, it is linked to the same system. let me show you the radar picture, you can say have the right developed and stopped in the same place, across western parts of germany there were three months worth of rain in just 24 three months worth of rain in just 2a hours, hardly surprising we have had these devastating floods. it is linked to the jet stream and that is the pattern we had, undulating jet stream, a slow—moving cut of area of low pressure across germany which just developed the ring and kept it going. that area of low pressure also tapped into some temperature contrasts that we have seen across europe, drawing on some warm and muqqy europe, drawing on some warm and muggy airfrom the europe, drawing on some warm and muggy air from the mediterranean. now to the climate question, the physics says that warmer air is going to hold more moisture that means more rain and

jenny hill, bbc news, schuld. angela merkel has called the flooding a disaster.'s chancellor angela merkel was in washington today, meeting president biden in herfarewell visit to the white house before she leaves office later this year. since she came to power in 2005, germany has been a reliable ally of the us, though relations were sometimes strained. notably during donald trump's presidency. anthony's is at the white house.— presidency. anthony's is at the white house. you can appreciate the sco -e white house. you can appreciate the scape of _ white house. you can appreciate the scope of merkel's _ white house. you can appreciate the scope of merkel's time - white house. you can appreciate the scope of merkel's time in - the scope of merkel's time in office. that includes colin powell, the secretary of state under george w. bush, and hillary clinton, under barack obama. but it hasn't been smooth sailing. she took office in the aftermath of the iraq war, when strains were high. they have disagreed on some things. the pipeline from russia to germany. i think t

jenny hill, bbc news, erftstadt.any survivors have spoken of the speed at which water levels rose as the rain came down. and tonight, some towns and villages remain under threat, with thousands of people in the netherlands and belgium urged to leave their homes. 0ur correspondent anna holligan has more details. homes engulfed, whole villages submerged. parts of liege annihilated by the elements. rescuers are still navigating areas to the west, in the town of pepinster. the military was drafted in to assist the stranded on land and by air, and for some it's a desperate wait to find out whether their loved ones made it. translation: my wife | is looking for her mother who lives in a town nearby. we have no means of communication. we don't know where she is or how she's doing. in nearby verviers, the waters have receded, but they're still stunned by the extent of the destruction. translation: this shop has been open for three years. _ we had to go through renovations. we had to live through covid. we were hoping to get

with more, here's our berlin correspondent, jenny hill. a thick, sticky mud. there's no power, nowhere to buy food,

jenny hill, bbc news, schuld.hare ferocity of the downpours has many in germany, including the government, blaming climate change. so what are the facts? it’s blaming climate change. so what are the facts?— are the facts? it's all linked to the same _ are the facts? it's all linked to the same system. - are the facts? it's all linked to the same system. let i are the facts? it's all linked | to the same system. let me are the facts? it's all linked - to the same system. let me show you the radar picture for yesterday, you can see how the rain developed and stopped in the same pace across western parts of germany, there was three months worth of the rain and just 2a hours, hardly surprising with had these devastating floods. it is linked to the jetstream, that was the pattern, very undulating jetstream, you are left with a slow—moving cut—off area of low pressure across germany which developed the rain and keep going. that area low pressure also to do some temperature contrasts that we have seen across europe, draw

jenny hill, bbc news, schuld.tuation unfolding in afghanistan is a "humanitarian catastrophe". there�*s been a sharp spike in violence across the country between the taliban and afghan government forces that�*s followed the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. the bbc travelled to the strategically important kunduz province in northern afghanistan. all of it, except the provincial capital, also called kunduz, has fallen to the taliban. the un says 35 thousand freshly displaced people have arrived in kunduz city in just over a month. yogita limaye reports from there with the production team of sanjay ganguly and mafouz zubaide. decades of suffering that has now become even more brutal. in kunduz city, besieged by the taliban, tens of thousands of afghans who have fled a surge in violence. running from bullets and bombs. caught between insurgents and government forces. scared, hungry and homeless... ..in 45—degree heat. people rushed to us... ..to tell us their stories. it�*s nearly impossible to count how

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.health secretary, sajid javid, is self—isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. mrjavid, who's fully vaccinated, said he'd felt a "bit groggy" on friday night. it's understood he met the prime minister on friday, but it's not yet clear whether boris johnson will have to self—isolate. it comes just ahead of the government lifting covid restrictions in england on monday. the decision to keep quarantine rules in place for people returning to england, wales or scotland from france — even if they are fully vaccinated — has been heavily criticised by travel firms. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports. downing street yesterday. the health secretary outside number 10, facemask in hand, but this morning he tested positive for coronavirus. i was feeling a bit groggy last night so i took a lateral flow test this morning and it has come out positive, so i am now self—isolating at home with my family until i get the results of a pcr test. i'm grateful that i have had two jabs o

jenny hill, dead. for the survivors, this ordeal is farfrom over. jenny hill, bbc news.children, the pandemic—hit school year draws to a close this week and the summer holidays beckon, but bbc research has shown a sharp rise in the numbers being home—educated. council records show over 40,000 more children being home—schooled between september last year and this april. that's a 75% increase compared with the average in the previous two years. our education correspondent, elaine dunkley, reports. for naomi and her son, zion, the pandemic has led to some life changing decisions. the first lockdown gave this family in manchester the chance to experience learning at home. they've now decided to formally opt out of school and home educate. last week, we were doing your human rights, so today, who wants to go first and give me one of your human rights? naomi had concerns about the curriculum, and says her son's culture and rastafarian identity was not recognised in school. the teacher even approached me and asked me to cut his hair. they used to send me letters home, three pic

jenny hill, bbc news, schuld.heer ferocity of the downpours has many in germany, including the government, blaming climate change. so what are the facts, and is this storm connected to another in london earlier this week? bbc�*s weather's darren bett explains. it's all linked to the same system. now, let me show you the radar picture for yesterday, you can see how the rain just developed and stopped in the same place. across some western parts of germany, there was three months worth of the rain in just 2a hours, hardly surprising we've had these devastating floods. it is linked to thejetstream, that was the pattern, very undulating jetstream, you are left with a slow—moving cut—off area of low pressure across germany which just developed the rain and kept it going. that area low pressure also tapped in to some temperature contrasts that we have seen across europe, drawing in some really warm and muggy air from the mediterranean. now to the climate question. simple physics says that warmer air is going to hold mor

jenny hill, bbc news, schuld.ore on this i'm joined by sweta chakraborty — a behavioral scientist and president of us operations for "we don't have time" as well as a millennium fellow at the washington based think tank, the atlantic council. very tank, the atlantic council. good to have you with u and very good to have you with us. and your assessment, what is causing the extreme weather and europe? causing the extreme weather and euro e? , , causing the extreme weather and euroe? , , , ., europe? this is exactly what we would exuect — europe? this is exactly what we would expect to _ europe? this is exactly what we would expect to happen - europe? this is exactly what we would expect to happen with . europe? this is exactly what we | would expect to happen with the planet warming as rapidly as it is, so we know that more extreme weather events are going to occur more frequently, more simultaneously and be more intense than ever before. we have a warm atmosphere that holds more moisture and these, this moisture i

jenny hill, bbc news.eard, angela merkel also said on that visit that the world needs to pick up the pace in its battle against global warming. climate change campaigner luisa noy bawer says the effects are already being felt in germany imean, i mean, eventually, we are talking of germany, one of the richest countries on earth, and for a long time, people discussed climate change, yes, an issue that didn't concern them you know is an issue for others, of the future, and i we are seeing one of the richest parts of the world getting hit as hard, so, of course, some parts of the debate will drastically be, you know, we talked about differently because right now we are talking about the cost of action, we are talking about the cost of an action. effectively what we are seeing right now with all the devastating damage that are happening right now. we cannot afford an action any longer, and that is becoming out on the clear to our leaders, but also for people who are going boating in september, and we are very m

steinbach—tal dam, close to the city of bonn, remains at risk of breaching. 0ur europe correspondent jenny hill have no power here, no mobile phone signal, no shops. they are relying on volunteers who are coming to help clear up, bring them food and drink. there are scenes like this going on all over western germany. the number of dead is now confirmed at more than 150 and people are still missing, and in one town alone they are looking for 59 people who are unaccounted for. angela merkel is visitng the region today and she has gone to a particularly badly hit village where a number of houses were simply swept away, completely destroyed. 0stensibly, she is here to have a look at the situation for herself. water levels here are dropping. forecasters say the flood risk is diminishing but there is now flooding in other parts of germany and western europe too. experts here are starting to worry about structures like dams and old mining tunnels. not too far from here is the dam you have mentioned. experts have had a look at it and say it is extremely unstable. they are currently trying to pump out w

jenny hill, bbc news.and officials have tested covid—positive, or been forced to self—isolate. in the olympic village, two players and a coach for the south africa men�*s football team have the virus — and six team gb athletes and two staff members are also isolating at their training camp, after a person tested positive on their flight to japan. despite the worsening covid situation in the city, and widespread public opposition to the games, the governor of tokyo has told the bbc it would have been worse to cancel. from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. with five days to go, the anti—olympic protests are not going away. this one is outside the hotel where ioc president thomas bach is staying. their message to him is pretty blunt. over at the olympic village, three covid cases have now been confirmed. across the city, 1,400 new cases on saturday. despite this, when i sat down with the governor of tokyo, she told me the games must go ahead. translation: i believe that not holding the olympics is even -

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler.unned a continent unfamiliar with such widespread weather induced destruction. neighbourhoods have been ripped apart by the rain. the bbc�*s anna holligan has been to meet people on one street in the dutch village of gelle close to both the german and belgian borders. clayfield street lies deep inside the dutch disaster zone. bridget and her husband peter came home to this. 0thers bridget and her husband peter came home to this. others are still cautiously navigating their way back. this is cecile. cecile runs a fishing lake which is just cecile runs a fishing lake which isjust behind cecile runs a fishing lake which is just behind these trees but you can see here the water is everywhere. everywhere, yes. water is everywhere. eve here, es. . everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over _ everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over the _ everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over the place. - everywhere, yes. where are the fish? all over the place. it's - fish? all over the place.

in a moment we'll get the latest from jenny hill in germany — but first let's speak to anna now in thenburg. bring us right up to date with what is happening there. the? bring us right up to date with what is happening there.— bring us right up to date with what is happening there. they were never exectin: is happening there. they were never expecting this _ is happening there. they were never expecting this and _ is happening there. they were never expecting this and the _ is happening there. they were never expecting this and the emergency i expecting this and the emergency services, as you can see, working to restore power, to rebuild these pavements. the dutch prime minister is due in this province at some point this afternoon and has urged disaster tourists to stay away and there were two major floods here in there were two major floods here in the early 1990s that the government invested more than 2 billion euros invested more than 2 billion euros in building flood plains but they simply were not prepared for this level of rainfall so they have had more than 20 centimetres in the

jenny hill, bbc news, ahrweiler. 0ur correspondent is at a donation centre.f the rescue operation. there is a search — scale of the rescue operation. there is a search operation _ scale of the rescue operation. there is a search operation out _ scale of the rescue operation. there is a search operation out right - scale of the rescue operation. ti” is a search operation out right now, right beside this building. there is a centre where all of the emergency services are gathered. there are about 3—400 emergency service vehicles out there, hundreds of ambulances from different organisations. army vehicles as well. they are being deployed constantly, looking for people. i talk to some of those rescue workers last night and they were telling me that the difficulty is that the longer this goes on, rather than looking for people to rescue, they are looking for bodies. that is the tragic reality. time is of the essence, and the difficulty is that we have no idea how many people might still be out there because a lot of the roads are impassable, you can't get through

jenny hill, bbc news.minister is now self isolating following contact with the health secretary sajid javid who has coronavirus. downing street had to do a rapid u turn after initially saying borisjohnson and the uk chancellor rishi sunak would be part of a pilot scheme allowing them to keep working if they tested negative every day. but with hundreds of thousands of people having to self—isolate after a positive contact, they were met with a barrage of criticism, and mrjohnson conceded it was �*important that everybody sticks to the same rules.�* it comes as almost all legal covid restrictions are due to be lifted in england on monday. here�*s our political correspondent nick eardley. life might be feeling a bit more normal, but the impact of the pandemic is far from over. hundreds of thousands of people have been told to self—isolate in recent days. and now track and trace has hit the heart of government. the prime minister and chancellor are self—isolating after the health secretary tested positive for