japans emperor naruhito and the country's prime minister yoshihide suga were inside an almost empty stadiumeremony. the city is the first to host the paralympic games for a second time — they also staged the games in 1964. just like the olympics that came to a close just over two weeks ago, there'll be no spectators allowed over the next 12 days of competition. five—time paralympic champion ellie simmonds and archer john stubbs carried the flag for the british team. the new zealand atheltes opted to stay away from the ceremony over covid fears, and there was also a poignant momnent as the afghanistan flag was carried by volunteers — the two—strong team unable to travel because of the political unrest in the country. the president of the international paralympic committee gave a powerful speech as the games were offically decalred open, reminding the world of the even greater challenges that paralympic atheltes have had to overcome to make it to tokyo. —— declared open. pair olympians, you gave your all to be here. blood, sweat, and tears —— pair olympians. now is your moment to show to the

japans emperor naruhito and the country's prime minister yoshihide suga were inside an almost empty stadiumrried the flag for the british team. like the olympics, there'll be no spectators over the next 12 days of competition. hopefully, the athletes performances won't be affected as they take centre stage tomorrow, dame sarah storeys tokyo games get going in the velodrome and the first of her three gold medal chances. her motivation is the oppportunity to break a british paralympic record that has stood for over 30 years as patrick gearey reports. day one of the paralympic games, the story begins. on the first afternoon of competition. that at the chase the first goal of the games which could see them make british paralympic history. the long miles led to this. when the three title she rio and she will become britain's most successful paralympic and with 17 gold medals. phil will be amazing to defend all three, getting close and getting two. it would just be something that i believe it when i see it. ijust focus on each race one at a time it is great both physically and mentally and obviou

it was then left to japan's emperor naruhito to declare the games officially open. 12 days of action could be just as spectacular. and so, after such a difficult build—up, finally these games are under way and while for the organisers the challenge of covid remains, they will be hoping that the athletes can now make the headlines. andy swiss, bbc news, tokyo. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. leaving everything behind. this is bbc news, the headlines president biden has told g7 leaders at a virtual summit that he's committed to an august 31st deadline for afghanistan evacuations. some of his international counterparts had been urging an extension. the taliban say afghan nationals may no longer travel to kabul airport, citing the chaotic situation there. they also urged the americans not to entice afghan nationals to emigrate, saying their professional expertise would be sorely needed. charlie watts, the drummer with the rolling stones, has died aged eighty. he was acclaimed as one of the greatest drummers of his gene

it was then left to japan's emperor naruhito to declare the games officially open.ys of action could be just as spectacular. and so after such a difficult build—up, finally these games are under way and while for the organisers, the challenge of covid remains, they will be hoping the athletes can now make the headlines. and the swiss, bbc news, tokyo. time for a look at the weather, here's tomasz schafernaker. good evening. high pressure is bringing us the settled weather, it is likely to stay for the next 10 days or so. within the high pressure there is the air sinking through the atmosphere and fanning out so sinking a funny outwards, keeping things calm and settled, and nestled in this ridge, caused by thejet stream, is the high—pressure, there is a trough here, a ridge and trough again and that's what keeps the high locked—in over us for a considerable time, bringing settled and calm mornings with mist and fog in places but also some sunshine in the afternoon. that's exactly what we can see in the recent satellite picture. areas of cloud during the day but many

japans emperor naruhito and the country's prime minister yoshihide suga were inside an almost empty stadiumchances. her motivation is the opportunity to break the record that has stood for over 30 years. day one of the paralympic games, the story begins. on the first afternoon of competition. she will chase her first goal of the games which could see them make british paralympic history. the long miles led to this. when the three title she rio and she will become britain's most successful paralympian and with 17 gold medals. it would be amazing to defend all three, getting close and getting two. it would just be something that i believe it when i see it. i'm just focus on each race, one at a time it is great both physically and mentally and obviously it can be a great performance, personal best time, that further cements the fact that you've been doing the right work. march 2019 and the preparation for these games are all going to plan. she won the individual pursuit world title next event she competed in. and then the pandemic changed everything. she could still train but that had to be ba

japans emperor naruhito and the country's prime minister yoshihide suga were inside an almost empty stadiumtators allowed over the next 12 days of competition. five time paralympic champion ellie simmonds and and archerjohn stubbs carried the flag for the british team. the president of the international paralympic committee gave a powerful speech as the games were offically declared open, reminding the world of the even greater challenges that paralympic athletes have had to overcome to make it to tokyo. paraympians, you gave your all to be here. blood, sweat, and tears. now is your moment to show to the world your skill, your strength, your determination. if the world has ever relieve you, now it's your chance to be relieved. champion, hero, friend, colleague, role model, orjust human. you are the best of humanity, and the only ones who can decide who and what you are. you are the truth. you are amazing. you choose to be the greatest in whatever the plan is. the premier league says its clubs have "reluctantly but unanimously" decided not to release players for matches in red—list countries