well, we heard thomas bach saying how the speculation isn't helping athletes at the moment.triplejump champion christian taylor. he is the president of the athletes association, and says a decision can't be put off too long. it cannot be a last minute thing, it's not fair for it cannot be a last minute thing, it's not fairfor anyone, and this is the same thing we are pushing last year. just let us know, you know? of course, with respect and with hope, we want to see what happens with the vaccine, what happens with the vaccine, what happens notjust injapan but globally. you know, making sure that these vaccines are available and we can get out and see what happens with this trend. but i believe that at march going into april, we need to say, "this is where we are, and reality is this," and go from there. and what are you hearing from athletes? fist and what are you hearing from athletes? �* . �* . and what are you hearing from athletes? �* , �* , ., , athletes? at this time, it's really 50-50. athletes? at this time, it's really 50-50- there — athletes? at this time, it's real

yesterday, the ioc president, thomas bach, dismissed speculation that the olympics could be postponed tokyo behind closed doors is a possibility. katie shanahan reports. despite recent polls indicating a majority of the japanese public feel postponing or cancelling the tokyo olympics would be preferable, the local organising committee have reiterated the stance of the ioc, saying everyone is pushing in the same direction to start the games on the 23rd ofjuly. translation: after talking i with everyone and asking them about their thoughts, no one from anywhere raised questions or objections, and everyone wants to quickly make the tokyo games a success. there was a proposal to have a meeting in february with japanese ministries, the tokyo governor, the olympic organising committee and mr bach. tokyo is one of several japanese regions under a state of emergency and with restrictions. and an event scheduled for march is moved back to may. but with israel, denmark and belgium among the nation saying they will vaccinate competitors before the games, hope is rising that there will be some so

let's hear from the ioc�*s, thomas bach.ating of whether the games are taking place. we are working on how the games will take place. that means we have to put covid—accountable measures for every possible scenario. the countermeasures required to bring 15,000 athletes and their coaches from all around the world together in one place are daunting. here's some of what's being proposed — this is sir craig reedie, a british representative on the ioc. anybody who goes to tokyo will have to declare a clear test before they get on the plane. they'll probably have to declare another clear test when they get off the plane. when they get into the village, there will be rodeos and timescales involved. —— rotas. not all athletes will appear at the opening of the games, and that will affect numbers in opening ceremonies. they will have to leave the village after their events are finished and come home. so these games are going to be different. holding the games will require the situation to improve drastically and that will affect numbe

with six months to go to the scheduled olympic opening ceremony in tokyo, ioc president thomas bach saysd the country's government has "privately concluded" that the olympics and paralympics may have to be called off due to rising coronavirus rates. and six nations champions england have named three uncapped players in their 28—man squad for the defence of their title next month. wasps back paolo odogwu and bristol scrum—half harry randall have been called up by eddiejones along with bath prop beno obano, who is also yet to make his international debut. a further 12 players are included in a shadow squad, who will go through the same covid testing routine as the main squad. and that's all the sport for now. good evening. after the flooding rain we had earlier this week, the coming weekend brings something rather different. it will be cold. there will be lots of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, but there will also be some snow in places. and through this evening and tonight, we will see further snow showers pushing in from the west, falling as sleet and snow, even to quite low levels

ioc president thomas bach dismissing speculation yesterday the games could be pushed back again or movedwe'll find out how the uncertainty�*s affecting athlete preparations in a moment — but first, here's katie shanahan. despite recent polls indicating a majority of the japanese public field postponing or cancelling the tokyo olympics would be preferable, the local organising committee have reiterated the stance of the ioc, saying everyone is pushing in the same direction to start the games on 23july. translation: 23 july. translation: �* ., ~ translation: after talking with eve one translation: after talking with everyone and _ translation: after talking with everyone and asking _ translation: after talking with everyone and asking them - translation: after talking with everyone and asking them about| translation: after talking with - everyone and asking them about their thoughts, no one from anywhere has questions or objections, and everyone wants to quickly make the tokyo games a success. there was a proposal to have a meeting in february with japanese ministries, the tokyo governor,

. >> reporter: april ross's olympic optimism is shared by thomas bach says thursday, there is no plan start for another month and polls there show as much as 80% of people want the games postponed or canceled because of covid concerns ♪ canceling the games would be devastating to japan's $15 billion investment and to first-time olympians like skateboarder nigel houston. >> i want it to come already. >> reporter: if the games do happen, athletes are likely to encounter social distancing, frequent covid testing, and potentially competitions with few or no fans in attendance. >> even if it looks extremely different, i'll be excited for that and we'll just have to adapt. >> reporter: japan's prime minister maintains a successful olympics would punctuate the coronavirus. >> i want to go to the olympics and i want to compete for gold. >> reporter: hoping the dreams become reality in six months mark barger, nbc news. >>> coming up later this morning on "today," a live interview with olympic superstar simone biles, 23 years old and poised to be the best gymnast training and anticipation. >> i

just a word of caution, clearly last year we heard from the ioc president thomas bach on the 3rd of marchthe tokyo games would go ahead as planned and then they were postponed on the 24th of march. so all eyes on tokyo to see how this state of emergency goes in terms of bringing those coronavirus cases down. still several months to go before the games are due to get under way. as far as putting on a successful and safe games is concerned, we know vaccinations will be central for that, for all of those involved, certainly athletes. interesting comments from the british olympic association that athletes who wants to compete in tokyo will not be skipping the queue, they recognise that there are more important people like front line workers that need the vaccine first. yes, the chief executive of the british olympic association said the priority has to be people who need it first which i'm sure most people would agree with. he said there will be a time ahead of the games when athletes can be considered for vaccination but he said they will only do it when they think it is appropriate, our und

speaking after an executive committee meeting in switzerland, thomas bach said speculation over the event challenges in their preparation because of the coronavirus. despite much ofjapan being under a state of emergency because of the third wave of covid infections — the games are set to begin on the 23rd july. the country is not due to start vaccinating until late february — and had asked pharmaceutical companies to carry out trails on the japanese population before getting approval for their vaccines. ken ishii is professor of vaccine science at university of tokyo. you should ask you why japan is on domestic trials when testing has been conducted on a broad range of volunteers and why japan is so late in vaccinating?- japan is so late in vaccinating? japan is so late in vaccinatin? , , , , vaccinating? this is because japanese — vaccinating? this is because japanese companies - vaccinating? this is because | japanese companies insisting vaccinating? this is because - japanese companies insisting to do one more clinical trial with a couple of hundred people to make sure that this is saf

ioc president, thomas bach, said no—one could know what the global health situation would be in a fewfor every possibly scenario. the boeing 737 max has been approved to return to service by eu regulators. it's already flying again in the united states. the plane was grounded nearly two years ago after flaws in its software and sensors caused two crashes that killed 346 people. apple has hit another sales record with reported revenues of more than $110 billion in the last three months of 2020 — a rise of 21% on the same period last year. the gains come as consumers are confined to their homes during the pandemic, driving work, shopping and leisure activities increasingly online. the new 5g—enabled iphone 12 also boosted sales. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: south africans have been hit by a deadly covid variant but are they being treated fairly over vaccines? the shuttle challenger exploded soon after lift—off. there were seven astronauts on board, one of them a woman school teacher. all of them are believed to have been killed. by the evening, tahrir square, the heart of of

thomas bach chaired a meeting of the ioc on wednesday and said it wasn't just wishful thinking that thebeen concern that the already cancelled olympics may not be able to take place because of the pandemic. bach called for patience whilst they dealt with the various stakeholders and permuations to try to make it happen. are asked as to organise olympic games are not to cancel olympic games are not to cancel olympic games, and our task is to make the olympic dreams of the athletes coming true. this is why we are working, day and night, to organise a safe olympic games in tokyo 2020, and this is why we will not add fuel to all these kind of speculations. on to football, and manchester united missed the chance to go top of the english premier league after losing to bottom of the table sheffield united. oliver burke scored the winner as sheffield united claimed only their second league win over the season. earlier, kean bryan scored to give the visitors a half—time lead, with harry maguire equalising for manchester united who remain 2nd, behind manchester city on goal difference. disappoint

ioc president, thomas bach, said no—one could know what the global health situation would be in a fewre being made to prepare for every possible scenario. the boeing 737 max has been approved to return to service by eu regulators. it's already flying again in the united states. the plane was grounded nearly two years ago, after flaws in its software and sensors caused two crashes, that killed 346 people. the us department of homeland security has issued a national terrorism bulletin, warning that the country will face a heightened threat of violence, from people angry at donald trump's election defeat, for several more weeks. the bulletin says the attack on the capitol building earlier this month could continue to inspire domestic extremists to attack other elected officials let's speak to our north amercia correspondent peter bowes. peter, this kind of bulletin warning of this kind of threat is unusual, isn't it? it’s warning of this kind of threat is unusual, isn't it?— is unusual, isn't it? it's very unusual- — is unusual, isn't it? it's very unusual. when _ is unusual, isn't it? i

president thomas bach made the statement in a newly released video message to mark the six—month countdownnot the major event can go ahead, amid a surge in coronavirus cases injapan. joe lynskey reports. tokyo has built a decade around the olympics. it was built to host years ago but they are still waiting. translation: the count - still waiting. translation: the country - make _ still waiting. translation: iie: country — make the still waiting. translation: "iie: country — make the country's parameter says he is determined. he wanted to go ahead this year. but the people of japan may not sound the applause. a poll said 80% want the games to stay on hold and a uk newspaper report says cancellation was coming. but if it is not this summer, tokyo is running out of options. the next games _ running out of options. the next games without - running out of options. the next games without a host are in 2032. ., .., �* in 2032. you can't simply go paris, you moved four years down the line and where does los angeles go, it doesn't work like that. so the overall objective does have to be having a la

ioc president, thomas bach, said no—one could know what the global health situation would be in a fewde to prepare for every possibly scenario. the boeing 737 max has been approved to return to service by eu regulators. it's already flying again in the united states. the plane was grounded nearly two years ago after flaws in its software and sensors caused two crashes that killed 346 people. across the world, comemmorations are taking place to mark holocaust memorial day. it's 76 years since the liberation of the auschwitz—birkenau death camp in poland and at a time when survivors are unable to come together due to lockdown, this year's theme asks people to �*be the light in the darkness'. fergal keane has been speaking to three survivors of the holocaust. auschwitz today. no rituals of remembrance in the time of the pandemic. violin plays. but for the survivors, a dwindling generation, commemoration is taking place in small groups. here, at a london retirement home run by the charityjewish care. behold, god of abraham, god of mercy. open your eyes as you have opened mine. open your e

with six months to go to the scheduled olympic opening ceremony in tokyo, ioc president thomas bach saystions champions england have named three uncapped players in their 28—man squad for the defence of their title next month. wasps back paolo odogwu and bristol scrum—half harry randall have been called up by eddiejones along with bath prop beno obano, who is also yet to make his international debut. a further 12 players are included in a shadow squad, who will go through the same covid testing routine as the main squad. and that's all the sport for now. hello there. we are staying firmly in the cold air mass this weekend. so, it means we'll continue to see very cold nights, widespread frost, some ice. but by day, there should be quite a bit of sunshine around. however, there is some snow in the forecast on sunday across southern britain and this could lead to some disruption. stay tuned to the forecast. more on that in just a moment. for saturday we have low pressure to the north, that brings a run of north—westerly winds and feeding in lots of wintry showers. quite breezy across the no

ioc president thomas bach addressed the media after a meeting of the executive board yesterday. >> nobodypredict the health situation in 206 national olympic committees, but all these speculations are hurting the athletes in their preparations. various speculation about cancellation, about a plan "b," about everything. we are not losing our time and energy on speculations, but we are fully concentraing on the opening ceremony on the 23rd of july this year, so we are not speculating of whether the games are taking place. we are working on how the games will take place. >> and as for that question of how the games will take place, the ioc is expected to release what they're calling a playbook to athletes and national olympic committees early next month that will detail how thousands of athletes and even more visitors will enter and leave japan without a major coronavirus risk. though bach said yesterday the committee is not in favor of athletes jumping the queue for the vaccine, a statement from the organization on tuesday said in part, "when vaccination is made available to the broader pub

support this journey nick thank you very much they head of the international olympic committee thomas bach insists the take care games will go ahead as planned this year public support for the games is forming in japan with much of the country in a state of emergency because of code 191-5000 athletes are expected to travel to tokyo for the olympics and paralympics which have already been delayed by one year not to mention media and fans but boss says there is no plan b. and he's fully committed to hosting a safe and successful event starting on july the 23rd. well just over 6 months to go one virus expert at coby university believes hosting the world's biggest sporting event may be too big a gamble we have. last year so why you have your home or your house you know your risk or. your. match or your. spanish tennis player poll about dosa has confirmed she has tested positive for coke at 19 while in quarantine for the australian open it's not yet clear she's one of the cases already announced by the tournament but dosis says she has symptoms and is feeling unwell she's being monitored at a h

yesterday, the ioc president, thomas bach, dismissed speculation that the olympics could be postponedabout their thoughts, no one from anywhere raised questions or objections, and everyone wants to quickly make the tokyo games a success. there was a proposal to have a meeting in february with japanese ministries, the tokyo governor, the olympic organising committee and mr bach. tokyo is one of severaljapanese regions under a state of emergency and with restrictions. and an event scheduled for march is moved back to may. but with israel, denmark and belgium among the nation saying they will vaccinate competitors before the games, hope is rising that there will be some sort of normality comejuly. there will not be a lot of people in the olympic village and, like, right after you finish the competition, you go home. so i don't think there's anything to worry about because everything will be planned and it will be safe. one national olympic committee contacted by the bbc also expressed its solidarity with the ioc... the message is one of solidarity, and in whatever form they may take, the

time for sport here's joe rob thank you very much the head of the international committee thomas bachinsists the take your games will go ahead as planned this year public support for the games is falling in japan with much of the country in a state of emergency because of coping 191-5000 athletes are expected to travel to tokyo for the olympics and paralympics which have already been delayed by one year not to mention media and fans says there is no plan b. and he's fully committed to hosting a safe and successful event starting july 23rd. but with just over 6 months to go one virus expert at coby university believes hosting may be too big a gamble. we're going to drop the sport there this is al jazeera and this is us house speaker nancy pelosi speaking in a weekly press conference but this is the 1st she's held since a joe biden became president of the united states let's listen in. but the manner in which it happened america united you know i've said again and again that the arts will bring us together and we laugh together we cry together we're inspired together we find a common gr

president thomas bach insists a plan for every possible scenario is being put together and it's a question of how not if the olympics will happen. ok let's begin in the chinese city of new han where investigators from the world health organization who ended the hotel quarantine and begun the task of finding out how the pandemic started they'll be interviewing people from research institutes hospitals and the seafood market linked to the initial outbreak for a long delayed inquiry comes after months of negotiations between the government in beijing and the world health organization. katrina you reports now from. well the debate has said that plan for the next few weeks is yet to be finalized but since they arrived in china 2 weeks ago they've already been gauged in frank discussions with their chinese counterparts and others involved in the management of the outbreak here in han they've got a mammoth task ahead of them they're investigating a lot of theories and among them is one that covered 901st originated in a wild animal potentially a bat secondly they're also going to go into the 100

the ioc president thomas bach insist there's no plan b, butjapanese public opinion is reportedly swingingnot be a last minute thing, this is not fairfor anyone it cannot be a last minute thing, this is not fair for anyone and this is the same thing we were pushing last year, just let us know. so of course, with respect and with hope, we want to see what happens with the vaccine, we want to see what happens not just vaccine, we want to see what happens notjust injapan but globally. you know, making sure that the vaccines are available and can get out and see what happens with this trend. i believe end of march, going into a pool we need to say, ok, this is where we are, reality is this and just go from there. —— end of march, going into april. sir ben ainslie's dream of leading a british team to victory in the america's cup for the first ever time is edging closer. ineos team uk are into the final of the prada cup, victory would make them the official challenger against team new zealand. it would be absolutely the best achievement for our team. you know, everybody in the team has worked so

the ioc president, thomas bach, insist there's no "plan b", but public opinion injapan is predominantlyd go from there. there's another busy evening of premier league football ahead. thomas tuchel will take charge of chelsea for the first time, just a day after he was confirmed as frank lampard's replacement. they're at home to wolves, and their manager nuno espirito santo says he has great sympathy for lampard losing hisjob. when there is support and patience and cooperation in a situation, things improve, and you can see numerous examples last season, this season, at the clubs. teams struggle, and their support, you can see the work of the men coming through and teams improving their performances. but it's a realisation that this is football. professional cricketers in england are going to take part in workshops this year as a part of what's being called a zero—tolerance approach to racial discrimination. the player education programme's being introduced by the professional cricketers association. in a survey last year, it found ia of its 2a black, asian and minority ethnic members ha

the ioc president thomas bach insist there's no �*plan b', but public opinion injapan is predominantlyu know, making sure that the vaccines are available and can get out and see what happens with this trend. i believe end of march, going into a pool we need to say, ok, this is where we are, reality is this and just go from there. —— end of march, going into april. sir ben ainslie's dream of leading a british team to victory in the america's cup for the first ever time is edging closer. ineos team uk are into the final of the prada cup, victory would make them the official challenger against team new zealand. it would be absolutely the best achievement for our team. you know, everybody in the team has worked so hard. we had a pretty dismal start of this competition. we virtually couldn't get around the race track in the warm—up regatta over christmas. and the team have done an incredible job to turn that around, to get ourselves through to this prada cup final. like i said, britain has never won the america's cup, so that's our motivation to right that wrong in our maritime history and

the ioc president thomas bach insist there's no �*plan b', butjapanese public opinion is reportedly swingingctators will be allowed, and whether athletes have to quarantine or be vaccinated. these games are going to be different, and the ioc has accepted and cleared its own minds that they would be different. the question is, how different? spectators is one of them, testing is one of them, control of access, social distancing — it's not going to be easy, but it's absolutely correct that we make every effort to do it properly. 0n the other side of the world right now, the most successful sailor in olympic history is navigating his way toward his latest target. sir ben ainslie is edging closer to becoming the official challenger for the 36th americas cup match against team new zealand. ineos team uk are into the final of the prada cup and sir ben is skipper. hejoins me live from new zealand now. i was just about to say good morning, but it's very clearly not morning, but it's very clearly not morning for you. lovely to see you. what is life like on the other side of the world? it what is life