todayis olympic games here in tokyo. today is friday, friday morning here in tokyo, the opening ceremony will get under way at apm local time, really scaled back from the usual razzmatazz that we would see at an opening ceremony, a much more subdued and sombre affair in keeping with the pandemic in which these games are happening. that was our sports these games are happening. that was our sports correspondent in tokyo. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the central chinese region of henan as officials confirmed that at least 33 people have died. that includes a dozen commuters in the provincial capital zhengzhou who were caught on the city s underground as carriages filled with water. the city had a year s worth of rain in three days and more is forecast. our correspondent, robin brant, is there, and sent this report. the rain has stopped for now, but some of the roads are still like rivers evidence of how overwhelming the incessant rainfall was. above ground,
this is bbc news, the headlines: tokyo s olympic organisers say the opening ceremony will go ahead in a few hours time without any major changes despite the sacking of the show s creative director over past comments he made about the holocaust. daily covid infections in tokyo are now higher than at any time since january. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the central chinese region of henan where officials have confirmed that at least 33 people have died. that includes a dozen commuters in the provincial capital zhengzhou who were caught on the city s underground as carriages filled with water. the us has said china s reluctance to allow an audit of some of its laboratories, as part of an investigation into the orgins of covid 19, is irresponsible and dangerous. the world health organisation has said the international probe should include an investigation of a lab in wuhan.
were still rescuing. we ve just come from a place where they are tidying up and trying to get back to normal but 30 kilometres north, here, it s still a recovery operation. rescue workers there in fluorescent life jackets. and if ijust swivel you around to the right, well, this is a road that s turned into a river, a lake, call it what you like. 100 metres down there, the water is at knee level. even further it s at chest level. so the rain has stopped for now but this is still a crisis. from above, the huge scale of what happened here becomes clearer. the electricity supply and mobile phone coverage is not fully restored, but the worst of the rain seems to have passed for now which leaves time for other things. fishing. . . in an underpass? robin brant, bbc news, zhengzhou in eastern china. china has rejected a plan by the world health organization for a second phase of an investigation into the origins of covid 19. a senior chinese health official said the proposal
still a crisis. from above, the huge scale of what happened here becomes clearer. the electricity supply and mobile phone coverage is not fully restored but the worst of the rain seems to have passed for now, which leaves time for other things. fishing in an underpass? robin brant, bbc news, zhengzhou in eastern china. staying in china. china has rejected a plan by the world health organization for a second phase of an investigation into the origins of covid 19. a senior chinese health official said the proposal, to consider whether the virus could have escaped from a chinese lab, did not respect science and disregarded common sense. the white house press secretary, jen psaki, was asked about this in the last few hours and gave this response. we are deeply disappointed. their position is irresponsible and frankly dangerous. alongside other member states around the world, we continue
further two further athletes have also tested positive for coronavirus so it brings the total number to just over 100 coronavirus positive cases related to the olympic games, rich, on the start of the tournament with the opening ceremony a little bit later here in tokyo. ceremony a little bit later here in tokyo. ceremony a little bit later herein to 0. ., ., ~ here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up to here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up to speed - here in tokyo. sarah, thank you for bringing us up to speed on l for bringing us up to speed on that. karate, surf climbing, surfing and skateboarding, four new sports to look forward to. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the central chinese region of henan as officials confirmed that at least 33 people have died. that includes a dozen commute