The streets of sydney as australia ramps up its covid lockdown. Live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. Its newsday. Welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. Its seven in the morning in singapore, and eight oclock In Tokyo, where we begin with news from the olympics that an athlete from belarus has been taken into Police Protection Injapan after claiming that officials from her team were trying to force her to fly home against her will. This is her Krystsina Tsimanouskaya from belarus. She had been due to compete in the womens 200m event on monday. But after posting a Video Complaining about being entered into another race at short notice, she says she was told to pack and taken to the airport. She then contacted police, and uploaded this video on social media, appealing for help. The flight took off without her on board. Im joined now by Sarah Mulkerrins In Tokyo. Great to have you on the programme. Whats the latest on the fate of this athlete . This was around the fate of this athlete . This was around the the fate of this athlete . This was around the time the fate of this athlete . This was around the time of was around the time of the mens 100 metres final. Mens100 metres final. Suddenly this story started emerging through social media, and within a couple of hours, the Ioc And Tokyo 2020, the organisers, issued a brief update through social media. They said they had spoken to the athlete that she was with the athlete that she was with the authorities at canada airport, and she was being accompanied by a member of the tokyo 2020 staff at the time. Importantly, they said she had told them that she felt safe at that moment. They then went on to say that they would continue their conversations with the athletes and the authorities to determine the steps in the upcoming days. We know she had run in the 100 metres, she was due to run a little later in the 200 metres, but she criticised the decision to enter her into our relay on such social media. State media had criticised herfor doing that. In terms of this situation in belarus, we know that theres an awful lot of opposition to the current president , President Lukashenko. The opposition accused him of stealing the election and repressing dissent in the country. Heres what pavel latushko, a former belarusian culture minister, now an Opposition Leader based in warsaw in poland, had to say about the events In Tokyo. Translation because the belarusian Athlete L Krystsina tsimanouskaya criticised the belarusian national team for their violation of the rules and procedures for athletes participating in the olympic games, President Lukashenko made the decision to take her out of tokyo and return her to belarus. She will be accompanied by three heavily built individuals. It is important to help our belarusian citizen, who merely expressed an opinion. I know youll keep us updated on that story. And sarah, weve had the first Podium Protest by an Athlete Raven saunders. Tell us about that. Are you expecting this to set a precedent . Precedent . Yes, its a big Talkin Precedent . Yes, its a big Talking Point. Precedent . Yes, its a big Talking Point. I precedent . Yes, its a big Talking Point. I think precedent . Yes, its a big Talking Point. I think the L Precedent . Yes, its a big i Talking Point. I think the ioc media conference, about four hours time from now, will be busy with updates around the events that are unfolding here In Tokyo. In terms of the athlete protest, we knew coming into the games the ioc had made certain precisions, but away from the podium and away from the field. Last night, The American Shot Putter who one silver, raven saunders, she made this gesture, crossing her hands over her head. She said it represented the intersection where all people who are oppressed meets. She is black and gay and has struggled with her mental health. In the past, she said she felt like she needed to do this gesture. Itll be interesting because it does contravene the ioc guidelines and the us olympic committee themselves, they have changed their rules around protest. They say its fine, athletes are free to do what they want as long as its not promoting any sort of hate. Both organisations were sort of batting the responsibility between Each Other as to who would take the lead on this and what made it happen. The Ioc Havent really outlined what may happen if an incident like this happened at the olympic games. We dont know whether it will be a verbal warning or whether something more serious like having medals taken away or potentially being barred from the olympics. That Media Briefing a little bit later will be interesting. And sarah, there were some great sporting highlights on sunday, including a shared gold medal. How did this happen . It certainly was. Im not sure ive ever seen anything like this in my life. It was in the highjump, and both athletes were going Toe To toe with Each Other, as the bar moved up. They both failed the final clearance, and then they were going to go to a jumpoff. An official intervened. They asked if it was possible to share the gold medal. The officials said it was possible, and you can see the Joy And Delight in theirfaces as see the Joy And Delight in their faces as they were able to share that. Just a few moments later, it was a great night for it or leave because they were able to congratulate his 100 metres sprinter. Marcell jacobs, his 100 metres sprinter. Marcelljacobs, who one history. He won the 100 metres final. He stepped into the spotlight. Moving on to those highlights to todays olympic news. The ioc has admitted that its current guidelines for transgender athletes are not fit for purpose, and says it plans to release new ones in the next few months. It comes as the Transgender Weightlifter Laurel hubbard prepares to make history today, when she will become the first openly trans woman to compete in a Solo Event at the games, in the womens super heavyweight category. Tell us more about this debate. Its a real historic moment, as you say. Laurel hubbard is going to make history by being the first openly transgender athlete to compete in a different category than what she was born in at the olympic games. Lots of people have welcomed the decision. The New Zealand Olympic Association says it is a really, she is a really important mole model, that she has opened up the conversation among inclusivity role model. It has sparked debate. Critics, including some athletes, have a question her inclusion. A key Aspect Aspect is whether she carries and interventions due to going through male puberty. Many of the scientists and academics around this cannot agree on this point, and its a really big conversation around sport at the moment. Im joined now by ro edge, Co Founder of save womens sports australasia. Firstly, why are you against the inclusion of Laurel Hubbard . The inclusion of Laurel Hubbard . ,. , the inclusion of Laurel Hubbard . ,. ,. , hubbard . This is that the only male who hubbard . This is that the only male who identifies hubbard . This is that the only male who identifies as hubbard . This is that the only male who identifies as a hubbard . This is that the only i male who identifies as a female that Is Male who identifies as a female that is competing. There are three that is competing. There are three others, sol that is competing. There are three others, so i feel quite sorry three others, so i feel quite sorry for three others, so i feel quite sorry for laurel that shes hearing sorry for laurel that shes bearing the brunt of basically flawed bearing the brunt of basically flawed policies. They were based flawed policies. They were based on one unscientific study. Based on one unscientific study, which appended sport around study, which appended sport around the world. We understand the ioc around the world. We understand the ioc plans to release new policies. The ioc plans to release new policies, but i guess whats concerning is last week, we heard concerning is last week, we heard The Chief medical Science Adviser heard The Chief medical Science Adviser say everyone agrees that adviser say everyone agrees that trans women are women. Not only is that trans women are women. Not only is that that trans women are women. Not only is that statement demonstrably false because there demonstrably false because there are many people who otwenty there are many people who openly disagree, but the concern openly disagree, but the concern is how can the ioc promote concern is how can the ioc promote Fairness And Safety if they promote Fairness And Safety if they believe adult human females. The fastest woman in the wortds females. The fastest woman in the worlds only beaten by 15,000 the worlds only beaten by 15,000 men and boys, and they usually 15,000 men and boys, and they usually dont come within the Top10 usually dont come within the top 10 about the best thousand mates top 10 about the best thousand males. No matter how hard females males. No matter how hard females train, a Males Physiologyjust get home greater speeds. Just physiologyjust get home greater speeds. Physiologyjust get home greater speeds. Just in terms ofthe greater speeds. Just in terms of the medical greater speeds. Just in terms of the medical director greater speeds. Just in terms of the medical director from | of the medical director from the ioc saying that they are going to be updating the policies, that they will be using more updated science the evidence, there is this more important point of inclusion and you also said it was overstated. What do you say to that . ,. ,. , overstated. What do you say to that . , overstated. What do you say to that . , y that . The policy was only introduced that . The policy was only introduced in that . The policy was only introduced in 2015, that . The policy was only introduced in 2015, so that . The policy was only i introduced in 2015, so there hasnt introduced in 2015, so there hasnt been a lot of time for Trans Hasnt been a lot of time for trans athletes to actually start trans athletes to actually start getting competitive. I think start getting competitive. I think this will only grow and grow think this will only grow and grow and by the next olympics, if we grow and by the next olympics, if we continue with the same policy if we continue with the same policy or if we continue with the same policy or even worse, we move to Self Policy or even worse, we move to Self Id Policy or even worse, we move to Self Id only, which has been talked to Self Id only, which has been talked about. That would mean that men talked about. That would mean that men would simply be able to self that men would simply be able to Self Identify as women and do nothing else. I think it puts do nothing else. I think it puts the do nothing else. I think it puts the female sport at risk and we puts the female sport at risk and we would see a much larger group and we would see a much larger Group Of and we would see a much larger Group Of transmittals competing in womens sports. Transmission. I think it would be transmission. I think it would he really transmission. I think it would be really naive to think people will not be really naive to think people will not take advantage of these will not take advantage of these rules to gain a competitive advantage. We have plenty competitive advantage. We have plenty of competitive advantage. We have plenty of examples of how athletes and nations from around athletes and nations from around the world. Thank you very much around the world. Thank you very much for around the world. Thank you very much for your around the world. Thank you very much for your time. Around the world. Thank you very much for your time. It around the world. Thank you very much for your time. It is l very much for your time. It is a big Talking Point in sport. Laurel hubbard competing a little bit later in the Plus 87 kilogram category. Im little bit later in the Plus 87 kilogram category. Im sure oull kilogram category. Im sure youll keep kilogram category. Im sure youll keep us kilogram category. Im sure youll keep us uptodate l kilogram category. Im sure L Youll keep us uptodate on youll keep us up to date on all of that and the rest of the sporting action. Sarah karens at the olympics. Cerebral karens. Lets take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. The uk Hasjoined Israel in accusing iran of being behind what it says was a deliberate attack on an israeli operated tanker off the coast of oman on friday. Two crew members, One British and one romanian, were killed in the attack on the vessel, the mercer street. Iran has said any claims it was involved are baseless. Young people in england are to be offered incentives, including discounts from uber and deliveroo, to get their covid 19 vaccinations. Further inducements could involve restaurants and cafes. Just over two thirds of 18 to 29 year olds have had a firstjab a far smaller proportion than older generations. A 39 year old man, a 30 year old woman and a 13 year old boy have been arrested on suspicion of murder, following the death of a five year old boy in bridgend in wales. His body was found in the Ogmore River in the early hours of saturday morning. Now to afghanistan, where taliban militants are threatening to seize control of the main city in helmand province. The militants are now on the verge of overrunning The City of Lashkar Gah in the south, and theres fierce fighting in Kandahar And Herat in the west. Our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, reports from the capital, kabul. Lashkar gah, helmand, the Peace Roundabout now overrun by taliban. They say this square is theirs. Gunfire. The centre of a city once patrolled for years by british troops. Afghan special forces, trained by britain and other nato armies, are rushing in. This videos from the afghan ministry of defence. Explosion. The battle intensifies on the ground and on social media. 35 year old general Sami Sadat is the Commanding Officer in this southern area. He says the taliban have suffered hundreds and hundreds of losses, but his forces have lost most rural areas. Its much the same across afghanistan. Now the taliban are bent on seizing the cities. This war is being raged Street To street. On one of them, the family ofjamal barak. A former interpreter for the british army, now in the uk. People are stuck in their homes. They cannot go outside. There is no electricity, there is no food. People will die without food, without water. And the taliban is actually walking the streets and looking for the people who have worked for the afghan government and for the british government, and we havent heard anything positive from the british government at the moment. We are hoping that they will do something very soon. Otherwise there are people that are going to lose their life. All the beds are full at this hospital in helmand, run by the emergency ngo. More beds being brought in. Hundreds of thousands are on the run. Look at the way these children are moving across the fields in the Western Province of herat. The crackle of gunfire all too close. But civilians are also standing their ground. This man is said to be the head of herat� s provincial council. Dont waste your bullets, he says. Take careful aim. And old warlords are back, too, to take on the taliban. White bearded commander Ismail Khan fought Soviet Forces in the � 80s, taliban in the � 90s. Were doing our best to suppress the enemy so they cant enter The City, he says. I call on the people to support us, especially those who are armed, to resist the terrorists. But the taliban are at their strongest since their defeat nearly two decades ago, after the us led invasion. Its a moment of reckoning for afghan forces. A moment of risk for the very future of afghanistan. Much more about this on our website including this map, created by our visualjournalism team, showing who is in control of which parts of afghanistan. Just log to bbc. Com news or download the bbc app. Just log on to bbc. Com news or download the bbc app. If you want to get in touch with me, im on twitter. Im looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Youre watching newsday on the bbc. Still to come on the programme. Australia is deploying unarmed troops to ensure its covid lockdown in sydney is being observed. Well have the latest. The question was whether we wanted to save our people and japanese as well and win the war, or whether we wanted to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. The invasion began at two oclock this morning. Mr bush, like most other old, was clearly caught by surprise. Mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. We call for the immediate i and unconditional withdrawal of all iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigour, Vitality And Enjoyment of life. No other King Or Queen in British History has lived so long, and the Queen Mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that shes achieved this landmark anniversary. This is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. The question now is whether The American vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. This is newsday on the bbc. Im Karishma Vaswani in singapore. Our headlines an olympic athlete from belarus has accused her countrys officials of trying to fly her home from tokyo against her will after she criticised the teams managers on social media. In afghanistan, civilians are fleeing their homes as a taliban offensive on three major cities continues. The australian military has deployed 300 unarmed soldiers to enforce sydneys strict lockdown as The City tries to suppress a surge in covid cases caused by the Delta Variant. Among their duties, conducting door to door checks to ensure residents are complying with the stay at Home Order. They are due to hit the streets on monday after training. The state reported 239 new locally acquired cases on sunday despite having been under a stay at Home Order for over five weeks. Our correspondent Shaimaa Khalil is in sydney. I asked her how people have been reacting there. Its a reminder of really dark days for australia, karishma, but yes, there is a great deal of apprehension and tension, especially in those areas where the police and now the military presence is going to be concentrated. That is eight areas in the West And Southwest of sydney, considered to be the epicentre of this latest outbreak. It is home to about 2 Million people, mainly from ethnic diverse migrant backgrounds, but also home to many people who work in the construction industry, the manufacturing industry, also owners of small businesses. Theyve been struggling. Now, these areas have already been under stricter rules than the rest of sydney, and they feel that with this military coming in, going door to door, they feel targeted and they feel afraid. Ive been speaking to some members of the community, and one of them told me that people are afraid to leave their homes, that those who are flouting the rules are the minority, but also that it almost feels that there is an invisible wall thats been drawn around the community. Also, of course, these are areas where there are refugees, and any interaction with Law Enforcement and with the military now could be a traumatic experience. Yeah, shaimaa, of this taking place against low Vaccination Rates in australia, anti lockdown sentiment is growing. Whats the government saying about Vaccination Targets . Thats really been the Message Theyve been trying to push now. A Real Change in tone from a few months ago, where the Prime Minister famously said its not a race. Today, hes written an Op Ed in one of the newspapers, basically pumping up the spirit of the olympics, saying that like the olympians, we should go for gold, that the australians should ramp these numbers up, should go for vaccinations because until it gets to 70 and were nowhere near that number lockdowns are going to be the way to deal with those outbreaks. Remember, compared to any other country in the world, these numbers are quite low, but a, the trajectory remains persistently high. Combine that with the high transmissibility of the Delta Variant and the low Vaccination Rates thats really whats making Health Authorities really nervous here. Lets take a look at some other stories in the headlines. The us senate has reconvened to start moving towards a vote on a trillion Dollar Infrastructure Bill which its hoped both republicans and democrats will support. The measure could be voted on this week, but there are still sticking points on how it will be funded, with many republicans opposed to tax increases on big corporations and wealthy individuals. The Video Conferencing Firm zoom has agreed to pay 86m to settle a Class Action Privacy lawsuit in the us. The lawsuit alleged that zoom had invaded the privacy of millions of users by sharing Personal Data with facebook, google and linkedin. The firm denied any wrongdoing, but has agreed to boost its security practices. Mexico is holding a national referendum on whether former president s can be investigated and prosecuted for alleged corruption. President Lopez Obrador put the measures forward as part of his anti corruption drive. But critics say theyre unnecessary, and there are concerns not enough people will turn out to vote to make the proposals binding. Tourists have been evacuated from beaches in South Western turkey, where raging wildfires are now threatening hotels and homes. At least six people are reported to have been killed, but officials say they have now brought almost all of the fires under control. The Tokyo Olympics is entering its last week or should we say � lap so lets check in with mariko oi, who is there for us. Great to have you on the programme, as always. Earlier, sarah told us about all the sporting action, but it looks like youve been covering the story over the weekend. Some of these athletes are choosing to go out and about The City, even though theyre not allowed. Yes, thats right. We heard over the weekend that two athletes from georgia who won a Silver Medal Injudah have been stripped of Olympic Accreditation judo, and returned home. There are other officials treated the same. Outside, a drinking party within the Olympic Village is now under investigation. The Organising Committee had to take a very tough approach because they know the public sentiment towards the games have been rather negative into respiration, and nowi have been rather negative into respiration, and now i dont think many people blame those athletes in preparation. Still, the very fact the games are taking place is sending the wrong message, and we saw the number of new infections In Tokyo at record high are hitting above 4000 for the very first time on saturday. Yesterday, we saw the number just about 3000, and whats concerning is that usually over the weekend, we expect these numbers to be slightly lower because of the number of tests that can be carried out in hospital. I think we should really monitor the numbers in the next coming days, but even more alarming is the proportion of those tests coming back positive hitting almost 20 , according to the tokyo government. Really some concerns about those high numbers. But there is quite a lot of excitement about the japanese athletes and their strong performance. You have been watching newsday. Before we go, just time to share with you these pictures of Two Sumatran Tigers who are recovering at a zoo in the Indonesian Capitaljakarta after being infected with coronavirus. 9 year old tino and 12 year old hari tested positive in Mid July after they experienced flu like symptoms. Officials at the zoo say the tigers are healthy now. The zoo has been closed sincejune, as covid 19 cases have soared nationwide. Thats all for now. Thanks so much forjoining us. Im Karishma Vaswani. See you next time. Hello there. For most parts of the uk, Sunday Got August off to a relatively quiet Start Weather wise. I say most parts of the uk. For some, there were some vicious downpours and thunderstorms during the afternoon. And its a similar story into monday a relatively dry, but not completely dry start to the new week. Quite a cool start as well and then some wetter, windier weather is set to develop later in the week. High pressure trying to control things at the moment, but its quite a weak ridge of high pressure, not strong enough to fend off all the showers. Most places having a largely dry day on monday with some sunshine, but quite a lot of cloud clinging on across north east scotland, certainly across the northern isles. This area of cloud bringing rain to much of northern ireland, and then some showers breaking out across parts of england and wales as we head into the afternoon, some turning quite heavy and thundery for the South West of england, wales and the midlands. The winds very light, so get yourself into some sunshine and it wont feel too bad, despite these temperatures being quite disappointing for the time of year, 14 20 degrees. Some of those showers across england and wales will continue on through monday night, even into the early hours of tuesday. Most places will be dry with some clear spells, but you can see this area of rain approaching the far South West. Quite a fresh, cool start to Tuesday Morning as well, but that area of rain in the far South West looks set to dive away southwards towards parts of france, so that rain not making a lot of progress across our shores, just really into cornwall and the isles of scilly. We will see some rain across the channel islands, but most places on tuesday seeing some spells of sunshine and one or two showers popping up again into the afternoon. A few of those could be heavy, possibly thundery, and temperatures again up to 20, possibly 21 degrees. Now, into wednesday, i think we could see a few more showers breaking out at this stage, a line of showers likely to push in across north west scotland, some breaking out elsewhere through the afternoon and again some heavy, thundery ones, those temperatures around 20 or 21 degrees. As we head towards the end of the week, things are set to turn more unsettled. One area of low Pressure Rolling in for thursday, another one behind it and thats our Weather Maker for next weekend, so generally speaking as we head towards the end of the week it is going to turn more unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain and potentially some fairly brisk winds as well. This is bbc news. We will have the headlines and all the main News Stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. Welcome to hardtalk with me zeinab badawi, coming to you from barbados. Im on an historic Sugar Plant Plantation where Enslaved Africans toiled in backbreaking labour during three centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. Barbados was one of the earliest and most profitable of the slave colonies in the caribbean. This is the house on the grounds of the plantation, built in the 1650s, where the slave owners