caused him to change direction. now today, world rugby have announced of course that they'll be appealing this decision to overturn the red card. in a statement, they said they fully support the important role that an independent disciplinary process plays in upholding the integrity and the values of the sport, particularly regarding foul play and had contact. and, of course, they went on to say that player welfare is the sport's number one priority, hence why you're hearing from a lot of charities at the moment, including headway, about why this is so important. now we have heard very recently that the hearing will be early next week — we don't have exact details of that yet — but you can see, with the rugby world cup so close, why world rugby will want this in some way to be resolved. well, as sara alluded to there, there has been plenty of reaction to the decision to initially overturn the ban and then world rugby�*s decision to appeal. luke griggs is chief executive of the british brain injury charity headway and he's criticised the process. i think it's been a huge embarrassment to world rugby, and i think the way this has been handled, this is a problem with our own making. itjust adds to the confusion about what is safe and is not safe. on the community level is much as anything else and that's always where our major concern is because community support follows what they see on the big screen set by elite level support. this is a very, very sorry state of affairs. well, earlier i spoke with former wales international alix popham, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2020. he's welcomed the world rugby�*s appeal adding that farrell always gets off lightly. i think it's a positive decision that they've done this. there's been an uproar, i think, in the media over the last couple days that the red card was downgraded to a yellow, and it's the right decision. this hasn't been a pleasant couple of days reading all the stuff on different social media platforms, and yet, he needed to happen. he's a serial tackler, with regards to these types of offences. he's very physical player — i like that about him, but he hasn't learned his lesson, and to me, the punishment hasn't been severe enough for him. he always gets off lightly with the number of weeks or games that he can't play for. it's positive world rugby have come forward, but when it was turned from a red into a yellow, that's not a good look for parents who are looking to send their kids to rugby practice, and showing its allowing tackles like that to go ahead — the kids will be watching it, and they'll think that if a rugby player like owen farrell can get away with it, then that's what they'll do in their games and replicate how he's playing. well, england — without farrell — face ireland in dublin on saturday. they're coached by owen's dad, andy. he's been left unimpressed by the treatment his son has received over the last few days. i don't normally say too much because of that type of reason, about my son, but what i would say probably at this point in time is the circus that has gone around all this is disgusting. in my opinion, disgusting. and i suppose the people who love their time in the sun get a few more days to keep going out and doing that. well, andy farrell isn't the only angered coach. eddiejones took on the australian media on thursday before they flew out to the world cup. he described his press conference as the worst he's ever taken part in as journalists asked about australia's poor form, which has seen them lose their last four tests. i know what's wrong with australian rugby. part of you blokes are the problem, cos you're so negative about everything. you're so negative about everything. we'll go out there and do our best, boys. if you haven't got anything positive to say, don't ask. don't ask any questions, boys. just be the pessimists you are. keep australian rugby where it is. love this negativity, it's fantastic. love it, love it. keep going, keep going. we're terrible. you know we're terrible. just tell us we're terrible. we'll prove you wrong. always said with a smile on his face. so, lots to debate before the rugby world cup gets under way in three weeks�* time. meanwhile, the women's football world cup draws to a close on sunday when england face spain — and england's manager appears to be a woman in demand, before the tournament has even finished. sarina wiegman has been linked with the now vacant position in charge of the usa after vlatko andonovski stepped down on thursday. but after guiding england to euro success last summer and now to the final of the world cup, the football association's chief executive mark bullingham says she's going nowhere — and has praised wiegman�*s impact on english football. sarina has done an incredible job since she started. she has built an incredible culture in the camp and is incredibly calm. that translates through to the players and she is a brilliant tactician as well. we have seen how she's moved formations from one to another and transformed this team in the tournament. well, whatever the speculation, wiegman will be focused on sunday's final in sydney. england's opponents, spain, have enjoyed theirfirst training session since arriving in australia, following their 2—1 victory against sweden in auckland. like england they are seeking to be crowned world champions for the first time come sunday and will be watched by queen letizia and her daughter, but the uk royals will not be in attendance. away from the women's world cup, harry kane may have only been at bayern munich five days, but the club's head coach is already full of praise for his new striker. the england captain is in line to make his bundesliga debut this weekend with bayern, who are the german champions, travelling to werder bremen on friday. tuchel says kane is already a major, positive influence in the changing room. my first impressions of harry are fantastic. he is a top professional. the quality is outstanding. and he is a fantastic human being. he is very open. he is first on the training pitch, he is open in the dressing room. i think he has a leading effect in the dressing room with his personality, his approach to football, his love for the game. while in saudi arabia, neymar has praised cristiano ronaldo for opening the doors for other footballers to follow him to the gulf state and begin a new era for league football in the country. translation: | believe i competitively is important. that's why i'm joining this league. obviously it's a very different switch, but it's a new challenge. i believe cristiano ronaldo started all this, and everybody called him crazy. today, you see the league grow more and more. to tennis, and at the cincinnati open, world number one iga swiatek had to battle back from a set down to defeat china's zheng qinwen and book a place in the quarterfinals. the pole who only lost a single game in the previous round victory started in a predominantly white outfit that saw her beaten 6—3 in the opener. she changed into a black outfit after this and proceeded to take the next two sets 6—1, 6—1, setting up a last eight match up with world number 10 marketa vondrosouva of the czech republic. in the men's draw germany's alexander zverev moved into the quarterfinals after beating daniil medvedev in windy conditions, earning his first win over a top ten player this year. zverev will next meet adrian mannarino for a place in the semifinals. russian and belarusian track and field athletes are unlikely to be able to compete at the 2024 olympics, says world athletics president lord coe. world athletics has banned competitors from the two countries from its events, including under a neutralflag, because of russia's invasion of ukraine. the international olympics committee has said athletes should be able to compete as neutrals. coe made the comments, after being re—elected for a third and final term. our position is very clear. the council has made that position clear, the new council — not going to speak for them in advance — but i would be very surprised if there was any shift in that position. and i think that we have certainty, and we've done it for the reasons of integrity of competition. well, coe was speaking ahead of the start of the world athletics championships, which starts on saturday in budapest. karsten warholm will be one of the main names to watch out. the two—time world aoo—metres hurdles champion enters the event as the big favourite. warholm also won olympic gold last year in a world record time of 45.94 seconds. 10,000 metres commonwealth games champion eilish mccolgan won't be at the event though. she's had to pull out because of a knee injury. better news for britain's beth potter as she out—sprinted home favourite cassandre beaugrand to secure victory in the paris 2024 triathlon test event. it was potter's first—ever win in an olympic—distance race. you can get all the latest sports news from the bbc sport app orfrom our website, but from me and the rest of the team at the bbc sport centre, goodbye. hello. we're going to have all sorts of weather on friday — from morning thunderstorms across the south of the country, to sunshine in the lake district and scotland. so a real mixed bag on the way. so let's have a look at the big picture. here's the satellite picture — jet stream pushing along this developing area of weather. multiple areas of low pressure and multiple weather fronts heading our way. and yes, there'll be some storms, too. so let's have a look at the early morning forecast — showers already breaking out across some southwestern parts of the country, possibly some rumbles of thunder, too. but further north and east, i think bright spells, if not cloudy skies across some of these north sea coasts. quite muggy in the morning. but let's have a look at the thunderstorms, then. so sweeping in from the south—west — this is around about 7am — the position of these storms very tricky to pinpoint, but we will see some downpours in places. frequent lightning, gusty winds, as well. some rain moving through northern ireland in the morning, too, then eventually, these thunderstorms will move into the midlands, move a little bit further northwards, and most of them should fade — so we're not anticipating any storms further north. now further north, it'll be a little bit cooler — around 17 in aberdeen, 19 in glasgow, further south across the country, around about 21—23 celsius. then friday night, the next era of rain sweeps across the country — this is a developing area of low pressure — with the risk of gales around some western and south—western coasts. so very blustery weather for a time in the morning, especially out towards the south—west. the rain will move north, and then later in the day on saturday, it's actually better — it's quite a breezy day, but plenty of bright, if not sunny weather, and just a scattering of showers. and the temperatures will rise a little bit, as well. now looking ahead to sunday, an area of high pressure is expected to build in from the south, extending all the way from these south—western portions. and i think a pretty decent day on the way, just a scattering of showers, really pleasant temperatures — 25 in london, about 20 expected in glasgow, and about 21 in belfast. and the outlook is looking warm for many of us, not necessarily sunny all the time — i think the low 20s further north, and comfortably into the mid—20s across some southern areas. that's it for me, bye—bye. live from washington, this is bbc news. fast—moving fires are threatening communities around the globe — we look at the regions under threat, from canada to the canary islands. west african leaders prepare for possible military intervention in niger. plus, over 100 people have been arrested in pakistan following the burning of christian churches. hello, i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. in hawaii, where maui has been dealing with the aftermath of devastating wildfires, the island's emergency management chief resigned on thursday, citing health concerns. herman andaya had come under fierce criticism for his handling of the disaster, amid questions over why maui's emergency sirens were not used at the height of the crisis. maui's county mayor vowed to look for a replacement as quickly as possible. meanwhile, the search for victims continues. at least 111 are now confirmed dead. crews are searching some 2,000 burnt businesses and homes, but the job is not yet even 50% complete. while the exact cause of the wildfires is being investigated, mounting evidence shows downed power lines could have played a role. here's the bbc'sjohn sudworth. maui's fight continues. this pilot, hovering above a swimming pool,