this is bbc news, i'm david eades. our top stories: "shoot on sight" — the orders for security forces in sri lanka amid violent protests calling for the president to step down. a warning for china — the world health organization says beijing must change course on covid. when we talk about a zero—covid strategy, we don't see it as sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future. members of the us house of representatives vote overwhelmingly in favour of providing an additional

$40 billion dollars in aid for ukraine. and going back to the past — the company trying to prove that sailboats are a greener way to transport cargo. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. security forces in sri lanka have been ordered to shoot anyone seen looting or damaging public property in the latest attempt to stop anti—government protests. since last month, the country has been rocked by demonstrations over soaring prices, power cuts and a lack of medicines. at least eight people have died in the violence and 200 have been injured, as our correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports from colombo. a capital under curfew. troops told to shoot at sight at anyone who damages public

property or threatens lives. the skeletons of a bustling city scorched by an economic crisis. reeling after a day of violence. yesterday, supporters of the prime minister attacked anti—government protesters, who until that point had been peacefully demonstrating. at the city's main hospital more than 200 have been wounded, many were beaten up. this man fractured his leg after a tear gas canister landed on it. war veterans yigit and assuncao are out of hospital. men who lost their legs in mines during sri lanka's civil war say they were beaten up by the very people they made sacrifices for. "they started punching me. i was left with only one crutch. they pushed me and i fell." "when we served in the army, people used to pray for us. now we're being attacked."

with trust in the government shattered, the homes of at least two dozen politicians who backed the ruling party have been torched. this was one of the houses that was vandalised last night. it belonged to a supporter of the government, a local mayor. and this was the bedroom. it was set on fire. all you can see now is the metal that forms the coils of the mattress. and if we just move into the living room, completely trashed — just look around. tonight, a resort belonging to the son of sri lanka's former prime minister mahinda rajapaksa, who quit yesterday, was set alight. and clashes broke out in the city of negombo. protesters want the president, gotabaya rajapaksa, to resign — as long as he stays,

tensions on this island will be inflamed. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka. the head of the world health organization has said china's zero tolerance policy against covid is not sustainable. the authorities in beijing have imposed lockdowns affecting tens of millions of people lasting several weeks to try to prevent any spread of the illness. but the who's director general said he had told chinese experts it was time to change that approach. when we talk about the zero—covid strategy, we don't think that it's sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus now, and what we anticipate in the future. we have discussed about this issue with chinese experts, and we indicated that the approach, you know, would not be sustainable. earlier, i spoke to saad omer, the director of the yale institute for global health. i asked him for his view

on china's zero—covid strategy. well, the policy had its value at the beginning, or even at the — well, you know, a few months after the start of the pandemic. if you are in a football game and your first ten—minute strategy is being played out in the overtime, if you will, there is something wrong, and so i do not think it is sustainable in the light of the current variant, its infectivity, but also the fact that there are other tools available. so, china has other tools at its disposal that can be deployed, and i think it should seriously consider expanding a little bit of focus on these other tools and easing up on the so—called zero—tolerance or zero—covid policy. when you talk about the other tools, i presume that vaccines are one of those.

either the vaccines are not terribly effective in beijing's mind, or they are struggling to get people to take them. what is it? in terms of vaccines, it is not a yes—no question. it is notjust vaccines, but what kind of vaccines are being deployed — whether they are deploying boosters. i will give you an example. china focused on the inactivated vaccines that were extremely useful in the beginning, especially against the earlier variants and severe disease, but since then, there have been variants for which you would require additional doses and perhaps different kinds of vaccines. so, there are two applications pending in china for mrna vaccines, and i think china should focus on acquiring the technology, but also producing mrna vaccines for boosters or reconsidering the schedules in line with the variants they are facing.

the other thing is they have sub—optimal immunisation rates in some of the highest—risk populations in china, so they need to be a majorfocus. and then coming back to the... sorry — just on that point — that seems an extraordinary, an anomaly, really, within china that that is allowed to happen, because if they want to impose certain restrictions — as they have done with isolating people and locking down — why can't they impose the insistence that they have vaccines? well, they are. again, even before draconian mandates or strict mandates, there are a lot of things in the toolbox of public health entities, including in china, for example, soft mandates, meaning requiring vaccination for certain activities, and countries like france have

shown that using those kinds of nudges or strong nudges can be helpful. the us house of representatives has voted to give ukraine a further $40 billion in military and humanitarian aid. it's nearly $7 billion more than president biden requested. it's proposed the funds will be used to provide military support to ukraine and humanitarian assistance to the civilians affected by the russian invasion. the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, told fellow democrats it was important to act quickly. as putin desperately accelerates his campaign of horror, the brutality isjust abhorrent brutality in ukraine, time is of the essence. that why we were so pleased to hear

we could proceed immediately with this bill today so it goes through to senate and the president's desk, so the assistance can reach the people of ukraine and eastern europe. what's the impact of that? joining us now from washington, is anna borshchevskaya, a russia expert and senior fellow with washington institute. $40 billion not the 33 billion, just looking at the way that breaks down, third of four military assistance, weaponry and training, third for humanitarian aid, quite a bit forfood shortages as humanitarian aid, quite a bit for food shortages as well, but thatis for food shortages as well, but that is a lot of money going towards military hardware, how will it impact on the military situation?— will it impact on the military situation? ., , ., situation? it's certainly going to help ukraine, _ situation? it's certainly going to help ukraine, the - situation? it's certainly going| to help ukraine, the question is, with the military part referred to as artillery, at this stage, one of the things ukraine needs is more artillery

in particular. again, of course it's going to help, the fact of the matter is, though, ukraine is facing protracted warfare. 0ne is facing protracted warfare. one way or another this is not going to end anytime soon. ukraine is already devastated by the war. i think we need to prepare ourselves for the long stop this is going to sustain the conflict. it stop this is going to sustain the conflict.— stop this is going to sustain the conflict. it would appear president — the conflict. it would appear president putin _ the conflict. it would appear president putin probably - president putin probably recognises that and preparing himself for a much longer conflict? i himself for a much longer conflict?— himself for a much longer conflict? ~' , ., conflict? i think if you look at the may _ conflict? i think if you look at the may night _ conflict? i think if you look at the may night speech i conflict? i think if you lookj at the may night speech so conflict? i think if you look - at the may night speech so many analysts expect that he would announce either full or partial mobilisation, perhaps a final declaration of war because as you know this is quote unquote special military operation rather than war, the fact is, the speech was remarkably

unremarkable. the only thing that stood out to me was that he failed to refer to ukraine in any way at all, he didn't call it a war or a special operation. and it could be that potentially sometime down the road it could open the possibility for reframing it but at this stage since he is simply preparing for more of the same. simply preparing for more of the same-— the same. when we have a situation — the same. when we have a situation as _ the same. when we have a situation as we _ the same. when we have a situation as we do - the same. when we have a situation as we do at - the same. when we have a situation as we do at the i situation as we do at the moment, washington pumping tens of billions of dollars, we know the european union has tried to hold together, you can see whether there are signs for refs here, i'm just reading about half a million german jobs to go, if the russian gas route is axed. how sustainable do you think is that sense of western unity? i do you think is that sense of western unity?— do you think is that sense of western unity? i think that is one of the — western unity? i think that is one of the key _ western unity? i think that is one of the key questions, - western unity? i think that is| one of the key questions, the fact of the matters in short—term, certainly, the

horror that the kremlin has unleashed on ukraine has garnered unprecedented sympathy, and western policymakers, finally have begun reassessing some of their core assumptions about russian statecraft in the russian military and so forth. the question is as war continues to take an economic goal on europe and, frankly the rest of the world, the question is, how long will principal take over, basically from conflict, and thatis basically from conflict, and that is an open—ended question since the number of ukrainian refugees isjust under 6 refugees is just under 6 million refugees isjust under 6 million at this point, the economic effects of the war are widespread and we are only at the beginning of it, really. thank you very much indeed, $40 billion being pledged, it is clear whether loyalties lies at this stage but as you say a

long way to go. elon musk has said he will reverse the twitter ban imposed on donald trump, once he takes over the social media company. the richest man in the world agreed a $44 billion takeover bid with the twitter board last month, but he said it was not a done deal and that ideally it would be completed in the next two or three months. 0ur correspondent james clayton has more. he has kind of already intimated that this was going to happen. this is the first time he has committed to saying that he would actually reverse this ban, and donald trump has not been able to tweet for 15, 16 months now after the capitol hill riots he was accused of stoking, those that elon musk said that it wasn't morally reprehensible to have done, that it was a mistake. the former executive of twitter has said that he regrets that the door is open for donald trump to come back to twitter.

the problem is that donald trump has said he does not really want to come back to twitter. he said he would much rather post on his own platform. so, i would not necessarily assume that he is going to start tweeting. the other thing to mention is that elon musk has not actually bought twitter yet, and he seemed low energy about the deal today, i thought. i'm not necessarily 100% sure — i don't think elon musk is either — that he is going to buy twitter. so, lots of reasons why donald trump might not come back on, but the door is more ajar than it ever has been for the former president to make a twitter return. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: (music) ukraine qualifies for the final of the eurovision song contest. we'll take a closer look at their entry.

the pope was shot, the pope will live — that's the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism had come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentencedl to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication - she felt even - the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake — the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking i place in massachusetts. god bless america! cheering

this is bbc news. i'm david eades. the latest headlines: anti—government protestors defy a nationwide curfew in sri lanka, calling for the country's president to step down. the head of the world health organization has said china's zero tolerance policy against covid is not sustainable. tuesday's uk state opening of parliament marked the first time since 1963 that queen elizabeth didn't attend. her majesty had authorised the prince of wales and the duke of cambridge to open the new parliamentary session. after buckingham palace explained that her majesty was suffering from "episodic mobility problems". our royal correspondent nicholas witchell examines the significance of the events. he's been waiting for his destiny for longer than any other heir to the british throne.

and, while no—one is suggesting that a major change is imminent, the inescapable fact is that a transition is under way. and this, today, was the most tangible sign of it. as prince charles took his place on the consort�*s throne, the imperial state crown, the symbol of the monarch's authority, was placed on a table beside him. the prince studied it closely, and then, with lords and commons assembled, a prince who has never been short of his own opinions took on the discipline required of a monarch. reading out the words written by the government. the continued success and integrity of the whole of the united kingdom is of paramount importance to her majesty's government. it was this, the regency act of 1937, that the palace used to delegate the power to open parliament. yet nobody is suggesting a permanent transfer of the monarch's powers.

the queen is still busy with her paper work and virtual audiences. changes are happening, but they are gradual. for the queen, it has always been very important to carry out all her public duties in public whenever she can. she's famously said "to be seen is to be believed," and she believes the monarchy must be seen, but in future it is likely what we will see is other members of the royal family carrying out royal duties on her behalf. for seven decades, britain has had a highly visible head of state. those days are over, realities are having to be faced, the burden is shifting. nicholas witchell, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news: an international donors conference has raised more than $6.5 billion to help war—torn syria and its neighbours. the news was announced on the second day of a un—backed conference in brussels. earlier the un's high commissioner for refugees, filippo grandi, warned that the humanitarian situation for syrians was catastrophic.

aid agencies say would—be asylum seekers arriving in britain have self—harmed and attempted suicide because of fears of being sent to rwanda. more than 28,000 people crossed the english channel last year. the uk government plans to send people judged to have entered the country illegally, to africa for resettlement, to combat people traffickers. each year, billions of tonnes of goods are transported around the world by sea. huge cargo ships travel the oceans, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. now, one company is trying to provide an alternative and it involves the use of an ancient technology, as tim allman explains. in the shadow of a city built on trade, the present meets the past. and in doing so, could it point to the future? at this port in newjersey, they are loading a cargo ship — well, technically a boat — that harks back to an earlier age.

the grand assail is powered by the wind, transporting goods across the atlantic the old —fashioned way. the mission of grand assail is to reinvent shipping in a way by doing it with a cargo sailboat to reduce the impact on the environment so we want to produce and sell great gastronomic product while we come from far away. the sailboat is a 72—foot, two—masted schooner. it can carry around 50 tons of cargo, a tiny fraction of what a modern transporter ship can hold. one trip takes around 3.5 weeks, weather permitting. so patience really is a virtue for any potential customers. we assure people that it's possible to make green transportation with a cargo, selling cargo, just to take time, and it's possible, yes. there are plans for a sister vessel that'll be about twice the size of grand assail

and can make more trips. no—one is under any illusions that sailboats are about to replace modern cargo ships but in the fight against climate change, every little helps. tim allman, bbc news. it's one of the most profitable gaming franchise deals in history, serving more than 150 million players around the world. for the best part of 30 years, electronic arts has enjoyed huge success with its fifa series of titles. but now, the company says it's splitting from fifa, football's governing body. our gaming reporter steffan powell explains why. ea sports — it's in the game. since 1993, the fifa video game franchise has been made by one company, ea sports. the title has changed immeasurably on the screen and off it — becoming a cultural powerhouse played by 150 million people around the world. but ea sports has announced it's

splitting from fifa — it didn't fancy playing the reported $1 billion price tag to keep the licence from the governing body. it also sees the opportunity to broaden the title from beyond just gaming. instead, ea sports fc will launch in autumn 2023, with this year's fifa being the last one. the move might surprise some, but it makes sense to others. it's where we're seeing games go as a whole, really, moving more into games as a platform and bringing in other brands and entertainment products, such as concerts and other live events into their games. the fifa president says he wants to assure players the fifa name will be the best one available for gamers, as it's the only global original title. they're working on new games. when it comes to ea sports fc, players might not notice a huge difference to the core game's offering, with player likenesses and game modes staying the same. they will, though, see more brand partnerships and experiences beyond games. if that trend sticks, then this is a big moment not

just for the popular games studio, but potentially the industry. steffan powell, bbc news. ukraine has made it through to this year's eurovision song contest final, after qualifying from a semi final heat on tuesday night. the song stefania, by the ukrainian group kalush orchestra, has become the favourite to win the competition. david sillito was there, and his report contains flashing images. turin, eurovision, and flag—waving fans and thousands more in the eurovision village and the most visible flag in the crowd? the blue and yellow of ukraine. he had to cheer along the hot favourites, that kalush orchestra. strangers

bonded by a moment. irate kalush orchestra. strangers bonded by a moment. we met like ten minutes— bonded by a moment. we met like ten minutes ago. _ bonded by a moment. we met like ten minutes ago. we _ bonded by a moment. we met like ten minutes ago. we don't - bonded by a moment. we met like ten minutes ago. we don't know. ten minutes ago. we don't know each other. we are just selling it plugs and supporting each other. it it plugs and supporting each other. , ,., . it plugs and supporting each other. , . ,, other. it is so much sadness also. it other. it is so much sadness else it is — other. it is so much sadness else it is a _ other. it is so much sadness also. it is a big _ other. it is so much sadness also. it is a big unity - other. it is so much sadness also. it is a big unity of - other. it is so much sadness also. it is a big unity of the l also. it is a big unity of the eumpean _ also. it is a big unity of the european family _ also. it is a big unity of the european family so - also. it is a big unity of the european family so it - also. it is a big unity of the european family so it is - also. it is a big unity of the i european family so it is really like a — european family so it is really like a big _ european family so it is really like a big family— european family so it is really like a big family and - european family so it is really like a big family and europe l like a big family and europe and — like a big family and europe and ukraine— like a big family and europe and ukraine it— like a big family and europe and ukraine it feels - like a big family and europe and ukraine it feels like - like a big family and europel and ukraine it feels like part of it— and ukraine it feels like part of it and _ and ukraine it feels like part of it and if— and ukraine it feels like part of it and if this _ and ukraine it feels like part of it and if this is _ and ukraine it feels like part of it and if this is really- and ukraine it feels like part of it and if this is really a - of it and if this is really a celebration _ of it and if this is really a celebration of— of it and if this is really a celebration of this - of it and if this is really a i celebration of this european union — celebration of this european union and _ celebration of this european union and all— celebration of this european union and all the _ celebration of this european union and all the values - celebration of this european| union and all the values and all the — union and all the values and all the european _ union and all the values and all the european values - union and all the values and all the european values and | union and all the values and i all the european values and it seems — all the european values and it seems a _ all the european values and it seems a lot _ all the european values and it seems a lot.— seems a lot. and if it went? i ho -e seems a lot. and if it went? i hone that _ seems a lot. and if it went? i hope that maybe _ seems a lot. and if it went? i hope that maybe in _ seems a lot. and if it went? i hope that maybe in the - seems a lot. and if it went? i i hope that maybe in the future, families divided by wall will one day be able to share this moment in their home country. —— war. moment in their home country. -- war. ~ , . , -- war. my daughter is five ears -- war. my daughter is five years older _ -- war. my daughter is five years older she _ -- war. my daughter is five years older she asked - -- war. my daughter is five years older she asked me, | -- war. my daughter is five| years older she asked me, i hope that my grandfather and grandmother are safe but it would be really better to

this cultist together with them in ukraine. this cultist together with them in ukraine-— in ukraine. the night was all about ukraine _ in ukraine. the night was all about ukraine and _ in ukraine. the night was all about ukraine and they - in ukraine. the night was all i about ukraine and they remain the hot favourite to win on a saturday and what happens to the bad if they do when? well, they go straight back to ukraine and their agenda is not music. i spoke to the bad's leader oleh before the show and whatever happens on saturday, on sunday it is back to work. translation: we on sunday it is back to work. translation:— translation: we have a volunteer _ translation: we have a volunteer organisation. i translation: we have a - volunteer organisation. there are 35 of us we are helping people with transport, accommodation, medicine, were doing everything possible to help people across the ukraine. but back in the semifinals, it was a little eurovision moment. ukraine! the song, does that have become a symbol of hope, support, community.

david sillito, bbc news, turin. and good luck to ukraine and the other contestants, of course. bye for now. hello there. tuesday was a day of sunshine and showers — most of those showers were across scotland and northern ireland. and there was quite a lot of rainfall across parts of western scotland at times — some of these showers quite heavy, even some rumbles of thunder, too. for the next few days, it's going to remain breezy, rather unsettled, low pressure nearby, and we'll see showers or even longer spells of rain. now for wednesday, this feature could bring some significant rainfall to parts of england and wales throughout the day. now some of that rain really will be quite heavy across parts of wales, south—west england through wednesday morning. and then, that rain will push in towards the midlands, parts of eastern england into the afternoon — i think the northern extent of it being around the greater manchester area, not further north than that. but as this rain band begins to move south—eastwards into east anglia in the southeast, it will begin to fragment.

again another windy day to come, particularly across southern britain with that rain band. quite gusty, as well, across the northwest of scotland, where we'll see sunshine and showers. and temperatures will range from around 14—17 celsius. pollen levels on wednesday, again, will be rather high, but maybe not quite as high across england and wales as we'll have that rain band. now, that rain will clear away from the south—east as we move through wednesday night, then skies will clear. winds will turn a little bit lighter, as well, but there'll be further showers across the north and the west of scotland in particular. now, with the clearer skies, a slightly cooler air mass — it'll be a fresher night to come for wednesday night, with temperatures down into single figures for most. the pressure chart for thursday, then, shows more weatherfronts affecting northern parts of the uk — so again, it'll be quite breezy and showery here, a little bit drier further south. so, best of the sunshine for england and wales throughout thursday. after that fairly fresh start, temperatures will begin to rise. more cloud, though, for northern england, northern ireland, and scotland — there's the north—west of scotland,

which will see most of the showers and also the strongest of the winds. after that cool start, temperatures will reach highs of 14—18 or 19 celsius across the south. for friday, again, weather fronts bring more showers and blustery conditions across the north of the uk, but as we head into the weekend, this area of high pressure begins to build in. it turns sunnier and warmer, but we could see potential of some thundery showers across southern areas, especially on sunday. so, those temperatures will be building as we head on into the weekend, as that area of high pressure starts to establish itself. and there'll be increasing amounts of sunshine, but also some heavy showers in the south.

this is bbc news — the headlines: tens of thousands of military personnel have been deployed in the sri lankan capital, colombo, as the government struggles to contain protests against the spiralling cost of living. security forces have been given the right to shoot anyone suspected of looting or posing a risk to life. china has been urged to change its zero—covid strategy by the world health organisation. the head of the un agency said efforts to eliminate the virus were unsustainable. many cities in china have faced lockdown restrictions as the country suffers its worst covid outbreak since the pandemic began. the us house of representatives has voted overwhelmingly in favour of providing an additional