welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. chaos reigns in sri lanka — the ousted president goes back on his promise to resign, while he's away. security forces, police, all the arm guards, they are nowhere to be seen. another public building here in sri lanka which is now been occupied by the people. the former uk chancellor rishi sunak leads the field after the first vote to choose britain's new prime minister. president biden insists america's commitment to israel's security

is "unshakeable" as he arrives in israel at the start of his first middle east tour. a judge tells amber heard she has no grounds for a retrial — after her ten million dollar defamation trial againstjonny depp. welcome to newsday. it's six in the morning in singapore, and three thirty in the morning in sri lanka — where president gotabaya has not honoured his promise to resign. he flew out of the country, to the maldives, about 2k hours ago. but in a public letter, he said he was appointing the prime minister to be the acting head of state — while he was absent.

that's led to anger among protestors, who wanted both men to quit. meanwhile, a curfew is in force and the prime minister — and now acting president ranil wickremesinghe has told the military to do whatever is necessary to restore order. from colombo, our south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. their target heavily guarded. their mood determined. as news spread that prime minister ranil wickremesinghe had just been made acting president, crowds gathered in front of his office, one of the few government buildings not yet occupied by protesters. there is a tense standoff now. protesters are lined up all the way along this avenue on the other side here you can see the security forces who are guarding this office.

protesters are chanting that ranil wickremesinghe, prime minister, is a thief. they don't just want president gotabaya rajapaksa to step down, they want the whole political class to leave, and they want a change. and this is how they are pushing for that change. a mass movement born out of economic hardship, sending a message to those in power. we don't want violence and we don't want that prime minister trying to be a president right now, we only want, please, resign. but it didn't take long for security forces to use tear gas and water cannons. shrieking. explosions. well, theyjust fired tear gas and protesters tried to make their way

to the prime minister's office, but as you can see, they didn't manage, there is a large security presence there, some protesters still trying to climb in. just over the gate, you can see inside there nowjust how many members of the security forces are in there, and we can feel the tear gas on our skin now. a lot of people here have been tear gassed, but they are not giving up, they still want to get inside. the protesters a re the protesters are getting closer now. there is a standoff. they are not giving up. he could see the police with guns. he could see the police with guns. then a breakthrough.

outnumbering and overpowering the police. yet another protected building overrun by protesters. cheering. well, this is quite an extraordinary moment. after hours of trying to make their way in, they've finally done it. protesters have pushed their way through the gates of the prime minister's office and they are everywhere. the security forces, the police, all the armed guards, they are nowhere to be seen. another public building here in sri lanka which is now being occupied by the people. and it is quite a moment. but where does that moment go next? why did you come here today? to help my country. i love my country, so i want to help my country. protesters chant. but who can save it?

as they celebrate, sri lankans are still suffering. after taking government buildings, who do they trust to take power? rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. i'm joined now byjonathan spencer, who is the regius professor of south asian language, culture and society at the university of edinburgh. he's written a number of works on sri lanka, and the country's civil war. great to get you on the program. astounding scenes in sri lanka from my colleagues report. an astonishing letter from gotabaya rajapaksa letter from gota baya raja pa ksa himself, letter from gotabaya rajapaksa himself, everyone is expecting him to resign but he still tried to cling to some semblance of power. how might this be viewed by protesters, do you think? i how might this be viewed by protesters, do you think? i have to sa . i protesters, do you think? i have to say- i don't — protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have _ protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have quite _ protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have quite the - protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have quite the same i say. i don't have quite the same reading of the communication that you have. the reports are seeing

today, which is the communication which came through the speaker of parliament seemed to suggest that he is still on his way out, he's not imagining a come back. indeed sets out a timetable for parliament to convene and to elect a new president. i met a bit of a loss that this is been framed in your report. i that this is been framed in your re ort. , that this is been framed in your reort. , . ,, h, that this is been framed in your reort. , report. isee. iappreciate your readin: report. isee. iappreciate your reading of— report. isee. iappreciate your reading of what _ report. i see. i appreciate your reading of what you _ report. isee. iappreciate your reading of what you have - report. isee. iappreciate your reading of what you have seen| report. i see. i appreciate your. reading of what you have seen in terms of the events on the ground in sri lanka. should we talk perhaps about what you think his immediate plans might be? as you point out, there is a timetable, there is a plan to get a new president elected by the 20th ofjuly, i believe the date is, but still at this point in time a great deal of anger in sri lanka about what's happened to the country. many still pointing to president gotabaya rajapaksa as the man to blame. president gotabaya ra'apaksa as the man to blamah president gotabaya ra'apaksa as the

man to blame. yes. the protests are very firmly — man to blame. yes. the protests are very firmly fixed _ man to blame. yes. the protests are very firmly fixed on _ man to blame. yes. the protests are very firmly fixed on the _ man to blame. yes. the protests are very firmly fixed on the family - man to blame. yes. the protests are very firmly fixed on the family and i very firmly fixed on the family and to some extent the figure of ranil wickremesinghe who was brought in as a stand in prime minister after the eruption in may. as long as ranil wickremesinghe is there and acting as prime minister of the protests will continue. until gotabaya will continue. until gota baya rajapaksa will continue. until gota baya raja pa ksa actually will continue. until gotabaya rajapaksa actually formally resigns so the protests will continue. his left the country, he's apparently bound for singapore on a private jet later tonight. bound for singapore on a private jet latertonight. but bound for singapore on a private jet later tonight. but he hasn't as far as we know or if he formally resigned he is not around to telling anybody. just resigned he is not around to telling an bod ., , ., resigned he is not around to telling an bod. , �* resigned he is not around to telling an bod ._ ., �* , anybody. just to say, we've seen the re norts of anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him _ anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him coming _ anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him coming to _ anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him coming to singapore | reports of him coming to singapore as well. we've not been able to confirm that at this point but we do have a team at the airport waiting to see if that does happen. as and

when we get confirmation we will be able to update our viewers. just looking at how bad this could get, when looking at images right now from those protests. a real sense of anger on the ground. the military being ordered to do whatever is necessary to restore order, how much worse could this get in your view? if they do actually follow through on the prime minister suggestion about for example, using live ammunition against protesters they could get very bad indeed. but i don't think they will. throughout these protest the military have often acted with considerable brutality, they've acted with much less brutality than they would've done a year ago or five or ten years ago. they are holding back. they are certainly not soaking up competition in the way we might have expected. until we actually see evidence to the contrary i wouldn't expect the

security forces to be increasing the level of confrontation. for all the striking nature of the images your sin, we got to remember in the last week for example, one person has died as a result of tear gassing and the demonstrations. the actual physical hurt to people is not anything like the scale that you may expect given but is actually happening out there. jonathan s-encer, happening out there. jonathan spencer, thank _ happening out there. jonathan spencer, thank you _ happening out there. jonathan spencer, thank you so - happening out there. jonathan spencer, thank you so much i happening out there. jonathan l spencer, thank you so much for happening out there. jonathan - spencer, thank you so much for your time on the program. appreciate your thought on newsday. we have a special section on our website including this piece by an agent digital reporter looks back on the dramatic events unfolding. well worth the lead. just log to bbc .com. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the dj tim westwood is facing allegations from a woman who says they had sex several times starting when she was 14.

she says mr westwood was in his 30s at the time and describes him as a "predator". the woman is one of several to come forward after an investigation by bbc news and the guardian — mr westwood has not responded to a request for comment. a french inquiry has found that liverpool fans were unfairly blamed for the chaotic scenes at the champions league final in paris to "divert attention" from the organiser�*s failures. riot police sprayed tear gas at liverpool fans, including women and children. rail workers in the uk are to stage a fresh strike — threatening travel chaos at the height of the summer holidays. the rmt union says railway workers will stage one—day of industrial action on wednesdayjuly the 27th. it's part of an ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. the first round of voting to decide who will be the next prime minister

of the uk has reduced the field to six candidates — without throwing up a clear favourite. the next vote takes place on thursday and the process will take until september to come up with a winner. with the latest — here's our uk political editor, chris mason. the first moment of decision in determining who might be our next prime minister... it will be eliminated. the chancellor and the runner up in the last conservative leadership bracelet beaten by borisjohnson, both out. we now though that you will be our next perm minister, who should be? figs will be our next perm minister, who should be? �* , , will be our next perm minister, who should be?— should be? as supporting rishi sunak. should be? as supporting rishi sunak- this _ should be? as supporting rishi sunak. this is _ should be? as supporting rishi sunak. this is someone - should be? as supporting rishi sunak. this is someone of- should be? as supporting rishi i sunak. this is someone of ability who has been thinking about the right thing to do for our economy. earlier the campaign launch to penny mordaunt who finished second in today's race. another cramped and

sweaty affair with a spot of merchandise thrown in. the face that may not be familiar but soon it might be. a former defence secretary and campaignerfor brexit and who pitch to be prime minister deals for now at least i could have some momentum. i now at least i could have some momentum-— now at least i could have some momentum. ~ ., , momentum. i think our party has lost her sense of— momentum. i think our party has lost her sense of self. _ momentum. i think our party has lost her sense of self. if _ momentum. i think our party has lost her sense of self. if i _ momentum. i think our party has lost her sense of self. if i can _ momentum. i think our party has lost her sense of self. if i can compare - her sense of self. if i can compare it to being in the glastonbury audience when paul mccartney was playing a set, we indulge all those new tunes but what we really wanted was the good old stuff that we all knew the words to. low tax, small state, personal responsibility. what state, personal responsibility. what do ou sa state, personal responsibility. what do you say to _ state, personal responsibility. what do you say to the — state, personal responsibility. what do you say to the vast _ state, personal responsibility. what do you say to the vast majority of people listening to this this morning who would not come across you before and perhaps wonder whether you have it in you to be prime minister? i whether you have it in you to be prime minister?— whether you have it in you to be prime minister? i think that i am one of the _ prime minister? i think that i am one of the best _ prime minister? i think that i am one of the best prepared - prime minister? i think that i am l one of the best prepared candidate in this contest. i've served in a

huge number of ministerial positions, i've also served in the private sector, i worked in the public sector.— private sector, i worked in the public sector. private sector, i worked in the nublic sector. ., public sector. down the road at the same time — public sector. down the road at the same time another _ public sector. down the road at the same time another contender, - public sector. down the road at the i same time another contender, former soldier says he'll priorities much more money for the military. when we talk about defence _ more money for the military. when we talk about defence spending _ more money for the military. when we talk about defence spending we've i talk about defence spending we've .ot talk about defence spending we've got to _ talk about defence spending we've got to he _ talk about defence spending we've got to be absolutely clear that we will never — got to be absolutely clear that we will never put the safety of our country — will never put the safety of our country in _ will never put the safety of our country in doubt. because of being counters— country in doubt. because of being counters or spreadsheets. the forei . n counters or spreadsheets. the foreign secretary counters or spreadsheets. "iie: foreign secretary liz counters or spreadsheets. ti9 foreign secretary liz truss finished third to replace borisjohnson. tomorrow as mps vote again it's her turn to set out why she should win. still to come a bit later in the programme — we'll explain why amber heard has had her request for a new trial in her defamation case againstjonny depp refused. but first... president biden has arrived in israel at the start of a landmark regional tour, which will include a visit to saudi arabia. on his first first trip

to the middle east since taking office, he was met by new israeli prime minister, yair lapid. mr biden will also meet the palestinian president during his trip, before heading to meet leaders of the gulf states, for discussions about the global supply of oil. here was his message on arriving in tel aviv. every chance to return to this great country where the ancient roots of thejewish people date back to biblical times, is a blessing. because the connection between the israeli people and the american people is bone deep. it is bone deep. generation after generation, our connection grows. we invest in each other. we dream together. mr biden will become the first us president to fly directly to saudi arabia from israel. this is seen as a small, but significant sign of riyadh's growing acceptance of israel and comes after decades of boycott in solidarity with the palestinians. yolande knell gave us

the latest from jersualem. joe biden has come to this region many times before but this is his first time as a us head of state and he was greeted as an old friend by israeli leaders when he arrived at the airport. he was then shown cutting edge israeli technology and taking to israel's holocaust memorial and museum. in initial remarks we got an idea of what this trip is really all about. the security threat that israel and arab countries in the region see from iran and its proxies, hopes that the us can deepen alliances between israel and arab states that were brokered by the last administration. including military partnerships for that there are hopes of the israeli side to of steps to which will eventually be a normalised nation with saudi arabia. and from president biden there was talk of the enduring us hopes of creating an independent palestinian state to end the long—standing

conflict with israel. now, these things are going to come up again and again as president biden meets israeli leaders through the day here on thursday. and then goes on to the occupied palestinian territories for a few hours on friday to try to rebuild ties with the palestinians that were broken during the trump years. ultimately, joe biden will head tojeddah in saudi arabia on friday, that's one of the most important and delicate parts of the trip where he will be looking to saudi arabia, an important oil producing country of course, for help to bring down world energy prices. if you want to get in touch with me on any of these surges seen so far. get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. china is experiencing a heatwave

so fierce it's making roads buckle and roofs melt — we'll hear from our correspondent in beijing. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the euro zone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust in the worst crisis to hit the euro zone has been averted. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worst floods the century. nearly 100 people have been killed. . broadway is traditionally called . the great white way by americans. but tonight it is - completely blacked out. it is a timely reminder— to all americans of the problems the energy crisis have brought to them. i leaders meet in paris for a summit on pollution, inflation, and third world debt. this morning, theyjoined the revolution celebrations for a show of military might on the champs—elysees. wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering

ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on huge shows of their favourite foods, pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. welcome back to newsday. another disappointment for amber heard in her legal battle against her former husband jonny depp — a judge has rejected her attempt to have a new trial in the defamation case. ms heard's lawyers had claimed that one of the jurors should not have served, but the judge said there was no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing. mr depp was awarded ten million dollars in damages for a defamatory article written by his ex wife. live now to our correspondent rianna croxford in washington. great to get you on the program. just give us a sense of what this is

a for amber heard.— just give us a sense of what this is a for amber heard. amber heard had asked the court _ a for amber heard. amber heard had asked the court to _ a for amber heard. amber heard had asked the court to wash _ a for amber heard. amber heard had asked the court to wash the - a for amber heard. amber heard had asked the court to wash the verdict . asked the court to wash the verdict in whichjohnny depp was awarded $10 million in damages and order a new trial, essentially her legal team and made a claim of improperjury service. saying that one of the seven jurors service. saying that one of the sevenjurors had not been properly vetted as he showed up in his father's place in an apparent case of mistaken identity. essentially the pair shared the same name and live at the same address. as you say, thejudge live at the same address. as you say, the judge today said there had been no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing, that due process had been followed, that it was bound by the competent decision of the jury. when you look at how much public interest is been in this case and media interest in the us as well, a lot of commentary has focused on amber heard and she's been the subject, some people have said unfairly on social media outrage.

continued?— unfairly on social media outrage. continued? :, , , ., continued? that is right. this was a heated six week _ continued? that is right. this was a heated six week trial _ continued? that is right. this was a heated six week trial that _ continued? that is right. this was a heated six week trial that was i continued? that is right. this was a heated six week trial that was live | heated six week trial that was live stream for millions to see across the internet and for many was considered trial by social media. amber heard more so thanjohnny depp. more subjected by a wave of memes and criticisms and jokes about her testimony. she sent smoking about out about the hate and vitriol she received online including many death threats. ultimately, this was a case that led to renew debate online about the future of the need to movement and how society treats women, people who claim to be affected by abuse.— women, people who claim to be affected by abuse. thank you so much for “oininn affected by abuse. thank you so much forjoining us— affected by abuse. thank you so much forjoining us and _ affected by abuse. thank you so much forjoining us and giving _ affected by abuse. thank you so much forjoining us and giving us _ affected by abuse. thank you so much forjoining us and giving us the - forjoining us and giving us the latest on that story. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the turkish mediators who have been overseeing talks between russia and ukraine over exports of grain through the black sea say progress has been made and agreed to resume talks next week. the meeting was called

after russia's invasion led to a blockade of ukrainian cargo ships — triggering a spike in globalfood prices. since the war started i've been underlining dm portents of ukraine's food products and russian food and fertilisers fully available in world markets. more technical work will now be needed to materialise to this progress. that the momentum is clear. :, , progress. that the momentum is clear. :, :, progress. that the momentum is clear. ., ., , ., clear. pope francis is named three females to — clear. pope francis is named three females to an _ clear. pope francis is named three females to an advisory _ clear. pope francis is named three j females to an advisory committee. amid three women to our nuns. in the roman catholic church women yet cannot become bishops and the pope said to be open to women leaving any vatican department. a well—known hong kong activist — known as grandma wong — has been jailed for eight months for taking part in an unlawful assembly in 2019. the sixty—six— year—old regularly campaigned for full

democracy for the territory. she's the second veteran activist jailed in hong kong in as many days. europe is also in the grip of a heatwave — which is set to last for at least another week. the highest temperatures have been recorded in southern spain and portugal — 45 degrees celsius — that's 113 degrees fahrenheit. a number of wildfires have broken out. let's turn to china now — where record—breaking, sweltering temperatures across central and southern parts of the country have triggered the highest level of china's warning system. at the same time, heavy rains and flooding are hitting the north of the country. 0ur china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports from beijing. in recent days across much of china it's been pretty unbearable to be outdoors. in province after province record high temperatures have triggered red alerts. in cities with temperatures between a0 and 42 c,

outdoor work like on building sites has been suspended. people are sharing footage on social media, a museum with the roof collapsed because tiles melted and a road where it buckled because of the heat. hospital admissions have increased and people have reportedly been dying from heat stroke. now, all along, residents are having to queue up outdoors every few days to do pcr tests as part of the country is ongoing zero covid policy. spare a thought for those carrying out the testing, they are dressed head to toe in hazmat suits in sweltering conditions. meanwhile across the north of china, heavy driving rain has triggered flooding. the frequency of the flooding in china is according to chinese scientists because of global warming. this is a massive ongoing problem. but people here have to get through the coming days and weeks

and that might not be so easy because forecasters are saying that the heat waves could be hanging around in china are quite a bit yet. steven mcdonald reporting on the rising temperatures in china. time to share with you some spectacular pictures of the supermoon lighting up the night sky. if it seems to be a little bit bigger and brighter than usual, that's because it is to the closest point of the earth and its orbit. it's known as the buck boom because of the system based on native american calendars and this is the time of year when male deer shed and regrow their antlers. interesting fact. look at that moon, just to save our audiences out here in asia when there was an attempt to see this overnight it was very cloudy sadly, a bit difficult to see out here in singapore. for the rest of

our audiences around the world i do of the catch a glimpse. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello. for quite a few of us, it is just a little cooler and fresher than it was 2a hours ago. and we do have some slightly lower temperatures in prospect over the next couple of days, but that is not the end of the heat, farfrom it. look at this on wednesday afternoon in southern spain. we saw temperatures up to 45 degrees, and some of that heat is on the move thanks to this area of low pressure to the west of iberia. as this drifts northwards, it will act as a pump. the winds around that low will pump that hot air in our direction. the heat likely to peak around monday or tuesday with temperatures in the mid to possibly high 30s celsius. hence this amber extreme heat warning from the met office covering large parts of england and wales. the risk to health, the risk of disruption to transport and infrastructure.

but in the shorter—term, yes, we do have some slightly cooler conditions out there, 10—16 degrees for thursday morning. through the day, we will see some spells of sunshine, the best of that down towards the south, where it should stay dry. parts of north wales, the north midlands, maybe east anglia could catch the odd shower, and certainly there will be some showers for northern england, for northern ireland and for scotland. the odd one of those could be on the heavy side. temperatures, well, 17 degrees for aberdeen and glasgow, 19 in belfast. still some heat in the south east corner, 27—28 degrees, but probably not exceeding 30. now, as we go through thursday night into friday, again, relatively cool and fresh. we will see more cloud, though, rolling into northern ireland, parts of scotland with some splashes of rain. and friday morning, temperatures generally between 10—14 degrees. through friday, then, we have this frontal system pushing its way south—eastwards, quite a weak affair. it's running into an area of high pressure, but it will still bring some cloud and some outbreaks of rain. these cloudier skies pushing

south—eastwards as the day wears on. the odd splash of rain here and there, but north—westerly winds keeping the most intense heat away to the south for the time being. still 27 degrees there for london, but a little cooler and fresher further north and west. however, watch those temperatures climb through the weekend and into the start of next week. scotland and northern ireland around the middle 20s, northern england into the middle 30s. and further south, well, this is the forecast for heathrow. it'sjust an example, highs of 37, but we could get a little higher than that. we could get quite close to the all—time uk record.

this is bbc news. the headlines — gotabaya rajapaksa has broken his undertaking to resign as sri lanka's president by wednesday. mr rajapaksa has merely appointed the prime minister to be acting president while he remains outside the country in the face of massive anti—government protests. the us president, joe biden, is in israel at the start of a middle east tour. he reaffirmed us support for the idea of a jewish state, and he repeated calls for talks with the palestinians on a two—state solution. the results of the first round of the vote to find a replacement for boris johnson as conservative leader have been announced. six candidates remain with the former chancellor, rishi sunak, and penny mordaunt leading.