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 — fleeing abroad — and installing an interim president 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. and then there were six — two candidates are eliminated 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 there on his first middle east tour. protestors gather in washington to demand more action on gun legislation — as newly—released video of the texas school shooting sparks more anger about the police response. welcome to newsday. it's sevenin the morning in singapore, and four 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 are getting closer now. there is a standoff. they are not giving up. you 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. this bbc news, colombo. week's demonstration should this week's demonstration should those months of economic turmoil which is brought misery to millions in the country. james mandel explains more of what led to the chaos of recent days. shri micah isn't real difficulties at the moment. first of all, almost complete economic collapse, inflation is more than 50%, food prices soaring up 80% and transport costs. that's having a real impact. there are about 22 million people in sri lanka for them and the un programme says that more than 6 million of them don't know where their next meal is coming from. why is the economy in such dire straits? tourism, a majorforce to enact source of foreign

revenue, the terrorist bombings in 2019 and then by the covid pandemic. or ukraine is also added to rising food and fuel prices. the global downturn of sri lankans leave overseas ascent less money home. but the protesters all saying this man, the outgoing president gotabaya rajapaksa, part of a family dynasty that dominated politics here for two decades. he banned fertile imports, supposedly to make sri lanka, it devastated the rice crop and lead to food shortages with a he also cut taxes. this left the government struggling to pay its bills and he borrowed heavily leaving $50 billion mostly old to china. and drain left little to buy food imports. so the president has now fled. left a vacuum now

as mps struggled to possibly form some part of unity government for the all that matters because without a stable government sri lanka may struggle to win international support. it's already discussing a pillow from international monetary fund and it's talking to china about its debt. so there is an uncertain teacherfor a debt. so there is an uncertain teacher for a strategically important island nation where economic crisis has now been followed by political upheaval. just tuesday we apologise for some of the technical difficulties you may have heard in that report. we will try to get that fixed for later editions. 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 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 air defense 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 help 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, 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 hearfrom our correspondent in beijing.

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this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines. the president of sri lanka — gotabaya rajapaksa — who fled abroad in the face of massive anti—government protests — has broken his earlier undertaking to resign. two candidates have been eliminated after the first round of voting to choose britain's next prime minister. 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... morduant, 67. ..and who definitely won't be.

two candidates will be eliminated, jeremy hunt and nadhim zahawi. the chancellor and the runner—up in the last conservative leadership race out. we out. know that you won't be our next we know that you won't be our next prime minister, who should be? �* , , , ., next prime minister, who should be? �* , , , next prime minister, who should be? , , ,, be? and supporting rishi sunak. this is someone _ be? and supporting rishi sunak. this is someone of— be? and supporting rishi sunak. this is someone of formidable i this is someone of formidable ability has been thinking about the right thing to do for our economy. the right thing to do for our economy-— the right thing to do for our econom . . .. economy. earlier the campaign launch penny _ economy. earlier the campaign launch penny mordaunt - economy. earlier the campaign launch penny mordaunt who i launch penny mordaunt who finished second in today's vote. another cramped and sweaty affair with a spot of merchandise thrown in. the phase that may not be familiar seemed likely. pitch to be prime minister lists fields for now at least like could have some momentum. i now at least like could have some momentum.- now at least like could have some momentum. i think it's this party _ some momentum. i think it's this party has _ some momentum. i think it's this party has lost _ some momentum. i think it's this party has lost a - some momentum. i think it's this party has lost a sense i some momentum. i think it's this party has lost a sense of| this party has lost a sense of self — if i can compare it to being in the glastonbury

audience when paul mccartney was playing his set, we indulged 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 do you say to the vast majority of people listening to this this morning who have not come across you before and perhaps wonder whether you have it in you to be prime minister in just a couple of months? i think that i am one of the best prepared candidates in this contest. i have served in a huge number of ministerial positions. i have also served in the private sector, i have worked in the public sector. down the road and contender saying he had prior ties much more money for the military. when we are talking about defence spending we've got to be absolutely clear that we will never put the safety of our country in doubt. because of being counters or

spreadsheets.- of being counters or spreadsheets. of being counters or sreadsheets. ~ ., , spreadsheets. who will replace ou spreadsheets. who will replace you prime _ spreadsheets. who will replace you prime minister? _ spreadsheets. who will replace you prime minister? who i spreadsheets. who will replace you prime minister? who has l you prime minister? who has our you prime minister? who has your vote? — you prime minister? who has your vote? the _ you prime minister? who has your vote? the big _ you prime minister? who has your vote? the big question i your vote? the big question followed by the one he won't answer but borisjohnson reckons whoever replaces him will have the measure of keir starmer. �* , ., ., .., , starmer. anyone who could wipe the floor with _ starmer. anyone who could wipe the floor with captain _ starmer. anyone who could wipe the floor with captain snooze i the floor with captain snooze says. the floor with captain snooze sa s. ., ., ., , says. the labour leader teased mrjohnson _ says. the labour leader teased mrjohnson about _ says. the labour leader teased mrjohnson about his - says. the labour leader teased mrjohnson about his approachj mrjohnson about his approach to life after downing street. finally he can throw off the shackles comes they really, really — shackles comes they really, really things and forget about following the rules. the foreign _ following the rules. the foreign secretary i following the rules. the foreign secretary liz i following the rules. tie: foreign secretary liz truss finished third in the boat today to replace borisjohnson. tomorrow as mps vote again it's her turn to set out why she should win. our political editor chris mason. our political editor chris mason. almost 50 days after the uvalde tragedy, new cctv video has been released which shows how the school shooting in texas unfolded, with police waiting more than an hour before

entering a classroom. 19 children and two teachers were shot dead when a gunman opened fire at robb elementary school in may. paul adams has this report. this was the moment 18—year—old salvador ramos arrived at robb elementary, crashing his pick—up truck before approaching the school armed with a semi automatic rifle. his movements caught on surveillance cameras. he enters the building. the corridors deserted. staff have already sounded the alert. a child emerges from the bathroom, spotting ramos moments before he starts his attack. we are not broadcasting the sound of the gunfire that follows. within two and a half minutes, police officers are seen entering the building. they are armed. they can hear shooting. they seem poised to intervene. but apparently fearing for their own safety, they retreat. in the agonising minutes that follow, more heavily armed officers arrive

from multiple agencies. finally, a full hour and a quarter after ramos entered the classroom, officers go in. 19 students and two teachers are already dead. the investigation into what happened, and the apparent failures, goes on. the video has been known about for weeks. but uvalde's mayor is furious it has come out now. there is no reason for the families to have to see that. they do not need to see the gunman coming in and hear gunshots. they have been through enough. that was the most chicken way to put this video out today. for the people of this still traumatised community, the video is a new source of anguish, and questions. these officers have their shields and weapons until their protective gear and they are standing there. standing there. 911 calls coming in from this child saying i can hear them talking to command.

thatjust is not right. the head of public safety in texas has called the police response in uvalde and abject failure, saying the officer in charge put the lives of his men before those of the children. paul adams, bbc news. two friends were an official inquiry has found that liverpool fans were unfairly blamed for the calyx beams at the champions league and harris to divert from the organisers failures for the riot police sprayed tear gas that liverpool supporters including women and children. at the time liverpool fans were blamed for the trouble accused of drug use eight tickets. a new report says ticketing cannot be used as the sole or main reason and it concluded that mistakes were made at every level. our correspondent has more details. it's a pretty strong vindication of liverpool fans.

this is the conclusion of senators after weeks of voluntary hearings with government ministers, with police, with match organisers. and in the report, they zoom in on the comments by the interior minister, gerald darmanin, in the days following the match where he blamed liverpool fans for the chaos. that, they said, was unfair and unacceptable and, yes, was an attempt to divert attention away from the failures of the state. in fact, they said the approach of the authorities here was outdated. they still had the image in the minds, they said, of some vision of hooliganism from the 1980s. now, the liverpool fans association has asked for a full apology from the government, and the senators themselves in the report say the core reasons behind this chaos still need to be addressed in the preparation, the communication, in the management of the situation on the night. they say real changes are needed in the way that france handles its sporting

events before it hosts the rugby world cup next year, before it hosts the olympic games in 2026. the chaos at the stade de france, they say, was a wake—up call. 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. our 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 40 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, allalong, residents are having to queue up outdoors every few days to do pcr tests as part of the country 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.

stephen mcdonald reporting from beijing. ajudge has rejected her attempt to have a new trial in the defamation case. ms. herds lawyers had claimed that one of the jury should not have served but the judge said there was no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing. mr depp was awarded $10 million in damages for a defamatory article written by his ex—wife. our correspondent has been following this for us in washington. amber heard had 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 had made a claim of improperjury service. saying that one of the seven jurors 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, 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. there has 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? that is right. this was a 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 since spoken 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. reporting from washington talking us through the events that have led up to this point in amber heard's case. reminder of our top stories. the midnight deadline in sri lanka has passed without gotabaya rajapaksa resigning even though he's fled the country and it seems unlikely to return. mr gotabaya rajapaksa has merely appointed a prime minister as we been appointing to be acting president while he is absent. protesters want both men to quit. we will speaking to an activist and human rights lawyer in the next hour of news day. for now, thank you for watching. do stay

with bbc news. hello. for quite a few of us, it is just a little cooler and fresher than it was 26 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 ourdirection. 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. we'll 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, i'm stephen sackur. 25 years ago, almost 1.5 million christians lived in iraq. now there are around a quarter of a million. and after years of war and sectarian violence, many of them have been displaced from their ancestral homes. can anything be done to reverse this trend toward extinction? well, my guest is archbishop bashar warda of erbil,

home to the largest remaining christian community