welcome to bbc news, i'm kasia madera. our top stories: chaos reigns in sri lanka, after fleeing abroad the ousted president goes back on his promise to resign. the security forces, the police, all the armed guards — they are nowhere to be seen. another public building here in sri lanka which has now been occupied by the people. joe biden insists america's commitment to israel's security is unshakeable, as he arrives there on his first middle east tour as president. and then there were six. two candidates are eliminated after the first vote to choose britain's new prime minister.

and, the man who owned new york's legendary studio 5a nightclub dies by assisted—suicide in switzerland. welcome to our viewers in the uk and around the globe. we start in sri lanka, where president gotabaya has not honoured his promise to resign. he flew 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. 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 stand—off here in colombo. the protesters are here along this avenue, and on the other side you can see the security forces who are guarding this office, and protesters are chanting that ranil wickremesinghe, the 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're pushing for that change — a mass movement borne out of economic hardship, sending a message

to those in power. we don't want violence and we don't want to hit or something to that, that prime minister who try to be a president right now. we only want — please, resign. gas cannisters bang. but it didn't take long for security forces to use tear gas and water cannons. shrieking gas cannisters bang well, theyjust fired tear gas and protesters have tried to make their way to the prime minister's office but, as you can see, they didn't manage and 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! gas cannister bangs the protesters are getting closer now. there is a stand—off at the gates now. the protesters are moving forward. they are not giving up. you can see the police. commotion then a breakthrough. outnumbering and overpowering the police... cheering. ..yet another protected building overrun by protesters. 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. cheering and whistling 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. really, 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 come here and 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. our south asia correspondent anbarasan ethirajan was outside

the prime minister's office. he's been looking at what's behind the dissatisfaction with the president. there have been shortages of fuel mark and medicine, and the foreign currency. schools are closed, hospitals struggling. protests have been going on for weeks, and today marks another dramatic escalation. sri lanka is going through an unprecedented crisis. lots more scores on the website. now to other news. 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's bone—deep. generation after generation, that 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 us head of state. he was greeted as an old friend by israeli leaders as he arrived at the airport.

he was then shown a cutting—edge israeli air force technology and taken to yad vashem, 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 hope even new alliances between israel and arab states that were brokered by the last administration, including military partnerships. there were hopes on the israeli side too of steps towards what will eventually be perhaps normalisation 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. 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 and rebuild ties with the palestinians

that were broken during the trump years. ultimately, joe biden will head tojeddah in saudi arabia on friday, that is for 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. that was yolande knell reporting on that story. 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 political editor, chris mason. the first moment of decision in determining who might be our next prime minister, 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, beaten

by borisjohnson, both out. we now that you you won't be our next prime minister. who should be? i recognise you probably only get one chance to my chance was really in 2019, and so politics moves on. who should be the next? i support rishi sunak, someone of formidable ability and has been thinking about the right thing to do for our economy. he has the highest standard of integrity that i have ever met. earlier the campaign launch of the trade minister penny mordaunt, who finished second in today's vote, another cramped and sweaty affair, with a spot of merchandise thrown in. cheering the face that may not be familiar but soon might be. she's the former defence

secretary who campaigned for brexit and whose pitch to be prime ministerfeels, for now at least, like it has some momentum. i think our party has lost its 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? 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.

0ne one of many modern�*s supporters is the man beaten to the leadership by david cameron i7 leadership by david cameron 17 years ago. you have seen years ago. you have seen some years ago. you have seen some of these. absolutely, i can tell you our nerve—racking they are. i have seen dozens. that is the best i've seen. she is a real star. down the road at the same time, another contender, former soldier tom tugendhat, says he'd prioritise much more money for the military. when we talk about defence spending, we've got to be absolutely clear that we will never put the safety of our country in doubt because of bean counters or spreadsheets. who will replace you, prime minister? who has your vote? the big — minister? who has your vote? the big question followed by the one he won't answer, but borisjohnson the one he won't answer, but boris johnson reckons borisjohnson reckons whoever replaces emma will have the measure of sir keir starmer. anyone would have to combat

captain crasharoonie snoozefest. finally, he can throw off the shackles. _ finally, he can throw off the shackles, say what he really things— shackles, say what he really things and forget about following the rules. laughs. the foreign secretary liz truss finished third in the vote today to replace borisjohnson, and tomorrow as mps vote again, it's her turn to set out why she should win. and later today that will continue. today, chris mason has written up an article about what we can expect in the second round, so check that out on the website. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: thaw in relations — american airlines confirms it'll soon resume flights to several cuban airports. radio: i see you coming down the ladder now. that's small step for man...

..one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence - and hatred that - tore apart the state of yugoslavia, but now, a decade later, - it has been- painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there has been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. seven, six, five... thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime, as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc news — the latest 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. president biden insists america's commitment to israel's security is unshakeable as he arrives there on his first middle east tour. in an increasing sign of thawing relations between the united states and cuba, it's been confirmed that american airlines will soon resume flights to several cuban airports. until last month, passenger flights were only allowed into havana. but president biden has reversed some of the tough restrictions introduced by the trump administration, saying it was in the interests of cubans. is this a thaw in relations? we can now speak tojorge duany who's the director of cuban research institute. hejoins us from miami.

you live in miami but you will uber and emigrated to the us stop —— the us. —— born in cuba. this migration from small provincial towns in cuba, what does that mean for family life? it's great forfamilies does that mean for family life? it's great for families of cuban origin, both in the united states and cuba. it's one of the most popular measures by any means. two—thirds of cuban—americans in a recent poll in 2020 supported opening up these trips to other airports in havana and especially those who still have close relatives there and to live in other places outside havana. it's going to be a relief, and economic relief and also much easier to travel to those provincial airports and to the main airport in havana. when we talk about _ main airport in havana. when we talk about it _

main airport in havana. when we talk about it being _ main airport in havana. when we talk about it being a _ main airport in havana. when we talk about it being a thawing - talk about it being a thawing relations, it changes what president trump had put in place, a reversal of his much, much tougher measures, but not a full reversal and just even picking up on things like family remittance, sending money back, it's possible that the mechanisms are not fully in place. realistically, how does this work? i place. realistically, how does this work?— this work? i think the biden administration _ this work? i think the biden administration has - this work? i think the biden administration has been - this work? i think the bidenl administration has been very cautious in making changes to us cuba policy, especially when last year there were massive protests, peaceful protests for change on the island and nothing has changed. in fact the government has cracked down on these peaceful demonstrations of the biden administration was off on advising the policy and is only taking three major measures, including what we're talking about right now, cutting the maximum amount of money that people can send home and promising to renew the visas at

the us embassy in havana so it's not a full return to the 0bama engagement policy but it is a step forward in trying to improve relationships between cubans on the island and off the island. cubans on the island and off the island-— the island. mexico and argentina _ the island. mexico and argentina very - the island. mexico and argentina very much i the island. mexico and - argentina very much putting pressure on the biden administration to make changes. do you think we will see more of this or, ultimately, i went a bit of a limbo situation up until the mid— terms in terms of president biden in terms of making any more definitive changes when it comes to that relationship with cuba? my impression _ relationship with cuba? ij�*i impression is relationship with cuba? m impression is the biden administration is being very conservative regarding us cuban relations because the potential cost in the number of cuban american voters it might lose here in loreto, florida being an important thing state in elections. i wouldn't expect

any major changes between now and novemberfor the moment. and november for the moment. life and novemberfor the moment. life from miami, jorge duany, thank you for your insight. in france, an official inquiry has found that liverpool football fans were unfairly blamed for the chaotic scenes at the champions league final in paris, to divert attention from the organisers' failures. riot police sprayed tear gas at liverpool supporters, including at women and children. 0ur correspondent in paris, lucy williamson, has more details. it's a pretty strong vindication for 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,

an attempt to divert attention away from the failures of the state. they said the authorities, the approach of the authorities here, was outdated, they still had the image in their minds, they said, of some vision of hooliganism from the 1980s. the liverpool fans association has asked for a full apology from the government, and the senators themselves in the report say the real reasons, the core reasons behind this chaos, still need to be addressed in preparation, the communication, the management of the situation on the night. they say that there are real changes needed in the way france handles its sporting events before it hosts the rugby world cup next year and before it hosts the olympic games in 202a. 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. 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 degrees celsius, outdoor work like on building sites has been suspended. people are sharing footage on social media of a museum in chongquing where the roof collapsed because tiles melted, and of a road where it buckled because of the heat. hospital admissions have increased and people have reportedly been dying from heatstroke. now, allalong, residents are having to queue up outdoors every few days to do pcr tests as part of the country's

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 heatwaves could be hanging around in china for quite a bit yet. quite a bit yet for those heatwaves. at 82 years old, mark fleischman, who owned the legendary new york nightclub studio 5a, has died by assisted suicide in switzerland. he was 82 years old.

he'd talked about suffering from a debilitating illness in his later years. in his book inside studio 5a, he wrote that the club was "an exclusive world where anything could happen". my colleague azadeh moshiri is here. we knew that he was ill, he'd spoken about it but what did we know about the illness itself? he started suffering from it in 2016 but doctors weren't able to diagnose exactly what that condition was. either way it was serious enough that he wasn't able to walk and last month he spoke to the new york post and said it got to the point where he couldn't do everyday tasks, he couldn't dress himself, he couldn't tie his shoelaces, his wife mimi had helped him with most of those tasks, even getting out of bed in the morning so eventually he took this decision to seek assisted suicide and travelled to switzerland, one of the places

that would allow him to do it legally. his long—time business partner, daniel fitzgerald, shared that they held a living wake for mark fleischman on july four, independence day in the united states and had partly hoped he might change his mind. that wake was not mournful, it was a joyful celebration with past friends and club promoters who turned up and club promoters who turned up as well but eventually he did travel and did tell the new york post that "i am taking the gentle way out, it is the easiest way out for me. i know they were _ easiest way out for me. i know they were desperately - easiest way out for me. i know they were desperately hoping l easiest way out for me. i know i they were desperately hoping he would change his mind. i desperately sad situation. in terms of studio 5a itself, he wrote that book and described how it was an exclusive world, anything could happen. an absolute magnet for all the celebrities we are seeing now. that is the joyful part of his legacy and memory, studio 5a, which was one of the hottest nightclubs when it opened in 1977. the lines were across the

street. it was a celebrity haunt. people like bianca jagger, mickjagger, liza jagger, mick jagger, liza minnelli, jagger, mickjagger, liza minnelli, elizabeth taylor, grace jones, minnelli, elizabeth taylor, gracejones, bill regularly grace jones, bill regularly there gracejones, bill regularly there as did andy warhol and there as did andy warhol and the list went on and it was known for its debauchery and wild parties, it opened just when sexual liberation and freedom and so many social movements were happening in the united states and it was the disco era so it happened at the perfect time but 1980, two years after it had opened, the owners went to jail for not paying their taxes and that is where mark fleischman flew in and essentially, he was his own white horse, i say whitehorse because bianca jagger famously rocked into the club on a big white horse.— white horse. just saw that. absolutely. _ white horse. just saw that. absolutely. and _ white horse. just saw that. absolutely. and later - white horse. just saw that. absolutely. and later mark fleischman was the one who took over the club and managed to revamp it and keep it going for a few more years and he did say that it was just as waleed as it was before. in —— wild. in that autobiography imagine, he said from the first night openedin said from the first night opened in 1981, iwas

said from the first night opened in 1981, i was swept in a world of celebrities, drugs, power and sex, so it was the perfect nightclub for that error. ., , . error. that the -- the perfect thoughts _ error. that the -- the perfect thoughts on _ error. that the -- the perfect thoughts on which _ error. that the -- the perfect thoughts on which to - error. that the -- the perfect thoughts on which to finish. l thoughts on which to finish. lots more on mark fleischman passing away on our website. for quite a few of us, it isjust 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.

hello. welcome. this is bbc news. the headlines: the president of sri lanka has not honoured his promise to resign. gotabaya rajapaksa flew to the maldives around 2a 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. president biden�*s 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 israel's new prime minister. mr biden will also meet the palestinian president. the first round of voting to decide who will be the uk's next prime minister 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.