hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is outside source. the us central bank announces its latest move on interest rates to clamp down on inflation. another big rise is expected any moment now, as the federal reserve battles prices rising at their fastest rate in a0 years. the war in ukraine continues to push up the price of gas — with prices in europe back close to record highs. but there's hope, meanwhile, for a breakthrough, allowing ukraine's grain to flow again will ease the also in the programme: birmingham prepares for the commonwealth games with athletes — and celebrities — ready to show off

the city's heritage. this is a kind of tribute to all those who travelled anywhere to have a better life, and to watch people compete and have a lot of fun and to yell at a big bull in a stadium in birmingham! we can't wait! hello, welcome to outside source. just to mark your card off the bat, we are expected to hear that interest rate rise announcement. as soon as we get it, we bring it to you. last month, remember, the biggest rise ever was introduced to combat inflation there, places around the world facing similar challenges. as soon as we get an announcement will bring it to you. let's bring you the problem of how to get vital

grain out of ukraine. millions of people depend on it and we're learning a bit more about how it could happen. a co—ordination centre for ukrainian grain exports has opened in turkey. it's part of the un—brokered deal to get supplies moving, after the war with russia cut them off. we've been hearing from a senior adviser to the turkish president. i am very hopeful that it will work. turkey has done a fine job bringing together the two combatants, and the united nations is involved, so i'm very optimistic. well, it was for the benefit of everyone. it was for the benefit of russia and the benefit of ukraine, so when it's a win—win situation, they agree to it. the deal would involve ships being inspected near turkey, before being guided past ukrainian mines in the sea — to be loaded. but recent russian attacks on infrastructure in ports — like this one in odesa — have raised concerns over the fragility of the process. this is the view of a board member of one of ukraine's largest private ports. the risks are, as you can imagine, that the russian federation does not

stick to the agreement which they have signed and basically attack the commercial ships and basically ruin the mill. i think this is what everyone is concerned about. our international correspondent orla guerin is in istanbul with more. there was a brief opening ceremony carried out by turkey's defence minister, hulusi akar, of the centre. it's located on the campus of a university here in istanbul, the national defense university. during that ceremony, we saw representatives from the two warring parties, from russia and ukraine, sitting in silence on opposite sides of the table. there have been reports in the turkish media that those representatives will have separate office space in the centre and that they will only be brought together if there is a crisis to be dealt with. we got a little bit more detail today from the defence minister. he said there would be a team of 20 manning this centre. there would be five representatives each from turkey,

the united nations, russia and ukraine, and that those representatives would be both civilian and military. turkey is keen to talk this up and talk up the diplomatic potential, and the defence minister said today that turkey hoped this could be the beginning of a move towards a permanent peace. i think as far as everybody else is concerned, that is a very distant prospect. but in practical terms, this centre has been described by a senior united nations official as the heartbeat of the operation to get the grain deal going. let's take a look at the scale of the problem. it's thought around 20 million tonnes of grain are stuck in silos around ukraine — grain many countries rely on. before the war, 12% of global wheat exports came from ukraine. some countries in africa and the middle east are being hit hard. to give you an idea, libya relies on ukraine for over half its wheat, lebanon around 60%.

this is the head of the un delegation in istanbul. global food security, so, yes, we need to succeed. the primary consideration in this initiative is to ensure the safety and safe navigation of merchant vessels, so of course all of those considerations will be taken into account. essentially, the food crisis means the world's poorest countries are paying more for less food. it's hoped the deal will help with that. but one ukrainian farmer isn't optimistic. translation: we can't sell. the grain, and that's getting us into financial trouble. historically, it makes no sense to make a deal with russia. they're only worth the paper they're written on. the hope is that the deal will go some way towards easing ukraine's battered economy — this is the governor of its central bank. so, our expectation

is that the country. may export 5 million tonnes per month, so it means- approximately, let's say, 5 billion us dollars - by the end of the year. and let's get more from kyiv. here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. and indeed, the un secretary—general, when he was speaking about this last friday, said it was an almost unprecedented deal in the midst of a bloodied conflict between two warring parties. that conflict goes on completely unabated, and we saw that very clearly illustrated in the attack on the port of odesa by russia on saturday, other attacks involving russian missiles on coastal areas in the days since then, and now we're also seeing a very concerted effort by the ukrainians to put pressure on one of the first cities that the russians took back in march, kherson in the south — not a million miles from odesa. what they've been doing is they've been using some

of their recently acquired, highly sophisticated western rocket artillery systems to target the bridges that link kherson to other bits of russian—controlled territory, and they are causing damage and they believe that they might soon be in a position to cut those russian troops off. and, indeed, a presidential adviser here in kyiv this morning was saying to the russians, "look, your troops better leave "while they still can." let's go to the us now and return to our top story. the federal reserve has announced another hike in its key interest rate. it has risen by three quarters of a percentage point, the second time in a row. it was kind of expected, but let's work out exactly what it means. mickey levy is a senior economist with berenberg capital markets and a member of the shadow open market committee. thanks very much for coming on the programme. mi; thanks very much for coming on the programme-— thanks very much for coming on the programme-_ was - thanks very much for coming on the programme._ was youri

programme. my pleasure. was your reaction to this _ programme. my pleasure. was your reaction to this rise? _ programme. my pleasure. was your reaction to this rise? well, - programme. my pleasure. was your reaction to this rise? well, it - programme. my pleasure. was your reaction to this rise? well, it is - reaction to this rise? well, it is welcomed _ reaction to this rise? well, it is welcomed in — reaction to this rise? well, it is welcomed in that _ reaction to this rise? well, it is welcomed in that the _ reaction to this rise? well, it is welcomed in that the fed - reaction to this rise? well, it is| welcomed in that the fed needs reaction to this rise? well, it is . welcomed in that the fed needs to hike rates further, it is a welcome step, but they have further to go to hike rates in order to constrain inflation. , , . ~ hike rates in order to constrain inflation. , ., ~ , ., ., inflation. just talk us through what that relationship _ inflation. just talk us through what that relationship is, _ inflation. just talk us through what that relationship is, why _ inflation. just talk us through what that relationship is, why has - inflation. just talk us through what that relationship is, why has the i that relationship is, why has the fed got to do that?— that relationship is, why has the fed got to do that? sure. 0k, in the united states, _ fed got to do that? sure. 0k, in the united states, of— fed got to do that? sure. 0k, in the united states, of course, _ fed got to do that? sure. 0k, in the united states, of course, there - fed got to do that? sure. 0k, in the united states, of course, there is i united states, of course, there is very high inflation, but really unlike europe, the inflation in the united states is driven by a combination of strong demand that was driven by excessive monetary fiscal stimulus and supply constraints, so the fed has hiked rates now, and its target ranges now 2.225 and 2.5, which is still in the right direction but every time in the past, in order to really rein in inflation, the fed needs to raise its federal funds above the underlying rate of inflation, so

once again this is a step in the right direction. what is important here is the higher inflation is already starting to bite into real disposable income, and you see by corporate learning reports —— earning reports and messages from ceos, it is starting to squeeze demands and margins in housing markets... we demands and margins in housing markets---_ demands and margins in housing markets... ~ ., , markets... we are seeing the impact on the housing _ markets... we are seeing the impact on the housing market, _ markets... we are seeing the impact on the housing market, beginning i markets... we are seeing the impact on the housing market, beginning of| on the housing market, beginning of the lessening of demand. do you think it is inevitable that we are going into a period of recession? it is not inevitable, because the us financial and economic conditions are in much better shape than prior expansion peaks, but it is very likely we go into a shallow recession stuff so once again, but we have right now is more anecdotal

evidence that labour markets going to soften, product demand is going to soften, product demand is going to soften, product demand is going to soften, but we do not have hard monthly data yet, and the next two months, we are going to get a lot more data. it is really going to put the fed on the hot seat stub that is, it knows it has to raise rates more because the core inflation is high. at the same time, is going that the hike in rates and inflation are going to harm economic behaviour —— it is well—known it is going to stop what understood. mickey levy, we will leave it there. thank you very much for coming on the programme. right. let's get the latest on gas supplies in europe. gas prices have surged after russia further cut supplies to germany and other central

european countries. wholesale prices are 4a8% higher than they were a year ago. experts say that's significant. we actually saw an all—time record high being traded today, at more than 220 euros a megawatt hour compared to the usual trading range, which is below a0 euros a megawatt hour over the last five years. this is what's contributing to those higher prices. what you're looking at here is a map of the nord stream pipelines, which move russian gas into europe through germany. eu countries have blocked the use of nord stream 2, which would've boosted capacity. they did it in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. this week, russian gas giant gazprom said it would cut gas supplies on the other pipeline down to about one fifth of capacity — that's half the current rate. russia says it's necessary for maintenance. but many aren't buying this explanation. overnight, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky repeated his call for more sanctions against moscow. let's hearfrom him. translation: it is clear to everyone that this is russia's deliberate -

price terror against europe. using gazprom, moscow is doing everything to make this winter the toughest for european countries. it is necessary to respond to terror. respond with sanctions. concerns have grown for some time about what would happen if russia turned off the tap completely. that brings us to yesterday, when energy ministers announced an agreement to cut gas consumption by 15%. for now, though, the pledge is voluntarily — and there are a number of exceptions. here's energy commssioner kadri wilson speaking at the announcement. initial calculations indicate that even if all the exemptions are used in full, we would achieve a demand reduction that would help us safely through an average winter. the situation�*s impacting europe's largest economies. here's business reporter tadgh enright.

nobody is more worried than germany, it has to be said. they're most reliant on russian gas. they're europe's industrial heavyweights, and most people would say that's why they've been reticent to criticise russia over the war in ukraine. as the ambassador to the uk pointed out, the german chemicals producer basf actually consumes more gas than the nation of belgium. and, of course, rising gas prices leads to political issues too — both across the region and within the countries themselves. jenny hill is in berlin. i think, really, what we're seeing too is vladimir putin ultimately testing eu solidarity, because germany — the eu's biggest economy, so used to being the one telling other countries that they need to do better when it comes to managing their own finances, for example — is now having to go to other eu member states and say, "look, we might need your help in the coming weeks and months." some of those other member states not necessarily being terribly keen to give back the solidarity that perhaps berlin would like. let's turn to afghanistan. it's been almost a year since the taliben re—took power there.

and resistance forces — loyal to the previous government — are fighting an insurgency. at the moment, the fighting is limited to a handful of areas. secunder kermani was given rare access to one of the areas where they've been active — the andarab valley. out on patrol. the taliban are now more powerful than they've ever been. more powerful than the old afghan government ever was. but in this scenic part of the country, they're facing a resistance movement. a small band of guerrillas, led by former army soldiers, is launching attacks here in andarab, as well as in neighboring panjshir province, where they recently managed to bring down a taliban helicopter.

it's hard to get a sense of the true scale of the fighting. the resistance exaggerate their strength, whilst the taliban outright deny their presence. translation: you can see yourself, we only have a small— military presence here. there are no problems. i was told of at least one ambush on a taliban vehicle in this valley. translation: that| was a long time ago. we carried out some operations in the mountains, and now there is nothing. elsewhere in this province, resistance fighters managed to take over a taliban military post, pulling down theirflag. but when we visit andarab, they're the ones in charge. from what we've seen, the taliban are in firm control of the territory here. that's presumably why they're happy for us to have visited. but they're also accused of committing serious human rights abuses, in trying to stamp out this resistance movement. relatives told us villagers abdul hashim and nur rullah

were detained and killed, after wrongly being accused of attacking the taliban. these are the dead bodies of a doctor and five members of his family, murdered last year. relatives allege he was targeted for treating members of the resistance. earlier this year, another doctor was also killed. i've been told of two doctors in andarab who were killed, four young men who were killed after being detained. we've spoken to people who knew them. eyewitnesses. they say they were arrested and then shot. translation: there was one doctor who was killed at his home. - that was due to some personal feud. as for people being taken out of their homes, detained, bound and then killed, we totally refuse this. yes, if there is a clearance operation in an area and someone

violently resists the government forces, they will be killed or arrested. that happens everywhere in the world. accompanied by taliban fighters at all times, it was hard to gauge what locals really think. many we contacted secretly strongly oppose the taliban, but some also criticised the resistance forces. we managed to speak to one of their commanders. surely there's no actual chance of you defeating the taliban, so what's the point in continuing the violence? translation: our fight - is forjustice, for brotherhood, equality and for the real islam, not the islam of the taliban, which defames the religion. ourfight is for the rights of our sisters. the prophet muhammad said education is compulsory for both men and women. the taliban's insurgency over

the past two decades was, in part, fuelled by anger at aggressive raids and the killing of civilians by international forces and the afghan army. here in andarab and the surrounding areas, despite recruiting some locals, many see the taliban as outsiders, and they risk repeating the same mistakes as their old opponents. secunder kermani, bbc news, andarab. now to the english city of birmingham, where final preparations are taking place for the 2022 commonwealth games. over 11 days, more than 5000 athletes from 72 nations and territories will compete in 19 different sports — that's 280 medal events.

this year's games are historic for a number of reasons. they'll feature the largest number of events for women and para—sport athletes, it's the first multi—sport event to award more medals to women than men, and it's the first major multisport event that's carbon neutral. what you're seeing here is from a little earlier today — it's the queen's baton relay. the baton has already visited the 72 competing nations and territories and is now in birmingham. this is just from the last hour. actor and comedian — and west midlands local — sir lenny henry is carrying the baton into the city centre. earlier, he described what the moment means to him. these things have meaning, you know. it's notjust carrying a baton. for a lot of people, it's... you know, our parents came here in the �*50s, and we walked cold streets and we stand on their shoulders. so this is a kind of tribute to all those who travelled anywhere to have a better life, and to watch people compete and have a lot of fun and to yell at a big bull in a stadium in birmingham! we can't wait! the opening ceremony is expected to play out to a live audience of 30,000. it'll celebrate the games and propel

birmingham onto a global stage. birmingham was awarded the games in 2018 after durban was stripped of its right to host it due to financial problems. that cut prep time to just four years, instead of the usual seven. the total cost of the event is expected to be around £778 million. to discuss, uk commonwealth games minister nigel huddleston joins me now from birmingham. thanks for coming on the programme. good evening. 50. thanks for coming on the programme. good evening-— good evening. so, £700 million, lus, is good evening. so, £700 million, plus. is this _ good evening. so, £700 million, plus, is this going _ good evening. so, £700 million, plus, is this going to _ good evening. so, £700 million, plus, is this going to be - good evening. so, £700 million, plus, is this going to be worth i good evening. so, £700 million, | plus, is this going to be worth it? absolutely. there is already been at a major impact, because we have built some fantastic new facilities, like a brand—new aquatic centre, complete refurbishment of the alexander stadium as well, but there are some also softer benefits, skills, and inspiring a potential generation of future athletes and

excitement about sport. there are some very tangible benefits so we will be well worth the money. birmingham local government they're having to pick up some of the bill, though. have been worries that he cost like this is too much of a strain on the public purse. there is a benefit to — strain on the public purse. there is a benefit to the _ strain on the public purse. there is a benefit to the whole _ strain on the public purse. there is a benefit to the whole country, - strain on the public purse. there is a benefit to the whole country, but in particular to birmingham and the west midlands. for example there's a whole programme of events to generate business and tourism that comes out of this, so, yes, birmingham itself and the entire west midlands will benefit, the whole country will as well, and that is all part of the legacy programme and part of the planning all along. to bid for these games, it is often highly competitive, precisely because there is a very, very strong and return on investment, and it is seen with olympics and... and return on investment, and it is seen with olympics and. . ._ seen with olympics and... you've said the word _ seen with olympics and... you've said the word olympics _ seen with olympics and... you've said the word olympics there, - seen with olympics and... you'vel said the word olympics there, and seen with olympics and... you've - said the word olympics there, and he were legacy, so i have to ask you, of course, about 2012 in london, where there was a huge success, there is a huge expectation on the legacy, and several reports since have worried that actually the

legacy areas, things like participation, have not lived up to the billing. find participation, have not lived up to the billinu. �* . . , the billing. and we have really focused and _ the billing. and we have really focused and learned _ the billing. and we have really focused and learned lessons i the billing. and we have really i focused and learned lessons from 2012. but anybody who has been to stratford in east london can see the massive benefits, reno —— regeneration in that area of london, and we are getting that ended birmingham as well, and also advancesin ended birmingham as well, and also advances in transport, but it goes beyond that. we really focusing on money through sporting one to generate excitement and interest in sport, in particularfocused on scores —— sport england. focusing on schools has been a core part of this programme and we've been talking about legacy since the very first days of planning this, learning the lessons of 2012, so i can assure you the legacy benefits have been front and centre of our considerations for many years. and centre of our considerations for many years-— many years. ok, i am going to be a bit cheeky and _ many years. ok, i am going to be a bit cheeky and get _ many years. ok, i am going to be a bit cheeky and get you _ many years. ok, i am going to be a bit cheeky and get you to _ many years. ok, i am going to be a bit cheeky and get you to do - many years. ok, i am going to be a bit cheeky and get you to do a - bit cheeky and get you to do a reportersjob, because i know people will be watching and wonder what is

going on over your shoulder. can you briefly say what is going on behind you right now?— you right now? there is a fantastic atmosphere _ you right now? there is a fantastic atmosphere in _ you right now? there is a fantastic atmosphere in birmingham - you right now? there is a fantastic atmosphere in birmingham this i atmosphere in birmingham this evening because we are in victoria square, where the baton hasjust arrived. lenny henry was carrying the baton. hejust travelled arrived. lenny henry was carrying the baton. he just travelled for 293 days, it was first launched from buckingham palace by her majesty the queen and it is just arrived here, so it is back home in birmingham and ready therefore for the opening ceremony tomorrow night, and there are thousands of people here getting very, very excited. so the excitement is really building and the baton always helps build that excitement, but it is great to have it here now in birmingham. absolutely. you have a second career asatv as a tv news reporter if you ever need! thank you for talking us through that, nigel huddleston. now to another sporting event here in the uk — football. let's talk about the women's euros. the second semifinal is tonight. france and germany will be playing. the winner will face

england in the final. there's a big buzz of excitement here after the lionesses's 4—0 victory last night against sweden. it was watched by a peak television audience of 9.3 million. tickets for the final have sold out. plenty of reaction on twitter. this is prince william... and wayne rooney, former england men's captain... let's hear more about what's expected tonight. ben croucher is at the stadium in milton keynes. france are playing in this stage of the competition for the very first time. they are an energetic side, they're entertaining, they are free—flowing, full of flair, but they haven't really hit top gear in this tournament so far. they drew with iceland in the group stage and needed extra time, a hard—fought victory over the dutch, in the last stage. they had 33 shots on goal but only

scraped through 1—0 in that game. if they can finally click into gear, they'll be playing in their first major final. germany, on the other hand, eight—time winners of this competition, they have been ruthless and relentless so far. they've played four, won four, and they're the only side not to have conceded a goal in this competition so far. but one of their influential players has been ruled out by covid, and germany's manager says that has left them feeling a little subdued. thanks to ben for that. before you gom let me show you this. miners in north—east angola have discovered a rare, pure, pink diamond. they think to be the largest of its kind to be unearthed for 300 years. the australian site operator named the 170 carat stone the lulo rose, after the mine where it was found. similar stones, once cut and polished, have sold

for record—breaking prices. that's it from me. i'm lewis vaughan jones. this is outside source on bbc news. bye—bye. hello there. the weather is quite quiet through the middle part of the week. it's all about high pressure at the moment, but it's a rather cloudy high, so after early morning sunshine, the cloud did arrive as we went through the day and, in actual fact, there is a few isolated and well—scattered showers around as well. so the high is starting to push its way steadily eastwards, and what that will then do is allow the wind direction to change to a light, but a southeasterly, so it's a warmer flow through the course of thursday and also into friday. here are the showers moving their way gradually northwards overnight tonight, out of wales, into northern england, across the isle of man, maybe one or two to the far north of northern ireland as well. with the cloud around too,

we keep those temperatures up into double digits, so it's going to be a milder start to thursday morning. bit of a grey one. still some showers gradually drifting their way to southern scotland as well. they will weaken as we go into the afternoon. and on the whole, despite the cloud, there will also be some glimpses of sunshine and temperatures a degree or so up on today. we should see highest values of 2a degrees — that's 75 fahrenheit. now, that bodes well for the commonwealth games opening ceremony taking place in birmingham. cloudy skies, but a good deal of dry weather and certainly not too cold. so there's the high, pushing its way off into scandinavia. friday will be certainly a quiet day with very light winds, with the exception of the far north and west. as we go through the day, the breeze will pick up and we'll gradually start to see some cloud. there's a weather front that's going to bring some rain for the start of the weekend. but on the whole, friday will be dry, settled and sunny and relatively warm — mid to high 20s not out of the question across some parts of the midlands and south east england. then, as we move into the weekend,

i can offer you some welcome rain across scotland, northern ireland and northern england, maybe north wales as well. however, it's never going to get down to the south east, so, here, it will stay dry, sunny and warm. the rain sits across the far northwest, slowly easing away for the second half of the weekend. all in all, then, let'sjust summarise that for you. as we head into the weekend, there's going to be some rain in the far north and west, gradually sinking south, but it never quite makes the south east.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones, this is outside source. the us central bank makes another big increase in interest rates to clamp down on inflation. the 0.75% rise is the second in a row from the federal reserve, which is battling the fastest—rising prices, in a0 years. the united nations calls on china to repeal the national security law in hong kong — saying it harms fundamental rights and freedoms. and, birmingham prepares forthe commonwealth games, with atheletes — and celebrities — ready to show off the city's heritage. this is a kind of tribute to all of those people who travelled anywhere to have a better life, and to watch people compete and have a lot of fun and to yell at a big bull in a stadium

in birmingham — we can't wait! hong kong now. the united nations human rights committee says hong kong's controversial national security law should be repealed. the committee was reviewing hong kong's record on human rights for the first time since the security law effectively shut down pro—democracy protests in the territory. let's hearfrom the un. the committee was deeply concerned about the overly broad interpretation of hong kong's national security law, the nsl, which was passed by the national people's congress of china without consultation with the hong kong public. since its enactment in 2020, the nsl has reportedly led to the arrests of over 200 people, including 12 children. hong kong is a special administrative region of china —

and a former british colony. 7 million people live there. when the territory returned to chinese rule in 1997, they were promised "one country, two systems" with hong kong's historic freedoms protected. the un committee says the national security law appears to undermine those rights and freedoms. let's get more from the bbc�*s imogen foulkes in switzerland. what they're saying is that this law, which was passed by china, apparently without any real consultation with local authorities in hong kong, it says, you know, you can be arrested for subversion, sedition, endangering national security. now, these are very broad terms, catchall terms which can be used and are used in repressive states to crack down on political opponents and that is what appears to have happened here. the un committee said it looked like, you know, at least 200 people had been arrested.

not sure what's happened to all of them. some of them may have been sent to china for prosecution. very worrying, as well, many, many human rights groups in china and trades unions groups have simply stopped working because they are worried about repression, or even left hong kong altogether. and, most worrying of all, the groups who did testify to the un committee, it appears the committee could not get categoric cast—iron assurances from hong kong—stroke—china that these people would not be persecuted for giving evidence to the committee. so, really, not a good look for china. the committee says the law should be repealed. it's you know, big open question, though, whether beijing is actually going to listen to any of that. hong kong's national security law was introduced injune 2020. and welcome back to over whether people will be persecuted giving

evidence. persecuted for giving evidence. hong kong's national security law was introduced injune 2020. it introduced penalties up to life in prison, covering broad categories including.... secession — that's breaking away from the country subverting the authority of the government... as well as terrorism... and colluding with foreign powers. since its introduction the hong kong authorities have cracked down on pro—democracy news outlets leading to several closing — including the independent newspaper, apple daily, and earlier this year, the uk withdrew its two supreme courtjudges from hong kong's top court — saying the threat to civil liberties in the territory had made their role untenable. chung ching kwong, is a political activist who left hong kong in the wake of the national security law — she is hong kong campaigns coordinator for the inter—parliamentary alliance on china — and is in london. thank you for coming on the programme. first of all, is there anything in this report from the no. actuall , anything in this report from the “if; actually, there's nothing new in that report. basically everything

that report. basically everything that was said had been written down in the report basically was something that we all knew. crackdown on civil liberties, political rights, these things are all known facts for all hong kongers and everyone who is watching the situation closely.— situation closely. swift people in our situation closely. swift people in your position _ situation closely. swift people in your position are _ situation closely. swift people in your position are satisfied i situation closely. swift people in your position are satisfied with l situation closely. swift people in l your position are satisfied with the report, satisfied with the findings, what you want to happen now to try and change that! think it's up to whether or not the hong kong sar government will adopt the recommendations and i think the chances not because the hong kong government has already issued a statement saying everything in that report on the findings are false and basically they are not going to adopt any recommendations another question is what are we going to do with it hong kong is abroad and what are foreign governments in the uk government going to do about it according to the findings of the recommendations? what can they do? let's stick with that side of the foreign governments in the us was not what i do? for example. _ in the us was not what i do? for example. the — in the us was not what i do? for example, the uk _ in the us was not what i do? fr?" example, the uk still hadn't

sanctioned any hong kong officials who were directly responsible for the crack dens in hong kong. well, as the new prime minster comes into power, will he or she do it because matt will we see coming from the uk and other countries and are we going to still procure from china and those companies responsible for human rights in china in the region, we still going to do that using taxpayer money for government documents from those regions? —— directly responsible for the crack downs in hong kong. there are still britishjudges serving downs in hong kong. there are still british judges serving in downs in hong kong. there are still britishjudges serving in hong kong's topcoat even though two of them have left. and combat given the un has only said there is no judicial independence in hong kong after national security law? {sheen after national security law? given the national _ after national security law? given the national security _ after national security law? given the national security law, - after national security law? given the national security law, is i after national security law? given| the national security law, is hong kong as we still await no longer exist? �* , ., ., , kong as we still await no longer exist? , , ., exist? any reasonable person cannot tell ou exist? any reasonable person cannot tell you something _ exist? any reasonable person cannot tell you something will— exist? any reasonable person cannot tell you something will turn -

exist? any reasonable person cannot tell you something will turn better i tell you something will turn better overnight that it is up to the world to decide if it is over for hong kong. are they willing to take action, willing to sanction individuals, take action by combat judges and so on they might be change that will happen in hong kong. —— willing to take back judges. d0 kong. -- willing to take back “udues. ,, ~ kong. -- willing to take back “udues. i. ~ ., kong. -- willing to take back “udues. ~ ., , judges. do you think that is realistic? _ judges. do you think that is realistic? to _ judges. do you think that is realistic? to think - judges. do you think that is realistic? to think china i judges. do you think that is | realistic? to think china will judges. do you think that is i realistic? to think china will then change its stance on hong kong? i don't think sanctions are a one size fits all solution and we will see me to show, but in the long term if we can look at china there is still a chance that china will change its behaviour and hong kong will return to an southern city.— to an southern city. chung ching kwon: , to an southern city. chung ching kwong, thank — to an southern city. chung ching kwong, thank you _ to an southern city. chung ching kwong, thank you very - to an southern city. chung ching kwong, thank you very much i to an southern city. chung ching i kwong, thank you very much occurring on the programme. thank you. here in the uk, there's another day of railway strikes strikes. around 40,000 members of the rmt trade union are striking. tssa members at avanti west coast are too. the rmt is striking over cuts to jobs, working conditions, and pay.

let's hear the latest from them. well, we haven't got an offer from network rail or the train operating companies that suits the needs of the dispute. the train operating company have made no offer on pay and they've given us no guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, so the gap between the two parties is too big and the responsibility for that lies with grant shapps and this government, who dictate the terms that the companies can offer, and he's refusing to budge. so the rmt blames grant shapps — the uk transport secretary. grant shapps says industry needs to modernise — and wants to restrict strikes in the future. what you've got is one union, the rmt, on strike today, a different union, the aslef, on strike in three days' time, and because they're colluding between themselves to set these strike dates they're causing maximum damage to the passenger, to the traveller. now, i don't think that they should be able to go around doing that. we don't allow flying pickets

but we're allowing this form of collusion in order to make sure there's permanent chaos on the railways. let's look at the disruption caused. around only 20% of trains are running today. this is euston station in london — much quieter than usual. it was similarly quiet in manchester's main station — piccadilly. people are divided on what they think of the strikes. i'm going to find it very difficult to get home, actually. i live on the south coast and there are no trains running to the south coast. i sympathise with everyone having to deal with the cost—of—living crisis and i'm having to deal with it as well but i think to go on strike to make a point disproportionately inconveniences only people and i don't think place to their argument at all. we don't think place to their argument at all. ~ ., ., ,., ., don't think place to their argument at all. ~ ., ., ., ., at all. we are about to hit about 1196 at all. we are about to hit about me inflation — at all. we are about to hit about 1196 inflation and _ at all. we are about to hit about 1196 inflation and i _ at all. we are about to hit about 1196 inflation and i believe i at all. we are about to hit about 1196 inflation and i believe the i 11% inflation and i believe the demand _ 11% inflation and i believe the demand is less than that and i think it's completelyjustified because it's completely justified because the it's completelyjustified because the cost — it's completelyjustified because the cost of living hitting everyone and you _ the cost of living hitting everyone and you can't leave peoples wages

stagnant _ and you can't leave peoples wages stagnant in this kind of climate so i don't _ stagnant in this kind of climate so i don't really mind of myjourney -ets i don't really mind of myjourney gets disrupted, to be fair. this is a political issue — and it's having effects on the uk's political parties. the labour leader sir keir starmer hasn't officially supported the industrial action — although many of his party do. labour frontbenchers went to picket lines in support of striking rail workers during last month's rail strikes. but today a labour minister — sam terry — was sacked after he joined the picket line. this was his reaction. it isa it is a shame today that the joining a picket line, being on a picket line, standing shoulder to shoulder notjust with line, standing shoulder to shoulder not just with striking line, standing shoulder to shoulder notjust with striking rail workers but good colleagues in the unions and the rmt. the decision today to go on strike with a massive one. often many of the workers were low—paid workers, people and £25,000 a year, and i want to be part of the labour party and we stand up for a labour party and we stand up for a labour party and we stand up for a labour party that stand in solidarity with workers and their

disputes wherever that may be in this country. i think we're going to really struggle to win the faith of the british people of the next few months into a general election when doctors go on strike and this is going straight, barristers, university lecturers. we need to be really clear. what is our economic alternative? how are we going to tackle the cost—of—living crisis? how are we going to make sure that inflation which is hurting people so badly so that my local food bank in ilford couldn't even supply food to local residents because of donations that are dried up, that we have a serious plan to tackle it. our correspondent damian grammaticas is in westminster. we are in a tricky spot with this? yes, and we've seen that without citing. the labour party of cousins deep roots of the union movement and receives a large amount of funding from but equally because damer has been under attack from the conservative party when in of strikes last month labour mps

appeared on picket lines and the conservative attack on him then was that this was a disgrace and that labour was backing strikers, not those who were striving to get to get to work. so keir starmer had said that his front bench, his shadow ministers, should not appear in any picket lines, and that minister did that today but interestingly when labour said they sacked him this and it wasn't because he appeared on the picket line, they said it was because he had given media interviews and the implication was he had been calling for an inflation level pay rise for workers and that hadn't been the official labour position but sam tarry himself, as you heard there, he was talking to me and he said he felt this was clearly because he had been out there with the workers were on strike and he said they were always, as someone who had come from the union movement, back the workers

and he said the labour party in his view needed to be backing those sorts of people so it was a complicated position of the labour and psyche head said he —— said keir starmer has said he views his front bench team as a government in waiting and government should be about to try to solve the problem and step back if i find a solution. now let's turn to the us — because there's a lot of talk about a report in us media about the former president donald trump. it was reported by the washington post. "thejustice department is investigating president donald trump's actions as part of its criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results." that's according to four people familiar with the matter. it adds "prosecutors are questioning witnesses before a grand jury, and have asked in recent days about conversations with trump, his lawyers, and others in his inner circle." no former us president has ever been indicted for criminal conduct. and donald trump is a potential candidate in the next

presidential election. so any charges against him would have big constitutional and political consequences. donald trump spoke yesterday, and — again — repeated his false claims about the election. iran the first time and i won. then i ran a second time and i did much better. we got millions and millions more votes. so — the department ofjustice hasn't opened a criminal investigation into donald trump himself. but it does have a criminal investigation into what happened onjanuary 6th last year — when rioters stormed the us capitol to try and overturn the president's election defeat byjoe biden. and there's the us congressional committee hearing — a separate investigation. that committee itself doesn't have the power to bring criminal charges against donald trump. so any suggestion the justice department could be looking into his personal role is significant. and the head of the department was asked if he was concerned

about indicting a former president. merrick garland said the january 6th investigation was the "most wide ranging investigation in its history," and intends to "hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for events surrounding jan. 6th or any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable." let's talk to elaine karmarck. she's the founding director of the center for effective public management and a senior fellow at the brookings institution — a think—tank. thanks for coming on the programme. thanks for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. lets thanks for coming on the programme. thank you for having me.— thank you for having me. lets have a look at these — thank you for having me. lets have a look at these potential _ thank you for having me. lets have a look at these potential indictments, l look at these potential indictments, then. what's the of thing that president donald trump could be charged with?— charged with? well, there are a varie of charged with? well, there are a variety of things _ charged with? well, there are a variety of things and _ charged with? well, there are a variety of things and the - charged with? well, there are a| variety of things and the january six hearings seems to have produced

evidence that could go in several directions. let me give you just a list of them. treason is at the top of the list, even though it was not successful. the overthrow of a government could be. a lesser charge, obstructing an official proceeding, trying to get in the way of the electoral college count. he could be charged with conspiracy to defraud the united states and that will go to his company to its efforts at the state level to give false sense of the washington and false sense of the washington and false slate of electors. dereliction of duty and his simple failure to stop the ongoing riots have took in 187 minutes before he tweeted that people should go home and then one of the most interesting is inciting an insurrection, and if convicted of inciting an insurrection he then falls under section three amendment

to the constitution which was passed in the aftermath of the civil war to prevent confederate officeholders and confederate gaining... so if they specifically bar him from ever running for any federal office again and of course the presidency. fascinating stuff and a pretty comprehensive list and thankfully we are not at this stage it any particular circumstances arising. i want to get onto the principle of the practicality here. the principle is pretty similar, simple, isn't it? no one is above the law and the department ofjustice can department of justice can investigate department ofjustice can investigate and prosecute whether they like, as they should. however, this is a practical consideration here. this is a former president and with that, loss of sensitivity is? you bet. the practical possible consideration is as follows. do you in fact make donald trump stronger,

as opposed to weaker, by prosecuting then potentially convicting him? do you turn him into a matter? when it already looks as if the january six hearings have significantly weakened donald trump. there are more republicans looking for an alternative. about half of republican voters would like to see somebody else running besides trump. the rhondda sentence, the government of florida does very well in these polls the possible republican primary voters —— ron de santos, governor of florida. the question is what is the most important thing for the republic? is it to prosecute him visit to simply make sure that he never is president of the united states again because it is clear that he has no respect for the law and he had some very dangerous authoritarian tendencies. that is...

i think this is something that higher—ups in washington are really thinking about hard, right? what to do that with this because as a... he say higher—ups in washington? thinking about it, all the political considerations, and the central political point of view, that this is a matter ofjustice. should the people who are prosecuted? should they be making this kind of political assessments? also they? they may or they may not. prosecutors at all levels of government consumers decide not to prosecute so the decision not to prosecute so the decision not to prosecute is often a political decision so one of the things that i think that gallant, and will not be making this decision alone, i assure you, one of the things the attorney general is going to have to decide is to prosecute or not based on how much evidence there is, obviously, that's one thing, but also based on these larger considerations. i don't

think that the purely legal part of this exists in the vacuum from the overarching question of what's the best way to preserve democracy? fascinating stuff.— fascinating stuff. thank you very much talking _ fascinating stuff. thank you very much talking to _ fascinating stuff. thank you very much talking to us. _ thank you very much talking to us. stay with us on outside source. still to come — peaky blinders and the rest of it — birmingham's culture at the commonwealth games. let's get the latest on the conservative leadership race. there have been more clashes between rishi sunak and liz truss, after their second head—to—head tv debate. this time, it's about energy bills. david wallace lockhart reports. rishi sunak emerges this morning with a new policy, a proposal to scrap vat on energy bills. but he's previously said such a move would disproportionately benefit wealthier households. and as we saw in his debate last night with liz truss, he's consistently argued

against unfunded tax cuts. ——against uncosted tax cuts. it's important what we leave our kids and our grandkids, and i think it is important to think about that inheritance. and i don't want to pass them a bill that we couldn't be bothered to pick up. 0k, and you made that... but with polls suggesting the former chancellor is the underdog, we now have a change in approach. allies of rishi sunak argue his new policy won't drive inflation. this particular measure, - along with many other measures, which provided £1,200 to the - hardest—pressed households already is targeted to make sure that some of those energy bills which are, i you know, been going up very fast because of putin's action - in ukraine, that that is tackled. liz truss' energy is focused on law and order. she's promising to publish crime league tables and ensure police officers attend every burglary. i want them focused on tackling crime, tackling criminals, not form—filling, not bureaucracy.

and i fear too much of our police time is spent on those types of activities. so new policies from both sides — and more mud—slinging. a source close to the liz truss' campaign described rishi sunak�*s vat announcement as a screeching u—turn, and his campaign said that her plans for police forces are lightweight. with more debates to come, some tory mps remain concerned about the tone of this contest. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is... the us federal reserve has raised interest rates by 0.75% for the second month in a row, to combat rising prices. let's return now to our coverage of the 2022 commonwealth games. thursday's opening ceremony is expected to play out to a live audience of 30,000.

it'll celebrate the games — and propel birmingham onto a global stage. the city, in the midlands of england, is the second largest by population in the uk. it saw massive growth during the industrial revolution and is now a hub for higher education, commerce and art. if you're a fan of peaky blinders, you'll proabably know it pretty well. as we mentioned there — the commonwealth games are a chance to showcase birmingham to a worldwide audience. to discuss i'm joined by marverine cole, award—winning journalist and proud birmingham local! thanks very much for coming on the programme. thank you. tell us a bit more about birmingham? but to those people in the world who don't know very much about the need to know about it? it is don't know very much about the need to know about it?— to know about it? it is a bustling, thrivin: , to know about it? it is a bustling, thriving, ethnically _

to know about it? it is a bustling, thriving, ethnically diverse - to know about it? it is a bustling, thriving, ethnically diverse city i thriving, ethnically diverse city for the people who are friendly, south of the earth, will say hi to you, how are you doing? we have amazing arts, culture, music, food. you can hear some young singers possibly behind me on the stage because we just possibly behind me on the stage because wejust had possibly behind me on the stage because we just had sir lenny henry our honorary son bring the batten into victoria square and that whole afternoon has been bollywood dancers, singers, spoken word. all of the activity even just the afternoon really epitomise how brilliant their members. and afternoon really epitomise how brilliant their members.- afternoon really epitomise how brilliant their members. and is this a city which — brilliant their members. and is this a city which embraced _ brilliant their members. and is this a city which embraced the - a city which embraced the commonwealth games? because clearly we can see hundreds, thousands of people behind you right now but this has been years in the build—up. has been something that people have talking about?— been something that people have talkin: about? ~ , . ., talking about? absolutely. we wanted somethin: talking about? absolutely. we wanted something like — talking about? absolutely. we wanted something like this _ talking about? absolutely. we wanted something like this for _ talking about? absolutely. we wanted something like this for so _ talking about? absolutely. we wanted something like this for so long. i i something like this for so long. i am a child of the 70s and i remember the days when we used to have superb

grand prix race around the centre of the super break. that was really exciting because it really put us, again, on the map. we have been to the olympic games and we did a fantastic eurovision song contest. just 20 just 20 or ago. so we were really looking for the next big event to showcase just how magnificent the city is. we have a little bit reticent as promised to talk ourselves up so this games is really where the world is going to see and appreciate how magnificent we are and, actually, in some cases, what some people might be missing. mac that is a brilliant summation there, summary.— mac that is a brilliant summation there, summa . ., ,, i. , . there, summary. thank you very much need to talk— there, summary. thank you very much need to talk us — there, summary. thank you very much need to talk us through _ there, summary. thank you very much need to talk us through the _ there, summary. thank you very much need to talk us through the delight i need to talk us through the delight of birmingham. i lived there for a while so i'm biased. that is a lovely way to say goodbye. thank is illogical and in the programme. thank you. that's it from me. —— thank you very much for coming on

the programme, thank you. as always, there is plenty more on the website or the bbc news app. this is outside source on bbc news. hello there. the weather is quite quiet through the middle part of the week. it's all about high pressure at the moment, but it's a rather cloudy high, so after early morning sunshine, the cloud did arrive as we went through the day and, in actual fact, there is a few isolated and well—scattered showers around as well. so the high is starting to push its way steadily eastwards, and what that will then do is allow the wind direction to change to a light, but a southeasterly, so it's a warmer flow through the course of thursday and also into friday. here are the showers moving their way gradually northwards overnight tonight, out of wales, into northern england, across the isle of man, maybe one or two to the far north of northern ireland as well. with the cloud around too,

we keep those temperatures up into double digits, so it's going to be a milder start to thursday morning. bit of a grey one. still some showers gradually drifting their way to southern scotland as well. they will weaken as we go into the afternoon. and on the whole, despite the cloud, there will also be some glimpses of sunshine and temperatures a degree or so up on today. we should see highest values of 2a degrees — that's 75 fahrenheit. now, that bodes well for the commonwealth games opening ceremony taking place in birmingham. cloudy skies, but a good deal of dry weather and certainly not too cold. so there's the high, pushing its way off into scandinavia. friday will be certainly a quiet day with very light winds, with the exception of the far north and west. as we go through the day, the breeze will pick up and we'll gradually start to see some cloud. there's a weather front that's going to bring some rain for the start of the weekend. but on the whole, friday will be dry, settled and sunny and relatively warm — mid to high 20s not out

of the question across some parts of the midlands and south east england. then, as we move into the weekend, i can offer you some welcome rain across scotland, northern ireland and northern england, maybe north wales as well. however, it's never going to get down to the south east, so, here, it will stay dry, sunny and warm. the rain sits across the far northwest, slowly easing away for the second half of the weekend. all in all, then, let'sjust summarise that for you. as we head into the weekend, there's going to be some rain in the far north and west, gradually sinking south, but it never quite makes the south east.

this is bbc news. the headlines. major disruption on british railway systems of thousands of rail workers walked out and only one in five trends of been running today and there's another rail strike on saturday. laboured sax the transport minister after striking with rail workers. after the stunning 4—0 victory in sweden, england will find out who they will be facing in sunday's final. germany versus france is just taking sunday's final. germany versus france isjust taking off sunday's final. germany versus france is just taking off now. key russian held bridge of the occupied southern city is hit with rockets fired by ukrainian forces. and fears that gas prices in the uk could rise even higher as russia's wishes of

most of its gas supplies to europe.