welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm suranjana tewari. the headlines: china warns the us it will �*bear the consequences' if house speaker nancy pelosi visits taiwan. president's xi and biden are due to speak later. the united states says it has offered russia a deal aimed at freeing the american basketballer brittney griner. trying to avert a global food crisis, the first ships carrying crucial grain supplies prepare to leave ports in ukraine. he's credited with inspiring the global green movement, tributes are paid to environmentalist,

james lovelock who's died aged 103. it's eight in the morning in singapore, and eight in the evening in washington where a potential visit to taiwan by us house speaker nancy pelosi is stirring alarm in presidentjoe biden�*s administration. they fear the trip may cross red lines for china, and that there is no exit path. beijing, which claims sovereignty over the island, has already issued harsh warnings — even suggesting a possible military response. against this backdrop, president biden is expected to call president xi on thursday for the first time in months.

i asked bonnie glaser, drector of the asia program at the german marshall fund, what conversations could be taking place in washington. i think that there are different points of view in washington. there are republicans in congress that are urging speaker pelosi to go to taiwan and not to change her plans. there are people in the administration who are worried, however, that if speaker pelosi goes now that it could provoke a very strong reaction from china, and that this particular timing, because we are in the run—up to the congress where xi jinping will be getting his third five year term that in this period there could be a lot of sensitivity, xi jinping could be seen perhaps as soft

on the united states if he doesn't respond very strongly to pelosi's or visit so there is worry that this could lead to another us—china crisis. even referring to it as the fourth potential taiwan crisis. given all this and given the security threat, what could speaker pelosi hope to achieve by visiting taiwan at this time? ~ ., �* ~' by visiting taiwan at this time? ~ ., �* ~ ., time? well, i don't think that seaker time? well, i don't think that speaker pelosi _ time? well, i don't think that speaker pelosi has _ time? well, i don't think that speaker pelosi has yet - time? well, i don't think that speaker pelosi has yet told . speaker pelosi has yet told anyone what her object of is in this visit but many people believe that this may be her last term serving as speaker. there certainly is a possibility that the republicans will be the majority, will win the majority in the upcoming elections at the end of this year and nancy pelosi has been a champion of

human right in china, of course for many years during the tiananmen massacre, she was very critical of china, spoken out criticising china's practices and inactionjang and hong kong, so i think she feels strongly about supporting democracy in hong kong, she is not the only member of congress that feels that way and also the administration whether under donald trump orjoe biden, there is growing support in the united states for taiwan and its democracy, but i think there are some questions about whether this is the right time for nancy pelosi to go or indeed whether she should go at all. she is the second in line for succession to the presidency, and there has not been a trip made by the speaker of the house to taiwan for 25 years.

of the house to taiwan for 25 ears. . �* ., of the house to taiwan for 25 ears. ., �* ., , ., of the house to taiwan for 25 ears. ., a, ,, h, years. yeah bonnie, you said at. she years. yeah bonnie, you said at- she is _ years. yeah bonnie, you said at. she is second _ years. yeah bonnie, you said at. she is second in - years. yeah bonnie, you said at. she is second in line - years. yeah bonnie, you said at. she is second in line for l at. she is second in line for the presidency, this is a big security situation, it is a big security situation, it is a big security issue. how far do you think china could go if the visit goes ahead?- think china could go if the visit goes ahead? there have been some — visit goes ahead? there have been some signals _ visit goes ahead? there have been some signals coming i visit goes ahead? there have i been some signals coming from china, i myself have heard from some retired pla officers, threats about the potential for pla air force plane to prevent nancy pelosi's plane from landing in taiwan. of course there are other rumours as well, china has neverflown a plane inside taiwan's territorial airspace, that is within 12 nautical miles and they have not of course flown over taiwan and yet that is a potential outcome of this visit, and of course then

taiwanese aircraft will scramble, the potentialfor an scramble, the potential for an incident scramble, the potentialfor an incident or even an accident is high. the united states says it has offered russia a deal aimed at freeing the american basketball star brittney griner, and a former us marine, paulwhelan. secretary of state antony blinken says he plans to discuss the matter in a phone call with his russian counterpart sergei lavrov. it would be the first such contact since russia's invasion of ukraine. barbara plett—usher reports. hostage diplomacy is intruding on america's basketball courts. players in the washington mystics. brittney griner, they have competed against her, they respect her. they are shaken by her arrest. respect her. they are shaken by her arrest-— her arrest. really sad and a bit scared — her arrest. really sad and a bit scared because - her arrest. really sad and a bit scared because it - her arrest. really sad and a bit scared because it felt. her arrest. really sad and a l bit scared because it felt like it could be any of us. they play overseas and the vast majority of our players play overseas, so seeing her in that type of position where she is

kind of helpless is really frightening.— kind of helpless is really friuuhtenin. �* , , frightening. brittney griner - led frightening. brittney griner pled guilty _ frightening. brittney griner pled guilty to _ frightening. brittney griner pled guilty to a _ frightening. brittney griner. pled guilty to a drug-related pled guilty to a drug—related charge but says she didn't intend to break the law stop at the us says she has been wrongfully detained which russia denies. but now in a rare move the state department has gone public about her release. ~ has gone public about her release-— has gone public about her release. ~ ., , , release. we have conveyed this on a number — release. we have conveyed this on a number of _ release. we have conveyed this on a number of occasions, - on a number of occasions, indirectly to russian officials, and my hope would be that in speaking to misdelivery of, i can advance the efforts to bring her home. —— sergei lavrov. to bring her home. -- sergei lavrov. ., . ., , to bring her home. -- sergei lavrov. . . , ,, lavrov. that increased pressure from the families _ lavrov. that increased pressure from the families of— lavrov. that increased pressure from the families of other - from the families of other detainees. earlierthe detainees. earlier the president's point detainees. earlierthe president's point man for hostages told me campaign was effective. ,., ., . hostages told me campaign was effective. ., . ., effective. the importance of the family — effective. the importance of the family is _ effective. the importance of the family is coming - effective. the importance of the family is coming up - effective. the importance of the family is coming up with their narrative to address what they are going through is actually very powerful for them

and i think it is actually good in creating situational awareness and at times holding the us government accountable. brittany griner�*s case has helped shine a spotlight on the issue that is usually in the shadows of stopping merrill highlights how many americans are in the specs, how many stories there are, such as matthew heath. he has been held in venezuela for nearly two years. in venezuela for nearly two ears. a, ., , , years. matthew has been eight over there _ years. matthew has been eight over there so _ years. matthew has been eight over there so many _ years. matthew has been eight over there so many times. - years. matthew has been eight over there so many times. he l over there so many times. he tried to take his own life and has been moved to a military hospital. mr; has been moved to a military hosital. y , ., ., hospital. my son is not going to survive — hospital. my son is not going to survive if _ hospital. my son is not going to survive if our _ hospital. my son is not going to survive if our government | to survive if our government does not get him home. i don't know how much more he can endure. ., ., , endure. the return of any detainee _ endure. the return of any detainee would _ endure. the return of any detainee would bring - endure. the return of any| detainee would bring hope endure. the return of any - detainee would bring hope to others, but not dispelled desperate, agonising uncertainty. barbara plett—usher, bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the world health organization is advising men who have sex with other men to reduce

their number of partners, in order to limit the spread of the monkeypox virus. 98% of monkeypox cases are in men who have sex with men. 18,000 have been reported in 78 countries, mostly in europe. there have been five deaths. this is an outbreak that can be stopped if countries, communities and individuals inform themselves, take the risk seriously, and take the steps needed to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups. the best way to do that is to reduce the risk of exposure. that means making safe choices for yourself and for others. parts of wuhan, the chinese city where the initial covid cases were recorded,

have been placed under lockdown for the first time since the pandemic began. a million people have been ordered not to leave their homes for three days. police fired teargas and used water cannons as hundreds of protesters breached a high—security zone in baghdad and broke into iraq's parliament building. supporters of the powerful cleric, muqtada al—sadr, demonstrated against the nomination of a rival candidate for prime minister. current prime minister, mustafa al—kadhimi, called on protesters to leave the green zone. the parent company of facebook and instagram has been hit by a fall in advertising sales, causing the first year—on—year revenue decline in the firm's history. meta says revenue in the second quarter has declined by i%. rivals such as tiktok have eroded its popularity, while more companies are competing for ad spending. i'll have more on this in asia business report in about 20 minutes.

a new coordination centre has begun work in turkey, part of a complex deal to restart blockaded grain exports from ukraine. it's an effort to ease a global food crisis that is affecting millions around the world. more than twenty million tonnes of grain is waiting at ukrainian docks. the aim is to export five million tonnes a month, matching pre—war levels. richard galpin reports. from the start of the war back in february, russian forces have been blockading ukraine's black sea ports — preventing exports of ukrainian wheat and other grains vital for the food supply of many countries around the world. according to officials, there are around 20 million tonnes of grain in ukraine. with fears growing of global food shortages, it seems there may now have been a breakthrough with a deal agreed by the two sides. it is hoped it will be possible for ships to be inspected

near turkey and then guided past ukrainian sea mines before being loaded with grains and fertiliser. the first shipments are due in the coming days. all this after turkey's defence minister unveiled a coordination centre in istanbul to oversee the export of ukrainian grains. translation: currently, i the preparation is that ships laden with grain that will leave ukrainian ports. the work done by the world joint coronation centre will contribute to overcoming the food crisis affecting the whole world. the un, ukraine and russia have all said they expect exports to begin in a few days. but russia's deputy foreign minister has warned the deal could collapse if the obstacles to russia's agricultural exports are not promptly removed. richard galpin, bbc news.

despite moves to unblock grain exports, the fighting continues. ukrainian rocket strikes have forced russia to close a key bridge, which is a crucial supply line for forces. the antonovsky bridge connects the occupied city of kherson, to the east bank of the dnipro river. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: birmingham prepares for the commonwealth games with atheletes, and celebrities, showing off the city's heritage. cheering. the us space agency, nasa,

has ordered an investigation, after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh, once an everyday part of the soldier's lot, drudgery and danger, now no more after almost four decades. if one is on one's own, - in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't. really see why all these people should wander in and say, - "you're doing something wrong". six rare white lion cubs on the prowl at a worcestershire wildlife park, and have already been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they are lovely and sweet, yeah, they're cute. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines: china warns the us it

will bear the consequences if house speaker nancy pelosi visits taiwan. presidents xi and biden are due to speak later. the united states says it has offered russia a deal aimed at freeing the american basketballer brittney griner. firefighters have finally started to control the wildfires in california after thousands of people had to leave their homes. officials said the fire had behaved unlike any other they had seen. the bbc�*s james clayton returned with one family to see what was left. this was the martinez family's favourite place in the world. they called it shangri—la. their home has now been obliterated.

aaron has returned to assess the damage. this was my house. this is where i felt the safest. this is where my office was, my television, my computer, books, and binders. there's just nothing... it's a picture frame, it was a glass frame. i had family pictures in it. it's all the stuff that can't be replaced. it hurts. grandmother's writing, pictures... oh, god. even old answering machines that we saved that we stopped using just so that we could hear grandparents' voices. it's all gone. meow, meow, meow! aaron's wife, heather, is trying to look for the family cats.

i don't see anything. yeah, i'm trying to hear more than see. they had 15 of them, but none of them respond to the calls. it looked like it was one of the teenage ones, or like teenage to adult. poor thing. her son austin finds one of the kittens. it didn't make it. i've never experienced anything like this, ever in my life, never. he sobs the grief is overwhelming for aaron. but the family knew living here was becoming increasingly risky. the climate here, you've lived here all your life. have you noticed it change? it has gotten a lot hotter. a lot hotter and a lot drier. a lot of people we talk to we're like, "should we try and rebuild, shall we stay?"

and they say, "we're selling, we're getting out of here." the martinez family didn't have insurance. they didn'tjust lose memories — they lost everything. we're going to rebuild and we'll be stronger and smarter. but this loss hurts. it hurts a lot. what happened to the martinez family is a danger more and more californians are facing, as it gets drier and drier. james clayton, bbc news, mariposa county, california. the phillippines' president has called for disaster relief systems to be overhauled after an earthquake in the north of the country killed at least five people. it struck the northern island of luzon. buildings were damaged, and landslides reported in some areas. these pictures show people running from a bell tower 36 kilometres from the epicentre of the earthquake. i spoke earlier theodore rivero, a school teacher who was near the epicentre of the earthquake. we were there at school for a

seminar and then all of a sudden, the earthquake shook everyone and we needed to evacuate this school onto the field and even some teachers were stuck on some pastures because their fear of going down, they would tremble, because it was even so hard to run because of the big magnitude. now going back home, of course, the principal wanted us to go to our homes to check on ourfamilies and us to go to our homes to check on our families and the scene was very devastating. every old house was shattered, there were cracks in the ground and pipes. that must�*ve been terrifying for you. what about those who live nearby the school? how are they coping now? i live nearby the school? how are they ceping now?— they coping now? i think the olice they coping now? i think the police or— they coping now? i think the

police or the _ they coping now? i think the police or the local _ they coping now? i think the | police or the local authorities came to the school and checked on all of the cracks, all of the things that were damaged and already doing their part in order to fix the damages. because our province is already under red alert for that. one of the people who helped inspire the green movement — james lovelock — has died aged a—hundred—and—three. the british scientist had warned that climate change could have a devastating impact on humanity. our environment analyst roger harrabin looks back at his life. the earth. forjames lovelock, a planet with not only creatures and plants on it but a complex, integrated system where even the rocks interact with living things to maintain conditions for life. lovelock

called it the gaia theory, a revolutionary idea named after the greek mother goddess of the earth. ,., ., the greek mother goddess of the earth. ,. ., , ,, the greek mother goddess of the earth. ., , ,, , earth. the gaia ids is the evolution _ earth. the gaia ids is the evolution of _ earth. the gaia ids is the evolution of life - earth. the gaia ids is the evolution of life in - earth. the gaia ids is the evolution of life in the . evolution of life in the evolution of life in the evolution of life in the evolution of the planet is not to processes but one single tightly coupled process. born in letchworth, _ tightly coupled process. born in letchworth, he _ tightly coupled process. born in letchworth, he became - tightly coupled process. born in letchworth, he became a l in letchworth, he became a conscientious objector in the war, ever maverick, ever restless. later he worked out of a converted barn in his home in devon, first with research in devon, first with research in medical science on the freezing of animal tissue and then in the 60s on space science for nasa, looking for life on mars.— science for nasa, looking for life on mars. there may be a kind of plant. _ life on mars. there may be a kind of plant, and _ life on mars. there may be a kind of plant, and ice - life on mars. there may be a kind of plant, and ice eater. kind of plant, and ice eater with fine roots like probes, searching not for liquid water but searching the permafrost, reaching down to get at that ice. ~ ., reaching down to get at that ice. ~ . ., ,, ice. multitalented lovelock made the _ ice. multitalented lovelock made the ultrasensitive - made the ultrasensitive instruments together evidence and invented the equipment to detect a man—made hole in the

ozone layer over the antarctic. i do believe in gaia. and it will defend itself against all dangers. including man. man willalways dangers. including man. man will always win against nature. lovelock�*s idea that the earth is a kind of single living organism made him a hero to the early green movement of the 19605 early green movement of the 1960s and 70s. it early green movement of the 1960s and 70s.— early green movement of the 1960s and 70s. it was bound to be taken up — 1960s and 70s. it was bound to be taken up as _ 1960s and 70s. it was bound to be taken up as a _ 1960s and 70s. it was bound to be taken up as a kind _ 1960s and 70s. it was bound to be taken up as a kind of - be taken up as a kind of something almost spiritual for the green edge to hang onto. growth we want the damaged forest in particular was undermining the earth's capacity to regulate itself as carbon dioxide levels rise but his support for nuclear power to combat minor changes upset many of his own followers. the gaia theory was ridiculed by many scientists at the time. it is still contentious but it's starting to slip into the academic mainstream. james

lovelock lived to be over 100, still addicting and apocalyptic future for mankind. ——. —— still predicting. the british scientist — james lovelock — who's died at the age of 103. final preparations are underway for the 2022 commonwealth games — held this year in the english city of birmingham. over 11 days, more than 5000 athletes from 72 nations and territories will compete across 19 different sports. this year's event is 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. the opening ceremony is expected to play out to a stadium audience of 30,000. it'll celebrate the games —

and propel birmingham onto a global stage. birmingham, is the uk's second largest city by population. it saw massive growth during the industrial revolution and is now a hub for higher education, commerce and art. the total cost of the event is expected to be around 778 million pounds. uk sports minister nigel huddleston says it's worth it. there has already been a major impact because we built some fantastic new facilities like a brand—new aquatics centre, complete referred of the alexander stadium as well but there are also some softer benefit skills, inspiring a generation of potential future athletes and all the activity levels with the excitement around sport so there is some very tangible benefits, which will be well worth the money. staying with sport — germany have beaten france in the second semi—finals match of the women's euros. both teams got a goal before half time, but germany took the lead in the second—half to win 2—1. the 8—time european champions will now face england in sunday's final at

wembley stadium in london. you have been watching newsday. a reminder of our top story, a potential visit to taiwan by us house speaker nancy pelosi, with fears the trip may cross redlines for china and there is no exit path. ageing, which claims sovereignty over the island, has already issued harsh warnings, even suggesting a possible military response. against this backdrop, president biden is expected to call president she mac on thursday for the first time in months. —— president xi. do check our stories on a website and do state with bbc world news. thank you for watching.

hello there. the weather story's looking pretty benign for the next few days. we'll have very little wind around to move the weather along. but one thing you will notice over the next few days is that it'll be warming up, particularly across england and wales. most places will be dry, but there will be some showers around — increasingly so across the north and the west of the country as we move into the weekend. so, we've got this weak area of high pressure just to the east of the uk, rather cloudy high, drawing up some warmer airfrom the near continent. but there is a lot of cloud trapped underneath it, so a rather grey day, i think on thursday. showery bursts of rain continuing to affect parts of northern ireland, northern england, southern scotland, certainly through the morning, it'll tend to ease down into the afternoon. could see a few showers developing across western areas, most places will be dry.

despite the cloud amounts, it'll feel warmer — 22—24 celsius in the south. we could see 20 celsius or so in the central belt of scotland. so, it looks like it should be a dry affair for the commonwealth games' opening ceremony in birmingham, temperatures at around 19—20 celsius, so feeling quite mild. now, as we head through thursday night, it looks like most places will hold onto the cloud — again, the cloud will be thickest across parts of northern england, southern scotland, where we could see some splashes of rain. but for most places, it will be dry, and a milder night to come, lows of 12—14 celsius. so for friday, we start to see this area of low pressure pushing into the far northwest of the country. the breeze will be picking up here later in the day, but much of the uk will be under the influence of high pressure once again. so, we'll start off with quite a bit of cloud around friday morning across northern england, southern scotland. that should tend to fizzle away, and we could see the cloud melt away, as well. so, i think there's a greater chance

of seeing the sunshine on friday. the odd shower will develop again into the afternoon, but most places will be dry, 25—28 celsius across england and wales, the low 20s across the north — so feeling a lot warmer. saturday's another warm, muggy day, but we will have more cloud around outbreaks of rain affecting the north and the west of the country, as that weather front continues to push its way eastwards. very little getting into the southeast, the areas where we really do need the rainfall. again, it'll be another warm day — low 20s in the north, up to around 25—26 celsius across the southeast. it stays warm into sunday and monday. there's always the chance of rain in the north and the west, but tending to stay dry in the south and the east.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. february of 2018, there was a 2020 episode about louise wise agency separating identical twins back in the mid �*60s, and my older sister who's adopted, called me and said, "can you imagine if either of us was a twin?" and i said, "well, that's ridiculous." and i remember getting a shiver all over my body thinking, "wow, what if this was real?" in the 1960s, an adoption agency in new york, the louise wise services, began a policy to deliberately split up identical and fraternal twins, and place the infants in different families.

the adoptive parents were never told that