welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... reports from the us suggest that a prominent al-qaeda leader ayman al—zawahri may have been killed in a drone strike on kabul. a statement is expected shortly from the white house. easing the global food crisis: the first shipment of grain since the russian invasion leaves the ukrainian port of odesa. one of america's top lawmakers, nancy pelosi, is expected to visit taiwan on tuesday — putting further strains on relations with china. a warning to the world: the un says we face a greater threat of nuclear annihilation than at any time since the cold war.

doctors successfully separate conjoined twins with shared fused brains in historic virtual reality surgery. and as england's lionesses celebrate winning the euros 2022, we'll talk to gurinder chadha, director of the classic celebration of women's football bend it like beckham. now look — my god, we did it! cheering live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. we start with breaking news from the us — it's being reported

that the al-qaeda chief, ayman al—zawahiri, has been killed in an american drone strike conducted in kabul. zawahiri was on the fbi's first ever most wanted terrorist list — issued on the ten october, 2001, following the 9/11 attacks, which he had helped to co—ordinate alongside osama biden laden. there is no independent confirmation of this, but the white house says that president biden will give details of the counter—terrorism operation in afghanistan shortly. let's get more from our correspondent in washington, nomia iqbal. i know that the information is coming in fast and furious. at this point, what are the latest developments you can tell us about as ill as he said, there's no independent confirmation yet but it's being widely reported here by the american media, pretty much headline news on most of the american networks that the us has killed ayman al—zawahiri,

al-qaeda's leader who took over from all osama bin laden when he was killed by the us in 2011, one of the world's most wanted terrorists. the mystery as always been a mystery —— his whereabouts have also the micro always been a mystery. cbs's reporting also that ayman al—zawahiri has been killed, as you mentioned there, the details that we've got that's being reported is that the cia carried out this drone strike over the weekend in kabul. a spokesperson for the taliban tweeted an air strike had been carried out on a residential house in the capital city, but it's not been officially confirmed yet. president biden is due to speaking about a half an hour time is due to speaking about a half an hourtime in is due to speaking about a half an hour time in which we will get details about a successful counterterrorism operation, but in that notice that we got of this speech that's coming out, there was no mention of ayman

al—zawahiri's name. there was no mention of ayman al-zawahiri's name.— there was no mention of ayman al-zawahiri's name. indeed, and we will be _ al-zawahiri's name. indeed, and we will be carrying _ al-zawahiri's name. indeed, and we will be carrying that - al-zawahiri's name. indeed, and we will be carrying that press - we will be carrying that press conference by president biden live here, so tune in for more details and we get that. you've described how important ayman al—zawahiri was to the al-qaeda, with the caveat that we don't know that it was him that's been killed in this drone strike. give us a sense of how significant this might be to the al-qaeda operation. of how significant this might be to the al—qaeda operation. i be to the al-qaeda operation. i mean, it's a huge blow for them. this is the leader of al-qaeda, as i mentioned, taking over the terrorist group in 2011 when 0sama taking over the terrorist group in 2011 when osama bin laden was killed by the us. but ayman al—zawahiri himself has always beenin al—zawahiri himself has always been in invisible symbol of the group, he was over 70 years old and once 0sama

group, he was over 70 years old and once osama bin laden�*s personal physician. his whereabouts have always been a mystery. it's worth noting that, and i emphasise we don't know, we haven't got confirmation of this yet, but there will be lots of questions about this operation and if it is indeed confirmed that it is ayman al—zawahiri. remember, the us has no troops in afghanistan — they withdrew last year in a chaotic withdrawal. so how can the us confirm it is him who was killed? also i think there'll be a question of if he was getting sanctuary by the taliban, as well, given the reports are that this happened in kabul. so there's lots of questions that will be asked and it's expected that president will answer some of them — but again, all we know is that he's giving an address on a successful counterterrorism operation in about 25 minutes' time. find counterterrorism operation in about 25 minutes' time. and i don't want — about 25 minutes' time. and i don't want to _ about 25 minutes' time. and i don't want to get _ about 25 minutes' time. and i don't want to get you - about 25 minutes' time. and i

don't want to get you to - don't want to get you to speculate at all given the fact that so little is known at this point in time, butjust in terms of that successful counterterrorism operation that the white house has referenced, how significant is this politically for president biden? coming at this time ahead of the midterms, given he just had covid, as well. i think it shows he's tough on terrorism, that's certainly how he and the democratic party will paint it. also, remember that he's experienced huge political fallout — it's coming up political fallout — it's coming up to nearly a year since the chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan. so taking out this man who has been the most that's one of the most wanted terrorists, he had a $25 million bounty on his head, and also 0sama million bounty on his head, and also osama bin laden is the man who was associated with 9/11 — experts will tell you that whilst bin laden brought the charisma and money to the

operation, it was ayman al—zawahiri who brought the organisation and tactical skills to that terrorist attack of 9/11. so in that respect, i think you can expect certainly in terms of the way president biden and the democratic party will present this as a huge win for president biden — if indeed this is true, and we will find out when president biden delivers his speech shortly. indeed, and thank you for consistently reminding us that caveat — we will get more details at half past the hour orso details at half past the hour or so when president biden is expected to make those remarks, and we will be bringing them to you here on bbc news so stay tuned to us for that. let's turn to ukraine now — where the first shipment of grain since the russian invasion in february has left the southern port of 0desa. moscow and kyiv reached an agreement last month to resume exports through the black sea. the razoni, first to leave, is now following a strict route

through a safe corridor negotiated by the united nations and turkey. 0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports. a familiar yet unfamiliar sight. for the first time in a long time, a major artery is unblocked. and a ship, which could save millions from hunger, moving slowly into hostile waters. the razoni, the first grain vessel to leave ukraine since 2a february, making its way out to lebanon, via istanbul, as with all the ships in this agreement, and the hope is that it will be the first of many in a route that will allow vessels in and out in what is still an active war zone. ukraine was seen as the world's bread basket before this war. five million tonnes of farm produce left its ports every month. the closure of the black sea has forced it to use other routes, reducing exports by more than two thirds.

some of the world's poorest countries, with many in africa, are ukraine's biggest grain customers. it's a crisis which affects those far as well as near. i met shota — his company stores and exports grain all over the world. exporting the grain harvest is of vital importance. our country gathers harvest to supply many parts of the world. we must export for our farmers, for our country and to feed the world. despite little to no trust between ukraine and russia, necessity seems to be driving this deal. notjust for the government, but for the crews who have been out of work since february. "we work in waters all over the world," alexander tells me. "we deal with pirates and other difficulties of the sea. ukrainian sailors are not frightened by mines or other challenges." and this route is heavily mined, and there is the risk of russian interference — a point i put to the port

authorities here. how safe you think this route is? it's difficult to say. less than 50% i think. and yet you're willing, your staff are willing, and these shipping companies are willing to push through with it. yeah, for sure, because we agreed with the united nations and with turkey. i think they will warrant their safe passage for the vessel. the hope is that the razoni will be the first of many ships to make this journey in the coming days. for now, this is more symbolic than sizeable, but it's a start. james waterhouse, bbc news, in 0desa. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... an international study says that the risks of a climate change catastrophe, including human extinction, are not being taken seriously by scientists. the authors say that the consequences of warming

beyond three degrees celsius have been "dangerously underexplored" and the world needs to start preparing for the possibility of what they term the "climate endgame. " at least 37 people have now died in the us state of kentucky, as the region braces for more rainfall. the state's governor said the death toll would continue to rise as "hundreds" remained unaccounted for. 0vernight curfews have been declared in two devastated counties. a member of a militia group from texas who was convicted of storming the us capitol has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. his sentence is the longest so far for anyone involved in last year's riot. guy reffitt had also threatened to shoot his own children if they informed on him to the fbi. now to a story that's dominated

headlines in asia this week — the speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi, is expected to visit taiwan as part of her tour of asia. that's according to several american and taiwanese media reports — although there is no official confirmation on this yet. china has warned of serious consequences if the trip to the self—ruled island goes ahead — last week, president xijinping told president biden not to "play with fire". taiwan sits around 100 miles off the southeast coast of china, and is seen by beijing as a "breakaway province" that remains part of china. the us has formal diplomatic ties with china, and not taiwan — but there has been growing cooperation between washington and taipei, which has angered china. if the visit goes ahead, speaker pelosi would be the highest—ranking us official to visit taiwan in 25 years. for more on this, i am joined now by mark cozad, a senior defence researcher at rand corporation. he's in washington. great to get you on the

programme. in the first incidents, no official confirmation yet, she is making this tour of asia this week — why would she go to taiwan, given what we've heard from the chinese? . . given what we've heard from the chinese? ,, ., . chinese? several recent congressional _ chinese? several recent i congressional delegations chinese? several recent - congressional delegations since last fall, there was one that went and may — i think the general understanding there is that there is a recognition that there is a recognition that china has become increasingly aggressive in its behaviour towards taiwan, and there are concerns amongst many us policymakers, as well as congressional leaders that taiwan will be capable of defending itself. so there's been a significant show of support for the democratically elected government of taiwan, but doing so in a way that doesn't fundamentally change us foreign policy, but recognises the fact that us policymakers and congressional leaders would rather have any type of resolution come about in this

situation through peaceful means. so speaker pelosi's trip actually follows on the broader security discussions in east asia, and it falls onto several other trips that have come about at this time — again, it's not unprecedented, this is not something that's coming out of the blue or signals a change in united states policy towards china and taiwan.— china and taiwan. indeed, but as ou china and taiwan. indeed, but as you say _ china and taiwan. indeed, but as you say that, _ china and taiwan. indeed, but as you say that, we _ china and taiwan. indeed, but as you say that, we are - china and taiwan. indeed, but| as you say that, we are hearing from the chinese that they certainly don't want her to go, and privately lots of asian government officials that we speak to here on the programme have said that they are concerned about the ramifications, the consequences of a potential visit. is it worth risking all that? of a potentialvisit. is it worth risking all that? well, i think at this _ worth risking all that? well, i think at this point, _ worth risking all that? well, i think at this point, one - worth risking all that? well, i think at this point, one of- worth risking all that? well, i think at this point, one of the things that the speaker has probably weighed, and it's an important part of this discussion, is how the us responds to threats from the chinese government and the

chinese government and the chinese military. in this situation over the past couple years, we've seen significant increases in provocative behaviour out of the chinese. we also have significant concerns based on the chinese's unwillingness to denounce russian aggression in ukraine, and concerns about what that might mean for their ultimate goals relating to taiwan. so as these congressional delegations go over to taiwan, in particular nancy pelosi's, the way to handle this is not through threats and intimidation — that is really counterproductive in the overall dialogue, and it also puts the united states in a position where if it caves to these demands, it caves to these demands, it caves to these threats, what will be the next step in that process when something else comes up? does that make the united states and its partners and allies in the region more susceptible to chinese coercion? i think it

probably does, so i think in many respects, chinese actions as they frequently do overstep their boundaries and enforce certain types of actions to take place. certain types of actions to take place-— certain types of actions to take place. indeed. mark, thanks so _ take place. indeed. mark, thanks so much _ take place. indeed. mark, thanks so much for- take place. indeed. mark,| thanks so much forjoining take place. indeed. mark, i thanks so much forjoining us on the programme. thanks so much for “oining us on the programme.- thanks so much for “oining us on the programme. thank you for havin: on the programme. thank you for having me- _ you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... film director and football fanatic gurinder chadha gives us her reaction to the england women's euros 2022 victory. the question was whether we want to save our people and the japanese, as well, and win the war — or whether we want to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at 2am this morning. mr bush, like most people, was clearly caught by surprise. we call for the immediate i and unconditional withdrawal of all iraqi forces.

100 years old and still full of vigour, vitality, and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long — and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines... reports from the us suggest that a prominent al-qaeda leader, ayman al—aawahri, may have been killed in a drone strike on kabul. a statement is expected shortly from the white house.

turning now to a stark warning from the united i want to tell you now about what's been called "space—age stuff" by one of the surgeons involved in an incredible operation, where brazilian twins who were joined at the head have been successfully separated. virtual reality projections of the three—year—old twin boys helped refine techniques to separate the three—year—olds — as mark lobel explains. and his report contains some images of the surgery itself. bernardo and arthur — twin brothers born with a fused brain in brazil. described as otherwise healthy nearly four—year—olds, they could not sit or walk, robbing them of a normal childhood. as of around seven weeks ago, they now look like this — a remarkable moment, only the sixth such separation of its kind. at this time, surgeries in rio de janeiro came with direction from great 0rman street hospital, and london.

from great orman street hospital, and london. what we were able _ hospital, and london. what we were able to — hospital, and london. what we were able to do _ hospital, and london. what we were able to do this _ hospital, and london. what we were able to do this time - were able to do this time around, which is a world first, is to do it in virtual reality across two continents, with us setting up on our platforms here, wearing the vr goggles, then the doctors in rio de janeiro in the virtual theatre. to handle the complex task of dealing with the brain, blood vessels, the skin, bone and the covering of the brain, each step was mapped out using simulations over a six—month period. the advantage of practising on virtual reality projections of the twins meant that the team were able to refine things when they repeatedly hit dead ends. nonetheless, as the surgeons involved concluded, it was still high risk surgery. translation: i still high risk surgery. translation: ., ~ ., translation: i talked to their mother and _ translation: i talked to their mother and told _ translation: i talked to their mother and told her, _ translation: i talked to their mother and told her, i - translation: i talked to their mother and told her, i will- mother and told her, i will go i mother and told her, i will go i believe _ mother and told her, i will go i believe we can separate your children" _ i believe we can separate your children" i_ i believe we can separate your children." i learned the phrase, _ children." i learned the phrase, when you have 1% of pop as phrase, when you have1% of pop as of— phrase, when you have 1% of pop as of the — phrase, when you have 1% of pop

as of the micro probability, you — as of the micro probability, you have _ as of the micro probability, you have 99% of faith. once their parents _ you have 99% of faith. once their parents were - you have 99% of faith. once their parents were made - you have 99% of faith. once i their parents were made aware of the risks, it was up to them to give the surgeons to green light. translation: �* , translation: i'd become so desperate — translation: i'd become so desperate because _ translation: i'd become so desperate because i - translation: i'd become so desperate because i could - translation: i'd become so| desperate because i could not bear— desperate because i could not bear my— desperate because i could not hear my son's _ desperate because i could not bear my son's condition. - desperate because i could not bear my son's condition. thel bear my son's condition. the twins had — bear my son's condition. the twins had seven _ bear my son's condition. twins had seven surgeries, bear my son's condition.- twins had seven surgeries, the final operational loan taking over 27 hours, involving nearly 100 medical staff. over 27 hours, involving nearly 100 medicalstaff. it over 27 hours, involving nearly 100 medical staff. it is hoped this will be a template for helping conjoined twins around the world. helping con'oined twins around the world. ~ ., �* helping con'oined twins around the world. ~ . �* , ., , the world. what we've been able to do is to _ the world. what we've been able to do is to pull _ the world. what we've been able to do is to pull the _ the world. what we've been able to do is to pull the global- to do is to pull the global experience so that when the next set of kids, whether that be in israel or turkey, or rio, in this instance, we are able to share our experience and knowledge with the local team, then undertake the surgery and support. then undertake the surgery and su ort. , then undertake the surgery and su--ort. , ., then undertake the surgery and su--ort. ., then undertake the surgery and su-nort. , ., ., support. the boys are said to be recovering _ support. the boys are said to be recovering well— support. the boys are said to be recovering well in - support. the boys are said to| be recovering well in hospital, and will undergo rehabilitation for the next six months after surviving their life changing, pioneering and, at times, out of this world experience. mark lobel, bbc news.

what a remarkable achievement indeed. let's talk about the sport shall we — and someone who was watching the euros final very closely indeed was gurinder chadha, director of the 2002 film bend it like beckham. the movie followed the lives of two young amateur female football players. a story ms chadha says she "struggled to get anyone interested in making a film about". but, she said on twitter, "now the world is watching the game! so proud." take a listen to this clip ms chadha posted on social media, just after the lionesses secured their euros victory on sunday. historic moment for england, for women's football! i cannot believe i'm seeing this, this is amazing! all those years ago, i struggled with so many people who kept rejecting bend it like beckham, saying, "no—one wants to watch a film about women and football, this is never going to work, it's not commercial" — and now look! my god, we did it!

cheering just a bit excited, wasn't she? i spoke to gurinder chadha a short time ago and asked her just how significant is this win from her point of view? well, it's an amazing culmination, really, for me and wanting to make a film 20 years ago that put the women's game on the map, you know, and made the world take it seriously, and wanting to show great powerful images of women playing soccer — you know, in a really cool way. and so many of the team, the lionesses and women around the world got into football from watching the film. so to see them win yesterday — and what a great game, i mean, it was nail—biting! the first goal was amazing, then when germany equalised, oh, my god, the tension! so that last goal was really very emotional.

as you can see, i was so emotional! i just want to pick up on what you said, the fact that so many of the players have said yourfilm is an inspiration — and i think it was an inspiration for people who also don't play professional sport, frankly. how difficult was it for you to make that film 20 years ago? well, no one wanted to know, really, it took me years. people just felt that... no one was interested in watching a film about girls playing football, particularly an indian girl playing football. no one could really understand it, theyjust thought it was too out there, to un—commercial — and even if it did work, it would only work in england, not around the world. i mean, it has the amazing statistic of being the only film in the whole world that has been distributed in every single country in the world, including north korea. it's the only film that has that statistic. so to go from people saying "it'll never work" to that,

is testimony to the fact that a lot of people who fund movies don't know what they're talking about! laughter but also, to the fact that it's a very powerful thing, sports, you know, women playing sports — no—one takes it seriously, but these are fantastic athletes that we've watched during this whole tournament. and yesterday's game was amazing, and when it went into extra time, everything was tied, legs tied, you know... so yeah, what we got... i'm so sorry, ijust want to jump in there. what you're talking about is the fact that so many people were moved by that victory, the kinds of things that you saw in your film. and just briefly, are you hoping this will mean more women in the sport, more recognition for that? oh, undoubtedly! i mean, a lot of those women got into playing football — the champions, the players — from watching the film. so, how many young women around the world watched

that game yesterday? they will all be inspired, you know, to seek out their local teams, their local clubs. and it will be a huge groundswell, you know? and the figures of the numbers of people who watched it, in their millions, and the potentialfor sponsorship and advertising now, i think it's a great economic win, as well. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. breaking news, al-qaeda leader ayman al—zawahiri is reported to have been killed in an american counterterrorism operation. us media say ayman al—zawahiri, one of the architects of the 9/11 attack, was killed in a drug strip dust drone strike carried out by the cia in the capital of kabul on sunday. no confirmation of this

death, but president biden will bring confirmation shortly and will bring that to you on bbc news. that's it for now. hello, then. of course, july 2022 will be remembered for the first time the uk saw temperatures widely in excess of a0 celsius. however, it's also been a very dry month — and in southern england, it's been the driestjuly on record — those records date back to 1836 by the met office. now anywhere in the brown has seen below—average rainfall, but the darker brown's way below the average rainfall totals for this time of year, and 1—2 stations along the south coast have not seen any measurable rain. now, if you can see over the next few days, we won't see any rainfall either across the far south and east. the heaviest of the rain will be out to the north and west — that's because you're closest to an area of low pressure that's moving in at the moment. the isobars squeezing together, it'll turn pretty windy, and it will be quite wet, as well. so that means it could be

a pretty damp start for the commonwealth games in birmingham, but quickly brightening up by lunchtime, so an improving story. and that will be the story generally across the country. some heavy bursts of rain across northwest england and wales drifting their way steadily eastwards. the rain never getting as far south, really, as the south midlands, and then behind it, brightening up with 1—2 showers. a strong south—westerly wind as we go through the day — so blustery, but from a very warm source. it'll feel once again quite humid across the country — 2a celsius in eastern scotland, highs of 30 celsius perhaps in southeast england — that's the mid—80s fahrenheit. now, as we go through the evening and overnight, there's another frontal system that will sink its way south, just really a band of cloud and a few scattered showers, can you see, stretching from hull down to the bristol channel. again, it stays very warm, so a humid start to wednesday morning. that frontal system — a weak affair, a band of cloud, a few isolated showers — continues to sink south. but behind, its introducing fresher air as the winds here

come round to a northwesterly. so more showers being driven in by that northwesterly wind, and temperatures down a few degrees. not so in the far southeast, as that fresher air hasn't quite yet arrived — but it will do so. the northwesterly wind direction continues to dominate for a few days. high pressure then builds in from the west, quietens things down. so, over the next few days, it's dry, settled, and sunny, butjust that little bit fresher.

australians prepare for a fourth consecutive rate hike. we ta ke we take look at how the lives of new are being changed. welcome to asia business report. we begin in australia, where more pain could be on the horizon for mortgage holders. recent figures show the annual inflation is above 6%. catherine birch is a senior economist and she expects the

bank of