this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president biden confirms the head of al-qaeda, ayman al—zawahir, has been killed by a us drone strike in kabul. he made videos, including in recent weeks, calling for his followers to attack the united states and our allies. now, justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more. al—zawahiri had previously been osama bin laden�*s number two, and was deeply involved in the 9/11 attacks on the united states in 2001. one of america's most senior politicians, nancy pelosi, is now expected to visit taiwan on tuesday, putting further strains on relations with china.

how virtual reality surgery has enabled doctors to separate conjoined twins with shared fused brains. and beyonce will re—record one of her new songs, replacing a word, after disability campaigners raised concerns about the lyrics. hello and welcome. more details are emerging about the us mission that's killed the leader of al-qaeda, ayman al—zawahiri. after years of tracking him, armed forces sent two missiles from a drone flying above the afghan capital kabul, killing him instantly. announcing the strike, president biden said "justice had been delivered".

it comes nearly a year after the united states�* chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan, as our washington correspondent nomia iqbal reports. after decades, america has killed one of its most wanted terrorists. my killed one of its most wanted terrorists-_ terrorists. my fellow americans, - terrorists. my fellow americans, on - terrorists. my fellow - americans, on saturday, at terrorists. my fellow _ americans, on saturday, at my direction, the united states successfully concluded an air strike in kabul, afghanistan, that killed the leader of al-qaeda, ayman althe al-qaeda, ayman al the president _ al-qaeda, ayman al the president said _ al-qaeda, ayman al the president said he - al-qaeda, ayman al the president said he gave his personal approval to kill ayman al—zawahiri. personal approval to kill ayman al-zawahiri-_ al-zawahiri. justice has been delivered _ al-zawahiri. justice has been delivered and _ al-zawahiri. justice has been delivered and the _ al-zawahiri. justice has been delivered and the terrorist i delivered and the terrorist leader is no more.- leader is no more. people around the _ leader is no more. people around the world - leader is no more. people around the world no - leader is no more. people | around the world no longer leader is no more. people - around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined _ to fear the vicious and determined killer. - to fear the vicious and | determined killer. the to fear the vicious —.ic determined killer. the united states continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the american people against those who seek to do us harm. we make it clear again

tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hired, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. it has taken 21 years. osama bin laden was the face behind the 9-11 bin laden was the face behind the 9—11 attacks, but allah was seen as the brains. officials say here is —— but al—zawahiri was seen as the brains. it is believed he is responsible for the deaths of nearly 3000 people. both men were close, appearing in public and videos. al—zawahiri was even bin laden�*s personal physician. the us wanted him dead or alive $425 million. 1 us wanted him dead or alive $425 million.— us wanted him dead or alive $425 million. i think what this reflects is — $425 million. i think what this reflects is really _ $425 million. i think what this reflects is really the _ reflects is really the challenges we have in our counterterrorism policies, where _ counterterrorism policies, where al—zawahiri has been able to survive — where al—zawahiri has been able to survive for two decades, outlasted the afghanistan war in the safety, prior to us being _ in the safety, prior to us being able to eliminate him. when— being able to eliminate him. when bin laden was killed by the americans in 2011,

al—zawahiri took over. the president said america did him for a year, eventually locating him to a safe house in kabul last weekend. they shot two missiles at him. his family members were unharmed. al—zawahiri was rumoured to be in bad health, becoming a remote figure, and with the rise of other terror groups like the so—called islamic state, his influence was marginal, compared to his predecessor. the taliban has caught the killing a violation of international principles. but al—zawahiri's presents in kabul has cast doubt on the taliban's promise its country would not be a haven for terrorists. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. secunder kermani, our correspondent in kabul, outlined the regional reaction to zawahiri's death. earlier on tonight, taliban officials announced that the drone strike that had been carried out over the weekend in kabul, they initially said it was a rocket attack that landed in an empty house.

they said their investigation had determined it was carried out by a us drone strike. they made no mention of any victim, certainly no mention of ayman al—zawahiri or al-qaeda at all. we will have to wait and see how the taliban respond to this. this killing of ayman al—zawahiri really does get to the crux of the tense relationship, the very, very antagonistic relationship that there has always been between the taliban and the united states. and that is because if you cast your mind back to 2001, the reason why the taliban were overthrown by the us was because al-qaeda had its haven here in afghanistan. they used afghanistan as a base from which to plot the 9/11 attacks. before american troops were withdrawn from afghanistan last year, the taliban and america signed a deal paving the way for that withdrawal and as part of that deal, the taliban committed to not allowing foreign militant groups to use afghan soil to plot attacks abroad or on the west.

it was never clear what they were going to do with al-qaeda because the taliban and al-qaeda have always been close allies. it never seemed likely that they were going to turn against their old former allies. but certainly, it did seem as if they did not want groups like al-qaeda to be plotting attacks from afghanistan against the west. it was very surprising, i think for many people in afghanistan to learn that ayman al—zawahiri was here in kabul. i mean, he has long been believed to be in the border regions between afghanistan and pakistan. the fact he was here in kabul according to a number of credible reports, either in a house belonging to senior member of the taliban or next to a house belonging to a senior member of the taliban, that really suggests complicity by at least elements of the taliban with ayman al—zawahiri and presumably, other members of al-anda,

being here in kabul. it would appear to be completely possible for him to have been here without their knowledge and acceptance. we have seen in the past few months, this year, ayman al—zawahiri releasing more and more propaganda videos on behalf of al-qaeda, suggesting that his communication, his ability to get his message out to the outside world, had improved since the taliban took over last year. lt col paul lushenko is a us army officer, who has spent 16 years advising special forces, with a particular specialism in drones. he joins us from sydney, where he is researching drone strategy and doctrine. a warm welcome to the programme. first of all, if we look at this specific mission as it were. joe biden said the strike was no civilian casualties. hearing from our correspondent in downtown kabul at the time with his family. what do you think is the likelihood of that? well, i

think first _ likelihood of that? well, i think first and _ likelihood of that? well, i think first and foremost . likelihood of that? well, i think first and foremost it i likelihood of that? well, i l think first and foremost it is important to recognise that the us government, the us military and our allies and partners ascribed to international military law and the first principle of which is the protection of civilians during conflict. now, having said that, i think time will tell, based upon the discovery of evidence, whether or not civilians were actually protected, or the degree to which they were. but we also have to recognise that the biden administration has a lot of scar tissue from its most recent strike in afghanistan during the withdrawal, at which point it did not kill an intended islamic state terrorist but instead women and children. so i think as a matter of policy but also strategic and moral imperative, the us government military and its power really attempt to protect civilians during the sensitive operations. yeah, that is paramount - sensitive operations. yeah, that is paramount as - sensitive operations. yeah, that is paramount as you i sensitive operations. yeah, l that is paramount as you say but as you also point out with that previous drone strike that

went really wrong during the evacuation of people in afghanistan, itjust goes to show that this can go wrong and people can be hurt and intended. i people can be hurt and intended.— people can be hurt and intended. ~ ., �* , intended. i think that's right, but on the — intended. i think that's right, but on the other— intended. i think that's right, but on the other hand - intended. i think that's right, but on the other hand we - intended. i think that's right, but on the other hand we do | but on the other hand we do know that over time different presidential administrations going back to president bush authorised that drone strike following 9—11 in 2002 have adopted different unilateral controls or constraints, and the most effective effect has been the standard no civilian casualties during strike, the standard of so—called near certainty, and president obama adopted this policy towards the tail end of his first administration and well into his second administration, the terms thereof, we saw a 100% increase on precision of these strikes, they achieved unerring accuracy. we saw the

preservation of civilian lives to the tune of averting 300 civilian casualties. so the same time we can never really mitigate civilian casualties in war. we also have different unilateral controls or oversight measures that allow us to remove surgically a terrorist while protecting against civilian casualties to against civilian casualties to a high degree. 50 against civilian casualties to a high degree.— against civilian casualties to a high degree. against civilian casualties to a hiuh decree. . ., ., a high degree. so much more to discuss but _ a high degree. so much more to discuss but sadly _ a high degree. so much more to discuss but sadly we _ a high degree. so much more to discuss but sadly we do - a high degree. so much more to discuss but sadly we do not - discuss but sadly we do not have time. thank you for your analysis on that. let's get some of the day's other news. an international study says 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 under explored", and the world needs to start preparing for the possibility of what they term the "climate endgame." one of italy's most famous summer skiing centres is suspending activities on its slopes, because of a shortage of snow. officials say the glacier in passo stelvio has melted much quicker than usual, after a long period of extremely high temperatures.

france and switzerland have already closed some of their summer ski resorts in the alps, because of melting glaciers. sets at rome's legendary cinecitta studios have been badly damaged by a fire. one of the sets was made of papier mache, depicting renaissance florence. the fire has also disrupted filming of a charlize theron movie, which is the sequel to the netflix film "the old guard". in its heyday, the studios were home to some of italy's greatest stars, from federico fellini to sophia loren. tensions are mounting, ahead of an expected visit to taiwan by the speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi. according to the reuters news agency, several chinese warplanes have flown close to what's known as the median line, which separates taiwan from continental asia.

china has warned of serious consequences if the trip to the self—ruled island goes ahead. matt abbott is director of government and diplomatic programs at the chicago council on global affairs. he spent a decade as a staff member in the united states congress. good to have you on the programme. so what is your opinion on this visit on the part of nancy pelosi? she is expected to be in taiwan today or tomorrow.— or tomorrow. sally, thanks so much for _ or tomorrow. sally, thanks so much for having _ or tomorrow. sally, thanks so much for having me, - or tomorrow. sally, thanks so much for having me, i - or tomorrow. sally, thanks so much for having me, i really i much for having me, i really appreciate it. there is a strong case that can be made both for and against the visit. in terms of prose, it is an opportunity to show support for to weigh one, even without official relations, taiwan and the united states have maintained robust cultural and economic ties for decades. it is also not a deviation from

previous us policy or actions. a sitting speaker of the house visited 25 years ago, newt gingrich, and for decades they have been dozens of congressional and staff delegations that have visited the island. that the seven sitting us senators have visited taiwan this year alone. in terms of cons, though, china is quite powerful right now. it has shown a willingness to be much more assertive when it views its interest is being threatened. us china relations are already delicate and this could further inflame those tensions. also, just looking at the timing, the chinese militaryjust marked its 95th anniversary on monday, and the chinese communist party has its 20th anniversary this fall so it is coming at a very sensitive time for the chinese leadership. 50 sensitive time for the chinese leadership-— leadership. so as you say, a very tricky — leadership. so as you say, a very tricky time _ leadership. so as you say, a very tricky time for - leadership. so as you say, a very tricky time for this - leadership. so as you say, a very tricky time for this visit j very tricky time for this visit to take place are what you think the consequences will be? we are releasing the chinese response through their rhetoric. chinese officials speaking out very forcefully and publicly. contacting

members of congress, urging them to tell speaker pelosi not to proceed with this visit. as you mentioned, there are also reports that chinese military aircraft few very close — mcrae flew very close to the chinese median line this morning. there are any number of actions that can be taken, whether it is more perhaps a large—scale meeting, more military exercises, or perhaps even firing missiles into the taiwan strait. 50 firing missiles into the taiwan strait. , ., strait. so in terms of the long-term _ strait. so in terms of the long-term impact, - strait. so in terms of the i long-term impact, relations long—term impact, relations between the us, china, extremely important for political reasons but also economic reasons as well. your thoughts on that?— thoughts on that? absolutely. i think this may _ thoughts on that? absolutely. i think this may make _ thoughts on that? absolutely. i think this may make it - thoughts on that? absolutely. i think this may make it more i think this may make it more challenging for the us to work with china on a whole host of issues, including combating climate change, trade, demilitarisation. but i must also say if china reacts to forcefully it does risk further

uniting republicans and democrats on capitol hill. a number of republicans have already spoken out in support of speaker pelosi's potential visit to the island and it is quite rare to see that consensus on capitol hill. china and the united states need to bear carefully with their responses. irate need to bear carefully with their responses.— need to bear carefully with their responses. we shall watch carefull . their responses. we shall watch carefully. thank _ their responses. we shall watch carefully. thank you. _ stay with us on bbc news. still to come — beyonce will re—record one of her new songs, after disability campaigners raised concerns about the lyrics. the question was whether we wanted to save our people and 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 two o'clock this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly- caught by surprise. we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the 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 bbc news. the latest headlines: president biden has confirmed that a us drone strike has killed the al-qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri. mr biden said he authorised the operation which took place on saturday.

i want to tell you now about an incredible operation that saw brazilian twins who were joined at the head successfully separated. virtual reality projections of the twins 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 are 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. but this time, surgeries in rio dejaneiro came with direction from great orman street hospital, in london. what we were able to do this time around, which is a world—first, is to do it in virtual reality across the two continents — with us setting up on our

platforms here, we wore the vr goggles, and then invited the team in brazil to join the vr theatre — and all of the surgery was done in virtual reality, all the steps were taken before we lifted the scalpel. to handle the complex task of dealing with the brain, blood vessels, the skin, the bone and 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: | talked| to their mother and told her, i believe we can separate her children. i learned the phrase, "when you have 1% of possibility, you have 99% of faith." once their parents were made aware of the risks, it was up to them to give the surgeons to green light. translation: i'd become so| desperate because i could not

bear my sons�* condition. the twins had seven surgeries — the final operational alone taking over 27 hours, involving nearly 100 medical staff. it's hoped this will be a template for helping conjoined twins around the world. what we've been able to do with gemini untwined is to pool the global experience — so that when the next set of kids, whether that be in israel or turkey, or rio, in this instance, we're able to share our experience and knowledge with the local team, and then undertake the surgery and support them. the boys are said to be recovering well in hospital, after recovering well in hospital, their blood pressures a heart after their blood pressures and heart rates were said to be through the roof after their separation until they were reunited four days later and touched hands. they will undergo rehabilitation for the next six months. just

incredible, fascinating to see how medicine is progressing. beyonce has agreed to re—record one of the songs on her latest album to remove a word that can been used to demean people with disabilities. the term appears twice in the song, heated, which was released on friday as part of her album, renaissance. some fans had defended beyonce, pointing out that the term she used can have a different meaning in the us. disability and women's rights advocate hannah divineyjoins us now from sydney. this is a story that's very close to your heart because you have actually campaigned previously with the artist list so you have seen or exchanged as part of your campaign, give us your reaction to beyonce? first of all thank you for having me and second, i think

my reaction to beyonce specifically was one of confusion, and frustration because as you just said, i obviously had been in a similar situation with lizzo, where she used the same slur about six weeks ago, we got her to change the lyric, is a disabled community so to see beyonce make that same mistake was very confusing and frustrating especially because obviously, the lizzo story received widespread global attention, and i couldn't really work out, how someone in her team didn't flag that when they knew this was in the lyrics of the song there would be a similar problem they would run into. very similar problem and they reacted quite quickly, beyonce recording the song, so that, in a sense as a positive but it does highlight doesn't it, that

the meanings of the words, the connotations they are different in different countries and this poses problems?— poses problems? yes, absolutely. _ poses problems? yes, absolutely. i— poses problems? yes, absolutely. i think i poses problems? yes, absolutely. i think for | poses problems? yes, i absolutely. i think for me personally because of the connection with my disability specifically, that word will always be one i don't like and that word will always be something that is offensive, i know that in the uk it is considered one of the most offensive words you can possibly stay. i think there is a different culturally sometimes between how african—american vernacular english uses that term, which is where i'm assuming lizzo and beyonce both didn't have an idea but i'm really grateful that she changed it, like both of them have changed it, actually and both of them have been exemplifies of excellent allies and listening to the

disabled community without trying to double down or defend themselves, or get angry at us, or misinterpret their intention, i really appreciate that. �* , intention, i really appreciate that. h intention, i really appreciate that. �*, ., �* intention, i really appreciate that. �*, ., that. let's hope we don't have this conversation _ that. let's hope we don't have this conversation again, i that. let's hope we don't have this conversation again, you . this conversation again, you and i but thank you so much for being on the programme, we do appreciate it. hannah deveney joining us live from sydney. so much happening in sport. now let's round up the latest from the commomwealth games with chetan pathak in birmingham. australia are top of the medal table with england and second, both countries dominated the medals on day four of these commonwealth games, england 144 gymnastics first james jarman won the final his first goal of the game then local birmingham boyjoe fraser edged out the northern irish reese mclanahan to take the pommel horse title. courtney tulloch took gold on the men's rings before george a fence and won the women's

uneven bars final. there was a first gold on the track for england, who else but laura kinney took it, five—time olympic champion for the 10k scratch race fashion her charge right at the end of perfection much to the delight of the home fans. on two monday evening action, at the aquatic centre we australia have been great form again, kyle chalmers won the men's100 metres freestyle as the english tontine claim silver ahead of scotland's duncan scott, another australian gold in the women's 200 metres for the australian, second gold of these games, emma mcewan continued her amazing achievements victory in the women's 50 metres butterfly, giving her her commonwealth gold and 217 medal over all. there was a gold piece for australia and england and the para— —— para—

swimming, lacey summers dominating the hundred metres breaststroke to finish way ahead of the field and matthew leavy of australia took the men's 50 metres freestyle, his seventh title. on monday singapore won the first gold medal, they beat malaysia in the women's team table tennis final, two gold medals for new zealand on day four in cycling and swimming, or south africa, gold and judo and gold for canada in the weightlifting and in the pool. as for tuesday, 37 gold medals on offer, with six of them on the opening night of the athletics. 50 of them on the opening night of the athletics.— the athletics. so much going on in sport. it's — the athletics. so much going on in sport, it's an _ the athletics. so much going on in sport, it's an exciting - in sport, it's an exciting time. a lot ahead for you, top business stories we will discuss bp the oil giant in an hour and discuss bp the oil giant in an hourand a discuss bp the oil giant in an hour and a half receives —— release its latest results, expected to say it has made record profits in the last

quarter, that's bound to lead to a backlash when it comes to how much money it's making at a time when families are struggling to pay energy bills, we will have that conversation here next. hello, then. of course, july 2022 will be remembered for the first time the uk saw temperatures widely in excess of 40 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 — 24 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, it's 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, but just that little bit fresher.

to a split in the anglican community.

this is bbc news, with the latest business headlines, for viewers in the uk and around the world. massive profits expected from oil giant bp, but what effect will a windfall tax have? the ship carrying 26,000 tonnes of ukrainian grain is expected to arrive in turkey today, the first shipment from ukraine since russia's invasion. wright and we get the inside track on who is following what on social media, post—pandemic.

let's get