the united states does not seek and does not want a crisis. we are prepared to manage what beijing chooses to do. the killing of ayman al—zawahiri, washington says the taliban broke an agreement not to allow foreign militants on afghan soil. the house that was targeted in the drone strike isjust a few minutes away. but the taliban aren't allowing anyone to film nearby, insisting there's nothing to see — one even pointing his gun threateningly towards us.

shrinking glacier streams in the himalayas are creating a water crisis. we have a special report on getting tap water to villages. and the smart, caption glasses, allowing deaf people to see real—time conversations right in front of their eyes. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. nancy pelosi, america's third—highest ranking politician, is right now in taiwan on a visit that's infuriated beijing. ms pelosi is due to visit taiwan's parliament and meet the taiwanese president on wednesday morning. tensions are high. china considers self—ruled,

democratic taiwan as its own territory, and it's been flying warplanes close to the island. four us warships have also been deployed to the region. our correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes, reports from taiwan. the speculation has been swirling for days, but it wasn't until this moment with her plane on final approach that we were sure nancy pelosi would defy beijing and become the most senior us politician to visit taiwan in a quarter of a century. for days, china has been making ominous threats that it would not stand by and allow it to happen. we are now beginning to see china's response. large—scale military exercises in the seas around the island, starting around thursday. translation: if the us - continues down the wrong path, we will take strong and resolute measures to ensure our sovereignty and security interests. in taipei, the mood remains calm but defiant — the island's tallest skyscraper was lit up tonight with

a message of welcome. i think this time if speaker pelosi can come to taiwan, it would be a crucial time for the united states to show their support to taiwan, to taiwan's democracy. you can see that not everybody in taiwan is delighted by nancy pelosi's arrival here, but on the whole, most people welcome a visit by such a senior us politician. in fact, the taiwanese government would like more such visits, not one every 25 years. but mrs pelosi coming here does not by itself change the grim calculus now facing taiwan — which is a serious and growing threat from china which since the russia's invasion of ukraine, suddenly looks a lot more real. half an hour outside taipei in this disused factory, young taiwanese are learning basic gun skills.

since the invasion of ukraine, enrolment on these courses has jumped by 50%. many of the new recruits are women. next door, jj lai and his friends are undergoing more advanced training. learning to work as a team and to evacuate the wounded. they used to do this for fun, but now it is much more serious. this is my home country, this is all i want, to protect it. i want to live here with my family, that's all. some critics say if taiwan wants america or any other country to help it fend off the threat from china, then it has to show that it is willing to fight. that is exactly what these young taiwanese men and women want to show nancy pelosi and anyone else who will listen. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, taiwan. the white house national security council spokesman,

john kirby, is trying to de—escalate tensions with china — reiterating that the us doesn't support independence for taiwan. the united states will not and does not — will not seek and does not want a crisis. we are prepared to manage what beijing chooses to do. at the same time, we will not engage in sabre—rattling. we will continue to operate in the seas and the skies of the western pacific, as we have done for decades. we will continue to support taiwan. joining me is monica miller, our reporter who has been watching the latest developments for us. great to get you on the programme. just to start with, we've already seen the chinese react with those warplanes in taiwanese guys. should we expect more of this? we have

been very _ expect more of this? we have been very -- they _ expect more of this? we have been very -- they have been. been very —— they have been very clear and they are outraged. we hear discussions between president biden and president sheep last week, where he said if you play with fire, you will get burned, which is exactly what we are seeing —— president xi. they have threatened military exercises over the next couple days, and we can expect them to follow through on their promises. this is an issue that has been fought for many, many years between these two countries. china sees taiwan as a runaway part of their sovereign state that they will take back one day. however, the us sees it as a an independent country with its own government, and for a long time, they have said they will protect them as a democracy and an ally. so, these two are even further apart than they were to the past, and these are just going to get worse. interestingly, we did hearfrom

john kirby trying to appear to de—escalate the situation, saying the us doesn't support�*s taiwan's and defendants. why can't the chinese take this as a visit. but a visit via visit. whether it's a lower ranking of the official government says she's not really the first us officials of both of they will look at... she is the third succession to the president and the nancy pelosi. they are seeing this as a united front on the us side. this is a matter of president xi, who has

his own legacy. he is someone thatis his own legacy. he is someone that is going to not really make those differentiations in terms of her ranking. but it's also about face. i think it's something that the chinese people take very seriously, that this is an affront. they made it clear they didn't want nancy lucy to visit and they are clear on their message to the us fulfilling its promise. it is something that the us has agreed to. and he has said that they would defend taiwan, but then he backed off and said we do recognise china's policy, thatis do recognise china's policy, that is because the relationship between the countries is at fever pitch. president biden had a different

message that said maybe it's not a good idea for her to be taking this trip, but then he has backed off and said he has supported her. the chinese are not going to back down from this, and i think we can expect more anger. this, and i think we can expect more anger-— more anger. indeed. i know ou'll more anger. indeed. i know you'll be — more anger. indeed. i know you'll be watching _ more anger. indeed. i know you'll be watching very - more anger. indeed. i know. you'll be watching very closely in the coming hours. for now, we leave that story and take a look at some others in the headlines. the first grain ship to have sailed from a ukrainian—controlled port since russia invaded the country has reached turkish waters. the cargo vessel, razoni, is waiting north of the bosporus strait. it's hoped that resuming grain exports from ukraine will help ease a globalfood crisis, that was compounded by russia's blockade of ukrainian black sea ports. a man's been charged with treason after being arrested in the grounds of windsor castle on christmas day — allegedly with a crossbow. jaswant singh chail, who's 20, is accused of intending

to injure the queen. he's also been charged with threats to kill and having an offensive weapon. the american novelist, stephen king, has appeared in court to support the us government's case against the merger of two of the country's biggest publishers. the justice department wants to block the $2.2 billion deal between penguin and its rival, simon and schuster, on competition grounds. the author of carrie and the shining said it had become increasingly difficult for authors to make money. i want to turn now to another big story today — the death of al-qaeda leader, ayman al—zawahiri. washington says the taliban broke an agreement not to allow foreign militants on afghan soil by sheltering the militant group leader, who's been killed in a us drone strike in kabul. ayman al—zawahiri was one of the masterminds of 9/11 attacks on america, alongside osama bin laden.

our correspondent secunder kermani reports from kabul. one of america's most wanted. ayman al—zawahiri, right—hand man and successor to osama bin laden. this was the drone strike that american officials say killed him as he stood on the balcony at this family home in an upmarket kabul neighbourhood. we can hear debris still being cleared up, but then we are told to stop filming. we're in the centre of the city. the house that was targeted in the drone strike is just a few minutes away, but the taliban are not allowing anyone to film nearby, insisting there is nothing to see — one even pointing his gun threateningly towards us a little earlier on. senior taliban figures must

have agreed to al-qaeda's leader living here, but they have insisted in public the group no longer exists in afghanistan, so his death poses difficult questions. zawahiri had trained as a doctor in egypt, but was drawn into radical circles. afterjoining al-qaeda, he helped plan the 9/11 attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed. america placed a $25 million dollar bounty on his head. president biden was in the command centre when 0sama bin laden was killed. and here he is being briefed on this weeekend's operation, a major success after criticism of last year's chaotic troop withdrawal from afghanistan. no matter how long it takes,

no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the united states will find you and take you out. unlike al-qaeda, the taliban have a national, not global, agenda, but they have been close allies of al-qaeda for years. recently they played down their links, promising not to allow foreign attacks to be planned on afghan soil. al-qaeda is no longer the global threat it once was, but this drone strike will further deepen the mistrust between the taliban and the west. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. earlier i asked colin clarke, who's a senior research fellow at the soufan centre, if the killing of al—zawahiri has significantly weakened al-qaeda. well, i think it's a big deal.

i think first, symbolically, it's really important for americans. we lost 3,000 innocent citizens that day to the 9/11 attacks, and so there's a sense of vengeance that i think a lot of americans, you know, not only those who work in national security felt, when the president announced zawahiri's death. more fundamentally for the group, it's a big blow because zawahiri has let the group since may 2011, after bin laden was killed. he's led al-qaeda through some turbulent times, including the arab spring revolutions, but also the rise of the islamic state in 2014. so without him, they'll be searching for a new leader, and i think there's a lot of uncertainty within the organisation at the moment. so who do you see as replacing him? is there any sort of definitive person or leader that could replace him? and how do you see them steering the al-qaeda? well, the conventional wisdom suggests that the egyptian jihadist, much like al—zawahiri,

with some military training and experience will take over. he is a known quantity, but is also believed to be living in iran, which is problematic for a number of reasons. first, he would be assumed to be under the thumb of the iranian regime, and second, he'd be vulnerable to being assassinated by israeli commandos who are alleged to have assassinated another al-qaeda leader several years ago in tehran. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... shrinking glaciers streams in the himalayas are creating a worsening water crisis in the area. we have a special report on how people in the area are trying to cope. 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... nancy pelosi — the us house speaker — is in taiwan — for a hugely controversial visit, which china warns could have serious consequences for america. the leader of al-qaeda is killed by an us drone strike in the afghan capital. ayman al—zawahiri was one of the masterminds of the 9/11 terror attacks — with osama bin laden. now you might have been following the fairly lengthy process to find a successor to borisjohnson as uk conservative leader — and british prime minister. they've whittled it down to two candidates with a vote among party members in a few weeks. but now they've had to change the method of balloting after a warning that hackers could breach security. 0ur reporter mark lobel has been following that story — hejoins me now from the london newsroom. mark, what more do we know?

why are they making this change, but are they worried about? ., ., ., about? indeed, the arrival of votinu about? indeed, the arrival of voting slips _ about? indeed, the arrival of voting slips for _ about? indeed, the arrival of voting slips for the _ about? indeed, the arrival of voting slips for the next - voting slips for the next prime minister has been delayed, as you say, and this also means that 160,000 tory members who will be voting for the next conservative prime minister will not have two chances to vote now. i want to explain why this is happening by showing you an e—mail that was sent to these 160,000 members that we have received a copy of. if you have received a copy of. if you have a look at it, it says, "your ballot is on its way, it will arrive with you a little later than we said to. please do not worry, this is because we have taken some time to add some additional security to our ballot process which has delayed us slightly."... now this delay is because of a warning from a part of

britain's security services that the vote could be hacked. it's all about the voting part of the selection. in essence, they fear that somebody could actually take a unique code from one of these members and use it again to vote second time on their behalf without them knowing. now our viewers will know there have been fears of hacking and other elections in the us presidential elections most recently, and actors from states in china, iran and russia have often had the finger pointed at them. in this case, we don't believe there's any direct person involved, this is more of a cautionary approach — but i guess the key question is, will these changes affect the result of who will become britain's next prime minister now that the deadline for receiving these postal ballots has been moved to next thursday? things have been moving very quickly — liz truss, in an embarrassing you take dust you turn on tuesday. rishi sunak�*s team

said the longer the conservative members have to think about who will best be keir starmer at the next election, the more votes will shift their way. whereas liz truss supporters are very confident because there's a new poll out giving her a comfortable lead, and she just got an endorsement from the daily mail. so the momentum still seems to be with her. mark, great to have you on the programme. the fact that the ballot is changing slightly in the leadership race is updating. i want to bring you a special report now from india — where indians living in remote villages in the himalayas are facing a water crisis. glacial streams are shrinking and it's hard to fetch water in freezing temperatures. the government says it has found a solution — and is now using special methods to bring tap water to these villages. so are these methods working? for her latest report on india's water problems, the bbc�*s divya arya travelled to ladakh to see how successful this initiative is. 13,700 feet above sea level.

it's a desert over a mountain. this woman has lived here all her life, and never had tap water. translation: | keep | water for drinking here, and for washing utensils here. she and her husband take me on their daily trek to fetch water. we climb over many lower streams to reach the cleanest source. translation: temperatures fall so low that water - freezes when left outside. so we fill only as much as we need. if we need 20 litres, we fill 20 litres. so lamo has to make daily trips in biting winter. even that doesn't suffice. traditionally, these glacial springs had enough water to service the drinking water

needs of this entire region. but over the decades, as the himalayan ice has receded, these springs have also shrunk — and this region has had to move its dependence to underground water. deep digging is under way. to deliver on the government's promise of providing tap water, pipes and tanks must be safe from freezing. translation: ladakh is not like the plains, l where there are overhead tanks, from where water is distributed to homes in the village. here, tanks are built underground to prevent water from freezing. after a year of preparation, water supply is being tested in the village today. hello? most of the special

thermal—coated taps remain dry. the local engineer explains that a pipe burst, causing the leakage. while she waits, this tanker is the solution. if only they could get tap water. divya arya, bbc news, ladakh. being part of a conversation can be problematic for those who are hard of hearing or deaf. so imagine how amazing it would be if they could actually see what people are saying — real—time subtitles, if you like. well, with the help of new glasses and an app, that could be possible, as wendy urquhart reports. hello? hey, josh, it's gillian. how are you doing? this new software makes it possible for people to see real—time subtitles of conversations that other people are having —

which means those who are deaf or hard of hearing can actually see what people are talking about. it's the brainchild of dan scar, from x—ray glass, who said he had an "aha" moment when his granddad started losing his hearing. it was just a little epiphany moment where i thought, "hang on a second, he watches tv all the time with subtitles on. why can't we subtitle the world?" the way it works is the glasses are tethered to smartphones with an app, which turns the speech into text, and that's displayed on the inside of the lenses — and it's causing a sensation. it's powerful. i can't understate the power and importance for people who are hard of hearing all over the world to feel that they don't have to solely rely on lip—reading any more, and it's a big moment. this is just the start. dan has big plans to adapt the software so that it's able to translate languages, voice tones, accents and pitch — and for many,

this is an opportunity to be involved in conversations for the first time ever. i might not quite catch everything, but this i is going to mean a real—time narrative which enables me i to be informed, to be - involved, to make decisions, because i know. what is being said. to help perfect the software, x—ray glass is hoping to recruit testers who either can't lip—read or struggle when multiple conversations are taking place at the same time. wendy urquhart, bbc news. remarkable stuff there. and finally, it's a sum that would test the principles of even the richest people in the world — but tiger woods has apparently turned down a deal of over $700 million to take part in the liv series.

he said saying players who signed up had "turned their back" on the pga tour that made them famous. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello. well, after another very warm and fairly humid night, as well, the humidity levels will drop across most parts of the country as we go through wednesday. and you'll also notice the winds starting to ease down after a very blustery spell of weather. strongest winds on the southern edge of this area of low pressure. the freshest of the air, though, is off to the northwest behind this weather front, which will be moving into parts of western scotland and northern ireland first light. but to the south and east of that, look at the temperatures as we start the day — around 16—19 celsius for the vast majority. now, whilst many of you start dry, we've got that rain at times in western scotland and northern ireland, there'll be a zone of cloud, rain, or drizzle southwest england through the midlands towards the wash — and that'll towards east anglia and the southeast. could produce a few spots of rain, but very little for the gardens here, and it will break up to sunny spells later.

lots more sunshine around, in fact, through wednesday. a few heavy showers through scotland and northern ireland, where temperatures will drop away through the day — whereas for england and wales, it still remains pretty warm. the humid air towards east anglia in the southeast 27—29 celsius. so, becoming less humid in the birmingham area, a lot more sunshine around for the commonwealth games, though, compared with tuesday, and a sunny end to the day here. there will be a few showers on northern england, scotland, northern ireland, some of those will continue through the night. some heavy ones, maybe the odd rumble of thunder, too. but what you will notice, as we go through into thursday morning, temperatures will have dropped more widely — still in double figures for the most part, but certainly a bit more comfortable to get to sleep in. but for thursday, lots of dry and sunny weather around for the vast majority. a zone of cloud and a few showers through northern england, wales drifting into the north midlands. some further showers then across scotland, very well—scattered, most places staying dry. and by this stage, temperatures actually dropping a little bit below normal across scotland and northern ireland, and maybe the far north west of england. still pretty warm, though, east anglia and the southeast. that'll be the case on friday,

but another cooler start, temperatures in single figures for some to begin the day. sunny start, a bit of cloud bubbling up, 1—2 isolated light showers, most will be dry. still with temperatures the mid—20s in the very far southeast, but most actually high teens, low 20s. and then, as we go through into the weekend, high pressure building in across southern areas does mean we'll see some wet and windy weather push across scotland for the start of the weekend. and temperatures will rise here into sunday. but for many, still a lot of dry weather around, but a good deal more comfortable across some southern parts. that's how it's looking, see you soon.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues, straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. i'm at the firstsite gallery, in colchester, in the east of england. my guests are the contemporary artists the singh twins, who have a major exhibition of their work here. the singh twins combine their dual british and indian heritage to make provocative art that has a strong political message.

but sometimes, do these two traditions collide?