tonight at ten: china prepares to begin live fire military exercises, after a top us politician visits taiwan. on the trip, the speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi, affirmed america's

commitment to taiwanese democracy. our delegation, of which i'm very proud, came to taiwan to make unequivocally clear we will not abandon our commitment to taiwan, and we are proud of our enduring friendship. but china sees taiwan as a renegade province. it's armed forces are on high alert. this is a complete farce. the united states is violating china's sovereignty under the guise of so—called 'democracy'. .. those who offend china will be punished. we'll have the very latest live from washington and taipei. also tonight... the european court refuses an application by the parents of archie battersbee to postpone the removal of his life support. parched gardens and lawns will have to wait. a hosepipe ban is coming, to more parts of southern england. to secure its energy needs, germany

considers keeping its nuclear power stations open to thwart a russian threat to suppliers. she's going to emulate her mum. eilish mccolgan is the commonwealth champion. and, keeping it in the family. scotland's eilish mccolgan follows her mum in winning commonwealth 10,000m gold. and as well as all the latest from the commonwealth games, coming up in the sport in the bbc news channel, leicester legend kasper schmeichel leaves the foxes for the french riviera, as hejoins nice. good evening. in the next few hours, china will begin military exercises with live ammunition, just off the coast of taiwan. it follows the visit to the island of one of america's most senior politicians, the speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi.

she said the controversial trip, was intended to show solidarity with the island and reflect the us�* commitment to democracy there. taiwan is self governing and lies about 100 miles across the taiwan straits. it also sees itself as independent, but beijing argues it's a renegade province and is warning of grave consequences following ms pelosi's visit. throughout the day, chinese fighter jets have repeatedly crossed into taiwnese airspace. our asia pacific correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes, has the very latest. despite what china has been saying, today's meeting between nancy pelosi and taiwan president ing—wen didn't look terribly sinister. president tsai began by presenting ms pelosi with taiwan's highest civilian honour. she in turn praised taiwan's democracy and promised america would stand by the island. our solidarity with you is more important than ever, as you defend taiwan and your freedom.

we are supporters of the status quo, and we don't want anything to happen to taiwan by force. so strength, and one of the biggest sources of strength is democracy. most people here are unfazed by china's threats. if anything, they're excited that the world's attention is focused on taiwan, if only for 2h hours. i think everybody is very excited here and very happy that she can come. and, more importantly, that people can show their excitement that, you know, that they're very welcome. to most people here, taiwan is a proud, independent country, with its own nationalflag and its own democratically—elected president. it is not some renegade province of china. but beijing has used its considerable economic and political clout to make sure this place is recognised by almost nobody. and that's why nancy pelosi's trip here today has been so important to them. they also knew china might retaliate, and that is exactly

what it's now doing. china has declared these six areas around taiwan closed to all air and sea traffic, starting from midday on thursday until midday on sunday. some of them encroach on taiwan's own territorial waters. in beijing, the foreign ministry said china had been forced into taking these actions. translation: for days, china has repeatedly - expressed its opposition to pelosi's taiwan visit, but the us and the taiwan separatist forces seem not to have heard. in this case, china can only speak to them in a language that they can understand. china's state television has been showing warplanes and navalforces mobilising, and ballistic missile carriers on the move. taiwan's defence ministry says china may be preparing to blockade the island. if so, we could be heading for the most serious crisis in more than 20 years. rupert wingfield—hayes,

bbc news, in taipei. at the heart of the tensions over taiwan, is the fact that beijing, hasn't ruled out using force to take control of the island. so why is america caught in the middle? well, taiwan sits here, in the so—called "first island chain," close to several us friendly territories crucial to american foreign policy. if china took taiwan, there's concern over beijing extending it's influence right across the region, maybe even threatening us military bases as far away as guam and hawaii. china insists its intentions are peaceful, and it could opt for reunification in the form of closer economic ties with tapei. but if push comes to shove... look at this. from naval power to aircraft to sheer manpower, china's military capabilities dwarf those of taiwan. tapei would need help defending itself, and that help could come from america.

and in may, president biden gave the clearest indication yet that the us would defend the island, if it's attacked. in a moment, we'll be hearing from robert wingfield hayes from the taiwanese capital, taipei. but first to the usa, and our correspondentjohn sudworth who's in washington dc. nancy pelosi was careful, very careful in her language. she talked about america's commitment to tie democracy. she didn't mention independence and that is crucial in this context. independence and that is crucial in this context-— independence and that is crucial in this context. nancy pelosi will have been acutely _ this context. nancy pelosi will have been acutely aware _ this context. nancy pelosi will have been acutely aware of— this context. nancy pelosi will have been acutely aware of the - been acutely aware of the long—standing us policy that it does not support taiwan independence, which is why we heard heard to refer to the democracy, not taiwan as a country. but as she heads off on the next part of the tour of asia she leaves in her wake a sense that that old strategic ambiguity over taiwan's' status. the formula meant to hold the and is as strange as it

has ever been. and the reason for that i think it's quite simple, because taiwan itself has changed so much. overthe because taiwan itself has changed so much. over the past few decades it has become a vibrant democracy with free press, independent courts and a strong and ever growing sense of its own identity while china has gone on the other direction, increasingly authoritarian. for beijing what that means is the process of peaceful unification which it used to hold out to its people as realistic if not distant prospect is starting to look like an impossibility. and the trouble for the outside world as it poses a real question because it leaves the alternative is one of military action and the question is, do you embrace that changing reality is nancy pelosi seems to have been doing on this trip will continue to tiptoe around it?— tiptoe around it? thank you for that. tiptoe around it? thank you for that- john _ tiptoe around it? thank you for that. john sudworth _ tiptoe around it? thank you for that. john sudworth in - tiptoe around it? thank you for - that. john sudworth in washington. let's get a final word from rupert wingfield—hayes, live in the taiwanese capital, taipei. there is potentially a devastating

economic dimension to this whole crisis, isn't there?— crisis, isn't there? that is right, clive, because _ crisis, isn't there? that is right, clive, because taiwan _ crisis, isn't there? that is right, clive, because taiwan may - crisis, isn't there? that is right, clive, because taiwan may be i clive, because taiwan may be politically isolated, as i said in my report, but it's certainly not economically isolated from the rest of the world. taiwan is a vital part of the world. taiwan is a vital part of the world. taiwan is a vital part of the world's modern economy. all the devices we do delete magga use, mobiles and laptops come inside and they have advanced microchips and they have advanced microchips and the microchips have been called the oil of the 21st century economy. most of those chips are made here in taiwan by one company, taiwan's semiconductors. around 63% of the world's most advanced microchips are made here in taiwan. if there was a blockade of taiwan by china it would have a massive impact on the world's economy and that is precisely why the united states and european governments are so concerned by what they are seeing china doing, attempting to impose some sort of blockade as it looks like for the

next four days around taiwan, that they're could be a test for what china could try and do in the future to block off taiwan from the rest of the world. ., ~ , ., to block off taiwan from the rest of the world. ., ~' , ., ., to block off taiwan from the rest of the world. ., ~ , ., ., ., the world. thank you for that. ru ert the world. thank you for that. rupert wingfield-hayes - the world. thank you for that. rupert wingfield-hayes live l the world. thank you for that. | rupert wingfield-hayes live in rupert wingfield—hayes live in taipei. there are updates on the tensions over taiwan, with more news and analysis, at bbc news online. that's at bbc.co.uk/news, orjust use the bbc news app. the european court of human rights has refused an application by the parents of archie battersbee to postpone the removal of his life support, effectively ending the family's legal battle. the 12—year—old has been in a coma since an accident in april. doctors, who believe archie is brain stem dead, were waiting for a decision from the court before withdrawing his treatment. our home and legal correspondent, dominic casciani is here. it seems that there is a tragic story is now nearing a conclusion. that is right. we have a situation here where the european court had

said it won't interfere in the decisions of british judges. said it won't interfere in the decisions of britishjudges. in essence what that means is they have rejected an argument from archie's parents that withdrawing treatment would be a breach of his life to write —— right to live. that's because they say treatment can be withdrawn if it is in the best interests of the child and effectively that is the situation we are in now. there is nothing to prevent doctors from doing so. tonight, hollie dance, archie's mother, said she was devastated but hopes the hospital won't do anything before paul, archie's father is by his bedside. she still wants a move to a hospice, something doctors are saying is pretty difficult to do. so the legal question and this was always about the timing of archie' death, whether it would come sooner or later and in these final moments it's about the manner of his passing and if his family can actually find some peace. and if his family can actually find some peace-— and if his family can actually find some peace. a man's been found guilty of killing

a stranger by pushing her off a pier in argyll and bute. jacob foster, who's 29, attacked charmaine o'donnell, at helensborough pier in april last year. the high court in glasgow heard that ms o'donnell suffered severe neck injuries and drowned. a hosepipe ban is to be imposed in parts of southern england, after months of dry weather. it means they can't be used to water gardens, allotments or to clean cars. two water companies have announced the restrictions and others are warning they may follow. from this friday, households in much of hampshire and the isle of wight will be affected. and more than a million homes in kent and sussex will have the ban enforced from next friday, the 12th of august. heres' gareth barlow. this is arlington reservoir, in sussex, part of a region the environment agency describes as a seriously water stressed, following the driest first six months of the year in england since 1976. we monitor our raw water levels

constantly and we are seeing them drop to the early drought triggers now. but what's really concerning is the rate that they are dropping. water use has soared, with south east water having to supply an additional 120 million litres a day day. reserves are running low. july saw just 8% of the average level of rainfall, with the trend forecast to continue for the foreseeable future. and with hosepipes using up to 1,000 litres of water an hour, it's hoped the ban can help preserve precious supplies. from filling your paddling pool to washing a car, and watering your garden and flowers like these, from next friday, the hosepipe has got to go away. instead, it'll be the return of a trusty bucket and watering cans. the hope is, by temporarily limiting how we use water, we'll limit how much we use too. despite being able to issue fines of up to £1000, south east water hopes that public goodwill will drive the effort to cut water use. it's really made me think about how

much water we do use, and if it is always needed. and be a bit more mindful of turning off the tap. with the environment obviously changing, we do need to start thinking seriously of ways in which we can save water. the challenge for water companies is to retain the supply we pay for, whilst also protecting water stocks for future use. it's too little and too late. if water companies were going to invest in landscape measures and infrastructure to hold water back on the landscape, that would have a much greater effect. the impending hosepipe ban isjust one symptom of the increasingly severe weather we're all having to contend with. gareth barlow, bbc news. governments across europe, are working out how best to cope with the threat of russian energy supplies being cut by vladimir putin this coming winter.

now germany is considering a u—turn on existing energy policy, deciding to extend the lives of the country's nuclear power plants, rather than shutting them down. and today, the german chancellor, olaf scholz, accused moscow of blocking the delivery of a turbine which russia says it needs to keep gas flowing to europe. jenny hill has more. he's holding europe's feet to the fire. vladimir putin knows germany relies on his energy, that its industry needs his gas. the aluminium they produce here flows down vital supply chains — cars, medical equipment, wind turbines. but no—one can rule out shortages this winter. honestly, if they cut energy, there is no real contingency plan. the only thing you can do is then prioritised, and, let's say, allocate the capacity that you could still run to the most important markets, where you think

the damage to society is the biggest, right? so you'd cut back on production? that's the only way. russia cut gas to europe, but it wants the world to think it's germany's fault. so, today, a photo—op. the german chancellor and the german turbine russia says it can't do without. olaf scholz insists it's available and there is no technical reason for russia to withhold its gas. but this is a chancellor who promised to phase out coal and end nuclear power. he is having to rethink those pledges now. "germany's last three remaining nuclear power stations," he said, "only provide electricity, and only a small amount." "nevertheless, it could make sense to keep them going." it would be a huge political compromise. one of those plants is in bavaria, and provides 12% of the region's electricity. it's due to be decommissioned at the end of the year.

in the nearby town of landshut, they're painfully aware that germany doesn't yet have enough gas stored for the winter. translation: we are preparing for disaster management. - should the gas supply break down, energy intensive industries would be the first to be taken off the supply grid, which would have catastrophic consequences for industry in our region. secondly, we would have to ensure places like hospitals and old peoples' homes are looked after. vladimir putin is casting a long shadow over the baking heat of the german summer. he may not yet have triggered the economic and political turmoil he'd no doubt like to unleash in the heart of europe, but he is forcing governments like germany's into difficult decisions and uncomfortable choices. and that's before you throw soaring energy bills into the mix. europe faces a volatile winter. and its leaders, a critical task — to insulate europe

from russian power. jenny hill, bbc news, landshut, in bavaria. the deeply conservative us state of kansas, has voted in a referendum to protect abortion rights. it's a major victory for pro choice groups, and the first electoral test of the issue since the supreme court decision two months ago, allowing individual states to ban the procedure. projections suggest kansans voted by more than 60%, to uphold a woman's right to access abortion services, against the will of the republican—led legislature, which wanted to pass severe restrictions. it's also despite the state voting republican in every presidential electio since 1968. voter turnout was also higher than expected for the referendum. with more, here's our north america correspondent, nomia iqbal. cheering in this deeply conservative state, it is a moment that gave liberal groups hope. it's going to be ok,

it's going to be ok. they'd expected the vote to protect abortion rights to either be tight, or not go their way at all. i am speechless, really. i'm so proud and relieved. i'm relieved that our rights remain intact in kansas. when the us supreme court overturned roe v wade two months ago, a ruling that legalised abortion nationwide, many republican—led states banned or restricted the procedure. not kansas, because the right is enshrined in its constitution. an amendment had to be passed to remove that right. it was a yes or a no vote. no won, by a lot. so proud of everybody in this state of kansas who has stepped forward and worked so hard for this. for president biden, this result is proof that the removal of roe v wade is out of step with public opinion. voters made it clear that politicians should not interfere with the fundamental rights of women.

the voters of kansas sent a powerful signal that this fall the american people will vote to preserve and protect their rights, and refuse to let them be ripped away by politicians. and my administration has their back. anti—abortion groups say this is a temporary setback. this campaign has been bitter and divisive. around $12 million has been spent by both yes and no sides, in a state with a population ofjust 3 million people. both groups have accused each other of aggressive and misleading tactics. unlike its neighbouring states, abortion is currently legal in kansas until 22 weeks of pregnancy. and now will stay that way. for many, that's emotional and disappointing. itjust goes against my faith, i guess, or my feelings. ijust don't like to see an innocent life taken, if it isn't really, really medically necessary.

other states will now vote directly on abortion rights in the mid—term elections in november. but this comfortably republican state has shown just how unpredictable this issue is in america. nomia iqbal, bbc news, kansas. hospital leaders in england say they're frustrated and concerned at the government's decision to award junior doctors a smaller pay rise than other nhs staff. they're tied into a four year pay deal, which means they'll receive just a 2% increase, despite soaring inflation. however, most other nhs employees are getting 4.5%. our health editor, hugh pym, has that story. i am currently running the same day emergency care by myself. there'sjust not quite enough doctors here and the gaps of doctors are being filled by locum doctors. so i'm an hour late leaving work land i didn't get a break today. i barely had time to have a wee. junior doctors describe the intense pressures they've experienced on recent shifts.

now some union members are protesting here outside the department of health, with a pay award of 2% in england, lower than other nhs staff, fuelling their frustration. i hope the government take the message thatjunior doctors, but also doctors more broadly, are ready to take action over pay — and that they can change course still. at the moment, they're on a collision course with our profession and with our union. the british medical association has written to the two conservative leadership candidates, calling for immediate action on pay by whoever becomes prime minister. nhs providers representing trusts in england says hospital leaders are frustrated and concerned by the decision to exclude junior doctors from the pay award for other nhs staff. they say it will undermine morale and create division in the workforce. these concerns are being voiced across social media. one junior doctor said she was quitting afterjust one year. poor pay cited as the first reason

for such a drastic move. crying at the end of an on—call shift is pretty normal. anotherjunior doctor, who's a union member speaking anonymously, is angry at not getting the same pay award as his nhs colleagues. yeah, i don't understand why we were left out. when i started as a doctor, i couldn't ever have imagined not wanting to be a doctor. i didn't understand the people that were leaving. about six months in, i was already looking at other job alternatives. i feel tired, not listened to, ignored and under appreciated. the department of health said the existing four year deal would end next year and that would be the right time to reconsider and there was more pay for the most experienced medics. analysts say there is broader context. the treasury might be concerned about the possibility of setting a precedent, that if we unpick this deal because inflation is higher than expected, the same would happen again in future. if you set out a set of pay awards based on what you expect to happen to inflation,

if inflation turns out lower than expected, the workers do better than they originally thought. if inflation turns out higher than expected, then they do worse. but with the uk's other nations offering bigger pay rises forjunior doctors, there's likely to be more pressure for a change of course in england. hugh pym, bbc news. one of the uk's most influential civil rights campaigners, roy hackett, has died. he was 93. he helped organise the bristol bus boycott, the campaign in 1963 to end the bristol omnibus company's colour bar on employing black and asian people. the protests that followed paved the way for the race relations act. bristol, it wasn't like it is today. it was very hard for us to find a place to live, number one. and very hard for a black man to get a job here in bristol. roy hackett, who's died at the age of 93.

england's victorious women footballers have written an open letter, urging the next prime minister to help inspire more girls to take up the sport. the team acknowledged that while women's football has come a long way, it still has a long way to go. the scorer of england's winning goal against germany, chloe kelly, has been speaking to our sports editor, dan roan. it was a moment english football will cherish forever. commentator: chloe kelly! unreal scenes! the images of chloe kelly's match—winning goal in the euros final, and the pure elation that followed, have already etched themselves in sporting folklore. and today, after playing a less intense form of the game, she told me how it felt to have sealed the lionesses' first major title. it hasn't quite sunk in yet. i think each day it's slowly starting to, but i don't think i realised what actually happened until after the game. like, i took my top off and went crazy because in that moment you don't think of anything else

other than "this is unbelievable". do you think this is the ground—breaking watershed moment? i think we're on a journey and we can't get caught too ahead of ourselves because not too long ago, it wasn't professional. so i think not getting too caught ahead of "we want exactly what the men have," but of course we want more. today, the lionesses urged both tory party leadership candidates to ensure all girls have access to at least two hours of football each week in pe. the government said it would help efforts for equal access to the sport. less than half of secondary schools offer football to girls as part of pe. does that need to change? yeah, definitely, and i think there'll be a massive turning point from this summer, and we'd like to hope so, anyway. and what can we do to help that? i think the girls, as a group, we want to make a change, and if we can do that, that's massive. to inspire the nation this summer was what we set out to do, and i'm very proud to be part of a great group that done that,

and, yeah, as a woman, believe in what you want and, yeah, dream big. on day six of the commonwealth games in birmingham, england's katerina johnson thompson won her first heptathlon for three years to retain her commonwealth title. also on the track scotland's eilish mccolgan followed in her mum liz's footsteps to take gold for scotland in the women's 10,000 metre final. our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, has all the details. after a difficult season, the perfect ending. katarina johnson—thompson set herself up for glory with a lifetime best throw in the javelin, and with a big lead, she could afford not to win the 800 metres. silver for northern ireland's kate o'connor but the smiles belonged to kjt. the 100 metre final is always a crowd favourite and so is elaine thompson—herah.

but blink and you'll miss the jamaican, so rapid is the reigning olympic champion. in the women's10,000 metres, scotland's eilish mccolgan stuck like glue when kenya's cheptai made a break for it. the grimace was real, the sprint unexpected, but it paid off. eilish mccolgan is the - commonwealth champion! a games record and her mum liz, commonwealth champion in the same event. no wonder both were in tears. i've never sprint like that in my entire life but i was just, honestly, without the crowd, i wouldn't have finished like that tonight and i just wanted it so bad. that's the first commonwealth title for eilish and her mum liz has two, quite the family legacy. but that's not the end of the medals for the home nations. it's been a really busy day across all the venues. not least in the pool, one gold for scotland and two for england. they won the men's four by 100 medley relay to bring swimming's commonwealth games to a close.

a bad back and covid were the worst possible build—up to the commonwealth, so after figuratively having to get back on the bike, today evie richards quite literally had to. but the world champion dominated the women's mountain bike cross country race, upgrading the silver she won four years ago. scotland won their fourth gold of the games thanks to pauline wilson and rosemary lenton in the para pairs bowls. their combined age of 130 shows its never too late to raise the bar. something emily campbell knows all about. she'd already made history at the olympics and in the superheavyweight division, she first set a commonwealth games record... then a personal best. all the cheers for the woman with the red and white pom—poms in her hair. i hope people see how beautiful our sport it is. i hope throughout the week as well you've seen it doesn't matter what he looked like, what shape you are, what size you are, you can pick up a bar and you can do it.

olympic silver and now commonwealth gold under her belt. natalie pirks, bbc news, birmingham. time for a look at the weather. here's helen willetts hosepipe bans are being extended across the south? it has been exceptionally dry, but it's notjust been dry injuly across the south. for the summer so far, june and july, we have only had just over 100 millimetres of rain across the whole of the uk. to put that in context, through the metrological summer, june, july and august, you'd usually expect to see about 240 millimetres of rain in those three months. we are way off that. it's been dry across the board, but exceptionally so in the south. most of the rain we have seen this august, and we have had some rain, is falling further north. very little in the south. this evening we have seen heavy rain, the odd bit of thunder tracking east across northern ireland. there is a warning out for the extent of the rain across the east of scotland because this is going tojoin

across the east of scotland because this is going to join forces overnight. through tomorrow morning's rush it