welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: china experiences a surge of covid cases a week after relaxing its strict rules on quarantines and lockdowns. us presidentjoe biden signs into law a bill giving federal protection to same—sex and interracial marriages. today's a good day! cheering a day america takes a vital step towards equality. three days of national mourning are under way in the democratic republic of congo after at least 100 people are killed by heavy rains, floods and landslides, around the capital kinshasa. promising results from a new personalised cancer vaccine. the experimental therapy uses the same technology developed

in the moderna and pfizer coronavirus vaccines. scientists move a step closer to breeding gene edited chickens that only hatch female chicks. lionel messi inspires argentina to a convincing win over croatia to reach sunday's world cup final. hello. welcome to the programme. to china first, where the hospital system's coming under an increasing strain as covid—19 spreads quickly again. it comes after the government's decision to abandon its zero—covid approach. the situation has become so bad that doctors and nurses who have contracted the virus are being told to turn—up for work because of staff shortages. stephen mcdonell

reports from beijing. long lines have been forming outside beijing's clinics after an explosion of infections, triggered by an end to china's zero—covid approach. hospitals have increased their fever ward capacity, expecting a huge influx of patients. people in this country have been used to going to hospital to treat any illness at all, but now they're putting massive pressure on the system. so doctors have taken to social media to try to explain that with mild cases of the virus, recovery at home is recommended — a new concept for most here. going to hospital can also be potentially dangerous at the moment, according to one specialist, who says patients could be catching covid from doctors and nurses. from my conversations with friends in china who serve as the hospital directors or medical workers, people being infected had been required to work in hospital, which creates a transmission

environment there. it's notjust hospitals that are under pressure. panic buying at pharmacies has meant certain medicines are now hard to come by. this sign says "no cold and flu tablets, no thermometers "and no home testing kits." just weeks ago, chinese officials were saying lockdowns and isolation centres were necessary. now, after a major u—turn, the message is that the latest covid types aren't dangerous, and many younger people are welcoming the chance to isolate at home. translation: the information circulating before about covid l was completely at odds with my experience of the virus. i caught it, was a bit uncomfortable, but it hasn't been nearly as scary as i thought it would be.

she does worry about her sister, who has two parents and children and grandmother. in other countries, reopening led to bustling streets, as communities again came together. beijing feels like a ghost town. most are either recovering at home or afraid to go out, lest they too become infected. companies in these tower blocks are imploring staff to return to work, but they are having a difficult time convincing employees to re—enter crowded offices. it looks like china is in for a tough few months before life returns to anything like normal. amongst those being overloaded are home delivery drivers, and many of them are also catching covid. so orders are piling up, with not enough drivers to handle them. zero—covid may be effectively over, but this virus continues to wreak havoc in china. stephen mcdonnell,

bbc news, beijing. let's go to the united states. president biden has signed into law a bill which gives federal protection to same—sex and interracial marriages in the united states. democrats secured the passage of the legislation weeks before surrendering control of the house of representatives to their republican opponents. speaking at the signing ceremony at the white house, mr biden said it was an historic day. today's a good day! a day america takes a vital step toward equality, toward liberty and justice, notjust for some, but for everyone — everyone! we are creating a nation where decency, dignity and love are recognised, honoured and protected. north america corresponded peter bowes has more details. it means in practice

that there is now federal or country wide recognition of same—sex and interracial marriages. it was prompted and it may seem like there was a rush to get through congress. it was prompted by the decision of the supreme court early this year to deny the constitutional rights of women in this country to have an abortion. there have been some concerns that the supreme court, a conservative leaning supreme court, could at some point in the future make a similar decision that would essentially overturn a previous decision, giving the rights of same—sex couples, interracial couples, to get married. it was interesting that there was bipartisan support for this bill. now a law, that is all of the democrats and enough republicans to get it passed through as a law. peter, this is not quite a catch—all. what does the bill not include? this does not include essentially foreseeing individual states to carry out same—sex marriages. so, let'sjust lay in

the future, at some point the supreme court does move or make a similar decision to what it decided on abortion, that would give the rights of some states to deny people the right to a same—sex marriage. it will not force them to do that but it will compel those individual states to recognise same—sex marriages, interracial marriages, if they were carried out legally elsewhere, they carried out legally in another state. the reason that is important because for those roughly 700,000 same—sex couples in the country, it means whatever the supreme court decides in the future, their rights, their rights to benefits and other rights given to them through being married, will be secured, moving forward. peter bowes in la for us there. let's get some of

the day's other news. the judiciary in iran says 400 anti—government protesters in the capital tehran have been given prison sentences of up to ten years. the city's prosecutor general said nearly half of what he called "the rioters" were jailed for between five to ten years, most of the others for up to two years. a french court has found guilty all eight suspects accused of helping a tunisian man carry out a deadly truck attack in nice six years ago. 86 people were killed and hundreds injured when the vehicle tore through crowds celebrating bastille day in the southern city. at a summit in washington the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, has warned african leaders there's a risk that china and russia will destabilise the continent. at the start of the three—day meeting, which is being attended by dozens of african leaders, he spoke of a lack of transparency when it came to china's growing economic influence on the continent, and criticised russia for deploying mercenaries in african countries.

ajudge in the bahamas has denied bail to the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, ftx, who's been accused of one of the biggest financialfrauds in us history. thejudge said sam bankman—fried should be remanded in custody until the case for extradition could be heard. mr bankman—fried has indicated that he will fight extradition to the united states, where the authorities have filed eight separate criminal charges against him. scientists in israel say they've developed special gene—edited hens who lay eggs from which only female chicks hatch. the breakthrough could prevent the slaughter of billions of male chickens each year, which are culled because they don't lay eggs. scientists from the volcani institute in tel aviv have also made sure the female chicks and the eggs they lay when they mature, show no trace of the original genetic alteration. we can now speak to

professor glenn cohen, who's faculty director at the petrie—flom center for health law policy, biotechnology and bioethics at harvard law school. professor, thank you for being with us. what is your reaction to this story was yellow it is certainly a very interesting application of gene editing, as you say, billions of male chicks are slaughtered every year, this prevents them from being slaughtered because they don't come into existence, it will save commercial farming significant money. the will save commercial farming significant money.— significant money. the real question — significant money. the real question is _ significant money. the real question is whether - significant money. the real question is whether it - significant money. the real question is whether it uses| question is whether it uses worries and people who are concerned about gene editing. there are certainly lots to talk about. we'll parker for the moment, this is one application for this gene and gender editing, if you like, what are some potential other uses for this technology? 50 what are some potential other uses for this technology? so we have had sex — uses for this technology? so we have had sex selection - uses for this technology? so we have had sex selection and - have had sex selection and other kinds of reproductive at 70s, we use sperm sorting, there are ways of doing sex selection during human reproduction in terms of

selecting gametes and also sperm sorting, there is the possibility this will be used elsewhere in the animal world or something in the future potentially for human applications.- potentially for human a- lications. ., ., . potentially for human aulications. ., ., . ., applications. you did touch on ethical issues _ applications. you did touch on ethical issues earlier - applications. you did touch on ethical issues earlier on, - ethical issues earlier on, critics will say this is humans playing god. what are some of theissues playing god. what are some of the issues here and how do you respond to them?— the issues here and how do you respond to them? there are two sets of issues, _ respond to them? there are two sets of issues, should _ sets of issues, should emphasise this is not science that has been peer—reviewed yet, so we're speaker letting a little bit. there are two kinds of objections people might raise, one is the goal, sex selection, the other is the means by which it is achieved, gene editing. in terms of the goal, there is a concern about messing with nature, changing the way we have a relationship with the natural world, showing kind of a mastery. in terms of the means, gene editing, there is a concern about whether this alteration will be carried forward to future generations. they seem to have tested that they claim it will not. it also concerns about a slippery slope, the more we normalise the editing of animal life and

life we consume, the more likely it we will become comfortable doing it for human life. , , , comfortable doing it for human life. ,, , life. this study was carried out in israel. _ life. this study was carried out in israel. when - life. this study was carried out in israel. when it - life. this study was carried l out in israel. when it comes life. this study was carried - out in israel. when it comes to the supervision of this project, are there some countries where it is a free for all, are there some internationally agreed standards, how are is monitored around the world?— around the world? currently, in terms of human _ around the world? currently, in terms of human gene _ around the world? currently, in terms of human gene editing, i around the world? currently, in l terms of human gene editing, we have significant restrictions all of the world. but as we saw with the case in china, it is not always enforced as rigorously everywhere in the world. when it comes to the animal, do we do see quite a patchwork of difference in terms of what the rules are and what kinds of authorities have to take a look before something can be helpful. even in the uk, right, it is not clear yet whether this kind of edit done to a check would make its way into the food supply without any further steps.— any further steps. 0k, professor _ any further steps. 0k, professor glenn - any further steps. 0k, j professor glenn cohen any further steps. 0k, - professor glenn cohen from harvard law school, very good to get your insights. thank you forjoining us stop thank you forjoining us stop thank you for having me.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: goals from messi and alvarez see argentina this crush croatia to secure a place in sunday's world cup final. cheering and singing saddam hussein is finished, because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict — conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out.

from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteeing bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: china experiences a surge of covid cases, a week after relaxing its strict rules on quarantines and lockdowns. us presidentjoe biden signs into law a bill giving federal protection to same—sex and inter—racial marriages. in central africa, around 100 people are reported to have been killed in the democratic republic of congo, following the worst flooding in years in the capital, kinshasa. major roads in the city centre were left under water as heavy rains continued for hours. several homes collapsed. the government's announced

a three—day period of national mourning. tom brada reports. wading through filthy water to see what, if anything, is left standing. heavy rains have left a trail of destruction across kinshasa, with homes destroyed and lives slipped away. in some areas, landslides have torn chunks out of the earth, with vast holes where homes once stood. translation: it was at 5am when the earth collapsed - on the house. nine people from the same family have died. it is a similar picture across the capital. addressing the ongoing rescue efforts, the prime minister said that: but for many people, the government itself is partly to blame. translation: we have elected a government that is unable to give its people what they need. this road has threatened

to collapse for a long time. we've alerted the authorities to this situation but here is the pure reality, they cannot even build a gutter! once a fishing village on the banks of the congo, kinshasa has grown into one of africa's megacities, but the growth has not been matched by the right kind of investment, leaving the city and its residents increasingly vulnerable. translation: | find it hard to bear. - i have no more strength to bury the dead bodies. climate change means that periods of intense rain are becoming more common. without better help from the government, residents of kinshasa will remain at the mercy of the destructive weather. tom brada, bbc news, kinshasa. let's go to south america now. a court in peru has rejected an appeal by the ousted president, pedro castillo, to be released following his detention on charges of rebellion and conspiracy. appearing in court for the first time since his

impeachment last week, mr castillo said he'd been unjustly and arbitarily detained. he said he would never give up fighting for his ideals and called on the security forces to stop killing his supporters, who've held protests across the country to demand his release. they've turned violent, resulting in the deaths of 7 people. denisse rodriguez—0livari is a lecturer in politics at the pontifical catholic university of peru. she says the violence is alarming, even in a country that is no stranger to political turmoil. we have seen the repression, with the successive use of force by police officers throughout the decades and this is the result of poor management of conflict resolution. we have seen a lot of people losing their lives. we have seen some looting. we have seen some people harming journalists and even trying to loot some mainstream media outbuildings.

this is a controlled platform. it goes from pedro castillo, to hosting all the parliamentarians and also the removal of dina boluarte, the current prime minister. i mean, their demands are quite various, including economic grievances. i think it is highly unlikely he will be released from detention. currently under seven—day preliminary detention. this is why they are collecting the proof for a further case. i think the prosecution should be extremely careful of what crime they are trying to indict him for because otherwise there will be some calls for longer, which is something we have seen in the region. a new type of personalised vaccine to treat cancer has produced promising results during clinical trials. the experimental therapy uses the same technology which was first developed

in the moderna and pfizer coronavirus vaccines. 0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, has the details. we usually think of vaccines as a way of preventing disease but this is a personalised treatment for patients with cancer using messenger mrna technology, first used in some covid jabs. it works like this. a sample of the patient�*s tumour is analysed and dozens of mutations unique to their cancer are identified. the vaccine contains strands of mrna which give coded instructions to cells to produce the rogue proteins from the tumour. this stimulates the patient�*s immune system to attack their cancer. in effect, the vaccine unmasks the cancer cells which until then had remained hidden. the trial involved 157 patients with melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. the companies involved say

the results are promising. it's the first randomised trial testing of our mrna therapy it's the first randomised trial testing of an mrna therapy in cancer patients. it has shown a 44% reduction in the risk of dying of cancer or having your cancer progress. that's an important finding. and i think it has the potential to be a new paradigm in the treatment of cancer issues. the same approach has been tried with lung, bowel and other tumour types. trials will take a few years so new treatments are a way off. but cancer research uk says it's grounds for optimism, that the science which helped get us out of the pandemic could be used against cancer. torrential rain has flooded portugal in 13 districts. the flatland around lisbon are

submerged and the water is seeping into every crevice of the city. in some places it is very d. rhodes, bridges cut—off and roads and business is completely waterlogged. —— very deep. hundreds of been forced to evacuate their homes and many others are stranded. they will have to be patient, the emergency services are dealing with more than moo calls for help in lisbon alone. translation: help in lisbon alone. tuna/mom- help in lisbon alone. translation: ~ , ., ., translation: we 'ust do not know what to _ translation: we 'ust do not know what to do _ translation: we just do not know what to do anymore. - know what to do anymore. transition back with a high tide and this amount of water, we still would not be of able to avoid this.— to avoid this. locals are clearing _ to avoid this. locals are clearing debris - to avoid this. locals are clearing debris and - to avoid this. locals are. clearing debris and water to avoid this. locals are - clearing debris and water from their homes for the second time in a week. the authorities insist work on a five kilometre drainage tunnel to prevent flooding in the future will begin soon but that will not

soon for residents of the capital because more rain is forecast later this week. argentina are through to the final of the world cup, in qatar, after beating croatia 3—0. lionel messi scored the first goal in the 34th minute. 0ur sports presenter 0lly foster is in doha with all the details. the smile on lionel messi's face at full—time at the lusail stadium was as wide as the doha corniche behind me. yet again, the argentina captain instrumental in everything they did here, carrying his country through to a sixth world cup final. it was julian alvarez, his strike partner, fouled after the half—hour mark against croatia, it was messi who stepped up to score the penalty, his 11th world cup goal for argentina, overtaking the old mark of gabriel batistuta.

he is up to five in qatar and level in the race for the golden boot alongside kylian mbappe. alvarez ran at the heart of the croatian defence before halftime, got the luck of the bounce, but hit their second from close range, 2—0 at halftime and then it was lionel messi weaved his magic on the right with 20 minutes left of play, turning one croatian defender and another inside and out before finding alvarez for their third. croatian fans knew it wasn't to be their day. they weren't going to reach back to back finals, they were runners—up four years ago in russia, but there was a standing ovation their talisman, 37—year—old croatian captain luka modric, substituted towards the end, and that is almost certainly going to be his final world cup. maybe it'll be lionel messi's but what a way to go out on sunday in the final.

it was his 25th world cup appearance against the croatians and that equals the record of lothar matthaus. he will break that if he is fit, and surely he will be on sunday. the croatian fans were disappointed but very proud of their team. croatia on the receiving end of a defeat. matches made all the worse by the fact people here had been rather confident going into the match. they had been lookin had been rather confident going into the match. they had been lookin- at had been rather confident going into the match. they had been looking at croatia's had been rather confident going into the match. they had been looking at croatia's resolute events and performance going through the tournament, not letting much past them and shockin letting much past them and shock in brazil, the condiment favours into the quarter—finals. this time around, they were not able to come up with any goals themselves and their defence was not equal to the task, unfortunately. but when we

speak to people at fan zones like this and other zones, they tell us how proud they are of the team and how will they represented a small country of just 4 million people and how much they are looking forward to welcoming them back to zagreb on monday with a heroes welcome on the main square. there are other people of the region quite impressed, it is fair to say, with the performance of croatia's team. goals being celebrated in sarajevo every time croatia scored and a dance, a video of a dance that went far from some young people in serbia, again celebrating the achievements of creation. i'm not saying this is maintenance universal across the region but people do appreciate good football in the western balkans and we can be fairly sure the corrosion once be bothering the later stages of major tournaments in years to come.

thank you for watching. bye—bye for now. hello there. after the coldest night of the year on tuesday night, some parts struggled to get above freezing, for example, in glasgow, it was —5 celsius all day because of the fog, and it was barely much more than —2 celsius in edinburgh, well below the average. and that cold weather stays with us throughout the day on wednesday and thursday. there's just the hint, though, that by the time we get to the weekend, something milder may well come back in off the atlantic. but plenty of winter hazards between now and then. widespread harsh frost and ice risk, widespread snow showers, freezing fog once again to watch out for. and we've got this band of rain with inland sleet and snow in the south, and you can see that stretches

across much of southern england. a blast of northerly winds continues to bring snow showers in across the north and the east of scotland. one or two filtering down the north sea coast as well and into northern ireland, but bitterly cold, minus ten over the snowfields and, of course, clearly icy where we've had the showers, where the showers continue, see through the day in eastern areas. but blizzards in the north, gusts of 60—70 miles an hour for the far north of scotland, northern isles, those showers just keep coming. in the south, hopefully this area of rain, sleet and snow will pull away, but leaving things very treacherous and icy, and temperatures will do well to get, again, a couple of degrees above freezing. one or two snow showers for northern ireland, but plenty of sunshine here, add on that brisk wind, particularly in the north and east, and it will feel colder still, colder than those temperatures will suggest. then as we go through the night and into thursday, we pick up quite a lot of cloud in southern areas. we've still got those showers and low pressure moving down the north sea, enhancing those showers for northern and eastern areas. but, again, really cold overnight,

possibly less fog on thursday morning, although there could be some in the south in particular because we've got a stronger wind. but those ease off again, thursday sees the showers mostly in the north and in the east. we're watching out towards the atlantic for friday. so do stay tuned to the forecast. but some good spells of sunshine take temperatures marginally a little higher. but we could have a quite persistent spell of snow in the north on friday and something milder potentially into the weekend, as we've talked about, but with it, there'll be a transient spell of snow as well. so to keep up to date on the temperatures where you are, you can head to the app. the warnings are on the website, too.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a week after china relaxed its strict rules on quarantines and lockdowns, the nation has had its biggest wave of covid infections since the pandemic began three years ago. in beijing, nearly 20,000 people, complaining of flu—like symptoms, have visited hospitals in the past 48 hours. president biden has signed into law a bill which gives federal protection to same sex and interracial marriages. the measure requires every state to recognise all such marriages. joe biden described the legislation as "a vital step towards equality, liberty and justice." at least a hundred people have been killed by heavy rains, floods and landslides, in the democratic republic of congo. major roads in the centre of the capital, kinshasa, were submerged and several homes collapsed as a deluge