now, president gotabaya rajapaksa says a new cabinet will be formed within a week, acceptable to thefer more powers to parliament. he will have discussions with the coming interim government about abolishing the executive presidency in the country, and he also warned that strict action would be taken against anyone who damaged public property or threatening lives. this speech comes in the backdrop of even the central bank governor warning that, if there is no political stability here in this country, then we can expect more long power cuts and fuel shortages. this is a very stark warning from the central bank governor, because sri lanka has run out of foreign exchange reserves. they are struggling to import basic supplies, like fuel and food — at the moment, they are getting these things from india on a credit line. so, economists warn that, if this political instability continues, if there is no agreement between the political parties to form a government, that is going to have a devastating effect on the economy, because the country's already running low on revenue. so, if the inve

sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has promised to appoint a new cabinet within a week.country since anti—government protests erupted. his brother, the prime minister, resigned on monday. anbarasan ethirahjen is in colombo. the sri lankan president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has addressed the nation in an attempt to solve the political crisis facing the country. sri lanka has been witnessing weeks of protests against the government, and the protesters have been accusing the government of mismanaging the economy. and the prime minister was forced to resign on monday after violence during these protests. now, president gotabaya rajapaksa says a new cabinet will be formed within a week, acceptable to the public and also parliament. and he's willing to amend the constitution to transfer more powers to parliament. he will have discussions with the coming interim government about abolishing the executive presidency in the country, and he also warned that strict action would be taken against anyone for damaged public property or threatening lives. this speech comes on the backdrop of

sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has promised to appoint a new cabinet within a week but stoppedf. he made the pledge in his first address to the country since anti—government protests erupted last month. his brother, the prime minister, resigned on monday. anbarasan ethirajan is in colombo. the sri lankan president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has addressed the nation in an attempt to solve the political crisis facing the country. sri lanka has been witnessing weeks of protests against the government, and the protesters have been accusing the government of mismanaging the economy. and the prime minister was forced to resign on monday after violence during these protests. now, president gota baya raja pa ksa says a new cabinet will be formed within a week, acceptable to the public and also parliament. and he's willing to amend the constitution to transfer more powers to parliament. he will have discussions with the coming interim government about abolishing the executive presidency in the country, and he also warned that strict action would be taken against anyone who damaged public prop

demonstrators are calling for the resignation of president gotabaya rajapaksa.hinda rajapaksa, stepped down as prime minister on monday following violent street clashes. protesters have defied an island—wide curfew, and at least eight people have died and 200 have been injured — as our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports from colombo. a capital under curfew. troops told to shoot at sight at anyone who damages public property or threatens lives. the skeletons of a bustling city scorched by an economic crisis. reeling after a day of violence. yesterday, supporters of the prime minister attacked anti—government protesters, who until that point had been peacefully demonstrating. at the city's main hospital, more than 200 have been wounded, many were beaten up. this man fractured his leg after a tear gas canister landed on it. war veterans yigit and assuncao are out of hospital. men who lost their legs in mines during sri lanka's civil war say they were beaten up by the very people they made sacrifices for. "they started punching me. i was left with only one cr

sri lankans on the streets demanding the president, gotabaya rajapaksa, known as gota, step down.ed up with fuel shortages, rising prices and daily power cuts. i've neverjoined a protest before because i've lived a privileged life, so this is the first time even people like i have been affected with over ten hours of power cuts. none of us have ever seen this moment where sri lankans have stood up, regardless of their caste, their creed, their religion, they have just stood up and said no, go home, this is our country, our democracy. thousands of people have gathered at this protest in the sri lankan capital, colombo. and across the nation, people have been demonstrating in their numbers. day by day, the strength of anger towards the government has just grown and just look at the crowds who've gathered here today. and the one thing that's quite striking is just how, in a country that was once divided by civil war, people are coming together like never before. rich and poor, young and old, people of different faiths. almost everyone i've spoken to here says they've been hit by this

the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency, as demands grower, police fired tear gas at protesters outside parliament in colombo. there've been weeks of demonstrations against the sri lankan government for its handling of the worst economic crisis in decades. gareth barlow reports. chanting. protests the new soundtrack of sri lanka's streets. for weeks, people have demonstrated as the worst economic crisis in decades grips the country. translation: when the government failed to - solve the problems faced by the people, people took to the streets asking the president, prime minister and the government to go home. but instead of going home, the government changed its lineup in parliament in order to safeguard their power. the state of emergency, the second in five weeks, gives the authorities additional powers and comes at the end of a day where police fired tear gas and water cannon into the crowds. the economic and political crisis has gripped this nation, famed for its emerald hills and green teas for weeks now. food, powerand medicines often

demonstrators are calling for the resignation of president gotabaya rajapaksa.ew. troops told to shoot at sight at anyone who damages public property or threatens lives. the skeletons of a bustling city scorched by an economic crisis. reeling after a day of violence. yesterday, supporters of the prime minister attacked anti—government protesters, who until that point had been peacefully demonstrating. at the city�*s main hospital more than 200 have been wounded, many were beaten up. this man fractured his leg after a tear gas canister landed on it. war veterans yigit and assuncao are out of hospital. men who lost their legs in mines during sri lanka�*s civil war say they were beaten up by the very people they made sacrifices for. "they started punching me. i was left with only one crutch. they pushed me and i fell." "when we served in the army, people used to pray for us. now we�*re being attacked." with trust in the government shattered, the homes of at least two dozen politicians who backed the ruling party have been torched. this was one of the houses that wa

sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has promised to appoint a new cabinet within a week but stoppedhort of stepping down himself. he made the pledge in his first address to the country since anti—government protests erupted last month. his brother, the prime minister, resigned on monday. now on bbc news, our world. around the world a new type of worker is emerging. they make big profits for companies but rarely leave home or break into a sweat. they generate millions playing a new breed of online video game. for me, it comes as a blessing. in a virtual world where work and play are one and the same. could this be our future in the metaverse? the philippines has been hit by its deepest recession since records began. dom rescued his family by playing an online video game called axie infinity. with millions of others, he earns money breeding and battling fantasy fairy creatures called axies in their digital universe, lunacia. in his first month he doubled the money he made in his previous job as an accountant. to play you must form a team of three axies. you then do battle, and if you

the . resounding message from the country is that president gotabaya rajapaksa must leave.rendered ungovernable but entirely by peaceful means. he ungovernable but entirely by peaceful means.— ungovernable but entirely by eaceful means. . , , ., peaceful means. he and his brother have been extensively _ peaceful means. he and his brother have been extensively powerful, . peaceful means. he and his brother. have been extensively powerful, they are backed by china, amongst others, is it realistic for these sorts of protests to have any chance of success, in your view? the question of whether— success, in your view? the question of whether it _ success, in your view? the question of whether it is _ success, in your view? the question of whether it is realistic _ success, in your view? the question of whether it is realistic or - success, in your view? the question of whether it is realistic or not, - success, in your view? the question of whether it is realistic or not, a i of whether it is realistic or not, a month ago, we would not have imagined that the scale of protest wou

until president gotabaya rajapaksa, he and his party will continue to feel the heat.ews, colombo, sri lanka. laura: britain's queen elizabeth has pulled out of tomorrow's state opening of parliament. it will be the first time since 1963 that the queen will miss the annual ceremony. prince charles will deliver the speech instead. buckingham palace said the 96-year-old monarch could not be there because of mobility problems. searches continue for survivors after 35 people were killed at an explosion in havana last friday. four more bodies were found in the rubble this morning and officials fear more victims could be among the ruins. the blast is believed to be caused by a gas tanker outside the building. the u.k. opposition leader says he will resign if a police investigation concludes he bro u.k. lockdown laws in 2021. the labor leader says no rules were broken when he had curry and a beer at an mp's office. he is facing allegations of hypocrisy after calling for boris johnson's resignation when he was fined for breaching covid rules. emmanuel macron has said it could

sitting on the left of sri lankan politics, he's agreed to work with president gotabaya rajapaksa, a — seen on the left — who quit as pm on monday. chanting but many say ranil wickremesinghe isn't the face of change they've been chanting for. ranil has been in politics since i was a child. he's a one—member party, and we have a person who has just one member in his party becoming the prime minister of the country and trying to convince the general public here that he is our saviour and solution. he's not our saviour and solution. in the centre of colombo, they're lining up for hand—outs of bread. as desperation deepens, the task ahead for the new prime minister gets even tougher. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka. it's been announced that the queen has approved the honour of a damehood for the cancer campaigner and podcaster deborahjames — known to millions as bowel—babe. the ao—year—old mother of two who was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer in 2016, revealed this week that her treatment has stopped and she is now receiving hospice care at home. on monday, she launched a f

sitting on the left of sri lankan politics, he's agreed to work with president gotabaya rajapaksa, a ahinda rajapaksa — seen on the left — who quit as pm on monday. chanting but many say ranil wickremesinghe isn't the face of change they've been chanting for. ranil has been in politics since i was a child. he's a one—member party, and we have a person who has just one member in his party becoming the prime minister of the country and trying to convince the general public here that he is our saviour and solution. he's not our saviour and solution. in the centre of colombo, they're lining up for hand—outs of bread. as desperation deepens, the task ahead for the new prime minister gets even tougher. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka. in the us state of california, a wildfire in orange county, south of los angeles, has burned at least 20 mansions to the ground. fire officials say the blaze has scorched 199 acres since it started on wednesday. hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate their homes. will grant reports. another multimillion—dollar californian mansion reduced to a

the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency, as demands growond state of emergency he's imposed in five weeks — with much of the country on strike as frustration persists, over food and fuel shortages. the bbc�*s, rajini vaidynathan, is in the capital, colombo for us. well, a state of emergency is now in place here in sri lanka, although things seem relatively normal so far, but a state of emergency does give the government sweeping powers. they can arrest people for long periods of time without a warrant, they can also break up protests, and it could mean that we see more military on the streets in sri lankan cities. i'm here at galle face green in colombo and you can see, protesters are gathering here. many have set up camp here. they say they are not going to leave here until president gotabaya rajapa ksa leaves office. he's showing no signs of quitting, but people here blame him for this economic crisis. today, people are asking why he has brought in this state of emergency. they say, as you can see, that protests are peaceful and they beli

president gotabaya president gota baya rajapa ksa president gotabaya rajapaksa is fighting for his politicalime ministerjust three and he employed the new prime minister just three weeks and he employed the new prime ministerjust three weeks ago to change things around because he is accused of economic mismanagement over many, many years and the first idea, the big idea really is a constitutional change to d concentrate power from the presidency into parliament so that they can take financial decisions and also bring members of the young parliament of activist, young protesters into the decision—making process in order to fill the government's coffers and regulate the banking sector differently. well, lawyers are sceptical that this may work and protesters have taken sceptical that this may work and protesters have ta ken to the street again as you say this weekend, storming presidential offices or trying to get the gates of the men being pushed back by the police. opposition politicians saying they need new elections to sort this out. the government's response, well, the police have been us

protests continue to be seen in sri lanka after opposition parties refused president gotabaya rajapaksa'sg a government of national unity. they say they will not join an administration that has the rajapaska family still wielding power. weeks of protests have been seen across the country, with shortages and sky—high prices being seen in several key commodities. the italian football agent mino raiola, whose negotiating skills contributed to the huge increase in players�* salaries, has died at the age of 54. the cause of death has not been reported. he represented some of the sport's most high—profile players. he was branded by some as a greedy parasite. but raiola insisted that all he had ever done was get the best deal for his players. in india, there's a record—breaking heatwave is causing health problems that doctors say pose a bigger worry than the expected fourth wave of covid—i9. in new delhi, temperatures have soared past 40 degrees celsius for several days, and follow the hottest march recorded in more than 100 years. residents in canada's national capital ottawa are experiencing a

sitting on the left of sri lankan politics, he's agreed to work with president gotabaya rajapaksa, a the left — who quit as pm on monday. chanting but many say ranil wickremesinghe isn't the face of change they've been chanting for. ranil has been in politics since i was a child. it's a one—member party, and we have a person who has just one member in his party becoming the prime minister of the country and trying to convince the general public here that he is our saviour and solution. he's not our saviour and solution. in the centre of colombo, they're lining up for hand—outs of bread. as desperation deepens, the task ahead for the new prime minister gets even tougher. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate from a swift—moving wildfire in southern california. it's burned down at least 20 mansions so far in orange county, south of los angeles. fire officials say it's grown to 199 acres since it began on wednesday. new york's police watchdog has recommended disciplinary actio

protests continue in sril lanka after opposition parties refused president gotabaya rajapaksa's offering a government of national unity. weeks of unrest have been seen across the country with shortages and sky high prices being seen in several key commodities. the italian football agent, mino raiola, whose negotiating skills contributed to the huge increase in players' salaries, has died at the age of 5a. the cause of death has not been reported. he represented some of the sport's most high—profile players. in india, there's a record—breaking heatwave causing health problems that doctors say pose a bigger worry than the expected fourth wave of covid—i9. in new delhi, temperatures have soared past a0 degrees celsius for several days, and follow the hottest march recorded in more than 100 years. here in the uk, the conservative mp, neil parish, has told the bbc he is resigning his seat, after admitting he watched pornography, twice, in the house of commons. mr parish, the member for tiverton and honiton in devon, has apologised and says it was not his intention to intimidate anyone. two

protesters want the president, gotabaya rajapaksa, to resign — as long as he stays, tensions on thisflamed. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka. the head of the world health organization has said china's zero—tolerance policy against covid is not sustainable. the authorities in beijing have imposed lockdowns affecting tens of millions of people, lasting several weeks, to try to prevent any spread of the illness. but the who's director—general said he had told chinese experts it was time to change that approach. when we talk about the zero—covid strategy, we don't think that it's sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus now, and what we anticipate in the future. we have discussed about this issue with chinese experts, and we indicated that the approach, you know, would not be sustainable. earlier, i spoke to saad omer, the director of the yale institute for global health. i asked him for his view on china's zero—covid strategy, well, the policy had its value at the beginning, or even at the — well, you know, a few months after the start of the pandemic. if you are in a

the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency, as demands grow imposed in five weeks — with much of the country on strike — as frustration persists over food and fuel shortages. the bbc�*s, rajini vaidynathan, is in the capital, colombo for us. well, a state of emergency is now in place here in sri lanka, although things seem relatively normal so far, but a state of emergency does give the government sweeping powers. they can arrest people for long periods of time without a warrant, they can also break up protests, and it could mean that we see more military on the streets in sri lankan cities. i'm here at galle face green in colombo, and as you can see, protesters are gathering here. many have set up camp here. they say they are not going to leave here until president gotabaya rajapa ksa leaves office. he's showing no signs of quitting, but people here blame him for this economic crisis. today, people are asking why he has brought in this state of emergency. they say, as you can see, that protests are peaceful and they believe that the governmen

the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency, as demands grow resign. earlier, police fired tear gas at protesters outside parliament in colombo. there've been weeks of demonstrations against the sri lankan government for its handling of the worst economic crisis in decades. gareth barlow reports. chanting. protests the new soundtrack of sri lanka's streets. for weeks, people have demonstrated rajapaksa and the prime minister, his brother, to step down. but despite pressure from opposition parties, despite scores of mps resigning from the government, and despite pressure from the people, the president and the prime minister are refusing to back down. gareth barlow, bbc news. on monday, filipinos will vote for their next president. the current frontrunner is 64—year—old — bong—bong marcosjunior ? the son of the country s late dictator ferdinand marcos. more than half of the country s 65 million eligible voters are under the age of a0 — with no experience of life under marcos s autocratic rule. and just a warning — howard johnson s report has flas

the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency, as demands growers outside parliament in colombo. there've been weeks of demonstrations against the sri lankan government for its handling of the worst economic crisis in decades. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports from colombo. here, not too far from sri lanka's parliament, you can see crowds who have gathered again for another night of protest. there is a real sense of celebration and camaraderie here — although earlier, things were tense as police fired tear gas and water cannons into the crowds here. i've talked to almost any protester here, and they'll say they will continue to protest until sri lanka's government quits. in particular, they want the president and his brother, the prime minister, to quit office. now so far, the two brothers say they aren't going anywhere, and they are promising they will get sri lanka through this financial crisis, but many people here blame them and their economic policies for this mess. now tonight, the president met with his cabinet — we

sri lankan president gotabaya rajapaksa has pledged to roll back his powers, but stopped short of steppingainst sri lanka's economic crisis began, vowing to restore security after the violence. he said he'd appoint a new prime minister and cabinet after his brother, mahinda rajapaksa, stepped down from the premiership. survivors of a tower block collapse in miami and victims families have reached a proposed settlement of almost $1 billion with insurers according to wall streetjournal. the hundred people were killed when the 12 story residential building near miami beach collapsed. crews searched the rubble for nearly a month to recover and identify victims remains. millions of people across the uk live with chronic pain that blights their lives for months, even years. medical specialists say they fear many are not receiving effective treatment to help them manage the condition. according to a survey carried out for the bbc, 26% of people in the uk are living with chronic pain — pain that lasts longer than three months. of those, nearly a quarter are taking opioids — powerful painkillers —

sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has promised to appoint a new cabinet within a week but stoppedhort of stepping down himself. he made the pledge in his first address to the country since anti—government protests erupted last month. his brother, the prime minister, resigned on monday. now on bbc news, click. coming up this week... if there's something strange in your neighbourhood. who you gonna call? drone busters! also, spot the builder. is it the robot dog, by any chance? 0k spencer, here is a question. can tech make you a better rapper? sounds like it can, yes. and what's this? lara at a rave. yes, i'm at a rave. don't say a word. i've got bass in a backpack, this is amazing. welcome back. first up this week, we're going to be talking about drones, which gives us a perfect example to show off our shiny new base here in glasgow. which is rather picturesque. not that drones are always welcome. true. james clayton has been checking out some of the latest tech designed to take drones out of the sky. commercial drones have the potential to revolutionise a load of industries from h

sitting on the left of sri lankan politics, he's agreed to work with president gotabaya rajapaksa, a as pm on monday. chanting but many say ranil wickremesinghe isn't the face of change they've been chanting for. ranil has been in politics since i was a child. he's a one—member party, and we have a person who has just one member in his party becoming the prime minister of the country and trying to convince the general public here that he is our saviour and solution. he's not our saviour and solution. in the centre of colombo, they're lining up for hand—outs of bread. as desperation deepens, the task ahead for the new prime minister gets even tougher. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka. for many years, scientists have known about the existence of a huge black hole at the centre of our galaxy. now, for the first time, they know exactly what it looks like. pallab ghosh reports. for decades, astronomers have been on a quest, searching the skies and into the very heart of our galaxy for a mysterious and elusive black hole. now they've found it and taken this picture. the black hole

sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has promised to appoint a new cabinet within a week but stopped short of stepping down himself. he made the pledge in his first address to the country since anti—government protests erupted last month. his brother, the prime minister, resigned on monday. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from washington, i'm stephen sackur. when vladimir putin made that momentous decision to invade ukraine, maybe he calculated that the us was too weak, too polarised to offer anything more than ritual condemnation. if so, he was wrong. american weapons are now flowing into ukraine. unprecedented sanctions have been imposed on moscow. my guest today is the senior democrat senator mark warner. is this ukraine war the wake—up call america needed? senator mark warner, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much. is there an attitude in this city, washington, dc, that you politicians are now prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure ukraine's victory in the war with vladimir putin? well, my sense, stephen, is that this is not only an attitude that

protesters want the president gotabaya rajapaksa to resign — as long as he stays, tensions on this islandajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka. spain has dismissed its spy chief after a phone hacking scandal that engulfed the government. the mobile phones of the prime minister, defence and interior ministers were infected with the notorious pegasus spyware. the bbc�*c azadeh moshiri reports. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. spain's spy chief is out, and it is a big shift at the top. it all comes down to a hacking scandal that became too unwieldy to handle. translation: unwieldy to handle. tuna/mom- unwieldy to handle. translation: ., ., , translation: the government has a . reed to translation: the government has agreed to change — translation: the government has agreed to change and _ translation: the government has agreed to change and that - translation: the government has agreed to change and that the - agreed to change and that the leadership of the national intelligence centre is very important to me to emphasise that this is my position as minister of defence but also the posit

they want president gotabaya rajapaksa's government to takes responsibility of unprecedented economictral highlands town of kandy. police in central china have detained nine people in connection with the collapse of a building in the city of changsha on friday. police in canada are bracing themselves for a third day of protests by right—wing anti—establishment protesters. since friday, several cities have seen demonstrations and there have been a handful of arrests. it comes two months after truckers protesting against covid restrictions occupied the centre of the city for several weeks. authorities have vowed to prevent the motorcyclists' rally from becoming as disruptive. police in central china have detained nine people in connection with the collapse of a building in the city of changsha on friday. at least 18 people are still trapped inside. another 39 remain uncontactable and may also be under the debris of the eight—storey structure. if you visit the lake district, the chances are you'll come across a few herdwick sheep, which is a breed you'll rarely see anywhere else. their w

many sri lankans are still calling for president gotabaya rajapaksa, the younger brother of the ex prime south asia regional editor, anbarasan ethirajan. remarkable there is a nationwide curfew in place and yet people are still prepared to break it. it shows the level of upset and anger. despite the curfew, we can see dozens of people lining up here at the main protest site in colombo where people have been protesting for weeks saying the government mismanage the economy, increased the cost of living and putting essential commodities out of reach for the families here. that is by these people have been protesting, calling on the president to step down. and one of these things happened, the prime minister step down a day earlier, but these protesters are not satisfied. they say we need a total change in the political system when they want the president to also step down, even though the curfew is still in place until wednesday morning, people are defiant and they want to show support at the protest site here. . , . want to show support at the protest site here. .,, ., ~ , �*, site here. h

the sri lankan government has firmly ruled out the resignation of president gotabaya rajapaksa whichmismanaging the economy. however the media minister, nalaka godahewa, admitted that the government had failed to foresee the crippling foreign exchange reserve crisis which has led to a shortage of essential items like food and fuel. joining me now is sri lankan social activist and actor peter d almeida. what is your reaction to the fact that president is still refusing to step down, calm that position still hold? t step down, calm that position still hold? ., �* ~ , ., ., , hold? i don't think it is a tenable osition hold? i don't think it is a tenable position because _ hold? i don't think it is a tenable position because the _ hold? i don't think it is a tenable position because the struggle . hold? i don't think it is a tenable position because the struggle onj hold? i don't think it is a tenable - position because the struggle on the streets is really widening and i think he isjust streets is really widening and i think he is just barely holding it together. t5 think he is 'ust ba

the president of sri lanka, gotabaya rajapaksa, has declared a new state of emergency.ke, and there are food and fuel shortages. our correspondent rajini vaidynathan, is in the capital, colombo. well, a state of emergency is now in place here in sri lanka, although things seem relatively normal so far. but a state of emergency does give the government sweeping powers. they can arrest people for long periods of time without a warrant, they can also break up protests, and it could mean that we see more military on the streets in sri lankan cities. i'm here at galle face green in colombo, and as you can see, protesters are gathering here. many have set up camp here. they say they are not going to leave here until president gotabaya rajapa ksa leaves office. he's showing no signs of quitting, but people here blame him for this economic crisis. today, people are asking why he has brought in this state of emergency. they say, as you can see, that protests are peaceful and they believe that the government has brought this state of emergency in as a way of stifling free speech.

of protesters demanding relief from a devastating economic crisis and calling on president gotabaya rajapaksa to resign. for months, sri lanka has faced dire shortages of food, fuel and medicine amid mounting foreign debt and government corruption. on friday, president rajapaksa agreed to remove his older brother as prime minister as part of a plan to form an interim government made up of all parties in parliament. the leader of sri lanka's main opposition party rejected the plans insufficient. >> the country cannot be rescued by making deals with thieves. i would like to tell you all that we have taken a position not to make any deals with a government of thieves for their partners. amy: in the state of georgia, prosecutors in fulton county are moving ahead with convening a special grand jury to consider whether donald trump should be criminally charged for his efforts to pressure georgia's secretary of state and other officials to overturn the 2020 election. jury selection begins today. meanwhile, in new york, a grand jury looking into trump's busiss practes has wraed up without bringing ch

in sri lanka, president gotabaya rajapaksa has ordered troops to shoot to kill anyone spotted damaging public property. the order failed to stop a second night of protests calling on rajapaksa to resign. protesters have burned down the homes of dozens of politicians, including a luxury holiday resort owneby the president's nephew. at lst eight people have been killed since government supporters attacked protesters on monday and more than 200 others have been injured. the world health organization is calling on china to abandon its zero covid strategy, citing the toll that weeks of lockdowns has taken on human rights and the economy. the who's director-general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus spoke tuesday from geneva. >> when we talk about zero covid strategy, we don't think it is sustainable considering the behavior and what we anticipate in the future. amy: a foreign ministry spokesperson in beijing called the who chief's comments irresponsible, and his remarks were censored on chinese social media. on tuesday, the journal nature medicine published a new study finding china faces a tsunami

amy: at least nine people have been killed since supporters of the sri lankan president gotabaya rajapaksa attacked protesters on monday. more than 300 others have been injured. at least 11 haitian asylum seekers have died after their boat capsized near the island of desecheo, located off the west coast of puerto rico. at least 31 others have been taken into the custody of the u.s. coast guard. this comes as a growing number of people continue to flee haiti due to worsening gang violence, political instability, poverty and the impacts of the climate crisis. rights groups are condemning texas republican governor greg abbott over a joint statement he made with the national border patrol council criticizing the biden administration for providing asylum-seeking children in u.s. custody with food. governor abbott's statement on thuray read in part -- "while mothers and fathers stare at empty grocery store shelves in a panic, the biden administration is happy to provide baby formula to illegal immigrants coming across our southern border." carl takei, a senior staff attorney at the american civi

prime minister mahinda rajapaksa is the brother of president gotabaya rajapaksa, who has faced charges nepotism and corruption since he installed three siblings into high-level government posts. on monday, supporters of his ruling party violently stormed a major peaceful protest site in the capital colombo, attacking protesters and prompting clashes with police, who fired tear gas and water cannons. this is one of the opposition leaders. >> everyoneho's involved in this govnment, iluding president rajapaksa and prime minister rajapaksa, must be held responsible for this inhumane, plned atta, i thout out project. this was an act of sta terrorism and political terrorism. the rajapaksas must be held responsible for this. amy: meanwhile, thousands of protesters responded to the attack by defying curfew and setting fire to homes and businesses belonging to ruling party lawmakers. at least five have been killed and hundreds injured. this is an antigovernment protester speaking outside the prime minister's residence. >> [indiscernible] am for more, we are joined in jaffna, i lanka, by ahilan

president gotabaya rajapaksa is has?e times before and has good contacts with the rest and also with india, that he should be able to put the economy back on track. and what is the reaction from the public and opposition parties? £18 public and opposition parties? 43 hours ago no one expected ranil wickremesinghe to become the pm. they were talking about various candidates, the main opposition and also some technocrats, but he emerged as a frontrunner and there have been demonstrations about the government for the past month or so for soaring costs in living and economic crisis, they have been asking the government to step down and they are not going to accept this change because they wanted something new, a new political system. they wanted all the old politicians to get out and pave the way for a new system, but then you are bringing back a politician who was first prime minister in 1993 and many people would view him as someone very close to the rajapaksas and the rajapaksas would want guarantee on a safe exit and tha

petersburg. sri lankan president gotabaya a rajapaksa announced the introduction of a state of emergency protests the decision was made after the trade unions announced a national strike demanding the resignation of the head of state, in addition, thousands of students staged a protest near the parliament building for more than a day blocking the roads to it characteristics accuse the authorities of failing to cope with the economic crisis, the presidents, his elder brother, the mahinda prime minister, rajabaksa, refuse to leave their posts, protests in sri lanka continue for the second month, citizens are outraged deteriorating living conditions, lack of fuel, food and essential goods. the national currency is depreciating inflation in march was 25% on the territory liberated from the ukrainian national battalions returns peaceful life shops cafe social institutions begin to work to help the population from donetsk, convoys are formed that carry food and essential goods, after some advertising. see the report of alexander lukyanov who went on the route, donetsk melitopol to create the p

say they won't go home until the country's president, the former prime minister's brother, gotabaya rajapaksais, co—operation becomes more important and this applies for our defence partnerships and sweden's partnerships with the uk and nato have been crucial during these exceptional times. and i greatly appreciate the strong support your government has expressed for our security and our right to make our own security policy choices. today, we are taking another step to strengthening our bilateral defence and security co—operation at a strategic level and i'm very happy that you've come here today for the signing of our bilateral political declaration of solidarity. and the prime minister and i have agreed to face challenges in peace, crisis and conflict together. and if either country should suffer a disaster or an attack, the united kingdom and sweden will assist each other in a variety of ways. the support will be given on request from the affected country and may include military resources. declarations of crucial purpose, regardless of the choices sweden will make in terms of our securit

to are also asking president gotabaya rajapa ksa to step are also asking president gotabaya rajapaksato form an interim covernment. ., ,, , ., , . government. thank you very much. from colombo, _ government. thank you very much. from colombo, is _ government. thank you very much. from colombo, is that _ government. thank you very much. from colombo, is that nationwide i from colombo, is that nationwide curfew has been briefly lifted in sri lanka to allow people to buy essential supplies. north korea has confirmed its first official covid infections — and ordered a strict national lockdown. state media is reporting an outbreak in the capital, pyongyang, but hasn't confirmed the number of cases. the country has no vaccination programme — despite being offered astrazeneca jabs and china's sinovac vaccine. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in south korea, jean mackenzie, about what we know about covid infections in north korea. i mean, knowing what is happening really in north korea is always impossible. all we have really to do is go off what they say and what they tell us, and what