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

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

it is unclear what it would take to unseat the rajapaksas.y people say, what is the alternative? who else is around to get sri la through this economic mess? >> that is the political side, viously having an immense effect on the economic situation. how dire is that at the moment? >> well, i mean, the reality for millions of sri lankans this dire. -- is dire. we are talking about daily power cuts that go for hours. no lights on, no air conditioning, you can't wash close. we are talking about people queuing up for hours to get petro or diesel. i was a some people in the queue yesterday. it had taken them at least three hours and they were not even at the front yet. they were not sure when they got to the front if there would be anything left for them to fill their tank with. and we are talking about basics, food, staple items, fruits, and vegetables that have gone up in prices and some cases by as much as fe times. so people are struggling. the hardest thing for people i talk to here is the uncertainty. nobody knows what is happening. nobody kn

in terms of the imf, china the rajapaksas.ms of the imf, china has indicated they would - the rajapaksas. in terms of the imf, china has indicated they would not . china has indicated they would not be happy about an imf loan, and i be happy aboutan imf loan, and i met be happy about an imf loan, and i met process itself is long and complex. how are people going to manage on a daily basis with his political and economic crisis, not likely to be resolved soon? the hope is that, likely to be resolved soon? the hope is that. once — likely to be resolved soon? the hope is that, once we _ likely to be resolved soon? the hope is that, once we announce _ likely to be resolved soon? the hope is that, once we announce we - likely to be resolved soon? the hope is that, once we announce we have i is that, once we announce we have gone to the imf, we will have finance before the imf programme kicks in and all the institutions will be expected to provide us for that finance, we are asking for $4 billion. �* .,, ., , , ., that finance, we a

this is outside the prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa's house.truggling to survive. it shouldn't be happening in this country. they want bloodshed again in this country, no gas, no food under various essential medications, and people are suffering, and people are living with one meal per day. can you imagine? i am so sorry to say this. a cost of living crisis after a pandemic has brought thousands to the streets. they blame the government for reckless borrowing, ill timed tax cuts, and a failed experiment in organic farming which has driven food shortages. political heavyweights in sri lanka, prime minister mahinda rajapaksa and his brother, the president, gotabaya, have ruled sri lanka on and off for decades. now the man once known as the country's lion has quit. addressing his faithful one last time, mahinda rajapaksa, who has also served as both president and finance minister, is stepping aside to make way for an all—party government. these protesters have just found out that sri lanka's prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa, has resigned. it is a

this is outside the prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa's house.ruggling �*to survive. it shouldn't be happening in this country. they want bloodshed again in this country. no gas, no fuel and various essential medications, and people are suffering, and people are living with one meal per day. can you imagine, can you imagine? i am so sorry to say this. a cost of living crisis after a pandemic has brought thousands to the streets. they blame the government for reckless borrowing, ill—timed tax cuts, and a failed experiment in organic farming which has driven food shortages. political heavyweights in sri lanka, prime minister mahinda rajapaksa and his brother, the president, gotabaya, have ruled sri lanka, on and off, for decades. now, the man once known as the country's lion has quit. addressing his faithful one last time, mahinda rajapaksa, who has also served as both president and finance minister, is stepping aside to make way for an all—party government. protestors cheer. these protesters have just found out that sri lanka's prime minister, mah

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

this is outside the prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa�*s house.ing to survive. it shouldn't be happening _ struggling to survive. it shouldn't be happening in _ struggling to survive. it shouldn't be happening in this _ struggling to survive. it shouldn't be happening in this country. - struggling to survive. it shouldn't| be happening in this country. they want bloodshed again in this country, no gas, no food under various essential medications, and people are suffering, and people are living with one meal per day. can you imagine? iam living with one meal per day. can you imagine? i am so sorry to say this. as. you imagine? i am so sorry to say this. �* . .,, you imagine? i am so sorry to say this. �* . ., you imagine? i am so sorry to say this. a cost of living crisis after a pandemic _ this. a cost of living crisis after a pandemic has _ this. a cost of living crisis after a pandemic has brought - this. a cost of living crisis after - a pandemic has brought thousands to the streets. they blame the government for reckless borrowing, ill timed t

rajapaksa, the president remains.tively listening to the economic cries. so, there are still food shortages, fuel supplies are still low, people are dying in queues waiting for fuel because of the heat, as well. medical supplies are in shortage, as well. so really, people's immediate needs are not being addressed, and the government does not seem to be implementing adequate measures to address those needs. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines: 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 0 covid strategy, we don't think that it is sustainable between what we have with the virus now and what we anticipate in the future. this issue is chinese experts, we in

this is outside the prime minister mahinda rajapaksa's house.nce once plagued this nation during decades of civil war. noan economic emergency has left millions struggling to survive. >> this shouldn't be happening in this country. no gas, no essential medications, and people are suffering, living with one meal per day. i am so sorry to say this. correspondent: a cost-of-living crisis after a pandemic has brought thousands to the streets. they blame the government for reckless borrowing, ill-timed tax cuts, and a failed experiment in organic farming which has driven fuel shortages. political heavyweights in sri lanka, prime minister mahinda rajapaksa and his brother the president have ruled sri lanka on and off for decades. now the man once known as the country's lion has quit. addressing his faithful one last time, mahinda rajapaksa, who has also served as president and finance minister, is stepping aside to make way for an all party government. these protesters have just found out that sri lanka is prime minister mahinda rajapaksa has resigned

and sri lanka's prime minister mahinda rajapaksa resigns after mass protests at the government's handlingf a country in crisis. hello, a very warm welcome to the programme. queen elizabeth has pulled out of tuesday's state opening of parliament, in london. it will be the first time in almost 60 years that the queen will have missed the annual ceremony which sets out the british government's legislative agenda for the year ahead. her son, prince charles, will deliver the speech in her instead. our royal correspondent daniela relph reports. last year, he provided support for his mother. today the prince of wales takes on the main role instead of her. it is a significant moment, constitutionally and personally. officially the new session of parliament will be opened by the duke of cambridge and the prince of wales that it is trials who for the first time will read the queen's speech. in a statement last night buckingham palace said... the queen's presence at the thanksgiving service for her husband in march was seen as a sign that she would still be at major events but her health issues are

translator: everyone in this government, - including president rajapaksa and prime minister rajapaksawas a planned, thought out attack. it was an act of state terrorism and political terrorism. the rajapaksas must be held responsible. prime minister rajapaksa announced his resignation in a tweet in the midst of the protests at this government's handling of the economic crisis. but it has not quelled the violence. demonstrators tried to storm the prime minister's official residence when he was inside the building. a curfew across the island has now been extended to wednesday. many sri lankans are still calling for president gotabaya rajapaksa, the younger brother of the ex prime minister, to also step down. live now to colombo and our 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 mismanag

the prime minister of sri lanka — mahinda rajapaksa — has resigned — faced with mass protests at thecurfew — after violent clashes between rajapaksa supporters — and anti—government protesters in colombo. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidnayathan reports. an island nation sinking fast. an explosion of anger after weeks of anti—government protests. as the two sides came face—to—face, supporters of the prime minister attacked the so far peaceful demonstrators who were calling for the government to go. they accuse the police of failing them. as you can see, scenes are extremely tense here. this is outside the prime minister, mahinda rajapa ksa's house. violence once plagued this nation, during decades of civil war. now an economic emergency has left millions struggling to survive. it shouldn't be happening in this country. they want bloodshed again in this country, no gas, fuel and various essential medications, and people are suffering, and people are living with one meal per day. can you imagine? i am so sorry to say this. a cost of living crisis after a pandemic has brought th

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 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

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

prime minister rajapaksa resigned after weeks of pressure.testers say that is not enough, and they want his brother, who is resident, to go, too. >> we are standing here and tell rajapaksa go home. not only that, we are demanding for the new interim government to establish new laws under the 21st amendment. and beyond that, we need to abolish the executive presidency. reporter: thousands like him had protested peacefully for more than a month outside the president loads office. but they say that his supporters attacked them on monday. dozens of buses were destroyed in the fighting that followed. the ap cars were dumped in the lake. police investigators and the local magistrate inspected the damage. trade union condemned what they described as an attack on peaceful antigovernment protesters. [protestors chanting] >> provincial politicians to the prime minister's residence and had guns to attack the protest. we ask that legal action be taken against mahinda rajapaksa for setting fire to this country. reporter: trade union have started a strike,

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

political heavyweights in sri lanka, prime minister mahinda rajapaksa and his brother, the president,ff for decades. now, the man once known as the country's lion has quit. addressing his faithful one last time, mahinda rajapaksa, who has also served as both president and finance minister, is stepping aside to make way for an all—party government. protestors cheer these protesters have just found out that sri lanka's prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa, has resigned. it is a big moment for them. they have been calling for the prime minister and the president, who remains in power, to quit over this economic crisis. tonight, the home of a government mp was set alight by protesters. until president gotabaya rapaksa resigns, he and his party will continue to feel the heat. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the fossil hunter who found a shark's tooth that's millions of years old — and he's only six. the pope was shot, the pope will live — that was the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an

he replaces mahinda rajapaksa — seen on the left — who quit as pm on monday.. 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 fund to help clinical research into bowel cancer, which has raised nearly £3.8 million so far. the prime minister said he hoped this recogniti

he replaces mahinda rajapaksa — seen on the left — who quit as pm on monday.een 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 ashes in minutes. around 20 homes in the canyon near laguna beach were quickly engulfed in flames by the fast—moving wildfire, the latest to w

first of all, we talk about the rajapaksa brothers, it is a - the rajapaksa brothers, it is a politicalar, was actually present before in another term in office. it was not really a surprise that he was good to step down as prime minister today because they had been mutterings about this for the last week. now he is finally gone. but president rajapaksa, his brother, remains in office. raw sewage was discharged into england's rivers nearly 375,000 times by water companies last year, according to the environment agency. the government has announced plans to overhaul the sewer system to tackle the problem and has promised a 40% reduction in discharges by 2040. but in west sussex, some volunteers frustrated by the high levels of pollution have been taking samples from the waterways near their homes to find outjust how much sewage and other chemicals are in the water. zoe conway has been to find out more. chichester harbour, an area of outstanding natural beauty. people here may love being on the water, but many worry about what could be in it. i find it upsetting when we're out and we see

he replaces mahinda rajapaksa — seen on the left — who quit as pm on monday.s 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 action against 145 officers in connection with their conduct during the black lives matter protests in 2020. a review board said 88 of them should

he replaces mahinda rajapaksa — seen on the left — who quit as pm on monday.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. 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 ashes in minutes. around 20 homes in the canyon near laguna beach were quickly engulfed in flames by the fast moving wildfire. the latest two wreak havoc and destruction along the southern cal

he replaces mahinda rajapaksa — seen on the left — who quit as pm on monday.ince 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 is at the centre of the image. it's revealed by swirling hot matter pulled in by powerful gravitational forces. it's dark, you're not meant t

now, president mahinda rajapaksa is trying to form an interim government.rnment will re—farming that is what everyone is expecting because political stability is key for this country to obtain loans or restructure the debt in the coming months. one in ten ambulances waited almost an hour and a half outside a&e departments to drop off patients in scotland last week. latest figures give an insight into the pressure the service is under at the moment. and, the long waits outside hospitals have a knock—on effect on how quickly teams can get back on the road. bbc scotland's health correspondent, lisa summers, has spent a shift with one crew based in edinburgh. is the feeling in your chest... is it pain, or...? is it pain in your chest? we are getting the help there to you as quickly as we can. they're coming as the highest priority. what we don't know at this point is how far she's fallen. another clearly stroke, with - a patient who's now unconscious. this is now a red call. we are on our way to a 75—year—old lady at the ocean terminal shopping centre. she's go

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

earlier on saturday, opposition parties rejected an offer from president rajapaksa to form a nationals south asia regional editor anbarasan ethirajan is in colombo. the protest site in colombo against the government has become very lively in the evenings because people from different walks of life joined us protest. i can see women, children, many people coming with families on the one side, and i can see these artists' associations, they were holding a huge protest with hundreds of people along this road, and all the demand they are making is for the government to step down because they accuse the government, the president, of mismanaging the economy, because people here are suffering due to the escalating cost of living. today the government announced that some of the commonly used medicines, about 60 of them, the prices went up by 40% and it is not for the first time but only last month the prices were increased by nearly 30% which means people are paying 70% more. we were at the pharmacy a few minutes ago, and the pharmacy was complaining about how the shortage of medicine was aff

protesters want the president, gotabaya rajapaksa, to resign — as long as he stays, tensions on thisinflamed. 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

for weeks, people have demonstrated rajapaksa and the prime minister, his brother, to step down.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 flashing images. in 1986 it was all yellow when the people powered movement toppled the dictator ferdinand marcos. now more than 30 years on, opponents of his son �*s presidential run are uniting behind a pink revolution with family values at its core. in recent weeks, legions of young supporters have turned up at rallies in support of mr marcus �*s chief opponent, a female candidate. translation: they have been tellin

he said he'd appoint a new prime minister and cabinet after his brother, mahinda rajapaksa, stepped down 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 — which are extremely addictive and not recommended for most long term pain conditions. and more than 40% of them started taking these drugs, anything from codeine to fentanyl and morphine, more than five years ago. our health correspondent, dominic hughes, has

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

earlier on saturday, opposition parties rejected an offerfrom president rajapaksa to form a nationalasia regional editor, anbarasan ethirajan is in colombo. testing the capital of colombia has become very lively because people from different walks of life have come to join the protest. i can see women and children and many coming with families on the one side, farmers movement and the artists association. they were holding a huge protest and there are hundreds people along this road, all the demand they are making is that the government to step down because they are accusing the government of president rajapaksa of mismanaging the economy because people here are suffering due to the escalating cost of living. for example, the government announced today that some of the commonly used medicines, about 60 of them, the prices went up by 40% and it's not the first time. only last month the prices increased by 30% which means people are paying 70% more and we went into a pharmacy a few minutes ago. the pharmacy owner were complaining how the shortages of medicine are affecting the customer

tonight, a resort belonging to the son of sri lanka's former prime minister mahinda rajapaksa, who quitt alight. and clashes broke out in the city of negombo. protesters want the president gotabaya rajapaksa to resign — as long as he stays, tensions on this island will be inflamed. rajini 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 -

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

minister mahinda rajapaksa step down. but the president is still in power. president rajapaksa resigns. many sri lankans are continuing to struggle in the huge cost of living crisis here. rajini vaidyanathan in colombo, thank you. us intelligence agencies are warning that russian president vladimir putin is preparing for a long war in ukraine and that a russian victory in the east of the country may not end the conflict. the assessment came as members of the us house of representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of providing another $40 billion in military and humanitarian aid. such is the bipartisan support for ukraine that lawmakers took president biden's request for aid and added nearly $7 billion to it. the funds will be used to provide military support to ukraine and humanitarian assistance. the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi told fellow democrats it was important to act quickly. as putin desperately accelerates his campaign of horror and brutality, mr speaker, horror and brutality, in ukraine, time is of the essence. that's why we're so pleased

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 charges against the former president. the biden administration has sued the state of alabama seeking to block a new law barring gender-affirming medicine for transgender youth while making it a felony to provide such care. in a court filing on

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 of covid-19 cases if it abandons its zero-covid policy. researchers at a university in shanghai esti

exchange reserves, but there are other reasons for the crisis in 2019, the prime minister mahinda rajapaksa supporter of green ideas, won in the country, a ban on the import of mineral fertilizers was soon introduced in agriculture, and the country moved towards organic farming at the first agricultural season 2021. she has two islands because of the warm climate. fertilizers and pesticides from the warehouse enough. during the second season began to feel the lack of fertilizer crops of almost all crops, including rice corn decreased by about half and all this against the background of problems with logistics around the pandemic, food prices went up in november last year, the ban on imports of fertilizer was lifted, but it was late on monday the prime minister resigned, but this did not calm the anger of the public at his residence, like the houses of many officials. the prime minister himself was burned and evacuated by helicopter of the authorities. the soldiers were taken out into the street and police in the country has a curfew, there are dead and injured protesters use social networks