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| | China begins military drills around Taiwan after Pelosi visit | |  | | | | | | | | | Top US politician Nancy Pelosi has left Taiwan after a brief but controversial visit. China is furious after repeated warnings not to travel to the island were ignored, accusing the US of "violating China's sovereignty under the guise of so-called democracy". And in response Beijing has started live fire military drills in seas around self-ruled Taiwan, which China treats as a breakaway province that it will eventually unite with. The exercises started at 12:00 local time (05:00 BST), in several areas and are the biggest-ever held in the seas around the island.
Taiwan says the drills amount to a sea and air blockade and ships have been asked to take different routes as the drills take place in busy waterways, and include long-range live ammunition shooting. China was trying to change the status quo in the region, Taiwan said, revealing it had scrambled jets to warn off Chinese warplanes on Wednesday. Despite this response from China, Ms Pelosi said the country cannot "prevent world leaders or anyone from travelling to Taiwan to pay respect to its flourishing democracy". But three of the six large exclusion zones intrude into Taiwan's 12-mile limit. Analysts say one scenario is that China is preparing to fire ballistic missiles - to splash down in the exclusion zones, very close to Taiwan's coast, says our correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes. That is what China did back in 1996, the last time tensions between Beijing and Taipei got this bad. But this time the exclusion zones are much closer to Taiwan. | | | | | |
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| | Interest rates expected to rise again | | | | | | | | | Prices are going up around the world due to various factors, particularly increasing energy costs. Inflation in the UK is currently 9.4% - the year-on-year rise in prices - and to slow this down interest rates are expected to rise again. The thinking behind raising them is that it can slow the rate at which prices are rising - inflation. That's because it makes borrowing more expensive - less attractive - and encourages people to borrow and spend less but also save more. The Bank of England is expected to announce its latest decision and is widely expected to raise interest rates for the sixth time in a row, to as much as 1.75% from 1.25%. We've spoken to some people about what a possible rate rise could mean to them - one said he'll have to find another £250 a month to cover his debts. Take a look at their stories. | | | | | |
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| | Archie legal battle at the end, says mum | | | | | | | | | The legal battle to continue life support for 12-year-old Archie Battersbee is at the end, his mum has said. His family has been appealing to courts to reverse a decision to withdraw treatment. Their latest application lodged with the European Court of Human Rights has also been refused. Archie was found unconscious at his home in Essex in April after he may have been taking part in an online challenge. His family want to take him to a hospice but doctors say there is a "considerable risk" in doing that. His family need to submit an application to do this by 09:00 BST as, according to the family, the NHS trust will withdraw life support at 11:00. Read more here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | Afra Rafeeq, 16, had spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic condition that causes muscle weakness and affects movement and breathing. She died on Monday at a hospital in the southern state of Kerala in India after developing complications related to the disease. Afra's family and neighbours remember her as a bright and talented young girl who loved to sing and study even as she battled excruciating pain.
But it was a viral video in 2021 that won her fans across the country. Before that, her father says, Afra didn't step out much from her house in Kerala's Kannur district. She had been diagnosed with SMA when she was four, and only left home to go to school or the hospital. "We were quite private and concentrated our efforts on getting her the necessary treatment," he says. But then, her younger brother Muhammed was also diagnosed with SMA. | | | | | | | | | | | | Meryl Sebastian | | BBC News, Cochin | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | The weather is back on the agenda as some of this morning's papers lead with hosepipe bans as fears of a drought grow. Millions more households could face bans after the driest July in decades, reports the Times. It also highlights that another heatwave could be on its way. The Metro says "it's drought of order" as it reports people are being urged to "grass up a neighbour". A similar take on the story also appears in the Daily Star, while the Daily Telegraph claims a water plant that could prevent hosepipe bans has been "secretly mothballed". Meanwhile, an investigation into attempts to radicalise children online, soaring gas bills and an interview with Rebekah Vardy following the Wagatha Christie libel case also make the headlines. Read the newspaper review in full here. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | Sandy Hook Conspiracy theorist concedes shooting '100% real' | | | | | | | Sailing Man survives 16 hours in capsized boat in Atlantic | | | | | | | Pregnancy Chrissy Teigen and John Legend expecting third child | | | | | | |
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| | If you watch one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you listen to one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | If you read one thing today | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | Need something different? | | | | | | | | | At first glance, a farmer in Australia thought he'd spotted a dead tree on his land. It was in a remote area so what else could it be? He went to have a look and realised the big black object wasn't something that had been growing on his land - but debris that had fallen on to it from a great height… space. Here it is.
We've got an unusual find in this next story - a handbag on display in a zoo. You'll find it in the reptile house at ZSL London Zoo and like many exhibits it draws in the crowds. Admittedly, it has been there for years but a photo of the bag made from an endangered Siamese crocodile - highlighting the illegal wildlife trade - has gone viral on Twitter. Take a look.
And finally, some election candidates in Kenya are trying to woo crowds - well, voters - by swapping their luxurious lifestyles to chop vegetables, make tea, wash cars and clean public toilets. The toilet cleaning lasted less than 20 seconds and left cleaners amused, while the politician involved ended up the butt of some jokes following his campaign trail antics. Here's more on how they have been trying to impress voters. | | | | | |
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| | On this day | | | | | | | 2000 Celebrations take place across the UK to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. | | | | | | | | |
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| | | Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | | | | | |
