prepare to watch the show s final episode. the opening ceremony of the 22nd commonwealth games takes place in birmingham tonight. prince charles will represent the queen and 30,000 people will be inside the alexander stadium, with millions more watching around the world. the show will include performances from local music and dance groups, emphasising the city s diversity. more than 5,000 athletes are set to compete over a packed 11 days. they will be representing 72 nations and territories. the queen s baton will also be a key part of that ceremony, after being carried for 294 days through commonwealth countries. athletes will compete in 19 sports and 280 medal events, which will include for the first time women s t20 cricket, 3 on 3 basketball and 3 on 3 wheelchair basketball. also for the first time, there are more medals for women than for men, and para events are all part of the main games. 0ur sports reporterjoe lynsky explains what s in store. they have waited four yea
to actor bernard cribbins, famous for his many roles including in doctor who, the wombles and the original railway children who has died at the age of 93. a report looking into events leading up to the death of a 13 month old boy in cumbria has found that the woman who killed him misled social workers about her mental health, her alcohol use, and her debts. leiland james corkill was killed injanuary last year by laura castle, a woman who had hoped to adopt him. a safeguarding report found that relevant information about castle was not shared between agencies. it concluded that checks on people who want to adopt should be strengthened. first, our special correpsondent ed thomas has this report, it contains some distressing details. mummy, please don t be sad. i miss you so much too. i m safe. it s so beautiful up here. but i do worry when i see you cry. laura inhales sharply the words of laura corkill read at the funeral of her son, leiland james. .. and what do you re
sophisticated weaponry is helping ukraine challenge for key cities, in the south and the east. us presidentjoe biden and china s president xijinping held a phone call today, and there were warnings and assurances about the us position on taiwan. taiwan is an island off china s south east coast. it behaves like an independent state but beijing considers it part of china, and says it will re take it, by force if necessary. there have been tensions between the us and china over that possibility. and today, xijinping told joe biden that the us should abide by the 0ne china principle with regard to taiwan according to chinese state media. with regard to taiwan and president xi said: those who play with fire will only get burnt. joe biden responded that on taiwan. the us policy has not changed. let s remind ourselves what this is all about. back in may, this happened. are you willing to get involved militarily to defend taiwan, if it comes to that? yes. you are? that s t