may be slowing down. hello, and welcome to bbc news. the giant chinese balloon that had been floating over the united states has been shot down by an american fighterjet off the coast of south carolina. the balloon, which the us says was being used to spy on military sites, appeared to plummet straight into the sea. china continues to insist it was a stray civilian weather observation airship. david willis is our correspondent in washington. officials here are saying that this chinese balloon was brought down about six miles off the coast of south carolina by a single missile fired by a us fighterjet. now, president biden had apparently given permission for such a strike on wednesday, that is a day before the actual presence of this balloon was made public. military officials decided to hold back for fear that it could spray debris down onto the mainland and hurt people on the mainland and hurt people on the ground below. then, today, as it was crossing the coast of south car
connection to slavery. hello and welcome to bbc news. the giant chinese balloon that had been floating over the united states has been shot down by an american fighterjet off the coast of south carolina. the balloon, which the us says was being used to spy on military sites, appeared to plummet straight into the sea. china continues to insist it was a stray civilian weather observation airship. our correspondent david willis has more from washington. officials here are saying that this chinese balloon was brought down about six miles off the coast of south carolina by a single missile fired by a us fighterjet. now, president biden had apparently given permission for such a strike on wednesday, that is a day before the actual presence of this balloon was made public. military officials decided to hold back for fear that it could spray debris down onto the mainland and hurt people on the ground below. then, today, as it was crossing the coast of south carolina, they closed loca
visit, alongside the leaders of the church of england and church of scotland. we ll tell you about the bbcjournalist trying to make amends for her own family s connection to slavery. the giant chinese balloon that had been floating over the united states has been shot down by an american fighterjet off the coast of south carolina. the balloon, which the us says was being used to spy on military sites appeared to plummet straight into the sea. china continues to insist it was a stray civilian weather observation airship. tim allman reports. for days now, all eyes have been on this solitary object, floating serenely through us airspace. was that a harmless weather balloon? or a spy in the sky, sent by the chinese? whatever it was, the american government has decided enough is enough. look at that trial of white paper on the left of the screen. that is a us f 22 fighterjet, streaking towards fighter jet, streaking towards the fighterjet, streaking towards the balloon. then, a se
we ll tell you about the bbcjournalist trying to make amends for her own family s connection to slavery. the giant chinese balloon that had been floating over the united states has been shot down by an american fighterjet off the coast of south carolina. the balloon, which the us says was being used to spy on military sites appeared to plummet straight into the sea. china continues to insist it was a stray civilian weather observation airship. its foreign ministry has now released a statement saying that china strongly disapproves of and protests against the us attack on a civilian unmanned airship. it also said the us use of force is a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice . tim allman reports. for days now, all eyes have been on this solitary object, floating serenely through us airspace. was it a harmless weather balloon or a spy in the sky, sent by the chinese? whatever it was, the american government had decided enough was enough. look at
pakistan s former president, general pervez musharraf, has died following a long illness. he was 79 years old. president musharraf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, serving in office for seven years from 2001. and in 2019 he was sentenced to death in absentia, for treason charges for absconding the murder trial of one of his successors, bennazir bhuto. at the time of his death, he had been living in exile in dubai, receiving medical treatment. the bbc s gordon corera looks back on his life. 1999. and when troops stormed the national television headquarters to put pervez musharraf in power, the people of pakistan heard a familiar refrain. the nation needed another leader in uniform to save it from self serving politicians. in the past, our governments have ruled the people. it is time now for the governments to serve the people. pakistan had already been under army rule for more than half the time it had been independent. general musharraf portrayed himself as