are at now? . . escalate. what stage do you think we are at now? are at now? it has certainly escalated- are at now? it has certainly escalated. we are at now? it has certainly escalated. we just - are at now? it has certainly escalated. we just had - are at now? it has certainly escalated. we just had a i are at now? it has certainly i escalated. we just had a major generalfrom escalated. we just had a major general from the military university on television here, confirming that the pla has indeed fired missiles over taiwan s territory. if that s correct it is a dramatic shift, the first time in decades of military exercises that such action has taken place. taiwan s a defence ministry has reported that again in the recent hours pla ships have crossed the median line in the taiwan strait, the body of water between the island of taiwan and the mainline mainland, so it seems we will see more of these live fire drills today. japan has even been drawn into this conflict because t
coming here to taiwan this week to show support for the democratically elected government of taiwan. she was careful not to say that she sought supporting taiwan as an independent country. these niceties are important in all of these but she said that america would stand by taiwan. she also said that her travel arrangements would not be arranged by beijing, and she said other us politicians would come to taiwan in the future, regardless of what beijing does. so very firm defence of her visit here, and really telling china that she will not be pushed around and other us politicians will not be pushed around either when it comes to travelling here to taipei and meeting with taiwanese officials. rupert, for the moment, thank you very much. the police watchdog is investigating two officers who used a taser and pepper spray on a 93 year old resident at a care home. donald burgess, who had dementia, died three weeks after the incident in east sussex.
senior us politician nancy pelosi has said this morning that the united states will not allow china to isolate taiwan after her visit to the self ruled island earlier in the week infuriated beijing. 0ur correspondent rupert wingfield hayes joins us now from taiwan with the latest. good morning to you. just concentrate, focus for a moment on those words from nancy pelosi, given what has already happened. the us will not allow china to isolate taiwan. ,., ., ., ,, will not allow china to isolate taiwan. ., ,, , taiwan. good morning. quite robust worse from taiwan. good morning. quite robust worse from nancy taiwan. good morning. quite robust worse from nancy pelosi taiwan. good morning. quite robust worse from nancy pelosi in - taiwan. good morning. quite robust worse from nancy pelosi in her- taiwan. good morning. quite robust| worse from nancy pelosi in her press conference in the japanese capital tokyo this morning. not surprising, really. she has been an ardent critic of chin
taiwanese president tsai ing wuhn has vowed to uphold democracy and freedom at home amid growing tensions with beijing. responding to a speech from president xi jinping saying that reunification with china is inevitable, taiwan s leader was defiant on the occasion of national day. talks have been under way in the qatari capital doha between senior us and taliban officials. it s their first face to face meeting since the militants seized control of afghanistan. chancellor sebastian kurz has announced that he will step down, after he was placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption offences. mr kurz, who denies the accusations, said he would remain leader of his party. the czech election has been won by a coalition of three opposition parties, narrowly edging out the party of the billionaire turned prime minister andrej babis. his campaign was hit with
this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. defiance from taiwan on its national day, after china insists reunification with the mainland is inevitable. funerals begin for the victims of friday s huge bomb blast in afghanistan, as the us and the taliban hold their first face to face talks since august. another huge power cut plunges lebanon into darkness after its entire electricity grid shuts down. the chancellor of austria says he is stepping down to fight corruption allegations. pressure on the british government to help businesses facing soaring energy bills.