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
live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it s newsday. it s 7am in singapore, and 7pm in washington where a potential visit to taiwan by us house speaker nancy pelosi is stirring alarm in presidentjoe biden s administration. they fear the trip may cross red lines for china and that there is no exit path. beijing, which claims sovereignty over the island, has already issued harsh warnings even suggesting a possible military response. against this backdrop, president biden is expected to call president xi on thursday for the first time in months. for more, we can speak now to bonnie glaser, political commentator from the german marshall fund. she joins us from washington. thank you so much for talking to the bbc. give us a sense of what is going on in the corridors of power in washington with this potential visit. ~ ~ . visit. well, i think that there are different visit. well, i think that there are different points - visit. well, i think that there are diffe