country s pre pandemic preparations before 2020. north korea fires a suspected missile overjapan, in what appears to be a deliberate escalation to get the attention of tokyo and washington. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. the first preliminary hearing of the uk covid 19 inquiry is about to begin. there will be an opening statement by the chair of the inquiry, baroness hallett, followed by a minute s silence. the session will focus on how prepared the uk was for a pandemic before 2020. joining us now from the inquiry is our health correspondent, jim reed . hello. just tell us a little more, if you would, about this first phase of the inquiry? of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry was announced of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry was announced by of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry was announced by boris - of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry| was announced by boris johnson of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry - was announced by boris johnson back was
nuclear weapons. it s seven in the morning in singapore, and four thirty am in the sri lankan capital colombo where celebrations have been taking place after gotabaya rajapaksa became the country s first sitting president to quit. he did so after months of angry protests over the rapidly rising cost of living, and shortages of food and fuel. from colombo, rajini vaidyanathan reports. a moment to savour after months of struggle. now there s joy. these demonstrators had one key demand, that the man they blame for their economic woes resign. tonight, president gotabaya rajapaksa did. protesters say they are celebrating what represents a victory for people power. it s the end of the rule of the rajapaksas, after a week of turmoil on the island. just yesterday at the prime minister s office, security forces were overrun by protesters. it was one of a number of government buildings taken over by the masses. today, protesters handed it back to the authorities, soldiers now on guard,
gunshot. japan s former prime minister shinzo abe has been shot dead during a campaign rally. police say the suspect used a handmade gun. the us presidentjoe biden signs an executive order to help safeguard access to abortion following the supreme court overturning of roe v wade. , ., ., . and at wimbledon, the defending men s champion proves too much for britain s cameron norrie. novak djokovic seals his place in sunday s final. and coming up on the bbc news channel, the latest from the women s euros in england. one of the tournament favourites, spain, survive an early scare, to get off the mark. good evening. the labour leader sir keir starmer and his deputy angela rayner have been cleared by durham police of breaking lockdown rules. the force was looking into an event last april during election campaigning, when sir keir was pictured drinking a beer in the office of another labour mp. he d promised to resign if he was fined. at the time, indoor socialising between diffe
to triumph and to despair, keep abortion safe and legal! and to despair, polarising an already divided nation. the court literally taking america back 150 years. it s a sad day for the country in my view. but it doesn t mean the fight s over. the right to life has been vindicated. the voiceless will finally have a voice. with nearly half of america s states expected to use the ruling to ban or restrict abortion, we ll be asking what happens now. and our other main story tonight. two severe by election blows for boris johnson. the tories lose tiverton and honiton in devon, and wakefield in west yorkshire. his reply. yes, it s absolutely true that we ve had some tough by election results. and they ve been, i think, a reflection of a lot of things, but we ve got to recognise that voters are going through a tough time at the moment. a second earthquake in afghanistan in a region where at least a thousand people are known to have died. and glastonbury festival kicks off at worthy