Military relations with China are at their worst in 40 years, Taiwan's defence minister has said.

Chiu Kuo-cheng also warned China would be capable of mounting a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025.

His comments came after China sent a "record numbers" of military jets into Taiwan's air defence zone for four consecutive days.


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Russian shelling has caused a huge fire at a chemical plant in Ukraine's Severodonetsk city where "non-stop" fighting rages, the regional head says.

Serhiy Haidai told Ukrainian TV that Saturday's blaze started after a leak of tens of tonnes of oil from damaged radiators at the Azot plant.

Hundreds of civilians are reportedly sheltering at the plant.

Severodonetsk has become the focal point of Russia's efforts to advance in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have also said their army is running out of ammunition as it engages in intense artillery battles with invading Russian forces.

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A Russian battalion has lost almost all of its armoured vehicles in a failed attempt to cross a river in eastern Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

Images from the scene show dozens of burnt-out tanks after Ukrainian forces shelled pontoon bridges across the Siversky Donets river in the Luhansk region.

It’s thought almost an entire battalion of vehicles was lost - it’s not known how many men were killed.

However, Russian forces appear to be making gains elsewhere in the area, with reports that they have taken the nearby town of Rubizhne.

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Boris Johnson has held his first face to face meeting with President Biden ahead the G7 summit in Cornwall.

They committed to working together on a number of global challenges.

The Prime Minister described their meeting this afternoon as a “breath of fresh air”. Joe Biden said they'd reaffirmed the special relationship.

The two leaders also discussed post-Brexit trade problems in Northern Ireland, after Mr Biden warned that the UK's dispute with the EU over border controls must not put the peace process at risk.

Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by political editor Laura Kuenssberg and North America editor Jon Sopel.

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Taliban leaders, who've never been seen in public before, have been making their first statements on Afghan soil, to a world shocked by their lightning seizure of power.

They hoped to calm a worried nation and international community, with assurances that those Afghans who assisted international forces would come to no harm, that media freedoms would be protected, and that women would be allowed to study and work, within Islamic principles.

Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by international correspondent Lyse Doucet.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has told a massive military parade in Moscow that Russian troops fighting in eastern Ukraine are “defending the motherland”.

Tanks, missiles and thousands of troops took to Red Square in the country's capital for the annual 9 May event, which commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

In a separate video message marking 9 May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country will win its war with Russia.

He accused Russia of imitating tactics used by the Nazis by deporting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and flattening cities with aerial bombardments.

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Schools in all parts of the UK have been closed to pupils, except for vulnerable children and those of key workers.

The UK government has confirmed that this years's GCSEs and A-Levels in England are being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, for the second year running.

Scotland and Wales had already announced the cancellation of major schools examinations.

Some vocational exams in England including BTECs are still going ahead -- although there's growing pressure to cancel them too.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting by education editor Branwen Jeffreys and education correspondent Elaine Dunkley.

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Ministers have been accused of “sitting on the sidelines” as companies announce thousands of job losses, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In recent days 12,000 redundancies have been announced, most of them in high street retail and aviation, sectors hit hardest by the lockdown.

SSP which owns the food chains Upper Crust and Cafe Ritazza says it may cut 5,000 jobs because of the sharp fall in passenger numbers at railway stations and airports.

The aerospace giant Airbus says it plans to cut 1,700 jobs in the UK as part of plans to close 15,000 posts globally.

The retailer John Lewis has said today that some of its stores will not reopen after lockdown. Top Shop, Harrods and the shirt maker TM Lewin have also announced job losses.

Boris Johnson has said that while the risk to jobs is “very, very serious”, the Treasury has protected the livelihoods of 11 million people.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Business Editor Simon Jack, Sarah Corker and Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg.

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The extent of the economic and financial crisis facing the UK has been spelled out by the chancellor Rishi Sunak.

He told MPs that the cost of fighting the pandemic has led to record government borrowing and the steepest economic decline in more than three centuries.

Next year more than 2.5m people could be out of work in the UK. This year the government will be borrowing nearly £400 billion, the highest ever in peacetime.

Most public sector workers will get a pay freeze — other than NHS staff and those earning less than £24,000 a year.

The UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility has calculated that the UK economy will shrink by more than 11% this year alone.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting by political editor Laura Kuenssberg and economics editor Faisal Islam.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his invasion of Ukraine will achieve what he called its "noble" aims.

Speaking alongside Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Mr Putin claimed that a clash with Ukraine had become "inevitable".

Mr Putin said he had been left with no choice but to launch the invasion in a bid to protect the Russian speaking Donbas region.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Lithuania’s parliament that Russia was a threat to Europe as a whole, not just to Ukraine.

The BBC’s Anna Foster reports from Ukraine.

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A number of nations say there is a high threat of a terrorist attack at Kabul airport and have warned their citizens not to travel there.

Australia, the US and UK have issued alerts to their citizens. Those already outside the airport are advised to leave the area immediately.

More than 82,000 people have been airlifted from Kabul, which fell to the Taliban 10 days ago.

Countries are rushing to evacuate people by a 31 August deadline.
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International help is being pledged for India as it battles a ferocious second wave of coronavirus, described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a storm that has shaken the nation.

Almost 350,000 new infections were recorded in India in the latest 24 hour period - a record number for the fourth day in a row.

As the epidemic continues to grow hospitals are under intolerable pressure - with shortages of beds and critical supplies including oxygen.

Mishal Husain presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Yogita Limaye in Delhi and diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams.

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The killing of George Floyd in the United States a year ago placed a sharp focus on police racism - not just in America but on law enforcement officers around the world.

The death of Mr Floyd, an African-American man, at the hands of police officers in Minnesota, led to global protests against discrimination and police brutality.

In France, there have been repeated accusations of violence and racism against some police officers for many years.

Huw Edwards presents a BBC News at Ten special report from France by Clive Myrie.

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In a major policy shift, the German government has authorised the supply of dozens of tanks to Ukraine.

The announcement came as Nato and other Western allies met at a US air base in Germany to consider how to help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian invasion.

The United States said Russia would eventually be defeated and promised to support Ukraine “for the long haul”.

Meanwhile the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres held talks in Moscow with President Putin. He said that the war was a violation of the integrity of Ukraine's territory and against the UN charter.

The Russian leader said he hoped for a diplomatic solution to the conflict and denied Russian involvement in atrocities against civilians.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Russia editor Steve Rosenberg in Moscow and diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams.

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The most troubled Olympics in recent history will formally open in a few hours time in Tokyo – as the Japanese capital records its highest number of new daily Covid cases in six months.

More than 11,300 athletes from 207 countries will compete over the next couple of weeks.

With Tokyo in a state of emergency after a Covid spike, the Games have come under huge criticism from the Japanese public, the majority of whom have said they want the Olympics to be cancelled or postponed again.

Safety is paramount for the organisers, and huge precautions are being taken, with no fans, from either Japan or overseas, being permitted inside venues.

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be fined by the police for attending parties during lockdown.

No 10 confirmed the pair had received notification from the Metropolitan Police that they would be given fixed penalty notices.

But a spokesman said they had not been told which event the fine was for.

The force is investigating alleged Covid law-breaking at 12 gatherings in Whitehall and Downing Street.

So far, a total of more than 50 fines have been handed out.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to resign.

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People in the town of Irpin have been seen running to escape Russian bombardment.

At least three people are reportedly killed fleeing the town of Irpin, after Russian mortar shells targeted a damaged bridge they were using

The Ukrainian military has been helping residents get to safety.

Situated 20km (12 miles) north-west of Kyiv, Irpin is near the strategic Hostomel airfield, and the front of the huge Russian convoy assembled near the capital.

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Russia's flagship Black Sea missile cruiser, the Moskva, has been "seriously damaged" and its crew forced to evacuate, according to Russian state media.

The defence ministry said ammunition on the Moskva exploded in an unexplained fire, but that the 186-metre (610 foot) vessel was still afloat.

But Ukraine has claimed it struck the vessel with its Neptune missiles.

The 510-crew warship has led Russia's naval assault on Ukraine, making it an important symbolic and military target.

The Moskva has previously become well-known after calling on Ukrainian border troops defending Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender - to which they radioed a message of refusal, which loosely translates as "go to hell".

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Video has emerged of the apartment building near Kyiv's Zhuliany airport that was struck earlier on Saturday.

The pictures show a hole covering at least five floors that were blasted into the side.

Authorities say the number of casualties is "being specified" while an evacuation is under way.

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Russian officials have accused Ukraine of launching a missile attack on the city of Belgorod near to the border of the two countries.

It is the first time the city has seen any conflict following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

Four civilians are reported to have died after being caught in the blast.

Ukrainian officials have denied the attack.

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