laura bicker has more on this story from seoul. display of sincerity. to go further than simply stepping over the border. in front of witnesses. the punggye—ri site is where all six nuclear tests were carried out. and let experts and the media watch. a welcome development, but the us is being cautious. we use the word irreversible with great intention. denuclearisation is going to be achieved. campaign in place until we achieve that. it does all sound rather familiar. but continued to build weapons in secret. trust in the north. trust is two—directional, ok? you build trust, in the process of implementing agreements. kim jong—un is also turning back time. literally. half an hour behind seoul. korea will become one time zone once again. their view of kim jong—un. and i'm touched by it. translation: this time, kim jong—un speaks with conviction. i think that's why this time will be different. and changing the clocks is a good sign of unity. of misses the point. the us doesn't want him to have those weapons in the first place. a deal on denuclearisation. of a new era. laura bicker

laura bicker, thank you. tuesday's debate in the house of commons on the role mps will play if they don't like the brexit deal that's been negotiated, or if no deal has been reached, had been hotly anticipated as a major challenge to the government. in the end, this is how the news at ten reported the event. now here, the government has avoided what would have been a major defeat in the commons over its brexit bill by issuing a concession to potential rebels. the nature of those concessions was much discussed in the days that followed. but it was the way the result of the vote was reported that annoyed peter furno, amongst others. he wrote... special programmes, reports and live coverage this week marked one year since the grenfell tower fire, and on thursday night the anniversary was marked by the bbc one bulletins at 6:00 and 10:00 with a tribute to the 72 people who died in the fire. i hear your voice every day. and i see your face. but you're not there. at that moment, we felt like our hearts had broken.

thanks, laura, laura bicker based in seoul for us. to. thanks, laura, laura bicker based in seoulfor us. more on that later in the briefing. a million people have been told to evacuate their homes as the us east coast prepares for what may be strongest storm to hit the region in decades. hurricane florence is gaining strength as it approaches the coastline of south carolina. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. a monster storm that could bring catastrophic levels of rain and flooding. hurtling towards the us east coast with growing wind speeds, the authorities fear hurricane florence could have a deadly impact on several states, with the carolinas and virginia the hardest hit. it'll be dumping water on us in north carolina, all of which will flow come through south carolina, much of what's in north carolina, so we're liable to have a whole lot of flooding, particularly in the pd area. an estimated one million people are fleeing to safety, not sure whether they'll have homes to return to. we do have a plan to perhaps evacua

laura bicker in seoul, thank you very much indeed. stay with us on the briefing, still to come: not so much hot, hot, hot, but more, ho, ho, ho. why thoughts are turning to christmas despite the record temperatures. ok, coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt, and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning sperm, unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime, as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: north korea appears to be dismantling part of an important rocket engine testing site in the north w

from there, laura bicker reports. after over two years of silence and attention, it has taken under two weeks of talks for north and south korea to agree on a few things, at least. the two sides will walk together under one flag at the opening ceremony of the winter olympics. the women's hockey team will be made up of athletes from both koreas, the first and they have competed together at an olympic games. this is bobsled diplomacy. the two sides have come to an agreement surprisingly quickly. but some fear it may come at a cost. is this just propaganda from the north, while kim jong—un continues to build weapons will stop it seems the south korean government is prepared to ta ke korean government is prepared to take that chance. there are obviously calculations going on in the north korean decision—makers as to their actions, bus, the north korean decision—makers as to theiractions, bus, i the north korean decision—makers as to their actions, bus, i think, the north korean decision—makers as to theiractions

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. in a moment, we'll speak to nick bryant at the white house, but first laura bicker joins us from seoul. it's an extraordinary diplomatic turnaround to move the us and north korea from trading insults to having a meeting. how did south korea pull this off? i think we have lost laura in seoul. we will go back to her if we can. nick, first we heard that mr trump was going to meet kimjong—un, now he's putting preconditions on any meeting. is it likely to happen? fiona, listening to the white house briefing, we wondered whether president trump was getting cold feet, but according to senior aides, they say he really wants this to happen. it is impulsive, the way he likes to conduct foreign policy. it gives him a reality tv- for ages, i version of nixon z '% reggae he z '% e he finds z '% assigas he finds it to china. another reason he finds it attractive is that no president has ever done this before and he loves flying in the face of residential orthodoxy. when it comes to north korea, h

that is laura bicker, based in seoul. we will hear more from laura bicker in the coming days. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. tens of thousands of people joined a demonstration in the armenian capital yerevan on wednesday, calling on the government to resign. a junior coalition partner has already deserted the administration, saying parliament should elect a prime minister that has the confidence of the people. there's been a series of demonstrations across germany against anti—semitism in reaction to mobile phone footage, posted on social media, showing two men injewish skullcaps being attacked by three youths. one of the men was an israeli—arab, who said he'd been given the skullcap as a gift from a friend. many non—jews wearing skullcaps — or kippah — joined the demonstrations in solidarity. the chairman of alder hey hospital in liverpool, where the seriously ill child alfie evans is being looked after, has said its medical staff have been subjected to a "barrage" of abuse. over the past fortnight protestors have gathered outside the

laura bicker based in seoul. there has been an abject failure in the aid sector to deal with sexual abuse, according to british mps on the international development committee. their report follows revelations that a group of oxfam workers had used young prostitutes in haiti in 2011 when they were there to help the country recover from a major earthquake. our global affairs correspondent, naomi grimley has more. it was in the aftermath of 2010 haiti earthquake that of oxfam's aid workers severely compromised its much cherished values. they used young prostitutes when they were supposed to be helping the local population bounce back from a disaster. the charity did an internal investigation. they dismissed some members of the staff and let others quietly resign without properly flagging out what had happened to the authorities or other charities. today, mps said it wasn't an isolated episode. we have reached the conclusion that in the aids sector there has been a complacency verging, frankly, on complicity with wha

but first, our south korea correspondent laura bicker. laura, how would you describe the north korean approach to these talks and what they intend to achieve? well, kim jong—un will feel he is coming into this summit from a position of strength. he has the nuclear weapons that the world does not want him to have, plus the summit has given him the kind of legitimacy he has always craved. six months ago, he was isolated, a murderous human rights abusing dictator, in the last few hours he has been treated like a rock star on the streets of singapore. and he will shake hands with the us president, in his eyes, as unequal. but when it comes to why this time things may be different, there are a few signs that donald trump has something kim jong—un wants. that elusive peace treaty that his father, his grandfather never achieved. plus, kim jong—un father, his grandfather never achieved. plus, kimjong—un has promised his people economic reforms. he is a young leader, only 34, reforms. he is a young leader, only 3a, he could be in powerfor

laura bicker there. the un secretary—general antonio gutteres said it's possible that north korea could one day be fully de—nuclearised. i think there is hope, i believe that if things go well, and i believe that if things go well and i think they will go well, they will prove that the security council can be effective when it is united. the problem is that in many aspects, namely syria, we have not been able to have a united security council. when it is united and adopts important measures, they have an impact on the ground, they can effect change. today i believe that the path is open for the peaceful denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. it proves that diplomacy is the path to peace, not war. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in seoul, laura bicker. she said kimjong—un explained how kim jong—un was positioning himself, ahead of that planned summit with president trump. there is optimism in this statement because it gives us a little signal of what kim jong un might want from the summit.

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. at some stage and possibly even as planned on 12th june. at the white house. we're going to see what happens, we're talking to them now. it was a very nice statement they put out, we'll see what happens. inaudible. no, we'll see what happens, it could even be the 12th. we'd like to do it, we're going to see what happens. everybody plays games, you know that. you know that better than anybody. our correspondent gary o'donoghue is in washington. well, trying to follow it, really, what on earth is going on? well... being praised for their productive warmth. warmth. to meet the us in any form that it shows. shows. he'd gone down in terms of trying to get this summit off the ground. get this summit off the ground. is the only thing that has actually changed in concrete terms. changed in concrete terms. working their way through these issues, still talking. issues, still talking. couple of tweets from the white house to get it back on. house to get it back on. we wait to see, we are in a holding pattern. we are. thank you, gary o'donoghue in washington. a cla

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. a reminder of our top story. the adult film actress stormy daniels says she has been threatened and intimidated to keep quiet about a sexual relationship she says she had with donald trump. ms daniels has described having unprotected sex with mr trump on a single occasion, at his hotel after a celebrity golf tournament in 2006. to the to the to the story. to the website about hello once again. i hope at least at some point during the course of the weekend you managed to get to see some sunshine, because it may well be in the forthcoming week that that is in short supply for some areas, especially the northern parts of scotland. all of us will notice it turning a little bit colder, because initially there's some warmth to be had, especially across the southern half of the british isles. but as i move you through to around about wednesday, well, those yellows have moved away. we've tapped into some cold air yet again from scandinavia, for the northern half of britain. to the south, well, there's an incursion of mil

the bbc‘s laura bicker reports. fierce and determined, the korean players head onto the rink to prove they are notjust pawns in a political drama or an experiment in sports diplomacy. they fight hard against high—ranking sweden. willed on by a crowd eager to witness a piece of history and waving the flag of a unified korea. translation: i was so touched, i feel so good because i felt the passion of the players and it felt like we were one together. but this team's formation has been controversial. the south korean hockey coach has had to tell players she has worked with for years that they have lost their spot to make way for north koreans, such as this player. we are not allowed to ask the north koreans any questions at the press conference, but the south korean coach was frank when i asked her about the challenges. translation: any players that have not been with us for the last four years, learning our systems and understanding how our team plays, it is difficult. north korean is different to south korean so fo

laura bicker, bbc news, pyeongchang. president trump has blocked the release of a classified democratic party memo over the fbi's russia probe. the memo rebutted claims there was anti—trump bias in the fbi's investigation of russian meddling in the us presidential election. the white house said the memo couldn't be released because it contained classified material. our washington correspondent david willisjoins us. this isjust one our washington correspondent david willis joins us. this is just one of two memos, very confusing. talk us through it please. a little bit confusing. you may see smoke coming out of my ears as i continue! last week, basically the republicans came up week, basically the republicans came up with a memo detailing what they said were surveillance abuses on the pa rt said were surveillance abuses on the part of the fbi involving a former trump campaign aide called carter page. that was back in 2016. the fbi and the justice page. that was back in 2016. the fbi and thejustice department recommended

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. facebook has published new guidelines for the kind of content allowed on its site, and created a process for individuals to launch appeals. the company is trying to repair levels of trust following an alleged breach of data privacy by the british firm cambridge analytica. the release of facebook‘s new rules has drawn attention to the difficult work of thousands of its content moderators, who review millions of complaints every day about extreme material uploaded to the social media platform. angus crawford reports. report something you don't like on facebook, and it ends up at a place like this. behind the door, facebook‘s content moderators, looking at the worst the internet can offer so you don't have to. they are people like laura... i remember i cried. ..who would only talk to us anonymously. i realised how bad people can be. she doesn't work there anymore. it was too difficult, too distressing. every day you will see things that shock you — traumatising stuff. beheadings, c

laura bicker, bbc news in seoul. there has been intense debate in women's tennis over how the us open final came to an end. open final came to an end. with all the sport now, here's lizzie greenwood—hughes at the bbc sport centre. thanks very much. serena williams has been fined for her outburst in last night's us open final. serena williams has been fined for her outburst in last night's us open final. the 23—time grand slam winner lost the match to naomi osaka after being penalised for breaking a number of rules. afterwards she accused the umpire of sexism. john watson reports. you owe me an apology, i have never cheated in my life! serena williams, furious for being warned at receiving on court instructions, the actions of her code interpreted by the umpire as breaking grand slam rules. trailing name a sack in the women's final, points penalty for oui’ women's final, points penalty for our broken racket followed before serena williams was fine again for verbally abusing the umpire. you will never be on a cou

our correspondent, laura bicker, starts our coverage. the waiting is over. the hard work starts now. donald trump has arrived in singapore to try to do a deal that has eluded past us presidents. he hopes his unconventional political style will persuade kimjong—un to disarm. i think within the first minute, i'll know. reporter: how? just my touch, my feel, that's what i do. the north korean leader doesn't look like he's feeling his way. considering this is his debut on the world's diplomatic stage, he looked calm and relaxed as he discussed his hopes for peace with the singaporean prime minister. he's taking no chances with security. his hand—picked bodyguards have flown with him, along with his bullet—proof limousine. thousands took the chance to catch a rare glimpse of this usually reclusive leader. if mr kim is trying to transition from nuclear armed dictator to global statesman, this summit is offering him the perfect platform. at this church in singapore, south koreans pray for the possibilities this may offer. and tears for the years of war the pe

. —— let's cross to our correspondent laura bicker, who's in seoul. this is an interesting turn of events, with the scheduled meeting not far off that all? i think there are two things. overnight here in seoul, we got the message that there have been —— there has been a release from state—run media in north korea has said that because of the current military exercises being held, seen as a preparation for war, they were cancelling talks with south korea that were due to be held today. and then there is much more serious release has come from a foreign minister. this goes into far more detail about their problems north korea is having with the current discussions with the united states and south korea. firstly it talks about denuclearisation. being forced and backed into a corner. it calls it one—sided denuclearisation. it also goes on to attack us national security adviserjohn bolton. at the weekend, he described the libya model for denuclearisation with north korea. they go on to describe that as absurd and to note that both libya and iraq co

laura bicker there. we'll have more on korea and those talks inafew have more on korea and those talks in a few minutes. also this hour... a former cia officer has been arrested in the us where reports say he is suspected of helping china. he worked for the cia between 1994 and 2007 when he moved to hong kong. 20 cia informant in china were killed oi’ cia informant in china were killed or jailed. cia informant in china were killed orjailed. our security correspondent says the breach was disastrous. this is the worst nightmare for spy agency, to watch agents in another country, nationals of china in this case, providing intelligence to the cia, being rolled up. not just intelligence to the cia, being rolled up. notjust arrested, but in some cases actually executed for spying for the cia. they started in 2010 and went on to two years. it leads to questions about why... there is a possibility it was a communications compromise, perhaps hacking into their systems. but also that fear of being somebody who h

laura bicker, bbc news in seoul. the department store chain debenhams has hired experts from the auditors kpmg to try and improve its financial position. the move follows three profit warnings from the retailer in the last year. debenhams' share price has also fallen by two—thirds since january. a group representing religious education teachers and faith organisations has called for big changes to the way the subject is taught in england. the commission for religious education says children should learn about atheism and humanism, as well as the main faiths, to better reflect modern britain. returning to their general election in sweden where the swedish democrats have made significant gains with the centre right and centre left blocs running neck and neck. we re—established contact with annika rothstein, who is going to govern them? the country is waiting for the conservative bloc to offer to work with the swedish democrats. if they don't, they will be no change because we are looking at a situation where the ce

laura bicker, bbc news, pyeongchang. president trump has blocked the release of a classified democratic party memo over the fbi's russia probe. the memo rebutted claims there was anti—trump bias in the fbi's investigation of russian meddling in the us presidential election. the white house said the memo couldn't be released because it contained classified material. we can speak to our washington correspondent, david willis. it is the battle of the memos, very confusing, take us through it, please. yes, it is a little bit confusing, so i would recommend some popcorn and a comfy seat! we will attempt to talk about it now. last week president from signed off on the release of a dip other can memo, detailing what it said were surveillance abuses on the part of the fbi involving a former trump campaign aide, a man called carter page, back in 2016. the fbi and the justice department chair advised against him releasing that e—mail, that memo, but he decided to do so regardless. then, the republicans got the rebuttal of that

laura bicker, bbc news, paju. leter in the programme, we examine the impact of us sanctions on north korea. the two main candidates in colombia's presidential election have gone through to the second round. the conservative, ivan duque, has called for the landmark peace deal with farc rebels to be overhauled. he'll be facing gustavo petro, a former rebel who supports the accord. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson reports. the results of this first round some of the political scenario in colombia, a society that is deeply polarised. ivan duque was always expected to go through, he is a man who represents traditional politics. he has criticised the peace deal agreed with the former farc rebels as being too lenient, striking a chord with many conservative voters. issue of security always wins votes in colombia and he knows it. translation: i want to govern colombia without looking back, but rather towards the future of our country. i want a country with legality, frontal struggle against corruption. but in t

laura bicker, bbc news, singapore. the british government has averted a damaging defeat for its brexit strategy — a mix of last—minute promises and negotiations persuaded a majority of 26 members of parliament to reject an amendment to the eu withdrawal bill. the amendment, from the unelected upper chamber, the lords, would have given parliament wide powers over the brexit process. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. the ayes to the right, 324. the noes to the left, 298. they got there, but it wasn't pretty. should parliament get more power over brexit if the final deal is sunk? the ayes to the right, 324... only in the last ten minutes, the promise of a compromise on that seemed to keep both sides of the restive tory party on board. the government has realised that it must have an amendment, a further amendment to the bill, which deals with parliament's role in the event of there being no deal. getting some unity, and inevitably having some degree of give—and—take, is part of the process. remainers

let's go to seoul now and speak to our correspondent laura bicker. there has been reaction from the south korean president in the last few minutes? yes, he has said this isa few minutes? yes, he has said this is a victory for diplomacy. he said this could also lead to denuclearisation on the peninsulas. he seems to be welcoming these talks. it is something he has worked towards. he has engineered this deft diplomatic move. you saw the opening on kim jong—un‘s new year ‘s speech and he took it and grasp it and since then there have been busy diplomatic efforts between the two visits between north and south culminating in this invitation from kim jong—un to president trump but let's put the brakes on for a little minute because they have been overture is in the past. this is the first time the invitation has been accepted by the white house. when it comes to those two sides talking, it isa comes to those two sides talking, it is a huge political gamble. the risks are there. it could just be that north korea is playing for time, playing with pre

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. tributes are being paid to the us television producer and writer steven bochco, who has died, aged 7a. he was best known for creating some of america's best—known police dramas, including hill street blues, la law and nypd blue. the ten—time emmy award winner had been suffering from a rare form of leukaemia for several years. the headlines on bbc news: the nhs in england is likely to face a "year—round crisis", as this winter's pressures extend into the summer. that's the warning from some doctors. the director of public prosecutions, alison saunders, will stand down in october after a series of recent controversies. two men have died in a crash on the m62 near bradford, after a car was driven on the wrong side of the road. an abandoned chinese space laboratory — which has been in orbit around the earth since 2011 — has broken up on re—entry over the south pacific ocean. tiangong—1 was being used to train astronauts, but it stopped functioning in 2016, meaning technician

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we hear from the british woman who fell from a cruise ship and survived 10 hours at sea. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed, i did have a relationship with miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last ten days, 500 have died. chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we're all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 million people, in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope, "so you want me to desert rome?" this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: pope francis has condemned sex abuse atrocities and co

laura bicker has been finding out. for months, seoul wondered if it faced the prospect of war once again. today, it woke to better news. the prospect of a stunning trump—kim summit has turned an impending crisis into an opportunity. the horror of the korean war is not forgotten here. the fighting ended with no peace treaty. now, future generations hope these talks will prevent further confrontation. translation: i think this will be a turning point, and through this, our future children will benefit from living ina more free and peaceful world. translation: i think it is a good thing for both countries, and as a south korean citizen, it's good that the threat of war has reduced, even by a little. translation: even if things turn out well, it won't benefit the people in north korea. in the past, when the south korean president provided aid to north korea, i heard almost none of it went to the common people. so i don't think it's going to turn out well. decades of distrust and suspicion divide north and south. people h

laura bicker reports from seoul. the cameras are almost impossible to detect and the criminals difficult to catch. south korea is battling with what has been described as a spy cam epidemic. hidden cameras in changing rooms and public bathrooms. the videos are then posted on line. translation: when i first saw the video of me i was so shocked. my mind went blank and i started crying. kim was secretly filmed in a restaurant by men she thought were her friends. they even took footage of her skirt under the table. she reported it to police, but that just left her feeling even more vulnerable. translation: i feel lonely, as if the men were looking at me like i was a piece of meat, a sexual object. i was frightened. i was afraid of being blamed, i was afraid of my family, friends and people around me would look at me as these men looked at me. thousands of south korean women feel that not enough has been done, they‘ re demanding better treatment for victims and tougher penalties for criminals, but catching them is part

our correspondent in seoul laura bicker asesses the latest developments. when it comes to those talks, they started on sunday in secret. it was another surprise on this peninsula. these are top diplomats from the us and from north korea trying to reach some kind of deal that they can give to their leaders. so we think there was a breather yesterday and they will start to resume talks. butjust a few days ago, donald trump said there would be no talks between the us and north korea. now we are looking at two sets of ongoing talks. first of all here on the border they are talking about the plans, and in singapore we understand they are talking about the logistics. there are officials from north korea and us meeting there in the next few days. in regards to the talks here, there is a long way to go and a short time to do it. the us wants complete disarmament and then get economic rewards to north korea. north korea wants a phased approach. somehow they will have to thrash out a deal that they can give to their leaders. and i think, whether or not there is goin

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. and you can find more on our website about the meeting between the leaders of the two koreas. just log on to bbc.com/news. let's take a look at some of the day's other news: the world anti—doping agency has ended a three—year suspension on russia. the ban was put in place after a report found state—sponsored cheating during international sporting events, including the 2014 sochi olympic games. some athletes and other nations opposed ending russia's exile. 0ur sports editor dan roan has more. this is one of the most controversial and divisive decisions ever reached by wada, in its 19—year history, defying an unprecedented outcry from athlete and figures in the anti—doping community. it's worth remembering that russia was punished three years ago for an extraordinary state—sponsored doping scandal. they were found to have sabotaged events like the london 2012 games. it spread across 30 sports, 1,000 athletes. but today's reinstatement of its anti—doping agency means that o

laura bicker, bbc news, pyeongchang. we'll be back with more on what's expected in the first day of sporting action, but first to washington where president trump has sparked controversy by praising a former white house aide who resigned earlier this week amid allegations he abused two former wives. mr trump said rob porter maintained his innocence and had done a good job. jon sopel has more. he was the clean cut, chiseljawed, harvard law, oxford—educated rising star of this white house, in charge of controlling the flow of paper across the president's desk. but after three days of confusion and chaos, he has quit amid a swirl of domestic abuse allegations. but today, the president seemed to be more concerned about porter than his victims. it's a tough time for him. he did a very good job when he was in the white house. and we hope he has a wonderful career, and hopefully he will have a great career ahead of him. that, despite this photo emerging of one of his ex—wives with a black eye after allegedly being punched b

laura bicker, bbc news, singapore. both leaders have arrived. president trump infact both leaders have arrived. president trump in fact arrived last night, local time. apparently the shangri—la hotel where our correspondent is. he hasjust 20 minutes ago. he hasjust been treating. but he has been tweeting about the upcoming summit with kim jong—un great to be in singapore, excitement in the air, is what he tweeted. you can probably see the american flags behind me and the second —— the flag of singapore. he's staying here. we were where he was staying earlier at security moved us are long. the hotel was chosen because it has experience in accommodating many global leaders including two former american president, george w bush and barack 0bama. many historic summits have taken place here, including the meeting between the chinese president and the then taiwanese leader. a few weeks ago, all the defence ministers from the region gathered. it has a lot of experience in security and also we understand that the officials from the us and north

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: celebrations in uganda as opposition politician bobi wine flies home to take on the president who's ruled for three decades. ben johnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all the athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been strengthened, presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world. and so the british government has no option but to continue this action, and even after any adverse judgement in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: hundreds of people are missing in northern tanzania

laura bicker, bbc news, singapore. we know the us president arrived last night he has had one night to rest. our correspondent mariko oi is outside the shangri—la hotel where president trump is staying in singapore. have you seen any movement so far or heard from the president? no. let me clarify that you can probably see the american and singapore flags behind me and i am outside the hotel but in case our viewers are wondering, this is not where he is staying. he is in a different wing with a presidential suite. we were there earlier this morning but we we re there earlier this morning but we were told to move as the hour went by because of security concerns. the police officers told us that we don't know what time president trump will make a move and they wanted to make sure that no—one was in the area. no. we have not heard a lot from president trump. we believe that the hotel was chosen because it has experiences in accommodating many global leaders including two former us presidents. this is also where many ot

laura bicker, bbc news, pyeongchang. with the latest from the winter olympics in south korea and the rest of the day's sport here's mike bushell at the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the action is well and truly under way at the winter olympics in south korea and it's been a rather dramatic first day, with gold medals won, a good start for speed skater elise christie and disappointment for great britain's snowboarders. andy swiss reports from pyeongchang. she is britain's biggest medal hope... commentator: christie goes to the front. and elise christie was soon showing precisely why. she led her 500 metres heat from start to finish, setting a new 0lympic record. it was some statement of intent and after her disqualification at the last games, what relief! i was so nervous and i was like, "maybe i'm not going to do this because i'm so nervous," but, actually, it was fine and i got up to the line and i was excited and i'm just glad i got to race in front of everyone again. but british hopes in the snowboarding came cras

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. a new study on global warming suggests that heatwaves and torrential downpours are likely to become more extreme in the northern hemisphere. european scientists say temperature rises in the arctic have already affected the behaviour of weather and wind systems further south. the world health organization says cases of measles in europe have reached their highest level for eight years. more than 41,000 people were infected in the first six months of this year, nearly double the number for the whole of 2017. more than half the cases are among children who did not receive the mmr vaccine. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we hearfrom the british woman who fell from a cruise ship and survived ten hours at sea. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed, i did have a relationship with miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in o

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. canadian police are searching for two suspects they believe set off an explosive device inside a restaurant. at least 15 people were injured in the blast, three of them seriously, in mississauga, 20 miles west of toronto. two male suspects fled after detonating the device. an independent scotland should keep the pound for at least a decade after britain leaves the eu, according to a report produced for the snp. there had been speculation that if scotland voted for independence, it would move to a new version of sterling. here's our scotland correspondent lorna gordon. the economy, the currency, the question of whether people in scotland would be better or worse off dominated the debate during the referendum on the country's future. so, today, this weighty document, with 50 recommendations it is claimed would enable scotland to reach its full potential. fiscally conservative, arguing against austerity, trying to build a new economic case for independence. one of the really good things

from seoul, laura bicker reports. in south korea many kids don't want to be sports stars, they want to be professional gamers. they practise for hours in rooms known as pc bangs. the competition is so tough, there's no time to stop for dinner. in this arena, you're a fighter, a hero, a winner. but it's having a real impact on this new gaming generation. these teenagers are just a few of the hundreds who've had to undergo a digital detox treatment. their passion was becoming an addiction. translation: i tried quitting by myself but my friends kept seducing me back to the pc bang. translation: when i played games, hours and hours would pass, so that's when i felt i was addicted. i felt that i wished someone could help me. they're taught to care for others and taken to a retirement home where they even put on a show. singing the aim is to help them interact in the real world, develop a human connection before their symptoms become much worse. choi was brought to this special hospital by police after he spent 96 hours pla

laura bicker, bbc news, paju. later in the programme, we'll examine the impact of us sanctions on north korea. well, stay with us here on bbc news. still to come... wood — winners and ‘saw‘ losers. making the cut in the world timbersports championship. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletics events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started forming at 7am. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot, as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juve ntus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will mourn the tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian people from the day of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than 4,500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwis

from seoul, laura bicker reports. in south korea fighting for a new future. the #metoo movement has taken hold in this socially conservative country and these university students are hoping to see changes in this male dominated society. is it difficult for women in career to speak out?|j society. is it difficult for women in career to speak out? i think it's more difficult in career because there is a traditional criteria that women have to be quiet and, you know, nice and kind and stuff but 110w know, nice and kind and stuff but now there's things changing but we need to change more. protesters ripped through a poster littered with phrases blaming the victims of abuse. these shows of sorrow that a charity given young women the confidence and courage to come forward with their stories. many fear losing theirjobs and public humiliation if they complain. but there is a pioneer who led the way. this woman complained about a boss at samsung electronic mechanics who harassed her for years, at samsung electronic mechanics who harassed herfor years, she wasn't belie

we can now talk to our correspondent laura bicker in seoul. explain more about what we are seeing in the satellite images and the significance of the rocket testing facility. these images come from the monitoring site 38 north. they are very good at continually monitoring sites across north korea. and in the middle of the night here in seoul they released these images which they say shows the sohae site being partly dismantled. part of it isa being partly dismantled. part of it is a standard used to launch what the north koreans have set our satellites and part of it is an engine facility where it is believed that they developed fuel for those satellites, for the rocket launchers, and it is believed they used fuel for ballistic missile is their too. so this could be a significant step forward. remember backin significant step forward. remember back in singapore injune kim jong—un is said to have promised president trump that the site would be dismantled. since then we have been watching and waiting. it would appear that these are the first s

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. earlier i spoke tojoel wit, who worked for 15 years in the us state department on arms control and non—proliferation. he believes that this move from north korea is a positive sign. well, i agree with people who are saying it is significant, but i don't think we can count or about chickens before they hatch. no one would have expected kimjong—un chickens before they hatch. no one would have expected kim jong—un to make this announcement, salei think in that context it is an indicator of the direction the north koreans are heading in —— so i think. 0n of the direction the north koreans are heading in —— so i think. on top of that, most people had missed that he has announced —— enunciated a new line which is to declare victory in terms of their development of nuclear weapons and missiles, and now to pivot towards development of his economy. and he knows in order to do that he is going to need to put his nuclear programme on the bargaining table. do you think that this

from seoul, laura bicker reports. the soldiers marched with their usual zeal, a disciplined display, perfected after months of painful practice. it is meant to show devotion. there was something missing from kim jung—un's parade. he may have rolled out the tanks and artillery but there was no sign of intercontinental ballistic missiles, the subject of international sanctions. this less provocative display reflects mr kim's recent charm offensive. he's written another letter to the us president to try and get talks back on track. and once again, here he is playing the diplomat, this time showing off his friendship with china, saluting the crowds with president xi's envoy. but the invited cameras are told where to point, amidst the waving pyongyang elite. frankly there is very little doubt that north koreans are determined to remain nuclear in the foreseeable future. but right now, they don't want to advertise it. the bbc was not invited to pyongyang but we did speak to north korean defectors, who took part in past ev

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the new us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has used his first diplomatic trip to the middle east to accuse iran of destabilising the region. standing alongside the israeli prime minister, mr pompeo said washington would not neglect what he described as the vast scope of tehran‘s links with terrorism. and he reiterated president trump's threat to abandon the iran nuclear deal unless it can be strengthened. the philippine president has introduced a permanent ban on citizens going to work in kuwait. a temporary ban was imposed in february after a filipina maid was murdered there. last week kuwait expelled manila's ambassador over videos of philippine embassy staff helping workers to escape allegedly abusive kuwaiti employers. a vigil has been taking place in toronto for the victims of the van attack a week ago that left 10 people dead. a 25—year—old man, alek minassian, has been accused of deliberately driving into pe

laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. catriona gray was crowned miss universe in bangkok on monday morning. she's from the philippines, where beauty pageants are a national obsession. in many western countries they are increasingly seen as outdated and criticised for objectifying women — not so in the philippines. the bbc‘s howard johnsonjoins us now from the capital manila. how has this when it gone down over there? -- this win. this is a huge result of the philippines. people are going crazy on social media. it has stopped traffic on the streets and break the internet. we have seen you keep all is offering discounts on treatments as catriona gray moved through the different stages. what we have seen also is president duterte can achieve their dreams and they can come true. it can show that people who live hard lives, can achieve their dreams. a princess lifestyle. it is popular among the overseas workers as well. it's not the first time this title has been awarded to a woman from the philippines. adding three previo