i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: a threat to the security of america. the us secretary of state confirms the weapon fired by north korea is an intercontinental ballistic missile. the first ever visit to israel by an indian prime minister, narendra modi says he wants to expand the relationship between the two countries. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: we report on a plan to ban motorcycles from the traffic—choked capital of vietnam, but will the bold ambition prove effective? translation: i ride a motorbike every day to earn money. if the authorities ban motorbikes, it will affect me a lot. i will lose myjob as a motorbike taxi driver. and india's tobacco farmers come under pressure from health campaigners with millions ofjobs on the line. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news.

it's newsday. hello there. it's 8am in singapore, iam in london and 8pm in washington, dc, where the us secretary of state rex tillerson has confirmed that the weapon fired by north korea on tuesday was an intercontinental ballistic missile. that means pyongyang may now be able to target the us state of alaska. mr tillerson said it was an escalation of the threat posed by north korea. the north korean leader, kimjong—un, is said to have described the missile test as a gift to the americans on their independence day. washington has called for a un security council meeting on the issue. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. this is the moment that north korea says it came a major power,

the launch of a missile that it claims can reach across continents and deliver a nuclear weapon as far away as the united states. the news was announced on state television with barely constrained joy. the presenter showing the handwritten order given by the country's leader, kim jong—un. he personally supervised the launch of a missile that he believes will secure him in power, protect his people and dismay his opponents to the south. translation: if north korea ignores our military‘s warning and continues provocations, we clearly warn that kim jong—un‘s regime will face destruction. this is the missile that could carry the regime's nuclear weapon. described as a hwansong 14, it was launched from an airfield here in the west of the country. it was sent up at a very

deep angle and it rose, it is claimed, to about 1700 miles, thought to be the highest any north korean missile has got to. it then landed 37 minutes later, more than 500 miles away, somewhere in the sea close to japan. the key point is that if this missile were fired at a shallower angle, it might now have the power to reach, potentially, more than 3,400 miles, the minimum defined range for an intercontinental ballistic missile. if so, that could mean reaching as far as alaska on the mainland of the united states. they're so keen on developing more advanced missile capabilities. because obviously although right now, the region is targetable, it is about ensuring that they have that level of respect internationally as well, to say, look, we have this capability, stand up and listen to us. experts say it is still not clear if north korea has the technology needed to protect a warhead

on re—entry and guide it to its target. but the possibility of north korean missiles reaching the us is a significant step forward that president trump said earlier this year just wouldn't happen. in a tweet, he again urged china to put pressure on north korea to end this nonsense once and for all. a message echoed by allies. the government will be escalating this at the 620 and the un in the course of the next few days. but the real pressure has got to come from china. but so far, china has been reluctant or unable to turn the screw on north korea. president xi of china was in russia today. both he and president putin called for a freeze on north korea's nuclear weapons programme, but also the suspension of us and south korean military exercises. but this supreme leader is enjoying his growing nuclear capability and shows little sign of listening to anyone.

the balance of power is shifting in the region, and the outside world seems powerless to stop it. james landale, bbc news. we'll have more on what the launch means and the changing threat from north korea injust a few minutes‘ time. our other top story: narendra modi has become the first prime minister of india to visit israel, describing his three—day trip to the country as ground—breaking. it's expected to lead to new military and cyber security deals. rahuljoglekar has more. welcome, my friend. wonderful to see you here in israel. friendship at first sight. the two prime ministers meet each other in tel aviv like they have known each other forever. we love india. we admire your culture, we admire your history, your democracy, your commitment to progress. mr modi was quick to underline how historic this visit is.

it is my singular honour to be the first—ever prime of india to undertake this groundbreaking visit to israel. israelis featured in this video speaking hindi to welcome mr modi. but what's taken an indian prime minister so long to visit israel? some say it's india's close relationship with countries like iran and the support to the palestinian cause. it has been a cautious tightrope walk, prime minister modi has spent three years of his own tenure where he's always said he wanted to go to israel but first he went to all the arab states that india has major ties with, he went to iran as well before he has come to israel. india is the world's second largest muslim country yet some dismiss the impact of that on ties between the two countries.

in that sense, i think india is lucky. we do not look at foreign policy in terms of religious or ethnic views. so what is driving the india—israel partnership? india is now one of israel's biggest arms markets and there are discussions about corporation in agriculture as well. unusually, mr neta nyahu will accompany mr modi to almost all of his engagements. with this new friend, there's clearly a lot of catching up to do. also making news today: the vietnamese city of hanoi is considering banning all motorbikes by 2030. it's a big job with five million motorbikes in the city. the city council is hoping to clear congestion and reduce levels of pollution. however, the plans are dividing opinion in the city. translation: i ride a motorbike

every day to earn money. if the authorities ban motorbikes, it will affect me a lot. i will lose myjob as a motorbike taxi driver. translation: me and other residents in the capital want the environment of hanoi to be green and clean and civilised so that people living and working here have a high quality of life. spanish coastguards believe around 50 migrants have drowned in the western mediterranean. three men from sub—saharan africa were rescued from a sinking rubber dinghy, which they said had more than 50 people on board when it left morocco. the founder of a californian venture capitalist firm 500 sta rtu ps, has resigned following sexual harassment claims by several women. announcing his move in a tweet, dave mcclure said "i'm a creep, i'm silicon valley has been rocked by sexism scandals in recent

months. a major motorway in chaos here, this is the ai highway in austria near the city of linz where a sleepy driver crashed a truck that was carrying thousands of chickens. 7,500 chickens escaped and it took 120 firefighters to help rescue the chickens that survived the crash. let's get more now on our top story, the us confirmation that north korea did test an intercontinental missile. david wright, a us missile scientist explained me the significance. what we saw north korea do yesterday was what they have done recently in a number of tests which is to fire a missile

essentially straight up. it then fell down into the sea ofjapan and the reason for doing that is they didn't want to overfly japan. you can then say, given the height it went, how far would go if you shot it at a flat trajectory? if you do that calculation, you find it can in fact hit all of alaska. this seems like, mr wright, a significant step in north korea's missile technology. how are they getting there so fast? from a technical pointed view, it is a logical next step. they added a second stage onto a modified missile they had before so from a technical point of view, it's not groundbreaking. from the point of view of the symbolic nature of it being an icbm being able to reach alaska, it certainly is. my sense is we've seen a lot of tests in the last two years and not only a number of tests but a number of different types of missiles. my guess is that kim jong—un had started several years ago to develop a number of different systems and that those are now coming

to fruition and we're seeing them tested at a much more rapid pace than we did before. david wright, a missile scientist, joining us earlierfrom boston. let's get the view from beijing now and speak to the bbc‘s stephen mcdonnell. the north korean threat is indeed escalating, what can china do now? there are several questions, one is what can china do and the other is what can china do and the other is what would it reasonably be prepared to do? more than any other country, i think analysts would recognise, china has these levers it kampl because beyond the sanctions regime in place right now, that there are the chinese banks and all these chinese companies trading with north korea, all this outbound north korean trade is coming through china, if beijing really wanted to

it can pose some very tough measures on china —— impose. the question about whether it would want to or not comes down to this, china doesn't want north korea to have nuclear weapons but there's something worse for china than that and that's regime collapse. it's not going to do anything that risks the whole regime coming down, having a unified korean peninsula with us troops on the border. this is the equation really. unless they can come up with, the chinese, the russians, the americans, with some sort of formula that guarantees that regime collapsed with us troops on the border does not happen, china isn't going to take the tough measures against north korea which it actually could stop white this ballistic missile test from north korea took place with xi jingping in russia. china and russia have called for a freeze on kim jong—un‘s

nuclear for a freeze on kim jong—un's nuclear programme. how much of an advanceis nuclear programme. how much of an advance is this from previous threats? i think russia and china are talking about dialogue but people want to know how that dialogue opens up because in the past we've come so close with the six party talks. of course at the last hurdle it seemed like north korea was going to come to the party as it were but then they pulled out even after being given this fuel aid as compensation. you can talk about the need for dialogue and some sort of discussion with north korea about this but it's unclear how that path would open up, especially when the regime in north korea has all its propaganda adhered around this nuclear missile capability. it would be such a massive step down for them to give up nuclear weapons when at the moment they're telling their people this is the crowning glory of kim jong—un's leadership, how do you

get the government to give up something like that? really this is a tough road ahead in terms of getting north korea to give up its nuclear weapons and there are not many good options. the saga continues, steven mcdonnell in beijing, thank you so much for the update. relief efforts are continuing in central and southern china where more than 50 people have died in floods and mudslides after days of heavy rain. hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. more rain is expected in seven provinces already badly affected by flooding. andrew bryson reports. the waters began to rise on saturday after days of rain more than 60 rivers now at danger level. whole townships have been evacuated. here the ground floors of the building is we re the ground floors of the building is were inundated and more rain is on the way. away from the river is the rains cause other problems, nine

people died in one mudslides with rescue people died in one mudslides with rescu e crews people died in one mudslides with rescue crews busy clearing roads elsewhere. there were lucky rescues too, this mantrap helping others retrieve their cars from an underground parking lot. he missed his own chance to get out when the floodwaters rose. his colleague showing ingenuity and courage in their rescue. translation: showing ingenuity and courage in their rescue. translationzlj showing ingenuity and courage in their rescue. translation: i didn't know how dangerous it was to rescue him,i know how dangerous it was to rescue him, ifelt not know how dangerous it was to rescue him, i felt not so afraid. you see the floodwater was soaring. 0nly him, i felt not so afraid. you see the floodwater was soaring. only two or three minutes after we saved in the water had overwhelmed the parking lot so our rescue was launched right in time. here the floodwaters reached a record high of 89 metres, three quarters of the villages in one area were overcome. rescue teams have rushed in carrying drinking water and food to people stranded. the boats have been to checkin stranded. the boats have been to check in on animals in the nearby nature reserve too. china's rainy

season taking its toll on nature of every kind. andrew bryson, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: as china's president arrives in germany ahead of the g20 summit — we look at how much influence xijinping has in europe. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell of another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost

50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has confirmed that north korea test—launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, representing an escalation of the security threat.

0n the first visit to israel by an indian prime minister, narendra modi says he wants to transform the two country's economic and security ties. italian police say four teenagers accused of 12 robberies in milan gloried in violence like the notorious gang in the film a clockwork orange. the four are now in custody after a crime spree that included raids on hotels and shops. more on that at bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the china daily leads with a picture of president xi jinping shaking hands with russia's president putin on his visit to moscow. the paper says president xi described their relationship as unshakeable, saying no matter how the outside environment changes china & russia's relationship will not be affected. the arab news looks at the increasing diplomatic crisis between saudi arabia and qatar. the gulf countries are meeting in egypt later today to decide whether to continue sanctions

they imposed on qatar. and finally the business times looks at the allegations of his misuse of authority against singapore's prime minister. the paper says lee hsien loong is locked in an ongoing battle with his siblings over home that belonged to their father the late prime minister lee kuan yew. now, rico, there's been a bit of an upset in the world's most famous cycle race? yes, we're talking about the tour de france of course. the world champion cyclist, peter sagan, has been disqualified after knocking the briton, mark cavendish, into barriers, injuring his shoulder. and cavendish has now pulled out of the race. china's president, xijinping has arrived in the german capital berlin on a three—day state visit, ahead of friday's g—20 summit. the president is on a whirlwind foreign tour — as we heard earlier he met with president putin in moscow and both leaders condemned

the latest north korean missile launch. i've been speaking kyle wilson a former diplomat and analyst on sino—russian relations for more on the two leaders response to north korea. well, of course the irony here is that the north koreans have the ability to come and get everyone's attention. they have rained on the fourthjuly in the us and they have rained on the g20 and have essentially hijacked president putin and xijinping's meeting in moscow. this was xi's sixth visit to moscow and you can imagine it would have been a cause for celebration. russian and chinese successes in the past year against the us. and suddenly both countries find themselves on the back foot and forced to respond in some way that looks statesmanlike and responsible to the antics of their natural ally, the north korean. so a very difficult situation for both putin and xijinping.

do you think their views are aligned on this matter? they probably are aligned. they have had to seem statesmanlike. they have come out with a joint statement. putin has shown a talent for creating advantages out of setbacks. he always seems to do this. in this case the joint statement essentially puts the us or tries to put the us as it were in the dock, by saying that north korea is not the problem, the us is the problem, and really, between the lines of the statement is the message that the us has no place on the korean peninsula and just as the us should leave europe, where it has no place, that would be putin's preference, so it should get out of... it should remove itself from the korean peninsula. there is an implication in the statement that russia and china would jointly offer south korea some kind of security

guarantees if the south koreans were to distance themselves from the us. so you can imagine putin and xi sitting down in moscow with their advisers, finding a line to serve their interests and the way to do that is to focus on the us, to say in fact that north korea is not the problem, the united states is the problem. there is a growing demand to cut or curtail tobacco production in india backed by the world health organization. taxes on tobacco are increased every year and there are major warnings notjust on tobacco packets but also on television. india is the world's second largest tobacco growing country. but as sanjoy majumder reports, the move is being opposed by those who grow tobacco.

it is a crop that once made their fortunes but india's tobacco farmers are now staring at potential ruin. as buyers inspect their stock at a local auction, there is a distinct air of tension. india is one of the world's biggest tobacco producers but is under pressure to cut back. it is the effect of a global anti—tobacco campaign led by the world health organization and which is being supported in india by the government. this part of southern india is where most of india's tobacco is grown. it is also part of the country which is really dry. it doesn't get much rainfall and the soil is very, very arid. but the tobacco plant thrives in these conditions and that's why it's grown in such abundance, because for the farmer, the returns are really good. so the farmers see any move to reduce production as disastrous for them.

translation: unless the government compensates us or comes up with an alternative, it will be very difficult for us. we will be forced to migrate. but there is little support for the farmers. every year, nearlyi million indians die of tobacco—related illness. something that has been highlighted through a very visible campaign. voiceover: smoking can cost you your health. so the government has raised taxes and introduced a cap on production. tobacco is your gateway drug. it is the first drug that any child uses or any young person uses. if we stop production and stop export of tobacco, the whole world will thank us for it. the farmers are being asked to switch to other crops but the returns are poor. now, they are fighting back. unless they are assured of good market for other crops, not that there are too

many options for them, there are just one or two options, even that has to be in a stable situation for the farmers to be confident enough to shift to other crops. tobacco farming supports the livelihoods of 45 million indians. for them, it is a question of their survival. sanjoy majumder, bbc news, 0ngole in southern india. thank you so much for watching. coming up: celebrating the 80th anniversary of spam: no, not the kind that clogs up your computer inbox, it's the tinned meat that's one of america's most iconic food products. and we also have a new record for eating the most hotdogs. joey chestnut took the prize

for the 10th time setting a new world record by eating 72 dogs in ten minutes. hi, there. the rain came pretty much non—stop across northern england and southern scotland yesterday. the wettest place in cumbria getting over 40 millimetres of rain. you can see how the rain band has been tracking away into the north sea. the rain was all courtesy of this weather front, that will still be with us today in northern england, where it will stay cloudy. to the south, low pressure in the bay of biscay. the winds will increasingly fall light, but will begin to back up and bring warm air from the near continent. notjust warm air, it will become hot and humid in southern england, where temperatures could hit 30. across the north of scotland a decent start to the day. most of the day will be dry, with plenty of sunshine. it's across southern scotland, northern ireland and northern england it will be a cloudy start and to the east of the pennines that england it will be a cloudy start and to the east of the pennines, cloud will be thick enough for occasional spots of patchy,

light rain and drizzle. it could be misty over the hills. further southwards, that's where we have lighter winds and increasingly broken cloud. so we should have some sunshine from the word go for many areas across southern wales and southern counties of england, most of the midlands and east anglia. temperatures come up quickly. for the rest of the day, the winds feel light in southern counties of england, allowing temperatures to surge. the cloud across northern england is with us for much of the day, breaking in northern ireland. it will try to brighten up in north—east england. the rain petering out. probably not a lot of sunshine. with cloud, the temperatures staying into the teens, but look at these temperatures further south. 28 in london. there could be some areas in southern england that hit the 30 degree mark. as we go on through thursday, the only real change is this little low drifting up from the bay of biscay, and with that comes instability. we start to get thunderstorms breaking out across england and wales, and some of those could be torrential. they will be hit and miss in nature. many areas will dodge

the downpours and stay dry. it will stay hot and humid and that hot and humid air will push further northwards. so 25 in the greater manchester area. again, we could see highs of 30 degrees further south. on friday, probably the weather becoming drier. again the warm air continues to move northwards. so temperatures in newcastle picking up to 21. into the teens for scotland and northern ireland. a rain band across the north—west, with the wind picking up as we head through the afternoon. the rain is tied in with the low pressure. by the weekend it will push rain further southward and eastwards across much of the country, introducing cooler and fresher air. so by the time we get the sunday, the heat wave is over and temperatures back down to average in london. i'm babita sharma with bbc news. our top story: the us secretary of state has called north korea's missile test a new escalation of the threat to america and its partners. us defence officials are now acknowledging that north korea's latest missile test was an intercontinental ballistic missile. a meeting of the un security council will take place later on wednesday.

0n the first ever visit to israel by an indian prime minister, narendra modi has said he hopes to transform their economic ties and build what he called a robust security partnership. and this video is trending on bbc.com. italian police say four teenagers accused of 12 robberies in milan resembled the violence of a notorious gang in the film a clockwork orange. the four are now in police custody. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: families affected by the grenfell tower disaster have been attending a private meeting with the police and the coroner in kensington. some are reported to have left part—way through.