welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: a threat to american security — the us secretary of state confirms the weapon fired by north korea is an intercontinental ballistic missile. the bbc speaks to a man in afghanistan who claims british special forces unlawfully killed members of his family. here in the uk — there's growing pressure on the man heading the inquiry into the grenfell tower block fire to step down. and — at least 50 people have been killed as heavy rains continue to pound central and southern china. the us secretary of state rex tillerson has confirmed that the weapon fired by north korea on tuesday was an intercontinental ballistic missile.

it 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. a meeting of the un security council will take place on wednesday. 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 hwansong14, 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 1,700 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 although obviously 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 said 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. for more on the chinese response, i'm joined from beijing by the bbc‘s stephen mcdonnell. quite apart from an intercontinental threat, of course there are a lot of people in south korea who are a lot closer to what ever north korea decides to do. how does this look to

you? it's interesting when you consider china's position in this. what could it do and what realistically would it be prepared to do? what it could do, china could really hurt or even threaten the existence of the north korean economy, if it wanted to. all of north korea's trade is coming through here and it has massive links to china. what is it realistically prepared to do? well, this is another question. because what does china fear more than a nuclear armed north korea? it's raging collapse in north korea. china isn't really going to see that government fall if it means a united korean peninsulas us troops on the border and that's the equation. —— regime collapse. it isn't going to happen so you are able to put more pressure on the north korean is the americans have a few ways of doing

it. in short, they have big list of chinese companies, including banks especially, that they can start applying secondary sanctions to. the other part of the chinese equation is a nalysts other part of the chinese equation is analysts tell us north korea is keen to separate the us from south korea and get those troops and weapons of way from its border. u nfortu nately, weapons of way from its border. unfortunately, that isn't aimed at china and russia more or less share so china and russia more or less share so china will be reluctant to apply pressure on north korea even if it could. absolutely. for the chinese and russians, what they are saying is, they are calling on the us to stop having these big, joint military exercises with south korea. now the americans are saying they won't do that. so, you have really tricky situation here and with some increasingly deadly nuclear weapons being produced in north korea so is going to be interesting to see what comes out of this j—20

going to be interesting to see what comes out of thisj—20 meeting and other discussions in the coming days and weeks. unofficially, analysts think to be telling us to expect a cyber attacks to try and damage north korea's weapons programme. well, that's right. definitely, they can look at doing something like that. it has been done before in the case of the run. but, you know, a bigger problem i think they have got with north korea is china and russia say they want to have talks. —— in the case of iran. even if this window was open somehow, look at the propaganda in north korea. they have totally nailed their colours to the mast with this missile programme, with its nuclear weapons programme. for that regime to step down and say they are giving it all up would be absolutely enormous so it's hard for most north korean —— north korea a nalysts to most north korean —— north korea analysts to see how that can come out on less you have big carrot or a

bigger stick to offer to north korea. for more on the response to the missile test, as well as coverage of all our other main stories, head along to our website bbc.com/news. you can also download the bbc news app. bbc news has spoken to a man in afghanistan who claims british special forces unlawfully killed members of his family. the bbc understand the royal military police are investigating the alleged incident back in 2011. a british newspaper has alleged that members of the sas have killed unarmed afghan civilians and falsified mission reports to cover up the evidence. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale's report contains some flashing images. this is the war that many will remember from afghanistan. british troops in helmand fighting an insurgency. but what we didn't see were the secret raids that often took place at night involving british special forces such as the sas.

there are now allegations that in some of these raids innocent civilians were killed. the bbc has interviewed one man, who's asked not to be identified, who claims unarmed members of his family were victims of one of those raids. translation: we were held blind—folded in a room overnight. early in the morning, the soldiers came back and said i should not go out until they had left. when their helicopters had gone, we came out and found they had shot my father, two brothers and a cousin. the bbc‘s been told the raid did involve special forces and is now being investigated. others who served in afghanistan have questions about the conduct of the sas, too. chris green was a reservist in helmand when he had to deal with the aftermath of another special forces raid in which locals allege civilians were killed in cold blood, one of a number of allegations first reported in the sunday times. it was my view that british forces and the ground holding troops that

i worked with worked under very strict rules of engagement and it seemed to me that special forces did not. my own view of their accountability was i didn't see any, so when i sought information from them, this wall of secrecy was put in front of me. the ministry of defence says an investigation by the royal military police has so far found no evidence of criminal behaviour by british forces in afghanistan, with 90% of the allegations of abuse already dismissed. as to specific allegations against the sas, the mod has a long—held policy of never commenting on special forces. a former head of the army is urging caution. no witch—hunts, but no cover—ups. if there is evidence of wrongdoing, it should be investigated. but we should be very, very careful about throwing mud at our very special, special forces. allegations of widespread abuse by british troops in iraq have

already been mostly discredited. that investigation is now closed. but there are still questions about their conduct in afghanistan and that might involve lifting the lid on the actions of britain's elite special forces. jonathan beale, bbc news. here in london, there's growing pressure on the judge leading an inquiry into last month's grenfell tower fire to step down. the local member of parliament emma dent—coad says sir martin moore—bick lacks credibility with local residents. and london's mayor sadiq khan has also warned that the judge urgently needs to improve relations with the community. our home editor mark easton has been getting the views of residents and politicians alike. grenfell tower is black with urgent and unanswered questions, the community in its shadow seeks answers, but many say they don't have confidence in the man the prime minister has appointed to head the public inquiry. sir martin moore—bick, cambridge educated and called

to the bar in 1969, is a formerjudge. but his professional and establishment credentials don't impress the area's local labour mp, who says he should quit now. we don't have anybody we can trust there, and some of the groups are refusing to co—operate with the inquiry, and what kind of inquiry is that worried there is no inquiry at all if people refuse to co—operate with it. and i understand that. people have been totally let down and betrayed. justice, sir martin moore—bick hasn't even started his inquiry, and yet chris, a local charity worker who lost a close friend in the fire, reflects the views of many here. if we can't get someone that can empathise or understand the feeling of the people they are representing, and the people they are going to interview, because he is going to interview witnesses, he needs to know where they are coming from. if he doesn't have that kind of background, it will be difficult for him to start to even begin to imagine. the london mayor, sadiq khan,

echoed by the labour leader jeremy corbyn, is not calling for the inquiry had to go, but says he must win the community's confidence. former attorney general dominic grieve believes sir martin must be allowed to get on with the job. i think we should just be a little bit careful about reacting and saying that somebody else has got to be provided. the problem is, once we start going down this road, there's potentially no stopping it. this community has long felt marginalised from those who have power over them, respect and trust are always in short supply. and this tragedy has served to diminish those priceless commodity is still further. in one of the flats right beneath the tower, i met beinazir lasharie, a mum with a couple of preschool kids who is also a local labour councillor. she says the borough's conservative leader, newly appointed, also faces an uphill struggle to win the trust of people in this ward. why would anything change now? i mean, what will it change? will it change things?

well, i would hope so, but i am quite doubtful because i already feel like they are beginning to cover up a lot of things. this is a community still grieving, still in shock. i think, what must they have gone through while i was stood down here, helpless, me and my neighbours, all of us were stood helpless, just completely helpless. it's tough. the emotional and physical needs of those touched by the tragedy are still being dealt with. the grenfell fire response team said today it has now fulfilled the promise to offer all those made homeless by the tragedy rehousing within three weeks. but the vast majority, including this family, have not accepted what's being offered to them. i told you, i'm not going nowhere. i'm not going from this area. and then they offer you, you don't like it, you don't take it, you're going to be on the street.

there is no more, there is no more. building the strength and trust needed to move forward from this tragedy is going to take courage and commitment. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the return of the dreamers. we speak to some of those who came to america as children, but are now back in mexico. 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 bbc news. the latest headline: the us secretary of state has confirmed that north korea test—launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, an escalation, he says, of the security threat. more now on the north korean missile test. the north korean leader kimjong—un is said to have described as a gift to the americans on their

independence day. brian myers is professor of north korean studies at dongseo university, in the south korean city of busan. it does seem clear this was an intercontinental ballistic missile. still not clear if this is a game changer quite how much technology and how threatening it is. that's right. although the american estimates of how powerful weapon this is seen to be getting higher and higher. a couple of hours ago people were saying such a missile could only reach alaska, then they said it could reach seattle and now they say it could reach san francisco. how do you read it? do you think north korea has the technology needed to demilitarised zone nuclear warhead and protect a missile as it re—entered the earth's atmosphere? i'm not a technical person. i am trying to figure out how an powder works. but i have the impression that the americans have

co nsta ntly impression that the americans have constantly been wrong in saying that the north koreans aren't able to do this or aren't able to do that. the north koreans have consistently outperformed american expectations andi outperformed american expectations and i think it would be very dangerous for anybody in washington now to sit back and say, well, they can't do this or that. i think we've just got to start treating north korea as a country with an operational capability to strike the us. can you help us see it from a north korean point of view? the regime seems to see nuclear weapons as vital to its survival and it's this essential threat. it is more than that. this is not a failed communist state, it is just trying to defend itself. —— orjust trying to defend itself. —— orjust trying to defend itself. this is a radical state that remains committed to defending the peninsular by any means necessary. the north koreans have been aware that the main and perhaps only significant obstacle the unification of the peninsular is

the unification of the peninsular is the american troop presence and that's what this is about. it's about forcing the americans to make about forcing the americans to make a different cost benefit analysis, if you will, so that they begin to review the alliance itself. so they forced a wedge between south korea and the us and eventually compel the americans to withdraw troops from the peninsular. that's a much more realistic strategy, i think, that many people in the west assumed. so north korea is keen to separate the us from south korea. if china and russia pretty much shared that, with both saying the us has no place on the korean peninsula, what chance of the korean peninsula, what chance of the escalating all of this?” the korean peninsula, what chance of the escalating all of this? i think there's very little chance of the escalating, because everything is falling into place how the north koreans wanted. we've got a confident china and i'm not at all convinced that china doesn't want to see north korea dominate the peninsular. we've got an american

president who is clearly out of his depth. the more north korea's arsenal develops the more friction we will have between south korea and the us. we've already seen the south koreans do not want to install a missile defence system here because they are afraid of the negative economic repercussions from china and the current administration in seoul desperately wants to revert to some way of appeasing north korea. the current administration, these are former student radicals who really wa nt are former student radicals who really want to get the aid flowing again. so at some point the americans are bound to ask themselves whether they should trade san francisco for seoul. should we expose american territory to north korea nukes for the sake of the south korean ally, who is really not on the same page as as ideological? professor, thank you very much indeed. at least 50 people have been killed as heavy rains continue to pound

central and southern china. hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes, as water levels in more than 60 rivers have risen above danger levels. 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. away from the rivers the rains caused other problems, nine people died in one mudslide with rescue crews busy clearing roads elsewhere. there were lucky rescues too, this man trapped helping others retrieve their cars from an underground parking lot in yangshuo county. he missed his own chance to get out when the floodwaters rose. his colleagues showing ingenuity as well as courage in their rescue. translation: i didn't think how dangerous it was to rescue him, i felt not so afraid. you see the floodwater was soaring. only two or three minutes after we saved him the water had

overwhelmed the parking lot, so our rescue was launched right in time. in yongzhou city in hunan province, 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 check in on animals in the nearby nature reserve too. china's rainy season taking its toll on nature of every kind. few immigration issues in america are as emotive as the fate of the dreamers, undocumented immigrants who arrived as children. president trump says they can stay for now but that policy is facing a challenge. will grant has been meeting people

trying to make a fresh start. these are some of the best and brightest. now they are mexico's. young, dedicated and bilingual, in the us they were known as dreamers. now thousands have returned to mexico either voluntarily or under duress. at this conference in mexico city, the port is held video chat with dreamers in 20 different cities from to utah. i am looking for a job and everything... many share similar stories of fear, separation, deportation and stigma. despite the supposed protection of the 0bama administration's deferred action policy, many of the young dreamers at this event returned to mexico when their parents were deported to avoid breaking up theirfamilies. now they find themselves in a country they barely know, with which they have few connections. still, these days they aren't looking backwards by the head for opportunities in mexico.

backwards by the head for opportunities in mexicolj backwards by the head for opportunities in mexico. i have this motto. in mexico there are also dreams. the thing is you can't put an american dream in your dreams, because it is your dream. if you put american, you are building the wall that trump wants to build. you will build a wall! despite president trump's tough rhetoric over mexico, at deportation went down in his first 100 days and he recently said dreamers should rest easy. still, activists say more needs to be done to inform immigrants in the us of their rights. we think that as long as they are here they will have rights and they do. we have to make them aware of that. now a little problem, or a little mistake, can have very big consequences. someone who knows just how big those consequences can be is francisco. he was arrested for trespassing. he said he wasjust was arrested for trespassing. he said he was just crossing a car park

and deported after living in kentucky for 1h years. after battling mexico's democracy finally have an id card. i am 46. in the us you can get a job at any age without a problem. here it is really difficult. another thing is some people in mexico say we are not racist, but people with my skin colour, we have less opportunities. connecting people like francisco with deportee support groups may ta ke with deportee support groups may take time. they simply don't know that help exists. deportations may have slowed slightly, but few expect the trump administration to let up, meaning more people may soon have to build their dreams in mexico instead. much more for you on that and all of the news any time on the bbc website. thanks for watching. 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 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. there'll be 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. through the weekend it will push a band of 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. this is bbc news — the headlines. the us secretary of state rex tillerson has confirmed that the weapon fired by north korea into the sea ofjapan a day ago was an intercontinental ballistic missile. in a written statement — he said it represented an escalation of the security threat posed by pyongyang against the united states.

bbc news has spoken to a man in afghanistan who claims british special forces unlawfully killed members of his family. the bbc understand the royal military police are investigating the alleged incident back in 2011. a british newspaper has alleged that members of the sas have killed unarmed civilians. there's growing pressure on thejudge leading an inquiry into last month's grenfell tower fire to step down. the local member of parliament says sir martin moore—bick lacks credibility with local residents. and london's mayor has said thejudge needs to improve relations with the community. now on bbc news, a look at the main events in westminster with tuesday in parliament.