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. and at least 50 people have been killed as heavy rains pound central and southern china. here in the uk, there's growing pressure on the man heading the inquiry into the grenfell tower fire to step down. hello. the us secretary of state 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 any part of alaska. rex tillerson described it as an escalation of the threat posed by north korea. the north korean leader is said to have described the missile test as a gift to americans on independence day. the un security council will discuss the crisis on wednesday. this from our diplomatic correspondent james landale. this is the moment that north korea says it became 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 jov- 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 was 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. i spoke a little earlier to brian myers, professor of north korean studies at dong—saw university in the south korean city of busan. i asked him how much of a game changer this missile test is. the american estimates of how

powerful a weapon this is seen to be getting higher and higher. you know, a couple of hours ago people were saying such a missile could only reach alaska then they were saying it could reach seattle and now they're saying it could reach san francisco so it's very worrying indeed from an american perspective. does north korea has the technology needed to miniaturising nuclear warhead and to protect a missile as it re—entered the earth's atmosphere? i'm not a technical person, i'm trying to figure out how gunpowder works, but i've had the impression from the last 15 years that the americans have constantly been wrong in saying 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 they can't do this or they can't do that. they've just got to i think start treating north korea as a country with an operational capability to strike the united states. can you help us see it from a north korean point of view, the regime seems to see nuclear weapons as bible to its survival? it's more than that, it's not the failed common mistake that is trying to defend itself or muddle through, this is a radical run a national estate that is committed to unifying the pensioner on its own terms by any means necessary —— communist state. ever since the war endedin communist state. ever since the war ended in 1953 the north koreans have been aware that the main and only significant obstacle to unification of the peninsular is the american troop presence and that's what this nuclear strategy is all about, it's about forcing the americans to make about forcing the americans to make a different cost benefit analysis if you will so they begin to review the alliance itself so that they force a wedge between south korea and the united states and eventually compel the americans to withdraw troops from the peninsular. that's a much

more realistic strategy i think than many people in the west assume. north korea is keen to separate the us from south korea, to get those us troops and weapons away from its border. china and russia pretty much share that, china and russia said the us has no place on the north korean peninsular, what chance of the escalating all this? there's very little chance of the escalating because everything is falling into place how the north koreans want it, you have a confident china in the ascendance and i'm not convinced china wants to see north korea dominate the peninsula. you've got an american president clearly out of his depth. the more the north korean arsenal develops, the more friction you're going to see between south korea and the united states. we've already seen the south koreans do not want to install a missile defence system here because they're afraid of the negative economic repercussions from china and the current administration in seoul desperately wants to revert to some

form of the sunshine policy of appeasing north korea. those people in the moon administration in seoul are former student radicals from the 19805 are former student radicals from the 1980s who really want to get the aid flowing again. at some point the americans are bound to ask themselves, should we really trader san francisco for sole? should we expose american territory to north korea nukes for the sake of a south korean ally who is really not on the same page as we are ideologically. 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 understands the royal military police are investigating the alleged incident back in 2011. a british newspaper has alleged members of the sas have killed unarmed afghan civilians and falsified mission reports to cover up evidence. this report from our defence correspondent jonathan beale contains 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. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the european commission has released a new action plan to reduce numbers of migrants crossing the mediterranean. it's giving $90 million to stem the flow into italy. it comes as span's coastguard says around 50 migrants have drowned in the western mediterranean.

rescuers managed to save three men from a half—sunk rubber dinghy. police claim to have broken up a prostitution ring which trafficked women from bulgaria to the beach resort of marbella on the spanish costa del sol. 3a suspected members of the gang were arrested, 13 women freed. officers say the women were forced to steal credit cards and other valuables from their clients. negotiations aimed at restoring power—sharing in northern ireland have been suspended after sinn fein and the democratic unionists again failed to reach an agreement. sinn fein has blamed the failure on theresa may's agreement with the dup to support her minority government at westminster. at least 50 people have been killed as heavy rains pound central and southern china. hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes as water in more than 60 rivers rises 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. too much water even for the world's biggest powerstation. the three gorges dam had to reduce to one third of its capacity. away from the rivers the rains caused other problems. nine people died in one mudslide with rescue crews bust 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, 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 up on animals in the nearby nature reserve too. china's rainy season taking its toll on nature of every kind. andrew bryson, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: let there be light. why you can now see the ancient ruins of pompeii from a whole new perspective. 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 from 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 the 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 headlines: 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 from pyongyang.

bbc news has spoken to a man in afghanistan who claims british special forces unlawfully killed members of his family. 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 people. and london's mayor has also warned thejudge needs urgently to improve relations with the community. our home editor mark easton has been getting the views of residents and politicians. 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? there is no inquiry at all if people refuse to co—operate with them. and i understand that. these people have been totally let down and betrayed. 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 head 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 been offered to them. i told you, i'm not going nowhere from this area. 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. canada is to apologise and award millions of dollars in compensation to a former guantanamo detainee, who was captured in afghanistan at the age of 15 and pleaded guilty to killing an american soldier. canada's supreme court ruled in 2010 that omar khadr‘s rights had been violated. he's a canadian citizen. according to press reports, he'll receive at least eight million dollars for his treatment in captivity. prime minister trudeau, asked about the compensation, wasn't saying much. there is a judicial process under way that has been under way for a number years now. and we are anticipating, like i think a number of people are, that that judicial process is coming to its conclusion. an independent report, just published, accuses britain's ally and biggest middle east trading partner saudi arabia of being the chief promoter

of islamist extremism in britain. the think tank, the henryjackson society, alleges saudi individuals and foundations have been heavily involved in exporting illiberal ideologies. the saudi embassy denies the claims. that on the day qatar's foreign minister is due to present his country's response to a saudi—led list of demands, over accusations that qatar backs terrorism. foreign ministers from egypt, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates and bahrain are gathering in cairo to discuss the claims, which qatar denies. there are growing demands, backed by the world health organization, to cut back or end altogether tobacco production in india. taxes on tobacco are increased every year and there are warnings on tobacco packets and on tv. 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 theirfortunes, 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, nearly1 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. pompeii is one of italy's most popular tourist attractions — the roman city was buried in ash when a volcano erupted in 79ad. since it was opened to visitors, there have been limits on when you can visit. but now some of the restrictions are being eased, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. more than 3 million people came to pompeii last year. the ruins of an ancient roman city, frozen in time. but now, people will be given the chance to see it in a whole new light. literally. for the first time, the ruins will be open to the public at night. parts of the city will be eliminated, these buildings and columns lit up, an echo of what things might have been like on a summer's evening nearly 2000 years

ago. it is thought more than 10,000 people lived in pompeii, a major port in the roman empire. the nearby volcano, mount vesuvius erupted, smothering the city in scalding hot ash. men, women and children were buried alive. their bodies, perfectly preserved and later unearthed. these are plaster cast models on some of those remains. small groups of around 60 people will be allowed to wander the streets, gaining a new insight into one of the most famous legends of the roman empire. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. 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. where cloudy, 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 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 waft further 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. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. a threat to american security — the us secretary of state confirms the weapon fired by north korea is an intercontinental ballistic missile.

ina in a written statement, read —— rex tillerson said it was a threat posed by chong yang. —— pyongyang. the bbc speaks to a man in afghanistan who claims british special forces unlawfully killed members of his family. the bbc understands the royal police are investigating. and at least 50 people have been killed as heavy rains pound central and southern china. hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes as water in more than 60 rivers rises above danger levels. now, it is hardtalk.