i'm rico hizon. in singapore, the headlines. america tells the un that north korea's latest missile test is a sharp military escalation. the united states is prepared to use the full range of our capabilities to defend ourselves and our allies. hundreds of thousands flee their homes as severe floods hit southern japan. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme. the four arab nations who've fallen out with qatar say their blockade will continue. and no sex please, we're japanese. why more and more young people injapan are embracing celibacy. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news.

it's newsday. it is eight a.m. here in singapore, one a.m. in london and in new york the trump administration has warned that north korea following pyongyang's first ever launch of missile that could — in theory — reach the united states mainland. the us ambassador to the united nations has said america would use what she called the ‘full range of our capabilities to defend ourselves and our allies‘. russia and china have said they're opposed to any military action. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. today, on the coast of south korea, a barrage of missiles, fired by local and us forces: a simulated attack on the leadership, a show of force and retaliation, backed up tonight by hard words from the united nations security council.

today is a dark day, a dark day because yesterday's actions by north korea made the world more dangerous. their illegal missile launch was not just dangerous but reckless. it showed north korea does not want to be part of a peaceful world. with this launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, it shows the dprk wants to threaten a number of states and, indirectly, the whole world. this is the cause of their concern: yesterday's launch what the us now admits was in north korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile, that experts claim could carry a nuclear weapon as far as alaska. today, north korea claimed the test had shown its warheads could withstand the heat of re—entry into the atmosphere, a crucial step forward if true.

no wonder the country's leader kim jong—un looked so pleased. no wonder he was quoted as saying "the yankees must be quite unhappy with the gift we send them on their independence day." the problem is that so far the international response has been divided. president xi of china has called for restraint, and russia has warned against any pre—emptive military action. translation: for russia and china, it is absolutely clear that any attempt to justify a military solution using security council resolutions as a pretext is unacceptable. but it is china's reluctance to use its economic clout against north korea which has angered donald trump. as he left for europe, he complained about the growing trade between both countries, saying on twitter, "so much for china working with us but we had to give it a try." the question is what else the us might do. today's joint military exercises were designed to show

what commanders said could happen if us self restraints were lifted. i'm sure they will be looking at a military option. it's their bases under threat, their seaboard which is now within reach. but whether any other country would be asked to come and help is, at the moment, hypothetical. tonight, donald trump arrived in poland ahead of the 620 summit in germany, where the crisis will be high on the agenda, but where a united response looks unlikely. james landale, bbc news, warsaw. more on north korea in a moment. but first let's take a look at some of the day's other news. saudi arabia, the uae, bahrain and egypt have condemned qatar's response to their demands as negative and irresponsible. they broke all links with the gulf emirate a month ago, accusing it of supporting terrorism. the four countries say qatar doesn't understand the gravity of the dispute.

we cannot have a country like qatar that is an ally and in the arab league, and that host aeroplanes to fight al qaeda and daesh, and yet turns a blind eye to extremists who advocates terrorists, who advocates suicide bombings, and advocate young man going to war zones to fight. we cannot have it both ways. first of all, qatar has never and will never support any terrorist movement or will never allow terrorism funds to be raised in qatarorto be channelled through qatar. we will take whatever measure it takes in order to get rid of them. qatar's foreign minister. also making news today: the myanmar government says it's trying to create morejobs, after a new labour law

in neighbouring thailand caused an exodus of migrant workers. more than 60,000 foreign workers fled thailand, a common destination for workers from poorer countries, including myanmar and cambodia. the eu and japan have broadly agreed on a free trade deal after four years of negotiations. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is set to sign the accord at a meeting with eu officials later on thursday. the deal comes days before a g20 meeting in germany at which president trump is expected to defend his protectionist stance on trade. dozens of government supporters in venezuela have stormed the opposition—controlled national assembly as a special session was being held to mark the country's independence day. they burst into the building's interior gardens setting off fireworks and there were reports of shots being fired. president maduro has condemned the violence. let's update you on what's happening at wimbledon,

and two—time champion rafael nadal reached the third round on wednesday, with a straight sets win over donald young of the united states. fourth seed nadal will face russia's karen khachanov for a place in the last sixteen. 0n the day a bbc poll named canada as the nation with the most positive impact on the world, prime ministerjustin trudeau has been in scotland to meet his head of state — queen elizabeth the second. mr trudeau also picked up an honorary degree in recognition of his commitment to equality and diversity. let's return to our top story. within the last few hours, an emergency session of the united nations security council has taken place in new york. during the meeting the american ambassador to the un, nikki haley said that north korea's missile test cast a dark shadow of conflict over the world. 0ur correspondent nada tawfik is at the un, and has been

telling me about the divisions in the security council over how to deal with pyongyang. what we saw today was the united states really being joined by many of the western nations and japan in calling for tougher measures on north korea. nikki haley said the window of a diplomatic solution was quickly and if the us needed to use military options to defend themselves and its allies, that was on the table. she went on to say that other measures could include the us stopping trade with those who do business with north korea, in violation of un resolutions, and, key, that the us would be looking to a resolution in the coming days to impose new sanctions. 0n the other side, you had russia and china, who, first off, are, you know — were very critical of the united states talking about the military option. they said that was unacceptable. and russia and china have a joint initiative. they basically want the world powers to start

speaking to north korea, to have a suspension of north korea's nuclear programme, in exchange for the us and south korea suspending theirjoint military exercises. so the russian and chinese think that is the route to go. they say sanctions have not been working, so they are not on board with further sanctions. nada, it seems like the stakes are much higher this time around? absolutely. the security council has tried for years to impose tough measures to stop the advancement of north korea's programme. now, we have that they had tested a missile that could possibly hit alaska, and experts say in a few years they could possibly weaponise out with a nuclear tip. so certainly there is concern in the un security council. that is why the us ambassador, nikki haley, you can see the kind of, you know, honeymoon that the us and china have had between president trump and president xi jinping, that has come to an abrupt end. and the council, she pointed directly to china, saying that china needs to do more

as north korea's main trading partner, making up 90% of north korea's economic activity. she really pointed the finger at china. i think there when she said they would stop trade with those that engage in business with north korea, i think she was really referring to the chinese, there. heavy rain and overflowing rivers in the southern japanese island of kyushu have forced almost 400,000 people to leave their homes. a rare weather front in fukuoka prefecture, caused water surges to inundate homes and roads. forecasters have given a warning that heavy rain over the south will continue through thursday. david campanale has more. surging, foaming tides of rain are not normally seen like this in southern japan. rivers have burst their under the weight of the water

and landslides and muddy rapids have caused damage to residential areas. forecasters say the brainstorm is unprecedented. translation: we are in an emergency situation, facing grave danger. i would not be surprised to hear that there is already serious damage due to landslides and flooding. over half a metre of rain fell in the space of 24 metre of rain fell in the space of 2a hours and the majority of that in a four—hour period. 400,000 24 hours and the majority of that in a four—hour period. 400,000 people have been evacuated and there are reports of some totality is. —— fatalities. translation: if you do not evacuate, please try to protect yourself by going up to the second floor of your house. it is this line of rain that has caused the sudden flush lighting. meteorologists say it the storms formed in a zone of

convergence is where moisture laden south—westerly winds collided with wind from the north—west. this went on for hours forming storm after storm that hit the same place. the area expect more torrential downpours over the next few days. but with the wind changing directions, forecasters say the rain should not be locked in the same location, reducing the likelihood of repeat flooding. an alarming new warning on rising threats of famine around the world has been issued this week by the united nations. worst affected are the countries in central africa, and yemen, that you can see here. they've all suffered from conflict — and the impact of climate change. overall, the number of hungry people in the world has increased since 2015, reversing yea rs of progress. 20 million people are said to be severely affected with women in particular among the worst hit. the high risk of famine is causing many to leave in search of better lives, impacting countries far away in europe. earlier i spoke to bernd naaf

from bayer crop science who is in singapore to address the world agricultural forum. he says science and agriculture is one solution to global hunger. the biggest challenge we are facing as far as food security is concerned is the growing world population. but there are other factors which impact on this development, such as climate change. we do see changing consumption behaviour, for instance. water scarcity, another important topic that needs to be addressed. and then, finally, also, which we consider as important, the demographic issue. less and less people are willing to join the farming community. especially the millenials. but we are seeing growing populations and urbanisation — people moving from the rural areas to the cities.

correct. by 2050, we need to feed 9.8 billion people. that is the latest estimate. we know that. you are right. people are moving into the cities, away from the urban areas. so very, very important here, also, to have the government applying these topics and making sure that staying in the urban areas is being motivated and supported. so agriculture needs much more attention. and with that, we and bayer crop science are focusing on more on the smallholder agriculture than ever before. what is the buzz right now in this world agricultural forum? how do we solve this issue of the growing famine problem? we need to improve the productivity of the agricultural land. we don't want more land to be converted from nature into agriculture. so on the existing fields, we need to increase productivity. and how do you do that?

it is possible. in africa, and in asia, we have very good—quality soil, which gives the basis of higher yields, the farmers need access to higher knowledge. he needs to gain the expertise to better and more professionally grow his or her crops. bernd naaf from bayer crop science, here in singapore for the world agricultural forum. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: panda diplomacy. china's most adorable ambassadors charm germany's angela merkel ahead of the g20 summit. also on the programme, japan's celibacy syndrome. why more and more young people are choosing to go without sex. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations.

central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. there is growing speculation al-qaeda was responsible. germany will host the 2006 world cup. they beat the favourite south africa by a single vote. in south africa the possibility of losing wasn't even contemplated. the man made his way to the queen's private bedroom and then asked for a cigarette. she summoned a footman on duty who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book and one can can change the world. education is the only solution. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: at the united nations, the us ambassador has described north korea's intercontinental ballistic missile test as a sharp military escalation. heavy floods caused by unprecedented rain have forced almost 400,000 people to leave their homes in the southern japanese island of kyushu. now when politicians wear military clothes for a photo opportunity it doesn't always end well. that didn't put off france's president macron when he visited a submarine on wednesday. maybe he just thought he looked good in overalls. that's story popular on bbc.com/news. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world: the china daily leads with president xi and the german chancellor angela merkel‘s meeting ahead of this weekend's g20 summit in hamburg. both leaders signed a few deals and committed to expanding trade before welcoming two

new pandas to berlin zoo, we'll be seeing them shortly. i don't know why the paper wouldn't have printed that. the philippine daily inquirer's =focussing on the escalating tension the philippine daily inquirer's focussing on the escalating tension over north korea. it reports that leader kim jong—un is refusing to to negotiate with the united states, over his strategic weapons capability, until washington abandons what he calls its "hostile policy" towards pyongyang. the japan times covers that story too. but its front page picture highlights the future of train travel, with this artist's impression of the next—generation shinkan—sen. a io—car test train could be operational in 2019 and might be reaching speeds of 360 kilometres per hour — considerably faster than any train i have ever been on. sleek design. you also mentioned the pandas

arriving in berlin zoo. pandas are perhaps the most adorable ambassadors in the world. they've been a tool of chinese diplomacy since america's president nixon visited the country in 1972. now, germany, host of this week's g20 summit, is on the receiving end of panda diplomacy. jonny dymond has more. they may look friendly, but don't get too close. china's loan ofjiao qing, "darling", and meng meng, "sweet dream", comes from the global superpower with a price. it's worth paying attention when germany and china meet these days. germany is europe's undisputed leader. china's surging economic power is turning into global political muscle. the chancellor and the president are meeting before the world's 20 biggest economies get together in berlin.

once it might have been america around the table, but germany wants chinese help in propping up a world order destabilised by change in washington. and china wants open markets to sell into and allies it can rely on. translation: this is pioneering for our relations. we're happy to note that, thanks to mutual efforts on both sides, chinese—german relations have reached a new phase, in which we are moving on a peak level. the panda special came to britain in the 1970s as china emerged from decades of isolation. ching ching and chia—chia were gifts, part of an effort to warm frozen relations. panda diplomacy it became known as. now, meng meng andjiao qing are making hearts race in berlin. but these bamboo guzzlers are on loan and they don't come cheap.

nearly £800,000 a year. for some berliners at least, they're worth every penny. jonny dymond, bbc news. not cheap, but certainly cute. panda's are renowned for not having much intimacy, and they're not the only ones. new research says there are increasing numbers of people injapan who aren't having, or indeed have never had a physical relationship. the bbc‘s tokyo correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports japan has long been famed for its sexual culture. whatever your taste or fantasy it's catered for somewhere here. this is the country that invented love hotels, so what on earth has happened

to japan's the youth? —— so what on earth has happened to japan's youth? anna matsui is part of a growing army of young japanese living sexless lives. over 40% claim they are virgins. even more, over 60%, say they're not in a relationship. do you feel like a lot of your friends are like you, not in sexual relationships? are you surprised by this? these women are clearly a little different. just, like, you know, you can feel...

megumi igarash is famous for making a 3—d image of her own vagina and pushing it on the web. so if young japanese men are all watching porn on the internet, what about young women? it could be internet pornography, low self—esteem or escaping the patriarchy. whatever the reasons nearly half young japanese are entering their 30s without any experience of sexual relationships. you have been watching newsday on

the bbc. stay with us — we will head to the capital of guitars, the philippines, where the instruments are sold all over the world thanks to the internet. stunning items. now, we will leave you with stunning pictures from the french alps, where over 100 lg and paragliders took to the airduring the over 100 lg and paragliders took to the air during the country's national championships —— 100 belgian paragliders. the winner is the one who flies through all the checkpoints in the fastest time. thanks for watching. hello again. we've got more of that hot and humid weather coming up across england and wales. yesterday we had temperatures of 30 degrees in both heathrow and wisley in surrey, and we're going to see temperatures again getting to those kind of levels later in the afternoon. mind you, for some of us,

there will also be some fairly big thunderstorms around over the next 24 hours. the first place that could see some storms is actually in the morning across southern counties of england, but these storms will have about two miles of dry air beneath them so there might not be a huge amount of rain despite the potential for lots of thunder and lightning first thing in the morning. away from those storms, may be a bit of murky weather around the coastline but essentially quite a bit of sunshine for wales, the midlands and northern counties of england with those temperatures rising quickly. partly cloudy for northern ireland and a disappointing start in scotland with a band of rain pushing eastwards, temperatures at 9am about 14 or 15 degrees in glasgow. now, through the rest of the day that first batch of storms works northwards. hot and humid conditions across england and wales with that humidity sparking some further storms across the midlands and northern england later in the day, and those storms could be more significant. meanwhile, for the north of the uk, temperatures creeping up towards the 20 degree mark, so a bit warmer than it's been over the last days for some,

the hottest weather further south. later in the afternoon and evening time, these thunderstorms could get really lively in parts of eastern england. not too many places seeing this happening but one or two storms could bring the best part of a months worth of rain in just a few hours so it could cause some localised destruction. those storms will clear away to the north sea and we'll be left with a band of rain crossing scotland, rather soupy conditions then through the night with lowest temperatures around 18 in london. a quieter weather day on friday. england and wales again with the best of the hot and humid conditions. more of that sunshine to come. there'll be a few showers for southern scotland and northern england, but for many of us it's a dry kind of day. temperature wise, still a range from the north to south. about 17 in glasgow and 28, 29 or possible 30 still in parts of the south east england. the weekend starts off with a band of rain in central areas, easing to showers. again the best of the hot conditions in south—east england but still relatively cool

for the time of year further north in scotland and northern ireland because our winds coming round from quite a long way north. sunday looks like we'll be seeing the gradual change to cooler and fresher conditions across all of the country as we see low pressures tending to kind of gang up across the uk, so those temperatures dropping for example in london into next week. our top story. the united states has told the un that north korea's latest missile test is a sharp military escalation. china and russia have urged washington to show restraint. the american ambassador, nikki haley, told an emergency meeting of the security council that the international sanctions imposed on pyongyang for years had been insufficient and now they must do more. unprecedented rain and floods have forced almost 400,000 people to leave their homes in the southern japanese island of kyushu. forecasters have warned that heavy rain will continue through thursday. and this video is trending on bbc.com. this may look like james bond

carrying out some super spy stuff — but its actually the president of france literally dropping in on a submarine. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk. after three weeks of sifting through tons of debris by hand police say they have finally removed all visible human remains