welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: after north korea's new missile test, the diplomatic fallout. russia and china say there must not be a military response. the us says it is prepared to use force. the united states is prepared to use the full range of our capabilities to defend ourselves, and our allies. violent protests in venezuela on independence day — hundreds of demonstrators storm the national assembly and attack members of congress. hundreds of thousands flee their homes as severe floods hit southern japan — emergency teams are trying to help the trapped and find the missing. changing gear: volvo plans to give all its new cars an electric motor from 2019. hello.

the united nations is looking seriously divided over how to respond to north korea's latest missile test — the 11th this year, and the first with an intercontinental ballistic missile. all have been in breach of un sanctions. the american ambassador has said the us is prepared to use military force "if we must". the us wants new un sanctions, but russia says attempts to strangle north korea economically are "unacceptable". all this as president trump visits poland, ahead of the 620 summit. here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. 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. live now to our correspondent david willis. david, this is potentially looking pretty alarming, isn't it? north korea seems to have strengthened its hand considerably and the rhetoric is really ramping up. absolutely. and the fact that north korea has developed a missile capable of hitting the us mainland, hitting

alaska, they are saying, the experts, is of great concern. you can imagine it is focusing the minds of people here. the trump administration is frustrated with china. china, of course, if north korea's principal benefactor. about 90% of north korean trade goes through china. president donald trump had been hoping that the chinese could use their leverage to get the north koreans to ratchet down their aggressive stance. it has not worked. and so what options remain? none really appear particularly inviting. there is the possibility of military action, as the un ambassador to the united nations from the us, nikki haley, wa nts to nations from the us, nikki haley, wants to do, for the simple reason that it could lead to war on the green peninsula. there are sanctions

which there is suggested there might be more of in the next egos. but those in existence have proved ineffective. the only really viable collection or option now is to put pressure on china. —— question or option. that is on those doing business with north korea, in an attempt to force the chinese to use that leverage that they have over the isolated country of north korea. but it is a long shot. russia is also opposed to sanctions. it will be interesting to see what comes out of friday's discussions at the 620 in hamburg, when of course, this is said to be covered the agenda. time is running out and people here are aware of that. it is now only a question of time before north korea

develops the sort of weapon that could develop considerable damage here in the united states. moron is to come. they do for that, david. —— more on that to come. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: a lorry carrying goods and passengers has crashed in the central african republic, killing almost 80 people. reports say the vehicle was overloaded and speeding when it tipped over. the lorry was packed with traders on their way to a weekly market outside the town of bambari, in the centre of the country. at least 1a people have died in a shootout between two rival gangs in northern mexico. authorities in chihuahua state say the fighting in the remote town of las varas escalated after police arrived, and there may be more dead. it's the latest in a series of clashes between police and warring factions of the sinaloa cartel. the leader of the self—styled libyan national army says his forces have taken full control of the eastern city of benghazi after three years of fighting against local islamist militias.

in a televised address, khalifa haftar said libya's second city had been liberated from terrorism. benghazi was taken over by extremist groups, including some which pledged allegiance to islamic state, in 2014. 6overnment supporters in venezuela, some of them armed, have been blocking legislators from leaving the national congress in caracas. during a special session to mark the country's independence day, they burst into the building's interior gardens and attacked several members of congress with sticks. will 6rant reports. this is the venezuelan parliament on independence day. another step on the country's descent into near anarchy, as militias, known as collectivos, carrying sticks and bars, stormed the national assembly building. at least for lawmakers we re building. at least for lawmakers were injured. —— four. the

opposition led assembly has been under attack by the governor to president nicolas maduro four months. but now, it has spilt over into violence. the head of the national assembly condemned the attack in place the blame firmly at the president's door. translation: whoever sees these images from today in the national assembly, it is possible that they will get confused and think we are facing a strong government. they are wrong. a government that does what they did today with their parliament isa they did today with their parliament is a weak government. it is a fall in government. it is a cowardly government. —— fallen. it is a government. —— fallen. it is a government so weak that all they have left is brute force. as the attack was unfolding, the embattled president maduro was overseeing a military parade to mark the country's independence from spain. he also condemned the violence and

distanced himself from the incident. translation: incidents of dispute and violence, i condemn those acts, after the point i know about them at the moment. i will never be complicit in any act of violence. i condemn them and have ordered an investigation and thatjustice be done. he is, iwant investigation and thatjustice be done. he is, i want peace for venezuela. nevertheless, violence is what has characterised it as well over the past few months. more than 80 people have been killed in street protests, the majority of them demonstrators. and there are few signs of them slowing down. it comes as the executive prepares to create as the executive prepares to create a new national assembly, removing the remaining powers of the existing one. an election on the issues is expected within weeks, but will be boycotted by the opposition and most likely millions of ordinary venezuelans. the 206 anniversary of

its independence had been an excuse for that as well as to celebrate their shared identity, to fill united under their flag and symbols. instead, the country ‘s is more divided than ever and facing weeks of mile ahead. —— the country seems more divided than ever. —— weeks of violence, ahead. heavy rain and overflowing rivers in the southern japanese island of kyushu have forced almost 400,000 people from their homes. in fukuoka prefecture, water surges inundated buildings and roads, and forecasters are warning of more heavy rain through thursday. david campa nale reports. surging, foaming torrents of rain are not normally seen like this in southern japan. rivers have burst their banks under the weight of water, and landslides and muddy rapids have caused damage to residential areas. weather forecasters say the rainstorm is unprecedented. translation: we are in an emergency situation, facing grave danger. i won't be surprised to hear that there is already serious damage due to landslide or flooding.

over half a metre of rain fell in the space of just 2a hours, and the majority of that in just a four—hour period. 400,000 people have been evacuated in asakura prefecture, and there are reports of some fatalities. translation: if you are already in a situation that you cannot evacuate, please try your best to do protect yourself in your house by going up to the second floor. it is this line of rain that has caused the sudden flash flooding. meteorologists say the storms formed in a zone of convergence, where moisture—laden south—westerly winds collided with winds coming from the north—west. this went on hour after hour, forming storm after storm that hit just the same place. the area is expecting more torrential downpours over the next few days. but with the winds changing directions, forecasters say the rain should not

get locked in the same location, reducing the risk of repeat flooding. david campanale, bbc news. much more to come from —— for you on bbc news, including this: after years of service, ecuador‘s police dogs are given the full honours as they go on parade for the last time. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police said they have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al qaeda was responsible. 6ermany will host the 2006 world cup. they pipped the favourite, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa the possibility of losing wasn't even contemplated. celebration parties were cancelled. the man entered through the window,

and 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 pen can change the world. education is the only solution. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: at the united nations, the us ambassador has described north korea's intercontinental ballistic missile test as a sharp military escalation. violent protests at venezuela's national assembly on independence day has left a number of congressmen injured. volvo is trying to change gear on how cars are made and driven.

the chinese—owned company has announced that from 2019 new models will be powered by alternative fuel, so electric and hybrid autos only, no petrol or diesel. are drivers ready for this shift? 0ur transport correspondent richard westcott takes a look. v0|ceover: he drives up in a 1908 model t... the shapes have changed a bit over the years, and thank goodness, when it comes to the brown allegro, but all these cars have one thing in common — an internal combustion engine, burning petrol or diesel. we've relied on it for 100 years, but is that about to change? volvo cars is taking a bold step forward, heralding the end of an era for the pure internal combustion engine... from 2019, volvo says all its new models will be at least partly electric. ambitious plans, but experts say it won't be quick. diesel and petrol will have a long life in them yet. a lot of people choose to adopt

hybrids before they go all electric. during that time, bateries will improve, which will increase the range of miles you can do, and prices will drop, which will also make them more tenable for people to buy. so it's going to be quite a while yet before we see all electric cars, as every car on the road. in fact, sales of alternative engines remain small. injune last year, more than 8,300 electric and hybrid vehicles were registered in the uk. that increased to nearly 11,000 this year, but it's still dwarfed by the 250,000 petrols and diesels people bought. this street sums up one of the big reasons that plug—in cars haven't sold in any great numbers. many of us live in houses like this, we don't have garages, we live in flats. you often can't even park near your house, so how are you supposed to charge your electric car? then there's the problem of topping up mid—journey. certainly some of the country is better than others. newcastle and the north—east has

quite a lot of charging infrastructure, wales is very poor, but to get from where we are to where we need to be, lots of different parties are going to have to come forward and put in charging points. be that workplaces, we'll need to see businesses putting in for their staff. supermarkets, anyone who has a public car park available. 0ur cities are plagued by pollution, with diesel engines one of the main culprits. electric cars are quieter and cleaner, are getting cheaper with a better range, but it will still be some years before the internal combustion engine drives off for good. richard westcott, bbc news. the health effects institute is an independent organisation in the us researching the impact of vehicle air pollution around the world. we can talk to its president now. dan 6reenbaum is in gloucester, just outside boston. quite an ambitious attempt, will it

encourage more electric in the car industry generally? it's the latest step the car industry has been taking, its impressive they have made such a large commitment but we've seen strong statements from volkswagen in the wake of their diesel problems and the fact it's done by a chinese company isn't an accident. china has seen an enormous u pta ke accident. china has seen an enormous uptake in the number of electric vehicles injust the past uptake in the number of electric vehicles in just the past few years. we've just been hearing vehicles in just the past few years. we'vejust been hearing in richard's report that sales for alternative engines are still pretty much dwarfed by traditional engines. what is it that's going to turn the tide? costis is it that's going to turn the tide? cost is a factor but also charging facilities for large numbers of electric? there are systematic effo rts electric? there are systematic efforts going on by a number of countries and in the us individual states to build the infrastructure, build the charging infrastructure

and it's starting to pay off. we've seen the first million plugged in vehicles in the world sold by 2015, the second million were sold by this year. although it is still a small percentage of worldwide vehicle sales, if the marketplace is taking off, the technology is getting better, the ride is longer, so it's not going to be tomorrow but it will continue to grow. more and more cities seem to be moving to penalise petrol and diesel vehicles. just to backtrack for a second, how much of an impact do car exhaust fumes at the moment have on worldwide pollution levels? they are very significant contributors, as much as 2596 significant contributors, as much as 25% or 30% of the air pollution in many cities around the world. it's obviously the pollution you see right in front of you so you're more

aware of it but there's a lot of pollution that comes from coal—fired power plants and industries that affect the air. but cars are a big contributor. until we start to see, for example, the newest diesel engines, they've been an enormous contributor on the streets of europe. dan greenbaum from the health effects institute i, thank you. they are perhaps the most adorable ambassadors, certainly the furriest. pandas have been a tool of chinese diplomacy since president nixon was given a pair of giant pandas after his goodwill trip to china in 1972. now 6ermany, host of this week's 620 summit, is on the receiving end of panda diplomacy. jonny dymond reports. 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 6ermany 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—6erman 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. 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

thatis we cannot have a country like qatar that is an ally militarily and in the gcc and in the arab league and that hosts and of air base from which planes take off to fight isis and daesh, isis and al-qaeda, and at the same time turns a blind eye to terrified ncos who open kilmichael mike operate openly in qatar, who turns a blind eye to extremists who advocate suicide bombing and young men going to fight in war zones. we cannot have it both ways. first of all qatar has never and will never support any terrorist movement or will never allow terrorist funds to be raised from qatar. it will take whatever measure it takes in order to get rid of them. qatar is switching from the

strategic direction countering terrorism and we are willing to commit more investing education in those bundle, vulnerable countries. police work is one of the toughest and most stressful of professions. so it's no surprise that many police officers retire early. that was certainly the case for one group in ecuador. but these particular officers are dogs, as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. not so much the thin blue line, more the thin blue lead. 16 veterans of the thin blue lead. 16 veterans of the ecuadorian police's k9 unit, calling it a day at this ceremony in quito. reaching the retirement age of eight, their careers fighting crime are over, but there were a few formalities to get through first. a moment to remember their colleagues who were killed in the line of duty. be handing out of medals for the

bravest amongst them. —— the. their handlers reciting a prayer in honour of all police dogs. then with their vests removed and one final walk down the red carpet, they entered a new life of leisure. that a huge blow for those they're leaving behind. this officer having to say farewell to his partner, tyron. translation: as you can understand i feel bad because i couldn't taking with me. he's spent a lot of time with me. he's spent a lot of time with me. he's more than a pet. he was my working companion but i'm happy because he's going with good people. i will keep seeing him. so for these dogs it will be new fan families. a life of service now followed by a peaceful reward for man's best friend. tim allman, bbc news. that's it, 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 month's 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.