attend a special service at the menin gate, which stands on the road taken by so many to the frontline. 100 years on, we still stand together, gathering, as so many do every night, in remembrance of that sacrifice. tonight, thousands watched on in the town of ypres, as the story of the battle was retold. also on tonight's programme... there's a show of strength from america in east asia, after another ballistic missile test by north korea. there's more violence in venezuela, during controversial elections for a new parliament to change the constitution. commentator: jody taylor for england! and england beat france 1—0 to reach the semi—finals of the women's euros.

good evening from tyne cot cemetery in belgium, the final resting place for almost 12,000 allied soldiers who died in world war i. most of them were killed in the battle of passchendaele, which began here 100 years ago tomorrow. it was one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict. in all, half a million allied and german soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing, in just three months of fighting. this evening, the duke and duchess of cambridge joined the prime minister, theresa may, here, as two days of commemorations to mark the start of the battle got underway, as robert hall reports. this is a city that has dedicated

itself to remembrance. the fireman of ypres have sounded the last post in summer and winter as the decades rolled by. around them, carved into the great darch of them, carved into the great darch of the menin gate, over 5a,000 names, men from every corner of the uk, who travelled across the globe to join the fight, men who disappeared in the fight, men who disappeared in the cauldron around passchendaele. with the sounding of this bugle

call, the 250,000 british and commonwealth soldiers who were killed during the first world war in ypres are remembered. the defence of the city, at such great cost, meant that it became hallowed ground. 0n on this evening in the summer of 1917, the third battle of ypres had already begun. but early success was followed by the rain, weeks of it, which slowed the advance. passchendaele, the final target of the attack, came to symbolise death and misery in a muddy wasteland where many still life. —— still lie. gosh, i didn't think it would be that moving.

dorothy and her cousin peter were here to remember their grandfather. you'll need to take a photo of me. they are among 200 invited guests with personal connections to the battle. that word on there is as close to a body as we are ever going to get for our grandfather. the ethos behind building this was for people to say he is here. in a way, he's here. but, in a way, he's not here. in flanders fields, the poppies blow between the crosses. in ypres main square, dame helen mirren spoke the words of the war poet to try to express the horror he witnessed. the la rks express the horror he witnessed. the larks scarce heard amid the guns below. i was in the front-line trench at passchendaele. winston

churchill wanted the ruins of ypres left as a memorial. tonight, meticulously rebuilt, they told the story of men now gone, their generation may have left us, but this city still marks their passing, still keeps a promise it made all those years ago. robert hall, bbc news, ypres. ben brown is at the menin gate, just a few miles from here, where prince william laid a wreath earlier this evening. and, ben, descendants of those who died were watching on, 100 years later. poignant poigna nt scenes this poignant scenes this evening. yes, exactly, sophie, 100 years ago tonight, british and commonwealth soldiers would have marched along this road right behind me here, where the menin gate now stands, on their way to the front line, on their way to the front line, on their way to the front line, on their way to the start of the offensive that began in the early hours of the morning, the start of the battle of passchendaele, one of the battle of passchendaele, one of the bloodiest battles and all of

human history. well, altogether some 4000 british descendants of people who fought and often died at passchendaele have come from britain to belgium to remember their a ncestors, to belgium to remember their ancestors, bringing pictures of them with them, letters, diaries, to try to remember them. i spoke to one man whose father had joined up when he was only 15 years old. he was no more than a boy, really, and he fought at passchendaele amid the mud. he was gassed and he somehow survived, but this man was telling me it is so important to teach the younger generation about the horrors of passchendaele, and not to let the memory of passchendaele fade with the passing of time. we'll have more from tyne cot later in the programme. now back to clive in london. sophie, many thanks for that. president trump says he's "very disappointed" with china for not doing more to stop north korea's weapons programme. his comments, in a tweet, came after pyongyang

launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile in a month, which landed in the sea, off the japanese coast. the north koreans say it's a "stern warning" to washington, that the "entire us mainland" is now within striking distance. from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. the unmistakable shape of an american b—1 bomber, sweeping low over south korea this afternoon. this is president trump's pointed response to north korea's latest missile test. it was accompanied by an equally pointed rant on twitter. "i am very disappointed in china", the president tweeted. "they do nothing for us with north korea, just talk. "we will no longer allow this to continue." china today has been showing off its own military might, in a huge parade overseen by president xijinping. he has condemned north korea's launch, but china is not prepared to bring pyongyang to its knees, even though it probably could. north korea, meanwhile,

is making the most of its success. pictures of friday's missile launch are being played over and over. and, once again, kimjong—un is the star of the show. this latest missile test represents a profound challenge to president donald trump. he put a lot of hope in getting china to rein in pyongyang. he now appears to have accepted that is not going to happen. but the us president has explicitly stated he will not allow north korea to acquire the ability to strike the united states with nuclear weapons. well, that is now very close. the rising tension is making people here increasingly nervous. air raid siren. in a village in northern japan, a siren shatters the morning calm. "a missile is heading in this direction", the announcer says. "ta ke cover. " practice drills like this are now happening all along this coast. translation: it's very scary,

i don't know where to run to if there is a missile strike. i need practice like today's drill to learn what to do. off this same coast last month, the most powerful us armada to be seen here in decades. a military strike on north korea may seem unthinkable, but pyongyang and washington are locked in an increasingly dangerous game and there are no good choices for how to end it. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. 0ur washington correspondent laura bicker is at the white house. laura, what are the president's options for dealing with north korea now, do you think? well, he had played such hope in china influencing north korea, that strategy is simply not working. you have seen the military build—up in the area, those bombers flying over

the area, those bombers flying over the peninsular. here in the us they have also been testing their missile defence system, based in alaska, a successful test, they say, but they are also looking at diplomatic options. they are looking at working with japan and south korea and perhaps even a un security council resolution, but make no mistake about it, the trump administration knows north korea is a growing threat. and in a separate development, russia has now confirmed it will be expelling us diplomats in response to fresh sanctions. this is hugely significant. it will cut the number of us diplomatic staff working in russia by half. to put it into context, when president 0bama found out from his intelligence agencies that russia had meddled in the us presidential election, he expelled 35 diplomats. at the time, vladimir putin did not respond, did not retaliate. he said he wanted to work with the new administration. this

has all backed donald trump into a corner. 0n has all backed donald trump into a corner. on his desk, he has a bill ordering new sanctions on russia. russia says they will retaliate even further if that bill is signed. it does look like donald trump's hopes ofa does look like donald trump's hopes of a fresh start with moscow are in tatters. a 27—year—old man has been charged in connection with the rape of a 14—year—old girl at a railway station in birmingham last tuesday. british transport police say they're still looking for another man, who attacked her later, after she flagged down a passing carfor help. there's enhanced security at major airports across australia, after investigators uncovered a plot to blow up a plane. four men were arrested after raids on several homes in sydney, with the prime minster malcolm turnbull saying it was an "elaborate conspiracy. " police believe the plot was inspired by islamist extremism. the international trade secretary, liam fox, has cast fresh doubt on the chancellor's claims that the cabinet has broadly agreed that free movement from the eu,

should continue after brexit during any transitional period. speaking to the sunday times, he said that would "not keep faith" with the eu referendum result. chris mason is at westminster. chris, are we any clear on what the cabinet has agreed on this? the short answer is no, we are not. 0r shouldn't be that surprised that there are disagreements around the cabinet table. the referendum was something that divided the country, it divided parties and it divided the cabinet. from the prime minister's perspective it is much harder to ensure that, publicly, they say the same things, because after she mislaid her majority her authority has shrivelled. this is a discussion now about what exactly a transitional period immediacy after brexit looks like. there are clearly disagreements in the cabinet. but ta ke disagreements in the cabinet. but take a look at the labour party and there are disagreements over brexit there. they have been disagreeing

with one another for months on end. meanwhile, the clock continues to tick down, one year and eight months, just under 600 days until brexit, the end of march, 2019. chris, thank you. to venezuela, where polls will soon close in a controversial election to choose a new parliament, which will have the power to rewrite the country's constitution. it follows months of violent anti—government protests, in which more than a hundred people have died. 0pposition groups have boycotted the vote, saying it's another power—grab by president maduro, whom they blame for venezuela's deep economic crisis. katie watson is in caracus for us. katie? well, as you said, the polls are closing shortly but the result will not come as any surprise. all candidates have been proposed by the administration. what is really highlighted in the vote today is the polarisation in venezuela. you go to

a pro—government stronghold and people are happy about the constituent assembly. you go to the opposition stronghold, people there went out on the streets in defiance ofa ban went out on the streets in defiance of a ban on protests and often violent confrontations today, with several people who were killed. the sense of celebration here made it easy to forget for a moment the dark times venezuela is going through. but for the people waiting to vote, the problems are real. lisbeth told me she's voting for peace for our children and future of the country. antonio said he's here to ensure there is more food and medicine for people. late president hugo chavez looms large in this part of caracas, on the walls it's his face, not president maduro's you can see. but mr maduro wants to continue his legacy. he says a new assembly that could rewrite the constitution is the only way to bring peace to the country. the opposition boycotted the vote today. instead, many came out onto the streets to keep up the pressure against the government. carlos is a university

student and part of what's known as the resistance, playing his part in the protest movement by blocking roads, because he says he wants a better venezuela. everything that we can find here, we use to protect us, because this is, as i say, is a critical situation. they are shooting us, they are killing people. there are more than 100 people that are dead. as police gathered on the other side of the street barricades, the protesters got ready for another confrontation. people here can't quite understand how such a rich country has got to this point. the political and economic crisis has never been so bad. but the feeling is here it willjust get worse. that much was clear — just a few metres from here, a police convoy was hit by improvised explosives. the government says the opposition are terrorists. the protesters say they are fighting against a government that is becoming increasingly repressive. from this part of town, the vote was almost irrelevant.

people here are worried about politics, about food shortages and spiralling inflation. much of that is stoking the anger. protesters keep building the blockades. the police keep trying to destroy them. divisions here are so deep in venezuela, neither side is backing down. katie watson, bbc news, in caracas. with all the sport, here's karthi gna nasegaram at the bbc sport centre. clive, good evening. england are through to the semi final of the women's euros, after beating france, 1—0. it's the first time england had beaten them since 1974, and sets up a finalfour encounter against the hosts, the netherlands, on thursday. the other semi—final sees denmark take on austria. 0ur correspondent katie gornall reports from deventer. deventer is a place with a long history. one of the oldest cities in the netherlands, here, the past and present are side—by—side. but england have their sights set firmly on the future and are aiming

to defy history here. england haven't beaten france since 1974. but these players have every reason to feel confident, having won all three of their group games. in this latest chapter of an old feud, england bristled with belief. but in the early stages, the play didn't match the pr. marie—laure delie with the only warning shot of a nervy first half. mark sampson described his players as a team of street fighters. jill scott took that to heart. a card that will rule her out if england progressed. as france started to take control, that looked unlikely, until lucy bronze got on the ball and queued upjodie taylor. 0ne chance, 1—0. this, herfifth goal of the tournament. an injury to goalkeeper karen bardsley only added to the second—half tension and france never gave up. with england backpedalling, they threatened to steal the attention. but, for the first time in a long time, england held out against their rivals for an historic win. england advance and have taken

a huge step forward. katie gornall, bbc news, deventer. england's cricketers are just six wickets away from victory against south africa in the third test at the oval. half centuries from tom westley, making his debut, captainjoe root and jonny bairstow helped england to declare their second innings on 313 for eight. they then took four south africa wickets before the close of play on day four, including two wickets for ben stokes. wigan warriors will face holders, hull fc in rugby league's challenge cup final next month. wigan booked their place at wembley with a 27 points to 14 win over salford this afternoon. 0liver gildart scoring the first and final tries for wigan, in a thrilling semi final. great britain have won a silver medal on the final day of the world swimming championships in budapest to take their total medal tally to seven. today's silver came in the men's 4x100m medley relay final. the relay team included adam peaty, who had already won two

individual gold medals. great britain finish the competition in second place overall, behind the usa. ferrari's sebastian vettel has won the hungarian grand prix, while lewis hamilton finished in fourth place. hamilton honoured a promise made earlier in the race to his team—mate valtteri bottas and allowed the finn to overtake him and finish in third place. that result means vettel has extended his formula one world championship lead over the british driver to 14 points. details of the day's other sports stories are on the bbc sport website, including the draw for the second round of the scottish league cup. that's all for now from the bbc sport centre. now back to sophie in belgium. the battle of passchendaele — one of the bloodiest of world war i — began 100 years ago tomorrow, in the early hours of the morning. this cemetery behind me is where just some of the fallen — almost 12,000 men — are buried. but the vast majority of these graves have no names.

i'm joined here by dr glyn prussor from the commonwealth war graves commission. this is very much the focal point tomorrow of the commemorations. it very much symbolises the real horror of that battle? perhaps nowhere better epitomises the horrors of this particular battlefield. there are even some of the remnants of the german defences, concrete pillboxes, within the cemetery. 12,000 graves of british and commonwealth soldiers and a few germans, a reminder that this was a battle that traumatised soldiers on both sides of the line. the amount of land they were fighting over four months and months, a lot of it in thick, deep mud, is so small, five miles? you can actually see the spires of ypres on the horizon from the cemetery. it's almost impossible to imagine what this will have looked like 100 yea rs what this will have looked like 100 years ago. but it's important to reflect on the experiences of all those from across the world that

came here. tomorrow's service will do that. it will be a very poignant occasion. we are at the centenary, 100 years now, will be commemorations continue? 100 years now, will be commemorations continue ?|j 100 years now, will be commemorations continue? i think so, we have seen thousands of people coming here to commemorate the battle. people are discovering new things about their family history and the history of the war all the time. there was no sign of it coming to an end any time soon. that's all from us here in belgium for tonight. in a moment, we'll have the news from where you are, but first we'll leave you with some images from this evening's events to remember the battle of passchendaele. hello, this is bbc news. wii will be looking at the newspapers at the moment but first, the headlines. the top story is the commemorations which have been held in belgium to mark 100 years since the battle of passchendaele. and president trump has been saying china isn't doing enough to hold the

weapons programmes of north korea, china is a close ally, he took to twitter for the latest attack on china. and there has been military exercises over the korean peninsula in reaction to the latest ballistic missile test. a record number of criminals have had their sentences increased under a scheme which allows members of the public to ask for them to be reviewed. last year, 141 criminals in england and wales had their sentences increased. the government says it wants to extend the scheme to include a number of terror related charges. aisling mcveigh reports. sarah sands stabbed a man to death in november 2014. she was convicted of manslaughter and given a three and a half—year jail sentence. her neighbour, michael, was a convicted paedophile and sands, a mother of five, claims she lost control, stabbing him eight times. but it was in january last year that the punishment was considered to be unduly lenient. judges at the court of appeal ruled

that because sands took a knife to his flat, she must have intended to cause serious harm and her sentence was doubled to seven and a half years. 141 criminals have had their sentences increased in the last year, according to the attorney general‘s office. the unduly lenient sentence scheme allows the public to query penalties for serious offences, and more people are doing just that. requests are up 17% on the previous year. sex offences make up the highest number of cases where sentences were increased and 14 sex offenders who had originally escaped prison are now serving time behind bars. from next month, the scheme will be widened to include an extra 19 terror—related offences. the attorney general says in the vast majority of cases, judges do get it right, and the number of sentences that are increased represent a tiny proportion of the 80,000 cases heard every single year. let's get the weather

with darren bett. it has been all or nothing today, some big showers and big downpours, northern ireland catching quite a few thundery downpours and reports of minorflooding in the few thundery downpours and reports of minor flooding in the country. whereas towards the south—east there has not been many showers and a lovely end to the day. we keep the showers through the evening but overnight the heavy showers, thunderstorms will ease off, we keep the shower was going more towards northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland and western hills and coasts but they should be lighter overnight and further eased clear skies mean temperatures drop away in towns and cities to 11 or 12. over the next two days we keep this mixture of sunshine and showers because we still have an area of low pressure sitting to the north—west of the uk, the close you are to the low pressure, the more likely to get

showers. monday morning, showers, pushing eastwards across scotland and across the eastern side of northern ireland. north—west england catches a few showers into cumbria and lancashire and the other side of the pennines a dry start and quite sunny. sunshine to the midlands and east anglia and much of southern england but showers running into the south—west and into west wales. the showers across england should be fairly few and far between, a stronger breeze, the showers will not last long and heavier ones in the far north of england more likely across scotland and northern ireland and they could be slow—moving and thundery. temperatures 18 or 19 towards the south—east with sunshine 23, like today. on tuesday, we sue a mixture of sunshine and showers, fewer showers even across northern areas like to showers so it starts to dry off a little bit. the jet strea m to dry off a little bit. the jet stream is a good way south across

the uk, not where it should be, normally between scotland and i slant, that jet stream normally between scotland and i slant, thatjet stream will pick up another area of low pressure across north america right now, moving across the atlantic and heading towards uk for the middle part of the week. we will find rain and strong wind coming in from the south—west, many eastern areas still dry through the day with sunshine but these areas will see the rain in the evening and overnight. hello, this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. first, the headlines. commemorations have been held in belgium to mark 100 years since the battle of passchendaele. president trump says china isn't doing enough to halt the weapons programme of its ally, north korea. police in australia believe an alleged plot to blow up a plane was inspired by islamist extremism. four arrests have been made. violence continues in venezuela

during controversial elections for a new parliament to change the constitution. and, coming up... conn iggulden talks tojim naughtie about switching to fantasy from writing historical fiction, in meet the author.