welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: north korea threatens missile strikes near the us pacific airbase on guam after president trump issues this warning to pyongyang. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. early results in kenya's election put president uhuru kenyatta in the lead, but the figures are rejected by his rival, raila odinga. hong kong closes 13 beaches as more and more congealed palm oil washes ashore. # but i'm gonna be where the lights are shining on me...# and the american country music legend glen campbell has died at the age of 81. hello.

north korea's official news agency says the country is considering launching missile strikes near the american airbase on guam, in what is a sharp rise in rhetoric between the two countries. the report says pyongyang is looking at a plan to fire medium—to—long—range rockets around the american territory in the western pacific where us strategic bombers are based. and reports from us intelligence which suggest that north korea has produced a nuclear warhead small enough to fit onto its intercontinental ballistic missile. donald trump has now issued a warning in almost unprecedented, apocalyptic terms. north korea best not make any more threats to the united states. they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. he has been very threatening beyond a normal state, and as i said they will be met with the fire and fury and, frankly, power, the likes

of which this world has never seen before. our correspondent, nick bryant, has this analysis from washington. american presidents have often reserved their strongest rhetoric for north korea. you remember that george w bush described the country as being part of the "axis of evil". well, this is a dramatic rhetorical escalation from donald trump. "fire and fury" — incendiary language, in the most literal sense of all. a kind of linguistic shock and awe. and it begs the question, how does this tough talk translate into policy, especially at a time the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has been in the region and been using far more conciliatory words. he's spoken of the possibility of negotiations if pyongyang ends its testing. now, there's an obvious danger in the american president using such strong language, it's that they become captive to it, that it creates an unstoppable momentum, that they have to follow

through on these rhetorical threats, in order to preserve their credibility, in order not to look weak. but there's a different way of looking at it, which is this — that sanctions have failed so far to impede north korea's nuclear ambitions and it may be that this is the kind of tough talk that pyongyang will listen to. it is reminiscent, in some ways, to what richard nixon called the madman theory — you create the impression in the mind of your adversary that you're prepared to do anything, even take a nuclear option. but it is a dangerous game to play. especially as it now seems that north korea has managed to marry its missile technology and its nuclear technology, and to insert a militarised warhead into an intercontinental ballistic missile. we've had some reaction from the us congresswoman madeleine bordallo, she represents the people of guam and says... "recent reports regarding north korea's nuclear

capabilities are deeply troubling but i remain confident that guam remains safe and protected. the president trump must work in partnership with the international community to de—escalate the growing tensions in the region and prevent north korea from advancing its nuclear program further." joining me earlierfrom seoul, the bbc‘s yogita limaye. well, that's right. this is a country that has dealt with this threat for decades, now. and of course, you know, it's heightened right now because north korea has come out and said that they actually have the capability of hitting the us. today, for example, they have very specifically, in this statement, attributed to a defence spokesman in north korea, who has said they are carefully examining a plan to strike the us pacific territory of guam with a medium—to—long—range missile. they will give that plan to kimjong—un, and when he gives it the go—ahead, he will executed at. the go—ahead, he will executed it.

they also say that it is a dream that the american homeland will not receive a strike. as for south korea is concerned, they have two straight a tricky balance. have to strike a tricky balance. they are most at threat if a war breaks out. so on the one hand, they want to strengthen troops here, but on the other hand, they want to talk to north korea. even when the south korean president had a conversation with donald trump the other day, for almost an hour, he did emphasise that what he hopes all of this will do is to induce pressure on north korea to come to the negotiating table. the diplomatic route is what this country wants, as well. more to come on that injust a moment. early results in kenya's elections put president uhuru kenyatta in the lead but the figures have been rejected by supporters of his rival, raila odinga.

the election has been peaceful, but there is still some concern that the result could spark violence. alastair leithead reports from nairobi. there is flash photography coming out. it's one of africa's biggest elections, in one of its most important democracies. millions turned out to elect a new president, with more riding on how it is won rather than who actually wins it. opposition leader raila odinga has used the glare of publicity to question the whole process, claiming he has been robbed of the presidency before and he won't let it happen again. incumbent president uhuru kenyatta is chasing a second and final term. he is the son of the country's first president and has the resources of the state behind him. my competitors, as i have always said, in the event that they lose, that they accept the will of the people. i am willing myself to accept the will of the people so to them, too, accept the will of the people.

let us come together. let us pull this country together. this is what he's talking about. ten years ago, kenya tore itself apart as elections turned to ethnic violence. at least 1200 people died. the wounds are still open. mr uhuru kenyatta is criminally responsible... it led kenyatta and his deputy to the hague on international criminal court charges of inciting violence which were only recently dropped. nobody wants a repeat of that violence but that is up to the men in charge. in order for this election to be successful and peaceful, people have to have trust in the system, to consider it to have been free and fair, particularly in the opposition strongholds that are the biggest slums in nairobi. and if it is really close, how people will react will depend on how gracious the loser is in defeat. and so to technology. fingerprints matching voters to the electoral roll. it slowed the process down and led to long lines but was largely a success.

in terms of resource management... before the poll, the election commission's head of technology appeared on tv, reassuring people that his system could not be rigged. but when his tortured and strangled body was found a week ago, it put the whole country on edge. when the polling stations closed, it was with relief that things had gone well. we appreciate it is a peaceful election. it is not like the other one. yeah, it's good. there is no fight. i think it is going well. the system this time has been much better than last time. the voting is very fast, as you can see. but the big test will come if the result is close and the counting is questioned. the opposition has threatened to call its supporters out on the streets, and that could lead to violence. alastair leithead, bbc news, nairobi. hong kong has now closed 13 beaches,

in total, as congealed palm oil washes ashore. the oil appeared after a collision between two ships near the pearl river estuary in southern china. official cleaning teams have been sent to clear the beaches, but there is mounting criticism of the government's response. nichola carroll reports. it is the time of year when hong kong residents normally head for the beach but many are now off—limits after this latest incident spilt a huge amount of palm oil into the sea. you could easily mistake these snow—like balls as fossils from the ocean, but this is the palm oil that has hardened, following last week's accident. groups of volunteers have been arriving to help with the cleanup. they are worried about the length of time it may take to clear. this is the third time this beach has been cleaned and i come back in the morning, before it is a really sunny,

and it looks like it has snowed here. every morning it looks like it snowed in hong kong, and every afternoon it has all melted back down under the sand. a number of the city's most popular swimming spots have been closed. a team of local volunteers from lamma island, in the south of hong kong, have braved the sweltering heat, filling tons of rubbish bags at a time. it is hard, it's hot, and it's disgusting. really, it's like, just look at that. these people, we are all volunteers. where are you, government? one of the vessels is said to be carrying 9,000 tons of palm oil. the hong kong government says that just 50 of those have been cleared so far. they say the chinese authorities informed of the collision two days after it happened. this could have been prevented before it got to the beach. the government could have or should have had policies and procedures in place. once it has hit the beach it is too

late, it is already a disaster. officials say the oil is non—toxic and harmless and that the beaches are closed as a precaution. but the spill, at the height of summer, has lefta stench over the area and it could be months or even years before the real damage is known. nicola carroll, bbc news. police in london have failed so far to trace a jogger seen on cctv, apparently pushing a woman into the path of a bus. they've now appealed to the public to help. the footage shows the man running on putney bridge in the south—west of the city. thanks to a bus driver's rapid reactions, the woman is ok. daniella relph reports. 7.41 in the morning, the manjogging on putney bridge and then this. the quick thinking of the bus driver saved the woman's life. the police believe thejogger deliberately pushed her. when you look closely, you see him raise his hands and make contact.

the woman's head and shoulders are then on the road in the path of the bus. 15 minutes later, the jogger came back across the bridge here, running straight past the woman he'd previously knocked over. she tried to talk to him. he just ignored her. passers—by, as well as those who got off the bus, helped the injured woman. the police say she was shocked and upset, but was not seriously hurt. it's very small margins. if it hadn't been for very good reflexes on the part of the bus driver or... the level of force was such to push her even further into the road, almost certainly this could have ended in a fatality. the investigation is focused on finding this man — the mysterious jogger. detectives say they have received a number of useful calls, including other people reporting similar incidents elsewhere in london. those leading the investigation stress they believe this was an isolated incident, but are struggling to understand why anyone would deliberately push

someone into the road during the morning rush—hour. daniella relph, bbc news, putney stay with us on bbc news, much more to come, including the america couple who decided to swap charleston, south carolina, for halifax, nova scotia, after donald trump's election victory. now the journey north begins. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a hugejob of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutalformer dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia, where he lived in exile

since being overthrown in 1979. 2 billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millenium. it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bengal. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: north korea says its considering missile strikes near the us pacific airbase on guam after president trump warns that any threats by pyongyang will be, "met with fire and fury." early results in kenya's election put president uhuru kenyatta in the lead, but the figures are rejected by his rival,

raila odinga. more now on the increasing tensions in the korean peninsula. john mecklin is editor in chief of the bulletin of atomic scientists, a newsletter, which engages science leaders, policy makers, on topics of nuclear weapons and disarmament, and was behind the iconic doomsday clock, which recently was set at 11:58pm. john, good to talk to you. i have to ask the question so many are wondering about — what are the chances of war, either in north korea attacked, or an american attack? i think and hope they are very small. i actually think a lot of the rhetorical at is going on is extremely unhelpful, but i think in the end the people and around our president and around the leader of north korea no that nobody wins in nuclear war. so, how do you read the dramatically more alarming rhetoric from president trump, as much as

pyongyang, and when the us secretary of state has been in the region using different language saying, we don't want regime change, we are not a threat. the best thing i can say about it is that it is otherwise. i don't understand what possible good could come from the united states president issuing these kind of threats. i don't see what the utility of it is unless it is political. so where do you see it going, lots of people say that the north korea leader is not mad, but there are is a danger of miscalculation and possible disaster? i think this miscalculation is the biggest problem, really, and we havejust published an interview with sid hacker, one of the world's united states leading experts, who advocates that the united states sent a small delegation not to

negotiate but just sent a small delegation not to negotiate butjust to talk sent a small delegation not to negotiate but just to talk with the north korean leader is to set up some kind of communication so there isn't some sort of misapprehension of moves from one side or the other —— leaders. that would lead into a real catastrophe. i mean, hundreds of thousands of people could die very quickly, and i don't think anyone wants that. john, where do you see the opportunity for more peaceful movement to reduce this crisis? the regime will never give up crisis? the regime will never give up this programme. ideally the regime wants the us of the korean peninsular. yes, i don't mean to say it is an easy problem, but it is a long standing problem. there is no emergency today. it is sort of an invented emergency. 0k, emergency today. it is sort of an invented emergency. ok, the north has tested some missiles that have some kind of capability of going farther than missiles they had before. but really nothing has

changed. and there is the opportunity i think to talk to the north korean government to ratchet down the tension and the rhetoric and start to think about, well, what is the end resolution here? is it just containment of north korea, you know, is it a freezing of their programmes in exchange for something that they want, some sort of assurances? there are ways to deal with difficult situations, and those ways that don't include threatening annihilation on the other side. lets hope. thank you very much indeed. thank you. the country music star, glen campbell, has died aged 81. he had alzheimers. in 60 years of making music, he moved from studio session player to became a hugely popular interpreter of classic songs. three hits, written by the great jimmy webb, in particular: galveston, by the time i get to phoenix, and wichita lineman. david sillito looks back. # i am a lineman for the county...

# and i drive the main road.# wichita lineman, its wide open spaces, yearning, loneliness, america turned into song. but what truly made it a masterpiece was the voice of glen campbell. # i hear you singing in the wires...# he had been born in billstown arkansas, a large poor family of cotton pickers. his escape was his uncle boo who taught him to play guitar. i don't remember not having a guitar or a musical instrument in my hand. and then dad bought a guitarfor, like, $5.95. it was one where the cowboy was up here and the rope went around the hole in the guitar and the lasso on the calf this end and the string about the neck. but i found out real quick

that it was lighter than pulling a cotton sack or ploughing. # you just said baby, how i love you...# he could play anything and ended up singing on tv shows and on hundreds of singles with the session musicians the wrecking crew, phil spector, the righteous brothers, frank sinatra, it was glenn campbell on guitar. and eventually... # but not to where i cannot see... ..a breakthrough hit of his own. # rivers flowing gentle on my mind.# but it was the partnership with songwriterjimmy webb that gave him a career defining songs, by the time we get to phoenix, # she'll be rising. ..galveston, wichita lineman. clean cut, conservative, he was suddenly country music's biggest star, with his own tv show. # i have someone who needs me # someone i've needed so long... # but i'm going to be where the lights # are shining on me...#

rhinestone cowboy was a glorious return to form after a dip in fortunes that had taken place in the ‘70s. but his personal life was farfrom glorious. # the heartbreak boy...# i think i probably just quit letting god run my life and i actually just got into the drugs and the booze pretty heavy. # i am a lineman for the county, and i...# what? drive the main roads. that slight stumble over the words, it was the beginning of alzheimer's. # and the wichita lineman...# he'd long put his wild days behind him but memories were fading. what stayed with him when so much else had gone was the music. the songs of glenn campbell. let's take a look at some of the other stories

making the news. the south african president, jacob zuma, has told supporters they have shown that his african national congress party was the organisation of the people. he narrowly survived a parliamentary vote of no confidence held by secret ballot. an earthquake has killed at least nine people and injured more than 160 in china's south—western province of sichuan. the quake measured 6.5 in magnitude. because the region is so remote it's not immediately clear how serious the damage is. now, every us election night, no matter who wins, many disappointed by the result vow to move to canada. what started as a joke for heather and robin vargas is becoming a reality. eight months after the votes were counted, they've quit theirjobs, filled out the paper work and are swapping their lives in charleston, south carolina for halifax, nova scotia.

here's their story. we're starting brand—new, we're quitting jobs, we're leaving friends, and we're starting a new life over in canada. the decision to move to halifax came about election night. we saw the numbers come in. a much better night for donald trump and his campaign team than anyone predicted. it was a shock, and then it was just disheartening. wejokingly said, i guess it's time to move to canada. heather got online and she went to the immigration website. canada's immigration website has crashed. i guess a lot of people had the same idea. a lot of family and friends didn't think we were serious, but as ijoined newsletters and as i became more educated on the process of immigration, they realised that we were moving. we started to do more research about canada and we found that the ideals just aligned more greatly with ours.

we started injanuary, we hit the ground running with background checks, employment history, you have to have a certain amount of savings. at the end of april, we went up and visited halifax, nova scotia. we wanted to see how the character measured up in real life as opposed to through the screen. we picked out apartments, we had to browse businesses forjob opportunities. it really solidified our decision to move there. the people are incredible. i am a sunshine person. i love blue skies and sunshine, i do know it is a bit more overcast up there. it will be a climate adjustment, that is one of my biggest concerns. one of my biggest concerns is jobs. i work as a termite technician, and

canada has termites. i am an office manager, i have done it for over six years now, plus. i am getting my mba, i would like to take that experience and maybe seek out a new profession. we'll still retain our american citizenship while being canadian permanent residentes. we just can't vote in canada. i am excited to dive into this new life. we will kind of play it by ear. i would love to get up there, stay up there and fall in love with it, and maybe one day become a canadian citizen. the story there of the vargas and their move to canada. you can catch more on that and all of the news on the bbc news website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. thanks for watching. well, let me start with a very dramatic picture from tuesday.

that's some rough weather. here's a big storm just off the coast of essex, and two waterspouts, so the marine equivalent of a tornado. pretty incredible. and also a thunderstorm picture here from the south end. some rough weather over the last 12 or 18 hours or so. this low pressure system is spinning around the uk. mind, london missed the bad weather. scotland and northern ireland also had some sunshine. throughout wednesday morning, there will be further rain, particularly across lincolnshire, and parts in the midlands and into eastern wales and down into the south—west, as well. and also the possibility of some thunder and lightning in some areas as well. note how very different the weather is in northern england, scotland and northern ireland. a fine start for the day there.

lots of sunshine. so, let's start on a positive note, then. so right from the word go, belfast, glasgow, aberdeen, edinburgh, sunshine to start — temperatures 13 or 1a degrees during the morning rush. then thicker cloud across the north of england and wales. but this is where heavy rain will be, say, to, say, northampton. just about nudging into the home counties, and squeezing into the south—west, as well. at this stage, from bournemouth, brighton, into kent and sussex will probably stay dry. heavy rain or showers will get going through the course of the i think latter part of the morning into the afternoon. a little like on tuesday, like yesterday. so, downpours around, slow—moving as well, raining for a while in many locations. say, the home counties, east anglia, maybe london as well. this south—eastern portion of the country and the south—east will see some downpours. this is where the worst of the weather will be. looking further north will be fine. how are we doing compared to the rest of europe?

a bit of a heatwave across some central and southern and eastern parts of europe, look at rome, 37 celsius. a bit too hot to me. i would rather the 18 in london. high pressure starts to build on thursday. we still have the tail end of that wet weather across east anglia and the south east. so, it may start of grey and wet for a time. it's such a slow moving air of cool weather. that pushes away. high pressure builds and a window of fine weather develops on thursday. thursday the best day, and then friday into saturday the weather will be hit and miss, once again. this is bbc news, the headlines: north korea has said it's considering a ballistic missile strike near the us strategic bomber airbase on guam, in the western pacific. president trump has declared that any further threats from pyongyang will be met, as he put it, "with fire and fury like the world has never seen". kenya's opposition candidate, raila odinga, has rejected early results which indicate a strong lead for his rival, president uhuru kenyatta. the election commission

says with 80% of polling stations counted, mr kenyatta has 55% of the vote. the american country music star glen campbell has died. he was eighty—one and had alzheimers. he was best known for hits including rhinestone cowboy and wichita lineman. as a session musician he also played on some of the biggest records of the 1960s, from frank sinatra to the beach boys now it's time for hardtalk.