hello, this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. our top stories, ramping up the rhetoric — north korea announces what it calls a serious plan to target guam — the us defence secretary says pyongyang's actions could result in the destruction of its people. kenya's electoral commission dismisses accusations its computer system was hacked. the opposition rejects the provisional results favouring president kenyatta. back on track — the botswanan sprinter who's battled his way to the 200m final at the world athletics championships 48 hours after being banned because of an infectious virus. hello, i'm sally bond doc with the business stories. —— sally bundock. deadline day. toshiba secures an auditors sign off on its much delayed results and avoids delisting, but analysts warn its future still hangs in the balance. and facebook ups its television game. the social media giant makes a

move into dedicated video, pitting it against youtube and other television networks. welcome to the programme. tensions between the us and north korea show no signs of abating after pyongyang released a new statement accusing president trump of being "bereft of reason". the statement also gave more details of north korea's threat to fire missiles towards a us base in the pacific. but it pointed out the plan had yet to be approved by north korea's leader, and the us has warned the north its actions could mean the "end of its regime." nick bryant reports from washington. a far—off american outpost in the tropical waters of the western pacific now finds itself at the centre of a dangerous stand—off. this is guam, the site this summer of us military exercises, american territory that north korea says could now be

in the firing line. from north korean state tv came this chilling headline, that guam could be targeted by medium to long—range rockets. and it came just hours after president trump threatened pyongyang with some of the most incendiary rhetoric used by a us president in decades. the words improvised. the tone agreed upon beforehand with aides. 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. and more tough talk on twitter this morning. on a refuelling stop—over in guam, the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, used more soothing language. "the island faced no imminent threat," he said, "and americans shouldn't lose any sleep." what the president is doing

is sending a strong message to north korea in language that kim jong—un would understand, because he doesn't seem to understand diplomatic language. this small island is more than 2,000 miles away from pyongyang, but well within range of its missiles. with two military bases, it's a strategic military hub for america in the pacific, and the home to 160,000 people. i guess the first thing that comes to mind is, immediately, first, where is my family? to come up with a plan about if anything happens. i think the response that president trump has presented is pretty much spot on. past administrations have just let it slide and kicked the can down the road, so now north korea feels like they can get away with anything. donald trump has vowed that he will be the president who deals decisively with the north korean problem.

with the rhetoric already at such a perilous pitch, there's the danger that both sides become captive to their own tough words, that they talk themselves into a more serious confrontation. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. live now to our correspondent, yogita lamaye in seoul. with the united states warning north korea that its actions could mean the end of this regime, incredibly provocative words there. we understand south korea will be holding an emergency meeting. any sense of what they might be looking to do at that? we just heard from a military spokesman here in seoul a short while back. today they sent out a strong message to north korea. they have said this is a threat, the threat coming from pyongyang is a

challenge to thejoint threat coming from pyongyang is a challenge to the joint forces of the united states and south korea, and if north korea conducts any provocation and defies this stern warning, there will be a strong response from the joint forces of the us and south korea. the later today there will be the smashed —— national security council meeting. it must be noted, every time it is an unusual meeting or an emergency meeting, like when a meeting was held after the last missile test on 28july, the held after the last missile test on 28 july, the president held after the last missile test on 28july, the president attended it. today the president is not attending the meeting. in a sense, that kind of indicates what level of emergency the country is treating it with. 0ut on the streets of seoul, things are quite normal. the border is only 50 kilometres away but things on the streets are not tense. that is because this country is used to dealing with threats from its neighbour and has been for a long time. so although they are treating it seriously they do not think there is any cause for alarm yet. 0k.

thank you, yogita lamaye, in the south korean capital. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the united nations says 50 african migrants have been deliberately drowned by people smugglers off the coast of yemen. the international organization for migration says they were among 120 migrants who were forced off a boat into rough seas on wednesday. most of those on the boat were young somali and ethiopian people hoping to reach countries in the gulf. police in france have arrested a man suspected of carrying out an attack on a group of soldiers in a suburb of paris. the troops had just left their barracks to go on patrol, when a car accelerated and drove into them. hours later, security forces shot and wounded a man about 250 kilometres north of the capital. the us has expelled two cuban diplomats following claims a sonic device was used to damage the hearing of some us embassy staff in havana.

cuba's foreign ministry denies the accusation, and says it's willing to co—operate with washington. the state department confirmed that its diplomats had returned after suffering a variety of physical symptoms. the captain of mexico's national football team has been sanctioned by the us for allegedly being a "front person" for a major drug—trafficking cartel. rafa marquez was one of 21 people and a0 organisations named by the us treasury department. he is accused of having financial ties with an alleged drug trafficker. kenya's electoral commission has denied opposition claims its it system was hacked in order to manipulate tuesday's election results. raila 0dinga, the main opposition candidate, had rejected the provisional results which indicated a strong lead for president uhuru kenyatta. the former us secretary of statejohn kerry, a foreign election observer, asked all sides to be patient. sarah corker reports. there have been calls for calm in kenya after the opposition alleged the electoral results had been hacked.

veteran opposition leader raila 0dinga called the results fake. he believes they've been altered on the electoral commission's it system. he said the hackers used the identity of a top it official to gain access. he was murdered last week. over 12 hours this attack on our democracy affected the presidential elections in all the 47 counties. what the iebc has posted on the results of the presidential elections is a complete fraud. provisional results put president uhuru kenyatta comfortably in the lead. he hasn't commented on the claims, but posted this picture on facebook. but allegations of vote rigging led

to isolated protests and violence in opposition strongholds in the western city of kisumu and the slum areas of nairobi. kenya's election chief, though, said no hacking took place and the vote wasn't compromised. there was no external influence on the system at any point before, during and after the voting. the high profile of this election is in part due to the fear the closeness of the vote could lead to violence, as happened ten years ago. the former us secretary of statejohn kerry, part of the foreign monitors team, appealed for calm. people need to be patient and let this process work through and not jump to conclusions at this point in time. and so in the coming days until the electoral commission verifies the final result, canyons face an anxious wait. sarah corker, bbc news. could there be a glimmer of hope for

toshiba? don't get your hopes too high. today, the mystery over how much money the company has been losing or making could soon be solved. the troubled japanese tech giant says auditors have signed off its financial results for the year to the end of march. this comes after months of delays and should mean toshiba avoids an immediate delisting from the top tier of the tokyo stock exchange. so what's gone wrong for the iao—year—old japanese giant? well, two years ago an accounting scandal was revealed that led to the resignation of several members of the firm's senior management, including the boss. at the time company was found to have inflated the previous seven years profits by a massive $1.2 billion. problems came to a head again this year, when toshiba's us nuclear unit, westinghouse, was forced to file for bankruptcy protection after suffering a $13

billion cost overrun. as you can imagine its proving pretty difficult to find a buyer for westinghouse, so toshiba has yet to confirm any interest. so in a desperate move toshiba is forced to put up for sale its prized chips unit. this is a major part of its business, that makes memory chips for smartphones and computers. analysts have valued it at about $18 billion. all of this has taken its toll on the company's share price, which has effectively halved, and in april toshiba actually warned that its survival may be at risk. facebook has announced it is launching a new service designed to compete with television. users in the us will soon see a new watch tab that will offer a range of shows, some of which have been funded by the social network. this opens up new revenue

potential for both facebook and programme makers. users can of course expect to see targeted advertising before and during the shows. a global rollout will follow in due course. so what does this mean for facebook, and what does it mean for you tube and what does it mean for you tube and its key competitors? we'll be talking about that in about 20 minutes. iam talking about that in about 20 minutes. i am on twitter. my freshly made cake will be on twitter soon.|j have seen that. i want to have a slice shortly. scientists in australia have discovered that miscarriages and birth defects can be prevented by taking a common vitamin. at the heart of the discovery is the dietary supplement vitamin b3, also known as niacin, which is found in foods like turkey, chicken and nuts. professor sally dunwoodie is a renowned biomedical researcher at the victor chang institute, shejoins me live from sydney. professor, just explain for us what

this discovery means, especially for families who have perhaps had the sadness of going through multiple miscarriages before? so, what we have identified is that a deficiency ina have identified is that a deficiency in a molecule called nad results in babies being born with earth defects and results in multiple miscarriages. what this means, and we have been able to show this in some experimental models, is that we can some experimental models, is that we ca n p reve nt some experimental models, is that we can prevent those earth defects and miscarriages with vitamin k and 3—man, as you said. —— birth defects. this brings hope to many people. in the uk there have been some 30,000 families annually affected by birth defects and

miscarriages. we are bringing hope to families around the world is that something as simple as a dietary supplement might be able to prevent them from having to endure birth defects and miscarriages. this vitamin, asi defects and miscarriages. this vitamin, as i mentioned, is found in things like turkey, chicken, nuts. what are the best sources of it? is it best to get it from certain foods 01’ it best to get it from certain foods or is it better to have it as a supplement? you are absolutely right, it is found in all of those food items. it is also very concentrated in marmite, for example, or the australian version, vegemite. the thing is, some women may not be able to get the full complement of niacin from their foods, or even from multivitamins. this research highlights that there are women at risk of having low nad levels and low vitamin levels, and

that then predisposes them to having babies with birth defects. what we need to do is identify those women, we need to do mori search to identify them, even though they might have a very healthy diet and might have a very healthy diet and might take in bulk —— taking multivitamins, we have to figure out which women have low levels of nad and then we need to figure out how much niacin we have to give them to prevent the birth defects and miscarriages. vitamin 33 has been known about for some time. i am just intrigued why it was at this point that researchers made the link between this particular vitamin and developing embryos. what led them to this discovery? we were not even looking in this direction. nad and vitamin b3, as you said, have always been important for normal health and growth. what we did, we were doing research with a couple of families who had had multiple miscarriages and babies who had had multiple

birth defects. they had heart defects, kidney defects. some of them had clu bfoot, defects, kidney defects. some of them had clubfoot, some of them had a cleft palates as well. we were sequencing the genes in these families and we found mutations in specific genes which that last of these discoveries. they basically pointed the way and said, you'd better look at the nad levels in these families based on the genetic mutations. that is what we did. we found the levels were low and we moved into a preclinical experimental model where we were able to prevent those miscarriages and earth defects by adding niacin and earth defects by adding niacin and increasing niacin in the drinking water, and we were able to prevent miscarriages and birth defects completely. professor, many thanks indeed. still to come: bizarre scenes at the world championships as the botswana star sprinter goes solo for the

200m. 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. two billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millennium. 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 announces what it calls a serious plan to target guam, but the us defence secretary says pyongyang's actions could result in the destruction of its people. kenya's electoral commission dismisses accusations its computer system was hacked. the opposition rejects the provisional results. in sport, botswana's isaac makwala returned to action at the world athletics championships in london. he had been quarantined for two days after contracting the norovirus. three gold medals were decided on day six, and there was a shock result in the women's 400m. colm harrison has more. the women's a00m final was seen as a showdown between the defending champion, alison phoenix of the usa, and shaunae miller—uibo

from the bahamas. and the latter was on course to add the world title to her olympic gold, but she stumbled with the finish—line in sight, and was overtaken in the final metres. it was phyllis francis coming through to get gold. a first individual medal for the usa relay regular, who seemed as stunned as anyone by her victory. norway got the a00m hurdles, leading from gun until the tape. giving the country their first gold in the event, and the first medal of the championships. and china got the only field goal on offer on wednesday, throwing 19 metres to win the women's shot put. the action of the night began with the bizarre sight of botswana's isaac makwala taking part in a 200m time trial on his own.

he was controversially barred from earlier attempts after being diagnosed with a virus. after repeating his 48—hour quarantine, he was given a chance to qualify for the 200m. he had to go faster than 20.53 seconds to make it, and showed no sign of illness as he did just that. two hours later, he went to the semis, as well. and so did the south african wayde van niekerk, attempting to get a 400—200 double. 0nly sneaking into the final as one of the fastest losers. also on day six, darya klishina, the russian, breezed into the long jump, posting 6.66m in the second round. and mo farah, the home favourite, is through to the next round. he eased through his heat. for farah, a fifth global 5,000m and 10,000m double is still on. the eighth women's rugby world cup got underway in dublin on wednesday, and the winners included the holders, england, former champions new zealand, and the host nation, ireland, as sarah mulkerrins reports.

well, the sun has set here in dublin after the opening day of the women's rugby world cup. and boy, did we get plenty of tries. england, the defending champion, started well, 56—5 against spain. ten tries in that victoryjust showing the strength of the side. they are the only full—time professional team here, and they have such strength and depth in this squad. 12 debutants lining up to begin with. they will be the ones to watch. new zealand, four—time champions in this tournament. they did get knocked out in the pool stages three years ago. so they're looking for a bit of a comeback here. 411—12 against wales, eight tries.

a big win for canada, the runners—up three years ago. 98—0, beating the debutants, hong kong. a tough opener for hong kong. the hosts, ireland, they had fans on the edge of their seats towards the end of their match. just a two—point margin of victory ireland gave theirfans in dublin. 19—17 they eventually won against australia, much to the relief of the home crowd. for americans of a certain generation, the mention of a howard johnson‘s restaurant brings back memories of pancakes wolfed down on the road. today, just one remains, and you will have to go to lake george in new york if you are craving one of their ice creams. so what happened to the once—booming franchise? 0ur correspondent with a certain connection went to find out. it is 19505 america, and howard johnson‘s roadside restaurant chain is booming. as more americans buy ca i’s is booming. as more americans buy cars and take to the highways, there

isa cars and take to the highways, there is a growing need to feed the weary travellers. and by the early nineteen seventies, howard johnson‘s becomes the largest food chain in america, with more than 1000 restau ra nts. america, with more than 1000 restaurants. but fast forward to 2017, and there is only one left. la ke 2017, and there is only one left. lake george, new york state. now, before we explore the reasons why, i should declare that i have a personal interest in this story, as my name is also howard johnson. growing up in the uk, visiting americans would laugh when i told them my name. this would be my first visit to a howard johnson‘s restau ra nt. visit to a howard johnson‘s restaurant. i had arranged a meeting with a 90—year—old who agreed a franchise deal to build this restau ra nt franchise deal to build this restaurant in the tourist area of la ke restaurant in the tourist area of lake george. the work was so

successful that we went to one restau ra nt successful that we went to one restaurant to six howard johnson‘s. it brings back memories, it does. you can almost put one anywhere, it will go, in its heyday. because it was well known. and also the competition by chains was not there. cutbacks after the company went public were one factor in its demise. but ben &jerry‘s also muscled in on the ice cream business and mcdonald's became king of the road. we screwed up, as a company we screwed it up. we could have made a 90, screwed it up. we could have made a go, but we didn't. but, you know, thatis go, but we didn't. but, you know, that is history, and nothing is forever. so how likely is it that the last howard johnson‘s will still be open this time next year?|j the last howard johnson‘s will still be open this time next year? i think what is really going to happen is la ke what is really going to happen is lake george every year, u nfortu nately, lake george every year, unfortunately, is declining. it has got to be where it could be a 60— a0 deal. you know, 60% maybe not, a0%

maybe still having it open. and that is sad news for hojo fans, who grew up is sad news for hojo fans, who grew up with the brand. when i was young there were lots of howard johnson‘s, and this is the last one. very sad. this is the last one standing, so we are going to try and plug it out and go forward for as long as we can. and that thing about my name... no way. that's not true! are you serious? that is so cool. howard johnson reporting. the giant inflata ble howard johnson reporting. the giant inflatable chicken is dominating parkland around the white house. the so—called trump chicken is part of a campaign to force donald trump to release his tax returns. the inflata ble release his tax returns. the inflatable paltry is back, this time under a new owner “—

inflatable paltry is back, this time under a new owner —— poultry. hello there. much of the country was fine and dry, with some good sunny spells on wednesday. the south—east of england was atrocious, cold and wet. that is this area of low pressure, slowly moving a wagering thursday morning. we have got another weather system slowly approaching the final quest of the uk, but elsewhere a ridge of high pressure, which means many places starting fine and dry. that weather system will be introducing thicker cloud to the north and the north—west of scotland. the odd spit and spot of light rain, i think much of scotla nd and spot of light rain, i think much of scotland are nice and fine morning with some sunshine. the same for northern ireland. most places starting off at a chilly note for early august. but at least you will have the sunshine to compensate. for the south—east there will still be a hang back of that weather front. spots of rain for kent. elsewhere the sunshine will be breaking through that cloud, with still a fairly stiff northerly breeze taking the edge of the temperatures.

through the day conditions improving. a few heavy showers developing the kent but elsewhere it should stay dry apart from the very far north—west of scotland. temperature—wise we are looking at 17 to 20 degrees quite widely, much warmer across the south—east compared to wednesday, with a high of 21 or 22 degrees. so it is looking good for the athletics that at london stadium. plenty of sunshine, light winds and temperatures around 21 or 22 degrees. a fine end to the day for much of the country, though. 0vernight, though, it looks like for england and wales it will stay dry. with light winds and clear skies it will turn chilly, particularly out of town. for scotland and northern ireland that weather front will be moving in, turning wet and windy here but not quite as cold because of the cloud and wind moving in from the south—west. here is the weather system which will be with us to bring an increasingly wet and windy day across the board to friday. having said that, though, central, southern and eastern areas will be starting off fine. there will be some early sunshine around, which

will slowly fade as the rain pushes its way eastwards. some of that could be quite heavy across western areas. temperatures at 16 to 21 degrees across the south—east. friday night could be quite a wet one, especially central, southern and eastern areas. those weather fronts moving away and over the weekend of the ridge of high pressure will build and will mean for both saturday and sunday it is looking pretty good. it will be largely dry. variable amounts of cloud, some good, sunny spells. can't promise a heatwave because it will be quite cool as well. this is bbc world news. the headlines: the united states and north korea are continuing to exchange threats. pyongyang has announced what it calls a serious plan to target guam. the us says they must stop pursuing nuclear weapons or face the destruction of its people. kenya's electoral commission has dismissed accusations its computer system was hacked. the main opposition party has rejected provisional results which indicate a strong lead for president kenyatta. the us has expelled two cuban diplomats, following claims a sonic device was used to damage

the hearing of some embassy staff in havana. cuba's foreign ministry denies the accusation, and says it's willing to co—operate with washington. the captain of mexico's national football team has been sanctioned by the us after being accused of links to a drug—trafficking cartel. rafa marquez won't be able to travel to the us and his american assets