this is bbc news. the headlines at 4: the national crime agency says the scale of slavery in the uk is far bigger than previously thought — with victims in every large town and city in the country. north korea accuses donald trump of being bereft of reason after his "fire and fury" nuclear threat. the regime says only force can work on the us president and threatens to fire four rockets towards the american territory of guam. after 18 people are convicted of abusing girls in newcastle, the former director of public prosecutions says the crime should be treated as "profoundly racist". also in the next hour — the number of potentially contaminated eggs sent to britain from dutch farms is much higher than initial estimates. the food standards agency says 700,000 may have reached the uk, but stresses that any risk to public health is "very unlikely". and from despair to delight — just three days after being barred from the heats of the world athletics championship 200 metres, isaac makwala earns a chance to run for gold in tonight's final. the scale of slavery and human

trafficking is far bigger than has previously been thought. that's the stark warning from the national crime agency, which says there are more than 300 police operations in this country currently investigating slavery and trafficking crimes. the agency says it was shocked by its findings and warns that previous estimates that the number of victims in the uk are between 10,000 and 13,000 may just represent the "tip of the iceberg". hwasong, will kerr has been outlining the problem. we have seen victims as young as 12 being moved gci’oss victims as young as 12 being moved across and into the country for the

purpose of being exploited. in the case of a 12—year—old girl for labour exploitation. we have seen children forced to engage in prostitution. this is a growing problem for which we think there is a shared responsibility across society to address. earlier i spoke to our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani. he began by telling me that it's not easy for the authorities to obtain an exact estimate of the number of victims affected by human trafficking. i don't think we will know for sure, because it is a hidden crime. it is about organised crime gangs operating across international boundaries to maximise their profits by shipping people around and treating them as commodities. what appears to be happening is a concern among authority that this was a problem that was soaking up more and more of organised crime's attention and they were shifting from drugs

into shipping people around into prostitution. now they're saying there are all manner of areas of the economy where you will find people who are in controlled labour, working against their will, barely being paid. such as in construction, agriculture, fishing, nail bars and quite simply nobody seems to have a real handle on how big the problem is. for six months the national crime agency has been spence fig effo rts crime agency has been spence fig efforts it has found it is a problem in every large town and city in the uk and it can't quantify the estimates, but the previous estimates, but the previous estimates are very short of mark. which suggests this has been around for a lot longer and someone somewhere has been dragging their feet. i think that is the criticism today. what we have had in the last

two years today. what we have had in the last two yea rs is today. what we have had in the last two years is new laws under a modern slavely will passed by parliament that. was supposed to increase sentencing and create an anti—slavery commissioner. he last night said in a newspaper interview he had real concerns that there had been a lot of feet being dragged on this, because he said there was intelligence on national data bases about the gangs and the victims which hadn't been acted upon fast enough and we know anecdotally that some police forces locally have been more focussed on this than others. the nca this morning in its defence said that there had been a sea—change in its response over the last six month and it is done a monthly wade of targeting. each of the raids seem to reveal further leads. i think we are on the start ofa leads. i think we are on the start of a long journey in time to get on

top of this project. north korea has called the us president donald trump bereft of reason — saying only absolute force can work on him, as it gave more details about its threat to an american military base in the western pacific. the regime — which is reported to have developed the ability to attach nuclear warheads to its missiles — says it's considering firing four rockets towards the american territory of guam. president trump says north korea's threats will be met with fire and fury. south korea has appealed for calm. 0ur correspondent yogita limaye reports. one more fierce message on north korea's state tv. this time, it's details of how it plans to attack guam. this us island in the pacific ocean is in pyongyang's crosshairs. north korea says it plans to fire four missiles in the waters around it. it's home to tens of thousands of people. 0bviously for me, because i'm a father, it's really concerning. i wish it didn't have to come to that. i'm pretty confident

that the us will protect us. but in the war of words with north korea, america's president is not backing down either. he boasted of his country's nuclear arsenal, matching the aggression that over the years, people have come to expect from pyongyang. what's different this time is that we're hearing very similar rhetoric from the us president, so that's certainly ratcheted up tension and perhaps gives pyongyang a bit morejustification to keep building their nuclear programme. so it will actually feed their anti—american propaganda. but while donald trump's remarks might be provocative, there are hopes that others in his government could help tone down the message coming from america. it's a very difficult situation. i would say this, that his secretary of defense and national security adviser are universally respected. there are some cool hands around him during this crisis and i hope he listens to them. 0ne country that's hoping to defuse this crisis soon is south korea.

it's seen this kind of situation many times before, and while it's working closely with the us to ramp up its defence programme, it also wants a diplomatic solution. its national security council held a meeting to discuss the issue, and it said it was keeping a channel for dialogue with north korea open. but the mood on the streets of pyongyang was not conciliatory. on wednesday, a mass of people marched in support of the leadership. no evidence here to suggest that things are going to cool down. yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. 0ur correspondent rupert wingfield hayes is on the pacific island of guam. he sent us this update. this behind me here is the gates to andersen air force base here in guam. and this is a place that north korea really doesn't like because andersen is home to a fleet of b1s,

those big sleek swing wing bombers. every time north korea does something that the american president doesn't like, he sends some of his b1s from here to fly up to the korean peninsula and along the demilitarised zone. he's really saying to the north korean regime, "if you don't do what america wants, give up your ballistics programme "and nuclear weapons programme, then this is what you'll get. "and this is where it will come from". if north korea's aim is to scare people, well, have a look, it doesn't seem to be working. certainly people are not fleeing the beaches for the airport, and that's because most people here, both locals and tourists, think this is more of north korea's normal bluster. but the threat against guam is very specific and that has a few people worried, that maybe, just maybe, kim jong—un is planning some sort of action, to fire one or more missiles over japan in this direction.

not to strike guam, but to hit close by. and if he did do that, it's possible the mood here would change very dramatically. we can now speak to drjo spear, an associate professor of international affairs and director of the security policy studies program at the george washington university. given what's happened are we into a case of who blinks first?” given what's happened are we into a case of who blinks first? i think things have gone quieter over the last 2a hours. this might be a good thing. president trump has not tweeted today and some of his more enthusiastic advisors were on the airwaves yesterday. but potentially we may at least be at a pause and south korea has been offering dialogue and mediation. secretary

tillerson has been trying to calm the situation. so you know potentially things maybe calming down a bit. south korea, which everybody seems to forget, they have said they could help? yes and we have a new president in south korea president moon, who came in with an agenda of trying to talk with north korea. something that had in the past worked quite well and had improved relations between the two koreas. so that is his explicit agenda. but north korea is actually more interested in having america's attention than it is in having south korea's at this point. it has the whole world's attention at the moment, in washington what is the sense of how the president is dealing with this? the president is actually at his golf resort in inn

jersey and the officials he has taken with him are those who empower trump to be trump, for those lest in washington, that is a concern, because he can be very much frank and unscripted in his remarks. so that has all the technocrats of washington worried. #12k3wliri9 that has all the technocrats of washington worried. #12k3w4ri9 this isa washington worried. #12k3w4ri9 this is a problem that donald trump inherited, many look to president 0bama for not doing enough, this a sense that donald trump is in danger of losing control of the situation completely? it is a danger and you will notice in the rhetoric from each side that they have ex—police si ptly each side that they have ex—police siptly said that the —— explicitly said that the other side is not understanding them. that is an issue, because there is the potential for things, what should issue, because there is the potentialfor things, what should be just missile rattling and rhetoric actually spilling out of continental

i think it is something —— spilling of of control. is is something the america government are aware of and there are reports that north korea are aware that china and russia are not backing it up and actually agree with the un sanctions that was one of factors for this latest round of spat. you say spat, do you feel the comparisons with mod around the cuban missile crisis, are they misplaced with this?” cuban missile crisis, are they misplaced with this? i think they're over played, but north korea regularly has done this over many administrations. even with the 1994 agreement struck with the clinton administration, they have used their missile programme and now their

nuclear programme to try and ensure their regime and get international attention and they will continue to do that. the new part of the alchemy of this is the trump administration, which doesn't always play by traditional diplomatic rules and is playing this differently. that makes ita playing this differently. that makes it a bit more unpredictable. thank you very much for your time. more on the story that police hunting a jogger who knocked a woman into a bus have arrested a man. sophie long has the latest. you remember seeing the cctv footage showing a malejogger running remember seeing the cctv footage showing a male jogger running across putney bridge in london and for no reason it appears he pushes a woman,

a 33—year—old woman, into the road. into the path of an oncoming bus. this happened on a friday morning in may at 20 to 8 in the morning, so busy traffic. you can see the bus driver responding quickly, swerving and manages to avoid her. people on the bus got off and helped the woman. we told by a police officer about 15 minutes later he comes back across the bridge and she tries to speak to across the bridge and she tries to speakto him. across the bridge and she tries to speak to him. they launched an appeal and asked anyone with information to come forward. they had a good, strong response and today they arrested a 50—year—old man. we were told he was arrested in the chelsea area. he was taken to a police station and we have been told by the police that they have released the man, the 50—year—old man, he has been released under investigation, pending further inquiries and the police are continuing to appeal for anyone who has further information 20 come forward. thank you. the headlines on bbc news:

the national crime agency says the scale of slavery in the uk is far bigger than previously thought — with victims in every large town and city in the country. the war of words escalates — north korea says a plan that could see it fire four missiles near the us territory of guam will be ready in a matter of days. the food standards agency now says seven hundred thousand contaminated eggs may have reached the uk, but stress that any risk to public health is "very unlikely" and in sport: jordan spieth begins his attempt to become the youngest winner of a golfing grand slam. he's underway at the us pga at quail hollow. he has had a steady start. it is being led by american gary woodland. botswana will celebrate isaac makwala day if the athlete who was banned, then reprieved, takes an remarkable gold in the 200 metres final at the world athletics champoinships. and also in london tonight, katarina johnson thompson will attempt to qualify for the high jump final. she'll have to improve

on her efforts in the heptathlon competition though to make it through. more on those stories later on. the former director of public prosecutions, lord macdonald, has said that the grooming of vulnerable white girls by south asian gangs needs to be recognised as "a profoundly racist crime". yesterday, eighteen people — mainly of pakistani or bangladeshi origin — were convicted of abusing girls in newcastle. the force involved in the case, northumbria police, has been defending its decision to pay a convicted child rapist £10,000 for information during the course of that investigation. our home affairs correspondent nick beake reports. the raids across newcastle smashed a grooming gang that was drugging and abusing young girls, one just 14 years old. the victims were mostly white, the attackers mainly british men from pakistani, indian and bangladeshi heritage. it's a story we've

heard time and again, 0xford, rochdale, cardiff to name a few. today, one former leading prosecutor condemned what he said had been a reluctance to investigate asian gangs who target vulnerable white girls, and that a big change was needed. i think some recognition that this is a problem in all communities and across communities, and recognising it for what it is, not pretending it's something else, recognising it for what it is, which is profoundly racist crime. it's thought more than 1,400 children in rotherham were groomed and abused by networks of predominantly asian men. the town's mp says a fear within the public sector of being branded racist has allowed this to happen. sadly, i think there is political correctness going on. people historically have been more concerned about not being seen to be racist than they have been concerned about protecting children. that has to change right now. in the light of these

latest newcastle cases, there are now calls for an inquiry into why groups of men are carrying out this abuse. some warn against stigmatising whole asian communities. 0thers insist that the problem needs to be tackled head—on. amongst these criminals, there is a mindset that white girls are worthless, that white girls can be used and abused and discarded unlike their own daughters and sisters. and i think that's a form of racism. we in the british pakistani community have to confront that. police forces say they have learned from their own failures in tackling grooming gangs, but the northumbria force has been criticised for paying a child rapist for information to help secure these latest convictions. yes, you might have got that evidence through other means, but it could have taken a whole lot longer and that in itself would have exposed vulnerable women and girls to an unacceptable level of risk.

personally, that doesn't sit comfortably with me morally either. controversy over the race of sexual abuse gangs has delayed justice for some victims. but these offenders in newcastle, at least, are now facing many years in jail. 0ur correspondent dan whitworth has been at northumbria police headquarters — a little earlier, he gave us this update. two voices forming the ramifications debate. we heard there lord macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, and a man to listen to with credibility, when he speaks on issues like this. he held the post for five years. a couple of quotes from him, he's describing crimes like this being carried out by mainly british asian men and that crimes like this must be identified as such and investigated as profoundly racist crimes. another point from lord macdonald,

similar crimes in the past, and we are talking of towns and cities across the uk, like rochdale and oxford, that the crimes in the past might not have been investigated as thoroughly as they should have been. lord macdonald has also been backed up by sarah champion, she is the labour mp from rotherham and also the shadow minister for women and equalities. she made this point this morning. she said there's a need to acknowledge that the vast majority of these perpetrators of these type of crimes are british asian men. she's calling on the government to carry out more research to find out why that is the case. the number of people waiting for routine surgery in england has reached its highest level

for nearly a decade. figures from nhs england show that injune there were about 3.83 million patients on waiting lists for operations — the highest total since december 2007. other key targets were also missed — including urgent referrals for cancer care. our health editor hugh pym has been analysing the figures, when he spoke to my colleague kate silverton. the nhs is doing more than it was, but that waiting list has been climbing and it was 3.83 million patients waiting for routine surgery and operations in the month ofjune. nhs england says it could be even 4 million because not all hospitals reported theirfigures. what about the key target of waiting 18 weeks and no more for a routine operation? injune the percentage who were seen within 18 weeks was 90.3%. below the 92% target. for cancer treatment, another very important target for the nhs, 80.5% of people were waiting

after an urgent referral to be seen within 62 days. that's the target there. obviously a lot more weren't in terms of the number above that. they have missed that target of 85%, as well. can you put that into context in terms of the background of these figures? it demonstrates the pressures on the nhs. key targets have been missed all year, and targets missed in a&e as well. it shows the stresses and strains on the nhs, dealing with more patients every year. resources and finances in england not keeping up with the patient demand growth. many would say more money is needed. others say the nhs needs to be more efficient. but certainly patients are having to wait longer for these important treatments and procedures. dutch investigators have arrested two suspects in connection with a probe into the discovery of fipronil insecticide in european eggs.

it comes as the food standards agency says around 700,000 eggs from dutch farms have been distributed to britain. that's much higher than the 21,000 first estimated. the scandal over the insecticide has seen millions of chicken eggs pulled from european supermarket the agency says it is very unlikely the eggs pose a risk to public health. emma simpson has been following the story. this is a fast moving story, they have been talking about fipronil which is banned for use for treating animals which are destined for human consumption, and so somehow this has ended up in the human supply chain. millions of eggs have been taken off the shelves in germany, for instance. the food standards agency reckoned about 21,000 eggs had been

distributed here in the uk. and a short time ago they said that actually it is 700,000, so that sounds a pretty large number. but we eat a lot of eggs, the fsa say that is just 0.007% of the eggs that we consume in the uk every year, and these aren't eggs that go into the boxes that we buy from the supermarkets. these eggs have gone into processed foods. such a common ingredient, so especially sandwiches and chilled foods like egg salads, where it isjust one ingredient, so potential harmful effects will be diluted. so don't panic? that is right, they have said it is unlikely to affect human health, but they have said they have acted with urgency to protect consumers as fipronil is banned

from being used in this way. but the chances are we have already eaten these eggs, but there are some products which are still within the expiry date and they are in the process of getting these supermarkets to withdraw these products. and we'll be answering your questions on this with our correspondent andy moore just after half four. you can still tweet me your questions @bbcsimonmccoy. and you can tweet me your questions, if you have questions about whether we should be worried about 700,000 eggs arrived in the uk from the area where this contamination happened. sunbathers in spain were surprised when a rubber dinghy with more than 20 migrants came ashore. according

to witnesses, the group escaped before police arrived. spain has seen an increase before police arrived. spain has seen an increase in attempts by migrants to reach the shores this year. the united states has expelled two cuban diplomats — amid suggestions that mysterious technology was used to damage the hearing of us embassy staff in havana. us state department officials believe covert sonic devices may have caused the severe hearing loss. cuba says it's investigating the claims. 0ur correspondent tom burridge reports. it was a moment when cuba and america's relationship changed. for decades, they were enemies, but the opening of america's embassy in havana two years ago set this island and its neighbouring superpower on a new path, with some trade and travel restrictions lifted. now, news about bizarre events in that very building. it's emerged that several us diplomats had to leave cuba last year for health reasons. they had apparently suffered severe hearing loss.

one theory is that the diplomats were subjected to a device which gave off low or high frequency sound which is inaudible to the human ear and that caused the damage. the us state department has given few concrete details. they've reported some incidents, which have caused a variety of physical symptoms. i'm not going to be able to give you a tonne of information about this today, but i'll tell you what we do have that we can provide so far. we don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents. since 2016 you don't know what this incident is? what this requires is providing medical examinations to these people. initially when they started reporting what i willjust call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing. but despite the uncertainty america expelled two cuban diplomats from washington in may of this year. cuba said that was unjustified. via state television,

the government categorically denied any foul play against the us embassy. cuba said it was carrying out its own thorough investigation and called on america to share information. america is not overtly blaming cuba, probably because so much is still unclear, and the relatively constructive reaction from officials in havana at least shows how much the dynamic between these two countries has changed. tom burridge, bbc news. headlines coming up and andy moore will have your answers about that 999 will have your answers about that egg scandal. but first a weather update. thank you very much, simon. always such a grand hand to the weather when simon's about! the

weather when simon's about! the weather will go down hill tomorrow. we have had a fine day today with sunshine and surprise, surprise, turning cloudy with some rain. we knew that fine weather that we had today wouldn't last. it is only a window of fine weather. it is closing in, you can see all the cloud moving into the north—west of the british isles. it will start range tonight in belfast and glasgow. i don't think the rain will be heavy, but it will be cloudy and drizzly with gale force winds around the western coast of scotland. but dry tonight in england and wales. that wet weather won't reach the rest of the country until tomorrow. these south eastern areas staying dry. by 4 o'clock the rain is only into lincolnshire and the home counties. the far south—east will stay dry tomorrow. this is bbc news, the headlines: slavery and human trafficking

in the uk is "far more prevalent than previously thought, " the national crime agency says. it warns that estimates of about 10,000 victims in the uk represent just the "tip of the iceberg". north korea denounces donald trump's warnings of "fire and fury" and says the us leader was "bereft of reason" — while claiming plans for a missile strike off the coast of guam could be ready in days. 700,000 eggs have been sent to the uk from potentially contaminated dutch farms, says the uk food watchdog — that's up from an earlier estimate ofjust 21,000, but the food standards agency stress that any risk to public health is "very unlikely". time for a look at the sport. the us pga championship is underway at quail hollow in north carolina.

jordan spieth is attempting to become the youngest grand slam golf winner. he's had a contentious start, level par after nine hole—macros. the leaders currently shared by two americans, herman and woodland. they are actually under par. they played 11 hole—macros so far, ina par. they played 11 hole—macros so far, in a shot ahead of thorbjorn 0resund. tommy fleetwood and lee westwood as well are playing, representing england. botswana will celebrate isaac makwala day if his world athletics championships story has a remarkable ending tonight. the country's sports minister has confirmed they'll mark their sprinter‘s achievements if he wins gold in the 200 metres at the london stadium, from where 0lly fosterjoins us. the pressure is really on isn't it? we have had four isaac makwala days already at the london stadium, and

incredible story really because of this norovirus arabic. he was put in isolation, pulled out of the 200 heats, missed the final bend but reinstated. he was given a second chance yesterday. high drama for the people saw him windy so low time trial to prove he was that public health england have confirmed up to 40 now for the norovirus outbreak, it is not contained to isaac makwala's hotel where those 13 cases we re makwala's hotel where those 13 cases were diagnosed. 0ther makwala's hotel where those 13 cases were diagnosed. other world championship venues, they are not specific locations or numbers, but extra ten, extra cases have been diagnosed. mitchell blake is also in the final. i know that the team captain, eilidh

doyle has said it is little disappointing that only one medal so farfor disappointing that only one medal so far for great disappointing that only one medal so farfor great britain but disappointing that only one medal so far for great britain but she can disappointing that only one medal so farfor great britain but she can do as much as anybody to amend that total? it is a big ask though. ashley was the —— she was the slowest qualifier. a p pa re ntly —— she was the slowest qualifier. apparently as british team captain. i was speaking to christina larson out who is not in this squad but now she was saying how bullied eilidh doyle was being. 0nly that one mo farah gold medal so far. we are looking forward to seeing katarina johnson—thompson. she was so disappointing in the highjump, going individually, her personal best would have won her 0lympic going individually, her personal best would have won her olympic gold last year. best would have won her olympic gold

last yea r. lots best would have won her olympic gold last year. lots of events getting underway with british whiners in qualifying lots of events getting underway with british —— british runners in qualifying. i'm looking forward to the men's triplejump i'm looking forward to the men's triple jump final. that has no i'm looking forward to the men's triplejump final. that has no brits in it but it does have christian taylor, an american superstar, two time world champion and two time 0lympic time world champion and two time olympic gold medallist. he says he's going all out tonight to break jonathan edwards's 22—year—old world record, that standard 18.2 nine. he is just record, that standard 18.2 nine. he isjust eight record, that standard 18.2 nine. he is just eight centimetres shy. thank you 0llie. the ‘wrong horse' who won a race at yarmouth at odds of 50—1 has been disqualified by the british horse racing authority and her trainerfined £1,500. two—year—old mandarin princess, trained by charlie mcbride, was declared the winner on 27july after beating fyre cay. but a scan afterwards identified the horse as three—year—old stablemate millie's kiss, who had been due to run in a later race at the same course.

arsene wenger has admitted that uncertainty over his future last season created a "lack of clarity in the dressing room" at arsenal. wenger eventually signed a new two—year contract extension and the campaign finished on a high with victory in the fa cup final... but they missed out on a place in the champions league for the first time in two decades. maybe my attitude had an impact on the season, because at some stage the players came to see me and said, "what's going on, boss?" "where do you go?" i created, with me not deciding, a lack of clarity in the dressing room, and there's nothing worse than that. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour south korea has urged the north korean authorities to stop all action which could further inflame tension on the peninsula after days of heightened rhetoric.

earlier, north korea released details of a plan to fire missiles towards the us pacific territory of guam. the regime says this plan could be ready in days. let's look in a bit more detail at the threat to guam. guam is a tiny island in the western pacific ocean, home to more than 6000 american troops and about 160,000 civilians. it's more than 2000 miles from pyongyang. according to state media — north korea plans to fire its hwasong ballistic missiles into the sea. the hwasong missiles are medium and long—range rockets. they have an estimated range of 2,800 miles — putting guam well within reach. north korea says the hwasong is capable of delivering a nuclear war head as well. for its part — the us has warned north korea's actions could mean the "end of its regime" — but should the north launch an attack — the americans would need to rely on their defense system — more commonly known as thaad. the thaad mobile launcher has a range of 124 miles and is designed to intercept enemy rockets on theirfinal approach.

the us military has deployed thaad in guam and hawaii as protection against attacks from north korea. joining me now is dr patricia lewis, research director in international security at chatham house. thanks forjoining us. the very fact we've gone through what the missile systems a re we've gone through what the missile systems are capable underlines the rhetoric really is getting people very nervous? yes indeed, i think pa rt very nervous? yes indeed, i think part of the rhetoric is to present this what is called the madman theory of nuclear deterrent. whereby you make the other side think that you make the other side think that you are mad enough to use nuclear weapons, therefore they won't do anything to antagonise you. it's working but the trouble is they could both say that about each other and ponting still agree? and what could possibly go wrong? that is why almost all leaders who have nuclear weapons have not used this approach. very few have done it, and when they have, they vowed to ratchet back. that is a difficult thing to do. so

our worry is things spiralling out of control. at the moment, it looks like no other side is prepared to blink first? it looks like that but this announcement of an attack which would fall short of the island into the sea is rather peculiar, don't you think? to announce in advance that you will carry it out and it wa nted that you will carry it out and it wanted the island, it's like you're about to announce a multiple missile tests as a show of strength, but it won't do any harm. it's a strange thing to do in this area of belligerence. or are you drawing out the opposition to see how effective their defences may be? you may well be testing their defences but everybody knows how to react to that. we have spent decades in the cold war working out how to react to defences, how to react to provocation, being bars, painted this is a clumsy way of demonstrating. we know about. lots

of comparisons with the cuban missile crisis of 1963. are they overplayed? they missile crisis of 1963. are they overplayed ? they have missile crisis of 1963. are they overplayed? they have a similar feel to those who remember those time? the cu ban to those who remember those time? the cuban missile crisis was one thing that has spiralled quickly out of control and a number of things went wrong at crisis. a lot of talked about now. when you get to a crisis, you think it was ok and it's not as bad as we thought. the historians we go through day by day and minute by minute can tell horror stories about how nuclear weapons we re stories about how nuclear weapons were nearly used by a soviet submarine commander who was determined to use them and had to be some say physically restrained, some restrained by his co—star. the mariners. we know there were some back channels in that period and thatis back channels in that period and that is not happening here? those to imitate people are saying it's only tired of deal with north korea? —— can only china deal with north

korea? we know that china and the un have back channels. the back channels that you best officials have back channels and scientists do. a number of scientists groups have been having discussions with north korea for a while now. there are back channels i think, and some european countries that have representations in pyongyang are doing everything they can. this is a problem that donald trump has inherited, average us presidents have tried to deal with it. have they not dealt with it because they thought frankly, north korea cannot go one as it is and people are quite surprised we are still facing this but? back in the early 1990s, there was a concerted effort to deal with north korea like we have with iran. there were six party talks and it led to an agreement, it didn't work well but it did slow things down and hold things. there was a period during which north korea stopped its

missiles. after the clinton administration, which got a long way to dealing —— negotiating a deal with north korea, the bush administration got in and all those effo rts administration got in and all those efforts stop. north korea pulled out ofa efforts stop. north korea pulled out of a non—proliferation treaty and continued its nuclear weapons programme, it has a five nuclear weapons programme, it has a five nuclear wea po ns test programme, it has a five nuclear weapons test and has new ballistic missile. ever since then, weapons test and has new ballistic missile. eversince then, it weapons test and has new ballistic missile. ever since then, it has an almost impossible to continue negotiation. one final question, are you worried? i think i'm worried in the long—term, not right now. i think things will ratchet down. we have seen belligerence on a seasonal basis with north korea. i always look to the south koreans to see how worried they are. they understand north korea very well, the culture, the language. in the long run, this isa the language. in the long run, this is a problem that is not getting soul. they have clearly reached its not crossed a threshold of nuclear

weapon. we now have a different situation in the pacific than we had before. thanks forjoining us. here, falls in house prices in london are beginning to spread across the country, with the south east of england, east anglia and parts of the north now affected. that's according to the royal institution of chartered surveyors. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz joined me earlier to explain. the historic figures won't tell you that london is down but the surveyors are saying what it's like at the moment, they see the ripple effect, it is spreading to the south east and to east anglia and also to the north. that doesn't include the north—west, it is the rest of the north of england. there is another side to this story, plenty of places in the uk where prices are rising, one is northern ireland, are very sharply, scotland, west midlands and the south west are also up. there is a reservation

about this ripple effect not happening or happening now. for one thing, london has been so expensive that it is beyond the reach of most people, surveyors said it had to come down. if there is an effect from brexit uncertainty, people are saying the impact is likely to be more significant in london than elsewhere. what are they suggesting will happen? the reason people follow this questionnaire sent out every month to surveyors across the uk, is that they have a track record of showing us what is happening now and happening in the future. they are quite good at that. they are saying this standstill overall in the market across the uk is likely to continue with areas going down even more. looking ahead, over five years, the expectations of surveyors for what it is worth, it's a long way to forecast, that we will seek increases of 2.7% on average every year. that is still going up,

but it is less than they've ever thought before in their survey. how many times have we sat here discussing how london is different? with the amount of foreign money invested in london property, is that what is really going on, the drying up a bat that is causing this knock—on effect? london is a very big area. you have prime central london, those very expensive flats on the thames of london that tend to be snapped up by rich asians, americans, people from the middle east, and left empty. that market has plummeted. prices are down 20% or more. then outer reaches of london has held up more. it is quite difficult to read but we are seeing a softening of the london market with his affecting the surrounding regions. it's now known that 700,000 eggs implicated in a dutch

contamination scare, have been distributed in britain — far more than the original estimate of only around 20,000. but the food standards agency say it's ‘very unlikley‘ that the eggs pose a risk to public health. dutch investigators have arrested two suspects following raids today as part of their investigation into the use of fipronil insecticide in european egg production. so far millions of eggs have been withdrawn from shops in europe. joining me now is our correspondent andy moore. he has been looking into this. let's go into what we now, the timeline of where we are with that. we have had this update today from the food standards agency, basically the advice is there is still no risk to human health. but the initialfigure they told about comedy possible number of contaminated eggs, was 20 1000. now we have the updated figure, possibly 700,000 is the maximum number that may now be affected. it may appear... they're

it is. quite a substantial change but it is still a very small proportion of the total number of eggs consumed in the uk. it is now .007%, very low number we eat something like 34 million eggs every day, billions of eggs every year, so this number is a largerfraction but still a large tiny fraction. but eve ryo ne still a large tiny fraction. but everyone will say, how safe if you happen to get one of these eggs, what may happen? nothing. because, according to the who, you have to consume. dozens of eggs to get affected at all, and it only happens if you get dozens of eggs. no one

has turned up at a&e or dozens of people across the country at a&e having consumed dodgy eggs. it has not happened to you and the uk, and not happened to you and the uk, and no one in the continent as far as i'm aware, has been affected in any way from eating these contaminated eggs. and also most of them probably have been consumed and they've been polluted. that is why the food standards agency's basic advice had not changed. that said, why are some supermarkets clearing their cells? they are at acting on advice from the fsa and an excess of caution. according to the fsa, it is still not a food standards problem but this fipronil should not be in the human food chain so we are going to clear ourselves just in case. human food chain so we are going to clear ourselvesjust in case. look at those figures, 20 1000—700,000. how did they get that so wrong, it's quite a leap. we haven't had an

explanation from the fsa but no doubt they will say they were acting on the latest advice from their european colleagues. we know this is a widening enquiry on the continent, we have heard at least two arrests today. the investigators on the continent, frankly, are still trying to get a grip on the extent of this problem and there is a widespread investigation underway in the netherlands, and belgium. there was a bit ofa netherlands, and belgium. there was a bit of a blame game going on as well. belgium has been blaming holland, saying you knew about this months ago, why didn't you tell us? the netherlands says, we didn't know about this. that plane is going backwards and forwards. but as i said, millions of whole eggs, fresh eggs, have been cleared from the shelves on the continent, nobody as far as shelves on the continent, nobody as farasi shelves on the continent, nobody as faras i am shelves on the continent, nobody as far as i am aware of according to the agencies, has actually fallen ill as a result of this

contamination. andy with that update, thank you. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first , the headlines on bbc news: the national crime agency says the scale of slavery in the uk is far bigger than previously thought — with victims in every large town and city in the country. the war of words escalates — north korea says a plan that could see it fire four missiles near the us territory of guam will be ready in a matter of days. the food standards agency now says 700,000 contaminated eggs may have reached the uk from dutch farms — but stresses that any risk to public health is "very unlikely" hello — i'm alice baxter. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. shares right across the region have slid again today as investors buy up safe havens amid tensions between the united states and north korea, despite an easing in rhetoric.a weaker opening for example, like gold.

a weaker opening on wall street further added to the downward pressure in europe. so here in london the ftse 100 of blue chips has shed xx% — so here in london the ftse100 of blue chips has shed 1.5% — but this is mostly due to some big stocks like anglo american, rio tinto, lloyds and bt group fell after going ex—dividend. meanwhile the pound has touched a three—week low against a recovering dollar after industrial production numbers just topped economists' forecasts. european shares are slipping on thursday. so with the ftse on track for its worst day since april — to what degree is the slide on the ftse and other major european markets simply a sympton of lower trading volumes during the august holiday season? i'll be taking to a trading broker in just a moment. meanwhile, on wall street, the dowjones industrial average has been above 22,000 points since the beginning of august — but today is back down below that. investors are concerned about those escalating tensions between the us and north korea,

which has said it is finalising plans to fire four intermediate—range missiles over japan to land near the us territory of guam. and lastly, a bit of corporate news that has piqued our interest — amazon has seen a 50% fall in the amount of uk corporation tax it paid last year, while recording a 54% increase in turnover for the same period. so what's going on and why are it's profits lower? let's get more on this from james hughes, chief market analyst at gkfx. let's begin with the always thorny issue of corporation tax. explain why amazon's tax bill has gone down? in fact, it is quite a simple one, it's just the fact that tax has gone down is because the tax they receive is not necessarily paid on the turnover. we hear about amazon's turnover. we hear about amazon's turnover has gone up but was

corporation tax in the uk spread its profits. their profits are down on last year. this time last year, they made over $40 million, this year it is just over $20 made over $40 million, this year it isjust over $20 million. that is, i think of the reason we are seeing that. though not necessarily paying, even though they have done more business and the turnover is bigger, but profits are not as big as last year. this is not to say amazon has not been doing as well, their share price is up and recently the ceo jeff was declared the richest man in the world. amazon are one of the biggest company in the world but it shows this year the rfid are down and the corporation taxes paid on the profit number not lead turnover. they are doing more business, it is not earning as much profit. does it will also have sign to do with the fa ct

will also have sign to do with the fact they give employees shares in the company and the more profitable those shares become, the less tax eve ryo ne those shares become, the less tax everyone pays? absolutely. a lot depends on how companies pay their staff and reward their staff. hours award a lot of their staffers share options or shares that they can claim immediately —— amazon award a lot of their staff. depending on how much each individual in the uk can receive an amount which is exempt to tax. if it is below a certain threshold, it is exempt to tack. if the company gives it all their employees the share option, and the shares go up in value, which they have done and have doubled in the last 12 months pretty much, the company is given out the shares previously. the employees get a big windfall in of money they get because the shares have gone up, but it means amazon do not have to pay as much the first place. which might give rise to another debate about possibly updating our tax laws? that

start on wall street, the dowjones dipping below 20 2000. how significant is that? the significance was when the dowjones went above 20 2000. we know the dow jones has been rallying strongly. all us markets have been ever since trump came into office. and back in november when we heard that. but the news of the contentions between north korea and the us is hitting confidence in the market. when markets have been going up for the long time, such as the dowjones and the other us—made index prices going up the other us—made index prices going up very strongly, when they have been going up, news like this will then bring things down rather quickly. with us breaking 22000 and the last few days or so, the fact we dropped back below it isn't too significant. if we stabilise the too much longer, that will be

significant. what investors will like to see will it going higher. but that depends on the tension between the north korea and the us. what is the endgame of this? we don't know. these tensions create volatility. in the summer months, but not so much in terms of volume. a lot of traders are on holiday, not at their desks. the volume becomes lower, not as many trades going through, so the markets get more volatile. so news like this really does cause big moves in the market. the ripple effects, downward pressure on market in europe. good to talk to you, james. a quick reminder of how the ftse finished in london. meanwhile across the pond us stocks have opened sharply lower on thursday, with the dow slipping more than 100 points, as lackluster results from retailers macy's and kohl's just add to that investor nervousness over escalating tensions between the united states and north korea. that's all from me,

there is a round—up of all the other top business stories on our website — bbc.co.uk/business. time for a look at the weather. thomas has his clicker ready. it is. don't know what to say to that, let's click on. tomorrow's weather. it's turning cloudier, the fine weather today was never going to last. we have some sunshine and is going wrong. look at all this cloud, heading our way. it's going to be in place across western parts of the country tomorrow with some rain around too ahead of it, that low pressure coming in and you can see a window of fine weather we've enjoyed today. a little more cloudy in the south—east but it stays dry at night in england and wales, if you've got

your washing out today it will be dry. it will be raining later on in belfast of this is sam, you can see some rain getting into glasgow as well. we are not predicting a deluge this time, it is generally be a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain sometime. reaches the it reaches to limit the areas in there are spots of rain in parts of wales, a lot of sunshine in the morning and many of us will go outside and look at the skies, lovely weather out there, but for scotla nd lovely weather out there, but for scotland and particularly west scotland, northern ireland, scotland, northern ireland, scotland, you can see is already cloudy first thing in the morning. basically, it is a whole mass of cloud and damp weather, slowly trundling across the uk during the course of the day. the time we get toa course of the day. the time we get to a about midday, you can see some rain getting into the midlands,

lincolnshire, eventually later in the afternoon. it looks like east anglia and the south—east will stay dry all afternoon, you might get some cloud and spots of rain friday night. friday night, the weather front night. friday night, the weather fro nt m oves night. friday night, the weather front moves through, they end up in france, belgium, germany. and behind the weather front, the weather improves. we get a pattern of one good day than one bad day and so on. the weekend, actually two good days. the weekend, actually two good days. the morning behind this weather front here, there might be some cloud around, which will take some time to break up. eventually after a cloudy morning, the afternoon that is fine. 0n cloudy morning, the afternoon that is fine. on saturday with a few showers. 0n is fine. on saturday with a few showers. on sunday, a couple of showers. on sunday, a couple of showers but on balance, again, another fine day. even the already cloud and rain out there on the atla ntic cloud and rain out there on the atlantic and that is heading our way for the week ahead. the weekend, at this stage, is looking pretty good. today at 5:

north korea says its drawing up plans to fire four ballistic missiles towards the american territory of guam. the new missile threat comes as north korea says donald trump is bereft of reason. south korea appeals for calm. the threat against guam is very specific. and that has a few people worried that maybe, just maybe, kimjong—un is planning some action to fire one or more missiles over japan in this direction. and we'll be talking to a former un weapons inspector about the tensions in the region.

also on this hour: the national crime agency says that the scale of slavery human trafficking in the uk is far bigger than previously thought. after 18 people are convicted of abusing girls in newcastle, the former director of public prosecutions says such crimes should be treated as ‘profoundly racist‘.