welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: america's top general prepares to meet south korea's president as the north says it has the right to develop nuclear weapons to defend itself. the white house defends president trump's response to the attack on anti—racism protestors in virginia. and 70 years on from partition. we're in pakistan to find out what people think of the founding father's vision for the nation. protests against plans to build a road through a bolivian national park. hello. welcome to the programme. north korea has said it has the right to have nuclear weapons for what it calls "a legitimate self

defence measure for its survival from the vigor of the united states. " the statement comes as the head of the us military is getting ready for talks on north korea's nuclear and missile threats. generaljoseph dunford is in seoul to meet president moonjae—in and south korea's defence minister. afterwards he'll go on to china and japan. the bbc‘s richard galpin reports. on the pacific island of guam, people turned out in large numbers on sunday to pray for peace. they are now potentially in the firing line, as the stand—off between the united states and north korea continues. pyongyang has threatened to fire missiles toward this island, which is home to major us military bases. we are here to pray for the leaders of those countries to be able to remain calm, and think about the people, and the lives of the people we have here.

in japan, anti—aircraft systems were deployed at the weekend to shoot down any north korean missiles aimed at guam. this area of southern japan would lie on the flight path. this is the most serious crisis in the region since the end of the korean war, in the 1950s, according to some military experts. there is a real risk, by miscalculation probably, more than anything else, and by rather unbalanced rhetoric, of something happening that no—one intends. and i think it is very dangerous. i think we're closer to there being some sort of fighting in the korean peninsula than we have been since the ceasefire in 1952. despite this, us president donald trump is not toning down his rhetoric, particularly his recent statement that the us military was fully locked and loaded. i hope that they are going to fully understand the gravity of what i said, and what i said is what i mean.

so hopefully they will understand exactly what i said, and the meaning of those words. those words are very easy to understand. on monday, the united states‘ most senior general, joseph dunford, will be in the south korean capital, seoul, for meetings with the government there. the americans say there is no imminent threat of conflict, and the diplomatic track is continuing. but tensions are likely to rise even higher in a week's time, when yet more planned military exercises involving the us and south korean armed forces take place in the region. another show of force to try to convince north korea to halt its nuclear weapons programme. to get the latest, we can speak to oui’ to get the latest, we can speak to our correspondent, robin brant, who's in seoul. take us through

those statements that have come out from north korea. these are words that emerged in the state—run newsagency in the last hour or so. it is addressing what they call nuclear possessions. they say nuclear possessions. they say nuclear capabilities that north korea has in the vast majority of the intelligence assessment is they do now have nuclear capabilities. they say it is a legitimate form of self defence. that is often the russia now behind the justification for having nuclear weapons used by nuclear powers across the world. it isa nuclear powers across the world. it is a deterrent. that is the logic we are hearing from north korea in this most are hearing from north korea in this m ost rece nt are hearing from north korea in this most recent of announcements.

tuesday, liberation day in the north, we may hear more rhetoric from kim jong—un, north north, we may hear more rhetoric from kimjong—un, north korea's leader. it is one of those days throughout the year when we get state m e nts throughout the year when we get statements or shows of strength from north korea. the general is heading your way. what bills yore want from him? —— what will seoul want. your way. what bills yore want from him? -- what will seoul want. they are in lockstep according to military readiness. general dunford comes here to have meetings, not just with the president, but also the minister of defence of the country. in terms of the military approach, it is clear that they stand together and are ready for swift action, which was the phrase

we heard over the past few days. there are around 30,000 american troops here in south korea has half a million troops. south korea are key to protection in the region. they have the controversial thaad anti— missile system. he will also go to china and japan. it is not an emergency visit but nonetheless important. clearly, events in the north and the ingress of the rhetoric will dominate. -- increase. thank you. we will speak to a former ambassador of south korea and former adviser to george bush. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc world news. if you were an adviser to president trump, what advice would you give him in the coming weeks and months? i would say cool it. i think

this is a time where it is very important to think before you shout and look before you leap. we are dealing with highly explosive issues, people who are not noted for really fleshi ng issues, people who are not noted for really fleshing out details about what they intend to do. and so it is difficult and dangerous. we need to be careful about what we say and we need to make sure that we remain in clear touch with the japanese as well as the south koreans. so, i think going off half cocked is easy to do and it is a bad time to do it.

i think it is time for us to sit down and talk to each other and say what is going on and what are the north koreans after? what will they sit tight for? how can we advanced stability in north korea at a time when the stakes are extremely high? —— advance. when the stakes are extremely high? -- advance. in terms of the prospective in the other direction, you have been the north korea many times. are we dealing with a leadership that is rational? do they have a strategy? i think they do. i think kim jong—un is a have a strategy? i think they do. i think kimjong—un is a very bright, risk—taking young man. and i think he is someone we need to treat with ca re he is someone we need to treat with care and respect. and so i think he has proven himself and has played

quite well. we need to be careful and calm and collected and stop raising the temperature is and sort of saying things of the top of our heads indicating we are not satisfied with a civil relationship. —— temperatures that we are worried about things that would exploit the military solution. we have to be very careful. it is a dangerous time. i wish we had different people involved, but we don't. we have the president of korea here. we have what we have. and it is difficult. i am admiring of the president of south korea. i think he is playing

his cards well. i think we have to be very sure that we are not getting ahead of ourselves in terms of dealing with him. we appreciate your diplomatic wording on that. joining us diplomatic wording on that. joining us from new york. and now for some more stories making the news. scientists at israel's dimona top secret nuclear research centre have condemned the cabinets decision to get them to end a long—running partial strike. the cabinet said israel's vital interests were at stake. the researchers deny threatening essential services. in nepal, 49 people have been killed in floods and landslides, and there are fears that number will rise. rescue forces have been deployed and the prime minister has called an emergency meeting. elephants and rafts have been sent to rescue nearly 500 tourists trapped in some badly hit areas.

the us vice president has defended president trump's comments that military intervention could be an option to solve the crisis in venezuela. mike pence said a peaceful solution is possible, but the country is currently on a path to dictatorship. mr pence is in columbia at the beginning of a regional tour. the new york times has revealed the social networking site facebook discreetly launched a photo—sharing app for chinese users. facebook is banned in mainland china and has made clear its intentions to crack the tightly controlled market. the app, called "colourful balloons," was released through a local company. a day after violence erupted in charlottesville, the virginia state governor is trying to defuse the tension. governor terry mcauliffe denounced the people who attended the "unite the right" rally. it was the biggest gathering of white nationalist groups in america for decades. a 20—year—old man has now been charged with murder after a car was driven into a woman who was part of a counter—demonstration. laura bicker reports from charlottesville. after a violent day of division, charlottesville has come together to pray, to show that this city condemns the hate brought here by neo—nazis and white supremacists. the virginia governor went from row to row, hugging worshippers in this baptist church. he promised to keep politics out of the pulpit,

but there was a message he felt he had to give. it is about politics in that the political rhetoric in this country today has breeded bigotry. hundreds of white supremacists gathered in the city for a planned rally. brawling broke out as far—right groups, including the ku klux klan, were challenged by civil rights activists. the police dispersed the crowds, but the day would not end peacefully. a car, at speed, rammed into protesters. the crash killed 32—year—old heather heyer, who had fought racism all her life. police have charged 20—year—old james fields with second—degree murder. one of the organisers of the far—right rally tried to hold a press conference. he was heckled, almost drowned out. i would like to condemn any of the violence that happened yesterday.

i disavow anything that led to folks getting hurt. crowd: shame! shame! as the crowd shouted him down, he tried to leave, but instead he was forced to flee. police moved in to keep the protesters back. these people feel that bigotry has no place in the streets of charlottesville. but this could be any town, any city across america. it is an example of the simmering racial tension, and that has become heightened under president trump. the president stopped short of explicitly condemning the alt—right for these violent scenes, and some fear that having donald trump in the white house has emboldened white supremacists. it is important for us to call these people what they are — white supremacists. i don't understand why that is so difficult. that is what they are. they're not hiding this behind the statue. they didn't come here because of a statue. they came here, as david duke said,

to fulfil the promise of president trump, and take their country back. calm has been restored for now, giving the city time to remember those who lost their lives while challenging hate and trying to keep the peace. laura bicker, charlottesville. people have been gathering for a vigil. lots of flowers on the road and a police presence on the streets. later we will come back to the story and speak to a sociology professor with expertise on protest movements and radicalisation to discuss what has been happening in the city. in kenya it's just a week

after the presidential election, but once again people are being asked to show their support for the government or opposition — this time by deciding whether show up for work or stay home. while the official figures show that raila 0dinga lost the election by 9% he is calling for people to boycott theirjobs on monday. the government says the authorities will not allow a descent into chaos. from nairobi, alastair leithead reports. they believe the election was stolen, and have taken to the streets. 0pposition presidential candidate raila 0dinga toured his strongholds in the capital, the first time he has appeared in public since losing the election. he urged his supporters not to accept the result.

"they knew they would be defeated and would have to steal," he told the crowd, "that is why they had come to kill innocent people, shoot them, put them in body bags and take them away." dozens have been injured and some people killed this weekend in clashes with police. well, the question was whether the opposition would accept the results of the election. it's pretty clear, now, they are not. they are calling for mass action and for people to reject this result. but it won't be national. these are small pockets of protest. much of the country has accepted the result. i therefore wish to declare for uhuru kenyatta. president kenyatta was declared winner on friday night, beating his rival by a wide margin, and has a second term in office. international observers declared the process broadly free and fair

and the electoral commission dismissed claims the ballot was hacked or rigged. in a place with a history of ethnic post—election violence, tensions have been raised again. the opposition leader has done little to urge peace and is now taking his election challenge to the streets. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: it has been 70 years since pakistan's creation, but what do citizens think of the founding father's vision of the nation as they celebrate independence from india? 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 millenium. it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bengal. welcome back. you're watching bbc news. the latest headlines: america's top military chief arrives

in south korea, as the zero says it has a right to nuclear weapons to defend itself against the us. and the white house rejects criticism of donald trump's response to virginia's racism protests. we can stay with that story. remy cross is assistant professor sociology and criminology at webster university in missouri and joins me now by webcam. thank you forjoining us here on bbc world news. iwonder, oryou thank you forjoining us here on bbc world news. iwonder, or you taken by the level of violence on saturday? honestly, no. we have seen this sort of violence in these kinds of protests before. we have seen a lot of protests since the election last four that have erupted in violence and, going even further back, particularly with the types of groups involved coming here, there have been more instances of violence

is to make them we would expect. have been more instances of violence is to make them we would expectm terms of far white groups, are they growing and becoming more visible? —— instances of violence than we would expect. i think they have stepped up their recruitment efforts, not just since stepped up their recruitment efforts, notjust since the election, but part of that, they have really been using the internet to good effect to increase their numbers. they also have become more vocal and more visible because they feel that, in the wake of any open condemnation, especially by a lot of our national leaders, over the last few months, that this is being seen asa few months, that this is being seen as a tacit approval of their actions, of their words, as a tacit approval of their actions, of theirwords, of as a tacit approval of their actions, of their words, of their behaviours. and finally, i think because they have been out there more often, we have been seeing the more, and we are more aware that these groups, i think a lot of

americans thought a lot of these ideologies were dead, but they have a lwa ys ideologies were dead, but they have always been here, just a little more out of sight. but they are more visible now. i detect, there, that you are talking about donald trump, when you are referring to your leaders. do you think is rhetoric during the campaign, his policies, that that is creating some kind of message to these groups? absolutely. i think the campaign, during the campaign, they were ever so —— there we re campaign, they were ever so —— there were efforts made to reach out to these groups and to try not to alienate them. since then, there has been, if not overbought support, at least tacit messaging that leave them to believe that they have some sort of support on part of the white house. —— over support. sort of support on part of the white house. —— oversupport. ——

sort of support on part of the white house. —— over support. —— overt. sort of support on part of the white house. -- over support. -- overt. we have two ended there. they give for being with us. —— we have two end it there. —— have to. —— thank you for being with us. bolivia's president has formally enacted a law stripping a national park of its protected status in order to allow a new highway to be built through it. the highway plan was cancelled six years ago following a national march by indigenous people. however, president morales, who is also of indigenous heritage, has accused his critics of colonial attitudes. celebrations from at least some of bolivia's indigenous peoples. but this occasion has provoked political fireworks in those same communities. at the rally in the city of trinidad, president evo morales signed into effect a law intended to allow development in a national park, created over 50 years ago, to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. the new laws have been condemned by environmental activists. but the president dismissed the rejections.

translation: this so-called colonial environmentalism is not interested in the indigenous movement having schools, hospitals, and they are not interested in the indigenous movement have electricity or that we have highways. the government wants to build a highway nearly 180 kilometres long right through the park. it says the vast majority of indigenous peoples support the plan, but their work plenty who still oppose it. —— there are. translation: president evo morales is enacting a law that will bury indigenous people and the country's heritage. he is driving a dagger into bolivians, because he is destroying the heritage that belongs to bolivia. campaigners have pledged to bolivia. campaigners have pledged to ta ke to bolivia. campaigners have pledged to take the case to the constitutional tribunal. they may also repeat a march on the capital that helped to feed a similar plan six years ago. bolivia's battle

between environment and development is farfrom between environment and development is far from over. 70 years ago pakistan came into existence. reeta chakrabarti has been to the city of karachi, the birthplace of the country's founding father, mohammed jinnah. it is pakistan's birthday, and at every street corner, there are flags and celebration. but its 70 years have been mixed — it was founded as a democracy, but has had military rule. and people have argued whether its founder, mohammedjinnah, wanted a secular state or an islamic one. i went to one of karachi's universities to asked what students thought ofjinnah and pakistan today. mohammed jinnah, his name is the biggest in pakistan. and even every nation of the world. he is like a father. he is the father of the nation. he created pakistan. do you think mohammed jinnah would be happy with pakistan as it is today? he would be happy. he would be happy to see pakistan progressing every day, every day, every second. on this 70th anniversary

of independence, the country is doing well, it is flourishing every day. i hope it will flourish more every day. mansour, do you think that jinnah would be happy? he would see the basic needs of the people — the basic needs of the people are not fulfilling right now. much of the problem lies in the religion. because people nowadays, they have — they are not tolerant. i mean, they are too much emotional. crowds come tojinnah's mausoleum to pay their respects. the country he founded was rocked again, last month, when the prime minister was forced to resign over corruption charges. finding political stability seems to be one of pakistan's biggest challenges. reeta chakrabarti, bbc news. ok, let's take a look at the weather, now. good morning. last week, the weather was pretty changeable, wasn't it? this week, it's more

of the same, i'm afraid. in fact, if we take a look back at last week, parts of eastern england had over 60 millimetres of rain. that's pretty close to a month's worth in just a 36—hour period. and certainly, the south—east has been the wettest of the weather. pretty much close to normal, at the moment, so far this august, in scotland and northern ireland. in fact, last week, we had some decent spells of sunshine in western scotland. on wednesday, you can see this beautiful picture sent in by one of our weather watchers — there was over 13.5 hours of sunshine, and a high of 21 degrees in glasgow. but generally speaking, last week, the jetstream was to the south. so we were on the colder side of the jetstream and the more unsettled one for some. through the weekend, though, the jetstream moved steadily north. that allowed for decent spells of sunshine for many of us and also some warmth, particularly along the kent coast, with temperatures in the mid—20s. but it has all changed as we move through monday, with wet and windy weather pushing in. the heaviest of the rain will always be across scotland through the morning.

it'll be fairly ragged as it moves through wales and south—west england. but in the south—east, we keep the dry, sunny weather, and the warmth. 2a degrees not out of the question, again, in the london area. but that rain will pep up over south—west england and wales overnight. not too much in the south—east corner, but some rain to clear overnight on monday into tuesday. it will do so so, then we have a showery regime with these weather fronts sitting across the country. some of the showers will be potentially heavy and thundery as well. but if you dodge the showers, it won't feel too bad. we could see highs of 2a degrees. a little bit cooler and fresher with some showers to the north—west. a brief ridge of high pressure builds for us before a change is sitting in the wings waiting for us for wednesday. 0n the whole, wednesday looks promising on the whole, particularly in sheltered eastern areas. eventually, winds will strengthen with the rain pushing on. so the south—east will see the highest values. out to the west, a little more disappointing. then from wednesday night into thursday, we will see wet

and windy weather pushing across the country. gales on the exposed coast in particular. this week, starting with sun and warmth, but then heavy showers, but feeling cooler later on. this is bbc news. the headlines. as the head of the us military prepares for talks on north korea's nuclear and missile threats in south korea, north korea says it has the right to have nuclear weapons for what it calls "a legitimate self defence measure for its survival from the vigor of the united states." a day after violence erupted in charlottesville, the virginia state governor is trying to defuse the tension. governor terry mcauliffe denounced the people who attended the "unite the right" rally.

it was the biggest gathering of white nationalist groups in america for decades. the afp news agency is reporting that three people have died after an attack at a cafe in burkina faso's capital. suspected jihadists fired shots and the centre of 0uagadougou has been sealed off by the army. witnesses say three gunmen drove up to the cafe and opened fire on customers seated outside. after weeks of public divisions between members of the cabinet over brexit, the chancellor and the international trade secretary have made a joint pledge, saying that a transition period