this is bbc news. the headlines: siren sirens sound as north korea fires a missile overjapan — the country's prime minister says it's an ‘unprecedented threat‘. more than 30,000 people forced from their homes in texas in catastrophic flooding — another foot of rain is forecast. we have lost everything. to be moved away from your home, this kind of trauma... you just need to beloved. president trump is on his way to texas to see the flooding first—hand. police are investigating the death of a li—year— old boy at a swimming pool in north devon. also in the next hour: accusations of ‘whitewashing' in hollywood. british actor ed skrein pulls out of a role in the film ‘hellboy‘ after finding he was cast as a character of asian heritage.

and the light fantastic — a multi—coloured show for the handover of the queensferry crossing, the uk's tallest bridge. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. north korea has ratcheted up tensions in the pacific region once again — by firing a missile that blasted over northern japan before crashing into the sea. japan's prime minister, shinzo abe, described it as an unprecedented threat to his country. the communist state has conducted a flurry of missile tests recently — but this is the first time it's fired what's thought to be a ballistic weapon overjapan. the un security council is due to hold an emergency meeting in response — president trump has said all options are on the table. 0ur correspondent, yogita limaye

is in the south korean capital and sent us this report. siren a warning that a north korean missile has just flown over the country. this is what many injapan woke up to on tuesday morning. a rocket launch from near pyongyang flew over the northern island of hokkaido, before breaking into parts and landing in the sea about a thousand kilometres from the coast. the range is shorter than this intercontinental missile north korea tested injuly, but the latest launch more dangerous in many ways because it passed over japan and had the potential to cause serious harm. the country's prime minister described it as an "outrageous act" and "an unprecedented threat". it left the people of his nation worried. translation: i can't imagine what would actually happen if anything from the missile falls onto us and i'm scared. translation: despite sanctions

being imposed, north korea keeps developing missiles and firing them overand overagain. this is a dreadful situation. hours after the missile launch, japanese troops conducted drills at a us base near tokyo. such joint exercises with american forces are also underway in south korea. they are preparations for an attack from the north and pyongyang often uses them to justify its actions. here in south korea, president moonjae—in has ordered his military to display overwhelming force against north korea. it's a strong statement from a leader who, for weeks, has advocated dialogue as a way out of this crisis, but this time pyongyang seems to have gone too far and south korea also wants to respond with a show of strength. four south korean fighter jets staged live bombing drills, practising how they could attack the north korean leadership. an attempt to display military might, but despite the strong

tactics from both sides, many believe that the korean peninsula is not on the brink of war. despite all of the rhetoric, the bloodcurdling rhetoric that we hear, we have not seen things such as the mobilisation of forces. moving assets into the region. north korea and south korea calling up reservists. preparing logistics chains and bringing resources into the region. evacuating civilians. but north korea's missile tests continue to provoke, despite sanctions and international condemnation. the world seems to have run out of ideas on how to stop them. reaction has been coming in throughout the day from all over the world. in the last half hour, the prime minister theresa may has strongly condemned north korea's actions. these actions by north korea is

reckless provocation, these are illegal tests and we strongly condemn them, and there will be an emergency meeting of the united nations council later this afternoon and we will work with our international partners to put pressure on north korea to stop these illegal tests. and i will have these illegal tests. and i will have the opportunity on my visit to japan in the next two days to be discussing these issues with prime minister shinzo abe. that visit is going ahead, but do you have any reservations? regarding your safety. no, i'm clearly trip to japan will go ahead and this will give me the opportunity to sit down with the prime minister and to discuss the action that north korea has taken. these are illegal tests, we strongly condemn them and we will be working with japan and other international partners to make sure that pressure is put on north korea to stop this illegal action. we will be talking

to some people who are in north japan and who heard those in raid siren is early this morning, later on in the programme. now to another developing story. tropical storm harvey has turned roads into rivers in america's fourth largest city, houston in texas. 30 inches of rain has fallen, and forecasters warn more is on the way. it's estimated that 450,000 people will need help, and 30,000 people are likely to require emergency shelter. president trump is on his way to visit the state, he left washington a few moments ago. president trump has promised swift action to help. anisa kadri reports. trying to paddle to safety in texas. the floodwaters are expected to rise further, with reports elderly people, some in their 90s, are caught up in it all. there's a lot of older people who have struggled getting out of their houses,

so a lot of people have come in with their boats and, like, saved them. i'm feeling a little tired. i'm glad to be here. i want to go in and sit down, put my feet up and get something to eat. we're going to get something to eat. thousands of people have been rescued. at least nine are reported to have died in the houston area. the authorities have been explaining why they decided not to evacuate the city. if 6.5 million people had gotten on our roads without a plan, what happened the last time when people were evacuated from the city of houston? about 100 people lost their lives. here's the gator moving along. one woman recorded two alligators swimming in her back garden. not too far from just climbing on into the backyard and getting right here to the patio. this school was turned into an emergency shelter after harvey became the most

powerful hurricane to hit texas in more than 50 years. president trump will travel to texas to view the effects first—hand. it has weakened and is now being described as a tropical storm. it is an historic amount of water. there's never been anything like it. so, the people are handling it amazingly well. the people of texas, as you know, have really persevered. in houston, forecasts suggest that some areas in and around the city could see up to 12 inches of rain today, that's about 30cm. in dallas, a mega—shelter is being prepared for evacuees. volunteers have been setting up camp beds and cots. to have to go through something where you have lost everything in your life and to be moved away from your home and to be through that kind of trauma, you just need to be loved. it's heartbreaking to see the children and women and everyone out there in such need.

ijust wouldn't feel right to be sitting at home when i can help. estimates suggest the flooding could destroy up to $20 billion in insured property, making it one of the costliest storms in us history. the storm is continuing and there are thoughts it might track act inland to houston. houston is not the only city affected. 0ur north american correspondent laura trevelyan is in smithsville, texas. i'm speaking to you from the banks of the colorado river, we are way inland but look at the river behind me, it has flooded to historic levels. in this small town of less than 5000 people homes have been evacuated and there is a centre for all of the evacuees and this is a microcosm of what is happening here what is happening across the region. in houston last night more than 9000

people had to sleep in the convention centre because that has been so hard—hit, and the storm has gone out into the gulf of mexico but there is every possibility forecasters say that tomorrow it might take another swing in the direction of houston which is already suffering so much, and all of this is in louisiana where there are evacuations and the way, they are evacuations and the way, they are expecting 7—11 inches of rain. president trump is coming here to see for himself the relief operation and he is aware of the importance of appearing presidential and unifying at this moment of trauma for texas. we hope to be with laura later on in the next couple of hours. we will keep you up—to—date with the developments coming in from praxis as $0 developments coming in from praxis as so many areas in that region are trying to deal with that developing emerging scene —— from texas. listed companies will,

from next year, have to reveal the pay ratio between bosses and workers. at the weekend, the prime minister attacked firms who pay executives excessive salaries as ‘the unacceptable face of capitalism'. unions says the new corporate governance laws are feeble. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. ever since she entered downing street, the prime minister has attacked excessive executive pay. we all know that in recent years, the reputation of business as a whole has been bruised. when a minority of businesses and business figures appear to game the system and work to a different set of rules. i'm putting you on warning, this can't go on anymore. a change has got to come, and this party is going to make it. last year, the chief executives of the 100 biggest companies listed in london were paid an average of £45 million, 129 times the salary of the average british worker. what an average worker earns in a year, a chief executive can make in less than three days. the government's plan is to force companies to publish how much the chief executive earns compared

to the average worker. when boards are setting pay and when they're disclosing pay, they shouldn't do itjust with an eye on pay in the board, but they should look at pay across the company and be prepared to set out publicly how they can justify boardroom pay in the context of the pay the rest of the workforce get. the proposals have been welcomed by the accountants who report company figures to shareholders. anything which will boost transparency around this area and make people understand better how companies are run and the say different stakeholders can have and the potential for making a difference is vitally important. but the reforms can be confusing. charlie mayfield, chairman ofjohn lewis, which owns waitrose, was recently paid just over £1 million. 73 times the average pay of non—management staff. at the same time, the former uk head of investment bank goldman sachs,

michael sherwood, was paid more than £15 million, only 45 times as much as the highly paid employees who average more than £300,000 each. the problems with pay seem to be at the larger end of the corporate universe, the big companies. and if you look at the historical performance record of those who perform the least. they clearly have a lot of lobbying power in actually trying to resist a lot of this stuff. but the political impetus does seem to be growing for change. in today's reforms, there's no sign of a previous promise of annual binding votes by shareholders on director's pay. the pay gap between directors and employees will become more obvious than ever. it is less obvious how that gap might shrink. a four—year—old boy has died after being found in a swimming pool at an activity centre in bideford, in north devon. 0ur correspondentjon kay is at the scene. details are emerging all the time,

but what do we know now? just before three o'clock yesterday afternoon, the police were called to the activity centre here in north devon, and they were told to look out for a little boy who had gone missing. he is four and had gone missing. an extensive search was carried out in the grounds, including the use of the grounds, including the use of the police force helicopter but the little boy was found in the indoor swimming pool, taken to nearby north devon district hospital but he was pronounced dead when he got there. police said that his death is being treated as unexplained but we have had a statement from devon narcotics anonymous, the charity who say that it had a boy was here from dorset with his family as part of an activity for families offering them support, they come here for such a way, a holiday camp every year and

they have done for the last six yea rs. they have done for the last six years. narcotics anonymous say something has gone horrifically wrong and they say everyone on the camp got together and held hands in the circle and remembered and prayed for visitor boy. david said one —— for visitor boy. david said one —— for this little boy. 0ne for visitor boy. david said one —— for this little boy. one of the activities is supervised use of a swimming pool with trained lifeguards. we have had a statement from the owners of the activity centre and they say they have expressed their great sadness and sorrow over what has happened, but they said the group had use of the swimming pool and they said the group had use of the swimming pooland a they said the group had use of the swimming pool and a self supervised bases for recreational use and that it was not part of a planned activity programme. the owners say they will work with the emergency services, with the health and safety executive and with narcotics anonymous to discover what has happened and how this little boy died. thanks forjoining us. and now the headlines on bbc news.

siren sound as north korea fires a missile overjapan, the country's by minister says this is an unprecedented threat. more than 30,000 people have been forced from their homes in texas in catastrophic flooding, another foot of rain is forecast. police are investigating the death of a four—year old boy at a swimming pool in north devon. in sport, england need eight wickets to beat the west indies in the second test at headingley. after losing two wickets early, the west indies are digging in, chasing a unlikely 322 for victory. at the us open maria sharapova beat simona halep in her first grand slam since serving a doping ban. the second day at flushing meadows begins shortly. chelsea agree a fee of £40 million for the arsenal midfielder alex 0xlade—chamberlain. he is out of contract at the emirates next summer. i will be back with more on

those stories later. a 31—year—old man who was arrested in connection with the murder of a toddler in greater manchester has been released without charge. the 31—year—old was detained after the body of the boy was found at a house in wythenshawe on the weekend. a postmortem examination has concluded he died from multiple stab wounds. a 30—year—old woman, who was taken to hospital with serious injuries, remains under arrest. a police spokesman said it was a truly distressing investigation. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, has said none of the brexit position papers published by the uk government are satisfactory, and there is still an enormous amount to be settled before talks about a trade deal can begin. his comments come during the latest round of brexit talks in brussels. 0ur correspondent adam fleming sent this. yet more evidence if more was needed

that there is frustration on both sides around this process, jean—claude juncker, the president of the commission has criticised the government's homework, saying their position papers were not satisfactory and that will rank the civil servants who have spent a year writing them. he also says things will stick to the eu timetable of settling brexit related issues burst before talking about trade and the future relationship which will annoy david davis who wants to do both of those things at the same time. there are still disagreements about the issues on the table, the rights of eu citizens in the uk after brexit, eu citizens in the uk after brexit, eu would like them to be overseen and guaranteed by the european court ofjustice but the british side say british courts should suffice. 0n theissue british courts should suffice. 0n the issue of how much money the eu is owed by the uk, the eu would like to talk about numbers but the uk is going to provide a legal analysis calling into question whether even being allowed to ask to pay any money at all. so that is where we are. that was our european

correspondent outside the european headquarters in brussels, the latest on the brexit negotiations. this despite the endless adverts and the annoying phone calls, the financial conduct authority says fewer than half of people who were mis—sold payment protection insurance, or ppi, have claimed compensation. so far 12 million people have received money back, but it's believed many more are entitled to a refund. the regulator is launching its own advertising campaign to encourage people to act, before the deadline in two years time. both were prolific in the 90s. payment protection insurance. and arnold schwarzenegger. surprise! now the actor is the head of a campaign by the financial regulator. come on! explaining that compensation claims will be terminated in two years' time. after the 29th of august 2019 you will no longer be able to make a ppi complaint.

bye bye's for the ppi. quite. ppi was designed to cover loan repayments if policyholders fell ill or lost theirjobs. it was mis—sold to people like eddie. he fought a three—year battle to get his money back. first offer that they gave was £2.86, whereas the actual amount they ended up paying me was a four figure sum. i had an account with this bank from when i was a little kid, i had my home insurance with them, i had my mortgage with them, i had pretty much everything with them and obviously i don't have that any more because there is a definite distrust between me and the bank i was with. eddie's were among the 64 million policies sold in the uk, not all of which were mis—sold. so far 12 million people have claimed a total of £27 billion in compensation. banks have set aside more than £37 billion to pay people back. a lot of our work over the last few years has shown that this was in fact mis—sold on an industrial scale. so however those numbers go, we think there are millions

of people out there who are probably still owed thousands of pounds. the two year deadline will encourage victims to make a claim, which they can do themselves and forfree. but it also means more of these — text messages and calls from claims management companies who will offer to do the paperwork but take a cut of up to one third of any pay—out. claims companies say without them many would not seek compensation at all. consumer groups want it to be easier to claim yourself. that's a good boy. either way, with billions available in refunds, it's still well short of what arnie might call a total recall. come on! kevin peachey, bbc news. british actor ed skrein has pulled out of a role in the upcoming hellboy reboot film after a backlash because he was cast as a character of asian heritage. the deadpool star said he did not know the race of major ben daimio when he accepted the part in the comic book adaptation.

he said he was stepping down "so the role can be cast appropriately". with me is ayesha casely—hayford — an actress and chair of of trustees at act for change — a charity hat campaigns for better representation across the live and recorded arts. is what do you make of him stepping down? i think it is the right thing. it is unusual for an actor to do this? maybe on his level, at that public bevel, but actors are doing this all the time, —— public level. actors will do this regarding the disabled community, as well. wanting other people to get the park, who perhaps have the right sensitivity because they have walked in those shoes —— to get the part. because they have walked in those shoes -- to get the part. so is it about walking in the shoes of the character you are playing? there's a misunderstanding also what is the job ofan misunderstanding also what is the job of an actor, the actor will

interpret a role, it is notjust what do i look like and then being connected to the original source, it is deeper than that. if i'm going to play an east asian role i should have some understanding of the culture and identity as well and i can bring that to the role, so when you start whitewashing, yellow face, all of those things, when you start doing that, you are denying a voice and the question is asked, whose story is being told? white actors we re story is being told? white actors were blacking up decades ago, which is not acceptable any more, clearly. that is exactly it. where are we now? we were there before, and now where are we? it is completely different now. what this actor has done, he has said, i see where we are now, and he sees this as not being 0k any more and so he will not being 0k any more and so he will not be part of it. do you remember a while back when they were talking about who might be the next james

bond and some people said maybe idris elba and others said you can't have a black james idris elba and others said you can't have a blackjames bond. i wonder whether that in anyway fits into this discussion? i think so. that was incredible. james bond is fictional, so what people were upset about was there ownership or concept of the character and how it had been interpreted. it has been interpreted by the producers and directors before them. it has got lost. james bond is fictional, so why should people be dictating the colour of the person? but so is this character. yes, but this has come from an original source which was visual, but james bond from an original source which was visual, butjames bond hasn't. that was words. there was no written description of that. in his character there has been a comic and a visual artist who has put their creativity and therefore into that and a film is going to replicate that, so you are denying a certain

pa rt that, so you are denying a certain part of the story. if we stick to asian characters being played by asian, doesn't also have the impact that it becomes more the fact that more asian actors get on the screen? yes, it becomes very serious and i wa nt to yes, it becomes very serious and i want to ramp up how serious it is in terms ofjobs, want to ramp up how serious it is in terms of jobs, because want to ramp up how serious it is in terms ofjobs, because it is affecting people's livelihoods and for some actors if they say they can't get their create —— creativity out, you are sort of getting into the realm of human rights, if you are going to be blocked from doing parts which you think you are born to do, and so many actors live and die not getting to play the parts they are born to do, do you want to be part of stopping that and hurting people to that extent? fascinating. thanks forjoining us. the queensferry crossing was lit up last night in a special show,

to mark the formal handover of the new bridge to the scottish government. it will open to traffic tomorrow, joining the forth road and rail bridges connecting edinburgh and fife. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon is there. she has given us this update. this is one of the busiest arteries in scotland, and people who use the other bridges and who live in the other bridges and who live in the other communities have watched with interest as the queensferry crossing has risen up out of the water is and into the sky and now the uk's tallest bridge is on the verge of finally opening. lighting up scotland's latest bridge. the queensferry crossing in the spotlight before opening to drivers for the first time. in its own right, it is a feat of design, engineering and construction. in its own right, it is absolutely amazing. it is in every sense, in every way, an amazing achievement. the scale of this construction is impressive.

it's the longest bridge of its kind in the world and this is a chance for some of the many thousands who worked on it to celebrate its completion. whata night, eh? i know, fantastic. it's the end of a long journey but it's been a wonderfuljourney. stressfuljourney but the most rewarding job i've ever been on and i've been on many a bridge. these guys have put a lot of work into this place. in years to come, there will be grandchildren of mine saying, "my grandad worked on that". that's what i want. there are now three bridges across this stretch of the forth, the legacy of the generations of workers who built them. for some, the story of these crossings, stretching back three centuries, is part of their family's history. my great grandad worked on the forth rail bridge, my grandad worked on the forth road bridge and i worked on the queensferry crossing. three bridges, three centuries, all special in their own way. which is your favourite and why?

definitely the queensferry crossing because it feels most like my bridge. are you chuffed? after seeing it all come together, i'm fair away with it. i'm proud to have been working on the bridge. those who travel this busy route have had to contend with plenty of roadworks as the new bridge has taken shape. so what can they expect tomorrow? there have been miles of cones out there for a long time now, while the bridge was under construction. there will be a 40mph limit. i'm sure people want to see what the bridge looks like. we ask people to drive carefully, keep their eyes on the road. for now, it's all about admiring the view. tomorrow, a chance for all to enjoy the journey across this latest bridge over the forth. there is a lot of symbolism surrounding the queensferry crossing, next monday the queen will officially open the new bridge exactly 53 years after she opened

the forth road bridge, and before that 50,000 people who won tickets ina public that 50,000 people who won tickets in a public ballot will get to cross the crossing in what is being described as a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity. and now the weather. bank holiday monday was very warm, one of the warmest we have had in decades. the sum of us, but today is much cooler across many parts. much more cloud in central areas, and a few showers, also reaching parts of scotland. yesterday temperatures were in the mid—20s, more like 17 in yorkshire today, but still very warm in the south east and kent and sussex could reach 27. tonight there is potentially rain on the way, may be thunder across the far south—east. many will have a dry night, but notice the areas of rain crossing the south west and into the midlands

through the early hours. through tomorrow, some rain moving to the south—west into wales, certainly central and southern england and the south—west and a lot cooler in the south east tomorrow. with highs of 17. hello, this is bbc news with me, matthew price. the headlines and just after half past two. president trump has said that "all options are on the table" after north korea fired a missile which flew over japan and landed in the pacific. and president trump will be visiting rescue staff and displaced residents when he visits houston later today. the city continues to bear the brunt of tropical storm harvey as flood waters are expected to rise further. a four—year—old boy has died after being found in a swimming pool in devon. police say that the death is being treated as unexplained as investigations continue. and from next year listed companies will have to reveal the pay ratio between bosses and their workers.

the prime minister has attacked firms with excessive pays as "the unacceptable face of capitalism". right, let's led to the sports desk with will perry. afternoon. let's check—in on the final day of the second test between england and west indies. the tourists are chasing 322 to win the match and square the three—match series. 0ur reporter patrick gearey is at headingly. since we last spoke, england still need eight wickets, and i mean, they could be looking for victory, if not to win it in the third match? are the west indies about to deliver the final twist in what has been a thrilling test match, they were written off going into the test match and written off again last night, everyone thought the england total was too much, but shai hope

and kraigg brathwaite, who piled on the runs on day two, are doing it again today, getting nearer to that improbable victory target. england started the day as big favourites and took two wickets in the morning session, stuart broad involved with both of those. but england need more wickets pretty quickly, otherwise momentum will start going away from them in this match, and west indies could complete what would be a remarkable victory. but one or two wickets could change at all, we can't tell who is going to win what has been one of the most thrilling test matches of the summer so far. thanks very much, patrick gearey. just two days to go until the summer transfer window closes, and it's looking increasingly like alex 0xlade—chamberlain will be leaving arsenal to join chelsea. the england midfielder‘s contract expires next summer, but he's so far turned down the chance to commit his future at the emirates. the two clubs have agreed a fee of £40 million for the england international.

arsenal want the deal to be completed as quickly as possible. we understand manchester city will make a formal approach to sign alexi sanchez, that man who was substituted at anfield at the weekend, a dealfor him could involve raheem sterling of manchester city going the other way. and liverpool have confirmed a deal for rb leipzig's naby keita to join the club next summer. liverpool have agreed to pay the £48 million release clause that allows the guinea international to move to anfield next year. stoke have signed defender kevin wimmer from tottenham for £18 million on a five—year deal. the austrian becomes stoke's seventh arrival this summer. and jordan pickford has been ruled out of england's world cup qualifiers against malta and slovakia with a muscle injury. the uncapped everton keeper picked up the injury during sunday's premier league defeat at chelsea. no such problems for maria sharapova. the five—time major winner

has made a successful return to grand slam tennis following her 15—month doping ban. the russian beat world number two simona halep in three sets. sharapova was given a wild card to enter the main draw. she's currently ranked 146th in the world. we have just completed so well against each other in the past and have produced some really good tennis, and you know, despite not playing a lot of matches coming into this, it almost seemed like i had no right to win this match today. and i somehow did, and i think that is what i am most proud of. so aljaz bedene flies the flag for britain today at flushing meadows — he takes on andrey rublev. world number one rafael nadal takes on dusan lajovic. defending champion angelique kerber opens her tournament against naomi 0saka. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour.

lovely, thank you very much indeed. we have a couple of bits of breaking news on our two main stories today, first of all on the north korea, you will member north korea launching that missile that flew over northern japan and into the pacific. well, the un secretary—general hasjust condemned the missile launch and says that it is and mining security, stability and efforts to create space for dialogue, that is a statement coming out of the united nations in new york in the last 60 seconds or so. the un secretary—general condemning the north korean missile launch and saying it will undermine efforts to reach some sign of dialogue on the continuing crisis. there is also breaking news coming out of houston, the flooding, and there has been a

press co nfe re nce the flooding, and there has been a press conference in the last half—hour or so, and they are having problems dealing with what to do with the reservoirs there. the reservoirs are getting very close to overflowing, the engineers are saying they have never been in this sort of situation before. they don't know whether to release the water from the reservoirs or not, and meteorologists have been saying at this press conference in the last few minutes that they could be further flooding upstream in few minutes that they could be furtherflooding upstream in the coming days, as water levels in those local reservoirs continues to rise. residence adjacent to the reservoirs, both upstream and downstrea m reservoirs, both upstream and downstream along the buffalo bayou, they need to be vigilant, because they need to be vigilant, because the water in the reservoirs is rising rapidly and has significant potential to cause additional flooding impact. what they are also saying out of that area is that six neighbourhoods in houston close to those reservoirs, which are being monitored forflooding, residents are being encouraged to leave if they can from those neighbourhoods.

so it looks like they are going to try and release water from the reservoirs, or else it is going to go over the top. that means homes in the city, perhaps downstream of those reservoirs, at risk of flooding. it does relieve the pressure, as i understand it, on central houston, but in the suburbs, you are getting areas which could see even more flooding. so six neighbourhoods, residents being told that they should leave their homes if they can. let's move onto another story. the british government has provided an extra £20 million to the world food programme to help supply life—saving food for up to two million people affected by the famine in yemen. yemen is one of the poorest countries in the middle east, it's in its third year of war. 17 million people are struggling to feed themselves — seven million more face famine. with me is esme conway, an aid worker at the world food programme who has made a video diary of the humanitarian crisis in yemen. good afternoon, thanks for coming

in. so working out in yemen with world food programme, i mean, the statistics speak for themselves, but described the picture on the ground. the situation is absolutely devastating, you have a population of over 28 million people, and two thirds of that population, 17 million people, are very hungry, with 7 million starving and on the verge of famine. the world food programme is trying to feed as many people as it possibly can, and with contributions from uk aid, this £20 million really helps us. the situation is dire, people are not receiving salaries, they cannot afford to send their children to school, they cannot buy medicine, there is devastation and destruction, and the situation is really tell. the bbc and other organisations have managed, on occasion, to getjournalist into yemen to report, but it is

notoriously very difficult to get permission to go there. those are the statistics, i wonder if you can painta the statistics, i wonder if you can paint a picture, a family that you mad. i go into the field quite often with my work, and recently i went to the north of the country, one of the poorest parts, and i met a man who had three daughters, and he told me that at night he never wakes up his children because he knows he cannot feed them. in the south, i met a woman who was crying hysterically, explaining to me that a year ago she didn't have the bed in the streets, and now she is begging. she is sending her children to schools starving, no food, they really are on the verge of a generation of children who are not going to school, and it is a very sad situation. when you are there, i know the answer to this question, does it feel like anything is being done to help? you are on the ground, other ngos are on the ground, and yet, largely, isuppose other ngos are on the ground, and yet, largely, i suppose you would

argue, yemen is overlooked. yemen is overlooked, it is a bit of a silent crisis, people don't know about it, journalists cannot come in. the international community are doing as much as they can, uk aid are providing support, but it is not enough. we require $100 million a month to support the people, and thatis month to support the people, and that is such a small amount in comparison to the whole community. $100 million a month, £20 million from the world programme, just a little over $20 million, so that from the british government is welcome but... it is helpful, it is two months of food assistance for people who would not be able to feed themselves without it, but the sad truth is it is not enough, we need to do more to get medicines and food at there to really support the people who need our help. £20 million sounds like a lot but only two months. esme conway from world food programme, thank you very much indeed for coming in. as we've been reporting,

hundreds of the uk's biggest companies will be made to reveal how much more their chief executives are paid compared to their average employee under government measures due to be announced later today. the plans are designed to increase boardroom transparency in publicly listed companies. firms who face significant shareholder opposition to executive pay deals will also be named and shamed on a new register. joining me from out westminster studios is the leader of the liberal democrats and former business minister, vince cable. good afternoon to you, mr cable. and what do you, what do you make of what do you, what do you make of what we are hearing about these proposals to my well, i think they are useful. they basically are twea ks to are useful. they basically are tweaks to the system which i brought in on behalf of the coalition four yea rs in on behalf of the coalition four years ago, which was designed to increase shareholder power, and control over executive pay, which then as now was often unrelated to

performance, lots of top executives or tried to get into the top 25%, and logically they cannot do that, and logically they cannot do that, and to bring some restraint. the measures that we brought in then did have some effect, and these additional measures are welcome. but compared with what theresa may set out his stall to achieve, which was a very radical change, looking at the unacceptable face of capitalism, this was going to be a big theme in our prime ministership, it is a very big climb—down, and i suspect that big climb—down, and i suspect that big business has been so annoyed with the government's handling of brexit they have said they are not prepared to put up with this additional measure, and she has backed down. our business editor, simonjack, has written a blog called the great corporate climb—down, and he acknowledges that this does not go as far as perhaps the prime minister was suggesting she might want to go, and yet, in his blog, he talks about how it is very difficult to start, for

instance, getting workers onto the boards of companies. how do you do that when shareholders vote people onto boards? how do you do it when boards are based overseas? these are practical considerations, are they not, which make it difficult to do what the prime minister suggested at the outset she wished to do? these are genuine problems, and these were the objections that were thrown at me when i put this proposalforward in government several years ago. i mean, ithink in government several years ago. i mean, i think the point is that simply tinkering around the edges with this doesn't really help. what you have to do is a much more radical approach to reforming government, making british business much more like germany, where you build in worker representation into the way companies are run. and if you are willing to do that, these problems are soluble. but simply trying to grab a few workers onto existing british companies doesn't do it. and do you think that this

isn't just about the lobbying that firms did with the government in order to make sure that this wasn't as harsh as some might have wanted it, in their view? you do not think it, in their view? you do not think it is just it, in their view? you do not think it isjust do it, in their view? you do not think it is just do with that, it is to do with what be called the brexit effect, that we are in an uncertain economic future and the government didn't wish to do anything to put off perms? yes, i am not privy to what has happened inside government, but i know big businesses really quite hostile to these radical changes, and given that they are already anxious and worried about where we are going with brexit, and we are still at risk of crashing out, or at least having a very u nsatisfa ctory out, or at least having a very unsatisfactory transitional period without the singles market under customs union, i suspect that on a daily basis they are telling government that the business environment is not good. and piling on additional measures would have really alienating them. and i

suspect that is probably what lies behind what is a rather humiliating climb—down for the prime minister. vince cable, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour, but first the headlines on bbc news: sirens sound as north korea fires a missile overjapan. the country's prime minister says it's an unprecedented threat. more than 30,000 people forced from their homes in texas in catastrophic flooding — another foot of rain is forecast. police are investigating the death of a four—year—old boy at a swimming pool in north devon. hello, iam ben hello, i am ben bland with the business stories. in the business news, ministers have published details of their plans for greater transparency about how much top bosses are paid. the proposals also call for greater

powerfor workers in the boardroom. 0pposition mps and trade unions say the plans don't got far enough. fewer than half of those who were mis—sold payment protection insurance, or ppi, may have claimed compensation so far. the regulator says it's now launching an advertising campaign to encourage people to act, before a deadline to claim runs out in two years. many refineries have shut and almost a fifth of oil and gas production in the gulf of mexico has been suspended amid the largest storm to hit in the us in more than a decade. analysts expect the economic impact of the storm to pass $40 billion. there have been some incredible pictures emerging from the us as tropical storm harvey has given way to heavy flooding. houston, the country's fourth biggest city, with more than six million people, has been submerged, forcing thousands from their homes. it's brought a powerful oil city to its knees, so what do we know about

the impact on the industry? michelle fleury joins me now from new york. so, michelle, this is having an impact on energy prices, isn't it? it certainly is, fairly and surprising, given the importance of the area to the oil industry, about half of american refining capacity is located in that area affected by tropical storm harvey. you have also got a huge percentage of oil and gas production that takes place there, shale operations, which we have frequently talked about in the past, also all affected by this storm. there have been various estimates by the energy department that 11% of refining capacity has been shut down, or even higher, according to goldman sachs, they think it could be closer to 17% of american refining capacity affected. we're still waiting to find out the extent

of the damage, and the other key question for the industry is when they will reopen. at is point, it seems like the damage is more precautionary measures for the industry, where they shut down production and took security measures rather than the flooding, but of course we are continuing to monitor the situation. this has had a knock—on effect on the price of oil, but people are forecasting that over the coming weeks americans who go to fill up their car will find that prices have moved higher. michelle, what about the insurer and spill? it is going to be colossal. —— in assurance built. spill? it is going to be colossal. -- in assurance built. well, here is the thing, it is very early, we have reached out to a couple of insurance companies who didn't want to give any estimate at this point, but comparisons are being drawn to tropical storm sandy, which overall cost over $60 billion. now, the key thing with sandy and harvey is that

the number of uninsured, and that will be particularly true in this case, because houston was not in a flood area, but much of the damage is from flooding, and many of the residents, when they are able to return to whatever is left of their homes, they will find they are not covered by insurance. there is estimates that perhaps one in five homes, estimates vary, will find themselves without ensuring is. that is going to be huge financial pain, as well as the emotional pain awaiting many of these people when the rain eventually passes. 0k, michelle, thanks michael very much indeed, michelle fleury there. here's a look at some other stories with following today. 0utsourcing firm mitie is being investigated by regulators over the timing of a profit warning made in september last year. last september, shares in mitie slumped by a quarter after it warned

that profits would be hit by lower uk growth, rising labour costs and public spending cuts. amazon officially took over whole foods yesterday in a deal that cost the online giant nearly $14 billion. and it wasted no time in cutting costs, slashing prices on popular items like avocados and apples by a third as it bid to shake off its reputation for high prices. kenyans face up to four years in prison and fines of up to 4 million kenyan shillings, that's nearly £30,000, if they sell or use plastic bags. the financial times reports that kenya has imposed the world's toughest laws to reduce plastic pollution with a ban applying to the use, manufacture and importation of plastic bags. the ftse 100 is down — earlier it hit a 16—week low. when there are big geopolitical tensions like north korea firing a missile overjapan, investors tend to move money from riskier stocks and put them

into safe havens like government bonds and gold. with the gold price up, that has boosted shares in companies that mine gold and precious metals. meanwhile, the effect of storm harvey in the us has weighed on the dollar — it's down against the euro and the pound. the euro has hit $1.20 for the first time since january 2015. in that is all the business news for now, matthew, back to you. that plastic bag story is fascinating, they want to stop holiday—makers taking plastic bags in as well, it is a massive change for the country. lovely, thanks very much. strictly come dancing's class of 2017 lined up at a glitzy red—carpet event last night in which new head judge shirley ballas made herfirst appearance. bruno tonioli paid tribute to the show‘s host for many years, sir bruce forsyth, who died ten days ago. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba reports. glitterballs and glamour,

sequins and sparkles. this year's new celebrities together for strictly. they have been busy rehearsing for their launch show, the first to be broadcast since the death of sir bruce forsyth. there will, of course, be a special tribute. he will always be with us. he is part our lives, he is part of this country. he's part of the show. he's part of this show. so the spirit of brucie is with us. as in previous series, the programme will be aiming to deliver entertainment, and perhaps even the odd surprise. richard, we saw you come down that red carpet. yeah. you've got some moves. i've got some moves. i'm not sure if they will be good for anyone. but i'm releasing them, they are bubbling like a volcano of slightly uncoordinated dance. debbie, you've loved strictly as a viewer. how do you think you'll enjoy it as a contestant?

i will make sure i enjoy it. i don't think there's any other way to do it. i hope i don't get too nervous. has your saturdays band—mate frankie, who of course did the show, given you any advice? frankie has been so excited about me doing this. she hasn't actually given me any advice yet, but i will definitely be on the phone being like, "frankie, tell me any tips you can!" you are the first contestant to be in the show with a physical disability. how do you feel about being a bit of a trailblazer? yeah, i think it's really awesome. it shows the way that the show and life in general is going. this country, this world, we need more inclusion, we need more of this. as well as new contestants, there is also a new head judge. shirley ballas taking over from len goodman. i don't feel too much pressure, because i feel i have a good experienced team around me. so they've been taking care of me today. i don't feel any pressure at the moment, but we will see on the night. next month's launch show will give the public their first chance to see the new contestants in action. it will also be an opportunity for the programme and the viewers to remember sir bruce,

a man who helped make strictly one of the most popular shows on tv. lizo mzimba, bbc news. now, an american news website has suffered a backlash after using a picture of scotland's first minister as a generic scientist. the website vox used a picture of nicola sturgeon looking into a microscope to accompany an article about american health—care reforms. vox apparently missed the caption on the getty website explaining the picture showed the first minister on a visit to a science laboratory. new skills you didn't know she had! time for a look at the weather with tomasz. well, yesterday was a really warm day for some of us. the hottest bank holiday monday we've had in a long time.

not for everybody but many of us had that very warm day. today, overall across the country, it is looking a bit cooler. more cloud and certainly you can see it on the satellite image, another weather front in the north bringing some spots of rain. temperatures at best probably getting into the upper teens for most, with this weather front crossing through. also, some spots of rain as well. additionally, the breeze increasing across scotland and bringing some showers. the middle of the afternoon, let's see how things are shaping out across the south of the country. chance of one or two showers breaking out as well, in london 26, we might even squeeze out 27—28 in the far south—east, warm enough there in central southern england. for most of us, temperatures are 16—18. yesterday through here we had temperatures some 5—10 degrees higher so a real drop in temperature. a bit fresher across scotland and in northern ireland, 15 degrees in the middle of the afternoon. peaking around the mid or high 20s in the south—east, some 10 degrees lower

for belfast and glasgow. this evening, we continue to see showers across the north. potentially spots of rain in the south in the evening. 0vernight, we could see some thunderstorms clipping the extreme south—east. they will be very isolated, so most of us will not get any thunder, don't expect to get any. tomorrow, wednesday, weather fronts across southern parts of the uk — that spells rain. looks as though it will be affecting south—western parts of england, possibly wales, maybe the midlands and also closer to the south—east of the country. this is where the rain could be heavier. it may be the case that the heaviest rain will go away into the continent. there will be some rain around, exactly how heavy it will be is unsure, but be prepared at least with the umbrellas for some rain. in other parts of the country tomorrow, fresh and bright for manchester, glasgow and belfast, occasionally interrupted by some showers. thursday and friday, a mix of showers here and there,

but essentially the weather is improving. that's the latest. this is bbc news. the headlines: as the floodwaters continue to rise in texas — officials warn a major damn is starting to overflow, threatening local residents. the water in the reservoirs is rising rapidly and has the potential to cause additionalflooding impacts. president trump is on his way to texas — to see the flooding first—hand. siren sirens sound as north korea fires a missile overjapan — the country‘s prime minister says it‘s an ‘unprecedented threat‘. more than 30,000 people forced from their homes in texas police are investigating the death of a 4—year—old boy at a swimming pool in north devon.

also in the next hour: accusations of ‘whitewashing‘ in hollywood. british actor ed skrein pulls out of a role in the film ‘hellboy‘