this is bbc news. welcome if you are watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: the frontrunner to be the next british prime minister, boris johnson, speaks exclusively to the bbc. he insists he can deliver brexit by the october deadline. my pledge is to come out of the eu at halloween, on 31 october. the us imposes new sanctions on iran. president trump calls them hard—hitting. the iranians accuse his administration of thirsting for war.

the sinister side of south korea's glitzy gangnam district. we have a special report into the underbelly of seoul's most elite nightclubs. and how the eastern black rhino is returning to rwanda, decades after being wiped out there. borisjohnson has told the bbc he doesn't believe for a moment that the uk will leave the european union without an agreement, but he is prepared to do so if it is necessary. in an exclusive interview, the frontrunner for the british conservative party leadership admitted that, in the event of no—deal, the eu would have to co—operate with britain to avoid a hard border in northern ireland and crippling tariffs. here is his interview with our political editor laura kuenssberg.

downing street is the threshold he really wants to cross, but borisjohnson has been uncharacteristically shy about explaining why. borisjohnson, what would you do on day one in number ten to make sure we leave the eu at halloween? i would make sure that we have a plan that will convince our european friends and partners that we are absolutely serious about coming out. and the key things that you've got to do are to take the bits of the current withdrawal agreement, which is dead, take the bits that are serviceable, and get them done. the important thing is that there should be an agreement that the solution of the border questions, the irish border, the northern irish border questions, all those issues need to be tackled on the other side of 31 october, during what's called the implementation period.

but the implementation period, as it stands, is part of the withdrawal agreement. of course. and you've said that you wouldn't sign up to the withdrawal agreement, and it's dead, so those things can't both be true. no, because you're going to need some kind of agreement, and that's certainly what i'm aiming for, in order, as you rightly say, laura, to get an implementation period. any eu leader, they have been crystal clear there is no kind of deal without the backstop, an insurance policy for northern ireland. so what evidence do you have you can get round that? nobody wants a hard border in northern ireland, and indeed, nobody believes that it will be necessary. if you want to be prime minister, you have to tell people how you will do it. you can'tjust wish it to be true. let me tell you, there are abundant technical fixes that can be introduced to make sure that you don't have to have checks at the border. if you cannot get the agreement, that sounds like you crossing yourfingers, you are clear you would leave.

you would take us out at halloween without a deal — an absolute guarantee? you have to be — of course, my pledge is to come out of the eu at halloween, on 31 october. that is not where i want us to end up. it is not where i believe, for a moment, we will end up. but, in order to get the result that we want, the common—sensical thing to do is to prepare for a wto exit. would you really be willing as prime minister to face the consequences of no—deal? in the real world, the uk government is never going to impose checks or a hard border of any kind in northern ireland. that's just number one. number two, in the real world, the uk government is not going to impose tariffs on goods coming into the uk. but it's notjust up to the uk. hang on, i'm coming to that point. of course, it's up to the other side as well.

where he goes, controversy often follows. these loved—up pictures of mrjohnson with his partner a far cry from the police arriving at their flat a few nights ago. can you just tell us what happened to at your partner's home a few nights ago? i would love to tell you about all sorts of things, laura. but i've made a rule over many, many years — i do not talk about stuff involving my family, my loved ones. and there's a very good reason for that, and that is that, if you do, you drag them into things that really is not — in a way that is not fair on them. but does your privacy mean more to you than the public‘s ability to trust you? because part of trust is being open, it's being accountable, it's being transparent. i get that, i totally get that. my key point, though, is that the minute you start talking about your family, or your loved ones, you involve them in a debate that is — in a way that is simply unfairon them. boris johnson's chance at number ten is real, and close now, yet it may

still slip from his grasp. laura kuennsberg reporting, and you can see her full interview with borisjohnson by going to our website, bbc.com/news. president trump has signed an executive order imposing what he says are hard—hitting new us sanctions on iran. tensions between the two countries have been rising for weeks. mr trump said the new measures would target iran's supreme leader, ali khamenei, and his associates, denying them key financial support. here is our north america editorjon sopel. this is the president hoping to prove that the stubby marker pen is mightier than the surface—to—air missile. having backed out of taking retaliatory military action after the downing last week of a us drone, donald trump unveiled a package of measures to target iran's supreme leader, tying up billions

of dollars in assets. these measures represent a strong and proportionate response to iran's increasingly provocative actions. we will continue to increase pressure on tehran. never can iran have a nuclear weapon. he said this was in response to attacks on a number of tankers in the strait of hormuz, as well as that drone. the president is at pains to insist that he is not seeking confrontation with iran, and looks forward to a time when there can be talks, but he is demanding a change of behaviour. tehran must give up its nuclear ambitions and stop sponsoring terrorism in the region. sanctions were imposed on iran over fears it was using its nuclear programme to make weapons, targeting core parts of the economy like oil, exports, banks and shipping. in 2015, iran agreed a deal with the us and the uk and four others to limit its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.

iran could trade in oil again and use the global financial system. then, last year, president trump announced he was pulling out of the deal, bringing back all the sanctions against iran and the countries who trade with it. iran's ambassador to the united nations is dismissive. the us decision today to impose more sanctions against iran is yet another indication of continued us hostility against the iranian people and their leaders, and that the us has no respect for international law and order, as well as the views of the overwhelming majority of the international community. there is no doubt that sanctions are hurting the economy, hurting shoppers, right across the country. but there is no evidence yet that the trump policy of maximum pressure is bringing the country's rulers to their knees. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. let's get some of the day's other news: a pilot has been killed in a mid—air collision involving two german air

force eurofighter jets in north—east germany. while both pilots managed to eject from the planes, only one of them survived. the accident happened as three eurofighter typhoons were taking part in an air combat exercise. human rights experts from the united nations have expressed grave concerns over a possible cover—up of abuse in myanmar. the burmese military has imposed a blackout of mobile phone and internet data in nine towns in rakhine and chin state. the un's special rapporteur for myanmar fears the blackout leaves ethnic minorities who could be at risk with no form of outside communication. sri lanka's former defence secretary hemasiri fernando could face criminal charges for alleged security lapses linked to the easter sunday suicide bombings. the country's attorney—general said mr fernando, who was in office at the time, should be investigated for his failure to prevent or minimise the attacks.

more than 250 people were killed when three churches and three hotels were blown up. south korea's pop industry is a global phenomenon, but in recent months, a massive sex scandal has tainted its usually wholesome image. k—pop stars are among those facing a string of charges, from sexual assaults on women to drug distribution, but it has triggered a far larger police investigation centred on the flashy nightclubs in the korean capital. our correspondent laura bicker has been investigating claims that women going to some of the city's most glamorous clubs are being drugged by rich, powerful men and raped. gangnam in seoul is the flashy, fashion—conscious playground of this nation's rich and famous.

# opa gangnam style...# psy sang about it in the viral pop hit gangnam style. but, in recent months, this area has gained a far more sinister reputation. the growing sex scandal began with claims that some of the biggest names in k—pop had drugged and raped women and shared video of the acts. megastar seungri, from the boy band big bang, is one of several celebrities fighting a host of charges, including procuring prostitutes and embezzling funds for his nightclub. but the wider investigation centres on sexual abuse in some of gangnam's most glamorous clubs. the bbc has learned that the elite and powerful of gangnam were requesting drugged 01’ unconscious women. they were paying tens of thousands of dollars to have them taken to a nearby room to be raped. the message from one client was, "bring me zombies". pastorjoo won—gyu spent six months

working undercover as a driver for some of the most well—known clubs. translation: i saw women raped inside of clubs, being drugged against a woman's will, being beaten, and so on. and on other occasions, he witnessed them being sexually assaulted, while unconscious. translation: there was no response from the body, the breathing was almost gone, and the pupils were dilated. we have spoken to one woman who was having drinks with an asian businessman in a club. she said she blacked out and woke up in a hotel room. translation: he got on top of me, and used both of his hands to block my mouth, and started pressing down hard, as if he was doing cpr. he kept saying, "relax, relax". i couldn't resist his power, and i was in so much pain that i could die. so ijust gave up and laid there like a dead body. the man strenuously denies raping, sexually assaulting or physically attacking her. he also claims cctv footage backs up his account.

the investigation continues. thousands of campaigners took part in protests, after hearing claims police turned a blind eye to reports of sexual assault, in exchange for bribes. gangnam's police chief has been forced to step down, and officers are now trying to restore trust. translation: we will focus our efforts on preventing such crimes, where women are drugged. we will put every effort into stopping incidents like this from happening ever again. do you—jin has been documenting the fight for equality in south korea, and believes this scandal is a turning point. we believe we do have power to change culture for women. rape culture and all these other gender inequalities in korean society, i think we do have power to change them. having dragged these crimes out of the darkness, women in south korea say they are determined to fight for change, and hold this society's

most powerful to account. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: long—distance swimming. the dutch olympian going the extra mile to help in the fight against cancer. members of the neo—nazi resistance movement stormed the world trade centre armed with pistols and shotguns. we believe that, according to international law, that we have a rightful claim in certain parts of this country as ourland. i take pride in the words "ich bin ein berliner." chapman, prison—pale and slightly chubby, said not a single word in open court. it was left to his lawyer to explain his decision to plead guilty to murdering john lennon. he believes that onjune 8, god told him to plead guilty and that was the end of it.

the medical research council have now advised the government that the great increase in lung cancer is due mainly to smoking tobacco. it was closing time for checkpoint charlie, which, for 29 years, has stood on the border as a mark of allied determination to defend the city. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: the frontrunner to be the next british prime minister — boris johnson speaks exclusively to the bbc. he insists he can deliver brexit by the october deadline. the us imposes new sanctions on iran — president trump calls them hard hitting and designed to target the country's supreme leader. france is bracing itself for a heatwave with temperatures expected to push thermometers over

a0 celcius later in the week. germany, switzerland and belgium could also see national records forjune broken in the coming days. but comparisons are being made to france's 2003 heatwave in which almost 15,000 people died. ramzan karmali reports. from france to germany, hungary and spain. it may look as if people across europe are enjoying the sunshine but for many, soaring temperatures are taking their toll and they are set to get higher. the heat experienced across much of europe is down to a weather system over the atlantic. it has created atmospheric pressure over the region, drawn up hot airfrom northern africa and spain. this means high temperatures. previous record temperatures of 38.5 degrees in germany and 41.5 in france looks set

to be beaten this week. in paris, a level 3 extreme heat plan has been activated. level 4, the maximum, has never been used. as part of the plan, 900 cool places have been set up including putting up temporary fountains and misting machines. state parks are being kept open at night for people to cool down in. 800,000 schoolchildren have had their exams postponed because of concerns about pupils‘ health. comparisons are being drawn to the heat wave france experienced in august 2003. almost 15,000 people died then and the president has urged people to be aware of the dangers. translation: the most vulnerable people must be taken care of quickly because during this kind of episode, people who are sick, pregnant, newborns and the elderly are the most vulnerable. we must remain vigilant and have preventative measures in place to intervene as quickly as possible.

it looks as if many people have heeded his advice. there has been a rush at this store that sells fans and air conditioning units. and people will need plenty of this stuff. rising humidity will make weather feel even hotter. let's get some of the day's other news a british man has beenjailed for life, for trying to kill two people by pushing them onto train tracks on the london underground. paul crossley will serve a minimum of 12 years for the separate attacks that happened on the same day in april last year. one of the victims was a 91—year—old man who was rescued by fellow passengers. palestinian leaders have dismissed a middle east economic plan due to be presented next week by the united states as an attempt to buy off their hopes for independence. the us plan calls for the creation of a $50 billion global investment fund to reform the palestinian economy and connect it to the region. the plan is due to be presented at an international

conference in bahrain. italian mafia boss rocco morabito has fled prison in uruguay — where he was awaiting extradition to italy. morabito and three other inmates "escaped through a hole in the roof of the building" according to italian officials. the 52—year—old was arrested two years ago after decades on the run and was awaiting extradition for international drug trafficking. the eastern black rhino was wiped out in rwanda, but thanks to a successful conservation and breeding programme in zoos across europe, five rhinos have now been reintroduced into the country. it's the largest ever transportation of the critically endangered animalfrom europe. but the ongoing threat of poaching for rhino horn means they'll need special protection. victoria gill followed

them on theirjourney. not your usual feeding time. he loves apples. this is rhino flight training. don't get afraid, ok? with comforting words and lots of apples, the keepers here at this czech zoo are training rhinos to stand calmly in a confined space. it's something they'll need to do for hours on their upcoming flight to rwanda. five young rhinos, all born in european zoos, have been selected to be transported and released into the wild. they're all the descendants of animals that were taken decades ago from africa. we have to do everything we can now to pay back what we did in the past, and one of the ways we can do it is to get involved in the conservation projects, like translocating of rhinos from european zoos back to rwanda and helping establishing a new population in this african country.

these are critically endangered eastern black rhinos, brought together here from three different zoos in preparation for their 6,000 kilometre journey. they are looking pretty content, munching on their breakfast. these are three of the five animals that are going to be taken to rwanda for the reintroduction, from all over europe. they represent the countries that all of these animals come from. from denmark, the uk, and the czech republic. in the early hours of this morning, the flight they've been preparing for finally arrived at kigali international airport. once unloaded, this most precious of cargo is transferred to trucks for the final stage of the journey. this is their final destination and their first footsteps onto african soil. the rhinos will stay in these specially—built areas for several months while the team checks they're settled,

healthy and ready for life beyond the fences. you see these animals having arrived safely. how does that make you feel? very, very happy and ifeel that they are a survivor, they arrive in rwanda safely. it shows me a future of 100 rhinos, so for me conservation is notjust for the sake of conserving but i see it as a way of improving our life today and in the future. while this is the end of a very long journey, it's just the beginning of what will hopefully be a long life in the wild. victoria gill, bbc news, akagera national park, rwanda. let's get more now on the new us sanctions. it's ratcheting up yet more pressure against iran.

the supreme leader, you know, he's been really isolated since the iranian revolution. but, by targeting him, itjust shows that president trump is really serious about maintaining this campaign of maximum pressure against iran. but, of course, what is the us strategy here? that is the question in washington. president trump's supporters say this is typical of him — he's unpredictable. he pulled away from military action at the last minute, so he's wrong—footing the iranians. now it's back to sanctions and diplomacy. but the president's critics say this is a fire of his own making. the us pulled out of the iran nuclear deal, which iran was abiding by. and if what the us wants is for iran not to make a nuclear weapon, well, now iran is warning that it may take the step of actually increasing the amount of uranium that it enriches. then what does the us do? so a very tricky situation here. for more than a century the ‘eleven cities race' has been part of dutch sporting folklore. ice skaters would travel along

frozen waterways over a course that's nearly 200 kilometres long. it hasn't taken place since the late 90s with some blaming global warming. now, one competitor has decided to resurrect it — but in a slightly different form. tim allman explains. martin van der weijden just keeps going and going and going. this is some feat of endurance, swimming through the canals, rivers and lakes of northern holland. but he did have plenty of support along the way. as well as the odd goodluck kiss from his family. martin was already a celebrity, overcoming leukaemia to win a gold medal at the 2008 beijing olympics. now he is raising money for charity the way he knows best. this is how the elfstedentocht, the 11 cities race was run in 1963. ice skaters tearing through the countryside

as fast as possible. but a warming climate meant ice—skating has now become swimming. as part of the tradition you have to collect the stamp from each town to qualify for a medal. a tradition martin was keen to maintain. then after four days and a lot of time in the water he finally reached the finishing line. all the sweeter, bearing in mind he had to bail out of his last attempt. translation: last year i suffered, mostly. this year i enjoyed it. it was very long but also very special and beautiful. and fairly profitable. nearly 4 million euros raised for the fight against cancer. quite the achievement,

quite a swimmer. you're watching bbc news. hello. the heat and the humidity have been rising over recent days and that is bringing us the fuel for some heavy showers and some thunderstorms as well. as we head through the day on tuesday, we're going to keep that warm, humid, fairly sticky feel to the weather and we are expecting further thundery showers as well. now, we've got this weather front that's been pushing up from the south over the past few hours. it will continue its progression north—eastwards, as we head on through tuesday. but early in the day, this is the zone we're most concerned about, in terms of those heavy thunderstorms and torrential rain. not everywhere is going to see them but if you catch one, could well see some flash flooding problems, particularly across this part of eastern england and into eastern wales as well. through the course of tuesday morning then, that first batch of rain tends to drift its way northwards

and eastwards, across north—east england, and eventually out into the north sea. we'll also see some further heavy showers building through into the afternoon, particularly through parts of the midlands, perhaps wales as well. scotland and northern ireland having a bit of a drier day. wherever you are, it's feeling reasonably warm. most of us around about 19—25 degrees or so. just a little bit cooler along some of these north—east coasts. as we move through the course of tuesday evening and overnight into wednesday, then that first batch of rain clears away and we then we've got a little bit of a change on into wednesday. quite a lot of cloud across the country, and it's going to be another mild and fairly muggy feeling night, with temperatures between around 10—16 degrees overnight. so heading through wednesday, once we have lost that frontal system, high pressure tends to topple in from the north, becoming more of a player and quietening the weather down. so through the day on wednesday, there will not be as many heavy downpours and thunderstorms. still the chance of perhaps one or two showers lingering across the far south—west of england, the channel isles too. most other parts of the country looking dry. best of the sunshine, i think, across scotland

and northern ireland. quite a bit of cloud for england and wales but it will tend to break up through the day, allowing temperatures to rise to around about 23 degrees or so. later in the week then, that high—pressure topples in further. we see low pressure moving out towards the west. so we are going to be drawing in these warm southerly or even south—easterly winds. lifting temperatures to as high as about 31 degrees or so in the warmer spots. so through the day on thursday, plenty of sunshine around. it's looking like a dry day across the uk, bit more brightness, i think, compared to wednesday. still a little cooler, with a bit more cloud around parts of eastern scotland and north—east england as well, where we draw the breeze off the sea. the warmest temperatures are going to be found further west. but later on in the week it is looking dry, mostly sunny, again hot and pretty humid, and also fairly muggy and sticky by night. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines: boris johnson, the man who is expected to become britain's next prime minister, has told the bbc he is confident he can broker a new agreement with the european union. this, he said, would avoid a hard border on the island of ireland and crippling tariffs on trade. the white house has placed new sanctions on iran, targeting for the first time its supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei. president trump said he was ultimately responsible for teheran‘s hostile conduct. relations between the two countries have been soured by iran's shooting down of a us drone. a pilot has been killed in a mid—air collision involving two german air force eurofighter jets in north—east germany. while both pilots managed to eject from the planes, only one of them survived.