this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: north korea accuses the us of being "hell bent on hostile" actions, just days after a meeting between the countries‘ leaders. the un security councilfails to reach an agreement on whether to issue a statement condemning the deadly air strike on a migrant centre in libya. a volcano in italy erupts without warning. one person's dead after being hit by falling rocks. in business — exchange irate! president trump accuses china and europe of playing "a big currency manipulation game" and calls on the us to do the same.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business, and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. we've all been charmed by the exploits at wimbledon of 15—year—old cori gauff. but is there too much pressure being put on her at too young an age? tell us what you think — just use the hashtag bbcthebriefing. and we will talk through your comments. we begin in north korea today. north korea says washington is determined to carry on with what it called hostile acts against it,

despite president trump's professed desire to hold talks. it comes just days after the two leaders met in the demilitarised zone when president trump became the first sitting us president to walk into north korea. the duo agreed to continue talks on the country's nuclear programme. but now pyongyang's representatives to the united nations say the us wants to undermine the peaceful atmosphere in the korea peninsula and call on all countries to be vigilant. dr robert kelly is from the department of political science at pusan national university. good to see you again. what's your ta ke good to see you again. what's your take on this shift in tone on the pa rt take on this shift in tone on the part of north korea? it seems we are backin part of north korea? it seems we are back in the zone of angry exchanges. yeah, it is pretty typical north korean shenanigans. the north

koreans are on and off, hot and cold. they have done this in the past before. i think this standard a nalyst past before. i think this standard analyst explanation is that it is a pressure tactic. on the one hand it looks like they are doing a good thing, good cop, bad cop, and the next day they flip out and say something outrageous. the idea is to pressure the interlocutor, the americans, to make concessions ideal or something like this. the north koreans have acted like this for decades. in terms of ossington's response, i don't think we have seen an official line from the trump administration, but how do you think they will react? i think they will just avoid it. the north koreans are no for shooting their mouths off —— known for. i'm not sure the americans are most to gain by saying anything at all. we want to continue to perpetuate what happened over the weekend, even if it is a fiction. an icy no benefit. it willjust go by the by, no—one will say anything. but in terms of what north korea is up but in terms of what north korea is up to, its nuclear programme, what do we know about that? that's

probably what this is designed to do. keep pushing the americans, particularly on sanctions. we know they want sanctions relief and that they want sanctions relief and that the dmz meeting the president said he would not do that. if you are the north koreans may you are getting to the point where you are like why meeting with the president, we have done three times, when getting sanctions relief, imagining north koreans are getting upset by that may ultimately expect these meetings will pay off. so far not much has happened. there has not been a deal by the side. in the meantime we have seen kim jong—un meet with china's president xi recently and also president xi recently and also president putin recently. so they are getting closer to the allies from that perspective, while having this but with ossington. yes. that socially pretty smart. if you are north korea you do not want to be stuck with one patron, always with the americans or the chinese, you wa nt to the americans or the chinese, you want to play this goes off against each other. south korea against japan against russia and see what

deals you can get with everyone. the north koreans have also been doing that for decades and with quite some success. so we should watch this space as ever. doctor robert kelley, thank you for your time, good to see you again. the united nations' security council has failed to agree on a joint statement condemning an air strike on a migrant detention camp in libya, in which at least 44 people were killed. reports indicate the united states was not prepared to support the text. ramzan karmali reports. the aftermath of the attack on this detention centre in an eastern tripoli suburb. it's been described by one un official as a possible war crime. dozens were killed and many more injured. most are believed to be sub—saharan africa nz. attempting to reach europe from libya —— africans. we're pretty sure this stage that this is the worst civilian casualties incident in the course of the libyan civil war to date, which is saying something. all

this is made all the more horrific by the fact that the information regarding the location of the migrant centre, detention centre and the people who are in it had been shared with the parties during the conflict. a libyan government spokesman named the attack on an air strike by forces loyal to a warlord, khalifa haftar. his forces accused the government side of gelling the centre. the escalation of fighting in the current civil war has led to calls for better protections for the refugees stop at the united nations security council failed to condemn the airstrike because the united states did not endorse the proposed statement which had called for a ceasefire. for the thousands who have found themselves in libyan detention centres, living conditions are detention centres, living conditions a re often detention centres, living conditions are often appalling. and though numbers attempting to make the journey to europe falling, the dangers for those do are rising. ramzan karmali, bbc news.

let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. amsterdam's mayor has announced plans to close the curtains on the red light district's famous brothels. femke halsema is seeking to radically revamp the city's sex trade. options include banning sex workers standing in window—fronted rooms to protect them from gawping tourists. ms halsema says there are no plans to outlaw prostitution altogether. gas imelda marcos valley was suspected food poisoning. around 2500 suspected food poisoning. around 250 0 gu ests suspected food poisoning. around 2500 guests attended to mark her 90th birthday dozens of them started vomiting. the widow of former dictator ferdinand marcos was not a self affected. the american whisky company, jim beam, says a lightning strike appears to be the cause of a massive fire at one of its warehouses in kentucky. 16,000 barrels of bourbon have been destroyed. a spokesperson for the company said

each of the barrels contained 200 litres of whiskey. now, president trump has raised the prospect of a global currency war — just days after he agreed a truce in the trade battle with china. he's taken to twitter to call for the us to force down the value of the dollar — to better compete with china and europe — a move that could have huge implications for economies around the world. with me is jane foley, senior foreign exchange strategist at rabobank. who better to talk about this? nice to see you. nice to see you, jane. interesting tweet on the part of the us interesting tweet on the part of the us president. what are the implications? the implications could be huge if the us treasury were successful in weakening the dollar. that is a big if. when we look back

in history, we have to look back quite a long way, to see when treasury departments have been successful in intervening. it's usually when the fundamentals suggest that that currency should be turning anyway. there is a big question as to whether or not the dollar would on its own we can. there is speculation it would anyway. the fed will be cutting interest rates. if the us treasury we re interest rates. if the us treasury were to be seen to be manipulating the value of the us dollar, this would be huge. it's not like other currencies, because most currencies around the world are pegged to the us dollar. i mean, most of the d10, the big currencies, of freely floating. i would argue that if they stop managing the chinese currency that currency would fall, potentially making donald trump as my problems worse with respect to his trade deficit. for instance, i think he is looking at currencies like euro, maybe the australian dollar, maybe the yen, these are

freely floating currencies. the reason that central banks are policies which might in donald trump as my views be seen as trying to wea ken as my views be seen as trying to weaken those currencies is only when the economy ‘s need that type of stimulation. so right now we are in a global downswing. central banks have become more dovish, more likely to cut interest rates than hike them. the action of the fed may move them. the action of the fed may move the dollar anyway or predictions of what the fed may do injuly are likely to move the dollar. that's right. a rate cut is priced in already. interest rate cuts are coming from other central banks as well and that negates the effect on the dollar. thank you finau. jane is later for the news the dollar. thank you finau. jane is laterfor the news briefing. we have so much more to discuss than —— for now. one person has been killed in a volcanic eruption on the italian island of stromboli. the victim is believed to be a tourist. the eruption was unexpected and started fires on the small mediterranean island, just north of sicily. rebecca hartmann reports.

ash and smoke rising in the air, just moments after the volcanic explosion on stromboli. the mushroom shaped cloud grew larger until it soon filled the sky above the small island. witnesses say they heard a loud boom and saw streams of red, hot lava running towards the village of ginostra. one male hiker died after being hit by a falling stone. while others were injured. many tourists threw themselves into the sea for safety. the volcano, nicknamed the lighthouse of the mediterranean, is one of the most active on the planet and has been under a regular state of eruption since 1932. but experts aren't entirely sure what caused this explosion. it's probably to do with the accumulation of a large amount of gas, deep in the volcanic system, which is then released in one great big bubble and that rises up and pushes all of the magma out in one

go. rescue services say the eruption started fires on the western side of the island. firefighters even sent a plane to drop water on the flames below. just 500 people live on the island and it relies heavily on tourists, many of whom claim the 924 metre summit to peer into its crater stop something volcano enthusiasts are likely to keep doing despite the obvious dangers. rebecca hartmann, bbc news. you are with the briefing on bbc news. still to come: a goal in the 99th minute with the netherlands into the finals of the women's world cup. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong.

the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell of another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: the un security councilfails to reach an agreement on whether to issue a statement condemning the deadly air strike

on a migrant centre in libya. north korea accuses the us of being ‘hell bent on hostile' actions, just days after a meeting between the countries' leaders. china has warned the uk not to interfere in its domestic affairs, as the row over protests in hong kong intensifies. beijing has accused the uk of taking the side of demonstrators who are opposed to a controversial extradition bill. britain replied by saying china needed to honour its commitments of preserving political freedoms in the territory. let's get an idea of how all this is being seen in hong kong. joining me from there is our correspondent, robin brant. quite an —— quite a heated exchange of words. yes, heated. china does regard hong kong and taiwan in

particular as being very much part of its internal domestic affairs and it doesn't like foreign governments, particularly the uk, the former colonial power when it comes to hong kong, frankly sticking their nose in. that is how it sees it. anyway, in terms of how the comments, both from jeremy hunt, the uk's foreign secretary and the chinese ambassador in london are going down here, in terms of the protesters, they regard the uk and the comments from jeremy hunt as being very important. some of the protesters we spoke to in the aftermath of monday's are storming and occupation of the legislative council building just over there, pa rt council building just over there, part of the reason they did it they say was to get the attention of the foreign media but also foreign politicians and foreign governments. so they are pleased that the uk has spoken out and spoken out in such terms. and as you say, they are pleased about that but china is fighting back pretty vociferously in

terms of what the uk has had to say. what is likely to happen next where you are in hong kong in terms of the continued protests against the extradition bill? in terms of the diplomatic war of words between a uk foreign secretary who you remember is just foreign secretary who you remember isjust one of foreign secretary who you remember is just one of —— here foreign secretary who you remember isjust one of —— here in hong kong, it is calm and quiet and the police investigation goes on. i think there we re investigation goes on. i think there were arrests on monday and they will be more arrests. some other events are planned for sunday but as far as we know, there are no plans to see a repeat of what we saw on monday night. the protesters arejust laying low. we spoke to some about their motivations and what drove them their expectation is that they will be a knock the door. —— there

will be a knock the door. —— there will be a knock the door. —— there will be a knock at the door. we will have more on the news briefing and looking at the interpretation of the harsh words between the uk and china. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. this morning, foreign ministers from various eu states will meet for a summit in poznan, poland, aimed at integrating western balkan countries more closely with the eu. later, it's the opening of the annual avignon festival, a celebration of the arts which is the oldest existent festival in france. and the australian parliament is expected to introduce strong anti—terror laws that would ban citizens who've fought in iraq and syria from returning home for up to two years. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm tulsen tollett and this is your thursday sport briefing

where we start with the news that the netherlands are though to the world cup final after an extra time 1—0 win over sweden in lyon. the only goal of the game came from jackie groenan in the 9th minute of the extra half an hour, manchester united's first overseas signing, scoring from distance to set up a final on sunday at the same venue for the european champions against reigning world champions usa. england guaranteed their place in the semi—finals of the cricket world cup for the first time since 1992 with a comprehensive 119 run victory over new zealand at the riverside in durham. this jonny bairstow made it successive centuries for england as he made 106 were dismissed forjust 186 meaning the hosts are set to finish third in the group and will meet india or australia at edgbaston next thursday for a place in the final. men's top seed novak djokovic eased through to the third round at wimbledon with a straight

sets victory over denis kudla but it was another american in 6 foot 11 inch reilly opelka who stole the show. the 2015junior champion at sw 19 beat swiss three time grand slam winner stan wawrinka in five sets claiming the decider by 8 games to 6 — and he faced a tricky career choice question after the match. why are you here and not in the nba? its a great question. i wish i was. i regretted every day and yeah, it is pretty much all i'm going to say. —— i regret it. rafael nadal always draws the crowds at the all england club — and there'll be lots of interest in his second round match with nick kyrgios on thursday. it's fair to say they aren't best of friends. they last met at the mexican open where the australian attempted an under—arm serve, which infuriated nadal — prompting him to call

kyrgios ‘disrespectful‘. i'm not sure that me and rafa can go down to the pub and have a beer. i don't know him at all, i know him as a tennis player and ijust don't... i don't, i don't know him very well. we have a mutual respect but that's about it, i think. elsewhere, serena williams faces highly—rated 18—year—old kaja juvan from slovenia later. williams is looking to equal australian margaret court's all—time record of 24 grand slam singles titles but has struggled with a knee injury this year, playing just 15 singles matches and she'll also team up later in the day in the mixed doubles with former two time men's champion at wimbledon, andy murray. golf's european tour heads to the iconic lahinch golf club in county clare on thursday for the irish open. the course, on the beautifully

scenic and rugged west coast of ireland, was created by alister mackenzie, who also co—designed augusta national. defending champion russell knox will tee off there later along with tommy fleetwood, jon rahm, and graeme mcdowell. and finally, what a week it's been for cori gauff. after knocking venus williams out of wimbledon, the 15—year—old got to meet another one of her heroes in roger federer on wednesday. the women's tennis association posted this on twitter — with the caption ‘yeah we got that on camera...the moment greatness meets future greatness' and then after that she duly beat magdalena rybarikova to move into the third round. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me tulsen tollett and the rest of the team that is your thursday sport briefing that is indeed. once described as ‘the most important and original scientific thinker in the world', james lovelock is still a hugely influential environmental thinker —

and he's about to celebrate his 100th birthday. in the 1960's he was a campaigning eco—pioneer, today he's a firm advocate of nuclear power. the bbc‘s mishal husain has been to meet him at his home on the south coast of england — as his new book "novacene: the coming age of hyper intelligence" is published. james lovelock is about to celebrate his 100th birthday for the p is one of the most influential environmental thinkers. time of the most influential environmentalthinkers. time is getting shorter and if we start doing simple things that make silly things like global warming, it gets even shorter still. i think scientists are a bit like artists. in the 1960s, he was an eco— pioneer who invented supersensitive devices which detected atmospheric pollutants. nasa used it to test for life on mars. when you put forward your views about what the search for like might look like rush search for life, how was it received? —— search

for life. bay complained to them management at nasa. —— they complained. here you are telling them that what they are doing is a lot of rubbish. what would you do instead ? lot of rubbish. what would you do instead? his revolutionary gaia theory says live does more than adapt to the earth but it changes it. today he calls himself an engineer first it. today he calls himself an engineerfirst and it. today he calls himself an engineer first and is very proud of his inventions. so what is this? that is a trans modulator. is this what you came up with at short notice when nasa said you a challenge? that's my life. the electron capture detector. it worked like a electron capture detector. it worked likea dream. electron capture detector. it worked like a dream. it could analyse incredible small quantities of certain compounds. his new book argues we are entering a new age where artificial intelligence systems where artificial intelligence syste ms ta ke where artificial intelligence systems take over. artificial

intelligence, i reckon, will be 10,000 times faster in thinking then we are. it is a new form of life that evolves. and a new form of life that evolves. and a new form of life that you think well, in the fullness of time, be much more intelligent than we are and supersede us? yes. if you think supersede is the right word, we are all necessary. does all of this fit into the theory you are best known for, the gaia hypothesis, that the earth is a self—regulating entity, is this the next stage of this, if you like? yes, the earth is ina this, if you like? yes, the earth is in a really rather dodgy position, looked at astronomically. i think we should just stop burning fossil fuel. i think its a crazy, daft, very dangerous thing to do, but we continue to do it because there is so much money invested in it. they

could use nuclear energy quite safely without worrying the planet at all. james lovelock, happy 100th birthday. a thank you very much. thank you. what a fantastic shape to be in at100. thank you. what a fantastic shape to be in at 100. whatever he is on, he can bottle it and sell it and we will get him on business alive. everybody is talking about corrie gough who is the 15—year—old young american who has just taken wimbledon by storm already. we are only in the first week. let's take a look at her. she has been discussed at length in the media, social media, everywhere. she won in her second round late yesterday as well. we are asking you, what do you make of this young woman? she is charming us of this young woman? she is charming us all but is she under a lot of pressure at the age of 15? many have beenin pressure at the age of 15? many have been in touch. guy's says it is hard to predict if she has what it had ——

has what it takes to win the tournament this time but it is a lwa ys tournament this time but it is always nice to see the younger generation do so well. keep your comments coming for. i will see you ina comments coming for. i will see you in a moment for business briefing. hello there. blue skies, sunshine and warmth or some of it over the next couple of days but for others, well, it is going to look and feel a bit different. this is how it looks in northern scotland on wednesday afternoon. you can see the cloud on the satellite picture. in fact, the cloud is going to continue to roll its way in across the northern half of the uk and as it makes a bit more progress southwards, it will bring outbreaks of rain. rain from the word go on —— across the scotland. it is extending down into the mainland. to the east, the rain is patchy and showery in nature. more

cloud filtering into northern ireland and northern england and the further south you come across england and wales, sunshine and warmth. 24 degrees in cardiff, 26 in london, cooler further warmth. 24 degrees in cardiff, 26 in london, coolerfurther north warmth. 24 degrees in cardiff, 26 in london, cooler further north where we have the cloud and the rain. certainly at wimbledon, a blue sky today, just a bit of wispy high cloud here and there. temperature is 25 or 26 degrees. as we go through thursday evening, certain areas will end the day with sunshine and we will seek less bells. further north, areas of cloud and patchy rain linking across —— thinking. ——we will see less spells. high pressure is trying to hold on in the south so fine weather but further east, the frontal system is still wriggling around, bringing cloud and outbreaks of rentals of another pulse of rain is moving across the northern half of scotla nd is moving across the northern half of scotland as we get through the day on scotland. more cloud to northern ireland, and to the south of that, in the sunshine, those temperatures may be, in the london area, up to 27 degrees. more like 17 for glasgow, edinburgh and aberdeen

but it is that cooler area that will spread across all parts of the uk. behind it, the air comes down from the north—west from a much cooler direction. on saturday, the remnants of our cold front is bringing cloud and may be outbreaks of rain to south wales and southern england and elsewhere, patchy cloud, sunny spells but with those north and north—westerly winds, not especially strong in so ——in most cases but just bring in a slightly cooler air across the country so temperatures 13- 22 across the country so temperatures 13— 22 degrees was stop similar temperature can be expected on sunday. a lot of cloud but some sunshine and it should be dry for most of us.

this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. exchange irate! president trump accuses china and europe of playing "a big currency manipulation game" and calls for the us to do the same. plus, rebuilding a reputation — boeing pledges $100 million to help communities affected by the 737 crashes. victims' lawyers reject the move. and on the financial markets in asia mostly are trading higher following a record close on wall street giving investors an independence day boost.