this is the briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top story: north korea fires two short—range ballistic missiles. the south korean military says they landed in the sea of japan. the democratic party's 2020 presidential hopefuls have gone head to head in a second round of debates on the road to the white house. a climate change warning — the latest uk figures reveal the ten hottest days on record, have all taken place since 2002. the us federal reserve is expected to cut its main interest rate for the first time in more than a decade. then, the us was in recession.

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 as a new report shows most children want to live in a city, even though the countryside is healthier, we want to know, where did you grow up? how much of an impact does where u grow up as a child have how much of an impact does where you grow up as a child on you as an adult? tell us what you think — just use the hashtag bbcthebriefing. south korea says that north korea has launched two short—range ballistic missiles from the hodo peninsula on its east coast. the south korean military said the missiles flew about 250 kilometres before landing in the sea. it's reported the missiles were fired from the wonsan area. last week, the north fired two short—range ballistic missiles, describing the tests as a "solemn warning" to seoul as it plans to conductjoint military exercises

with the united states next month. let's speak to the bbc‘s laura bicker in seoul. tell us more about these missile launchers. south korean defence chiefs have updated where these missiles were launched from. they flew around 200 and kilometres. about 150 miles. —— 250 kilometres. 0ne about 150 miles. —— 250 kilometres. one of the reason the analyst believed for it is that north korea may be developing missiles capable of avoiding radar. here on the south korean peninsula the united states has placed a missile defence system and it may well be that these

missiles are able to fly undetected by that system. again, analysts are still looking at the data to try to determine that. what it shows is that despite being under strict economic sanctions, north korea is capable of developing new weapons. and also within the last hours south korea has been analysing the submarine that kim jong—un unveiled in state media last week and they say it would be capable of carrying three short—range ballistic missiles. how do we interpret what north korea is trying to say to the international community through these actions? it is always difficult to interpret what pyongyang might be thinking. in terms of these missile launchers they usually some kind of signalling. when it comes to what is happening in the next few weeks, south korea and the united states are taking part injoint military drills. this usually provokes north korea. they usually see it as

preparation for an act of war stopping state media last week they took directaim stopping state media last week they took direct aim at seoul, accusing them of doubledealing, talking piece, while taking part in these military exercises and recurring new high—tech weapons. there are busily angry that these drills are taking place and they believe that it will break the agreement reached between kim jong—un break the agreement reached between kimjong—un and break the agreement reached between kim jong—un and donald trump break the agreement reached between kimjong—un and donald trump —— they obviously believe. both in singapore and we understand between them when they met at the demilitarised zone between the two koreas last month. when it comes to other analysis on top of this, donald trump has said he is in no rush. it is also shrugging off these short—range ballistic missile tests. he said other countries test short—range missiles. but pyongyang is clearly suffering from the strict sanctions, despite the fact they are able to develop weapons their economy is thought to be slowing down. there

are signs that many people, including the world food programme, reckoned that 10 million people are going hungry. therefore it may well be that they are trying to pressure washington and seoul a little bit more. remember what is going on in the united states right now. we are seeing the democratic debate carrying on in the us, we are seeing the run—up to the 2020 elections, does donald trump want north korea firing of missiles while he is standing at a podium telling people to vote for him just after he said and tweeted that north korea prospect problems have been solved —— north korea's problems. they may be trying to up the ante a little. thank you very much indeed. contenders to be the us democratic pa rty‘s presidential candidate have clashed on the best way to defeat donald trump in their second tv debate. detroit is hosting the second round of primary debates for the democratic party in the us. they're spread over two nights. the first one has just finished. the bbc‘s barbara plett usher

was in the audience. 0n the stage tonight we have the two most liberal of the 2020 candidates. bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. many others, prodded by the moderators, challenged them on the left—wing policies, especially when it came to healthcare. bernie sanders has branded himself very sternly talking about his traditional talking points, but senator warren in particular landed her points with passion and clarity. the candidates were also asked about immigration, about gun control, about racism, they all agree the most important thing of course was to defeat president trump in 2020. but they won't ask about impeachment, whether to go after him now in that way. they clashed about foreign—policy issues such as whether they should talk to dictators, whether there should be any troops left in afghanistan. everyone of course knew who the most progressive candidates were, but there were some lesser—known candidates having a chance to make their case on the stage tonight. however, we probably won't be seeing many of them again because after this debate, the restrictions get much tighter and the field will get smaller.

let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. health officials in the democratic republic of congo say a second case of ebola has been detected in the city of goma — raising fears of a rapid and uncontrollable surge in casualties. so far the outbreak has killed more than 1,700 people in eastern congo. police in sudan have used tear gas to break up protests in the capital, khartoum, where thousands of people, many of them students, marched to denounce the killing of five teenagers in north kordofan state on monday. the opposition protest movement has blamed a feared paramilitary for monday's violence. the estranged wife of the ruler of dubai has applied for a forced marriage protection order and wardship of her children. princess haya bint al—hussein was in court in london for the legal battle with sheikh mohammed bin rashid al—maktoum. she is the third female member of dubai's royal court to attempt to flee the kingdom.

the us federal reserve is widely expected to trim interest rates later for the first time in over a decade. the only question is by how much? as some are voicing growing concerns about the us economy. david buik, market commentator at core spreadsjoins me now. david, good to see you. lovely to see you. you have been following what the fed has been doing for more yea rs what the fed has been doing for more years than i think you would care to remember. why will the fed be cutting rates and, for investors, is this beginning of monetary easing for a while? i thinkjay powell, the chairman of the federal reserve, u nfortu nately chairman of the federal reserve, unfortunately he has donald trump treading over him all the time telling him what to do, which is outrageous, because the fed is an independent body. i thinkjay powell has come round in a rather rounded

route in saying i am more concerned about global growth dropping. we have seen anxiety in china, the lowest level of gdp that we would settle for, we have problems in asia, if europe stays out of recession the next question is by an absolute pip. we are not doing too well with brexit. we have seen the united states moved to 2.1% gdp in the second quarter. you have seen the second quarter. you have seen thejudge —— the second quarter. you have seen the judge —— bank the second quarter. you have seen thejudge —— bank ofjapan the second quarter. you have seen the judge —— bank ofjapan yesterday saying they are on the easing button anytime now. the previous week the european central bank were saying we are happy to cut rates anytime now and, frankly, if we have to do more qualitative easing, so be it. we may even consider equities, which is absolutely staggering. he is left in an invidious position. i think today, the quarter is done, don't know he would want to leave his firing power all in one fell swoop,

dropping by half a percent, there is a percentage .com it is enormous, but he hasn't much left in his barrel for later in the year. there isa limit barrel for later in the year. there is a limit to how much we can do this. the other thing is he knows perfectly well that he has donald trump saying we are independent. he has an election. no president has ever read one an election on the basis of this is falling out of bed. 0k, david, very interesting. we'll talk to the papers in a few minutes. moving on now. the russian leadership has launched a criminal investigation into what it calls "mass unrest", last saturday's protests in moscow calling for free elections. state investigators say they're opening three criminal cases into violence against police and other officials. anyone found guilty could face up to 15 years injail. john mcmanus reports. central moscow on saturday. thousands of people take part in what was supposed to be

a peaceful political protest against the exclusion of some 30 candidates from local elections. but it didn't stay peaceful for long. when they refused to disperse, riot police confronted the protesters with batons, arresting more than 1,000 people. it was the largest crackdown by russian police in several years. now the russian authorities have launched criminal investigations into what they called the "mass unrest", and "attacks on police". officials will look at the participants and the organisers, they say those who used social media to rally the public beforehand knew that riots might ensue. translation: they switched to active measures, trying to block roads and streets, attacking policeman, who as a result were obliged to use force. and in this situation, it was absolutely appropriate. i want to thank the police and national guard officers. they were carrying out their duty. anyone found guilty could face up to 15 years injail. meanwhile, a moscow court has refused to release opposition leader

alexei navalny from jail on health grounds. he was taken from hospital to jail afterfalling ill, his supporters suspect he was poisoned. we believe that the toxic agent could have been administered through a pillow or through pillowcase while he was out during a walk. president putin often uses russia's military might to bolster his strongman image. but these protests are an unpleasant reminderfor him of his plummeting approval ratings and the opposition have already called for more protests. john mcmanus, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: why this tiny village in the alps has become a must—see attraction for tens of thousands of tourists from asia.

cheering the us space agency, nasa, has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldiers' lot, drudgery and danger, now no more after almost four decades. if one is on one's own, in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't really see why people should wander in and say, you're doing something wrong. six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl at worcestershire park and, already, they have been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they're lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute.

you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: the democratic party's 2020 presidential hopefuls have gone head to head in a second round of debates on the road to the white house. north korea fires two short—range ballistic missiles. the south korean military says they landed in the sea of japan. let's stay with that now. i am nowjoined byjune park, lecturer for global affairs at the george mason university. what kind of a message do you think north korea is trying to send with these actions? first and foremost, the draft convened between the us and south korea next month, so technically in august, would sort of exacerbate the

tensions between south korea, north korea and the united states. in addition, there is a trades that that has been going on between south korea and japan, which makes the traditional alliance oriented partnership very difficult, and that may exacerbate the tensions. this put south korea in a very difficult diplomatic situation, doesn't it? yes, surely it is. what do you think south korea's reaction is going to be? well, the ministration i think has already decided on a path to go strongly against japan and already decided on a path to go strongly againstjapan and north korea, they are going to watch this u nfold korea, they are going to watch this unfold and there are requests from the united states in order to increase the level of cautionary expenses in the us, korea military engagements together, so south korea is on the verge of having to respond to those requests in order to

counter any kind of threat coming from the north korean side. of course, this does affect neighbouring countries as well, because their short range missiles in countries like japan have every right to be concerned. from the japanese side, the prime minister has already stated on the previous missiles that they are not of consequence to japanese national security. 0n the other hand, for south korea, the situation may be a little bit different, depending on what the department of, the ministry of defence ends up with, in terms of results, this may vary in terms of official statements, but short—range ballistic missiles, if they can target the range of within the peninsula, the southern part of the peninsula, the southern part of the peninsula, there are chances that the political capital would be reduced significantly. and what of the us? i am sure they are loath to reignite any rancour

between the us and north korea, at least publicly? from the trump side, the trump administration, he himself still seems to have this intention going on, especially with the secretary of state mike pompeo on this engagement with north korea. what is quite different from this side is, from the korean peninsula side, is the north doesn't seem to want to have south korea engaged in any form, while south korea still intends to sort of play the mediator role. so, in terms of communication, in terms of dialogue, this could be creating, in the long—term, there could be miscommunication, they could be confrontations as well, as they could be a mixup in the endeavours. good to talk to you. thank you so much.

the uk's national weather service says that the top ten warmest years in britain since records began in 1884 have all occurred in the last two decades. the scientists say its latest state of the uk climate report underlines how much the uk has been affected by climate change, as our environment correspondent david shukman explains. so low, the sea of kent actually froze. this was back in 1963, one of the teleost years experience in britain over the last century. but what is what is significant is that since that icy time, we haven't had a year quite so brutally cold. there has obviously been plenty of snow more recently. some paralysing much of the country. but in terms of temperature, none of the year since the early 60s has ranked as one of the early 60s has ranked as one of the top ten coldest. by contrast, and this is very striking, the ten warmest yea rs and this is very striking, the ten warmest years for more than a century have all come since 2002.

the recent heat waves are part of a pattern. it is yet more evidence as the met office have our climate changing. this year, so far we have already experienced the hottest winter day on record in february and the hottest summer day on record, and this is all part of a pattern of change that we are seeing, both globally and here in the uk. and it isa globally and here in the uk. and it is a trend that we are expecting to continue into the future. there is such a thing as a solid snow covering... will be ever get scenes like this again? while the british weather is so fickle, you can never be totally sure. last year, with all the cold and snow of the beast from the cold and snow of the beast from the east. in later in the same year, we had thejoint the east. in later in the same year, we had the joint hottest summer on record. but as the average temperature rises, by bit, cold yea rs temperature rises, by bit, cold years become less likely and hot ones more likely. now, it's time to get all the latest

from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm tulsen tollett, and this is your wednesday sport briefing where we start with the news that caster semenya says she will not defend her world championship 800m title in september after a setback in her challenge to the restricting of testosterone levels in female runners. the south african has twice appealed against iaaf rules preventing her from running without medication, and had been able to race while awaiting the decision of a swiss court, having previously lost an appeal to the court of arbitration for sport in may. jill ellis is stepping down as head coach of the us women's football team after guiding the team to back—to—back world cup titles. the 52—year—old, who was born in the english city of portsmouth but moved to the us as a teenager, was appointed in 2014 and led the team to their first world cup victory in 16 years in 2015 before repeating the feat this year in france. at the audi cup in germany, hosts bayern munich thrashed fenerbache 6—1, while in the early game, tottenham beat real madrid 1—0 thanks to a marcelo mistake,

which gifted harry kane a goal only 22 minutes in. the brazilian tried to keep the ball in play, but only succeeded in knocking it to the england striker who put it in the net. the organisers of the birmingham 2022 commonwealth games have defended their decision to exclude shooting from the programme. the move has proved highly controversial with india threatening to boycott the event if the sport is not reinstated. the country has a proud record in shooting and its 0lympic association has said it is now considering pulling out of the games. india and the commonwealth games federation are now set to hold talks in a bid to resolve the crisis. in the women's ashes, australia will look to complete a t20 series whitewash over england when they play the last of their three games later on wednesday in bristol. they lead 12 points to 2 in the multi—format series and have already retained the ashes having only dropped points in the rain—affected

drawn test match. and in the men's game in the coming hours, sri lanka will be looking to complete a series whitewash of bangladesh when they play the third and final one—day international in colombo. victory in sunday's second game handed the hosts a first series win at home for almost four years. moise kean looks to be on his way to everton from the italian championsjuventus. the 19—year—old has won two league titles and the italian cup since making his debut forjuve three years ago and he's scored two goals in three games for italy. while arsenal are expected to confirm the signing of nicolas pepe from lille for a club record fee of $88 million later in the week. the ivory coast international had a medical on tuesday before signing a 5—year contract. there was a brilliantly improvised late goal for the united states on tuesday in their group d match against italy at the homeless world cup in the welsh capital of cardiff. stevenson cedor dragged it back

and confidently chipped it over italy's goalkeeper, but although the goal levelled the match for the usa at 7—7, italy eventually triumphed in the shoot—out. 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 wednesday sport briefing. the little town of hallstatt in the austrian alps has become a tourism hot spot. it's a world heritage site. there are no more than 800 people living there, but it gets a million tourists every year. it has become so famous that a replica of the town has been built in china. bethany bell reports on how hallstatt is coping with all this. hallstatt is something of an alpine dream. but here, the hills are alive with the sound of tourists and clicking smartphones. over the last ten years, there has been a huge increase

in the number of visitors here. up to 8,000 tourists, ten times the population here, arrive every day. many of them come from china. no—one in hallstatt is really sure why this place has become such a magnet for tourists. ten years ago, things were much quieter here. but now, it's even been cloned. in china, they have built a replica of the village, complete with church and the town square. hallstatt‘s fame is partly due to social media, particularly in asia. we've heard it from some apps in china, and many people recommended the place, so we came here. i come here to hallstatt for taking a picture to upload to the internet, like instagram, and my profile, and send to my family. tourism has been great

for the economy of hallstatt. translation: the advantages are that we have become financially independent. we used to be a place that people left, and we could not balance our budget, but that's changed. now we can develop our own projects and offer a lot to our population. but not everyone here is happy with the developments. some locals say there are simply too many tourists. translation: we have a lot of short—term visitors who swamp the place and then leave after two or three hours. that isn't so good for the people who live here. there are plans to reduce the number of tour buses coming to hallstatt, but it seems mass tourism is here to stay. looks like the kind of place i would like to go and visit. you can get in touch with us at any point.

let us know your thoughts. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. so much more to come. hello. tuesday turned out to be one of those four seasons in one day sort of day across the british isles. for some, it was a glorious day, the sun shone and there was plenty of it, especially on the eastern side of scotland. elsewhere, the skies darkened with intent and eventually we saw trees down across the southern counties andrew to east anglia and near the northern flank of this low pressure, that is where the torrential downpour ‘s claim which caused the flooding, significant flooding across parts northern yorkshire. we are not done with that system just yet. on wednesday, it looks like as the low tra nsfers to wednesday, it looks like as the low transfers to the eastern shores, will be a improved day across the

counties into wales. still some intensity about the thunderstorms we are likely to see across parts of the northern england and we will see them developing across the western side of scotland. eastern scotland, northern ireland, a decent day. moving into thursday, the low pressure eventually staggering off into the north sea. still able to supply some showers in towards the eastern counties of england, further thunderstorms may break out late in the day across the heart of scotland. elsewhere, a decent day. the wind nowhere near as significant as it was during tuesday across southern parts of written. we will see that trend continue as a low pressure finally makes its way towards the continent. a weak area of high pressure dominates many areas on friday, killing off and then —— many but not quite all showers that may well be as the heat of the day comes through we may well find one or two sharp showers only on thunderstorm as well breaking out anywhere up through the spine of the

british isles. avoid those on friday looks like being a very acceptable sort of day. not much in the way of breeze, you will feel every bit of that temperature. moving towards the weekend, some uncertainty, just how fast these weather systems will move in from the atlantic, there is the first one gathering itself in the west during saturday. for many, it will be a very pleasant day, not much in the way of breeze and a height of around 25. as far ahead of sunday, we think the succession will be to push one frontal system, weakening and the other is chasing in from the atlantic later.

hello, everyone. this is the business briefing. the us federal reserve is expected to cut its main interest rate for the first time in more than a decade. then the us was in recession. apple beats expectations. the technology giant's sales rise even as iphone revenues dip. and on the markets, asian stocks lower as investors were put off by us president donald trump's negative tweets on china as the world's two biggest economies resume trade talks in shanghai.