and football fans in beijing prepare for a visit from lionel messi and his world cup winning team. hello, and welcome to the programme. let's begin in greece where a major search and rescue operation is under way after a migrant boat capsized. almost 80 people are known to have drowned, however, the real number could be much higher. the search operation has been hampered by strong winds. is thought the vessel was headed from libya with up to 400 people on—board. translation: we are shocked, we

are shocked like everyone in greece, obviously. after we were informed of this incident all services were mobilised, and the municipality of kalamata is prepared, we are hearing about the number of dad thatis hearing about the number of dad that is increasing. the hearing about the number of dad that is increasing.— that is increasing. the un secretary _ that is increasing. the un secretary general - that is increasing. the un i secretary general expressed that is increasing. the un - secretary general expressed his distress at the latest developments, his spokesperson giving his reaction to the news from greece.— giving his reaction to the news from greece. today we have yet another tragic _ from greece. today we have yet another tragic illustration, - from greece. today we have yet another tragic illustration, i - another tragic illustration, i can tell you secretary general was horrified by the reports of a shipwreck that took place off the coast of greece, claiming the coast of greece, claiming the lives of scores of women, men and children. he stresses as he said before that every person searching for a better life needs dignity and safety. this is yet another example of the need for member states to come together and create orderly, safe pathways for people forced to flee and for comprehensive action to save lives at sea and reduce

perilous journeys. greece has declared three _ perilous journeys. greece has declared three days _ perilous journeys. greece has declared three days of - perilous journeys. greece has. declared three days of national mourning. 0ur europe correspondent is in athens with this update. we don't know the scale of this disaster tonight, but it's clear it is bad. more than 100 people have been rescued, but survivors are saying that up to 700 people, they believe, were on board this fishing boat. it set off reportedly from libya and was heading to italy. an image has emerged showing the vessel packed with people in the deepest part of the mediterranean. no—one, it would seem, had a life jacket on. the greek authorities have said tonight that they went towards the vessel and that no—one wanted help when they offered it. but that has been challenged by an organisation which provides an emergency phone number for people at sea, and it says, in fact, the authorities waited hours before they approached the vessel. they also said that, in terms of anyone refusing

the offer of support, that was because of the so—called pushback policy that greece pursues — in other words, pushing people out of greek waters. that is a policy which athens says doesn't exist. it repeatedly and strenuously has denied that it uses this sort of tactic. so, where are we tonight? well, the families of the dead are grieving. for hundreds more families, they face an unbearable wait to try and find out what has happened, and european leaders are talking once again about trying to find a solution to all of this. but the reality is so far this year, more than 70,000 people have arrived in europe, mainly in four different countries in the south of the continent. and with us going further into the summer, with the weather being good, the fear is that many more people will attempt this perilous crossing.

north korea is in a period of unprecedented isolation, it's been over three years since it sealed its borders in response to the pandemic. no—one has been able to leave or enter the country and for a long time even supplies of food and medicine have stopped. three people living in north korea have risked their lives to tell the bbc what is happening in ourfirst the bbc what is happening in our first exclusive interview, they tell us that food is so scarce that their neighbours are starving to death. a warning, you may find this report distressing. food supplies are so low, people have started dying. this chilling testimony comes from inside north korea. once, i didn't eat for two days. i only drank water. recently, people have been knocking on the door, asking for food, because they are so hungry. hearing from people

inside this isolated country is extremely rare. but with fears the country is on the brink of a famine, we've been secretly communicating with people who live there. we're using actors and animations to illustrate their words, and have changed their names to protect them. in our village, five people have starved to death. chan ho is a construction worker living near the chinese boarder. in one family, the wife was too ill to work, so the two children were surviving by begging. in the end, all three of them died. at first, i was afraid of dying from covid, but then i began to worry about starving to death. at the start of the pandemic, north korea completely sealed its borders. these pictures released by the regime are all the world's been able to see.

foryears, no—one has been allowed to enter the country. authorities even stopped food and medicine from crossing the border. in south korea, we began to get reports of chronic food shortages, and so we teamed up with an organisation here. daily nk has sources inside the country who were able to get our questions to people. this isji yeon, who lives in the north korean capital pyongyang, the wealthiest part of the country. she tells us even here supplies are running dangerously low. once i didn't eat for two days. i thought i was going to die in my sleep at night. my husband and i survived by thinking ten more days, and then another ten days, thinking, if something happens, we might starve, but at least we will feed our kids.

there are lots of beggars now. if they are lying down, we check them and usually find they're dead. there are others who kill themselves at home or disappear into the mountains. what these people are telling us evokes memories of the devastating famine of the late 1990s, known as the arduous march, which killed as many as three million people. for the past ten, 15 years, we rarely heard of death by starvation. that was something that happened in the late 19905 or early 20005, but to hear it happening, again, you know, in the past two, three years, ithink, you know, it is taking us back to the arduous march, which was the most difficult period for the north korean people. when covid finally breached the country's borders, the authorities banned people

from leaving their homes. during one lockdown, i know of five people that were trapped in their house for ten days. they were half dead by the time they were let out. they managed by sneaking out at night to get food. but the spectre of another famine has not stopped kim jong—un from funnelling his limited finances into building nuclear weapons. the money he spent on missile tests last year would have been enough, according to some estimates, to ensure his entire population was properly fed. the people never wanted this endless weapons development that brings hardship to generation after generation. i want to live in a society where we don't starve, where my neighbours are alive. north koreans are more isolated than ever before. it's getting harder for them to survive,

and impossible to help them. jean mackenzie, bbc news. or dprk, government. a representative from its embassy in london said: the information you have collected is not entirely factual, as it is derived from fabricated testimonies from anti—dprk forces. the dprk has always prioritised the interests of the people, even at difficult times, and has an unwavering commitment to the well—being of the people. it's been confirmed the united states secretary of state anthony blink and will visit china on sunday. it will be the first high—profile visit to china by a us official since presidentjoe biden took office. the us government spokesperson said america was not expecting major breakthroughs. china has blamed the us for growing tensions.

david firestone is the president of the george w bush foundation. i asked president of the george w bush foundation. iasked him president of the george w bush foundation. i asked him what the agenda would be in china. i think it's likely that the secretary will meet the foreign minister and probably mr one year, often described as the top diplomat and one rank above the foreign minister, and i think it's very possible that the secretary will also see xi jinping, that would not be present for that uncommon for a secretary state visits i think those details are being worked out but that would probably be the three main interlocutors, and certainly the first two will be very important meetings for the secretary and there is a lot on the agenda. the dialogues _ a lot on the agenda. the dialogues took _ a lot on the agenda. the dialogues took place - a lot on the agenda. the dialogues took place here in singapore about a week and a half ago and one of the issues was that both defence ministers did not meet. the chinese are saying that is because the us has sanctions against their

minister, you see the us possibly lifting the sanctions or do you see them staying in place? i or do you see them staying in lace? ., �* ~' or do you see them staying in lace? ., �* ~ ., , place? i don't think anything will happen _ place? i don't think anything will happen with _ place? i don't think anything will happen with the - place? i don't think anything i will happen with the sanctions anytime in the immediate future, i think it is very difficult politically to undo once they are in place, given the state of the politics of china and the united states, so there tends to be a kind of ratchet effect when it comes to this type of approach on the part of the united states. 0nce part of the united states. once it is done is going to stay down for quite some time unless there is really a major reason to change it, so i don't think we will see a change in the sanctions approach that the united states has applied to some of these individuals anytime in the foreseeable future. . , ., future. the realtension point between these _ future. the realtension point between these two _ future. the realtension point between these two countries | future. the realtension point l between these two countries as taiwan. do you see them making any ground in terms of coming to any sort of resolution on this anytime soon? we are

seeing increased activity in the taiwan strait. how do you see this resolving? i the taiwan strait. how do you see this resolving?— the taiwan strait. how do you see this resolving? i think the fundamental _ see this resolving? i think the fundamental problem - see this resolving? i think the fundamental problem with - see this resolving? i think the | fundamental problem with the issue of taiwan as an issue in the bilateral relationship between the united states and china is that fundamentally the positions of the united states and china are in effect incompatible and irreconcilable. so the likelihood that this is ever going to get advanced, let alone resolved, is very low, but both sides, both the united states and china share a common objective, an objective that stems from self—interest in both cases and that is to prevent the cross street situation from devolving into conflagration, and military conflict. neitherside, conflagration, and military conflict. neither side, they don't have an interest in seeing this explode, so i think the talks around taiwan are going to be focused on how do we keep the situation on the

rails, how do we prevent and preclude military confrontation, and i think that's a goal that fundamentally the united states and china both share so there is reason to believe that the two sides can find a way to work together in order to achieve that particular outcome but beyond that, it's going to be very difficult and impossible in the foreseeable future to make any substantive process on that issue.- process on that issue. around the world _ process on that issue. around the world and _ process on that issue. around the world and across - process on that issue. around the world and across the - process on that issue. around the world and across the uk, | the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.— this is bbc news. different stories from _ this is bbc news. different stories from across - this is bbc news. different stories from across the - this is bbc news. different| stories from across the uk. could this be the start of the electric car is a collaboration between designers and battery developers, with engineers claiming they have developed technology to create ultrafast batteries capable of charging electric cars in six minutes.

you have convenience you don't think about the range can think about the time it takes to charge, it has brought in ultrafast charge that matches the convenience of filling fuel. ~ ., ~' , the convenience of filling fuel. ~ ., ~ , ., ., fuel. work is under way on a one tonne — fuel. work is under way on a one tonne prototype - fuel. work is under way on a one tonne prototype road i one tonne prototype road version, that could charge in six minutes, offering a range of hundred and 55 miles. that technology could go into production by 2024, potentially removing range anxiety for motorists. for more stories from across the uk had to the bbc news website. you are live with bbc news. i want to take you to the uk now, where thousands of people have gathered for a vigil at nottingham university, to remember those killed in an attack on tuesday. the fathers of barnaby webber and grace 0'malley—kumar praised the bond among students at the university, and urged everyone to "look "after each other". the third victim has been named as ian coates,

who was 65, and a school caretaker. police are still questioning a 31 year—old man on suspicion of murder. 0ur correspondent navtej johal has this report. thousands united in grief. these students came to express their shock and share their sadness at the loss of two of their own. it is hard to find the words to express the shock and the grief felt across our institution at the senseless loss of two talented students who have had their bright future brutally curtailed. barnaby webber and grace 0'malley—kumar were in their first year at the university of nottingham. theirfamilies, who their families, who should theirfamilies, who should have been welcoming the i9—year—olds home for the summer, when steady at a vigil as tributes were paid to the lives of their children.

i've lost my baby boy and i can't even comprehend how i'm going to deal with it. myself and emma and charlie, all his family and friends. i know barnaby would be super touched by everyone that's here. the love that we have out here, ijust wish we had it everywhere. so... ..look after each other. barnaby was a talented cricketer, studying history. his family described their complete devastation at his death. they said he was a beautiful, brilliant, bright young man with everything in life to look forward to. grace was training to be a doctor. she too was a keen cricketer, and played hockey for england under—16s and under—18s. this to herfamily, she was an adored daughter and sister, who was a wonderful

and beautiful young lady. the attacks third victim was a 65—year—old ian coates, who worked in a local school. the head teacher said he was a much loved colleague to also —— always went the extra mile and would be greatly missed. his friend paid tribute to mr coates. . , ., ., , coates. he was a lovely gentleman. _ coates. he was a lovely gentleman. a _ coates. he was a lovely gentleman. a lovely, i coates. he was a lovely - gentleman. a lovely, lovely gentleman. a lovely, lovely gentleman. he is one of those people who would go out of his way to help people matter is probably what he was in the morning well. we have been here three and half years and there is never a day we didn't see him with a smile on his face. no matter what, he was always smiling. on a day of raw emotion, for now, there is little comfort to be found amid this tragedy. navteonhal, bbc

news, nottingham. italy has said a final goodbye to former prime minister silvio berlusconi — his state funeral was held in milan on wednesday. it was attended by his political allies, opponents and members of his family. the billionaire media tycoon — and scandal—ridden politician — dominated italian public life for decades. a day of national mourning as thousands gathered to say a final farewell to silvio berlusconi, a man who'd dominated italian society for almost half a century. nearly 2,000 people attended his funeral inside milan's gothic cathedral. in the first row, his five children, and next to them, marta fascina, berlusconi's girlfriend. she's 53 years his junior, and more than two decades younger than berlusconi's eldest daughter, marina. archbishop speaks italian. during his sermon, the archbishop of milan said, "to be happy means "to love parties, and to enjoy life

"to the fullest," a sentence that perfectly encapsulates a berlusconi's flamboyant life. political allies and rivals paid their respects, but very few world leaders showed up, an indication that berlusconi has been a divisive figure, until the end. as his coffin was taken outside the cathedral, an emotional crowd chanted, "silvio "will always be our president". much like his life, silvio berlusconi's funeral was a spectacle, attended by political figures and a string of ex—girlfriends. abroad, he might be remembered for his sex scandals, but here in italy, he was a very influential figure, who transformed the country's media, football and political landscape. but berlusconi's party, forza italia, might not survive without him, which could be a challenge for the coalition government. so, after his death,

the risk of political instability is looming. sofia bettiza, bbc news, milan. tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in india and pakistan in anticipation of and pakistan in anticipation of a severe cyclone to hit. the cyclone is forecast to make landfall in the western indian state of gujarat, and on the coast of pakistan's sindh province, including parts of karachi city. in india, trains in the region have been suspended, while two of the country's largest ports have stopped operations. now to china, where a friendly football match is scheduled to take place in beijing. world cup holders argentina will face australia, and fans are going crazy with anticipation of seeing lionel messi on the field at the workers stadium, in what may be the last chance to see him play live in the country.

i've been speaking with mark dreyer, who runs the website, china sports insider. he's been telling me more about the growing excitement over the match. china is definitely a football—mad country, but this has reached new levels of anticipation. i think it's no surprise that the authorities here chose an opponent that wasn't china. they've chosen australia, of course, even though the game is right here tonight in beijing. you would otherwise have this fairly unusual situation where you would have the chinese national team playing in the capital. the vast majority of the chinese crowd would have been cheering for the other team, even though it's a friendly. the score doesn't matter so much. but everyone is most definitely here to see messi in what could be one of his last games for the national team, and certainly his last appearance in china. this is not home turf for either team, so why are they playing in china? well, i think we are experiencing now the post—covid resumption of activities.

the chinese authorities have been very keen to get sporting activities back to the country. they would've had the asian cup at around this time of year, the equivalent of the euros in this part of the world, but that was taken away because of the covid—zero situation a year ago and reallocated to qatar. the formula one usually is in shanghai, but we haven't had that in several years. but they wanted to get it back in the april slot. but they wanted to get it back in the april slot. they have to wait another year. people here, both fans and the officials, are happy to see international sporting events resume here in china, as the country gets back to pre—pandemic life. i should say football, my americanism shined through with soccer! i want to ask, xijinping has a big plan forfootball in china. he wants to make it a superpower in the sport. there's also the chinese super

league, which they spent hundreds of millions of dollars to get players in. how close is he to reaching this goal? to be honest, quite a long way away. those plans were announced way back in 2015, which feels like a lifetime ago here, in football terms. since then, we've had a bit of a boom and bust cycle. the peak was probably around 2018, when some european clubs were thinking, wow, china was competing financially for some of the top players in the world. covid hit the league and it was very much on the slide. the domestic league has suffered, the national league has yet to make any significant progress. that's one of the reasons why they're not playing tonight against argentina. the passion is still here. the fans are out in force. a lot of people are walking the streets, wearing argentina shirts. it's been great to see that passion, so that's what keeps me hopeful about the future of chinese football.

but, at the moment, the official organised teams, whether it's the domestic league or the national scene — not that great. mark, very quickly, i know those tickets are incredibly expensive. are you going to be attending the match tonight? i'm still hoping to get my hands on one, but they're incredibly expensive, just at face value. and you can imagine the resale market, even though the authorities are trying to stop that, with some id regulations. face value tickets are going for about $400, $500, $600, not including vip seats as well. they are playing in indonesia just four days later, to see the exact same players about a third of the price. that gives you an example. they were sold out within about 20 minutes. so very hard to get tickets. my goodness. the largest harry potter

exhibition is on. fans will have to count up some patients, tickets have been sold out since august. that is all we have for you. thank you for watching. hello. the warm weather is set to continue, but you might be thinking more about the rainfall by now. it's notjust our parks and gardens that are desperate for the rain, but of course our wildlife, and there is some rain on the horizon. if i show you what's going to be happening over the weekend — well, this low pressure here will continue to push warm air in our direction, but also a lot of moisture and perhaps more widespread storm clouds than of late. but, again, not everybody�*s going to get the rainfall. hopefully, it will be a little more widespread and hopefully it'll fall at the right time and not on your barbecue. anyway, let's have a look at the forecast for the short term, so a lot of clear

weather, first thing in the morning. temperatures will be around the mid—teens at 7am on thursday, and then, basically, it's blue skies, steady as she goes, through the course of the morning and into the afternoon. now, fairweather clouds will be bubbling up and some of them will form locally, at least, into a few storm clouds, and we could see some thunderstorms developing around the north and the west highlands. temperatures in glasgow up to 26 celsius, a warm day for northern ireland, too. also, perhaps, one ortwo showers and the odd rumble of thunder, maybe across wales, maybe the midlands and also in the southwest of the country. but the vast majority of us are in for another very warm and sunny day, with highs approaching the high 20s. now, here's the weather map for thursday into friday — low pressure to the west and southwest of us is nudging in. it's pushing that energy in, that moisture, those clouds, but you can see there's not too much rainfall at all. in fact, we'll see a few maybe reaching parts of northern ireland and western areas of the uk. but, again, many of us

are in for a dry and very warm day on friday, with temperatures typically in the mid—20s. and notice just how much warmer it's also getting, because of a change in the shift in the wind direction across the north sea coast. now, here's the weekend. that low pressure is much closer to us, but look at that — some storm clouds coming in from the south — and this could bring some appreciable rain to at least some parts of the country. it's not guaranteed, but i think quite a few of us will get the rainfall, so we'll have to wait till saturday, some of us sunday, and into next week. but in the very short term, it remains very warm and, of course, very sunny. bye— bye.

the us federal reserve hold rates steady for the month of june, but warns that more monetary policy tightening might be on the horizon. it’s might be on the horizon. it's messy mania _ might be on the horizon. it's messy mania and china, but is it enough to give a boost to its football scene? —— messi. hello and welcome to asia business report, i'm monica miller. asian markets looks set to open higher this morning after the us federal reserve kept interest rates unchanged for this month. it's a bit

flatter than it