inside the secluded country. north korea has largely been closed off to the world for decades. and gaining a window into life there is even more difficult since the government sealed its borders at the onset of the covid—19 pandemic. since then, reports of starvation and executions suggest that the situation is the worst its been since the 1990s. our seoul correspondentjean mackenzie�*s exclusive reporting provides a peek at life inside. 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. our sources found people we trust who want to tell the world how bad the situation is in north korea.— in north korea. four months these sources _ in north korea. four months these sources help - in north korea. four months these sources help deliver. in north korea. four months. these sources help deliver our questions and relay our answers, because if the government knew people were talking to us they would likely be killed.

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 1990s or early 2000s, 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. the bbc put our findings to the north korean government, known as the dprk. here's what 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. earlier i spoke to ourjean mackenzie about her exclusive reporting.

thank you forjoining us. how common do you think these stories are in north korea? it's very hard to tell of course, we only communicated with three people, but we did our best to try and get what we felt was a representative snapshot, we spoke to three different people from three different people from three different parts of the country, varying ages who were different professions, to try and give us is fully picture as we could, and we have spoken to some of the other camps in pyongyang, those living across the border, but ultimately we only have their stories to go on but they do paint a picture, one that is more troubling than what we imagined, then we imagined, the food situation in particular is worse than i think people had realised, we had heard reports that people perhaps were starving to death in north

korea but the fact that we went and spoke to three people and two of them were able to say to us that their neighbours had started out, i think shows you how serious the situation is and certainly people we have spoken to have said this probably is more serious than we realised and the food situation probably is the worst now than it has been since the famine since the late 1990s which killed so many people and is widely regarded as the most tragic time in north korea history. tragic time in north korea histo . ~ . ., , history. what has made this situation so _ history. what has made this situation so severe - history. what has made this situation so severe right - history. what has made this i situation so severe right now? enclosing the border, kim jong—un not only stop people from going into the country, he quite staggeringly stopped trade and freight trains crossing the border, and that meant for a very long time vital supplies of food and medicine cannot cross into the country in north korea is a country in north korea is a country that can't provide enough food for all of its people, so if you stock any food from entering you are automatically going to end up with a shortfall so that is one

of the main reasons and the other is if you look at how the economy works, there is this huge informal economy that has grown up over the years, so people essentially cross the river into china, across the border, sneak out at night and sneak back in with things to buy and sell and they sell these things at local market prices and this is how the majority of north koreans make their money, it's thought that around 80% of north koreans rely on this informal markets trade, so by sealing the border and making it incredibly difficult for people to christ, it's also cut off this unofficial sort of smuggling trade making it very hard for people to get what they need and very hard to make a living, so people operating with much less money than they normally would have, there is much less food in the markets anyway, so therefore that situation has built up to what it is. tell us about your _ built up to what it is. tell us about your reporting. - built up to what it is. tell us about your reporting. howl built up to what it is. tell us i about your reporting. how did you gain access to these three voices? �* , you gain access to these three voices? �*, , , ., you gain access to these three voices? �*, , ., ., ~ voices? it's impossible to talk directly to _ voices? it's impossible to talk

directly to people _ voices? it's impossible to talk directly to people in _ voices? it's impossible to talk directly to people in north - directly to people in north korea so we had to work with an organisation that has a network of sources inside the country, and these sources were able to find sources and we got the questions to people and then relayed the answers, but it was a painstaking process that took many months, because we had to drip feed the information, it was sent back in hundreds of different instalments because it was too risky to even send one complete answer at a time and we have taken so much care to make sure that we keep these people safe and we do not reveal their identity, so taking ourtime and reveal their identity, so taking our time and making sure we did it very slowly was part of that process thank you so much for sharing your report with us. a major search—and—rescue operation is underway off the coast of greece after a migrant boat capsized. almost 80 people are known to have drowned, and that number may continue to rise.

the government has declared three days of mourning. the boat is reported to have been heading to italy from the libyan port of tobruk, when it began taking on water late on tuesday. more than 100 people have been rescued and taken to the greek port of kalamata. the greek coastguard says the search operation has been hampered by strong winds. the vessel may have been carrying up to four—hundred people. earlier, yiorgos michaelidis, a spokesperson for greece's migration ministry, told the bbc that a 104 people had been rescued, but he could not verify reports that several hundred people were still missing. it isa it is a very bad incident, a tragedy actually, one of the worst ones in greece, apparently where migration is concerned. we have 79 dead people found and 104 people found alive and they are right now being taken care of and the greek authorities are searching for more and more people in the sea. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake is in athens

and has 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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you

different stories from across the uk. ,, ., , different stories from across the uk. ,, a, , a, , different stories from across the uk. ,, a, , , the uk. steve kearney has been preserving _ the uk. steve kearney has been preserving the _ the uk. steve kearney has been preserving the past, _ the uk. steve kearney has been preserving the past, but - the uk. steve kearney has been preserving the past, but now. the uk. steve kearney has been preserving the past, but now hej preserving the past, but now he is fearful for its future. itruiith is fearful for its future. with this new _ is fearful for its future. with this new development, - is fearful for its future. with this new development, if. is fearful for its future. with this new development, if it| this new development, if it comes along, i don't know how many houses that will be, but 44,000 extra people... population figures are not a forecast but a potential scenario. 0ne developer has started making preparations. some villages are looking forward to improved links. it would be nice to have a bit more life in the village and i think the young people, they must be bored out of their minds because the nothing for them to do i don't think. i can't think of anything they can't think of anything they can do, they have to be driven everywhere. it can do, they have to be driven everywhere-— everywhere. it expected the route will — everywhere. it expected the route will be _ everywhere. it expected the route will be fully _ everywhere. it expected the route will be fully opened i everywhere. it expected the | route will be fully opened by 2030, the population figures one to 2050 and beyond and decisions about development we need to go to the local council. need to go to the local council-— need to go to the local council. ., ., , ., , need to go to the local council. ., ., , ., council. for more stories from across the _ council. for more stories from across the uk. _ council. for more stories from across the uk, and _ council. for more stories from across the uk, and to - council. for more stories from across the uk, and to the - council. for more stories from | across the uk, and to the news website. ., ., ., . �* �*

website. you are watching bbc news. an author of an influential scientific paper, that helped to cast the idea that covid might have leaked from a laboratory as a conspiracy theory, has told the bbc that they might have gone "a bit too far" in their conclusions. the statement, from tulane university's bob garry, comes in the latest episode of the bbc podcast, fever: the hunt for covid's 0rigins. john sudworth, our correspondent in china, until he was forced to leave in 2021, hosts the podcast, and joins us now. john, it is great to see you again. what did professor gary tell you? if again. what did professor gary tell ou? , ., ~' again. what did professor gary tell ou? ~ ., tell you? if you think back to the early _ tell you? if you think back to the early days _ tell you? if you think back to the early days of— tell you? if you think back to the early days of the - tell you? if you think back to l the early days of the pandemic we have those claims and counter claim circulating, the idea of course that covid may have been accidentally leaked from a laboratory, but even more controversial claim that it may have been deliberately released from a laboratory, that that idea of a bio weapon even finding itself into the

mouth of the us president at the time, donald trump, totally without foundation of course but nonetheless that was the amateur at the time. you also have a sort of equal and opposite pushback from scientists, and much of the media, that were very quickly dismissing any idea, any talk of the lab leak as a conspiracy theory, and central to that was this very influential scientific proof, the proximal origins of sars—cov—2, and what those five authors said was they had looked at the genetic structure of the virus, and determined that it is very unlikely to have leaked from a lab. i had a chance to speak to one of them, as you say, dr bob gary, very distinguished virologist from chile university, and i asked him three years on looking back what if you make of that conclusion today, in particular one very strong sentence in the paper. "we do not believe any land—based scenario is plausible", they had written, and this is what he told me today. fist

and this is what he told me toda . �* ., today. at that point we will fill -- still _ today. at that point we will fill -- still largely - today. at that point we will fill -- still largely under. today. at that point we will| fill -- still largely under the fill —— still largely under the influence _ fill —— still largely under the influence when a particular sentence was written that that might — sentence was written that that might have been a bio engineered virus, may be a weapon— engineered virus, may be a weapon that accidentally got released. �* ., weapon that accidentally got released. �* . , . , released. but that sentence is not about _ released. but that sentence is not about bio _ released. but that sentence is not about bio weapons, - released. but that sentence is not about bio weapons, it - released. but that sentence is| not about bio weapons, it says any laboratory based scenario. yes, it was, so maybe we went a little _ yes, it was, so maybe we went a little bit — yes, it was, so maybe we went a little bit too _ yes, it was, so maybe we went a little bit too far there, but, you — little bit too far there, but, you know. so little bit too far there, but, you know— little bit too far there, but, you know. so for a scientific -a er you know. so for a scientific paper that _ you know. so for a scientific paper that was _ you know. so for a scientific paper that was as _ you know. so for a scientific| paper that was as influential as that one, the idea of hearing somebody as eminent as bob garry suggesting that they may have pushed that conclusion a little too far is, as you might expect, getting a fair bit of reaction on places like twitter this evening. it bit of reaction on places like twitter this evening.- twitter this evening. it does seem pretty _ twitter this evening. it does seem pretty surprising. - twitter this evening. it does j seem pretty surprising. how significant is this?— significant is this? well, we ou:ht significant is this? well, we ou . ht to significant is this? well, we ought to say _ significant is this? well, we ought to say and _ significant is this? well, we ought to say and make - significant is this? well, we ought to say and make it i significant is this? well, we l ought to say and make it very clear that professor garry told me that much of the evidence that has emerged since they wrote that paper, the location

of some of the earliest covid case is in proximity to a wildlife market in wuhan, what we know now about the kind of animals that were on sale in that market makes a more convinced than ever that a natural origin for covid is by far the most likely. so in a sense, he hasn't changed his overall stance, his overall conclusion, but nonetheless, the idea that he is at least saying on the evidence at the time for that early scientific paper, that the conclusion went a little far, well, it raises an interesting question, of course, because if they are at least stepping back a little from the certainty, then, might you wonder that the claims of certainty being made today, ruling out a lab leak, are equally being pushed a little too far? so i think in that sense a lot of people will say this is a significant admission. it this is a significant admission.- this is a significant admission. it is really interesting, - admission. it is really interesting, and - admission. it is really interesting, and one. admission. it is really - interesting, and one more question, different us agencies here have competing visions of what is responsible for covid,

whether it is the energy department or the cia, and we know that the us secretary of state antony blinken is heading to china next week. how much pressure do you think he is under to address this? well, whether or _ under to address this? well, whether or not _ under to address this? well, whether or not he _ under to address this? well, whether or not he will - under to address this? well, whether or not he will push l under to address this? well, l whether or not he will push his chinese interlocutors on that question, we don't know. of course, it is unlikely that they would deliver much new information. china has made its position very, very clear on both the question of the lab leak and the market origin. china's official position seems to be that the virus did not come from china at all. on the other hand, what we do have in the next few days of course is a declassified intelligence that president biden has order to be released. that is coming up, a lot of people are that with deep interest, and they are keen to see whether that reveals new clues in the way to that vital question of where this thing came from.-

this thing came from. very interesting, _ this thing came from. very interesting, great - this thing came from. very interesting, great to - this thing came from. very interesting, great to talk i this thing came from. very | interesting, great to talk to you as always. thank you. download john's podcast — fever: the hunt for covid's 0rigins, on bbc sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts. the us central bank announced it will hold interest rates steady — the first time it's decided against a rise in more than a year. the federal reserve wants time to assess the impact of rate hikes so far. 0ur michelle fleury has more. policymakers inside here, america's central bank, have been raising interest rates since march 2022, to make it more expensive to borrow money. their goal, to slow the rapid increase in prices, without calling down the economy so much that people start to lose their jobs. much that people start to lose theirjobs. and with the most recent data showing signs that inflation is easing, the federal reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged in june. leave interest rates unchanged injune. charles lieberman, who has worked at the new york fed and is now chief executive officer at advisers capital management explained the

rationale.— rationale. the fed has tightened _ rationale. the fed has tightened monetary i rationale. the fed has - tightened monetary policy quite dramatically very quickly. basically a five percentage point — basically a five percentage point increase over a little more _ point increase over a little more than a year. and that is huge — more than a year. and that is huge. historically, it is an enormous increase, and i think there _ enormous increase, and i think there is— enormous increase, and i think there is one view that the fed should — there is one view that the fed should wait to see the impact of what — should wait to see the impact of what they've done. any break ma be of what they've done. any break may be short — of what they've done. any break may be short lived. _ of what they've done. any break may be short lived. us - may be short lived. us inflation is still running well above the fed target. the pain from high borrowing costs to companies and consumers is likely not over, according to diane swank, chief economist at the us, who believes the fed will raise rates again injuly. we have seen —— pause is not an and _ we have seen —— pause is not an and we — we have seen —— pause is not an and we have _ we have seen —— pause is not an end. we have seen the fed play around — end. we have seen the fed play around with words like skate, to signal— around with words like skate, to signal that i want to let their— to signal that i want to let their guards down yet with regard _ their guards down yet with regard to inflation, and that has really been the theme we have — has really been the theme we have seen emerge across central banks_ have seen emerge across central banks in— have seen emerge across central banks in recent weeks around the world _

banks in recent weeks around the world. a banks in recent weeks around the world-— the world. a reminder that stubborn _ the world. a reminder that stubborn inflation - the world. a reminder that stubborn inflation is - the world. a reminder that stubborn inflation is not i the world. a reminder that l stubborn inflation is notjust an american problem. while all eyes will be on the federal reserve this wednesday, the focus will shift to the european central bank and the bank ofjapan, as they make their rate decisions later this week. just hours after appearing in federal court, former us president donald trump raised roughly $2 million, according to two sources speaking to cbs news will stop the trump campaign announced it has raised $6.6 million since the news of his federal indictment broke last week. trump faces 37 felony charges for allegedly attempting to obstruct federal investigations to recover classified documents in his possession. now to the uk. thousands of people have gathered for a vigil at nottingham university, to remember three people killed in an attack on tuesday. the families of the two students killed linked hands and laid flowers. the third victim was named on tuesday as 65 year—old ian coates, a school caretaker. police in nottingham

are still questioning a 31—year—old man on suspicion of murder. navteonhal has more. united in grief. these students came to express their shock and share their sadness at the loss of two of their own. theirfamilies should have been welcoming their 19—year—olds home for the summer. instead, they were here, with hundreds of others, in pain. barnaby webber and grace 0'malley—kumar were in their first year at the university of nottingham. 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, and all his family and friends. barnaby would be super touched by everyone that's here. the love that we have

out here, ijust wish we had it everywhere, so... weeping. ..look after each other. it's the big thing, is that. look after your friends. 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. to herfamily, she was an adored daughter and sister, who was a wonderful and beautiful young lady. barney and grace are a monumental loss. they were both first years, with ambitions,

potential and dreams. what was taken from us yesterday will never be given back, and the shock waves echo through our student community. the attacks third victim was 65—year—old ian coates, who worked in a local school. his son said he was months away from retirement. they said he was everyone's friend and that you genuinely couldn't find a nicer guy. he was a lovely gentleman, a lovely, lovely gentleman. he was one of them people that would go out of his way to help anyone, and i reckon that's probably what he was trying to do that morning, as well. i've been here three and a half years, and there's never a day we didn't see him with a smile. no matter what would come his way, 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.

in our next hour, we'll look at the police investigation into the nottingham attack. stay with us here on bbc news. 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 noticejust

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 ofjune, but warns that more monetary policy tightening might be on the horizon. and it's messi mania in china, but is it enough to give a boost to its football scene? 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 has been, the nikkei 225 lately, but it is taking its lead from wall street, which was also mixed