hello. it's been three weeks since the russian mercenary organisation, the wagner group, staged a mutiny over the way the russian military was fighting its war in ukraine. in the aftermath, they were granted an amnesty and offered the chance to go and live in belarus — but it was unclear what would become of them. now, the belarusian government says members of the wagner group have begun training its troops in the country. this footage has been shown on state tv there. the announcement is the first official confirmation that some wagner mercenaries are actually in the country. so far, belarus has not openly taken part in russia's invasion of ukraine — although it did allow its territory to be used by the russian military as a staging post last year. our correspondent in kyiv abdujalil

abdurasulov told us more. this is the first time when the officials of the belarusian government have confirmed that the wagner fighters have arrived in their country. just a few days ago, ukrainian and western officials reported that they saw no signs of wagner's presence in belarus. and now, the defense ministry of that country is saying that those mercenaries are training their forces. and these are not the regular army units of belarus that are being trained by wagner mercenaries. these are so—called territorial defense groups. these are civilians who can be called up if the country is attacked. and what's interesting is that these groups are getting trained in the town of asipovichy. that is a town in the western part of belarus, near the russian border. and it's quite close to the area where earlier, satellite images showed hundreds

of tents being set up. and regional media speculated that those tents were set up for wagnerfighters. the south korean president, yoon suk yeol, is in the ukrainian capital, kyiv, to meet president zelensky. south korea has one of the biggest stockpiles of ammunition in the world, and a thriving defence industry. but government policy prohibits it providing lethal aid to countries at war. ukraine and its allies have been urging seoul to make an exception. live now to kristine berzina, who is the managing director of the german marshall fund north. she joins us from latvia's eastern border near russia. welcome to the programme. what's the likelihood that south korea would make an exception in the case of russia's war on ukraine?-

make an exception in the case of russia's war on ukraine? there are hiuh russia's war on ukraine? there are high thoughts _ russia's war on ukraine? there are high thoughts that _ russia's war on ukraine? there are high thoughts that south _ russia's war on ukraine? there are high thoughts that south korea - russia's war on ukraine? there are high thoughts that south korea can make an exception. it is already providing a lot of additional aid. there is talk of providing ambulances, de—mining equipment but thatis ambulances, de—mining equipment but that is of course slightly different. south korea has made a massive in the past year as a major arms provider and they show tremendous political diplomatic solidarity. last year, south korea outside a m billion dollar arms deal with poland. this is incredibly significant and a kind of game changer that ukraine could need because of course, there is this question of is there enough for ukraine to sustain the counteroffensive and to take back its territory from russia? south korea find itself to be in many ways a similar situation to that of

ukraine because of its border with north korea but not only, eight in tyler neighbourhood —— it's neighbourhood is commentated with russia. south korea... historic ties with japan, which a number of years ago, would have been unimaginable. how will it be regarded regionally? the geopolitics of it all, you have its closeness to north korea. how is this being regarded? this its closeness to north korea. how is this being regarded?— this being regarded? this is being not exnected. _

this being regarded? this is being not expected, and _ this being regarded? this is being not expected, and lots _ this being regarded? this is being not expected, and lots of - this being regarded? this is being not expected, and lots of areas i this being regarded? this is being i not expected, and lots of areas such as cyber and things which are relevant both in south korea and across nato countries. south korea sees itself as a front—line state much as the country is on nato's eastern flank sees themselves as front line. you could see itself as a mark of threat that it brings in some ways the pacific countries like south korea very closely tied to the european eastern flank. and symbolically, this is very important. if they ignore the war and did business as usual, it would affect russia tremendously for city. having south korea visit ukraine, it

shows it is something that countries globally should pay attention to is incredibly important and will hopefully yield importance to ukraine and notjust nato. lets hopefully yield importance to ukraine and notjust nato. ukraine and not 'ust nato. lets talk about that ukraine and notjust nato. lets talk about that additional _ ukraine and notjust nato. lets talk about that additional assistance. i about that additional assistance. economic support and rebuilding of ukraine is very important. i have noted that you work for the marshall fund for the united states and the lithuanian administrator. is that anything to do, as it had ties in world war ii marshall plan and is that the idea that economic rebuilding is already in place or a plan is in place for ukraine and is that something that south korea would play a partin? i that something that south korea would play a partin?— that something that south korea would play a partin? i work for the german marshall _ would play a partin? i work for the

german marshall fund _ would play a partin? i work for the german marshall fund of - would play a partin? i work for the german marshall fund of the - would play a partin? i work for the | german marshall fund of the united states which is a think tank founded in the spirit of the marshall plan to continue the work started by that. what the entire global community and the g7 houses the current assets to plan to reconstruct ukraine and again this is not going to be a matter of europeans to handle between themselves. the organisation of the division has to come from this wider group which is why the g7 is involved, which is why south korea's interest in economic insistence would be significant in the long term because it would be the longest rebuilding projects that they have seenin rebuilding projects that they have seen in decades. i

rebuilding projects that they have seen in decades.— seen in decades. i should have completed _ seen in decades. i should have completed my _ seen in decades. i should have completed my sentence. - seen in decades. i should have completed my sentence. the l seen in decades. i should have - completed my sentence. the meeting with the marshall fund. meanwhile, in south korea, the army has been called in to help rescue efforts, after deadly floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain. at least 2a people have died and ten others are missing. crops and roads have been swept away. most trains have been suspended and 13 cities have reported electricity blackouts. south korea is used to heavy rains in the monsoon season, but over the last few years these have become more intense as a result of rising temperatures. a heatwave is continuing across europe, with italy's health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities due to the high temperatures. temperatures have been closing in on a0 degrees celsius — that's 104 fahrenheit — and some forecasts predict as much as 48 degrees celsius by tuesday on the islands of sicilicy and sardinia. the european space agency says

the coming week could see the hottest ever temperatures recorded in europe. greece is also affected. the acropolis in athens has been closed for a second day between midday and the early evening, to protect people from the heat. and it's a similar story in spain. this footage was filmed near alicante in southern spain, where a wildfire broke out near this property. the region has seen temperatures above 30 degrees celsius for several weeks. with the latest, here's our correspondent in madrid, guy hedgecoe. spain, where i am, is one of several countries of southern europe that has seen unusually high temperatures over recent days. although that heatwave is starting to taper off here in spain, other countries are still seeing very high temperatures. for example, in italy and greece, where the acropolis monument has

been closed down temporarily at the hottest times of the day, because of concerns about the health of people visiting it. there have also been wildfires in greece, caused by the hot and dry conditions. wildfires as well on the dalmatian coast in croatia. this particular heatwave is expected to end during this weekend, or by the end of the weekend. however, there is another heatwave due to hit parts of europe at the beginning of next week, and the european space agency has warned that spain, france, germany, poland and italy are among the countries that could see extremely high temperatures. and areas of italy, for example, we are told they could see temperatures as high as 48 degrees celsius on tuesday. forecasters are also predicting heatwaves across north america and parts of asia — with potentially harmful effects on health.

our reporter nicky schiller has been looking at what we can do to stay safe in the heat. so with the heat wave across europe and the hottest weather so far of the year on the us west coast, tens of millions of people will be trying to stay cool. so how does the heat affect our bodies? well, we can feel dizzy or faint from not drinking enough water. our heart rate increases as our bodies work harder to keep our temperature around 37 degrees celsius. we can get heat rashes as we lose heat from our skin and our ankles can become swollen from an increased blood flow. heat can affect anyone, but some people run a greater risk, like the elderly, babies and those with long term conditions. it can be a killer. it kills more people every year in the us. than hurricanes and floods combined. extreme heat kills more than four times as many people as extreme cold. so it has very serious impacts for our health. so we have to be really careful

to take care of those who are the most vulnerable and make sure that they are not getting heat exhaustion or heat stroke. naturally, we sweat to cool our skin in hot weather, but there are some other things we can do to stay safe and cool. here are some tips from the experts. first, stay hydrated, drink water and eat foods with high water content. asimple tip. wear a hat and loose fitting clothing in breathable fabrics. avoid going out when the sun's rays are the strongest. stay in the shade. limit your travel and exercise and of course, wear sunscreen and try and reduce your body temperature by using fans, ice or even a cool shower. also, remember, people who are homeless will be more exposed to the sun. and don't forget animals and pets. berlin zoo has been giving its animals icy treats to help call them. and if you want more tips on how to keep cool in the hot weather search, bbc news heat tips.

in new york, a man has been charged with a series of murders dating back over a decade, and he's also being treated as the prime suspect in at least one other unsolved killing. rex heuermann, who's 59, was arrested in manhattan late on thursday evening. he's a prominent architect, who lived in the area where the bodies of the victims were found. all of the women were in their 20s, and were sex workers. this is my 12th year as county executive. i've lived with this investigation for my entire tenure as county executive. i can tell you that during that time, the focus for me, and members of our team, has been on bringing justice for these victims and closure to these families who have suffered.

let's take a moment to look at the details of the case. the murder charges are related to the deaths of three women in 2009 and 2010. they were megan waterman, amber costello, and melissa barthelemy. the bodies of all three were found in similar positions, wrapped in material. they were all found in roughly the same area on long island — which is to the east of new york city. the bodies of several other people were also found there around that time, as this graphic released by local police illustrates. while heuermann is only suspected of involvement in one other murder, investigations will be made to see if there are any other links. the case against heuermann was based on dna evidence from a discarded pizza box, cellphone data, and a sighting of his vehicle at the home of one of the murdered women. there were also extreme images found

on his home computer. here's what the relatives of some of his alleged victims had to say about the arrest. i just want to say that i'm grateful for the hard work that's been done. i'm grateful that today is happening and i hope for the future. can you say anything about her? who she was and how you hope she is remembered in all of this and not forgotten somehow? i hope that she is remembered as a beautiful young woman, not for what her occupation was at that time, and she is loved and missed every day. police are now investigating whether heuermann is linked to any of the other killings which took place in the same small area of long island in recent years. officials say they have established that his wife and children were always out of town when he allegedly committed the murders. and he also carried out hundreds of internet searches about the investigation, asking questions like "why

hasn't the long island serial killer been caught? but — it's not yet clear that all of the deaths are linked. here in the uk — there's a call for disposable vapes to be banned by next year. local councils in england and wales want the devices to be outlawed saying they cause litter problems, are a fire hazard and appeal too strongly to children. but the uk vaping industry association says disposable vapes help smokers quit, and can be recycled. earlier, i spoke to libby peake, who is the head of resource policy at green alliance, an independent think tank and charity that focuses on the environment. i asked her about her concerns over the environmental impact of disposable vapes. they're technically recyclable, but there's a real difference between what's technically recyclable and what happens in practice.

and we know that what happens in practice in the uk is less than i% of these things are actually being recycled. it's not very economical to recycle them. they're always going to be really difficult. and as a result, most of them are being thrown away, or even worse, they're being littered. and i think littering is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to the environment, because we all know how bad plastic is when it's littered. but these don't just contain plastic. they also contain nicotine, which is so hazardous that it was used as a pesticide in the past. and they also contain hazardous batteries, which could be problematic if if they leach substances into the environment, but they also pose a fire risk. and here in the uk, lithium ion batteries, which is the type that you find in these devices, are responsible for possibly as many as 700 fires every year. and they're really quite hazardous to to health, to those who are working with them if they're accidentally punctured.

a couple of points that you raised there. i want to start off first with the littering fire risk. the fire risk, for many people, its hidden. it happens at landfill, for example. so one of the most visible aspects of this is littering. so let's discuss that. john dunn is the dg of the uk vaping industry association. now, he said that it makes absolute nonsense to call for the ban of disposable vapes whilst ignoring the much bigger problem of smoking and its related litter, which accounts for 68% of all litter in the uk. what's your response to that? is that true? i think that it's a very false argument to suggest that you can't deal with one problem because there is another problem. i'd say we absolutely would like the government to be much stronger here in the uk and around the world on on litter from traditional cigarettes.

but that's no reason not to ban these substances that are becoming really, really problematic. and here in the uk and in the eu they've been banning commonly littered, single—use plastic items just on the grounds that they're quite hazardous. they're bad, they're bad for the environment, they're potentially really bad for wildlife. and so they've been banning things like forks and balloon sticks. but when was the last time you saw a balloon stick littered? and that's the reason that they're being banned because they're potentially problematic when they're when they're littered. but it's absolutely nothing compared to the growing problem that we're seeing with these disposable vapes. let's get some of the day's other news from the uk now. a police investigation into the deaths of two people off bournemouth beach in may has concluded there were no criminal offences. 12—year—old sunnah khan, and 17—year—old joe abbess both drowned. detectives had investigated whether a sightseeing boat created a riptide. a man who was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter will face no action.

the bbc says a protest by thejust stop 0il group at the first night of the proms did not disrupt either the concert, or the broadcast of the performance. two people briefly climbed onto the stage, and were booed and jeered by some members of the audience, before being led away by security staff. in football, west ham have confirmed that their club captain, declan rice, is leaving the club for a british record fee. the england midfielder is expected to sign for arsenal for £105 million pounds, that's just under $137.5 million. arsenal haven't confirmed the transfer yet, which has been under negotiations for several weeks, but declan has said he has made the tough decision to leave west ham. hollywood stars jason sudeikis, susan sarandon, as well as thousands of other actors, have joined screenwriters for hollywood's biggest strike in more than six decades. they are concerned about pay, working conditions and the industry's use of artificial intelligence. studios say the industry is changing and they have to move with the times.

peter bowes reports from los angeles. newsreader: thousands of actors on strike — the major stars speaking out tonight. the strike that's gripped america. actors, some rich and famous, others struggling to make ends meet, all cast together on the picket line. horns blare. this was day one of what could be a very long stand—off between the actors' union and the studios — a union with 160,000 members determined to show they mean business about a better pay deal and reassurances that artificial intelligence won't be used to do actors out of a job. it's pretty clear to me, just on a very primitive level, that if you can take my face and my body and my voice and make me say or do something that i have no choice about, it's not a good thing! horns blare. from la to new york, as the sets went dark, actors took to the streets to explain why they walked out and that their worries are just

the same as everyone else. working actors like me and my friends, you know, we're just trying to pay our rents or mortgages and put food on the table, so this will help all of us be able do that. the use of ai and corporate greed, to be quite honest, has put us - all in a situation where it's just not viable for anyone - to have a living — a living at all, especially in a city like los - angeles. the strike was called when union negotiators and the employers failed to reach a deal. the studios said they'd made an "historic offer" but the union insisted it didn't come close to what they wanted. brian cox, the main star of succession, says the strike 99.9% of the people that i'm fighting for now are working class people. they are the ones being squeezed out. the

people. they are the ones being squeezed out.— people. they are the ones being squeezed out. the tv viewers and moviegoers. _ squeezed out. the tv viewers and moviegoers. it — squeezed out. the tv viewers and moviegoers, it is _ squeezed out. the tv viewers and moviegoers, it is going _ squeezed out. the tv viewers and moviegoers, it is going to - squeezed out. the tv viewers and moviegoers, it is going to thin - moviegoers, it is going to thin pickings over the coming months and possibly years. major films pickings over the coming months and possibly years. majorfilms in production may be put on hold indefinitely. this is the most serious hollywood strike in decades. and with no new talks scheduled, la is raising for a long hot summer of disruption. history could be made today on the centre court at wimbledon in the women's singles final. tunisia's 0ns jabeur is hoping to become the first arab woman, and the first woman from africa, to win a grand slam singles title. she'll start as favourite against marketa vondrousova from the czech republic. i spoke to british tennis player naomi broady — who'll be commentating on the match — and asked her what she was expecting. i am so excited. today's final will be amazing. the thought of the day is the weather. every now and then,

it is windy today. they haven't opened the queue yet in expectation of poor weather so unless you're already a ticket holder, you can't get into the grounds. the grounds behind me are pretty quiet forfinals day. you've got 0ns jabeur and marketa vondrousova, who do you think will be better at handling bad weather? who is good at holding their nerve in such conditions? i would say 0ns jabeur because she's known having fantastic touch and hand skills so that will definitely come into into play. she also has a short low ball toss so if the wind starts swirling around in centre court, it won't affect that. marketa vondrousova has a high ball toss, she will have to play in high margins if the wind does pick up.

that match starts at 1pm gmt and 2pm british summer time. we will bring you all the latest top details on how that match is going here on bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. it has been a wet month. all of us have seen above average rainfall for the month and there is very little change on the horizon. this next chart shows rainfall occupation for the next few days. the darker the blue, the wettest of the weather so always wettest at the north and west but for all of us it is going to see

this continued spell of weather. circulating around is a rash of frequent heavy showers, some of them merging together for longer spells of rain today and there is going to be little change as we go into the afternoon. some of those showers heavy, possibly thundery as well. not all of us sources and showers. there will still be some sunny spells and perhaps through east anglia, through the end of the afternoon, there is a risk of those showers starts to ease a little. it is blustery across the south—east, 45 to 15 miles an hour wind. top temperatures between 16 and 22 degrees. still a little bit disappointing. as we go through the evening, we still run the risk of further showers and overnight tonight, we could still have the odd rumble of thunder mixed in there as well. showers merging togetherfor longer spells of rain across the far

north—west, overnight lows between 12 and 14 degrees. as you move into sunday, that low pressure finally pulls away over into scandinavia. the winds will gradually start to ease down, coming from a north—westerly direction, never protect plea and no warm sauce. sell some risk of showers on sunday. hopefully there will be more in the way of sunshine around that because of the reaction direction of the wind. that unsaddled theme is continuing for the foreseeable future. there will be some sunny spells, temperatures about where they should be for this time of year.

to protect visitors from the heat. this is bbc news. the headlines... the belarusian government has said that the russian mercenary group wagner is in the country and training its troops, three weeks after an attempted mutiny against moscow. after lots of of speculation, the announcement is the first official confirmation that the group are actually in belarus. a smothering heatwave is continuing to grip much of southern europe, with temperatures of up to 48 degrees celsius expected to break records next week. some of the world's famous attractions are closed during the hottest part of the day