and is believed to have crossed into north korea from south korea. the american military said he did so �*wilfully and without authorisation'. he's now in custody in the north. united states secretary of defense lloyd austin has been speaking about the crossing at a news briefing. let's listen in. what i can confirm, and i would say upfront that we are very early in this event, and so there is a lot that we are still trying to learn. but what we do know is that one of our service members who was on a tour wilfully and without authorisation crossed the military demarcation line filter we believe he is in dprk custody. and so we are closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the situation and working to notify the soldier's next of kin, and engaging to address this incident. in terms of my concerns, i am

absolutely for most concerned about the welfare of our troop and so we will remain focused on this and again, this will develop in the next several days and ours, and we will keep you posted. us defence secretary lloyd austin there. our correspondent sean dilley was at that briefing was at that briefing at the pentagon. here's his reaction... to deconstruct some of that language there, we understand from lloyd austin that he was on tour, that is he was posted to south korea at the time. he has been identified by our partner cbs as private second class travis king but even that is something the pentagon is not prepared to confirm or deny at this point, partly because of what we heard mr austin say there, which is that we are currently working to notify the next of kin, there's not a lot they don't know, they're currently very concerned about the

welfare of their service man, something retreated from the white house, from presidentjoe biden, not too long ago. but it's a puzzle, we certainly know he did cross the demarcation point. we certainly have heard accounts from witnesses who spoke to our us partner cbs, saying he was jovial at the time, he was running across, saying, ha—ha ha. the most poignant part about those words from a witness who was also on the tour, she told cbs that it affected her badly when they returned across the checkpoint and they were asked how many passengers they were asked how many passengers they had, and the officials responded at such checkpoint that, we had 43 going out and 42 coming back. sean daly, from the pentagon, speaking to us earlier. —— sean dilley. britain should reopen its embassy in afghanistan and restore talks with the taliban

to avoid a fresh wave of terrorism, a senior tory mp has claimed. on twitter tobias ellwood, who chairs the uk parliament's defence select committee said that afghanistan had now been �*tra nsformed'. security vastly improved, corruption reduced and the opium trade had ended, and made a call to re—engage with the taliban. the taliban's sudden sweep into power back in 2021 upended lives across the country. mr ellwood has just returned from afghanistan before we came on air, he told me what he saw on his recent trip. yes and no. i was in helmand in 2010, where there was a turbine that the brigade delivered. iflew 2010, where there was a turbine that the brigade delivered. i flew back over the country in 2018 and so the same turbine in its bubble wrap sitting next to the dam. it was never put in, pumping electricity. that's now been done, there are huge great pile and all the way to kandahar, that again has changed a life there as well. across asia, it is the best quality of marble that

can be found, but they need power to cut it. i'm notjustifying the... but i am saying, why didn't these things happen when the west were there? i am saying there is big challenges, absolutely huge challenges... but challenges, absolutely huge challenges. . ._ challenges, absolutely huge challenues... �* , challenges, absolutely huge challenues... , ., challenges... but when it comes to the human — challenges. .. but when it comes to the human rights— challenges. .. but when it comes to the human rights issues— challenges... but when it comes to the human rights issues in - the human rights issues in afghanistan?— the human rights issues in afuhanistan? �* ., , , afghanistan? i'm saying, absolutely, but my question _ afghanistan? i'm saying, absolutely, but my question to _ afghanistan? i'm saying, absolutely, but my question to all— afghanistan? i'm saying, absolutely, but my question to all the _ afghanistan? i'm saying, absolutely, but my question to all the questions| but my question to all the questions you pose, but need to be put to the taliban, it shouldn't be me doing this, it should be our embassy. i am simply calling to say, let's re—engage. i personally believe this is now being used as a bargaining chip. these restrictions have grown over the last year, they have grown, they weren't introduced immediately. what they're seeing is, from my perspective, is that the taliban are increasingly being tougher in this area, knowing that the west will react. and that has now become the bargaining chip and... the react. and that has now become the bargaining chip and. . ._ bargaining chip and... the other thin is bargaining chip and... the other thing is that _ bargaining chip and... the other thing is that the _ bargaining chip and... the other thing is that the west _ bargaining chip and... the other thing is that the west doesn't i thing is that the west doesn't actually have a clear policy when it

comes to the taliban.— actually have a clear policy when it comes to the taliban. 10096. you make m oint comes to the taliban. 10096. you make my point me- — comes to the taliban. 10096. you make my point me- it — comes to the taliban. 10096. you make my point me. it shouldn't _ comes to the taliban. 10096. you make my point me. it shouldn't be _ comes to the taliban. 10096. you make my point me. it shouldn't be me - my point me. it shouldn't be me going out there on my own, i should say, i went out there as an individual mp, make that really, really clear, to learn more about what is going on, why? because i don't want terrorism to flourish in afghanistan, which led previously to my brother being killed. that was the backdrop to this. that is what has led me to visit the country year after year after year. and i was curious to go back to see how things stood at the moment. and i really do encourage britain and other nations to open their embassies so they can take this strong messages and have those discussions and make sure the case for women's rights is made directly, ratherthan case for women's rights is made directly, rather than me doing that. when you say there is a security is better, for some people in the country, they don't feel security is better. i've been to mosques, for example, where members of the shia community have been targeted by groups like is—k. in terms of

violence, there are other people who say the taliban is still inflicting violence on them.— say the taliban is still inflicting violence on them. have you visited ourself? violence on them. have you visited yourself? i — violence on them. have you visited yourself? i really _ violence on them. have you visited yourself? i really encourage - yourself? i really encourage people... yourself? i really encourage peeple- - -— yourself? i really encourage people. . . yourself? i really encourage --eole... , ., , yourself? i really encourage neale," �* , ., , ., people... absolutely, i have been to camden, kandahar... _ people... absolutely, i have been to camden, kandahar... -- _ people... absolutely, i have been to camden, kandahar... -- helmand . people... absolutely, i have been to l camden, kandahar... -- helmand and camden, kandahar... —— helmand and kandahar. camden, kandahar... -- helmand and kandahar. ~ , ., camden, kandahar... -- helmand and kandahar.— february| kandahar. when did you go? february of this year- — kandahar. when did you go? february of this year. what _ kandahar. when did you go? february of this year. what i _ kandahar. when did you go? february of this year. what i experienced - of this year. what i experienced toda , it of this year. what i experienced today. it was — of this year. what i experienced today, it was simply _ of this year. what i experienced i today, it was simply impossible... you were escorted by the taliban across the country so obviously you saw things from their perspective. i was not expected across the country in that way. i was not exported by the taliban, as you said. i certainly could move around kabul as i wished. i don't challenge any of the troubles and major challenges we still face but i hope you would agree that the stability we are experiencing there today is over a different level than it was when everybody, including the 40 million afghans, could not go about their business on a daily routine simply because the country was in conflict.

that was simply my reflection... absolutely, but do you think it sends a certain message when it comes to things like human rights, women's rights, if you just say, well, they've got solar panels now, they've got less violence, and therefore we should open up our embassy and be back in the country? your simple find what i'm saying. i'm saying that the current strategy of us shouting from afar to try and affect the agenda in afghanistan is not working. we need to engage more directly, more robustly, and that can be done if we open up the embassy. that is the diplomatic challenge channels that should be working, notjust us, but other countries as well. that's all i am saying. we can disagree on that if you like, but where is this heading? it's going the wrong way right now. we have abandoned the country. the only reason we are speaking about afghanistan now, and we've not done so for months and months and months, is because i happened to have gone there and i've made some reflections

and comments which absolutely, i understand, will cause waves will survive no doubt about that at all. but i am pleased that we have shown light on a country that we run away from that still is seeking and requesting our support. and that i hope, will be the big takeaway from my visit. that was a tobias ellwood speaking to me a little earlier. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news. the bbc�*s director general says the outcome of a review into the way the organisation dealt with allegations surrounding presenter huw edwards should be completed by this autumn. tim davie was questioned by a committee of mps, in a session which was arranged before those allegations became public. let's have a listen. if you've got a concern at work, the normal route obviously is to your line manager but that is not always where you can go, that might be where you can go, that might be where problem is. so then we have another route which is our support at work alone, which is, you can just ring up hr, not connected with

your line management. but critically, the thing we've introduced, and i am proud of it, i think it is working but we have got more to do in making sure everyone's confidence in it, we have got most people very confident in it where we need to keep working on it, there are still gaps in that, and this is i think normal when you're deploying these things. which is our whistle—blowing process, which is external and confidential. you're live with bbc news. a barge that's expected to house 500 asylum seekers has arrived in portland port in dorset in southern england. it will stay there for 18 months and be home to men who are claiming asylum. it's part of the uk government plans to reduce the cost of housing migrants, using the barge rather than paying for hotel rooms. it comes as the government's controversial illegal migration bill is set to become law after a series of votes in the house of lords last night.

dan johnson reports. it sailed through delays and opposition, but the bibby stockholm arrives here as a floating declaration of the government's determination to reduce hotel bills and stop migrant boats. it's been refitted with bunk beds to house 500 asylum—seekers. but that's around the same number crossing the channel every week. so this isn't a solution, but it's about the government sending messages to the taxpayers that it's not funding asylum—seekers to live in luxury, and to migrants, that if they come to this country, they can expect to live in conditions that are what it describes as "basic and functional". there's opposition here and beyond, and listen to the split opening up in this community. there are refugees here. to answer your question, i do not feel safe. you need... i'm not frightened of a single man in portland, there are 7,000 men in portland now. they shout. one group's concerned about the pressure on services.

no hate! the other�*s focused on conditions for the men. it has to be dealt with some other way, but the only way it can be dealt with is to speed up those claims so that the men and women can get out there and start working and contributing to our society. we've not got enough nhs dentists, doctors, we just haven't got it. so we are all struggling. if those services were improved, would it be all right? no, no. no. so it's about something else? it's about the men. the people of this own town are dividing because of this, and we all want the same thing, and that is no to the barge! stopping small boats is a government priority, the plan to deport illegal migrants to rwanda's stuck in the courts, but the migration bill did clear parliament last night, so this is a significant arrival. we are creating places for them to stay safe, relatively comfortable places for them to stay whilst we process them.

the illegal migration bill will mean that we can process people more quickly. but the first 50 asylum—seekers won't step aboard for another few days. and other places have resisted similar plans, so this is a pioneering test of a contentious new policy. danjohnson, bbc news, portland. for more on this we can speak tojenny phillimore, professor of migration and superdiversity at the university of birmingham. thank you so much forjoining us. we were watching their own dan johnson's ps, emotions are running high on both sides and people feel on both sides very strongly about this. �* , , , , ., this. it's unsurprising, given that the government _ this. it's unsurprising, given that the government has _ this. it's unsurprising, given that the government has been - this. it's unsurprising, given that the government has been tellingj the government has been telling people that those who are writing are illegal immigrants, that they are illegal immigrants, that they are criminals and so on. the reality is that these are very, very vulnerable people. last year 73% of them gained a silent status on their

first application, many more at a later stage. they are vulnerable. they are not people to be frightened of, there are people we need to be caring for and we have a duty to them and that is not what is happening in this country at all. the point the government is making is that this is costing them millions a day to house asylum seekers in hotels, so they're using this as a sort of an alternative, cheaper alternative. it is costing them millions _ cheaper alternative. it is costing them millions of— cheaper alternative. it is costing them millions of pounds - cheaper alternative. it is costing them millions of pounds a - cheaper alternative. it is costing them millions of pounds a day i cheaper alternative. it is costing i them millions of pounds a day but there are other solutions. there is an enormous backlog, which is down to the government. there are multiple layers of contracting with people taking a profit of at every layer, which makes these hotels are extremely expensive. and fundamentally, preventing asylum seekers from working. when we still have a labour shortage in this country full so they would pay their way if they were given the chance. they are not allowed to. qm. they are not allowed to. 0k, professor — they are not allowed to. 0k, professor jenny _ they are not allowed to. ok, professorjenny phillimore, we have professorjenny phillimore, we have to leave it there, thank you so much

for us. —— forjoining us. britain's top cyber security official has told the bbc that artificial intelligence companies need to improve security now or risk paying the price in years to come. all this week the bbc is looking at the implications of artificial intelligence, which is the ability of computers to learn for themselves. here's our security correspondent gordon corera. ai is moving fast but there are concerns that security may not be keeping up. in particular there is a risk that al systems can be hacked or deliberately fooled. this is a field called adversarial machine learning. so to take one example in the world of visual al, to the human eye, this is a pig and the ai has been trained to recognise it. but if you add data to the image which is invisible to the human eye, to us it still looks like a pig, but the ai will now recognise it as an airliner. so how might this be a danger in the real world? let's take another example. what if ai is being used to guide cars around a city?

it only took researchers placing these stickers on a stop sign to fool an al to believe the sign was actually a 45 mph speed limit sign. you can imagine the risks, as one former intelligence chief explains. as we become dependent on al for really good things, like delivery of food or autonomous vehicles or utilities, all sorts of things that ai will help to control in the future, we will become very dependent. and that means that attacks on those systems could be really devastating. this could even have serious consequences for national security. for example, if al was being relied on to detect tanks in satellite imagery, like in russia's build up to invading ukraine, but could be fooled to miss them. ai is already being used in ukraine to help direct drone strikes, so imagine if someone fooled a system to direct fire to the wrong location. one of the challenges of ai

is that the data it learns from can be tampered with or poisoned, and the systems are not always transparent enough to understand how it came to a particular decision. the official in charge of britain's cyber security told me all of this means it's vital that those companies racing to roll out ai products think about how to secure them. from our perspective the key thing is building good cyber security into ai now. so what we don't want to be in a position of is, in 30 years' time, still trying to fix fundamental flaws that were built into early ai models. the scale and complexity of these models is such that if we don't apply the right basic principles as they are being developed in the early stages, it will be much more difficult to retrofit security, even than it is with existing technology. securing ai systems is certainly not impossible but there are two lessons from the last few decades. firstly, that bad actors will try

and use this technology, and secondly, it's better to build in security from the start, rather than wait until it's too late. if you'd like to know more about how artificial intelligence works, there's a new podcast series on bbc sounds which takes you back to basics to explain, explore and demystify the world of ai. search for "understand tech and al" on bbc sounds. an australian sailor who survived two months in the pacific ocean by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater has arrived on the mexican pacific coast. the 51—year—old and his dog left mexico for french polynesia in april but their boat was damaged by a storm several weeks later. they were rescued by a helicopter this week. in a news

conference tim shaddock paid tribute to his furry companion. betta conference tim shaddock paid tribute to his furry companion.— to his furry companion. bella sort of found me _ to his furry companion. bella sort of found me in _ to his furry companion. bella sort of found me in the _ to his furry companion. bella sort of found me in the middle - to his furry companion. bella sort of found me in the middle of - to his furry companion. bella sort - of found me in the middle of mexico, she is mexican, you know, she... she is a spirit of the middle of the country. and she wouldn't let me go. i tried to find a home for her, maybe three times, and she just kept following me onto the water. and so, you know, ifeel... ifeel like she is a beautiful animal. i'm just grateful she's alive, you know. she is... she's a lot braver than i am, that's for sure! is. .. she's a lot braver than i am, that's for sure!— is... she's a lot braver than i am, that's for sure! tim shaddock there. i want to that's for sure! tim shaddock there. i want to show _ that's for sure! tim shaddock there. i want to show you _ that's for sure! tim shaddock there. i want to show you some _ that's for sure! tim shaddock there. i want to show you some stunning i i want to show you some stunning footage of a group of daredevil skydivers setting a new record. just have a look at this. a team of 41 jumpers combined in the skies of nottingham to create the largest

ever sequential formation dive, to take place in the uk while falling at speeds of about 120 mph for up to one minute. they set the record by making two consecutive shapes in the sky, involving all 41 people, the largest number of british jumpers ever to complete a sequential formation dive. shortly afterwards they broke their own record by forming three consecutive formations. incredible. and taylor swift has become the first woman to release 12 number—one albums. her latest, a pre—recorded version of speak now, has topped the charts in the it means she surpassed barbara streisand's total of 11 number ones. onlyjay—z and barbara streisand's total of 11 number ones. only jay—z and the beatles have more. taylor swift is currently on a stadium tour that has led to frenzied ticket sales in many countries. and you're watching bbc news. on thursday, voters

in the constituency of uxbridge and south ruislip will choose their next mp. the by election is one of three happening on the same day. it was triggered when former prime minister borisjohnson stepped down last month after the privileges committee said he misled parliament over lockdown parties at downing street. our political editor chris mason reports. beeping. this contest in north west london, like much of the politics of the last few years, can be summarised injust two words... ..boris and johnson. he used to be the mp round here. of course, he was prime minister too, and he is now neither. and so people here in uxbridge and south ruislip are picking a new mp and the conservative party, some with enthusiasm, others with less so, are trying to move on from borisjohnson — as are the folk round here. lies, lies, lies. you had to do it, you had to do

it, you had to do it. we all have to do it in this town. and what did he do? have a party. i don't know. he didn't seem to take hisjob very seriously. i met him years ago. a nice person. i think he's made some mistakes. yeah, and i personally believe they are unforgivable. this has long been a conservative seat, but labour have been eyeing the prospect of winning here for a bit. keir starmer and the labour party have been miles ahead in loads of national opinion polls for ages. but the challenge for sir keir is to turn that into real votes and real election victories and, crucially, taking seats directly from the tories. now there are many issues here that will resonate with people all around the uk — the cost of living and the nhs. but there is one other issue that is really big and it's the extension of what is known as london's ultra low emission zone, which will charge drivers of the most polluting transport,

and plenty of its critics blame it on the labour mayor of london, sadiq khan. it's just another tax on people's lives. it's costing people more every day. and what about the cost of living? that's just a massive thing for so many people at the moment. i go to the supermarket now and i think, i'll get a few little pieces — 38 quid, and there's hardly anything there. when you go into the hospitals round here, so the queue just for the reception was really long and then sitting in the waiting area was even longer. and then at one point i was thinking, is there any point waiting here? i might as welljust go home. things that are important to the people around - here are schools, the hospital, the police station. _ for me, it's not. words — it's action. that's very important for me. you can tell me whatever you want — i need to see proof— of what you're going to deliver. so, a super thursday of by—elections beckon, notjust one but a trio of contests in three different corners of england. and, yes, each will send a new mp to westminster,

but together they will make and mould the political weather, shape the confidence or otherwise of our political leaders. and all of this as a general election edges ever closer. our political editor chris mason, reporting. and in total there are 17 candidates standing in that by—election. you can find a list of all of them on the bbc news website, along with more reporting about the constituency and the other by—elections taking place later this week. and you can watch live coverage of all the by—election results from midnight uk time on thursday night into friday morning here on bbc news. it costs almost £1000 to pay for childcare through the school summer holidays — that's according to research carried out by a children's charity. it says during the school break parents are paying more than twice as much as they do for an after school

club in term time. here's our cost of living correspondent colletta smith: it's been amazing! the long school holidays stretching ahead mean big bills looming for parents. it's hard tojuggle work and children. you know, ijust can't afford to take five weeks off work. probably wouldn't have a job left! summer childcare prices are up right across britain, but bills for parents in wales have jumped the most — to more than £1,000 per child this holiday. have movie days, have festival type parties. justine's holiday club in cardiff is one of those private providers who say they've had to increase prices to cover costs. so for under five—year—old, it's £50, but for an over five—year—old, it's £45. and again, we're not the cheapest, but we're offering that longer day. and it's working parents having to suck up those prices. we want our children to be in a safe, loving, brilliant environment like it is here, but it's really causing a squeeze and parents

are having to make choices that we shouldn't be having to make. the governments in wales, scotland and england say they're making huge investments in child care. but the children's charity coram wants funding to apply all year — notjust in term time. one primary school in cheshire has decided to use funding from the local council to run a free holiday club for all their pupils. for our working parents, it's really helpful because they know that they can access four hours of childcare for free for four weeks of the summer holidays and they find it a really, really useful tool. definitely one less worry, and if there's a day where there's not a lot of money there or finance there to go out on a day out, i know that he's sorted with, going to a club at school. if you're struggling to afford childcare through this summer holidays, don't forget you now have the legal right to request flexible working. your employer doesn't have to give it to you, but it's always worth a go and do the sums because it may be that

if you've more than one child, you could actually save money by requesting to take unpaid leave for some of the summer. so while the holiday excitement builds for children, the pressure is mounting on parents. colletta smith, bbc news. now here's the weather. hello. there's no end in sight, really, to our unsettled run of weather. there are already parts of scotland so far this july that have seen 60% more rainfall than a typicaljuly so it has been very wet. keswick was hiding underneath the rain clouds during the day today. and the reason it has been unsettled is because of this trough to our west. that creates areas of low pressure that then move across the uk and bring us rain, and there is no change to that pattern expected. meanwhile across southern europe, we've got this ridge and what that does is it pushes air down through the earth's atmosphere. that descending air can dry out and can trap some extreme heat near the earth's surface. 46 likely in parts of sardinia and sicily, but for both, actually, temperatures for most will be more

into the upper 30s. it is still extreme heat, still quite dangerous, but the 46es will be relatively localised affairs. now, overnight tonight for us, outbreaks of rain will slowly be easing across eastern areas as our area of low pressure works out into the north sea. it then turns quite chilly for scotland and northern ireland, with temperatures getting down into single figures here, with some clear spells. and overall, looking at the weather charts for wednesday, as that low pressure pulls out of the way, it's a brighter kind of day, a day really of sunshine and showers. the majority of the showers will be across northern and eastern scotland and across eastern areas of england as well, where there could be one or two sharp ones come the afternoon. still, we are expecting some spells of sunshine, so at least in that regard it should be a better kind of day. that said, temperatures for most will continue to be a little bit below average, typically between 17 and 20, although 24 in london is close to average, it won't feel too bad in thejuly sunshine. for thursday another showery kind

of day but that said, there won't be that many showers around. most of them will be in northern scotland, so if you do catch a shower elsewhere you can count yourself quite unlucky. sunny spells, temperatures still a little below average forjuly, and highs for most of us between around 17 and 23 celsius. what about the end of the week and the weekend? well, rememberthat trough in the jet stream? well, that's not going anywhere very far, very fast. and that will create further areas of low pressure, and that means we've got more rain to come. for friday, the wet weather will be for friday, the wet weather will be across parts of scotland and northern ireland, across parts of scotland drier and brighterfor most of england and wales, of england and wales, but for most through the weekend, we will see rain at times. but for most through the weekend,

systems could be for devastating. hello — i'm christian fraser. you're watching the you're watching the context on bbc news... we urgently need to shape global context on bbc news... governments of transformative technologies because a! technologies because a! knows no borders. knows no borders. the scale and complexity of these models is such that if we don't apply the right basic principles as they are being developed in the early stages, it will be much more difficult to retrofit security. as we become dependent on al i for look at things like the delivery of food or autonomous vehicles - we will become very dependent most stuff that needs a tax on those i