welcome to the programme. the us military has named the soldier who crossed into north korea from south korea as private second class travis king , a 23 year—old who was facing discliplinary action. he was on an organised tour of the un—run demilitarized zone which divides the two countries. it's unclear whether he has defected to the country. he's now in custody in north korea. the crisis comes during a particularly tense time with the north, one of the world's most isolated states. it's been reported it has fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea of japan. that's according to military officials in south korea.

the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, said the pentagon's main concern was for the soldier's welfare. we believe that he is in brk custody and so we are closely monitoring and investigating the situation. we are working to notify the soldiers next of kin and engaging to address the incident. in terms of my concern, i have absolutely foremost concern 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 hours. earlier i spoke to our north america correspondent sean dilley, who was at that press conference, and asked what the white house and the pentagon were willing to divulge at this point. the pentagon themselves said as much and as little as you would expect they could. at that time in the afternoon, as it was, it was 1230 eastern time, the pentagon wasn't even naming this soldier because they were engaged in discussions with the next of kin. they were saying

they were monitoring the situation closely. of course, travis king has subsequently been named by the military, 23 years old, as you say, joined the military in january 2021. now, us military officials had been speaking to our us partner, cbs, describing some of the detail that may be sort of newish at this point. we know that, according to their sources, that he had been detained for time in south korea, that he'd been released, that he had been due to return to the united states for disciplinary reasons. we understand that he was to be terminated from the us army. now, clearly, there are many questions that need to be asked in terms of how he's then gone from the airport 3a miles away on a tour of what's described as the demilitarisation or the demilitarized zone, in this particular case, because he's crossed over into north korea. it's understood that he has been detained by the north korean authorities at that point.

but why he did this, we just don't know. i mean, north korea hasn't been on the top priority list of president biden�*s administration. however, this may potentially become a crisis. what are you hearing from washington officials to try to find, to calm the situation down? what are they doing at this point to get him back? there's a series of official statements and back channel diplomacy. you know, as you can imagine, there are discussions that we may not be fully privy to in public. what they're saying is that they're working, the us military in the area and beyond, are working with their counterparts with the north korean authorities. but then that does get rather complex because tensions between the us and north korea they're reasonably high. there are not the diplomatic channels. some viewers may remember the rather bizarre diplomacy that took place between kimjong—un in north korea and the 45th president of the united states, donald trump, during his administration.

there was talk at the time in terms of who was going to be firing missiles. there was that notable comment where donald trump had said, "that he should be careful of making threats because i also have a red button on my desk," he said. "the difference is my button works". at the moment, those overt communications might not be as strong as once they were. in the background, there are going to be a series of discussions, diplomatically, if necessary, using fixers. they're going to want to do everything that they can to return this troop to the united states because terminated or not, disciplinary action or not, he's still a us citizen, and, at the moment, he's still a serving soldier. sweltering temperatures have continued in several countries, with firefighters tackling wildfires in greece, spain and switzerland. the heatwave is set to intensify across large parts of the world. in italy, temperatures hit 46 degrees celsius in sicily.

that's over 114 degrees farenheit. there are currently red alerts in place for 20 major italian cities. across the atlantic at midnight last night, the temperature china is experiencing a heatwave too, with temperatures above a0 degrees in the north, in xinjiang. but other parts of asia — including taiwan and southern vietnam have been battered by torrential rain.0ur climate by torrential rain. 0ur climate editor, justin rowlatt, sent this report from moorthiuh in spain — one of the hottest places in europe. wildfires continued to rage in greece today. firefighters struggled to contain them, as high winds fanned the flames. and italy has been continuing to feel the heat too, with temperatures into the 40s and 20 cities now on heatwave alert. it turns out rain isn't the only weather that can take that sheen off your special day. irani and her colleague pedro look after homeless people in the southern spanish

city of murcia. it could be really serious because it's not only feeling sick, but also it can bring you to death. they work out on the street, checking people are coping with the heat. so just think what these temperatures do to the human body. 0ur body temperature is 37 degrees, any higher or lower than that and our systems begin to shut down. so our bodies are fighting to stay at 37 degrees, and that takes a huge amount of energy, a huge toll on our bodies. irani and pedro give out water, hats and advice. the higher the temperature, the greater the risk to human health. and, of course, climate change is dialling up the heat. look how annual average global temperatures have increased since pre—industrial levels. the world is now about 1.1 celsius warmer than it was in

the late 19th century. now, that might not sound a lot, but even a small increase in average temperatures makes a big difference. that's because it shifts the entire distribution of daily temperatures to warmer levels, as this graph shows, it makes hot days both more likely and likely to be hotter. and it isn'tjust europe that's seeing that impact. parts of the us were even hotter than spain and italy. las vegas issued an official warning that there is unlikely to be any respite from the heat for at least a week. they know all about enduring high temperatures in arizona. it has now had 18 consecutive days above 43 celsius. and the hot weather in asia is continuing too. there are heat stroke warnings across japan, as its recorded temperature is just shy of a0 celsius today.

back in spain, helicopters joined the battle to contain a wildfire in la palma, one of the canary islands — more evidence of the brutal impact of this summer's extreme weather. justin rowlatt, bbc news, southern spain. as we heard in that report, swathes of virgin pine forests have been burnt around coastal towns near athens in greece. and two wildfires are burning out of control. 0ur reporter azadeh moshiri is in kouvaras — south east of athens and sent this update. severalfires have made their way through mainland greece. here where i am, we are in kouvaras, south—east of athens and you can see that wildfires have torn through these hills. now, you can see the burnt trees around me. you can see the ash on the ground. but if you were here with me you'd be able to smell it as well. now, this fire that's torn through these hills is suspected to have been done by a man who lit a fire.

he's now been arrested. but the consequences are the same of the other wildfires we see in other parts of mainland greece. it is decimation across these hills. we spoke to firefighters who worked here and helped evacuate people in the hills who were living in different parts of kouvaras and they have been told they can now return to their homes, but as temperatures around here continue to grow, because the peak is set to hit in the next few days, thursday—sunday, they've said that these scenes, these wildfires could not be the last we've seen in mainland greece. the heatwave in the northern hemisphere was also brought up briefly during talks between the us special envoy on climate, john kerry and chinese officials. mr kerry is in beijing, trying to revive climate cooperation between the world's top two greenhouse gas emitters. he believes tackling global warming could help china and the united states redefine their troubled

relationship. and staying with china — another veteran of us diplomacy has been holding talks in beijing — albeit in a personal capacity. former us secretary of state henry kissinger sat down on tuesday with the chinese defence minister, li shangfu. the state department said mr kissinger was not on an official mission. according to the chinese government, he said neither the us nor china could afford to treat the other as an adversary. more than 100 current and former mcdonald's workers have told the bbc about a toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying at the company's uk outlets. the uk equality watchdog, the ehrc, said it was "concerned" by the allegations and that in response to the bbc�*s findings, it was setting up a new email hotline for those affected. mcdonald's said it had

"fallen short" and that it "deeply apologises". this report is from our employment correspondent zoe conway, and a warning you may find some of the content distressing. i got warned that these managers will target me because i'm a girl and i'm new. it's one of the youngest workforces in the uk. he just goes and grabs my throat with, like, some force. teenage workers at mcdonald's say they've been preyed on. he obviously hit mej quite hard and i had a handprint bruise on my bum. and they say managers are failing to protect them. mcdonald's does 100% have a problem with sexual harassment. shelby was 16 when she started working at mcdonald's last year in berkshire. she says the workplace felt toxic. managers warned her to stay away from certain older men, including one man in his 50s. he just sort of grabbed me by my hips, and then pulled me onto his groin area. i felt disgusted because he was

so much older as well. shelby says she complained to the store's management, but nothing was done. she quit in may. mcdonald's said it was investigating why any issues that she raised were not formally escalated at the time. mcdonald's uses a franchise system that means individual operators are licensed to run the stores and directly employ the staff. warren was employed by a franchise in hampshire. he says that earlier this year, a senior manager asked him to perform sex acts. in a room full of minors when you're almost ten years older than me, that should have never ta ken place. and did you complain to the management at all? no, ididn't. i honestly doubt i would have been believed. and also all the managers were basically one big friend group. it would've been me, a 16—year—old, going against it. today, the prime minister's spokesman said the allegations were deeply concerning. what we need to see from the company is a new culture of transparency, effective whistle—blowing policies, and support for staff

who have the courage to come forward. in february, mcdonald's signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog, the ehrc, in which it committed to do more to prevent sexual harassment from taking place. in a statement, alastair macro, the ceo of mcdonald's in a statement, alastair macrow, the ceo of mcdonald's uk and ireland, said, "they deeply apologise for the instances where they have fallen short". "there is simply no place for harassment, abuse or discrimination of any kind at mcdonald's". "and we will investigate all allegations brought to us". and he said that proven breaches of the code of conduct could end in dismissal. but some employees have told us that they've lost faith in the ability of the company to turn around its workplace culture. they don't really think about their staff at all. because if they did? because if they did, they do something about it. if you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available via the bbc action line, you'll find that

online at bbc.com/actionline or via the bbc news app. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let 5 get some of the day's other news from the uk now. the company which owns the car manufacturerjaguar—landrover is expected to announce plans to build an electric car battery factory in the uk. sources tell the bbc tata will locate the site in somerset. the government is expected to provide subsidies worth hundreds of millions of pounds. a mother who was jailed for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy during lockdown will be released from prison after the court of appeal reduced her sentence. 45—year—old carla foster was given a 28—month sentence after admitting to causing her own abortion when she was between 32 and 3a weeks pregnant. an appeal courtjudge said

hers was a case that called for compassion, not punishment. prosecutors have abandoned their case against the former manchester united footballer, ryan giggs. he was due to face a retrial on domestic violence charges later this month, but the case was charges later this month. one of ukraine's top generals has said that his country's counter—offensive against russia is not progressing as quickly as hoped — saying rapid results were "practically impossible" because of well—prepared russian defences. ukraine says that since it launched its counter—offensive in earlyjune, it has taken back more than 81 square miles of land, but russia still holds vast swathes of territory following its full—scale invasion last february. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, has been to the front line near bakmut in eastern ukraine — to see how ukrainian troops are trying to advance. the bloody battle for bakhmut isn't over. the city is now held by the russians, but we travelled with ukrainian forces

who are trying to take it back. their advance is still slow and meeting resistance. again. explosion. they try to fire back with their finnish supplied mortar, but even western weapons can occasionally malfunction. explosion. that was a russian shell landing. their positions are just about three kilometres away from here. last time i was near here, two months ago, it was the ukrainians losing ground and in danger of being surrounded. now, it's the other way round. this is the bunker from where ukraine's coordinating the offensive on bakhmut, with a constant live feed from dozens of drones. the commander admits they're suffering losses, but not on the same scale

as the russians. translation: we've taken the initiative. l the enemy is bringing in troops and wants to escape the trap. but they're in trouble. bakhmut could be encircled. ukraine is using all it can to break the russian defences... ..from the ground... ..and from the air. but it's still outgunned and having to spread its limited resources on several fronts. but it will soon have a new weapon — us supplied cluster bombs fired from these same american howitzers. this gun, will you use cluster munitions in this gun? yes, yes. you will? yes. and will you have any concerns? in the field...no. 0n the town, i have

forbidden for this. because it's not humane. 0leksandr syrskyi is the general in charge of all military operations in the east. this is a command vehicle, yes? yes. the mastermind behind the defence of kyiv and the successful offensive in kharkiv. unlike many russian commanders, he's lionized by his troops. and now his eyes are firmly set on retaking bakhmut. and you will take it back, bakhmut? yes, of course — i try to do it. the offensive has been going on for more than a month now. even president zelensky has said it is slower than ukraine had hoped for. is that true? translation: we would like to get very fast - results, but in reality, it's practically impossible. this entire area is well

prepared with defences, so all advances are not going as fast as we would like. so far, the advances have only been modest. most of the front remains relatively static. these ukrainian trench lines in the east haven't budged since 2014. ukraine has still to commit all its forces, but it's yet to break through russia's heavily mined main lines of defence. jonathan beale, bbc news, eastern ukraine. let's take a look at some other global stories in the headlines. donald trump has said that he expects to be arrested and indicted in connection with the attack on the us capitol building in washington onjanuary the 6th. in a posting on his social media site, mr trump said he had been sent a letter stating he is a target of the investigation, and has been given four days to report to a grand jury.

at least 1a people are known to have died in colombia, after heavy rains triggered a landslide. around 20 homes were destroyed, and roads were blocked, in the quetamay area. officials say 11 people are thought to remain unaccounted for. police in las vegas has searched a home in connection with the unsolved murder of the rapper tupac shakur — who was shot dead in september 1996. the search took place in the henderson area of the city — near to where he was killed in a car. anyone into gaming will know what loot boxes are. they are extra items — given at random — that you can buy inside games to improve your gaming experience — and it's proved big money for the industry — about $20 billion worldwide by 2025. but, critics say they can be addictive. now the games industry has introduced new rules to govern how they're used in the uk — here's our gaming correspondent

steffan powell. i've been opening loot boxes ever since 2016. loot boxes in a nutshell — new characters, costumes or upgrades, all assigned at random for a few quid at a time. the question is, are they a harmless digital kinder egg or a form of gambling, more like a slot machine. there was times where i lay in bed at night and i cried. i'd started to get to a point where i couldn't afford the loot boxes using disposable income, and i'd started using payday loans. i'd started using credit cards. those loans amounted to £10,000. they cost david his savings for a new house and nearly his relationship. the time when it really fully hit home for me was the day that my wife found out that i'd done everything. she was sat there at the table, you know, like nine months pregnant, due less than two weeks. and she was just in tears and i could see how much it had hurt her. david got to grips with his addiction and turned his life around. but it was testimony like his that partly, all the way back in 2020, led the government to call for more evidence. now, nearly three years later,

we finally know the plan to try and curb the use of loot boxes. there are 11 principles, mainly targeted at protecting children. they include — better use of technology to restrict under 18 access, an awareness raising campaign of that and more lenient refund policies. the trade body for gaming uk says these will improve protections for all players. last summer, the government chose not to legislate, instead tasking the industry with coming up with these new regulations. following countries like belgium and the netherlands in banning them was an option, but instead we're seeing this more pragmatic approach, where there is a balance between protecting those who may become addicted to loot boxes and also giving the games industry the freedom to flourish economically. some think the proposals are too weak and could mean more stringent gambling laws being applied to gaming in future. the whole point here was that government said significant self—regulation means an avoidance of gambling regulation.

this reopens the question because it's so insufficient of whether loot boxes should be incorporated into gambling regulation. oh, oh! ok, that's good potential... it's taken a long time to get to this agreement — whether the wait was worth it will be decided by a review next summer. ooh! steffan powell, bbc news. and an update on the australian sailor who survived two months in the pacific ocean by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater. well, he has arrived in manzanillo in mexico. 51—year—old tim shaddock — along with his dog bella — left mexico for french polynesia in april, but their boat was damaged by a storm several weeks later. they were rescued by a trawler this week after a helicopter spotted them. at a news conference, mr shaddock paid tribute to his furry companion. bella found me in

the middle of mexico. she's mexican, you know. she is the 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, ithought she is a beautiful animal. i'm grateful she is alive, you know? she's a lot braver than i am, that's for sure. a reminder of our top story — the us military has named the soldier who crossed into north korea from south korea as private second class travis king, a 23 year—old who was facing discliplinary action. he was on an organised tour of the un—run demilitarized zone which divides the two countries. it's unclear whether he has defected to the country but he's now in custody in north korea. you have been watching newsday.

stay with us. hello. for many of us, tuesday was decidedly cool for a july day thanks to a lot of clouds and some outbreaks of rain. that was the scene for a weather watcher in belfast. there were plenty of places that didn't get above 111—15 degrees. was a little bit warmer in the southeast of england, but a world away from the heat that continues to affect southern parts of europe, that extreme heat set to go on. this is the dividing line, the jet stream, the winds high up in the atmosphere, keeping that heat away from our shores, keeping us in some relatively cool air with areas of low pressure and frontal systems moving through. that frontal system there, that was tuesday's rain—maker. it is moving away eastwards. high pressure trying to build from the west, but there'll still be some showers on wednesday. early cloud and patchy rain in eastern england,

that tending to clear, then some spells of sunshine but a scattering of showers. wales and the south west of england, not seeing too many showers. northern scotland likely to stay quite cloudy and breezy throughout the day. and temperatures for lerwick only up to 12 degrees, further south, 2a the high in london. through wednesday night, the showers will tend to fade, we'll see clear skies overhead, one or two mist or fog patches. and with those clear skies, it is going to be actually quite a cool night for the time of year, widely in the towns and cities, 8—12 degrees. but there will be places in the countryside that gets a little chillier than that. so a cool start to thursday morning, but a bright start with spells of sunshine. again, some showers will develop. the odd heavy one is possible. still some quite large areas of cloud across northern parts of scotland and temperatures north to south between 15—23 degrees. that covers it for most of us. now for friday, a lot of dry weather around to start off, but we will tend to see more clouds spilling in from the west.

and some outbreaks of rain are likely to move into parts of northern ireland and northwest scotland, drier further south and east, albeit with the chance for the odd shower and temperatures of 14—21 degrees. but as we head into the weekend, we see another frontal system attached to this area of low pressure. that will be working in from the west, bringing outbreaks of rain for many of us. and on the southern flank of that system, some quite strong winds. so, into the weekend some rain at times, albeit with some drier interludes. turning windy down towards the south and remaining fairly cool.

ai tools right now microsoft unveils plans to microsoft unveils plans to bring artificial intelligence bring artificial intelligence technology to its popular technology to its popular office software. office software. plus, we take a deep dive into plus, we take a deep dive into how advertising companies how advertising companies are getting a creative boost from al tools. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm monica miller. we begin with microsoft because the tech giant's shares closed at an all—time high, surging nearly 4% in the latest session. the company has unveiled a new artificial intelligence subscription service, which will power its popular office programmes included in the microsoft 3—6—5 software. and the tech giant is tapping

to the huge consumer demand for generative