women's world cup in australia. hello. we start in northern china, where the death toll from heavy rains and flooding has risen to 20. authorities say 19 people are also missing in beijing and hebei, as rescue efforts continue. storm doksuri hit the country on friday, bringing almost a month's rainfall to beijing injust a0 hours. military units and helicopters are now being used to deliver food and supplies to rail passengers who've been stranded by the flood waters. forecasters have warned of the potential for more flash flooding and landslides in the coming days. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell sent this update from beijing.

i will start with the good news, at the rain has eased in beijing and the rain has eased in beijing and the weather forecast seem to be protecting a period with little or no rain. this second typhoon due to hit in the coming 2a hours may not actually reach landfall in the same place it was thought to be approaching, and that weather pattern may not also reach a beijing. meaning it would give the rescue team is here a bit of breathing space to get a real handle on this situation. the other thing that has been worrying them is that they have been finding that many of they have been finding that many of the people who were missing. the big concerns are that that et al. could go concerns are that that et al. could 9° up concerns are that that et al. could go up quite a bit but with every new person makes phone, that is more good news. the western suburbs of beijing that there are still areas cut off where roads have collapsed, there's no electricity or water, and there's no electricity or water, and the army is flying in there,

dropping in supplies from helicopters. that's also happening in the neighbouring hubei province, where one town looks to have been hit very hard by the floodwaters. what has happened is there has been an attempt to take the pressure off beijing, to divert the floodwaters elsewhere, but that water has to go somewhere, of course, and as a result has hit smaller population centres. we are getting word that towns there have floodwaters up to the first story of tower blocks and that the residents have been stuck in those towers. so the military has again had to be sent in to rescue people and also drop off supplies using helicopters, because you can't reach these places, the connections are down. also, they have been able to reach the passenger stock on a train, so more and more good news coming through. but is this

floodwaters recede, you are also seeing the remnants of the earlier chaos. bodies of cars stuck in trees and, hopefully, as the conditions improve, at the clean—up will start getting under way, but there is a lot of work to be done, including clearing roads, rebuilding roads, rebuilding bridges, and itjust shows what happens when a city like beijing, which is not as accustomed as the south of the country to this type of weather, is struck by the remnants of a typhoon. it has been quite deadly, because residents here are not used to it and despite the best efforts of the authorities to keep everyone indoors, sadly, it has been deadly in some cases. police in australia say a former childcare worker has been charged with more than 1600 child abuse offences, including 136 counts of rape. the man's alleged victims, more than 90, were all young girls. police say they were alerted when they found material on the dark web that they could trace back

to a childcare centre. the as—year old man, who has not been named, was arrested nearly a year ago. 0fficers said his alleged crimes were unfathomable. 0ur correspondent phil mercer sent this update from sydney a little earlier. well, these are deeply disturbing allegations — it goes without saying — given that this is an individual who's charged with more than 1,600 child abuse offences against alleged victims numbering more than 90. now, investigators here in australia say that this man, 45 years of age, was responsible for abusing young girls at childcare centres, mostly here in australia, but some overseas, between 2007 and 2022. so they allege that he was preying on girls for a 15 year period. and investigators say that this

is one of the worst cases of child abuse they've ever seen. now, we do understand that certain images were detected by australian police on the dark web almost a decade ago, and it's taken them a very long time to identify the alleged individual involved and also his alleged victims. so, this is a case that spans many, many years, dozens of alleged victims. and the police here in australia have been giving more details. an investigation that has led to a former childcare worker being charged with 1,623 child abuse offenses against 91 children, including 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under ten, in brisbane, sydney and overseas,

between 2007 and 2022. so, clearly a shocking case here and very disturbing charges. and how is australia, the australian public, taking this information in? i think people here would be reacting the same as people in other parts of the world — with horror and disgust at these allegations. and we must stress clearly that these are allegations. at this stage, the legal process is only just starting. this man, 45 years of age, was arrested last year, initially charged with producing child abuse material. but the police say that they found on his devices 4,000 images and videos and they've had to go through each and every one of them trying to identify the alleged victims in all of this.

so, an exhaustive investigation. this is a man who's due in court in three weeks�* time before magistrates here in brisbane. but i imagine many people in australia and beyond would probably share the views of one senior police officer, saying that it is beyond imagination the allegations that this man is facing. russia says it's destroyed three ukrainian unmanned boats that were trying to attack two russian naval ships in the black sea, more than 300km from sevastopol. ukrainian marine drones were also said to have been behind an attack two weeks ago on the bridge linking occupied crimea with russia. hours earlier, the mayor of moscow said there'd been another drone attack on the capital's business district, the second in three days. authorities say a drone hit the same tower block that was struck on sunday. it houses the ministry

of economic development. you can see some of the damage in these pictures. reports say a number of other drones were destroyed by air defence systems. 0n the ground in ukraine, officials in kharkiv say russian drones hit populated areas overnight and destroyed two floors of a college dormitory. i've been speaking to our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse. i asked him whether we can be sure the recent drone attacks in russia were carried out by ukraine. i don't think we can say for certain it is ukraine. i think there have been cases in the past when kyiv has appeared to be responsible, with these drone strikes deep inside either russian territory or russian—controlled territory inside ukraine. but it's extremely difficult. all we are going on at the moment is what the russian officials are saying, the mayor of moscow

is saying in terms of another night of ukrainian drones, they claim, being shot down, and the same skyscraper being damaged. and we have this unverified footage of a high—rise floor with shattered glass. it's very murky. and then you have the coupling allegation where, once again, these unmanned boats, these marine drones, are allegedly used against russia's black sea fleet. we're told they were all intercepted. but we are talking about places that are essentially russian fortresses. that's what the kremlin likes to portray. and so i think there are two likely scenarios here. it could, of course, be ukraine, it's done this kind of thing before. and these kind of attacks do apply psychological pressure. you're not going to suddenly see ukrainian troops crossing the border to try and take russian territory.

this has always been about defending for kyiv, and that's also something its western allies are incredibly nervous about. but we have to remind ourselves that russia is a country which uses false flag operations, where it stages events to justify military operations. and it's also a country that has weathered an attempted mutiny in recent months. so, we really do need to be bright—eyed and look at more than than one possibility here, until more information comes in. but it's interesting, ukraine has attacks from the sky on a daily basis, but when we see them in in russia, it gets a lot more attention. james, in terms of the bigger picture, what does this actually mean? because, as you say, you know, these attacks happen on a daily basis in ukraine. and clearly this is gaining quite a bit of attention because we don't really hear about these attacks in russia. it's not happened as much before. no. i mean, we've seen more than 100 drone attacks like this where

we've seen typically energy infrastructure hit. we've seen military sites hit. and of late, we have seen drones flying through russia's capital there. they've got propeller engines. and it's a strange mirror image with the iranian—made drones that we see flying through cities like kyiv where, because they're so slow, they make it through occasionally air defense systems and can still cause significant damage. i think russia's goal in its air strikes of ukraine is to suppress the population, is to lower morale. they have never really done anything to influence military developments on the battlefield. but when you see these drone strikes inside russia, i think it puts pressure on the population because the majority of the russian population appear to support this war. to your home and if you listen to what president zelensky, for example, says in terms of the war coming to their doorstep, and you make that connection, then that makes vladimir putin's job all the more difficult, in both trying to justify the invasion and mobilize more men

for his his faltering war effort. so it is interesting in terms of a mirror image, it's far from a mirror image, but it's interesting the different effect these air strikes have, depending on what side of the border you're on. a car crash near the irish border has left two teenagers dead and two other people critically ill. the two girls aged 16 and 17 died in the collision on the n54 road, near clones, in county monaghan, on monday evening. an 18—year—old woman and the 60—year—old man who was driving are in critical condition in hospital. they were travelling to a dance for teenage school—leavers. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk.

julie in burnham has spent the past year hosting ukrainian families. today, she spoke to natalii, who has since returned to kyiv with her son. how are things in kyiv at the moment? everything is unpredictable here in ukraine, in kyiv, so you never know what happens. as if to prove it, here is what happened within minutes of the zoom call ending. sirens blaring. sirens warning of shelling in kyiv again. 700 ukrainian families are being hosted in somerset currently, but more are needed. we had more hosts at the beginning than we needed. but that has very much changed, and i think a lot of that is down to the cost of living crisis. if the war carries on as it is going, we are going to really need more support from residents here in somerset. julie had two families staying at once. it is the best thing we have ever done.

you're live with bbc news. france says it will to begin evacuating its nationals from niger on tuesday. french ministers made the decision after meeting in paris, and say it was prompted by the worsening security situation after last week's military coup. france is also offering to evacuate other european nationals. it comes after two of niger's neighbours, burkina faso and mali, said they would view any foreign military intervention in niger as a declaration of war on themselves. the coup leaders have accused france of preparing to attack. on sunday, the regional bloc ecowas gave niger's military seven days to restore democratic rule. myanmar�*s military rulers have reduced the sentence of aung san suu kyi, the civilian leader they deposed in a coup two years ago. it's thought she's been pardoned on five charges, but more than a dozen others remain

and she will stay in detention. the former civilian president win myint, who was also imprisoned after the coup, has had his sentence reduced as well. the announcement was part of an amnesty for 7000 prisoners to mark a buddhist festival, but it's unclear why the burmese military has pardoned the top leaders. i asked our south east asia correspondentjonathan head what the pardons means for aung san suu kyi and myanmar�*s military leadership. sentences she was given, which amounted to 33 years, was reallyjust a number. nobody ever believed that this represented any serious judicial process. aung san suu kyi essentially has been a political pawn ever since she was detained right after the military coup. and it's always been assumed that at some point, the military would want to bring her into play if they were ready to do some kind of deal to end the conflict. now, we don't know how far along that path they've come, but this is the first time aung san suu kyi has been included in an amnesty. it's the first significant reduction in the sentence since she was sent

to prison last year, and they have also moved her to house arrest. none of these things is happening just because they suddenly got soft—hearted. they'll be signaling that they are looking for some kind of accommodation. now, there's been an uptick in diplomacy as well in myanmar, some of it controversial, with neighbouring countries like china and thailand going to talk to the military. the ousted, elected government opposes this. they say "you should be talking to us." i mean, they won an election just before the coup. many other governments in asia say this is not the right time to be talking to the military. there should be a united stand. but there is more diplomatic movement going on. aung san suu kyi, her stature is so, so important in myanmar that if there is any deal to be done in what is now a very, very bitter civil war, she would almost certainly have to be a part of it. and we would expect to see a softening of her conditions before that happened. and, jonathan, what does this mean in terms of the public? so, as you say, there's progress here towards, kind of,

perhaps brokering something, but how are people reacting to it? well, i think a lot of people will be very, very skeptical. first of all, aung san suu kyi has been in isolation, not able to talk to anyone, really, except occasionally her lawyers since she was detained. nobody knows what her views are. the thai foreign minister managed to meet her on a much criticized visit to myanmar last month and claimed that she said she wanted dialogue. a lot of people are saying she's not a free agent. how can anyone know what she thinks? also, although she's still much loved around the country, a lot of younger activists who've been the most courageous in resisting the military — many of them have lost their lives doing it — believe that aung san suu kyi, if she wants to compromise, would not represent the country. they argue that what's happened since the coup has been so diabolical that they must keep campaigning to defeat the military completely and to get it out of politics. the military�*s been involved in politics in myanmar ever since it became an independent country in 19118 and they want to end that. so they're not going to be interested in a deal — even if aung san suu kyi is there —

that involves compromising and leaving the military with quite a lot of power and influence. and in terms of what happens with the president, he's also been pardoned on a few charges as well. does that perhaps pave a road for him to freedom as well? well, yeah, he was the constitutional president. you have to remember, aung san suu kyi, although she led her party and was by far the most popular politician, was barred by the constitution from being the president. so she chose an ally, meant to be her president, although she made most of the important decisions. so they're really a couple, they can't be separated. constitutionally, he was the president who was illegally deposed by the military and so he would inevitably have to be part of any negotiations. but make no mistake, aung san suu kyi would still be the key figure if there is some kind of diplomatic process to end this terrible war that's gone on, but there are so many

obstacles to it and the military themselves have not made it clear at all how far they're willing to go to end the very, very hard line they've taken against their opponents. jonathan, just briefly, in terms of aung san suu kyi's popularity as a figure in in her country, in myanmar, what would you say that is at the moment? how does it stand? look, she's an enormous figure, nobody else comes close. you know, she when you say iconic, i mean, it really applies to her. in some parts of myanmar, where some of the fiercest resistance is taking place at terrible cost against the military, they really revere her. but a lot of younger burmese don't buy the idea that she's essential. they're saying that she made a lot of mistakes in power and that a new form of politics, one that's much more inclusive, much less nationalistic, needs needs to come in. and they feel that at her age, at 78 years old, maybe her central role in burmese politics has passed. the uk may launch its first rocket into space from an island north of the scottish mainland. the land on unst, one of the shetland islands, was bought by a husband and wife team 15 years ago.

now the site could now be just weeks away from securing a spaceport licence. 0ur correspondent laura goodwin has more details. this is the most northern tip of the united kingdom, unst, in the shetland isles. it's home to 700 people, plenty of sheep, even a pod of orca whales, and soon could also be the base for the uk's first vertical spaceport. this launch pad behind me, launch pad freda, could soon have a 29m rocket on top of it, carrying small satellites into space. it's one of three that have been built here at the saxavord space centre and their hope is that this could soon become a pivotal part of the uk's space programme. many people are wanting to get small satellites into space to help with connectivity and also weather and climate monitoring. they are awaiting final approvals from the civil aviation authority. the hope is that, once that's complete, a suborbital launch

could be completed by the end of this year, with actual rockets going up into space by the middle of next year. in the women's world cup, defending champions the usa suffered a huge scare against world cup newbies portugal before scraping through to the last 16. they drew 0—0 with portugal — with the portuguese hitting the post in the closing stages. the usa will now face the winners of group g. and the netherlands topped group e of the women's world cup ahead of the united states as they beat vietnam 7—0. in just under an hour's time, england will face china, while denmark will face haiti in group d. some england fans are getting ready to watch that match against china in croydon. and our correspondent joe inwood is with them. it's quite busy for this time of the

morning? it's quite busy for this time of the mornin:? ~ , it's quite busy for this time of the mornin: ? ~ ,,., , ., ., morning? absolutely, we are more than an hour— morning? absolutely, we are more than an hour away _ morning? absolutely, we are more than an hour away and _ morning? absolutely, we are more than an hour away and we - morning? absolutely, we are more than an hour away and we have - than an hour away and we have already hundred people here, they think they should be 200 people watching the game. they have had a great crowd here and such is the excitement about the women's world cup, we have games going on, professional footballers taking on anyone who will come. what people really cook it out for is to see what happens in the big screen. we have england fans are very excited, how are you feeling?— have england fans are very excited, how are you feeling?- in . have england fans are very excited, how are you feeling?- in a i how are you feeling? excited. in a few more words, _ how are you feeling? excited. in a few more words, what's _ how are you feeling? excited. in a few more words, what's your - few more words, what's your expectation? few more words, what's your animation?— few more words, what's your expectation? few more words, what's your exectation? . g ., , ., expectation? lauren james to get another goal. — expectation? lauren james to get another goal, looking _ expectation? lauren james to get another goal, looking forward - expectation? lauren james to get another goal, looking forward to l another goal, looking forward to that _ another goal, looking forward to that. �* �* , ., , , another goal, looking forward to that. �* �* i, ., ., ., that. aren't you guys are all at teachers? _ that. aren't you guys are all at teachers? how _ that. aren't you guys are all at teachers? how have _ that. aren't you guys are all at teachers? how have you - that. aren't you guys are all at teachers? how have you found that. aren't you guys are all at - teachers? how have you found your pupils and the young people you work with reacting to the tournament? would excited about it, they have

never _ would excited about it, they have never seen — would excited about it, they have never seen this _ would excited about it, they have never seen this before _ would excited about it, they have never seen this before with - never seen this before with schoolkids. _ never seen this before with schoolkids._ never seen this before with schoolkids. ., , , ., , , schoolkids. you see this as a step chan . e, schoolkids. you see this as a step change. have _ schoolkids. you see this as a step change, have you _ schoolkids. you see this as a step change, have you seen _ schoolkids. you see this as a step change, have you seen more - schoolkids. you see this as a step change, have you seen more girlsj change, have you seen more girls getting involved?— getting involved? especially in secondary schools, _ getting involved? especially in | secondary schools, absolutely. getting involved? especially in - secondary schools, absolutely. and in terms of — secondary schools, absolutely. and in terms of this _ secondary schools, absolutely. in terms of this game today, how england is going to do?— in terms of this game today, how england is going to do? 3-0, i would sa . you england is going to do? 3-0, i would say- you are — england is going to do? 3-0, i would say. you are also _ england is going to do? 3-0, i would say. you are also a _ england is going to do? 3-0, i would say. you are also a teacher, - england is going to do? 3-0, i would say. you are also a teacher, what - england is going to do? 3-0, i would say. you are also a teacher, what if. say. you are also a teacher, what if ou made say. you are also a teacher, what if you made of— say. you are also a teacher, what if you made of the — say. you are also a teacher, what if you made of the tournament - say. you are also a teacher, what if you made of the tournament so - say. you are also a teacher, what if| you made of the tournament so far? it's been really lovely to see. growing _ it's been really lovely to see. growing up, all my family are massive — growing up, all my family are massive football fans, so to see england — massive football fans, so to see england women that do so well and hem _ england women that do so well and hem it's_ england women that do so well and be... it's sitting on the edge of your— be... it's sitting on the edge of your seat— be... it's sitting on the edge of your seat every single time and thate— your seat every single time and that's been so fun and so it life—changing for all that young - irls life—changing for all that young girls who — life—changing for all that young girls who want to play football as welt _ girls who want to play football as well. ., ., . ., , , , well. england reach massive heights b winnin: well. england reach massive heights by winning the _ well. england reach massive heights by winning the euros, _ well. england reach massive heights by winning the euros, some - well. england reach massive heights by winning the euros, some peoplel by winning the euros, some people say they have not got to the same heights yet? it

say they have not got to the same heights yet?— heights yet? it has 'ust been 1-0 wins so rah heights yet? it has 'ust been 1-0 wins so far as _ heights yet? it hasjust been 1-0 wins so far as hopefully - heights yet? it hasjust been 1-0 wins so far as hopefully we - heights yet? it hasjust been 1-0 wins so far as hopefully we start | wins so far as hopefully we start smashing — wins so far as hopefully we start smashing it after the group stage. to keep _ smashing it after the group stage. to keep what have your feelings been? _ to keep what have your feelings been?, , to keep what have your feelings been? , . . to keep what have your feelings been? , ., ., ., . been? just amazing, watching eve one been? just amazing, watching everyone get _ been? just amazing, watching everyone get hyped _ been? just amazing, watching everyone get hyped up - been? just amazing, watching everyone get hyped up and i been? just amazing, watching i everyone get hyped up and also been? just amazing, watching - everyone get hyped up and also the reactions— everyone get hyped up and also the reactions afterwards, _ everyone get hyped up and also the reactions afterwards, everybody - reactions afterwards, everybody getting — reactions afterwards, everybody getting behind _ reactions afterwards, everybody getting behind it _ reactions afterwards, everybody getting behind it and _ reactions afterwards, everybody getting behind it and seeing - getting behind it and seeing everyone _ getting behind it and seeing everyone come _ getting behind it and seeing everyone come together- getting behind it and seeing everyone come together toi getting behind it and seeing - everyone come together to support their team _ everyone come together to support theirteam is— everyone come together to support their team is amazing. _ everyone come together to support their team is amazing.— everyone come together to support their team is amazing. thank you so much. their team is amazing. thank you so much- there — their team is amazing. thank you so much. there are _ their team is amazing. thank you so much. there are 13,000 _ their team is amazing. thank you so much. there are 13,000 people - much. there are 13,000 people expected to be in the stadium to watch england versus china but a couple of hundred here all hoping for the right result. of england even get a a draw they go through as group winners. even get a a draw they go through as group winners-— group winners. good to see people kickin: a group winners. good to see people kicking a ball— group winners. good to see people kicking a ball around _ group winners. good to see people kicking a ball around at _ group winners. good to see people kicking a ball around at the - kicking a ball around at the background there to get in the mood for the game. kick off is in about half hour and all the build—up contunues

on the bbc news website. you can get the latest on the match and all the scoring on our website. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. the weather for the next few days will remain pretty unsettled. it will be wet and went times and also cool, especially so on thursday when the wind changes direction and that in itself will pull in at some shower. what we have today are showers across northern ireland and northern england. scattered showers across northern scotland and southern england. by the end of the afternoon, a more substantial rain at showing its hands across the far southwest and

the winds strengthening. temperatures fitting in the right, 17 a newcastle, high of 22 in london. 0vernight, the low pressure bringing this rain and windy conditions pushes it northwards and eastwards. the driest conditions will be costly for north of scotland and the winds are strengthening from the south western approaches and also the english channel. as a result, it will not be a cold night, temperatures falling to between 11 and 17. low pressure moving across us taking these wet conditions with it. the strongest conditions across southern areas and the met office has a weather warning for there. gusts up to gale force and across the country we will see the rain it move steadily north and east. sum could be heavy and also thundery. that gusts up to 50mph in the southwest and the english channel but with exposure they could be

higher than that. temperatures up to 21 degrees but if you are in the wind and the rain, it will feel cool wind and the rain, it will feel cool. during wednesday evening and into thursday, that low pressure pulls away and the wind changes the direction to a more northerly components, that is a co—director for and will pull in showers, especially in areas adjacent to the wind. it will drag on a fair bit cloud, some showers heavy, the odd rumble of thunder in eastern england and these are the temperatures, 15 up and these are the temperatures, 15 up to 21 degrees. again, north to south. into thursday, friday, i should say, seeon unsettled conditions through the course of the weekend and temperatures below average for the time of year.

trading up: a consumer shift to pricier brands boosts profits for the drinks giant diageo. and china ramps up the trade war with europe and the us, by banning the export of two critical metals which are key for smartphones and medical supplies.

welcome to world business report. more on those stories for you and just a second. 0il giant bp has just reported second quarter profits of $2.6 billion dollars. despite the big number, it's lower than analysts expectations and 70% down when compared to the year before. still bp shareholders should be pleased — the energy giant decided to boost its dividend by 10% and increase it's share buy—back programme by $1.5 billion. speaking now to mike fulwood who's a senior research fellow at the oxford institute for energy studies. good to have you with us. a big number there. what is behind the sets of figures? it is your assessment of what they mean. thank ou. as he assessment of what they mean. thank you- as he said. _ assessment of what they mean. thank you. as he said, it _ assessment of what they mean. thank you. as he said, it is _ assessment of what they mean. thank you. as he said, it is now— assessment of what they mean. thank you. as he said, it is now about - you. as he said, it is now about 70%. the live profit, with some of the adjustments were down by 55% and it was largely to do with