and russian president vladimir putin that could impact the war in ukraine. the leaders are set to discuss north korea supplying russia with weapons for use in ukraine. the new york times reports mr kim may seek food aid and technology used in satellites and nuclear—powered submarines from russia. this would be a rare trip abroad for kim jong—un, if the negotiations take place. the white house has confirmed the planned trip to the bbc�*s partner, cbs news, and put out a statement saying:

joining me now live isjean lee. she's the former ap pyongyang bureau chief and current co—host of the bbc podcast the lazarus heist. thank you for being back on the programme. what's the significance of this potential deal between two countries that are becoming even more isolated on the world stage? i think you laid it out. if the two leaders do meet and arrange a deal of some sort, this is a deal that is possibly going to help the russian resident extend that war ukraine by supplying him with munitions and in exchange possibly food that north korea needs, but beyond that, quite possibly technology that north korea needs to take its weapons

programme to the next level and that certainly has implications that certainly has implications that have a far greater reach because it is about nuclear proliferation and so it may be that the leaders meet, they hold a high level summit, lots of pomp and propaganda, but it will be interesting to see what they say about the deals that come up but i have a feeling they will not admit to any kind of a weapons dealer which they both know would be illicit activity as members of the un. we are watching some footage of previous meetings between the two leaders. what would you make between another potential face—to—face meeting between kim jong—un face—to—face meeting between kimjong—un and face—to—face meeting between kim jong—un and vladimir face—to—face meeting between kimjong—un and vladimir putin in russia? north korea's leader rarely leaves the country. this is an interesting development. to provide context, north korea has been in isolation since january 2020 and we assume that is because

of the covid pandemic but i believe the reason goes beyond that and that is because nuclear talks broke down in 2019 between the united states and north korea and if that is when i started to see north korea retreat, kimjong—un korea retreat, kim jong—un closing korea retreat, kimjong—un closing up bodice, reshape the narrative and strategy and now he is emerging at a time when, frankly, this border closure has been so devastating to the economy. there are a couple of things out. he is setting himself up for a reemergence but also he needs to tell his people, listen, we may have been closed off for 3.5 years but this super palette and ally russia has not forgotten about us. so really, for kimjong—un, if he does make this trip, he is looking for those photos that he can take back to north korea. that is a political propaganda, part of it, but clearly that is going to be

much more coming out of that meeting that we should be concerned about in the rest of the world. concerned about in the rest of the world-— concerned about in the rest of the world. russia seems to be seekin: the world. russia seems to be seeking weapons _ the world. russia seems to be seeking weapons for _ the world. russia seems to be seeking weapons for its - seeking weapons for its continued war in ukraine. how effective are north korea's weapons? how much might they help russia? on the part of president putin, this is a time where he is increasingly isolated, kind of digging at the bottom of the barrel when he is looking for friends like north korea but north korea is a country that did invest in its military�*s conventional weapons for many, many years. kim jong—un has been investing in nuclear weapons. his father invested in conventional weapons, a lot of conventional weapons, a lot of conventional weaponry we are seeing russia use in ukraine and so this is a time of the rare opportunity for north korea to step up and say, hey, we have something you need. north korea has denied supplying these weapons and other types of partnerships but

this is an interesting moment where we are seeing this come out and us officials saying we want do know we are seeing this, we are trying to draw attention to it, we know what you're doing. we attention to it, we know what you're doing-— attention to it, we know what you're doing. we have seen this relationship _ you're doing. we have seen this relationship between _ you're doing. we have seen this relationship between north - relationship between north korea and russia get a little bit closer. how would that tight relationship impact the rest of the world? 50. tight relationship impact the rest of the world?— tight relationship impact the rest of the world? so, this is a traditional _ rest of the world? so, this is a traditional alliance, - rest of the world? so, this is a traditional alliance, it - rest of the world? so, this is a traditional alliance, it has i a traditional alliance, it has not always been so strong so seeing the restoration of this alliance also serves as a reminder of this global divide between the us and the waste and russia, china and allies like north korea on the other side, isjust deepening but i would say it really comes down to the extension of the conflict and also with this partnership it is going to be so much harder at the un security council for the us and its allies and the waste to

really press ahead with more sanctions to stop both russia, china and north korea. —— and the west. if this doesn't help north korea with its nuclear programme, we should be worried if this partnership is strengthening and it has implications far beyond the peninsula. implications far beyond the peninsula-— implications far beyond the peninsula. ., ~ . peninsula. thank you so much forjoining _ peninsula. thank you so much forjoining us. _ peninsula. thank you so much forjoining us. thank - peninsula. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. - my colleague catriona perry spoke with evelyn farkas, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for russia, ukraine, and eurasia. they discussed that kim—putin meeting, plus ukraine's latest military shakeup and the conference she's attending on putin, in tbilisi, georgia. ifi if i can start with a story that the new york times is reporting that kim jong—un is to travel to russia to meet with vladimir putin to discuss weapons and to be given to

russia to help with the war in ukraine in exchange for satellite and submarine technology and food aid for north korea. you have been to north korea. you have been to north korea, what you make of this breaking story?— this breaking story? well, i would say _ this breaking story? well, i would say first _ this breaking story? well, i would say first of _ this breaking story? well, i would say first of all, - this breaking story? well, i would say first of all, it - this breaking story? well, i would say first of all, it is l would say first of all, it is sort of pathetic that russia has to rely on north korea for weapons. this one is a great superpower relying on its small, veryjunior partner, if you will, under communism, and now of course they continue to have a convenient relationship and russia is a member of the security council, russia was on the security council and voted for all of the sanctions on north korea for their illegal nuclear weapons programme. the world band north korea from selling weapons and we don't know sanctions are perfect but this is a very public sanction busting by a card—carrying member of the un security council so it is also another

one of vladimir putin blatant attempt to upend the international order. can the international _ international order. can the international community . international order. can the international community do i international community do anything about the situation? well, of course diplomatically they can and they should do everything they can to censure russia and north korea, of course north korea is aiding and abetting a genocidal war being waged against ukrainian people, against innocent civilians, by the russian government. they are of course under pressure from the waste. trying to get attention from the world with his weapons programme and of course russia feels isolated. vladimir putin is weak, he has been demonstrated to be weak on the international stage and his under arrest warrant by the international criminal court and i could go on.- and i could go on. talking about ukraine _ and i could go on. talking| about ukraine specifically, president zelensky has removed his defence minister as part of his defence minister as part of his wider investigation into corruption and that is not to say they have been any charges

against oleksii reznikov, he has not been charged presently in any way but what does it mean for the current state of the warrant? i mean for the current state of the warrant?— the warrant? i think it is a really positive _ the warrant? i think it is a really positive sign - the warrant? i think it is a l really positive sign because the warrant? i think it is a i really positive sign because i have travelled around the world, meeting with defence ministers from all kinds of countries, urging them to reform, to root out corruption, to make sure the defence ministry is are up to western democratic standards in many cases and, often time, if they are waging a war and they are reluctant reformers, they will use the war as an excuse and in this case president zelensky did not do that. he took the courageous move to make a move against corruption. the defence minister looked ready on day one to do something about it, someone with a business background and somewhat with experience in ukraine rooting out corruption in ukraine and privatising a very transparent fashion so i am taking a great deal of encouragement from this that president zelensky means

but he says. he said still the anticorruption president while he is also a wartime president. ukraine has a lot of some successes on the counter events in the past week. does that call that into question now that the defence minister has been changed? i that the defence minister has been changed?— that the defence minister has been changed? i think these are two separate — been changed? i think these are two separate things. _ been changed? i think these are two separate things. i _ been changed? i think these are two separate things. i am - been changed? i think these are two separate things. i am here i two separate things. i am here at the du plessis conference at the mccain institute without georgian partners, the epc... pprc rather. and at the institute. we have had a lot of interesting conversations about the progress of the war and i think that most people believe that the war progressed this far has not been a failure, so it is not a firing because it is not going as president zelensky thought it should proceed. my sense this is truly related to corruption, although of course it is possible he thought he needed some fresh blood and fresh advising on the war as well.

blood and fresh advising on the war as well-— war as well. you mention you are at the _ war as well. you mention you are at the conference - war as well. you mention you are at the conference in - are at the conference in tabriz, georgia, the 15th anniversary of russia invading georgia and it continuous occupied territory there. georgia has not impose international sanctions on russia and in fact it has seen its trade go up with russia since the war began. do you see that situation, that relationship continuing? unfortunately, do not see any indications that it is going to change. georgia now is in a grey zone of its own making, of the government's making, not the government's making, not the making of the georgian people, not the desire of the georgian people but this government is in effect aligning with vladimir putin because anna participating in sanctions against russia and they allow goods to flow freely and if this helps the russian military effort against ukraine and so that is problematic. the future of georgia is very much in question under this government.- in question under this covernment. ., ., government. you mentioned the eu membership, _ government. you mentioned the eu membership, they _ government. you mentioned the eu membership, they will- government. you mentioned the eu membership, they will make | government. you mentioned the | eu membership, they will make a decision on that by the end of

the hour, given the small pace and hitting the goals, do you think georgia will meet that deadline?— think georgia will meet that deadline? ., ., ., deadline? again, our georgian colleagues _ deadline? again, our georgian colleagues who _ deadline? again, our georgian colleagues who have _ deadline? again, our georgian colleagues who have been - colleagues who have been speaking at this to please the conference today and tomorrow as well, they are very pessimistic and they do not believe this government will do the 12 things the european union is requiring. most significantly problematic is the deep oligarch isolation. i do not show up how they would do not show up how they would do that. there is one oligarch funding the main political party and is basically buying off opposition and there is a strong civil society pointing all of this out but whether the government has the world to turn against the man that has given them all the power is an open question and one that right now nobody is optimistic about the ansah being yes. defeating vladimir putin when

it comes to the warrior cane is the theme of the conference. can he be defeated? absolutely but i think the reason we picked defending vladimir putin as a theme of our conference because last year it was actually helping ukraine to victory, was a recognition that it will not be enough just to defeat vladimir putin or remove graffiti from the political scene but it is pertinent is or trump is, these sicknesses, these authoritarian tendencies, these authoritarian tendencies, the anti— human rights regimes, and the power that they exert across the globe, putting their tentacles into democratic societies and other struggling societies and other struggling societies to try and gain advantage, whether it is in africa, latin america, europe orthe africa, latin america, europe or the united states, is what we're trying also to draw attention to here.- we're trying also to draw attention to here. thank you so much for speaking _ attention to here. thank you so much for speaking to _ attention to here. thank you so much for speaking to on - attention to here. thank you so much for speaking to on bbc. much for speaking to on bbc news. ., ~ much for speaking to on bbc

news. . ~ , ., talks between russia's vladimir putin and turkish president recep tayyip erdogan to revive the black sea grain initiative have ended without a deal. turkey helped broker the agreement alongside the united nations in 2022 that russia backed out of injuly. putin stated that russia would only return to the deal once its conditions are met, including removing obstacles its own food and fertilizer exports, and its lack of access to the swift financial transaction system. for his part, mr erdogan appeared hopeful that a deal could be reached soon. meanwhile, ukraine has claimed a russian drone landed on romanian territory, during a series of strikes on a neighboring ukrainian city — claims romania denies. during a press conference monday, ukraine's foreign minister dymtro kuleba said ukraine has photographic evidence supporting its claim, but bbc verify has not been able to authenticate the image. responding to the claims, romanian foreign minister luminita odobescu said

"of course, there is a risk of accidents or incidents, but for the time being, it was not the case." it's not the first time ukraine has accused russia of a missile landing in a neighboring country. last november a missile landed in poland during a russian air attack and ukraine initially claimed it was a russian missile, but it turned out to likely be a stray ukrainian air defence missile. here in washingon, first ladyjill biden has we have making news now from washington. —— breaking news. here in washingon, first ladyjill biden has tested positive for covid. her office says she is currently experiencing only mild symptoms, and will remain at their home in rehoboth beach, delaware. as for the president, the white house isued a statement saying quote: "following the first lady's positive test for covid—i9, president biden was administered a covid test this evening. the president tested negative. the president will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: in syria, people took to the streets of suwaydah province — the latest in a wave of protests against president bashar al—assad. the demonstrations started a couple of weeks ago over poor living conditions and appear to have spiraled into renewed calls for political change. such prolonged anti—government protests outside of opposition—controlled areas are rare in syria. new video shows a caravan of cars and vans leaving the burning man festival site in nevada's black rock desert. rare rainstorms turned the area into a muddy mess, leaving the 70,000 attendees stranded. some attempted to walk nearly ten kilometres to the nearest

road with plastic bags on their feet. that's about six miles. a major new report has found that invasive species are spreading around the world faster than ever. the un convention on biodiversity says that's costing the global economy billions each year in damaged crops and diseases. record sightings of asian hornets have already been wreaking havoc in mainland europe and threaten the uk. the insects feed on native bees and wasps, damaging you're live with bbc news. turning to spain, where at least three people have died and others remain missing, after record rainfall caused flooding in the center of the country. roads and train lines had to be closed. officials used helicopters to reach some of those affected. guy hedgecoe has the latest. this weather event was a dramatic and deadly end to the spanish summer, striking just as many people were returning to work after the holidays. the central province of toledo was one of the worst hit areas. a man died after being trapped in a lift there, apparently because of the flooding. another man was already dead when rescue services reached him near his car. just west of madrid,

one man is still missing after his car was swept away, although his ten—year—old son was rescued after clinging to a tree for eight hours. just over a week ago, many parts of the country were seeing temperatures of up to a0 celsius. i think you should keep going and build just over a week ago, many parts of the country were seeing temperatures of up to a0 celsius. spain often sees heavy rain at the end of the summer but this weather event, caused by a mass of low pressure, has been much more extreme than normal. in and around madrid, where rivers burst their banks, flooding has damaged homes and left many residents struggling to keep the water out. 200 people were evacuated. translation: the water came into the house - as if it was a wave. it went upstairs and we panicked a bit. we tried to solve the problem as best we could. we put the dog on the roof. the flooding caused severe travel disruption with an estimated 60,000 rail passengers affected.

the high—speed rail link between madrid and the southern andalusia region has now resumed but other services have been disrupted throughout the day. the extreme weather has now eased off. guy hedgecoe, bbc news, madrid. we want to look now at the intersection of rising inflation, and child exploitation. as rising prices add more pressure to the cost of living in many parts of the globe, there are growing concerns over a corresponding increase in the number of children forced into commercial sexual exploitation. the international labour organisation says an estimated 1.7 million children were involved in such practices within the last year. the ilo's director general said the situation was getting worse — and often it was down to the way families felt they had to respond to global inflation. in some families, it really has made the difference between having one meal a day or not. therefore, the temptation

of bringing the young girl, for example, to the street or try to entice them to go for the sex work increases. therefore increases the risk of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and there for the worst form of child labour. putting that into context, commercial sexual exploitation is a murky issue, with many countries having no publicly available database for the illegal activity. kenya is one such nation — it has been identified by the us state department as both a source, a transit country, and a destination for the crime. one recent study estimated that more than 21100 children, between the ages of 13 and 17, were currently subject to sexual exploitation in two regions bordering the port city of mombasa. this week bbc news is bringing you a special series on the impact of the cost of living crisis on children around the world. ourfirst report comes from our correspondent barbara

plett usher, and we should warn you, you may find some of the details distressing. in mombasa, life is hard for those on the margins, but tough economic times are making it even harder, forcing some parents to take painful decisions. this mother washes clothes a few times a week to support her three children. she doesn't want us to use her name. the money for school fees quickly runs out. there's barely enough for food, so her daughter has to find work. she's started selling her body. she's14 years old. as a parent, it's not easy to tell a child to do something like that. i would like her to go

to school like other children, but because i don't have any means, she's forced to do thatjob. my heart is broken and i don't want it to continue. she's not the only one. we've spoken with a woman who runs a brothel. she told us she's been getting more and more young girls. at this shelter, a rare moment ofjoy celebrating a birthday party. these children were abused, abandoned or trafficked, some forced into the sex trade. rescue centres are struggling to meet the growing needs. everyone wants to survive. they've been giving away their children for exchange of money. and has it always been that way, or is it more so now? now it's more so because there is no money. there is no money. there is nojob. "we are tired." that's the chant at protests against rising prices and higher taxes.

there's anger and frustration across the country. it's the poorest kenyans who've been hit the hardest. and in mombasa, they can tap into a thriving business. mombasa has long been a well—known hub for child sex tourism, but covid and the increasingly harsh cost of living have helped push the sex trade online and further underground, drawing even more children into the industry. kenyan police are fighting back against the dark trade in child sex. they track down suspects using cyber tips from a database in the united states. then, search phones and computer drives for explicit material about children. up against an economy of depravity that feeds on desperation. this woman is in charge of the unit. she says there's no data on whether the recent cost of living crisis has

driven more children into the sex trade. but her team has begun monitoring it. of course, of course it is a major contributor into child sex trafficking. so we would say that poverty, would say that unemployment. there are so many children that are dropping out of school. and then you find that they're getting to this especially in the coastal region. one girl who hasn't escaped the streets told me about the despair that shapes her young life. we're using her words, but not her voice. i am afraid, because i know that when you're sleeping with a man, you can get hiv or become pregnant. sometimes i feel so hungry. and when i look at other children, they don't suffer. sometimes i think that i have no reason to live. barbara plett usher, bbc news, mombasa.

that's all from us for now, i'm carl nasman. i'll be back at the top of the hour with the latest headlines. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. the weather story so far this week has been dominated by sunshine and heat. and i suspect as we go through the week ahead, it's all going to be about numbers. 30 degrees was recorded on monday across parts of england and wales. highest temperatures of the summer �*23 was back injune with 32.2 celsius, but there is a possibility as we go through the week with heat and humidity building, that we could see 32 degrees, maybe even higher. which would be ironic because september is the start of meteorological autumn. for tuesday, though on the whole will start off with a little bit

of low cloud, mist and fog across eastern england and maybe shrouding the far north of scotland, but that will quickly burn away. a lot of sunshine coming through, generally light winds. and once again, it is going to feel warm, if not hot in many places with temperatures peaking once again at around 29 or 30 degrees. now, as we move out of tuesday into the early hours of wednesday morning, we'll see yet again more low cloud, mist and fog developing. a little bit more extensive, perhaps coming in across eastern england. but it will be a mild at night, temperatures widely into the mid—teens. so as we move into wednesday, we're still under this influence of high pressure with lows sitting out across iberia. and that's driving in this southerly breeze, so it will turn increasingly more humid as we go through wednesday and thursday. and it's wednesday and thursday that we may well see those temperatures peaking. so to start off on wednesday, yes, perhaps a murky start, but it won't be long before that sunshine breaks through and we will see those temperatures continuing to climb with that light

southerly wind direction. so highs possible of 31, maybe a degree or so higher as well. we will keep a very close eye on that as we go through the day on wednesday. into thursday, there's a risk of a few thundery downpours breaking out with that increasing humidity, they should be fairly isolated. but if you catch one, you may well know about them and they're likely to be up through the north—west. top temperatures generally of around 21, again into the low 30s across central and southern parts of england and wales. the dry, settled conditions continue into the weekend with the risk potentially of some rain, perhaps from monday onwards. take care.

south—east asian leaders gather injakarta to talk trade, but several issue, including how to work with the us and china loom large. we'll have the latest. plus, finfluencers. what are they and what is the market? we dive into the world of financial influencers. hello and welcome to asia business report. the big developing story we're focusing

on south east asian leaders have gathered injakarta for a summit that is expected to see progress on green infrastructure, food security and the digital economy. the ten members of asean have found it harder to agree on other issues, including territorial disputes and how to work with us and china. for a closer look at what we can reasonably expect from the summit, i spoke to someone who specialises in research and governance and financial innovation. basically, their main theme of, if you like, this year's summit, is really, sustainable economic growth. and that is the main issue. however, there are other issues that they need to deal with and some of them are difficult ones like issues in myanmar, and also integrating timor—leste as part of the asean group. at the same time, they're dealing with some of the issues with regard to the indo—pacific, which includes also the conflicts, if you like, and tensions

in the south china sea.