hello and welcome. we start this hour with news that the world health organization has declared the mpox outbreak in parts of africa a public health emergency of international concern. the disease, formerly known as monkey pox, has spread rapidly since the beginning of the year. an initial outbreak in the democratic republic of congo has spread across parts of central and east africa. in the drc, there have been 15,600 cases since the start of the year and more than 500 deaths. health officials say the new strain of mpox may be the most deadly yet. it's transmitted through close contact, including sexual contact, it causes flu—like symptoms and skin lesions. dr sarah pitt, virologist at the university of brighton. she explains to me why this outbreak may well spiral out of control.

the difference is this is a slightly different strain the difference is this is a slightly different strain of the mpox virus, the one which is normally found in central africa which is a more deadly strain. you are more likely to develop serious disease and there is a greater risk of people dying, although i stressed it is a low risk, people still get mild disease and recover without medical intervention but this is nasty and has actually changed... this strain of the virus, even though it is the version normally found in central africa, it is also slightly changed, so a little nastier than the one we normally see in central africa, and that is why it is a concern.— it is a concern. what causes a strain to _ it is a concern. what causes a strain to become _ it is a concern. what causes a strain to become more - it is a concern. what causes a strain to become more fatal? | it is a concern. what causes a i strain to become more fatal? it isjust the viruses strain to become more fatal? it is just the viruses change over time. we saw that quite a lot.

we got used to that during the covid pandemic. this virus is spreading around quite rapidly in the cases where it normally circulates, so in this case it is central africa, particularly the democratic republic of congo, and the more times the virus spreads from person to person, the more opportunities there after some of it to change and some changes will be an advantage to the virus and they will carry on this slightly changed version of the virus will be passed on to other people and so the more cases are, the more chance for that to happen and that seems to be what has happened here. the head of the disease action control inaudible could spiral out of control. what steps are we talking about?— we talking about? what we really need _ we talking about? what we really need to _ we talking about? what we really need to do _ we talking about? what we really need to do is - we talking about? what we | really need to do is increase the availability of the vaccine. there... ithink the availability of the vaccine. there... i think they are three different versions on

the vaccine available in the world, but the global stocks are vaccine are very low and what really needs to happen is the vaccine manufacturers need to ramp up the production and the global community needs to put in the resources in order to make the vaccine available to make the vaccine available to the people who are most at risk of getting mpox so they can actually receive the vaccine, which will stop the spread in the countries where the most number of cases are and it will also allow us to vaccinate people where i might have been outbreaks in country where it is not usually seen, other parts of africa, for example, so people who have beenin example, so people who have been in contact with somebody with mpox can be vaccinated which will protect those people, but also stop the spread of the virus further. ukraine says its troops have pushed even further into russia and captured more than a hundred russian servicemen. it's the biggest foreign

incursion into russia since the second world war. ukraine's offensive into the kursk region began just over a week ago. president zelensky insists it's a temporary move aimed at easing pressure in the conflict with russia. as for president putin, it's still not clear what his response will be. james waterhouse reports from the sumy region on the border with russia. no border checkpoint on this crossing to russia. just a burnt out russian tank. a different assignment for ukrainian war reporter natalia nahorna. "this is a historic moment," she tells the camera in the city of sudzha. such a claim might be premature, but ukraine is talking up this land grab while it can. it's providing humanitarian aid and organising evacuations. there are even plans to set up military offices. but on the battlefield, success always comes at a cost, as this injured soldier attests. translation: fear, adrenaline.

you realise when you enter their territory, how much we have suffered, how much our women and children have suffered, but now it's their turn. the head of ukraine's armed forces is having even more regular meetings with the president. translation: since the beginning of today, troops have advanced around i to 2km in some directions. after the body blow of losing territory, russia is now moving resources to try and take it back. as fighter bombers drop glide bombs on ukrainian forces on its own soil, kyiv today claimed to have shot one of them down. the su—sas are thought to be £30 million each. kyiv is trying to change the politics of this war by shaking up the fighting itself. it's certainly done the latter. james waterhouse, bbc news, sumy region. thailand has been plunged into deeper political and economic uncertainty,

with the country's constitutional court dismissing the prime minister, srettha thavisin. the court in bangkok ruled that he'd violated the constitution by appointing a minister who'd served time injail for contempt of court. he's been in office less than a year. our south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, has more. we still do not know what lies behind this verdict, apart from reminding usjust how intervention reminding us just how intervention the courts are, throws the country into disarray. there is a process for choosing a new prime minister and cabinet. that will probably happen pretty quickly, meeting on friday where the current coalition of ii parties can discuss. there has to be somebody already registered as a prime ministerial candidate for the last election, which will become prime minister but it is clear... it seems the dominant party in the coalition did not expect this verdict and there is some confusion about exactly what kind of government

will emerge. donald trump has been out on the campaign trail in the last couple of hours. the former president has been speaking in the swing state of north carolina. after a few weeks in which his rival kamala harris has stolen the limelight, mr trump stayed focused on his key messages — well, most of the time anyway. and he had this to say on the economy. are you better off now with harris and biden than you were with inaudible? president trump, you know that. with four more years, we would never recover. a country would not recover. a country would not recover. it would be unrecoverable. donald trump and your income source or, savings will grow, young people will be inaudible. my colleague catriona perry was at that speech in north carolina and

spoke to me earlier he spoke about how he would make intellectual comments, but this was not a rally he would speak about every issue but would focus on the economy, but he spoke for about an hour and 15, 20 minutes, he spoke for about an hour and 15,20 minutes, didn't unveil any new economic policies, spoke of his plans to cut taxes, get rid our taxes for seniors and tax on tips and he also said in some of the firmest language we have heard to date he would keep the obama era affordable care act. he said it was not great and you would like to fix it until he had something that he would keep hold of that but they were not any new unveiled and he touched many other issues besides. i'm sure kamala harris got quite a mention. we hurt in that soundbite talking about what an economy under her leadership would mean. how else did he address are? he addressed _ did he address are? he addressed her - did he address are? he: addressed her quite frequently and it was interesting to see

and it was interesting to see an effort at a reset it is beaches because there have been criticisms of him in the past couple of weeks... his campaign was listing a little bit, it lacked focus because for so long he thought he was running againstjoe biden and just a matter of weeks ago there was a switch on the democratic ticket so we heard a lot about how he was directing his ire towards kamala harris rather thanjoe kamala harris rather than joe biden. kamala harris rather thanjoe biden. he spoke about harris policies or harris— biden policies. we heard a new term from him, kamalanomics. andy try to put the blame squarely at her feet.— try to put the blame squarely at her feet. ~ . ., , , , at her feet. what happens next on the campaign _ at her feet. what happens next on the campaign trail? - at her feet. what happens next on the campaign trail? kamala| on the campaign trail? kamala harris herself— on the campaign trail? kamala harris herself is _ on the campaign trail? kamala harris herself is coming - on the campaign trail? kamala harris herself is coming to - harris herself is coming to north carolina on friday, one of the battleground states and we heard that you polling

today, that slide off voters and support away from donald trump is going towards kamala harris and she is ahead by one percentage point in that one pole here in north carolina, so the race is as tight as ever. a fresh round of talks on a gaza ceasefire deal are due to begin in qatar later on thursday with israel confirming that it will send negotiators. but hamas — the group which runs gaza — has said it won't attend the talks. there are fears that tensions across the middle east could escalate as iran vows to avenge the assassination of the hamas leader in tehran. our correspondent, lucy williams, reports from jerusalem. in gaza, peace is for the dead, not the living — not for faras and his five siblings, laying their father to rest today in khan younis. majid baraka was killed in israeli artillery strikes, they said, as he went to help the wounded. "we were just sitting around," faras said, "he was playing with us. "when the first strike happened, "he went to rescue people.

"in the second strike, he was killed." but this push for a ceasefire is being driven by events outside gaza, by israel's growing conflict with hezbollah in lebanon, by threats of iranian retaliation for the assassination of key hamas and hezbollah leaders. a ceasefire in gaza could prevent regional war. the deal would also help enable a diplomatic resolution here in lebanon, and that would prevent an outbreak of a wider war. we have to take advantage of this window for diplomatic action and diplomatic solutions. that time is now. since the last ceasefire negotiations, the stakes involved in a deal have grown, but so have the sticking points. benjamin netanyahu says the wrong deal would harm israel's security. his critics say it would also harm his governing coalition and that mr netanyahu

is protecting himself. the prime minister wants israeli troops to keep control of gaza's southern border and to filter unarmed civilians moving back to the north. hamas says these are new demands and that the time for negotiation is over. there are also disputes over israeli hostages and palestinian prisoners and over conditions for resuming the war. a former israeli negotiator says outsiders are driving this deal. it seems that the mediators, the united states, egypt and qatar, have decided that they need to change the rules of the game, put an ultimatum on the table, put a bridging proposal on the table and tell hamas and israel that they have to do it. it is obvious that the mediators want the agreement more than the parties do, and that is a big part of the problem. these talks have been billed as the last chance for a deal. the price of failure will be paid by the hostages,

by the region, by teenagers like faras. success may depend on the leaders of israel and hamas risking their own political survival. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

in the us, a police officer has appeared in court, charged with the murder of a pregnant woman in ohio. bodycam video of last year's fatal encounter showed police approaching 21—year—old ta'kiya young in her car and attempting to stop her from driving away, so they could question her about alleged shoplifting. our north america correspondent john sudworth has more. out of the car. for what? they said you stole stuff, do not leave. while one officer speaks to ta'kiya young through her car window, the other stands in front with his gun drawn and she begins

to drive slowly forward. get out of the bleep car. gunshot get out of the car! shots fired! stop the goddamn car! the car, now out of control, drifts on, the bullet has pierced the windscreen and the driver's chest, leaving her and her unborn child dying inside. it's almost one year on, amid heightened scrutiny of police violence against black people in america, the officer who fired the fatal shot, connor grubb, has appeared in court to be formally charged with murder. he pleaded not guilty. footage from inside a nearby store taken shortly before the shooting shows ta'kiya young, allegedly shoplifting bottles of alcohol. a minor crime that's prompted public anger over what protesters and her family see as a vastly disproportionate police response. do you want connor grubb to go to prison for the rest of his life? yes, she doesn't have any life and her baby doesn't have any life.

so, yeah, that would be justice for me and our family and her boy. but at the scene of the shooting, a connor grubb could be heard on his body camera. she tried to run me over. saying he thought his life was in danger. and his police union has called the case against him politically motivated. he has been granted bail while ta'kiya young leaves two surviving sons. more lives changed forever in a litany of such cases. and while charges against the police are rare, convictions are even rarer. john sudworth, bbc news. to a big political story out of japan. the prime minister, fumio kishida, says he will not stand in his party's leadership contest next month, clearing the way for a new premier. mr kishida — who came to power in 2021 — said it was important to show

the public that his liberal democratic party was changing. they have governed japan for most of the period since the second world war. tomohiko taniguchi is a former special adviser to then—prime minister shinzo abe for six years. i asked him where did it go wrong for prime minister kishida. primarily he has failed to communicate with the wider public about what he wishes to achieve, what he does not want to do and so people are still scratching their heads as to who this gentleman is about and thatis who this gentleman is about and that is an ultimate failure on the part of him but within the party which matches even more, there has been a fault line that he himself has created by purging some of the influential members of his own party due to fundraising scandals and that has caused a row within the party. has caused a row within the la . . has caused a row within the -a . ~ , ., has caused a row within the party. when you have rank-and-file - party. when you have l rank-and-file members party. when you have - rank-and-file members of the rank—and—file members of the party uneasy about the leader,

thatis party uneasy about the leader, that is a good indication his time is numbered. the general is -- election _ time is numbered. the general is -- election is _ time is numbered. the general is -- election is due _ time is numbered. the general is -- election is due next - time is numbered. the general is -- election is due next year| is —— election is due next year but there will be an election next month.— but there will be an election next month. indeed. it has to have a leadership _ next month. indeed. it has to have a leadership election - next month. indeed. it has to i have a leadership election once every three years and come september, the term limit of the current incumbent prime minister is going to come, so he has chosen not to stand and inviting many other contenders to compete with each other, so this will be very much and up for grabs contest. tell this will be very much and up for grabs contest.— for grabs contest. tell us . uickl for grabs contest. tell us quickly a _ for grabs contest. tell us quickly a couple - for grabs contest. tell us quickly a couple of - for grabs contest. tell us quickly a couple of the i quickly a couple of the contenders that will be vying for this position.— for this position. there are three or — for this position. there are

three or four _ for this position. there are three or four well-known, | three or four well—known, popular figures but ironically none of those people are popular within the party. this has nothing to do with the general public but everything to do with the party members and party loyal is and when it comes to the parliamentarians, those publicly popular figures are not necessarily unpopular so i cannot say anything about who is going to be a front runner and that is why i say this will be an up for grabs contest. ~ ., ., , this will be an up for grabs contest-— this will be an up for grabs contest. ~ . ., , ., contest. what has the reaction been from _ contest. what has the reaction been from the _ contest. what has the reaction been from the public - contest. what has the reaction been from the public to - contest. what has the reaction been from the public to these | been from the public to these recent developments? then;r been from the public to these recent developments? they have been curious _ recent developments? they have been curious because _ recent developments? they have been curious because there - recent developments? they have been curious because there has l been curious because there has been curious because there has been a curious calm injapanese politics. mr ishida has remained very unpopular but there have been no competitors and rivals injapanese politics

because opposition parties are still relatively in disarray and so the rest of august and september will be very much hectic months for the general public to see what is going to happen next. nasa says two american astronauts stranded on the international space station may have to stay there for at least eight months. sunita williams and barry wilmore have already spent two months in space after a planned eight day mission ran into technical problems. here's reeta chakrabarti. they were meant to be back on earth for the olympics, but had to get into the spirit on the international space station without knowing when they will be back. we've had an absolute blast pretending to be olympic athletes. three, two, one. they launched in june on a test to see how the spacecraft performs. it was meant to last eight days, but issues with the thrusters on their boeing starliner mean they are now stuck. the question is,

can they return safely on that same spacecraft, or come back on a rocket owned by rival company spacex, planned for february? that is not without risk. their spacesuits are not fit for spacex flights and they would have to return unsuited. let's go forward into starliner. a decision is expected at the end of the month and in the meantime, nasa says both astronauts are doing great and, as veterans of space are well prepared for unexpected scenarios. new analysis shows that the huge six tonne altar stone at the heart of stonehenge came from the far north east of scotland rather than wales as previously thought. the discovery reveals that the ancient monument in salisbury in wiltshire was built from stones from all parts of great britain, suggesting that neolithic britain was far more connected than it was thought.

here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. it's one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in the world, and also one of the most mysterious. why was stonehenge built in southwest england 5,000 years ago, and what was it used for? what we do know is that the giant outer stones are probably sourced locally from england. the inner blue stones are from wales, and we now know that the central altar stone is from north—eastern scotland and not from wales, as once thought. the irony is that the discovery was made by a young welshman. he still remembers being brought to the site as a one—year—old in 1992. i remember coming with my dad and being on his shoulders and looking over at the stones, so it's nice to kind of come full circle and make this discovery at somewhere so special to me. how do you think it'll go down in wales? i'm not sure they'll ever talk to me again! it's a loss for wales, no doubt. but wales has contributed so many rocks to this monument, i'm sure scotland can have one.

anthony analysed the rock and discovered it had a unique date and composition. in thejournal nature, he said it could only have come from the far north of scotland, here in the orcadian basin, which includes caithness, orkney and moray firth. so this is the altar stone, the heart of stonehenge, now partially buried. it's one of the larger stones here, at around six tonnes. the big question is how on earth it was transported from northeast scotland, and why the people back then thought it was so important to bring it all this way. what does this say about neolithic society in britain? well, it certainly implies great social connections and sophistication. and i think we've got to remember that these people were just like us, in a way. you know, they were just as clever, but they had different technologies. but to bring a stone of this size all the distance from what we now call scotland was really quite something.

the new discovery has changed the story of stonehenge and those that built it. the tale is now of a people across great britain who were more interconnected and advanced than previously thought. pallab ghosh, bbc news, stonehenge. it was one of britain's worst ever maritime disasters — more than two centuries ago — in which around 250 people died — but now the wreck of the earl of abergavenny has been granted special protection meaning divers can visit the underwater site and look but not touch. the ship had set sail for china carrying many chests of silver bullion when a storm drove her into a sandbank off the coast of weymouth. her captain was the brother of the famous poet william wordsworth, who went on to express his grief in his poetry. thanks for watching newsday. in a few minutes we'll be back with business today

where we will be talking about the economic consequences of the political situation injapan and a preview of numbers about the chinese economy see you soon. hello there! wednesday was a cloudier and fresher feel for most of us, but east anglia still clung on to some sunshine and some heat. 26 celsius was the high on wednesday afternoon in parts of suffolk. but the story will continue to change for thursday. under this influence of low pressure, some wet and windy weather will move its way into scotland and northern ireland. that will gradually sink its way south and east. as it bumps into high pressure, the rain will weaken somewhat. so first thing on thursday morning, we'll have a slightly brighter story northwest of the great glen. the rain turning showery from aberdeen down to glasgow and into northern ireland. heavier bursts of rain through the scottish borders into northwest england, and there will be a fair amount

of cloud through northern england, the midlands, wales and southwest england. so if we draw a line from hull down to southampton, anywhere south and east of that should start the morning off dry with some sunshine. but the cloud will tend to build up as we go through the day. our weather front continues to sink its way south and east, weakening all the time, but a band of showery rain will push its way across wales and into the midlands. but we mightjust cling on to some sunshine. 26 celsius in east anglia, once again, fresher for most. now, that weather front will continue to push its way through the south and east during the overnight period thursday into the early hours of friday morning. it's the dividing line between fresher conditions to the far northwest. here we'll start friday morning in single figures, but still a relatively warm night for sleeping 17—18 celsius in the southeast corner. early morning cloud and rain will ease away. high pressure then builds once again. a few scattered showers into the far north and west, but on friday, a good deal of dry,

settled and sunny weather for most of us. we've lost that humidity. that fresher feel will still continue 14—21 degrees for most in the north, 20—25 across much of england and wales. now into the weekend, high pressure will continue to build in from the west and continue to quieten things down. so not a bad weekend in prospect for pretty much most of us, really. a few scattered showers from time to time in the northwest, but on the whole, dry, settled and sunny with highs once again peaking at 25 celsius, 77 fahrenheit. enjoy.

japan's prime minister fumio kishida will step down next japan's economy rebounds in the second quarter as prime minister fumio kishida announces he will step next month. plus — we take stock of how the chinese consumer is doing, ahead of retail sales data due today. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. let's start injapan. country's economy grew 3.1% annually in thejune quarter beating estimates. on a quarterly basis gdp rose 08%, reversing the contraction we

saw in the first quarter of the year. the strong data a day after prime minister fumio kishida made a surprise announcement to step down next month. economic columnist william pesek explains how the ldp will navigate the upcoming leadership change. we've seen this interesting period the last 12 years when the liberal democrat party has beenin the liberal democrat party has been in power and promising very big reforms. prime minister shinzo abe took power in 2012, pledging to become japan's version of margaret thatcher and ronald reagan wrapped together we saw very little change, large military easing, the boj doing a lot, the yen falling. we did not see in terms of increasing innovation, empowering women, and the next leader is going to have to figure out how to reinvigorate that process at a moment when china is slowing, when the us labour market is showing signs of strains. it is

not clear if the market he has an appetite