♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, e freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news".

♪ >> i am helena humphrey and washington, d.c. this is bbc world news america. the women's world cup kicks off with the u.s. hoping to make it a hat trick and claim their third title in a row. an american soldier in north korea is now considered absent without leave as washington's attempts to contact the reclusive country go unanswered. the bbc goes to cambodia ahead of elections that the main opposition party has been barred from. ♪ >> thank you for joining me. we start in new zealand where the women's world cup is now underway. the u.s. hoping to lift the trophy for a third time in the row.

the tournament began with a surprising win from the home team, new zealand. the beach norway 1-0 and wilkinson scored the goal, giving her side their first victory in a women's world cup. the other cohost australia one buying -- won against ireland. the u.s. will make its first appearance against vietnam friday. joining me now is our reporter katie silver. great to have you with us. a fantastic start for the hosts. what did you make of those matches? >> i was here in sydney watching. some disappointing news for fans about an hour or two before the team took the field, the nation paused darling cap of the star, one of the people who was ticked to get the golden boot, the most goals scored commission was going to be sitting out for this match and the next because of

injury. disappointment there. they gave was a tussle between two equals. we looked at the stats and without a doubt, australia had greater chances. the one penalty goal by steph cantley just after halftime secure the deal. there were 75,000 fans of the stands and the vibe was electric. a lot of enthusiasm. a surprise win for new zealand, they have taken place in 15 different matches across five world cup spared never won a game before. people have been feeling they were encouraged after what happened in terms of trying to represent new zealand in a good light after what happened that morning. we heard the norwegian team had to move, they were woken up by the sounds of gunshots that happened in auckland and had to move hotels. the question is whether or not they may have changed their

minds -- mindframe paid when it comes to new zealand, their goal to be able to make it to the knockout stage. that would be huge for their soccer team. hele: i am you won't be surprised to hear, very high hopes in the united states that their side can make it three in a row. meeting vietnam friday. talk to us about that matchup. >> something of a david and goliath. we were in auckland speaking to the vietnam team over the weekend. they have their captain and striker, the only player that plays internationally imported all all of the rest play at home. they do not have the level of investmenthe u.s. team has. it is the first time the vietnamese team, men or women, have made it to the world cup. a lot of hopes are on these ladies shoulders. they went on against spain and lost 9-0.

not a lot of optimism. the u.s. team is hugely picked as the favorite. they are going for three in a row. it is the last world cup for megan rapinoe. she will no doubt want that to be part of her legacy. i think i can put my money on who is going to win. helena: katie silver in auckland. just hours before the world cup festivities started in new zealand, a rare shooting left two dead. please say a gunman shot and killed two people at a construction site. the suspected gunman was later found dead. six were injured, including police officers. the mayor of the city said the world cup. in washington, u.s. says north korea is not responding to the attempts to release a soldier who crossed over the border.

23-year-old private travis king crossed the demilitarized zone dividing north and south korea. the pentagon says -- to be absent without leave. after he crossed the border. the white house says it is working to get him back. they have not received information about his whereabouts. the crisis comes at a time of high attention over north korea's testing of increasingly powerful missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads. >> a u.s. soldier has been detained in north korea after intentionally crossing the border from south korea on a tour of the demilitarized zone. the u.s. and north korea must navigate choppy diplomatic borders. history has a few borders -- this is unlikely to happen quickly.

in the past when americans have been held by the north, it has taken months of back channel negotiations to get them out. recent examples include journalists who entered the country over a frozen river and spent four and a half months in a north korean prison. jeffrey fal was detained for leaving a bible in a north korean bathroom. >> the biggest problem was the psychological strain, not knowing what was happening. >> because the u.s. and north korea do not have diplomatic relations, it means other countries like sweden are having to get involved. >> i want to thank the swedish embassy. >> the scandinavian nation has a long history acting as an intermediary. in 2019, it helped free an australian student and was instrumental in getting an american student back to the u.s. although he died after returning.

it may ultimately come down to some star power. the past couple former press >> bill clinton met kim jong-il. in 2010, the jimmy carter visited to secure the release of a teacher. but how this case plays out depend on how valuable the north koreans think travis king is. and whether travis king even wants to return. helena: with me now is susan thornton, former u.s. assistant secretaryor east asian and pacific affairs. thank you for being with us. the pentagon saying it considers travis king to be absent without leave in north korea. what does that mean exactly? >> i am not sure that really

tells us anything about how we can work with north korea to try to get travis king back. i think it is more a statement about how the military views his status in terms of having left south korea and not having arrived at the destination he was supposed to have arrived at in the u.s. helena: if he did to fact, and stating here we do not know all of the circumstances, but if he did, could that potentially change anything for the united states? >> i think it does change quite a bit. it appears that travis king went voluntarily across the border to north korea. in other words, he was not arrested or detained by the north korean authorities for something that they thought was out of order. he showed up there, and they are going to certainly be suspicious

of him and wonder what this is about. it will take a long time to try to figure that out, interrogate him, then try to figure out whether they have any leverage in a discussion to return him, or whether they even want to talk to us about return. helena: you mentioned that likely authorities in north korea will be suspicious about the arrival of private king. as we say, we do not know why he crossed over. based on previous cases, do we know what he could now be cing there? >> there is a whole range of different possibilities. one possibility is that north korea might want to try to use him as a propaganda victory, given how poor u.s.-north korean relations are at the moment. you mentioned the high tensions between the u.s. and north

korea, military tensions. previous negotiations over returning american citizens from north korea have tended to happen either when relations were getting better or as part of a bigger negotiation in terms of talking about peace treaties and getting rid of the north korean nuclear program. we have not had any ctact with north korea now for some time. they have been resisting communications and have not been responding, even before this happened. it is not surprising they are not responding immediately now. helena: it is interesting you touch on the political climate and when negotiations could get underway. based on the current political climate we are seeing right now, are you saying that perhaps this is the moment curry a -- north korea would be willing to talk to washington?

>> it is difficult to see how this situation would be prodding the north koreans to reach out to us. in a way, someone voluntarily coming to north korea does pose more leverage for north korea than it does the u.s. in this situation as far as negotiation. if they weren't speaking to us before, it is hard to see how this provides an impetus for them to reach out now. they are not very motivated, probably, to help the united states government in this case. helena: the u.s. already says it is open to talks. how do you think washington might try to persuade pyongyang to return travis king? >> that is a good question. one thing we have seen is that when there are talks going on

between the u.s. and north korea, there tends to be a reduction in tension and more of this talk of hostage exchanges and getting people out of north korea. those have been when we have successfully done it. one thing could be, if the north koreans were looking for an opening to try to start talking to the u.s. and to try to change the calculus that the u.s. has put on the table for those talks, this could be a catalyst for trying to open that door. the north koreans could search -- the north koreans would be in charge of opening it and we will see if that is something they want to do. helena: is there any country, other than china, that could potentially be able to help? >> i think china is a country we would hope would help in a case like this normally, if relations with china were not so poor at the moment and if we didn't have

so many other issuesn the plate with them. the lead into the story mentioned that sweden is our protectingower. certainly with other embassies and north korea would be trying to help. i am sure south korea has been trying to reach out. but most of these countries will not have the kind of leverage with north korea that i think we i think china is probably the most likely source. helena: susan thornton, former u.s. secretary for east asian and pacific affairs. to ukraine now where the government is threatening russian ships sailing towards black seaports in a tit-for-tat move against moscow, saying it would consider the vessels to be carrying arms. the threat comes after moscow said it would treat commercial vessels as potential targets. the latest flashpoint since

russia pulled out of the black sea green initiative monday. since its withdrawal, moscow has reigned missiles on ukraine's two biggest port cities. the deals collapsed and the subsequent -- have sent prices soaring, stoking fears that global food prices will rise. james woodhouse gave his assessment of the impact. >> this isn't just about ukraine's stuttering economy, or the farmers which are shouldering heightened costs, this is also about tens of millions of people living in the poorest countries who rely on ukrainian and russian grain in order to avoid starving to death. this has been a 12 month agreement which has been fraught with difficulty, but has nevertheless endured. russia has threatened to pull out in the past. there seems to be a strange optimism. ukraine is hopeful to once again

export grain. today, we have the turkish defense ministry talking about its own hopes of russia returning to the table. and then you have conditions. vladimir putin's demands are lengthy. it includes lifting restrictions on the imports of agricultural parts, spare parts, as well as russia's own exports of forming products like fertilizer. he wan a lifting of insurance bands and other measures. all of these things come from western sanctions. that the west is hoping will curtail his sustained invasion of ukraine. we have a standoff. if that wasn't enough, the rubberstamping of the last three days where the cities of odessa and mykolaiv have been coming under hellish missile attacks. port infrastructure destroyed. 60,000 tons of grains have been wiped out. at one point when this

initiative was in place, moscow had agreed to leave those alone. helena: pfizer says one of its pharmaceutical plants in north carolina has suffered heavy damage from a tornado. the facility produces anesthesia as well as nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medications used in hospitals. they are currently assessing the impact of the damage on production andre concerned it could lead to long-term shortages. millions of people are continuing to struggle with the sweltering heat. these images out of phoenix, baking under extreme heat. temperatures have topped 109 degrees fahrenheit, 43 degrees celsius, for more than 18 days in a row. elsewhere, in south carolina, officials have organized an air conditioner giveaway. tens of millions of americans remain under excessive heat warnings.

in southern europe, wildfires. in greece, a new heatwave is predicted. reese has already seen several major wildfires like this which have burned thousands of acres. fires continue to burn west of athens. romania, slovakia and poland dissenting 200 firefighters to help greek authorities tackle the fires. our reporter is on the ground. >> we are still witnessing those moments. right now i am west of athens. one of the worst hit areas by the wildfires. a firefighter pointed us to this area here because the fires are consuming residential areas, not just for us. this is a site we have been seeing throughout neighborhoods. the fat that oftentimes inside there is nothing but bricks from the roof up top. we received permission to film

here by the civil protection authority. they were here earlier looking at every house, the same way you are now. they have been putting specific markings on the homes. this one has a red triangle. that means it is no longer livable. therefore, the government needs to decide whether it rebuilds a home like this, or build somewhere else, invest in some other way. i spoke to a local resident who said he believes the fire that consumes this house came from the trees in the forests over there. with temperatures set to exceed 40 degrees here in greece across the mainland, it is expected that wildfires could continue. authorities have raised the risk of wildfire. helena: the iraqi government has ordered the swedish ambassador in baghdad to leave as the diplomatic dispute over the recent burning of the kerr on in

stockholm intensifies. protesters in baghdad stormed the swedish embassy and set a section on fire. some leaders in the region are supporting the expulsion. the leader of hezbollah claimed arab and islamic nations to follow steps and expel swedish investors. russia's foreign ministry has imposed tight travel restrictions on british diplomats working in the country. it comes as a response to what moscow is calling hostile actions, including the u.k.'s support for ukraine. british diplomats will now be required to give at least five days notice for trips outside a 75 mile free movement zone. the senate judiciary committee advance legislation thursday requiring the supreme court to set up a code of ethics. the committee voted along party

lines to approve the bill after several reports on several justices and their relationships with wealthy donors. the bill now moves to the republican-controlled house with little chance of being considered. hollywood writers and actors continue to strike. on the picket lines, jane fonda. jane fonda was outside the netflix building with costars from her hit series grace and frank. actors recently joined writers to strike over pay, working conditions and the use of artificial intelligence. one of the world's longest serving political leaders facing an election in cambodia sunday. it is when he is guaranteed to win. hun sen, who styles himself as a strongman, has been prime minister since 1985. a u.n. operation brought democracy to cambodia in the 1990's after the country was all but destroyed by civil war.

little of that democracy remains. the main opposition party has been banned, many of its leaders jailed or forced into exile, leaving cambodians who lost out in economic development, feeling they have no voice. our southeast asia correspondent jonathan head reports from phnom penh. >> a political dynasty in the making. cambodia's seemingly eternal leader hun sen, handing the party fly to his son who he has creed will succeed him. it has been more of a coronation then a campaign. the ruling party in effect running unchallenged as the main opposition movement has been banned, just as its predecessor was. the candlelight party has little else it can do but sit this election out. at least these officials aren't in jail or exile, like so many others.

>> even though there is a repressive environment here which has forced people to flee abroad, and some were arrested and imprisoned, we won't back down or retreat from our struggle. the only way to change the system here is to fight on, democratically. >> in the tradition of autocrats the world over, hun sen has begun building monuments glorifying his own record. surrounding this vast edifice with carved stone relief panels. an limitation of cambodia's greatest monuments and -- depicting hun sen as the man who single-handedly ended the country's civil war. he calls it the win-win memorial. that achievement no longer resonates with younger cambodians who have only known piece. there are many who feel they are not winning. it is certainly wealthier than it was.

much of the capital is a frenzy of construction. but this roaring development has also brought corruption, injustice and inequality. -- is fighting what will inevitably be a losing battle. the shallow lake where she fishes and grows vegetables is being filled in by a well-connected property developer. she has now been summoned to court for illegal occupation of state land. it is a common problem in cambodia where land titles were destroyed in the k mayor roush revolution and were voices of the four are rarely listened to. >> he also has he always talks about his win-win policy, but it is he alone who wins. we do not feel peace at all. we come of real cambodian people who live on this land, are suffering in the name of

development. >> in a normal election, her grievances might well have been taken up by one of the parties. but this election is little more than a charade. everyone already knows the outcome. helena: in sunday's election, hun sen's son will be running for a seat in the general assembly he was educated here in the united states, graduating from west point. the search is on for a lioness that might be on the loose. a spokeswoman said they received calls and a video reporting them to a wild animal on wednesday night. an officer later spotted it. it is unclear where it came from and residents are being told to stay indoors and keep their pets secured. i am helena humphrey. thanks for watching. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program

is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

introducing a technological achievement so advanced... it rivals the moon landing. wow! ok. rude. that's one small step for man.

one giant leap for mankind. ♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the "newshour" tonight, from rome to tokyo, punishing heatwaves break records and disrupt life across much of the world. women and doctors give emotional testimony about pregnancy complications made worse by a texas abortion law now being challenged in court. and the ongoing conflict in sudan intensifies with millions forced from their homes and alleged war crimes. >> they took everything from us. money, food, clothes. and they even killed relatives and friends. ♪