victoria gill, bbc news. this is the briefing from bbc news.f the world cup today. the first match is between the hosts russia and saudi arabia — the two lowest—ranked sides in the tournament. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has said that achieving the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula would be a process, but not an easy one. he was speaking at a news conference in seoul, with the foreign ministers of south korea and japan. commemorations and vigils are taking place today to mark the first anniversary of the grenfell towerfire in london. 72 people died in the disaster. an inquiry into the causes is ongoing. let us look at how the media is discussing these stories. we begin with the independent — among many outlets marking the grenfell fire anniversary. it says hundreds of homes bought for survivors are lying empty, while many families are still without permanent homes to live in. on to the new york times covering a big sport announcement — that's the winning joint bid by the united states, mexico and canada to host the 2026 world

victoria gill, bbc news. laura: a new exhibit in washington looks at the top-secret mission that led to the discovery of the titanic. war, a r ocean exposuert ballard was tasked with finding two u.s. submarines that had sunk, and was told that if he finished in time, he could go looking for the titanic. here's the story. >> it is amazing how the titanic touches a button in everybody. "titanic: the unld story" -- it's really taking the wraps off of what was at the time a top-secret mission i w conducting as a naval intelligence officer. most of the cold war was fought underwater, and most of it was never known to the american people. it was really president reagan who won the cold war by pushing the soviets to the limit. they wanted me to t a highly classified mission to go out to two subrines, the only ones we lost during the cold war. one was lo off the ports of -- portsmouth, mair , and the ots lost south of the azores. conveniently between the two was the wreckage of the titanic. i only had 12 days left in

victoria gill, bbc news.e conservation society — explained how the bbc was helping the campaign against plastic. there are overly simple things that the bbc is suggesting that people do. little things like, you know, forgoing that ready meal or that meal deal for lunch and take your own pack lunch with you without wrapping it up in vast swathes of plastic. simply using reusable bottles as opposed to buying bottled water. congratulations to the bbc as a public service broadcaster for putting that message out and lead the way in showing its own business. i know now that you don't have single—use coffee cups within the organisation. congratulations for that. blue planet was a real example of really good public service broadcasting. !t. is making a diff§r2n§§”"””"" just as an organisation as as a co nsta nt just as an organisation as as a constant society, we see more to coming onto a beach. we have been asked to write a book about plastic. it's available on book shelves are not. and we are running a plastic chal

victoria gill with that report from mexico.zard of oz film, has died in california at the age of 98. maren portrayed one of the 124 members of the munchkin lollipop guild in the classic 1939 film. the role saw him become known as the "lollipop kid" after handing a lollipop to dorothy — played by judy garland. many years later he delighted fans with this rendition of his song. #we # we represent the lollipop guild, the lollipop guild, the lollipop guild. # and in the name of the lollipop guild, we wish to welcome new to mind can land... he has died at the age of 98. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, hello there. good morning. the weather looks very sluggish over the next few days into the weekend as well. so it is going to be difficult to get the detail right. wednesday, most places had a warm, summer's day. not much cloud around at all. over the next couple of days, in the south, there will be more cloud around. maybe one or two heavy and thundery showers. on the whole, most places will be dry. a

victoria gill, bbc news.z. welcome. thank keyver taking time to talk to us. you describe yourself as a self—confessed low waist addict. how did you become one? i was overwhelmed by how much plastic there was in the world's. i started a university course for environmental management and realised it was not actually getting to the core of the damage of plastic. it was talking about climate change a big thing to be worried about, but it was not talking about the damage plastics and a lot of things we consume on a daily basis and by cannot be recycled. they end up in landfill and that is when it gets into the atmosphere and the environment and we have all the edges we are seeing today in the papers and on the tv. give us a starter guide. if you were to describe a few easy steps people can take to reduce the amount of plastic in their lives, where would you begin? make a simple list. i would write down three things you know you throw away and tried to find a way of getting a reusable alternatives. great examples a

victoria gill with that report from mexico.s daily mail for the past 26 years, is to step down before his 70th birthday in november. he is one of the most influential and controversial figures in british media, his paper both hugely admired and bitterly reviled. he'll leave his day—to—day responsibilities to become chairman and editor—in—chief. a huge fire broke out at a luxury hotel in central london just a week after major renovations had been completed. one hundred and twenty firefighters tackled the flames on the roof of the mandarin oriental hotel in knightsbridge. the 5—star hotel has just undergone its most extensive restoration in its iis—year history according to its owners. the huge plumes of smoke could be seen from miles around. the cause of the fire is not yet known. a service of remembrance has been held at arlington national cemetery to mark the assassination of robert kennedy, 50 years ago. family, friends and dignitaries paid tribute to the senator and former us attorney general — shot dead as he campaigned for

victoria gill, bbc news.ed to be in the balance as they played sweden in group f on saturday. at half time they were losing 1—0 and were in danger of being knocked out but a dramatic fightback helped them to a 2—1win. elsewhere, there were victories for mexico and belgium. the bbc‘s tim allman watched all the action. you know what they say, when it comes to football, never bet against the germans. cheering this was the reaction in berlin as the national side did what they almost always do — get the result they need. "just amazing, we turned the corner at the very last—minute," said this fan, "it was hard to believe but it worked out." "just incredible, wicket," said this supporter, "we kept hoping till the end. we can handle it. germany will win the title again." now, that had seemed a little unlikely earlier in the evening. ola toivonen lobbying the goalkeeper and giving sweden a first half lead. but germany are world champions for a reason and, a few minutes after the break, they made it 1—1. marco reus doi

victoria gill, bbc news. richard harrington explained how the bbc was helping the campaign. suggesting people do. little things. the meal dealfor lunch, taking your lunch with you instead. reusable bottles and state of buying bottles of water. congratulations for the bbc for putting that message out. i know you do not have a single coffee cups and things like that within the 0rganisation soaked congratulations and the blue planet has really made and the blue planet has really made a difference. just as an organisation we at the conservation society see so many things, we have been asked to write a book and we are running a plastic challenge, asking people to try to give up plastic in its entirety for the whole month. very often it is not practical but it is the seat how we can not use single use plastic. we hope people will take heed of the blue planet effect. the headlines on bbc news: tens of thousands of people march through london to demand a vote on the final deal on the uk's departure from the eu senior cabinet ministers stress the uk is still prepared to walk away fro

victoria gill, bbc news.ummer or a winter break, depending on which part of the world you live in. but when you have literally visited every single country on the planet where on earth do you go next? earlier, i spoke with dustin pfundheller, an american dentist based in singapore, who is the youngest verified person in the world to visit all 193 united nation sovereign nations. it's been an amazing adventure. it never started out that way, to visit every country, i just came to singapore five years ago and i love travelling. one of the best parts about being in singapore is how convenient and easy it is to travel and get out of a plane really easy and see the world. how were you able to see the world, 236 of them, in five years? that was another thing, while being in singapore i worked weekends, iworked holidays, i put in 12 hour shifts so basically i did a shift on and a shift off, i did two to three weeks of 12 hour days and i took two to three weeks off for five years continuously. it was rough but well w

victoria gill, bbc news.ked a landmark bill to overhaul the country's heavily indebted state—run railway company, sncf. the vote is seen as a victory for president macron and a blow to rail unions who staged rolling strikes over the bill. it marks the biggest change to the company since its nationalisation in the 1930s. an off—duty fbi agent who accidentally shot a man while dancing in a night club has appeared in a denver court. chase bishop was charged with second degree assault after handing himself into police on tuesday. the agent was performing a backflip when his gun fell out of his pocket and shot a bystander in the leg. russia take on saudi arabia in moscow on thursday as the 2018 world cup kicks off. 32 teams will compete for the trophy with the matches being played in 11 different cities. away from the games there's been some focus on security concerns and political tensions. here's our sports editor, dan roan. whether you like it or not, russia is about to play host to football's greatest showpiec

victoria gill, bbc news. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel.hat from any, that was a glorious summer's day and the weather watchers or showing us in all its gloryjust how it is coming to an end. across many parts of the british isles, and before you run how it was for parts of scotland, especially across the northern and waste and isles and parts of the mainland and even as we speak nearly done with the day and cloud keeps on coming across the the jet stream and what france there are have been guided well to the north of scotland. we have had some cloud and the odd it of rain coming through, the prospect for some rain for the shetland isles is still there through the course of the night, in rural sports, there through the course of the night, in ruralsports, the temperatures will dribble away into single figures. this is the shape of sunday, and even though there is a weather front not 1 sunday, and even though there is a weather front not1 million sunday, and even though there is a weatherfront not1 million miles away from the shetland islands

victoria gill with that report from mexico. most influential and controversial figures in british media —— media, newspaper both had marred and reviled. a small hotel in the english county of wiltshire has become a surprise tip because it was the unlikely source of inspiration for a japanese animated series. hello, welcome to fosse farmhouse. in the animation, the main character is alice, who lives here and her best friend is called shinabu and where shinabu comes to visit alice, being japanese, she thinks she has to take her shoes off sir alistair also, no, before you go into a house but alice tells her, no, no, you don't have to do that in england, please come in so what she does is she stands at the front door and there she goes into the doorstep and justjumps with both feet into the house. all the fans now who visit here now want to do the same thing. you can reach me and most of the tea m you can reach me and most of the team on twitter. i am @bbcmikeembley. hello there. good morning. the weather looks very sluggish over t

victoria gill reports.footed shearwaters nest on this remote island hundreds of kilometres off the east coast of australia. but even here plastic is killing them. and another. scientists are finding young birds with so much of it in their stomachs that there is no room for food. these chicks have starved to death. but the researchers stepped in to save them and this bbc documentary crew filmed up close as the birds had their stomachs flushed out. 0h! it was shocking to see just how much would come out a chick. i mean, we saw 90 pieces come out of one of the chicks on the second night but the scientists were telling us they sometimes pull out as much as 200, 250 pieces of plastic out of either dead birds orfrom the regurgitation. it is just one example of how our discarded plastic is damaging marine wildlife around the world, an issue that was thrown into sharp focus by the bbc series blue planet ii. efforts are under way to stem the tide of plastic. here in england's south coast, sea bins have been installe

victoria gill, bbc news.d, have presented their new born baby girl, called neve, to the cameras. ms ardern, who's said to be regaining her strength with macaroni cheese, has been swamped with congratulatory messages from around the globe, including a private email from queen elizabeth. she'll spend a second night in auckland public hospital with her daughter, who twitter wags have dubbed the baby "prime miniature". i think probably, like everyone, we went through that struggle for a matter of months. we kept a short list of names. we wanted to wait until the baby arrived to really see which one felt like it worked, but we chose neve because we just liked it. and when we met her we thought she looked like she suited the name. and it means — in various homes — it means bright and radiant and snow which seemed like a good combination for matariki and for solstice. te aroha though is...that was something we settled on quite early. te aroha was our way of reflecting the amount of love that this baby has been shown

victoria gill, bbc news.easy ways to make a difference and share what you are

victoria gill, bbc news.ich part of the world you live in, but when you have literally visited every single country in the world, where on earth do you go next? earlier i spoke with an american dentist based in singapore, who is the youngest there are five person in the world to visit all 193 united nations sovereign countries. it's been an amazing adventure. it never started out that way, to visit every country, i just never started out that way, to visit every country, ijust came never started out that way, to visit every country, i just came to singapore five years ago and i love travelling. 0ne singapore five years ago and i love travelling. one of the best parts about being in singapore is how convenient and easy it is to travel and get out of a plane really easy and get out of a plane really easy and see the world. how were you able to see the world, 236 of them, in five years? that was another thing, while being in singapore i worked weekends, i worked while being in singapore i worked weekends, iworke

victoria gill, bbc news.c can make to their daily routines to reduce plastic pollution. we‘ve run our service on beaches for 24 we‘ve run our service on beaches for 2a years now, this is our 25th coming this september. your pioneer we have seen that quantities and density of rubbish building up our beaches. and it does get pretty demotivating. we do hope and we do see positive signs that blue planet ii, and defective blue planet ii was a real watershed moment for us and let‘s hope that for now on with the see a decline in all that material getting into the ocean. more programmes like this will really help that cause. what are those positive signs that you‘re seeing, can you give us positive signs that you‘re seeing, can you give us an positive signs that you‘re seeing, can you give us an example? bringing ina can you give us an example? bringing in a small charge of plastic bags just a couple of years ago. the data had been collected to show with the problem was over the many years. that led to the charge or

victoria gill, bbc news. and you can find more details on that story at bbc.co.uk/plasticswatch. the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at quarter past seven. bye for now. welcome back. is approaching development past midday. the uk are still prepared to walk away from brexit talks without a deal. the second anniversary of the referendum vote, the international trade secretary liam fox told the bbc theresa may was not bluffing about her threat to quit the negotiations. he was speaking ahead of march by campaigners in favour of the vote on a final brexit deal. event that has justis a final brexit deal. event that has just is being organised by the group people's vote and speakers include vince cable, anna soubry and the labourmp vince cable, anna soubry and the labour mp david lammy. some of the campaigners of the march been to to the bbc about why they are taking part. the message i would would like to give to people is to pay attention to what's been on the news, the messages we are getting from business, the worries about the various agencies we have to replicate,. w

victoria gill with that report. newsnight is coming up on bbc two.ere on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. hello there and welcome to sportsday. i'm steven wyeth. england rally around danny rose as the spurs defender reveals he's told family not to travel to the world cup in russia amid fears of racism. he's part of our team and part of ourfamily for the next few months, and we intend to support our players as well as we possibly can. one big name is heading home. a hefty quarterfinal defeat ends maria sharapova's french open. but another survives to fight on tomorrow — 10—time champion rafael nadal is a set down after a rain—affected day in paris. good evening. gareth southgate says england won't react counter—productively if they encounter racism at the world cup, describing walking from the pitch as an "idealistic" response. the england camp have discussed the prospect of facing discrimination in a country where it remains an unresolved issue. more from our correspondent, david ornstein. russia is almost ready with world cup organisers

conservationists have teamed uph n order of nuns to save them, as victoria gill reports. ctoria: central mexico, the only place in the world where f you just migd a critically endangered axolotl. this vast lake used to be teeming with the species, but w scientists studying th have set up traps to catch them , and this is a half-kilometer-long line, and they are hoping toind two or three they can take samples from. scientists are here on a mission to prevent these strange amphibians from being wiped out completely. >> deforestation, which is dragging down sediments, and we have as well pollution. we can pretty much make it official that the species is close to extinction. we arrived right at the lastmi te. victoria: this emergency effort involves rearing the axolotls in captivity, and that is where unexpected experts come in. the sisters of the immaculate y health run a true sanctur the species. >> it is a lot of work and a great deal of sacrifice, but it ha worth it to work with the nature and protectgod has given us. >>e are going to take dna. victoria: but while conserva

victoria gill, bbc news.lved in a very long time in looking at the health of the marine environment and the creatures that live within it. but i guess it is the impact of plastics in the seas and oceans that have given a new energy to this campaign stop it but that is right. yes, to be honest. —— campaign stop it but that is right. yes, to be honest. -- we have run on for 2h years out up as our 25th year. we have seen year after year that the quantities and density of rubbish building on our beaches. and density of rubbish building on our beaches. anna becomes demotivating. —— and it becomes demotivating. we do see signs especially from blue planet two was a big moment for us. and we hope now that we will see a decline from all the material getting into the ocean. —— blue planet ii. what of those positive signs that you have seen? for example, bringing in a small charge of plastic bags. just a couple of yea rs of plastic bags. just a couple of years the data we showed —— record to show problem was led to that

mexico that has been almost wiped out by pollution and over—fishing. 0ur science correspondent victoria gillgered axolotl local known locally as the achoce. this vast lake used to be teeming with this species of axolotl, but now the scientists studying them have set out traps to catch them and this is a half kilometre long line with 100 traps and they‘re hoping to find just two or three that they can take some samples from. scientists are here on a mission to prevent these strange amphibians from being wiped out completely. deforestation, which is dragging down sediments to the lake, and we have as well pollution — we were talking now to make it official that the species is close to extinction, so it was really we arrive right at the last minute. this emergency effort involves rearing the axolotls in captivity. and that‘s where some unexpected experts come in — the sisters of the immaculate health, who run a true sanctuary for this species. translation: it‘s a lot of work and a great deal of sacrifice. but it‘s worth it, to work with nature and to protect what god has given us. we're going t

victoria gill, bbc news. there's a plastic bottle there, that's fairly obvious, and you can find easy ways to make a difference and share what you are doing at bbc. co. uk/plasticswatch. it is lovely in london, is it lovely and going to stay lovely in the rest of the uk? good afternoon to you, as well. yes, it is. it is going to be a lovely day from most parts of the uk. with the british weather, there is or is about, and the bucks today, is or is about, and the bucks today, is the cloud. a little bit of drizzle. but even here, tomorrow, we should have drier weather and blue skies. so that blue sky weather, the warmth continues, temperatures are inland at the low 20s. we could see some 24—25, today. temperatures have been tailing off under the starry skies. it is still fairly warm air. the main difference, tomorrow, is that we will see more sunshine and left out for scotland but we may, just seymour cloud instead across east anglia and the south—east. limiting the temperature down to about 21. and those tempe

however, scientists say the nuns could hold the key to saving it. 0ur science correspondent victoria gilllace in the world where you just might find a critically endangered axolotl local known locally as the achoce. known locally as the achoce. this vast lake used to be teeming with this species of axolotl, but now the scientists studying them have set out traps to catch them and this is a half kilometre long line with 100 traps and they're hoping to find just two or three that they can take some samples from. scientists are here on a mission to prevent these strange amphibians from being wiped out completely. deforestation, which is dragging down sediments to the lake, and we have as well pollution — we're probably talking now to make it official that the species is close to extinction, so it was really we arrive right at the last minute. this emergency effort involves rearing the axolotls in captivity. and that's where some unexpected experts come in — the sisters of the immaculate health, who run a true sanctuary for this species. translation: it's a lot of work and a great deal of sac

we can cross to westminster abby and speak to our correspondent victoria gill. at stephen hawking's boys is going to be beamed into space during this service. —— his voice. appropriate, a cosmological broadcast of stephen hawking's voice with a special piece of music. many people are gathering on this beautiful day at westminster abbey to celebrate his life. one of his equally famous friends who was a proponent of reaching out across borders to reach people with a message of science and communication is professor brian cox who has kindly joined is professor brian cox who has kindlyjoined this year on his way into the abbey. thank you for joining us. how will you remember your friend, professor joining us. how will you remember yourfriend, professor stephen hawking? as one of the last times i saw him, we did a sketch together for the monty python live shows which is a side of stephen that i think his friends and colleagues knew very well which is that he was very funny. as well as being, clearly, one of the greatest physicists and being buried in the abbey alongsi

here's victoria gill.a ken of what exactly to carry out the biggest picture ever taken of what exactly is happening to the antarctic ice sheets. it's known as the ice sheet mass balance in the comparison exercise and as academic as that sounds stick with me because it's important. it's taking a huge step back and looking at antarctica from space. taking 2a different satellite measurements over a period from 1992 to 2017. to measure what's happening to 2017. to measure what's happening to that ice. they looked at the change and shape of the ice sheets and a look at how the grass is flowing and the speed in which they are flowing into the ocean and more recently, scientists have been able to ta ke recently, scientists have been able to take gravity measurements that allow them to waive that vast ice sheet that holds 90% of the planet's freshwater. it's a huge weight of ice and the dynamics are on an enormous scale is why scientists have to take this massive step back. what he has seen is a ramping up ramping

the ocean, as a result of melting — a three—fold increase since 2012. 0ur science correspondent victoria gillarry out the biggest picture ever taken of what exactly is happening to the antarctic ice sheets. it's known as the ice sheet mass balance and the comparison exercise and as economic as that sounds it's very important. it's taking a huge step back and looking at antarctica from space. taking 24 different satellite measurements over a period from 1992 the 2017th to measure what's happening to that night. they look at the change and the shape of the ice sheet and it looks 0k the shape of the ice sheet and it looks ok with the speed at which they are flowing into the ocean. and more recently, scientists have been able to take gravity measurements that allow them to weigh that vast ice sheet that holds a 90% of the planets's fresh water. it's a huge weight of ice under dynamics are on a enormous scale which is why scientists have to take this methods that back. what they have seen is that back. what they have seen is that there is a ramping up over that period of the ice lost. as the ocean

our science correspondent, victoria gill, is there. victoria?losed on this beautiful day, the guests are from the worlds of politics, science and film, all over culture. it really speaks to how famous professor stephen hawking was, not just for the famous professor stephen hawking was, notjust for the science he did, giving him his face alongside the greats buried in westminster abbey, but also as a communicator. i spoke to another science communicator, professor brian cox, about the impact that a brief history of time had on him. i read it and it reaffirmed, it really did play a fundamental role in telling me this is what i'd like to spend my life doing, and that's the thing about stephen. the reason people connected to him, he had a very strong sense of beauty, a emotive connection to the universe, the questions, those profound questions he was asking about origins and endings of what happens in a black hole. those are questions that are in some sense just purely intellectual. at some point in the future that knowledge may be used for somethin

our science correspondent victoria gill has been to mexico to find out more.cies is close to extinction, so it was really we arrive right at the last minute. this emergency effort involves rearing the axolotls in captivity. and that's where some unexpected experts come in — the sisters of the immaculate health, who run a true sanctuary for this species. translation: it's a lot of work and a great deal of sacrifice. but it's worth it, to work with nature and to protect what god has given us. we're going to take another dna from rubbing the tongue... but while conservationists and their devout collaborators work together to save a species that's disappearing from the wild, axolotls are bred in their thousands in laboratories around the world. like this one in nottingham. babe represent the first vertebrates to move represent the first vertebrates to m ove o nto represent the first vertebrates to move onto land. most people study them because of their ability to regenerate, and it's remarkable. so let's say the limb gets bitten off here, above the elbow. what wil

we can cross to westminster abby and speak to our correspondent victoria gill. members of the public among 25,000 people who applied but the guest list of friends and family from science, film and television and politics shows how far he reached across the bounds of science, he was just famous for physics he was a real celebrity, one of those was dallas campbell. so, dallasers tell us a bit about the ceremony, the royal astronomer royal spoke, what did he say? it was a great eulogy, martin is terrific, they have been friends since the early 60, since cambridge day, he touched on those things, brilliant scientist, obviously, not since einstein has anyone come a long quite like that with his fantastic ideas about gravity and quantum mechanic, but also, the fact he was such a brilliant personality, he transcended science into popular culture, he was a giant of popular culture, he was a giant of popular culture and really funny, martin said what a wicked seasons of humour he had. how will you remember him? i met him a couple of time, i knew his daughter lucy very we