singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, i'm monica miller. welcome to the programme. the us military has named the soldier who crossed into north korea from south korea as private second class travis king, a 23 year—old who was facing discliplinary action. he was on an organised tour of the un—run demilitarized zone, which divides the two countries. it's unclear whether he has defected to the country. he's now in custody in north korea. the crisis comes during a particularly tense time with the north, one of the world's most isolated states. the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, said the pentagon's main concern was for the soldier's welfare. we believe he is in the bk custody, so we are continuously

monitoring and working to notify the soldier's next of kin and dressing to address this incident. in terms of my concerns, i am absolutely for most concerned about the welfare of our troop, so we will remain focused about this, and again this will develop in the next several days now. i earlier spoke to our north america correspondent, sean daley, who was at a press conference at the pentagon and asked what the us officials were doing to divulge the situation. the pentagon themselves said as much and as little as you would expect they could. at that time in the afternoon, as it was, it was 12:30, eastern time, the pentagon wasn't even naming this soldier because they were engaged in discussions with the next of kin. they were saying they were monitoring the situation closely. of course, travis king has subsequently been named by the military, 23 years old, as you say, joined the military

in january 2021. now, us military officials had been speaking to our us partner, cbs, describing some of the detail that may be sort of newish at this point. we know that, according to their sources, that he had been detained for a time in south korea, that he'd been released, that he had been due to return to the united states for disciplinary reasons. we understand that he was to be terminated from the us army. now, clearly, there are many questions that need to be asked, in terms of how he's then gone from the airport, 3a miles away, on a tour of what's described as the demilitarisation or the demilitarized zone, in this particular case, because he's crossed over into north korea. it's understood that he has been detained by the north korean authorities at that point. but why he did this, we just don't know. i mean, north korea hasn't been on the top priority list of president biden�*s administration. however, this may potentially become a crisis.

what are you hearing from washington officials to try to find, to calm the situation down? what are they doing at this point to get him back? there's a series of official statements and back—channel diplomacy. you know, as you can imagine, there are discussions that we may not be fully privy to in public. what they're saying is that they're working, the us military, in the area and beyond, are working with their counterparts with the north korean authorities. but then that does get rather complex because tensions between the us and north korea, they're reasonably high. there are not the diplomatic channels. some viewers may remember the rather bizarre diplomacy that took place between kimjong—un in north korea and the 45th president of the united states, donald trump, during his administration. there was talk at the time, in terms of who was going to be firing missiles. there was that notable comment where donald trump had said, "that he should be careful of making threats because i also

have a red button on my desk," he said. "the difference is my button works". at the moment, those overt communications might not be as strong as once they were. but in the background, there are going to be a series of discussions, diplomatically, if necessary using fixers. they're going to want to do everything that they can to return this troop to the united states, because terminated or not, disciplinary action or not, he's still a us citizen, and, at the moment, he's still a serving soldier. now it is a story we have been talking about all we care on the bbc. the heatwave has continued in several countries, with firefighters tackling wildfires in greece, spain and switzerland. the heatwave is set to intensify across large parts of the world. in italy, temperatures hit 46 degrees celsius in sicily. there are currently red alerts in place for 20 major italian cities. across to the atlantic, death valley recorded its hottest midnight ever at 49 celsius.

china is experiencing a heatwave, too, with temperatures above a0 degrees in the north, in xin—jiang. 0ur climate editor, justin rowlatt, sent this report from murcia in spain, one of the hottest places in europe. wildfires continued to rage in greece today. firefighters struggled to contain them, as high winds fanned the flames, and italy has been continuing to feel the heat, too, with temperatures into the 405, and 20 cities with temperatures into the 405, and 20 cities now on heatwave alert. it turns out rain isn't the only weather that can take the sheen off your special day. irani and her colleague pedro look after homeless people in the southern spanish city of murcia. it could be really serious, because it's not only feeling sick, but also it can bring you to death. they work out on the street, checking people are coping with the heat.

so just think what these temperatures do to the human body. 0ur body temperature is 37 degrees. any higher or lower than that and our systems begin to shut down. so our bodies are fighting to stay at 37 degrees, and that takes a huge amount of energy, a huge toll on our bodies. irani and pedro give out water, hats and advice. the higher the temperature, the greater the risk to human health. and, of course, climate change is dialling up the heat. look how annual average global temperatures have increased since pre—industrial levels. the world is now about 1.1 celsius warmer than it was in the late 19th century. now, that might not sound a lot, but even a small increase in average temperatures makes a big difference. that's because it shifts the entire distribution

of daily temperatures to warmer levels, as this graph shows. it makes hot days both more likely and likely to be hotter. and it isn'tjust europe that's seeing that impact. parts of the us were even hotter than spain and italy. las vegas issued an official warning that there is unlikely to be any respite from the heat for at least a week. they know all about enduring high temperatures in arizona. it has now had 18 consecutive days above 43 celsius. and the hot weather in asia is continuing, too. there are heat stroke warnings across japan, as its recorded temperature is just shy of 40 celsius today. back in spain, helicopters joined the battle to contain a wildfire in la palma, one of the canary islands, more evidence of the brutal impact of this summer's extreme weather. justin rowlatt, bbc news, southern spain.

as we heard in that report, swathes of virgin pine forests have been burnt around coastal towns in greece. 0ur reporter azadeh moshiri is in kouvaras, and sent this update. the eu hasn't fourfirefighting planes to help the greek authorities. —— has sent four. several fires have made their way through mainland greece. here, where i am, we are in kouvaras, south—east of athens, and you can see that wildfires have torn through these hills. now, you can see the burnt trees around me. you can see the ash on the ground. but if you were here with me, you'd be able to smell it, as well. now, this fire that's torn through these hills is suspected to have been done by a man who lit a fire. he's now been arrested. but the consequences

are the same as the other wildfires we see in other parts of mainland greece. it is decimation across these hills. we spoke to firefighters who worked here, and helped evacuate people in the hills who were living in different parts of kouvaras, and they have been told they can now return to their homes, but as temperatures around here continue to grow, because the peak is set to hit in the next few days, thursday to sunday, they've said that these scenes, these wildfires could not be the last we've seen in mainland greece. the heatwave in the northern hemisphere was also brought up briefly during talks between the us special envoy on climate, john kerry, and chinese officials. mr kerry is in beijing, trying to revive climate cooperation between the world's top two greenhouse gas emitters. he believes tackling global warming could help china and the united states redefine their troubled relationship.

the australian state of victoria has pulled out of hosting the next commonwealth games in 2026, citing spiralling costs. its premier daniel andrew said she was not paid to spend billions of dollars on a 12 day sporting event. the commonwealth games host abu dhabi the event takes place every four years and attracts thousands of athletes from more than 70 countries and territories. we can go to kieran panda, a sports writer and lawyer, and hejoins me now from sydney. thank you for joining me. it from sydney. thank you for joining me-_ from sydney. thank you for joining me. it is a pleasure. how pepuiar _ joining me. it is a pleasure. how popular are _ joining me. it is a pleasure. how popular are the - how popular are the commonwealth games in australia?— commonwealth games in australia? ., ., ., australia? the commonwealth games are _ australia? the commonwealth games are a — australia? the commonwealth games are a second-tier - australia? the commonwealth | games are a second-tier mega games are a second—tier mega sporting event. 0bviously they don't have the same popularity as the olympics or the world cup, the women's world cup kicks off in australia tomorrow, in fact, sad because

they don't have that level of popularity, but australia is a sports mad nation. we always do very well at the commonwealth games, there's a about australians winning gold medals, so broadly there is support for the games in australia.— support for the games in australia. . ~ , ., australia. the clock is now takinu australia. the clock is now taking for _ australia. the clock is now taking for them _ australia. the clock is now taking for them to - australia. the clock is now taking for them to find - australia. the clock is now- taking for them to find another venue, which isn't an easy ask, so will they do it in time? has anyone raised their hand to host the games? h0 anyone raised their hand to host the games?— anyone raised their hand to host the games? no one has raised their _ host the games? no one has raised their hand _ host the games? no one has raised their hand yet. - raised their hand yet. yesterday's announcement came as a real shock. victoria had successively been awarded the games, they had been able to dictate terms, because the commonwealth games had not been able to find an alternative host, so victoria said they would host it but they wanted a regional model with the game spread across a number of regional hubs. that decision yesterday as i said came as a real shock and we've now got a sprint to the finish, the 2026 games, obviously only three years away, that is a very short amount of time to put on a mega global sporting event. a number of people suggested other cities in australia might

be interested. successive premiers of each of the australian states came out yesterday afternoon and said they weren't interested. there has been some talk that england might have to step up, england hosted the last commonwealth games in 2022, but in the absence of any hosts, some people have suggested that perhaps this could be the death of the commonwealth games. thank you forjoining us on the programme. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. this is re—unifying hall, one of a number of schemes we have seen in recent years, helping parents by sharing uniforms with others once their children have grown out of them. well, now one councillor in hull is calling for more help for low income families, in the form of an annual council grant that will help them pay for school clothing. help them pay for school clothing-— help them pay for school clothinu. . ., , clothing. there are families that will be _ clothing. there are families that will be looking - clothing. there are families that will be looking at, - clothing. there are families that will be looking at, do | clothing. there are families that will be looking at, do i | that will be looking at, do i pay for food this month or do that will be looking at, do i pay forfood this month or do i put the money towards a school

uniform, do i pay my rent? vicky williams is one of the coordinators. just remind us how the scheme works. basically we aet how the scheme works. basically we get donations _ how the scheme works. basically we get donations of— how the scheme works. basically we get donations of youth - we get donations of youth school _ we get donations of youth school uniform, collected at distribution points. we bring it here, _ distribution points. we bring it here, we sorted, and then we set out — it here, we sorted, and then we set out to— it here, we sorted, and then we set out to people who need it. it set out to people who need it. it is _ set out to people who need it. it is open _ set out to people who need it. it is open to anyone in the post— it is open to anyone in the post code, it is not means tested, _ post code, it is not means tested, and this year we have seen — tested, and this year we have seen an— tested, and this year we have seen an increase in the amount of school— seen an increase in the amount of school uniform that has actually _ of school uniform that has actually been requested. 0ur figures — actually been requested. 0ur figures have almost doubled on last yeah — figures have almost doubled on last year. for figures have almost doubled on last ear. ., ., , ., , last year. for more stories from across _ last year. for more stories from across the _ last year. for more stories from across the uk, - last year. for more stories from across the uk, head l last year. for more stories | from across the uk, head to last year. for more stories - from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you are live with bbc news. more than 100 current and former mcdonald's workers have told the bbc about a toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying at the company's uk outlets. the uk equality watchdog, the ehrc, said it was "concerned" by the allegations, and that in response to the bbc�*s findings,

it was setting up a new email hotline for those affected. mcdonald's said it had "fallen short" and that it "deeply "apologises". this report is from our employment correspondent zoe conway, and a warning you may find some of the content distressing. i got warned that these managers will target me, because i'm a girl and i'm new. it's one of the youngest workforces in the uk. he just goes and grabs my throat with, like, some force. teenage workers at mcdonald's say they've been preyed on. he obviously hit me quite hard and i had a handprint bruise on my bum. and they say managers are failing to protect them. mcdonald's does 100% have a problem with sexual harassment. shelby was 16 when she started working at mcdonald's last year in berkshire. she says the workplace felt toxic. managers warned her to stay

away from certain older men, including one man in his 50s. he just sort of grabbed me by my hips, and then pulled me onto his groin area. i felt disgusted because he was so much older as well. shelby says she complained to the store's management, but nothing was done. she quit in may. mcdonald's said it was investigating why any issues that she raised were not formally escalated at the time. mcdonald's uses a franchise system that means individual operators are licensed to run the stores and directly employ the staff. warren was employed by a franchise in hampshire. he says that earlier this year, a senior manager asked him to perform sex acts. in a room full of minors when you're almost ten years older than me, that should have never taken place. and did you complain to the management at all? no, ididn't. i honestly doubt i would have been believed. and also all the managers were basically one big friend group. it would've been me, a 16—year—old, going against it. today, the prime minister's spokesman said the allegations were deeply concerning. what we need to see from

the company is a new culture of transparency, effective whistle—blowing policies, and support for staff who have the courage to come forward. in february, mcdonald's signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog, the ehrc, in which it committed to do more to prevent sexual harassment from taking place. in a statement, alastair macrow, the ceo of mcdonald's uk and ireland, said, "they deeply apologise for the instances where they have fallen short". "there is simply no place for harassment, abuse or discrimination of any kind at mcdonald's". "and we will investigate all allegations brought to us". and he said that proven breaches of the code of conduct could end in dismissal. but some employees have told us that they've lost faith in the ability of the company to turn around its workplace culture. they don't really think about their staff at all. because if they did? because if they did, they do something about it.

well, if you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available via the bbc action line, you'll find that online at bbc.com/actionline or via the bbc news app. one of ukraine's top generals has said that his country's counter—offensive against russia is not progressing as quickly as hoped. he had said that rapid results were "practically impossible" because of well—prepared russian defences. ukraine says it has taken back more than 81 square miles of land sincejune, but russia still holds vast portions of territory since the invasion last year. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, has been to the front line near bakmut in eastern ukraine. the bloody battle for bakhmut isn't over. the city is now held by the russians, but we travelled with ukrainian forces who are trying to take it back.

their advance is still slow and meeting resistance. again. explosion they try to fire back with their finnish supplied mortar, but even western weapons can occasionally malfunction. explosion that was a russian shell landing. their positions are just about three kilometres away from here. last time i was near here, two months ago, it was the ukrainians losing ground and in danger of being surrounded. now, it's the other way round. this is the bunker from where ukraine's coordinating the offensive on bakhmut, with a constant live feed from dozens of drones.

the commander admits they're suffering losses, but not on the same scale as the russians. translation: we've taken the initiative. l the enemy is bringing in troops and wants to escape the trap. but they're in trouble. bakhmut could be encircled. ukraine is using all it can to break the russian defences... ..from the ground... ..and from the air. but it's still outgunned and having to spread its limited resources on several fronts. but it will soon have a new weapon — us supplied cluster bombs fired from these same american howitzers. this gun, will you use cluster munitions in this gun? yes, yes. you will? yes. and will you have any concerns? in the field...no. 0n the town, i have forbidden for this. because it's not humane.

0leksandr syrskyi is the general in charge of all military operations in the east. this is a command vehicle, yes? yes. the mastermind behind the defence of kyiv and the successful offensive in kharkiv. unlike many russian commanders, he's lionized by his troops. and now his eyes are firmly set on retaking bakhmut. and you will take it back, bakhmut? yes, of course — i try to do it. the offensive has been going on for more than a month now. even president zelensky has said it is slower than ukraine had hoped for. is that true? translation: we would i like to get very fast results, but in reality, it's practically impossible. this entire area is well prepared with defences, so all advances are not going as fast

as we would like. so far, the advances have only been modest. most of the front remains relatively static. these ukrainian trench lines in the east haven't budged since 2014. ukraine has still to commit all its forces, but it's yet to break through russia's heavily mined main lines of defence. jonathan beale, bbc news, eastern ukraine. let's take a look at some other global stories in the headlines. donald trump has said that he expects to be arrested and indicted in connection with the attack on the us capitol building in washington onjanuary the 6th. in a posting on his social media site, mr trump said he had been sent a letter stating he is a target of the investigation, and has been given four days to report to a grand jury. at least 14 people are known to have died in colombia,

after heavy rains triggered a landslide. around 20 homes were destroyed, and roads were blocked, in the quetame area. officials say 11 people are thought to remain unaccounted for. police in las vegas has searched a home in connection with the unsolved murder of the rapper tupac shakur, who was shot dead in september 1996. the search took place in the henderson area of the city, near to where he was killed in a car. and the first british passports issued in king charles' name are being released this week in the uk, marking the end of and aerate using her majesty queen elizabeth ii. the last time his majesty appeared on the passports was in the reign of king george vi, which ended in 1952. before we in the programme, an update on the australian sailor

who survived two months in the pacific ocean by eating raw fish and drinking rainwater. he has arrived in manzanillo in mexico. 51—year—old tim shaddock, along with his dog bella, left mexico for french polynesia in april, but their boat was damaged by a storm several weeks later. they were rescued by a trawler this week after a helicopter spotted them. at a news conference, mr shaddock paid tribute to his furry companion. look, yes, bella — bella sort of found me in the middle of mexico. she is mexican. she is the spirit of the middle of the country and she wouldn't let me go. i tried to find a home for her maybe three times and she just kept following me onto the water. and so, you know, ifelt — she is a beautiful animal. i'm just grateful she is alive.

she has a lot braver than i am, thatis she has a lot braver than i am, that is for sure.— that is for sure. that is why they call — that is for sure. that is why they call a _ that is for sure. that is why they call a best _ that is for sure. that is why they call a best man - that is for sure. that is why they call a best man and i that is for sure. that is why i they call a best man and girl's friend. a reminder of our top story — the us military has named the soldier who crossed into north korea from south korea as private second class travis king. he was on an organised tour of the un—run demilitarized zone which divides the two countries. it's unclear whether he has defected to the country. you are looking at low pictures just across the border. the crisis comes at a particularly tense time in the north. 0ne crisis comes at a particularly tense time in the north. one of the world's most isolated states. it has been reported he has fired a suspected to ballistic missile into the sea of japan, ballistic missile into the sea ofjapan, according to military officials in south korea. stay with bbc news because we will

keep a careful watch on the story as it progresses. that is all we have for now. i am monica miller. thank you for watching. hello. for many of us, tuesday was decidedly cool for a july day thanks to a lot of clouds and some outbreaks of rain. that was the scene for a weather watcher in belfast. there were plenty of places that didn't get above 14—15 degrees. was a little bit warmer in the southeast of england, but a world away from the heat that continues to affect southern parts of europe, that extreme heat set to go on. this is the dividing line, the jet stream, the winds high up in the atmosphere, keeping that heat away from our shores, keeping us in some relatively cool air with areas of low pressure and frontal systems moving through. that frontal system there, that was tuesday's rain—maker. it is moving away eastwards. high pressure trying to build from the west, but there'll still be some showers on wednesday. early cloud and patchy

rain in eastern england, that tending to clear, then some spells of sunshine but a scattering of showers. wales and the south west of england, not seeing too many showers. northern scotland likely to stay quite cloudy and breezy throughout the day. and temperatures for lerwick only up to 12 degrees, further south, 24 the high in london. through wednesday night, the showers will tend to fade, we'll see clear skies overhead, one or two mist or fog patches. and with those clear skies, it is going to be actually quite a cool night for the time of year, widely in the towns and cities, 8—12 degrees. but there will be places in the countryside that gets a little chillier than that. so a cool start to thursday morning, but a bright start with spells of sunshine. again, some showers will develop. the odd heavy one is possible.

still some quite large areas of cloud across northern parts of scotland and temperatures north to south between 15—23 degrees. that covers it for most of us. now for friday, a lot of dry weather around to start off, but we will tend to see more clouds spilling in from the west. and some outbreaks of rain are likely to move into parts of northern ireland and northwest scotland, drierfurther south and east, albeit with the chance for the odd shower and temperatures of 14—21 degrees. but as we head into the weekend, we see another frontal system attached to this area of low pressure. that will be working in from the west, bringing outbreaks of rain for many of us. and on the southern flank of that system, some quite strong winds. so, into the weekend some rain at times, albeit with some drier interludes. turning windy down towards the south and remaining fairly cool.

the content distressing. the content distressing. microsoft unveils plans to microsoft unveils bring artificial intelligence technology to its popular 0ffice technology to its popular office software. plus, we take a deep dive into how advertising companies are getting a creative boost from al tools. hello and welcome to asia business report. i am monica miller. we begin with microsoft, because the tech giant's shares closed at an all—time high, surging nearly 4% in the later session. the company has unveiled new artificial intelligence subscription service which will be powered