More of their essentials at walmart, according to the companys results for the three months to the end ofjuly. The worlds biggest retailer is using its reputation for lower prices to attract consumers looking to buy anything from food to school shoes. Walmart� s net income for the quarter jumped by about 33 to nearly 8 billion. Lets get more now with Michelle Fleury in new york. Great results then for walmart others rivals havent fared so well. Whats the secret . Imean, i mean, they are known as a low cost grocer, the worlds biggest retailer proving once again their ability to attract shoppers at a time when they are facing a great deal of pressure financially in terms of higher prices, but in terms of higher Interest Rates which have made Lending Conditions tougher. I think that really has helped walmart through this. They are not onlyjust appealing to their traditional customer base, but they are also appealing to those more affluent customers who are being more cautious and turning to walmart to buy their groceries and other basic needs. That is the story here of these quite frankly really strong results, stronger than people were expecting. It wasntjust in store sales that were up, it was also online where they saw a 24 jump from one year ago to to date. And so taken together, the company has said it now expects to make more money for the year. Walmart can often be seen as a barometer for america in general what is it telling us about the us consumer . I think going into this week where we have heard from a lot of retailers in america from target, to other discount retailers, and other government retail sales data, the picture that is emerging of the American Consumer is one that is resilient. I think we knew that. Certainly that was evidence in the spring. It has been confirmed again that they have held up, despite the fact that they are buying big ticket items make are not buying big ticket items, turning more to daily needs. It has been proven to carry on. The question looking forward is what happens when that monitoring on Student Loans expires. That is going to take money out of Consumer Pockets and that is due to happen in october. Will this strengthen through the year . The reason economists are paying so much attention to this is that Consumer Spending accounts for two thirds of our economic activity. It is the difference between americans being able to weather, if you like, these tighter Borrowing Conditions that i mentioned earlier. Tighter Borrowing Conditions that i mentioned earlier. Michelle, thank ou so mentioned earlier. Michelle, thank you so much mentioned earlier. Michelle, thank you so much. Our mentioned earlier. Michelle, thank you so much. Our correspondent i mentioned earlier. Michelle, thank you so much. Our correspondent in new york. In singapore, cash, cars, properties and watches were among the luxury items seized by anti Money Laundering police in a series of raids on tuesday. Ten people, all of whom hold foreign passports, were arrested. More than 700 million us dollars of assets have been seized in whats being described as one of the biggest cases of its kind singapore has seen. Our Asia Business reporter, katie silver has been following the story. Those who were arrested aged between about 31 and 44 years of age. They were charged with Money Laundering, forgery and resisting arrest. We understand from police here that eight more people are wanted and none of the people were either singaporean citizens or permanent residents here, instead their passports were from everywhere, the likes of turkey, cyprus, cambodia, Saint Kitts And Nevis and the dominican republic. All also, it seems, had chinese passports. As you mention, these were simultaneous raids across island. They included condos and residences, including in some of the most sought after neighbourhoods here in singapore. 94 Different Properties raided altogether, 50 vehicles, a huge operation. And, as you mentioned, they seized everything from 35 Different Bank accounts, 70 million in cash, luxury bags, wallets, computers, phones, gold bars even, and jewellery. These people were charged, made these crimes overseas, particularly when it comes to scams and online gambling, and then they made forged documents in order to use this money and bring it into singapore and into the Financial Institutions here. One man who was arrested, he actuallyjumped out of the window on the second floor, he was found by police when he was hiding in a drain and he was actually then taken to hospital to be treated for some of those injuries sustained in that jump. I have heard from the central bank in singapore, it says it is working with the Financial Institutions here where the funds have gone and it is going to take firm action against any Financial Institution whose Money Laundering policies may not be up to scratch. Indeed, it is very rare here in singapore. It has among one of the lowest crime rates in the world and the police say they are going to have Zero ToleranceGoing Forward for any use of singapore as a safe haven. How concerned should we be about the chinese economy . Its been a difficult week there weve seen a fall in house prices, disappointing retail sales, and a decision by the government to stop publishing Youth Unemployment Figures which hit a record high injune. Responding to calls for more government stimulus, the chinese premier li chung said the country would work to achieve its economic targets. Meanwhile, theres a crisis at one of chinas top Asset Managers zhong zhi Enterprise Group which is fuelling concerns that a slump in the property sector could spill over into its 50 seven trillion Dollar Financial industry. I asked isabel hilton, the founder of china dialogue, whether the generous rates being offered to investors were simply too good to be true . I think weve got a lot of contagion. A lot of things that were good bets in the recent past for chinese investors are beginning to come to bits, and this is beginning to look like there could be a cascade effect. You get Something Like zhongzi that is issuing warnings, then you have a lot of panic. Youve got institutional investors, youve got companies that are being asked how big their exposure is, and youve got private investors because there havent been many places to put your money in china and people get very angry very quickly if they think they are not going to get their money back. One area where you can invest is property. But prices are dropping. How concerned will ordinary chinese folk be about that . Thats another one. Youve got people who have put down deposits and the flats havent been built. You have a lot of unsold property. You have the Biggest Companies going slowly bankrupt. Country garden is a huge one, and evergrande has been going bankrupt slowly for about two years now. So the problem with that is that it was the driver of growth. Spectacular growth figures we have seen for 30 years were substantially driven by local governments borrowing, buying land, building property and selling them. And that engine has just broken down now, leaving a lot of debt in a lot of places. And of course, a slump in china does send shock waves through global economies everywhere. How worried do you think investors will be about these developments . Well, i think we can see from what overseas investors are doing vis a vis the chinese economy that they have not been reassured by the statements that the government has been putting out because we have seen a drop in fdi in china at a time when the government is clearly very keen to get Foreign Investors in. So all the numbers are going the wrong way right now for the chinese government. In which case, pressure mounting on the premier to potentially step in with more stimulus. How likely do we think that is . Well, we have seen a number of meetings have been going on and there have been a number of promising words, but what we havent seen is much action. One of the worrying aspects of this is that the kind of actions the analysts think would be effective it is politically very difficult in china. So we might see trying to return to property stimulus, but that is a dead horse. You can go on flogging it, but its not really going to restore health to the economy. We need more confidence in the private sector, but they have taken hits for political reasons over the past three years. Its not easy to see how this is going to be turned around. The continued slowdown in china there. Around the world and across there. Around the world and across the uk this is bbc news. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. Bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. We see the beauty of the Natural World that sometimes it takes a unique eye to appreciate its hidden potential. Leaf cuttings and berries found in a nearby hedge, plus a vision and some determination can create something truly wonderful. Hello there. My name is winston. I am an environmental artist, a land artist. Whereas, another artist may use a paint and brush, i use natural materials. In a nutshell, i pick something up and move it to one place or another. So today, i did not know what i was going to make at all but i picked up some of these. These are from a Horse Chestnut Tree which we are under no. I was looking at these and the more closely i looked, i thought they were amazing colours, quite a simple design, but it is going to take a little bit of application to make it look nice. For more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. Youre live with bbc news. Saudi arabias Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has been invited to visit the uk. The visit is likely to prompt sharp criticism. It would be the first trip to the uk by the crown prince since the murder ofjournalist Jamal Khashoggi at the saudi consulate in istanbul in 2018. Us Intelligence Agencies concluded that the prince must have authorised the killing. Live now to Amnesty International chief executive sacha deshmukh. Thank you very much forjoining us. Do you think the trip should go ahead . ~ ~ � , do you think the trip should go ahead . ~ v ~ , ahead . Well, i think its really important ahead . Well, i think its really important for ahead . Well, i think its really important for people ahead . Well, i think its really important for people to ahead . Well, i think its really important for people to knowl ahead . Well, i think its really important for people to know that while saudi arabia has been exercising a very powerful pr effort, since 2015, since muhammad bin is man has come to power, we have seen increasing repression in saudi arabia. Last year, 106 executions, a massive use of the death penalty, dealings and repression of people who are critics of the government, 27 yearjail sentence for a student to tweeted about rates. Engagement is always important but it should be engagement that centres the important of human rights and i would be very worried, and im very worried, by an invitation to visit where it appears the uk government is sending a clear message that uk leaderships on human rights, something we should be proud of is now taking a back seat when it comes to saudi arabia. To saudi arabia. What is the best wa to to saudi arabia. What is the best way to engage to saudi arabia. What is the best way to engage with to saudi arabia. What is the best way to engage with saudi to saudi arabia. What is the best way to engage with saudi arabia | to saudi arabia. What is the best way to engage with saudi arabia when it comes to these issues, the concerns that you have as a Human Rights Organisation . Rights organisation . Well, i think its important Rights Organisation . Well, i think its important that Rights Organisation . Well, i think its important that countries Rights Organisation . Well, i think. Its important that countries Around The World are clear. We are talking, we should remember here, about universal human rights. These are notjust universal human rights. These are not just values that one universal human rights. These are notjust values that one particular country, we are talking about rates, these rates have been codified and countries Around The World have said these are the pcs of the rates of all of us, wherever we are in the world. All countries Around The World, including the united kingdom, should be using opportunities such as the discussions around trade, engagement with those countries, to be talking about the application of those rates in those countries. We are talking to saudi arabia about the relationship, we should be talking about the rights of Migrant Workers in saudi arabia, the rights of women, human rights defenders, who even after being released from jail have been put under custodial sentences within their homes are travel bans are threatened with future punishments if they speak out again. We should be putting scrutiny of those kind of actions at the centre of our relationships. So absolutely, yes, it should be engagement but engagement with human rights at the Centre Rather than what we are seeing which is a clear message from the uk government that human rights are secondary, or even not their priority when it comes to discussions with saudi arabia and other countries. I discussions with saudi arabia and other countries. Other countries. I suppose what others might other countries. I suppose what others might say other countries. I suppose what others might say is other countries. I suppose what others might say is if other countries. I suppose what others might say is if you other countries. I suppose what others might say is if you put i other countries. I suppose what others might say is if you put human rights at the centre, then you may not come in the first place and there are a lot of economic gains to be made by this visit. So bring him here, some would say, and then bring up here, some would say, and then bring up the issue. I here, some would say, and then bring up the issue up the issue. I would argue that that theory up the issue. I would argue that that theory that up the issue. I would argue that that theory that you up the issue. I would argue that that theory that you have up the issue. I would argue that that theory that you have just i up the issue. I would argue that i that theory that you have just said is starting from a perception of a position of weakness. If you think that the only way in which you can engage with another country is one of desperation, if the visit above all else is your priority and he sent a key message that these issues do not matter to you, that will frame the dialogue, that will frame the relationship. I argue that does not need to be the case. Being clear about standards that do matter, using the uk plasma economic power, using the uk plasma economic power, using the uk plasma economic power, using the economic strength, the strength of its relationship, the strength of its relationship, the strength of its relationship, the strength of the negotiations to keep the scented alongside other aims that the uk wants to achieve with saudi arabia, i believe that is a significantly better approach, certainly than one that sends a clear message that these issues do not matter to the uk government. I do not believe a visit at all costs are somehow in the uks interest. Not when our position of Global Leadership on human rights, a uk strength for so many years, i hear so much about how it has been one of the most respected points about uk leadership globally, i whether this is a very prime example of the uk threatening to squander a position of leadership that it has on Global Human Rights issues Around The World. , ~ , human rights issues Around The World. , ~ ,. Human rights issues Around The World. ~ ,. , world. Thank you very much for shafinu world. Thank you very much for sharing your world. Thank you very much for sharing your insights world. Thank you very much for sharing your insights into world. Thank you very much for sharing your insights into the i sharing your insights into the story. Earlier, ispoke sharing your insights into the story. Earlier, i spoke to our Security Correspondent and asked him why the prince is regarded as such a controversial figure. Why the prince is regarded as such a controversialfigure. He why the prince is regarded as such a controversial figure. Controversial figure. He is such a aradox. Controversial figure. He is such a paradox he controversial figure. He is such a paradox he is controversial figure. He is such a paradox. He is freeing controversial figure. He is such a paradox. He is freeing it controversial figure. He is such a paradox. He is freeing it up paradox. He is freeing it up socially, he has scrapped the absurd women ban on driving that the religious clerics insisted on, he is diversifying the economy away from the dependence on oil, he is starting these huge megaprojects, which may or may not work, and he has a vision for the future, vision 2030. On the other hand, he is presiding over a country that has a very pure Human Rights Record and he is suspected by western countries of having ordered, or at least being complicit, in the very grisly murder five years ago of a saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He denies that. The official version is this is the measure carried out by rogue agents. There is no such thing in the gulf. I have lived there for years. This does not happen. These are Government Agency flew on Government Official plans and who. This is the official version. Saudi arabia is an enormously rich, powerful and important country and britain wants a slice of its trillion dollar plus investment. It wants partnership with saudi arabia in things like high tech, bio. Iam with saudi arabia in things like high tech, bio. I am trying to think of the exact word, bio energy, and that is only going to happen with the say so of this man, which is why he is being invited to britain. And the government, im sure, will bring up human rights and it will be discussed but i am not sure it is going to change some of the practices saudi arabia has been doing. The practices saudi arabia has been doin . ,. A,. , doing. You have met Mohammed Bin Salman during doing. You have met Mohammed Bin Salman during your doing. You have met Mohammed Bin Salman during your time doing. You have met Mohammed Bin Salman during your time covering doing. You have met mohammed bin| salman during your time covering the gulf. Ourviewers salman during your time covering the gulf. Our viewers would be interested to know what he is like as a person. He is clearly very charming on some level, he knows how to schmooze. He charming on some level, he knows how to schmooze to schmooze. He has charisma. He is a bi man to schmooze. He has charisma. He is a big man physically. To schmooze. He has charisma. He is a big man physically. He to schmooze. He has charisma. He is a big man physically. He has to schmooze. He has charisma. He is a big man physically. He has an a big man physically. He has an enormous presence. I met him with an audience with his father, who was still king, but he is now in his 80s and he is fairly frail and basically handed over most of the governing of the country to his, lets be honest, favourite son. Whereas other saudi sons of the king went off to study abroad, crown Prince Mohammed stayed at his fathers site and noted the business of government with his father. When hay met him it was in the palace injeddah and he was quietly taking notes at the back and i asked him, quietly taking notes at the back and iasked him, what quietly taking notes at the back and i asked him, what do you do, and this was ten years ago and he humbly said, i am this was ten years ago and he humbly said, iamjust this was ten years ago and he humbly said, i am just a lawyer. He is more than that now. He became Defence Minister in 2015, he started saudi arabias war in yemen, which has ended up being disastrous. Far saudi arabia as well as yemen. He locked up arabia as well as yemen. He locked up all the princes and rich businessmen at the ritz carlton, he pushed out the then crown prince and essentially cornered all of the levers of power into his chair hands. He is the most powerful man in the middle east. He is someone to be reckoned with, whether you like to him are loathe him. We have had the readout of the carl. It says the Prime Minister spoke to the crown prince of saudi today. The spokesman made no mention of the visit later in the year but said the Prime Minister looked forward to meeting in person at the earliest opportunity. They talked about their commitment to further develop trade and investment relationships and discussed the situation in ukraine. There you have it. That is the statement. You are watching bbc news. Englands Lake District is well known for being home to rare creatures like otters and ospreys. Now, conservationists are arguing that water voles should get similar protection as their population has plummeted in recent decades. And theyve launched a new project to push their numbers up. Our science and environment correspondent Victoria Gill went to find out more. Being prepared for a new home. More than 200 water voles transported here all the way from devon are being checked, ready for release in this cumbrian valley. Its part of a two year mission to bring the endangered mammals back to the Lake District. Oh, its really exciting. When you work in conservation, you want to see things that should be in the landscape. And sometimes things come naturally and sometimes you have to give them a bit of a helping hand. So all of the work that the teams been doing on site for the last few years to make sure that the site is suitable for water voles, for it to eventually end up with the release of water voles is just a fabulous thing to see. Water voles used to be widespread in the rivers, streams and lakes of cumbria, but there are nowjust a few isolated populations left here. All of these animals have been bred in captivity and most of them will be introduced to their new habitats in these special soft release pens. Just very carefully carrying the water voles down onto the site. Its been prepared for about two years, this area, but its been kept a secret, the exact location to protect these mammals. A key way this habitat has been prepared for today is by controlling the population of non native american mink, predators that decimated the water vole population. Volunteers will check on the pens daily until the doors are opened in about three days time. For a few of the more mature voles, though, its straight into the water. And while some are enthusiastic to swim, others seem keen to hide in the undergrowth. Its really exciting. Theyre an important component of the landscape. Their effects on vegetation, by the way they burrow and how they make little lawns and grays, but they also provide a really good food source for native predators, the kind of animals that should be preying on water voles and eating them. So there is one in here. Its just good to see them back where they should be, returning them back to the place where they should be in the first place. In total, for this project, 350 animals will be released in two locations in cumbria, bringing a missing species back to the landscape where it belongs. Victoria gill, bbc news. Lets talk to sam mason from the eden rivers trust, a charity which campaigns to protect River Habitats in cumbria. Thank you forjoining us. It is great to see those pictures of the water voles. What is the Biggest Challenges when returning an Endangered Species to a particular habitat . It Endangered Species to a particular habitat . ,. ,. ,. , ~ , habitat . It is all about making sure we have the habitat . It is all about making sure we have the right habitat . It is all about making sure we have the right habitat habitat . It is all about making sure we have the right habitat for habitat . It is all about making sure we have the right habitat for them | we have the right habitat for them to return into. The end of the day, we want them to survive and thrive. With water falls, we we want them to survive and thrive. With waterfalls, we had we want them to survive and thrive. With water falls, we had to make sure we had a really good where land and natural River Systems that they could burrow into the river banks far. Another point is about mink control. They are un invasive, non native predator that the waterfall has no defence against. We have to spend quite a lot of time working with farmers, landowners and the local community to control the mink and getting the numbers down so it was safe for us to reintroduce the vols. �. ,. ,. , the vols. And how is it going so far . I the vols. And how is it going so far . I must the vols. And how is it going so far . I must say, the vols. And how is it going so far . I must say, the the vols. And how is it going so far . I must say, the are the vols. And how is it going so i far . I must say, the are incredibly cute creatures, arent they . Iiiin� n� far . I must say, the are incredibly cute creatures, arent they . How do ou cute creatures, arent they . How do you monitor cute creatures, arent they . How do you monitor progress . Cute creatures, arent they . How do you monitor progress . We cute creatures, arent they . How do you monitor progress . We are you monitor progress . We are monitoring them over the months and years. We are not sure how it is going to do. This is the first reintroduction. We are relying on our volunteers being out there and seeing signs for them and seeing how the populations are growing and dispersing. It is going to be an interesting time. For us, ourvision has got to be that we want to see what drivel is widespread across cumbria and this is the first step. I am just reading here that water voles were first brought to britain, one of the key projects was controlling the mink for fire farming. Controlling the mink for fire farmina. ,. , controlling the mink for fire farmina. ,. ,. , controlling the mink for fire farmin. , farming. The problem was the escaped and once they farming. The problem was the escaped and once they escaped, farming. The problem was the escaped and once they escaped, they farming. The problem was the escaped | and once they escaped, they rampaged across the countryside. Because the female mink are quite small, the which wiped out a whole colony of water voles quickly. It shows the damage that non native species can do to our Native Wildlife. Our Native Wildlife needs all the help they can get at the moment. What they can get at the moment. What other projects they can get at the moment. What other projects are they can get at the moment. What other projects are you they can get at the moment. What other projects are you working on like this when it comes to reintroducing Endangered Species back to their native habitats . We have back to their native habitats . Have been involved with the project looking to reintroduce beavers into cumbria, which we have into locations. One lambert estate, another place where we released what drivel is at this time. We are looking quite closely at which of the native species that should really be back here in cumbria to try and bring wildlife back to what it was. , ~ ,. , try and bring wildlife back to what it was. , ~ i. ,. , try and bring wildlife back to what it was. , ~ i. It was. Ok, well, thank you so much as sam mason it was. Ok, well, thank you so much as sam mason from it was. Ok, well, thank you so much as sam mason from the it was. Ok, well, thank you so much as sam mason from the river it was. Ok, well, thank you so much as sam mason from the river he as sam mason from the river he didnt trust, a campaign that campaigns to protect River Habitats in cumbria. We will have you on again in a couple of months� time to see how it is going. The acute, the water bills, aren� t they . So adorable. Now for a take a look at the weather. Heavy and thundery rain in places. Strong when. It will feel quite warm and humid on friday. We have got to weather fronts associated with low pressure. This is the main weather front. The of it, you will see a line of showers and storms spreading northwards. That is on friday. Through tonight, it should stay largely dry across much of the more cloud across southern and eastern areas. Some of them may turn out to be thundery, these showers. A muggy night to come, particularly across the south. Friday, that Saddam Spreads Northwards across wales, central and southern areas make that storm. Gusts in excess of 60 mph. Not a bad day across scotland. Best of the sunshine in the west. Some showers. Top temperature 23 celsius. It will feel humid. Friday night, the temperature gets going, band of heavy and thundery rain spreads northwards. You can see the colours indicating thunderstorms there. Flooding could be an issue in one or two locations. A warm and humid night to come for many, especially across england and wales. Through the weekend, that area of rain will journey north, fairly strong gusty winds on it. Moving north through scotland. The rest of the country has a fine day, sunny spells and scattered showers across northern and western areas. Blustery here, with temperatures in the low 20s. Feeling fresher. Still warm in the south east. A similar story for part two of the weekend. The blustery showers will be in the north and west of the country. It will feel fresher. Closer to High Pressure in the southern and eastern areas. It will stay sunny and temperatures in the mid 20s. It could turn very warm or hot across the south east for the time on monday and tuesday. Plenty of sunshine here. Live from london, this is bbc news. Tributes are paid to the tv chat show legend sir Michael Parkinson who has died aged 88. Saudi arabia� s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is invited to the uk, prompting criticism over the gulf leader� s Human Rights Record. More than 60 migrants are presumed dead after their boat is found drifting off cape verde in west africa. And the wait is over for hundreds of thousands of students in england, wales and Northern Ireland as end of year exam results are released. Hello, i m rajini vaidyanathan. Welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. We start with the death of sir Michael Parkinson, one of the biggest names in british television. The legendary Chat Show Host died, aged 88. In a long and hugely successful broadcast career, he interviewed some 2,000 stars of entertainment and sport from Around The World. They included boxer muhammad ali pictured here sparring with sir michael in 197a. Other guests included some of the world� s greatest actors, such asjudi dench, tom hanks, and musicians such as sir paul mccartney. Among many eye catching moments, Victoria Beckham let slip that her nickname for her husband david was goldenballs in 2001. Our Arts CorrespondentDavid Sillito looks back at his life