and north korea help each other in the event of aggression against either country. north korea's leader called the agreement a "new high level of alliance", sparking concerns in western countries. but the full details of the pact and its consequences remain unclear. our correspondent shaima khalil reports from south korea. vladimir putin's pyongyang trip was choreographed to a t, with some surreal, made—for—tv moments, like this one of him driving kim jong—un on the streets of pyongyang. earlier, kim il—sung square, at the heart of the north korean capital, was buzzing with crowds and colour, as the two globally isolated leaders revelled in each other�*s company and what mr kim described as a new level of alliance. translation: we highlyl appreciate your consistent and unwavering support for russian policy, including the ukrainian direction. i mean, ourfight against the hegemonic imperialist policy imposed for decades by the united states and its satellites. since his war on ukraine, vladimir putin and kimjong—un have grown ever closer. now they've signed a defence agreement that calls for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against either side. a move that will no doubt deepen washington's anxieties. translation: i have no doubt that this powerful treaty - signed between our two countries will be very constructive, and will be a driving force in the creation of a new multinational world, free from domination, hegemony and unilateral authority. high on vladimir putin's priority list is his need for more weapons, as the war in ukraine continues. russia is desperate to replenish its depleting stockpile, and north korea can provide that. according to the us and south korea, it's already been doing so. moscow and pyongyang have denied any arms transfers. kimjong—un has his own urgent requests. his country, which has been heavily sanctioned for years, is struggling, and needs money, fuel, food and other forms of aid. kimjong—un and vladimir putin have been pressured by the west and shunned by the world. they know there are limitations to what their pariah states can realistically offer each other, but, for them, this deepening relationship means they haven't yet run out of options. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, seoul. israel's chief military spokesman says prime minister benjamin netanyahu's stated goal of eradicating hamas is unattainable. in a tv address, rear admiral daniel hagari insisted that "hamas is an ideology" and therefore can't be eliminated. he said anyone promising the total defeat of hamas is misleading the public. in response, the prime minister's office issued this statement, simply saying: rear admiral hagari later said the military is committed to those objectives. israeli troops and tanks advanced further into rafah on wednesday, the city the israeli military says is now hamas's largest stronghold in gaza. the israeli defence forces released this footage of operations they say took place monday, in which troops cleared "terrorist infrastructure". on wednesday, an israeli air strike reportedly killed 12 people who were waiting for an aid convoy near gaza's main point of entry. meanwhile, the united nations�* human rights office says israel appears to have repeatedly violated international law with its bombing of gaza. it examined six specific bomb attacks last year that hit residential buildings, a school, refugee camps, and a market. the human rights office says the heavy weapons used cannot distinguish between civilians and fighters and thus their use cannot be justified. at a meeting in geneva, un human rights chief volker turk said israel's bombing campaign could amount to a crime against humanity. to hear more about the current situation on the ground in gaza, i spoke to rachel cummings from save the children a little earlier. rachel o'connor you are are speaking to us from terrabella, you spoke to us before, can you update us? what is the situation like that at the moment? are people continuing to arrive seeking refuge there from other parts of gaza? yes, great, thanks so much. yes, i mean yes, definitely, people are still arriving. gazais gaza is very mobile. being forced time and time again. we know since the 6th of may, when the first evacuation orders were issued in rafah, the population continues to be forced to move. there are now a million people who continue to be moving along the west of rafah in khan younis and into del ballard. in the last few days we went out into khan younis to look for options for service provision, so to set up a new clinic in children in khan younis, and population people are now still moving and children are still very much vulnerable in this context, yes. a grandmother in gaza told the bbc today about the conditions so grandchildren are living in. she said it is like a slow death. there is no dignity. what is the situation of children like where you are? that woman is absolutely right, it is extraordinary what is being done to children and what is happening to children. children are hungry, there is not enough food for people, not enough clean water so children are getting sick, and we know that, children are dying from malnutrition when it should not be happening in gaza, so the situation is desperate and we are deeply worried of course for the mental health impact is having on a whole generation of children. schools have been closed since the 7th of october, so there is no formal learning taking place, and as i said before, that provides protection children and a sense of normalcy for their childhood, but children are no longer able to be children in gaza, and this is having a massive impact on their mental health and physical health as well. so what do children spend the day doing, then, in the absence of school or any kind of formal setting to go to and with their parents looking for food and shelter? well, it is very difficult. parents and caregivers are having to seek food and seek any work or any employment they can, so children are taking on families for young children being expected to care for younger children or elderly relatives within the household. we had one staff member actually telling us a story where he had had to ask his son, who was nine years old, to just stay with his grandfather the whole day. his grandfather is unwelcome his father is obviously at work, so the job of the child was then to look after the elderly grandparent, but time is that by hundreds of thousands across gaza where children are having to take on other roles, so looking after elderly relatives, but also seeking food, seeking water, seeking shelter as well. these are some of the roles children are having to take on. children along with other partners are providing some type of child services and providing space for children to be children, but we know that is a short amount of time in their day and it is also obviously not reaching enough children. the israeli military has said it is going to put in place a daytime pause in certain areas to try to get humanitarian aid in. have you seen that pause in military action happening? yes, we have heard of this pause and it is from the crossing through rafah to the european hospital, i understand. now, that is a very dangerous area, which is why they are putting in this pause to allow for people and aid to move. however it is still a very dangerous area for humanitarian action and for humanitarian access to be present. so although that pause has been reported, what we need a course is a definitive ceasefire to allow for the freedom of movement of people and supplies across the whole of gaza. as the war rages in gaza, there's growing concern that a simmering conflict between israel and the islamist armed group hezbollah — which is based in neighbouring lebanon — could escalate into a bigger war. the leader of hezbollah is now warning nearby cyprus not to provide any military help to israel. hassan nasrallah said the eu member state would be treated as a warring party if it allows the israeli air force to use its bases to attack his group's fighters. there's been no response yet from cyprus. israel has said it is ready for a war with hezbollah. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a seven—month—old girl was mauled to death by her family's pet dog in coventry, police have confirmed. she was rushed to hospital by ambulance from the scene on shorncliffe road on sunday, but died a short time later. police said the dog was not classed as a dangerous breed and was humanely destroyed. a police officer working in prime minister rishi sunak�*s close protection team has been arrested and suspended from duty in connection with bets allegedly placed on the timing of the general election. the metropolitan police said they were contacted by the gambling commission last friday. the officer has been bailed, pending further enquiries. wiltshire police confirmed two people were arrested on suspicion of damaging the prehistoric stonehenge monument. campaigners withjust stop oil, which protests against the use of fossilfuels, sprayed powder paint on the landmark. the group said the orange powder paint was cornflour and that it will "wash away with rain". the protest came a day before the summer solstice at the ancient site.the prime minister condemned it as a "disgraceful act of vandalism". you are watching bbc news. louisiana is now the first us state to order every public school classroom to display a poster of the bible's ten commandments. the state's republican governorjeff landry signed the measure into law. the commandments have to be in a large, easy to read font. in the law they are described as "foundational documents" of the national government. opponents of the bill say it directly goes against the first amendment to freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. the american civil liberties union say they plan to sue the state, writing: earlier, i spoke with chelsea brasted, an axios reporter, about the new louisiana law and what it means for the state. chelsea, talked was about the to have the ten commandments displayed in public school classrooms, whether this come from? , . , classrooms, whether this come from? , ., , ., from? this was a state representative - from? this was a state representative jodi - from? this was a state . representative jodi horton representativejodi horton pushed it through during the most recent louisiana legislative session, so the representative wrote this legislation with the goal to get the ten commandments posted in all public classrooms in the state. she did meet some resistance with the upper louisiana does have a republican supermajority is in the backing to get it through and our governor, jeff landry was more than happy to sign it. explain to us, chelsea, for viewers around the world, is religion allowed to be taught in public schools? [30 religion allowed to be taught in public schools? do children ever know _ in public schools? do children ever know what _ in public schools? do children ever know what the _ in public schools? do children ever know what the ten - ever know what the ten commandments are they now have to be displayed on a wall? is a to be displayed on a wall? is a ureat to be displayed on a wall? is a great question. _ to be displayed on a wall? is a great question. in _ to be displayed on a wall? is —. great question. in the united states we have constitutional protections against that, when one piece of united states law is called the establishment clause and that piece of the constitution says that you have to have that separation of church and state so, yes, because there are students who know what the ten commandments are, but that is because they're being taught through theirfaith, through home their faith, through home practices, theirfaith, through home practices, not something generally would see in public schools. iii generally would see in public schools. , ., , schools. if post is to be hung on the wall — schools. if post is to be hung on the wall while _ schools. if post is to be hung on the wall while the - schools. if post is to be hung| on the wall while the teachers be permitted to talk about it and explain what the ten commandments are? . , , ., commandments are? that seems to be the intention. _ commandments are? that seems to be the intention. and _ commandments are? that seems to be the intention. and we _ commandments are? that seems to be the intention. and we have - be the intention. and we have already heard _ be the intention. and we have already heard from _ be the intention. and we have already heard from the - be the intention. and we have i already heard from the american civil liberties union that they do intend to launch a lawsuit against this. you will document the first amendment of the constitution and what it says, is it likely that lawsuit will succeed, be successful, or do you think? —— you were talking about. i you think? -- you were talking about. ~ about. i think time will tell. the supreme _ about. i think time will tell. the supreme court - about. i think time will tell. the supreme court has - about. i think time will tell. - the supreme court has recently shown some willingness to have a looser explanation of that clause, howeverthere a looser explanation of that clause, however there was a previous court case here in the us, i believe it was in 1980 and it was a very similar piece of legislation, a statute in kentucky that called for the ten commandments to be posted in school classrooms and the supreme court at the time instructor down, so we will be interesting to see how this plays out in the court. find plays out in the court. and louisiana, _ plays out in the court. and louisiana, of— plays out in the court. and louisiana, of course, - plays out in the court. and louisiana, of course, is . plays out in the court. and| louisiana, of course, is the first us state to have a law like this potentially blurring the difference between church and state, as you have been outlining there. do you think other states might now follow suit? it other states might now follow suit? , , ., suit? it will be interesting to see if others _ suit? it will be interesting to see if others follow - suit? it will be interesting to see if others follow the - suit? it will be interesting to | see if others follow the lead. other states have attempted it previously but they haven't gotten legislation quite like this across the finish line. we have seen that in texas, we seen that in utah, so we will seen that in utah, so we will see if others try again. millions of people across the globe are facing extreme heat and dangerous weather this week — from the middle east and asia to north america. heat—related deaths and overwhelmed power grids have been reported world—wide. the bbc�*s laura moss has this report. wildfires on the west coast of america, weather warnings in canada, water shortages in india's capital new delhi, and a scorching early summer in greece. parts of the world are well in the grips of a heatwave. scientists say many extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. —— sites are so many extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. it's onlyjune, but we're already seeing some pretty extreme weather. temperatures are unexpectedly high in parts of the us, in canada, in northern india, and in parts of europe, like greece. in the us, more than 70 million people are under heat alerts with temperatures as high as 41 celsius forecast in some areas. it's a similar story in canada, with temperatures as high as 35 celsius in southern and central areas. soaring temperatures in northern india have pushed power demand to a record high, the government said on tuesday. and, in parts of europe, the early heatwave in greece has led to a spate of disappearances and deaths of tourists, highlighting the dangers of heat exposure. we've heard about the recent deaths of people going out walking in the heat. and, you know, it's tragic, it's incredibly sad, but it's not sensible to go out walking alone in the heat. i'm quite adventurous, so i do like to go out off the beaten track, but if i do, i'll go with someone that's from the island. in saudi arabia, during the annual muslim pilgrimage to mecca, at least 22 people have died, with some media reports estimating the death toll could be much higher in heat of almost 52 degrees celsius. experts say climate change is altering the seasons. heatwaves will occur earlier in the season and we will also see sort of more intense rainfall in periods where it would be traditionally drier. so, massive weather systems, like monsoon seasons, they are either occurring later, and then when they do arrive they are more intense, so you will have a very dry period followed by really intense rainfall, causing flooding. there are concerns in paris that a heatwave next month could impact athletes at the olympics. as for the uk, it's been unseasonably chilly forjune, but temperatures are set to slowly creep up with hopes for a british summer at last. lauren moss, bbc news. as we heard from laura, here in the us much of the country is sweltering under an unforgiving heatwave. it's made for dangerous fire conditions. the us national interagency fire centre says there are 17 out of control large fires across nearly 150,000 acres nationwide in states including california, new mexico, and arizona. our will grant has more from gorman in southern california. awe—inspiring, but deadly — a towering wall of flames and heat bearing down on the town of ruidoso, in new mexico, has overwhelmed local fire crews and forced residents to flee, most just thankful to leave with their lives, but shaken. frank and connie lawer, both 83, are sheltering in an evacuation centre, lucky to have made it out at all. we could see the smoke change and we were engulfed in smoke. that scared me to death. i don't know whether we're going to have a home. there are several people in that area just above us that lost their home. in california, these are now all too familiar scenes. hillsides ablaze, thousands of hectares lost, as tinder—dry brush catches alight and firefighters struggling to bring around a dozen separate blazes under control. it is devastating, and especially when you get these wind—driven fires and you have all this unburnt fuel, combined with low relative humidity, it can create massive damage. as californians endure another season of rampant wildfires, warnings over extreme weather are in place across the country, from heat waves in the north—east, to a tropical storm in texas. a nation experiencing the real—time effects of climate change — and this is just the start. experts say this has been an unusually early and aggressive fire season, with several months of hot, dry weather ahead. the contrast with the scene in texas couldn't be starker. the first tropical storm of the hurricane season in the gulf of mexico has caused flooding in galveston, as well as in mexico itself, as north america braces itself for more extreme weather to come. will grant, bbc news, southern california. let's turn to some important news around the world. at least ten people have died in landslides in southeastern bangladesh, triggered by heavy monsoon rains. most were rohingya refugees form myanmar living in crowded camps in cox's bazar. more than one million people live in those camps, mostly in shacks made of bamboo and plastic sheets. the heavy rain is expected to continue for several days. at least nine people are dead and 46 injured after a fire broke out at a military ammunition depot in chad. the fire triggered a series of explosion that started just before midnight and lasted more than 30 minutes, causing fatalities and damage to nearby homes. members of the united states congress met with the dalai lama in india on wednesday. the bipartisan trip comes as president biden is expected to sign legislation that seeks to resume negotiations between beijing and tibetan leaders that have been stalled since 2010. south africa's president cyril ramaphosa is promising the "beginning of a new era" after being sworn in for a second term. the inauguration ceremony in pretoria was attended by at least 18 foreign heads of state, and included a 21—gun salute and fly—past by army helicopters. it follows elections in which the governing african national congress — the party of nelson mandela — lost its majority for the first time in decades. they've now entered into coalition with a traditional rival. the outcome of the election was described as one of the biggest political shifts in the country since the end of apartheid. this is the moment president cyril ramaphosa took the oath of office. i, cyril ramaphosa, swear that i will be faithful to the republic of south africa and will obey, observe, uphold and maintain the constitution and all other laws of the republic. applause congratulations, mr president. thank you, chiefjustice. applause ladies and gentlemen, the president elect has been duly sworn in. the president of the republic of south africa. cheers here's our africa correspondent barbara plett usher. in his inaugural address mr ramaphosa told south africans that a lot of was at stake. he said this was the beginning of a new era, that this was a moment of profound significance and that's because for the first time the anc is having to share power in what it calls the national unity government and its main partner is the democratic alliance party. it's also because it's crucial for this government to reverse the decline in south africa's economy, to basically get the economy, to basically get the economy working again for people, which it hasn't been, and that's where the anc lost so many votes and is because society is deeply only and highly polarised, as a mr ramaphosa's was, he said this could lead to instability and there are parties who have pledged to strongly oppose this government isn't quite fiery rhetoric. so the next step is for mr ramaphosa to choose his cabinet and then to announce his detailed policy proposals and then for this coalition to govern in a way that delivers for the people. on wednesday, communities across the us are marking what some call the country's second independence day — juneteenth. the date commemorates the end of slavery in texas and other confederate states as america's bloody civil war drew to a close. 0njune19, 1865, union troops from northern states finally reached galveston, texas. they told more than 250,000 enslaved black people that they were officially free. it came more than two years after the emancipation declaration freed all enslaved people in confederate—controlled areas — those were southern states that seceded from the union. juneteenth has mostly been observed by african americans as the symbolic end of slavery, but in 2021 president biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday. it is marked as a day to celebrate freedom and to raise awareness of continuing inequities across the globe. one of the activists who pushed to havejuneteenth nationally recognised marked this year's occasion in a special way. opal lee, also known as the grandmother of juneteenth completed her annual 2.5 mile walk in dallas to recognise the 2.5 years it took for the news to reach the enslaved people in texas. ms lee, who is 97 years old,was also given the keys to her new home on friday. it was built on the same lot that her family was driven away from by a racist mob when she was 12. local businesses raised the funds to construct her new house. that is it for the moment. do stay with us here on bbc news. take care. hello, there. wednesday was a decent day, right across all four nations. in fact, we saw temperatures in excess of 20 degrees, and we haven't seen that for over a week. but you may have heard a rumour that things are going to get warmerstill, and, infact, into next week we are likely to see temperatures widely into the mid—20s, maybe peaking as high as 28 celsius, somewhere in south—east england. perhaps, for many, that's something to look forward to, but before we get too carried away, let's concentrate on the rest of this week — turning warmer, yes, with some sunny spells, but there will also be some rain pushing into the west. now, we can see the first signs of that through today, with this weak weather front here, but more significant rain waiting in the wings. but for the majority of us, it will be a dry, settled and sunny start, a beautiful start. a line of nuisance cloud, really from northern england down to wales and south—west england, that could produce the odd spot or two of rain, and some showery dribs and drabs across northern ireland and into southern scotland, with that weakening weather front. to the far north west, temperatures perhaps struggling — 15 degrees. generally, to the north, we're looking at 18—20 celsius, with highest values of 22 celsius, somewhere in the south—east. but it's certainly worth bearing in mind, if you're a hay fever sufferer, well, we are looking at very high pollen levels, quite widely, across the country. now, into friday, ourweather front will continue to push in from the west. it will start to weaken off, as it drifts its away steadily east, but there's likely to be some heavier bursts, particularly across parts of northern ireland, as we go through the day on friday. some showery outbreaks of rain into western scotland, clouding over generally, but central and eastern areas should continue to see some sunshine, and, again, some warmth. we might see high teens, perhaps, in sheltered eastern areas of scotland. highest values, perhaps, of 23 celsius, somewhere in the south—east. now, that weatherfront, as it continues to track its way steadily east, will fragment and weaken, so there is a risk of some cloud, maybe a little bit of drizzle around on saturday, but on the whole, high pressure will build, and the winds are likely to swing around to more of a south—westerly for the second half of the weekend, and it's that south—westerly wind that will drive in this warmer air. so you can see, looking ahead, a lot of dry, settled, sunny weather, and turning increasingly warm. alleluia. voice—over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. perfume is a $50 billion industry and growing, and there's one flower that's found in hundreds of bottles. considered to be the most valuable scent in the business. the most beautiful flower that exists in perfumery. the most exotic and wonderful of all scents. jasmine.