but someone has been asked to infiltrate their ranks, gather intelligence, and send details to the chinese authorities. we're calling him alim, and concealing his identity. he's a refugee living in the uk. it was an audio call through wechat. when they called me, i recorded it with my other phone. alim has shared recordings of those calls. we've adapted a few to mask key details. we paid a visit to your family in xinjiang. my colleague collected their details. if you want to see them, i can set up a video call. yes, please arrange that. i just want to talk to them and find out how they are. i won't ask about anything else. 0k. no problem. i'll arrange that for you. alim was granted a very unusual video call with his mother. the officer connected them by holding two mobile phones facing each other. he used one phone to connect with my mother, and then he used another phone to contact me, allowing me to see my mother through his screen. when i saw my mother, i couldn't contain my emotions. it had been 6—7 years since i last saw her, and it was an incredibly heart—wrenching moment. there was a price to pay. the officer wanted something in return. we've heard that the uyghur activists are planning to meet next month. we want you to attend and find out what they say, especially the leaders. we know who they are. they took my family hostage, putting me through this ordeal. even though i may appear fine on the outside, on the inside, i'm suffering. a report published this year says 60% of the 400 uyghurs living in the uk have been approached with a similar request to inform on their peers or to stop speaking out about what's happening in xinjiang. this is about the way the chinese government harasses and threatens uyghur people abroad and tries to control their daily activities and their friendships. most face threats and harassment from police and government officials, but all experience family separation. uyghurs outside china offer a line to the international community. they can speak for those still in xinjiang, telling the world about its internment camps, where the un says more than a million people have been detained in the last few years. alim refused to cooperate. and we understand that the vast majority of requests made by chinese police are rejected by those in the uyghur community. sam judah, bbc news. that was our reporter sam judah there, who asked the chinese embassy in london for its response to his report. they said these allegations of transnational repression are totally groundless. they say that we are living in the uk or anywhere else in the world, are absolutely free to contact their families at home in china. and they also said this idea that uyghurs living in the xinjiang region are not under any pressure whatsoever and are free to lead normal lives. just to remind our audience again, the story is about the chinese and hundreds of thousands of uyghur muslims who are subject to mass incarceration that you found are being pressured abroad. how widespread is this? well, there's a landmark piece of research that we refer to in our piece. and it suggests that two in every three uyghurs living in the uk where the population is only around 400 people have been contacted directly by the chinese government and they have been pressured to spy on one another, to stop speaking to the media and to refrain from advocacy work. but when we start to look overseas, the picture looks a little darker. so if we look at turkey, for example, where the uyghur communicate, the community is much larger. it's around 50,000 people. it's traditionally a safe haven for uyghurs. this research suggests that four in every five of those 50,000 uyghurs has been approached directly by the chinese police and pressured in some way. the planet's hottest month on record is drawing to a close, but the scorching temperatures are expected to continue in many parts around the world. tens of millions of americans remain under heat alerts, as the southern united states could see record breaking temperatures in the coming days, according to the country's national weather service. the city of phoenix continued its streak of sweltering heat. phoenix has gone 30 days in a row with temperatures above 110 degrees farenheight — that's 43 degrees celsius — though forecasters say monday showers could bring the streak to an end. meanwhile, an out—of—control wildfire has crossed into the us from canada. an evacuation order was put in place for residents near 0roville in washington state, as well as the canadian town of 0usoyos. the wildfire — called eagle bluff — is estimated to be burning more than 12 thousand acres between the two countries. it is just one of more than 1,000 wildfires burning across canada. so far this season, canadian wildfires have burned more than 31 million acres of land. that's more than the area of cuba. in the chinese capital beijing, at least two people have died during the country's strongest storm in years. the storm has triggered widespread flooding — causing hundreds of thousands of people to be evacuated across the country. the storm is weakening — but china's government has urged people to stay indoors. 0ur correspondent steve mcdonnel has sent this report. unrelenting rain has brought flash flooding to the suburbs of beijing. cars have been washed away at an alarming speed. it's not known how many people have been trapped inside them or how many may have drowned as a result. a red alert has been issued in the capital, with residents told to stay indoors and employers ordered to allow staff to remain at home. hundreds of flights have been cancelled, as have many trains. some passengers have been trapped mid—journey, with rising water surrounding their carriages. rivers here have swollen to such an extent that even houses have been swallowed up. bridges in beijing have collapsed, and many city bus services have stopped. emergency services say they've been recovering bodies from raging waters, and that tens of thousands of people have been moved to safety. precipitation levels in beijing and other cities across northern china have already reached record levels. in worrying news, driving rain is expected to continue over the next 24 hours. and then, another typhoon will hit southern china. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. now to the meditteranean island of cyprus — where a british pensioner who killed his seriously ill wife has walked free from court. david hunter was found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife janice at their home. mr hunter had told the court that she had begged him to end her life because she was in so much pain. he was sentenced to two years in prison, but released because he'd already spent most of that time behind bars. from paphos, fiona trott sent this report. unrelenting rain has brought flash flooding i wish i could i wish i found words to describe it i can't. when you are under pressure for two years one of which in court... don't know anything. i want to sit the key to all the people who donated to me and especially my mates, my workmates. i don't know where road be without them. i hope i am feeling the same of my family when i talk about that, my whole family. in family when i talk about that, my whole family.— my whole family. in that family. _ my whole family. in that family, thousands - my whole family. in that family, thousands of - my whole family. in that i family, thousands of miles my whole family. in that - family, thousands of miles away in northumberland were overjoyed that david hunter was finally free. overjoyed that david hunter was finally free-— finally free. absolutely ecstatic. _ finally free. absolutely ecstatic. i _ finally free. absolutely ecstatic. i couldn't. .. l finally free. absolutely | ecstatic. i couldn't... if finally free. absolutely i ecstatic. i couldn't. .. if i ecstatic. icouldn't... ifi won— ecstatic. i couldn't... ifi won the _ ecstatic. i couldn't... ifi won the lottery tomorrow i wouldn't _ won the lottery tomorrow i wouldn't feel any better than i felt when i got the call today. just absolutely brilliant. everybody, you could sense the emotion — everybody, you could sense the emotion in the whole group. it's what _ emotion in the whole group. it's what we have been working for, it's what we have been working for. what — it's what we have been working for, what we hoped for, what we wished _ for, what we hoped for, what we wished for~ — for, what we hoped for, what we wished for-— wished for. this is the dv they knew, wished for. this is the dv they knew. the _ wished for. this is the dv they knew, the lucky _ wished for. this is the dv they knew, the lucky men - wished for. this is the dv they knew, the lucky men who - wished for. this is the dv theyl knew, the lucky men who retire to cyprus with a wife he adored. but here inside their home, janice was suffering. she had blood cancer so david killed her and try to take his own life. he admitted what he did and was found guilty of manslaughter last week. iliiui’itli manslaughter last week. with the was a _ manslaughter last week. with the was a fair _ manslaughter last week. with the was a fair decision - manslaughter last week. tn the was a fair decision and manslaughter last week. ii�*u the was a fair decision and one in line withjustice, the was a fair decision and one in line with justice, he spent so long in prison but he's really looking forward to getting out and now this allows for him and his family to properly grieve. absolutely wonderful. _ properly grieve. absolutely wonderful. janice _ properly grieve. absolutely wonderful. janice was - properly grieve. absolutely wonderful. janice was at i properly grieve. absolutely | wonderful. janice was at the centre of— wonderful. janice was at the centre of his world. - wonderful. janice was at the centre of his world. he - wonderful. janice was at the centre of his world. he is i wonderful. janice was at the i centre of his world. he is now working into a world and a life without her —— walking. his friends say that is punishment enough. let's now turn to pakistan where an islamic state affiliate group, the iskp, has said one of its militants carried out sunday's suicide attack that killed dozens of people in the north of the country. amaq news, usually the first outlet to carry information related to is, has reported the claim and identified the attacker as abdullah muhajir. the blast killed dozens of people at a pro—taliban election rally of an islamist party, in the bajaur tribal district of khyber pakhtunkhwa province. 0ur pakistan correspondent, caroline davis, reports from islamabad. we've now heard from the amaq news agency that the so called islamic state in kp. this is the province where the suicide blast took place that that group has now claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that took place on sunday afternoon so far, taking the lives of 45 people. now, this has come through the amaq news agency, which is quite often the outlet that the so called islamic state tend to use to announce when and claim various different attacks and the same thing for their affiliate groups as well. now, while this declaration did include the name of the individual that they say was the suicide bomber, it hasn't contained any further details of the motive and the intention behind it. but the fact that this has happened and this is not the first time that the so—called islamic state has carried out attacks in pakistan. this many people are already suggesting that this appears to show a growing rift between the so called islamic state and other religious groups operating in pakistan, and that this is becoming increasingly serious. the body which represents the world's largest collective of muslim states has urged its member to take any action deemed appropriate in response to the burning of the quran in denmark and sweden. the organisation of islamic cooperation condemed both countries for failing to prevent the repeated torching of the religious text. the most recent incident in sweden saw two iraqi—born activists set fire to the quran outside the parliament in stockholm. swedish and danish governments have said that they reject islamo—phobic acts, but must balance freedom of speech with tougher laws on protests. the british prime minister rishi sunak has called for the immediate release of the prominent russian dissident, vladimir karamurza, who has lost an appeal against his 25 year prison sentence. mr kara—murza was arrested soon after russia's invasion of ukraine, and found guilty of treason and spreading false information about the war. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg reports from moscow. applause he came to court with little hope, but lots of support. and for that, vladimir kara—murza was clearly grateful. in april, the kremlin critic had been convicted of treason and sentenced to a quarter of a century in prison. this was his appeal hearing. the result, as expected — appeal rejected. vladimir kara—murza is one of russia's most prominent opposition politicians. for a long time a thorn in the kremlin's side. he'd lobbied western governments to impose sanctions on russian officials for corruption and human rights abuses. he denounced the war in ukraine. he holds russian and british citizenship. his supporters condemned the ruling. it's very painful because 25 years is something unbelievable. he's a strong man, which want to make the better future for russia. so the conviction stands. the 25—year prison sentence remains unchanged. but in a country where the crackdown on dissent is accelerating the failure of vladimir kara—murza's appeal comes as little surprise. over the weekend, vladimir putin made it clear what he thinks of dissent. a reporter asked whether it was normal for people to be arrested for things they've written or said. translation: the russian federation is in a state - of armed conflict with her neighbour. i think there should be a certain attitude towards those people who are causing harm inside the country. back in court, "friends," he says, "everything will be ok." "freedom ! " they shout. that's optimistic. for vladimir kara—murza, freedom feels a long way off. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. this was the 22nd pride in hull event. it's just nice being able to celebrate and be able to be open and dress up and really be proud. what does pride mean to you? to notjust accept him, but celebrating the differences in the world. you can tell the it is. a great place for pride. what does pride mean to you? about being yourself and being really open with everybody? as far as the lgbt aspects or sexual orientation aspects of of the pride movement, a lot a lot of movement has happened. there is an awful lot more work to be done and sort of identifying what can we done for our trans community. organisers say they hope that by working with transgender groups, it will mean even more people listen to their message. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. to west africa now. niger's ousted president, mohamed bazoum, has been seen for the first time since the military detained him in a coup last week. following which gen abdourahmane tchiani. the head of the presidential guards unit, declared himself niger's new ruler. reporter yasmin khatun dewan is in the newsroom with more. here he is. mohammed bazoum the deposed president of niger, sat inside the presidential palace in niamey, inside niger. he, of course, has been inside that palace since last wednesday. he was arrested hours before that televised address on national television announcing a coup. he sat besides mohammed idriss deby, the president of chad, who arrived from nigeria, where discussions were ongoing concerning the situation in niger, deployed to negotiate on that coalition's behalf. that west african coalition called upon the nigerian military to give up power. you can see here an image from that announcement last week from an organisation within the military calling themselves the national council for the safeguard of the homeland. they, of course, have received support from the wider military force since that announcement was made. you can see here the negotiations and this image that surfaced of mohammed bazoum and mohammed idriss deby speaking inside that presidential palace. mohammed idriss deby has said he wants to reach a peaceful solution and is also speaking to the military who have taken power, as is the organisation who have deployed idriss deby on their behalf to negotiate and to restore mohammed bazoum back into power. it's interesting that idriss deby was deployed because he of course came into power with military support himself. and chad isn't actually a part of the ecowas. it's interesting that he has been deployed to negotiate. he came into power following the death of his father, idriss deby, the long—time president of chad. now, the military have warned against foreign intervention, but there has been that threat of regional intervention by this west african bloc with potential support of western nations, who have, of course, expressed their concern over the situation in niger. but it will be interesting to see what happens following these negotiations. in new zealand, a ban on most disposable vapes has come into force as the government attempts to crack down on youth vaping. under the new rules, new vape shops won't be allowed to open near schools and enforces generic flavour descriptions — so more evocative descriptors like "strawberryjelly doughnut" would become "berry. earlier, i spoke to kelly burrowes, associate professor at auckland university in new zealand, who is conducting reserach into the long—term impact of vaping on the lungs. i began by asking her why vaping was so accessible to young people there. new zealand has taken a very strong stance against smoking tobacco. so we are bringing in lots of regulations to really limit the amount of smoked tobacco. and i think that's one reason why the new zealand government is really supporting vaping as a means to reduce smoking. i think that's why it's been become very widespread now. what do you think that these new measures will really make a difference? so, when you're saying that's it's a ban on disposable vapes, it's not really going that far. so the new regulations that are coming in today are enforcing that vapes must have removable or replaceable batteries so you can still get disposable vapes that have these removable batteries. and i can imagine that the vaping manufacturers, they're going to pivot very quickly to enable most of these disposable vapes to actually meet these guidelines. i mean, australia has a rule that you actually need a doctor's prescription to buy vaping products. do you see new zealand down the road considering such actions? so i did think that that might be a good option. but i've heard that in australia that vapes are still quite easily accessible. so i think there are definitely other things that we can do here in new zealand. there is a way that we can fully ban disposable vape, so that would have to go through parliament, we could get rid of most of the flavouring, so just allow the tobacco, tobacco flavoured and menthol, we could keep the maximum nicotine level at 20 milligrams per mil for this consultation is thinking of raising that nicotine level higher than what's currently allowed in the uk and eu and also have harsher rules around schools, vaping in schools and shops selling to underage people. forty—one people who were rescued from a doomsday cult in kenya earlier this year are to be charged alongside the leader with murder and other offences. prosecutors say their investigations have established that the victims—turned—suspects were parents or grandparents of children who died or are missing police investigating the apparent mass suicide have so far exhumed over 400 bodies. it's one of sport's most iconic rivalries — england playing australia in cricket. and this year's ashes series is finally over. but there was disappointment for australia as they lost the 5th and final test against england, meaning the series ended in a draw. australia had been hunting their first series win against england — on british soil — in over 20 years. however the drawn series was enough for australia to retain the ashes. the bbc�*s phil mercer, told me earlier — just how they're feeling downunder this morning. many australian cricket fans will be quietly crying into their cappuccinos this morning. a great deal of disappointment that history could not have been made in that fifth and final test match at the oval grounds in london. given that one point on the final day come australia was in a strong position with steve smith. arguably australia's most accomplished batsmen still at the crease, but a collapse followed and history was denied. so i think right across this sports assessed country of australia there will be mixed emotions. disappointment of the opportunity loss, but also a sense that australia is certainly in the latter part of the ashes series has been quite fortunate to escape with that 2—all draw given that in that test match in old trafford, they were down and almost out and saved by the rain. so disappointment for australia, but satisfaction as well that the ashes has been retained after this drawn series. many of the australian players will probably not tour england again. what has the response been about some of these players, how are they being thought of? it will be another four years before australia towards england again. i think the rivalry will only intensify, especially after the wicketkeeper alex ca rey�*s controversial thumping of england'sjonny bairstow at lord so i think that one particular moment in the drawn series itself will ensure the next ashes series here in australia will be extremely intense. worth mentioning, that cricket is not the only sporting story in this country today. australian celebrating a women's world cup victory, the mathilda's, australia's football team beating canada 4—0 to progressed to the round of 16. so a lot of sporting news in this part of the world today. before we go — there's a big debate going on chinese social media over whether this bear is in fact a worker in a costume? social media users pointed out its slender hind legs and human—like movements — but at hang—zhong zoo say that it's a malaysian sun bear and that a man in a suit wouldn't last long in 40—degree heat. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. july has certainly been a pretty wet month, and we started off the new working week with another dollop of rain, particularly across northern areas of the country. so skies quite cloudy like these in cumbria. it was also quite windy as well. and so far this month we have seen some areas picking up more than three times as much rainfall as during an average july, for example, in preston. so it has been very wet. even as the area of low pressure that brought the rain on monday starts to edge away, out in the atlantic, underneath this trough in the jet stream, we're developing another potent area of low pressure that's set to bring wet and windy weather our way by wednesday. now, over the next few hours, it is a story of the rain across scotland, northern ireland, northern england, gradually turning a little bit lighter and a bit patchier in nature. it's largely dry, though, further south for southern wales, the midlands, east anglia, southern parts of england. so it should be a fine start to the day for these areas. on tuesday we go, and i think the thickest cloud we'll see will be across south—east scotland, northeast england, threatening a few patches of rain, probably a few showers running into the north—west of both england and wales, but otherwise should be a brighter kind of day. a little bit of sunshine poking out to northern scotland and across wales and parts of southern england as well. heading into tuesday evening and overnight, that area of low pressure i showed you on the satellite picture will continue to develop and will start to swing its way in. and this one will bring quite widespread outbreaks of rain and a swathe of strong winds just running in to its southern flank. so quite wet weather for northern ireland, northern england, some heavy rain also pushing into wales in the south—west, but it is across the south—west of england, really along the south coast, that we could get gusts of around 40 or 50 miles an hour, 50 to 60 perhaps across parts of northern france and the channel islands. that is likely to lead to some localised disruption. a few trees down in the ferries across the channel could be affected by those strong winds and large waves as well. across northern scotland, that's probably where we'll have the best of the dry weather with some sunshine coming through. temperatures not that special across the north, not that special anywhere to be honest. highs of about 17—21. that low pressure pulls away and for thursday the winds get a bit stronger in northern ireland for a time, but elsewhere the winds will gradually calm down. but it'll still be quite a blustery kind of day on thursday, a day of bright spells and passing showers. and as you can see, as we work deeper into the first week of august, there's no real change. it stays unsettled. china's restrictions on two rare earths used in the chip—making process takes effect from today. and beijing rolls out more measures to boost the economy, as the latest data showed continued slowing. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm monica miller. starting from today, the 1st of august, china's export restrictions on two materials key to the semiconductor industry will take effect. the country produces a majority of the rare earths gallium and germanium for the global supply chain. china slapped export restrictions on the materials last month, in a move widely seen as retaliation for american curbs on tech sales to china. nick marsh with more. you may never have heard of gallium or germanium untiljust gallium or germanium until just now, gallium or germanium untiljust now, maybe, but they are important elements, so—called critical materials, and they are needed for chips in things like mobile phones, leds, satellites, military equipment as well, and the reason that they have been in the news is because most of it comes from china. 60% of the world's germanium and 80% of the world's gallium and from today will be difficult to get your hands on it. let's take a look at what impeccable have and what this materials more means