in singapore, and eight in the morning in north korea — where russia's president, vladimir putin, is expected to arrive in the coming hours, for a two—day state visit. the visit has been announced on north korean state television — though no other details were given. it will, however, be the first visit by mr putin to his country's eastern neighbour in 2a years. satellite images of pyongyang's airport and main square indicate signs of preparations for mr putin's visit — including the sort of construction set—up that is usually used for parades. russia's state news agency tass said president putin is travelling to the country on a "friendly state visit" on the invitation of north korean leader kim jong—un. the leaders last met in the russian city of vladivostok last september — with mr kim travelling there on his private train. the us will be watching the visit very closely. what we are concerned about is the deepening relationship between these two countries. notjust because of the impacts it will have on the ukrainian people — because we know north korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit ukrainian targets — but because there could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the korean peninsula. i've been speaking to kelly grieco is a senior fellow, at the washington—based international thinktank, the stimson center. i think it is interesting that putin did not visit immediately after his trip to beijing last month. there was some suggestion that beijing asked him not to immediately visit pyongyang. did not really appreciate the optics of it suggesting there may be a new axis powers so he headed back home to moscow and is now making this as a separate visit which i think tells you something about beijing's unease about this relationship. russia and north korea are the two most the sanctioned countries in the world. what do you feel about this visit, who gains more from each other? this is a complete marriage of convenience. to be honest, i can't see this lasting more than the war in ukraine. i would suggest that probably russia is gaining more at the moment from this relationship in the sense that we know that about 9,000 containers have been reportedly been sent from north korea to russia since last september. reportedly 5,000 rounds of ammunition and it came at a really crucial time for russia when it allowed it to continue to really provide artillery to its front—line units while it was ramping up its own production. but as that production starts to ramp up, it's need for this kind of supply from north korea will naturally go down. so far, it is mainly provided in return to north korea, fuel and economic aid which has allowed it to stabilise its economy. but it is held back the really sensitive technologies that the north koreans have been hoping for. just a word on the western perspective of everything bc, moscow has said there is scope for, quote, very deep relations between the two countries. so how worried with the west be? i think it is understandable that the west is concerned, but i have a hard time believing that the putin is going to really provide a lot of the sensitive technologies that there is concern about him providing. some of this i think is a bluff in the sense that one of his concerns has to be about south korea which has a new and growing defence industry and a potential for south korea's own defence industry to provide arms to ukraine. i can't help but to think on some level that he is issuing these threats about this developing relationship with north korea almost as sending a warning trying to convince south korea to not ramp up its own support to ukraine. to try and encourage them to not continue down that path in suggesting that if they don't, he will hold back on his support for north korea. just pull out from all of this for a macro geopolitical picture, russia has been trying to show time and again, it has friends around the world from asia to latin america, africa, has vladimir putin been able to successfully demonstrate he has also allies? well... i think if you are demonstrating your close friend, ally is kimjong—un, you are probably in a of trouble. what he probably has shown is he is not completely isolated, that is for sure. and he not complete the isolated, particularly in the global south. i think we even saw that at this peace conference over the weekend. i think it was noticeable that three attendees, india, south africa, saudi arabia did not sign on to the peace agreement terms that were laid out. so it is very hard to isolate a major power is what this demonstrates. so even though he is not able to travel to many countries, it is simply very difficult to fully isolate a great power, that is the reality. from russia's far east — to its baltic coastline — and moscow has said that any attempt to restrict ships passing through the straits between denmark and sweden would be unacceptable. that remark came after denmark — a member of nato — announced plans for an international coalition to look at ways to stop a fleet of tankers carrying what it says are illegal exports of russian oil through the baltic sea. russia sends around a third of its seaborne oil exports across the baltic and through danish waters. some analysts say it uses a "shadow fleet" — made up of vessels which conceal their true identities — to avoid sanctions. the analytics firm vortex has calculated that over a thousand of what it calls �*dark fleet�* tankers have been transporting russian crude in the opaque market since january 2021. speaking at a press conference after the council of the baltic sea states in finland, germany's foreign minister said that the fight against russia dodging sanctions needed to proceed "full stea m. " translation: this is a convention _ translation: this is a convention of _ translation: this is a convention of sanctions | translation: this is a - convention of sanctions the shadow fleet that was discussed is just as big as an area, shadow fleet that was discussed isjust as big as an area, and way of circumventing the oil price cap so we have to work full steam, so to speak, all out on this issue to ensure that as far as the various elements of the sanctions as far as belarus is concerned, we reach a common approach. while that has been happening in asia and europe — the head of nato, jens stoltenberg, has been in washington — doing his best to bolster support for the alliance as it supports ukraine in its war against russia. he's meeting president biden at the white house — after earlier announcing that at least 20 of nato's members will spend more than 2% of their gdp on defence this year. that's double the number of five years ago. the more credible our long—term support, the quicker moscow will realise it cannot wait us out. and the sooner this war can end. it may seem like a paradox, but the path to peace is therefore more weapons for ukraine. it wasn't just moscow that mr stoltenberg wanted a message to be heard. he also had these words for china — who he accused of supporting russia's war in ukraine and profiting from it. publicly, president xi has tried to create the impression that he is taking a back—seat in this conflict. to avoid sanctions and keep trade flowing. but the reality is that china is fuelling the largest armed conflict in europe since world war ii. at the same time, it wants to maintain good relations with the west. well, beijing cannot have it both ways. at some point, and unless china changes its course, allies need to impose a cost. china hasn't yet responded — though it has previously denied doing anything to break international law with regard to the war in ukraine. and the kremlin hasn't responded to mr stoltenberg's latest comments yet — but it has accused him of escalating tensions. there's growing uncertainty this hour about israel's war strategy — after prime minister benjamin netanyahu dissolved his six—member war cabinet — and appeared to criticise his military for acting independently of his government. the scrapping of the war cabinet. of the war cabinet follows the departure earlier this month of two key members — the centrist opposition leader benny gantz and his ally gadi eisenkot. mr gantz announced his resignation on the 9th ofjune, afterfailing to get mr netanyahu to approve a post—war plan for gaza. the recent resignations prompted demands from two far—right ministers in the governing coalition to join the war cabinet instead. they oppose any truce before hamas is "eliminated". their inclusion could have further strained ties with international partners including the us. it comes as israel's military continues with what it calls daily "tactical pauses" in fighting to allow more humanitarian aid into gaza. the israeli army says the pauses are aimed at freeing up a backlog of aid but its objectives in gaza have not changed. we are determined to defeat hamas, we are determined to dismantle the military framework of hamas and we will keep on going doing so, at the same time, we will make sure humanitarian aid is reaching into gaza. now we need to make sure that the problem of distribution is being solved and this tactical pause is one of the ways that we are solving the problem of distribution. the main un aid agency in the palestinian territories says the daily pauses in fighting announced by the israeli military have yet to translate to more aid reaching people in need. 0perations are being halted daily along the road from the kerem shalom crossing to the main salah al—din highway, which runs north—to—south through gaza. but unrwa has told the bbc its not safe enough for aid workers to take advantage of the pauses. the military pauses have been criticised by prime minister benjamin netanyahu, he apparently said �*we have a country with an army, not an army with a country. more now from our middle east correspondent in jerusalem, jon donnison. i don't think the disbanding of the war cabinet is going to have a significant impact on israeli strategy in the war in gaza, but it is symbolic busy have to remember that the war cabinet was set up in the days after the october the 7th attack by hamas. it really is a symbol of political unity. the truth is, that political unity has evaporated. so you have prime minister netanyahu looking increasingly isolated with the resignation last week of benny gantz, the centrist opposition leader and his ally, both relatively moderate figures and both men with vast military experience and in particular, someone who i think the americans were keen to hear their views. the americans were keen to hear theirviews. so the americans were keen to hear their views. so now, the americans were keen to hear theirviews. so now, mr netanyahu will be calling the shots and making the decisions with regard to the war while talking to his close to his ministers and advisers. so as i say, no real change in the strategy in gaza, but we are also getting a bit of a picture of the discord between the politicians and the military. so this tactical military pause that was announced yesterday by the military that would occur daily between the hours of eight o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock at night, affecting the main road leading in from the kerem shalom checkpoint on the border with israel and because it's stretching some eight km into gaza, announced by the military in order to allow aid to pass into gaza. we heard prime minister netanyahu calling that decision to have a tactical pause are unacceptable yesterday. some of his ministers, even more critical, yet the military going ahead with it anyway. so i don't really think he israeli politicians, or the military are really speaking with one voice over strategy in gaza at the moment. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines in the us... the governor of maryland has pardoned more than 175,000 low—level marijuana convictions. adult use of the substance was legalised in the state in november 2022. governor wes moore, a democrat, said that the consequences of criminalisation had to be dealt with. legalisation does not erase the fact that nearly half of all drug arrests in maryland during the early to thousands were for cannabis. it does not erase the fact that black people in maryland were three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than white maryland citizens before legalisation. firefighters in california are tackling the state's biggest blaze of the year so far. winds of up to 50 miles an hour — that's around 80 kilometres an hour — have spread the flames, with almost 60 square kilometres being burnt over the weekend. meanwhile, a potentially historic heat wave is set to reach large parts of the central and eastern us later this week. this is extremely hot forjune and new york should not underestimate the heat. with climate change leading to more frequent and intense heat, our summers are different than they were before and so we should expect and be prepared for the hot weather that is coming. one of america's most senior health officials has called on the country to impose smoking—style warning labels on social media platforms. surgeon general vivek murthy said social media increased the risk that children would experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's turn to the uk's general election — and the hard right reform uk party launched its manifesto on monday — or as it put it, it published its contract with the electorate. the event took place in south wales, and as well as policies on immigration, leader nigel farage outlined promises on tax and the nhs. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth was there — and sent this report. there was something of a stir outside this community club in merthyr tydfil. all eyes on a party that's certainly been attracting attention. will this be your big break? well, we'll try. nigel farage was here to set out reform uk's policy platform. and wales, where labour is in charge, was a deliberate choice for a party trying to pitch itself as the opposition. people actually need some sense of being inspired, some sense of believing that somebody up at the front that believes in what they say, says what they believe and is going to show a way forward for the country. what they call a contract with the voters features plans to cut immigration on page one, proposing limits on who can come to the uk to work or live, and a pledge to stop the small boats. i have said from the start, this should be the immigration election. and there was more. plans to cut taxes, abolish nhs waiting lists, ditch net zero policies and reform benefits to get people into work. you accuse other parties of broken promises but isn't this really a list of unrealistic promises, a wish list rather than a serious plan? it is a promise that this is what we are going to campaign for over the course of the next five years. i said at the very start, we are not going to be in government this time but we are going to provide a voice of opposition. he says he makes no apology for a radical platform but do the sums add up? you are proposing some really significant tax cuts in this contract, billions of pounds' worth, in part paid for by a £50 billion squeeze on wasteful government spending. what is going to go? the size of departments. what we are arguing for here is a very modest cut, a very modest cut... £50 billion a year. e5 in a hundred and that's the job of the whitehall bosses, is to save e5 in a hundred and anyone who's ever worked in the private sector will tell you, when times are tough, you have to cut things. and times are tough, you know? we are massively in debt, we have to become more efficient. so there would be cuts to public services to be clear? times are tough, there will be cuts to public services. no, we have no desire for any cuts at all from the concept of things being free from the point of delivery. so you can take £50 billion out of government spending with no cuts to public services? you know what? the french have exactly the same amount of money being put in and get better returns on all health indices. we can do better. he'll hope his pitch has popular appeal. the question is how far it might take his party. alex forsyth, bbc news. much more about reform uk's manifesto and of course, those of all the other parties who've announced them so far — on our website. you can also find a list of all of the candidates in each constituency. just log on to bbc.com/news — or go via the bbc app. in other news around the world. at least nine people have been killed in india — when a goods train collided with a passenger train in west bengal. three passenger carriages were derailed — officials say they are investigating whether the goods train overshot a signal. police in greece say they have recovered the body of a 55—year old american tourist from a holiday island. it's the third death in a week which is being linked to a period of unusually hot weather. several other people have been treated for heatstroke and other heat—related conditions — officials are warning people to take all possible precautions in the heatwave. a russian court says the us reporter evan gershkovich will stand trial for espionage later this month. the proceedings will take place behind closed doors, in yekaterinburg. mr gershkovich, who was working for the wall streetjournal when he was arrested, denies the allegations. a bbc investigation has uncovered shocking claims that the greek coastguard has caused the deaths of dozens of migrants in the mediterranean over a three—year period, including nine people who were deliberately thrown into the water. more than a0 people are alleged to have died as a result of being forced out of greek territorial waters — or taken back out to sea after reaching greek islands. paul adams reports. for more than ten years, migrants looking for a better life have used a number of routes to reach europe. some travel from north africa to italy. 0thers cross from turkey to the nearby greek islands. for many, greece is seen as the best way into europe. last year, just over 41,000 people arrived using that route. human rights groups say thousands of people seeking asylum have been forced back illegally from greece to turkey, denied the right to seek asylum, something enshrined in international and eu law. the documentary looks into the role of the greek coastguard in trying to stem the flow and it raises some serious questions. for years, the greek authorities have been accused of taking a sometimes uncompromising attitude towards asylum seekers attempting to reach the islands. the bbc has documented some of these episodes and heard stories of other practices which appear to breach international law. video recorded last year showed one such episode. 0n the island of lesbos, a group of migrants, including women and children, are taken back to the shore and escorted by masked men to a waiting coastguard ship. the boat heads out to sea, out of greek waters. the migrants are put into a tiny liferaft and set adrift, found later by the turkish authorities. greece says it is investigating. it doesn't seem like it's forceful. the footage is shown to the former head of the coastguard special operations. he says he sees nothing wrong with the video. but during a break, he takes a different line. the documentary contains other shocking allegations. ibrahim says he was shot at after coming ashore on the island of samos, taken back out to sea with two companions and thrown overboard. the two others drowned. the greek coastguard says that it strongly rejects all accusations of illegal activities and works tirelessly and with the utmost professionalism and a strong sense of responsibility and respect for human life and fundamental rights, adding that they were in full compliance with the country's international obligations. for nine years, greece has been on the front line of an issue that resonates right across europe. stopping the boats remains as politically charged as it was when the refugee and migrant crisis erupted almost a decade ago. paul adams, bbc news. and viewers in the uk can watch the full programme on the bbc iplayer — just search for �*dead calm: killing in the med?�* if you're a football fan and following the euros, here's what's happened in monday's matches. romania beat ukraine by 3—0. also in group e — a bit of a surprise this one — belgium lost to slovakia 1—0. france — among the tournament favourites — were unconvincing winners over austria. france's goal was actually an 0wn goal by austria's maximilian weber who turned kylian mbappe's cross into his own net. but his luck didn't last. the french captain had to be substituted after this collision late in the game. he was left with a bleeding face — and it's being reported that he broke his nose. more on the euros in sport today, coming up. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. we have a spell of slightly more settled june weather and temperatures a little bit warmer than they have been, certainly compared to the first few weeks of the month. through the day on tuesday there will be some sunshine for many of us, a few showers around, not as many as we have seen over recent days. we have high pressure trying to build in from the atlantic. low—pressure clearing away to the east. another area of low pressure moving in from the near continent, that will be close to the south—east of england sitting through the english channel, it could bring a bit of rain at times. many of us start the day on a dry note. we have got more cloud and a cool northerly wind blowing across northern scotland with a few showers, also some showers cropping up for northern england. let's take a look through the english channel, there is that rain perilously close to kent and east sussex. a bit of wet weather possible here. should clear away during the afternoon. sunday spells for wales up towards east anglia. variable cloud as we move across into northern ireland. but a bit more brightness here than in recent days. still fairly cloudy for scotland with that northerly wind bringing a few rain showers, but they will be fairly light and patchy as they clear through the day. one or two sharp showers for southern scotland, and north—east england down the pennines as well. some sunshine to the south of that lifting temperatures to about 21—22 in the warmer spots. typically looking at the mid to high teens for most, coolerjust 12 or 13 across the northern half of scotland. moving into the middle of the week into wednesday, this ridge of high pressure moves its way in and squeezing the weather fronts away. so most of us having a fine, dry day on wednesday with some longer spells of sunshine, maybe some cloud bubbling up through the day so not looking at wall—to—wall blue sky. a bit of a cool breeze blowing for wast anglia and the far south—east end it will also cloud over with a few sparks of rain for the, spots of rain in the far north—west. again, coolerfor the north and north west of scotland. 12-14. most of us, 17—21 . so more typical for the time of year. strong sunshine as well this time of year. thursday, still a lot of dry weather, could be some showers close to the south—east of england once again, low pressure not too far away across the near continent. perhaps a bit more cloud in rain in the far north—west of scotland. in between, a fair amount of dry weather, 18—22. a touch colder than that for the northern isles in the western isles as well. most of us dry, through into friday but more of a chance of a bit more unsettled weather initially in the north—west and then perhaps a little bit more widely some spells of rain as we head on into saturday. bye for now. after a series of scandals, the world's top car—maker toyota holds its annual general meeting today. we discuss what to expect. boeing ceo david calhoun gears up for a grilling on capitol hill amid a slew of issues at the plane—maker. hello and welcome to business today. i'm arunoday mukharji. we start injapan, with toyota's annual meeting begins in a few hours. shareholder support will be closely watched. although akio toyoda will likely be re—elected as chairman, any fall in support for him could drive change in the company. it was recently at the centre of an industry scandal, where it admitted to providing incorrect or manipulated data for safety certification tests. i spoke to neil newman from astris advisory japan about his outlook for the world's top car—maker. he typically, this time of ear, he typically, this time of year. the _ he typically, this time of year, the shareholder i he typically, this time of - year, the shareholder meeting speak and there is usually an occasion to hear good things from the company and basically to please shareholders going ahead. but of course with toyota, they are going to be on the defensive particularly because of the so—called scandal involving not