of russia, but has been courted by other major countries. president biden was there in september last year. commentators suggest president putin's visit to vietnam is designed to show the world that russia is not isolated from asia. he flew directly to hanoi from pyongyang, where he and kim jong un signed a pact to help each other in the case of aggression. the bbc�*s shaimaa 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. for more analysis, we can speak to andrei lankov, director of nk news and korea risk group. thank you very much for your time here on newsday on bbc news. as a veteran watcher of north korea and russia, what does this mutual assistance pact mean in practice? it means not much. a similar treaty existed for many decades, from 1961 to the mid—1990s. practically we are talking about a defensive treaty, north korea has no nuclear weapons and it is highly unlikely anyone would ever attack a —— has nuclear weapons. in talking about a war of aggression, which is not likely now that might happen eventually, , likely now that might happen eventually,, irrespective of the treaty, russia or china or whoever else might choose to support it or not, it is basically a question of choice, so it is a great deal of symbolism, and all this visit is basically i would say slightly over reported, overestimated, because, once again, there are talks about russia not keeping un sanctions, highly likely, almost definitely, then what? before the existence of sanctions, when sanctions were yet to be introduced, trade between russia and north korea was a very small, because north korea has essentially nothing to offer to russia. a few items they can sell on the world market, and such items do exist, they are of no interest for russia, like say coal or iron or. on the other hand, north koreans would like to get a lot of things from the russian companies are russian government agencies but they are not willing to pay, and in most cases they probably cannot pgy- most cases they probably cannot pay. the question is is russia going to supply it for free out of some geopolitical reasons, as are used to do decades ago? maybe but not very likely. just a wider sense _ maybe but not very likely. just a wider sense of _ maybe but not very likely. just a wider sense of what is the potential of this meeting. seoul also has large stocks of artillery shells but has held back from arming ukraine so far. do you see that changing if russia starts to help north korea with nuclear and missile technologies?— technologies? nuclear technologies - technologies? nuclear technologies is - technologies? nuclear technologies is out. technologies? nuclear technologies is out of| technologies? nuclear i technologies is out of the question. russia is a member of an exclusive club, one of the five officially recognised nuclear powers and none of these powers is happy about proliferation. they might tolerate it sometimes, they are not going to encourage it because it is undermining their own significance, and for russia, its nuclear potential is probably the single most important card to be played in the international poker game. talking about a missile it is a bit more likely but there is the same question, what will russia get if it provides north korea with missile technology? as a kind of barter trade and exchange of ammunition, possible, probably, but the russian economy now is in a surprisingly good shape. economic growth is record—breaking, nothing like that for ten years, and thanks to the sale of oil and other resources to china, to india, to any of the other poorer countries which still have money to pay, russia has a lot of currency and likely to pay this currency for munition, because transfer of technology will create a great deal of problems. i cannot rule it out, talking about missiles but i don't think it is highly likely. in some areas, yes. on a large scale, probably not. we will leave _ a large scale, probably not. we will leave it _ a large scale, probably not. we will leave it there. thank you for your time on newsday. tens of millions of people across the world have been facing dangerously high temperatures, with hundreds of people dying from extreme heat. in saudi arabia, where hundreds of thousands have been visiting mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage, the afp news agency quotes two arab diplomats who say at least 600 egyptian pilgrims have died. the bbc has been able to confirm the deaths of 41 jordanians, 11 iranians and at least 68 indian pilgrims. temperatures during the hajj soared to more than 51 degrees celsius. sally nabil is monitoring the story from cairo. there are fears the numbers are actually on the rise and the few hundreds we are talking about now is just an initial death toll. the remarkable thing this year is that we haven't heard of any incidents that usually because the pilgrims to die. there were no reports about a stampede for example, ora fire reports about a stampede for example, or a fire that rips the parts through the tense, nothing like that. most of the deaths, which are exceptionally high, are heat —related. many of the people we have been talking to, families of those who have lost their lives, it is mainly because of a heatstroke, but what grabs attention this year is unregistered pilgrims, hundreds of thousands of people who went to saudi arabia on a tourist visa, without the official hajj veasey, hoping to catch the hajj season. those people were not catered for properly, they did not have proper medical services, air—conditioned tents, hygiene kit and all the staff of the official hajj convoy enjoys and perhaps this kind of explains why the death toll is exceptionally high. extreme heat in the us as well, and it has led to wildfires and record—breaking temperatures across the country. authorities in new mexico say more than 7,000 people had to be evacuated in one town, after homes and buildings were destroyed by fires. and in the north east, more than 70 million americans remain under heat alerts. will grant reports from 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. now a special report from gaza. since the war began, more than 330,000 tonnes of rubbish has built up across the territory, and humanitarian agencies say it poses a catastrophic risk to people's health and the environment. as summer temperatures rise, some of the more than1 million displaced people who fled israel's military offensive in the southern city of rafah are now living close to rubbish tips. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell reports. this is war torn gaza's new landscape. mountains of rubbish. they have built up as basic services have collapsed, and for some, among the hundreds of thousands of people newly displaced by fighting in the south, like asmahan al—musri, this wasteland is now home. translation: we've never lived next to rubbish. - i cry, just like any other grandmother would, over her grandchildren being sick and having scabies. herfamily of 16 shares its tent in khan younis with clouds of flies, sometimes snakes. everyone tells us of the constant stench. translation: the smell is very disturbing. - i keep my tent door open so that i can get some air. but there's no air — just the smell of rubbish. with the latest influx of people from rafah, the cities that they've fled to have been overwhelmed. local councils lack equipment and fuel for rubbish trucks. since the deadly 7th of october attacks, israel won't let them go to the border area where gaza's main landfill sites are. translation: this place wasn't originally meant for waste. - it's a public space and farming area. the council was forced to dump waste here, because our crews can't reach the official dumping grounds. now, as summer temperatures soar, there are new warnings from aid agencies about the health hazards posed by so much rubbish. but desperation drives children to take extra risks, searching for something to eat, use or sell, and across gaza, these stinking piles of waste are a symbol ofjust how unbearable conditions here have become. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. the un �*s high commissionerfor refugees have called on nations to do all things possible to end the civil war in sudan. refugee camps and displacement centres were in sudan's state. more than a million people have sought shelter there since fighting from the country's armed forces and paramilitary unit began more than 12 months ago. around the world and across the uk, is bbc news. you are live with bbc news. a police officer, working as part of the uk prime minister's close protection team, has been suspended, and was later arrested, over alleged bets about the timing of the general election, while a second conservative candidate is being looked into by the gambling commission — the industry regulator — over a bet relating to when the general election would be. it isn't known when the bet was placed, orfor how much money. our political editor chris mason reports. this was the prime minister, in suffolk this morning, visiting a nuclear power plant. wherever he goes, he has close protection officers out of view nearby. i was tipped off tonight that one of them had put bets on the timing of the general election. the metropolitan police acknowledged i was right. they were informed by the gambling commission, the regulator, on friday. the force said... and that's not all. this is laura saunders. she is the conservative party candidate in bristol north west, and has worked for the tories since 2015, including at their head office in westminster. i was also tipped off that the gambling commission was looking into a bet from her about the timing of the general election. we don't know when the bet was placed, orfor how much. she has not commented tonight. a conservative party spokesman told the bbc... another one of those individuals was another conservative candidate who was a parliamentary aide to the prime minister. joe pike from our team caught up with him last week. did you have inside information when you placed your bet on the election date? i made a statement. it's an independent process with the gambling commissioner. i won't be expounding on that statement. did you have any inside information when you made the bet? i clearly made a huge error ofjudgment. that's for sure. and i apologise. mr williams acknowledged publicly himself that he had placed a bet of £100 on a july election, three days before it was called. four weeks to the day on from rishi sunak surprising many with a summer election, it's timing is still generating headlines. chris mason, bbc news. chris mason, there, and just in the past hour or so, we've had some reaction from the labour party, who've called it a "staggering "development" that a second conservative candidate is being looked into by the gambling commission. you can find a full list of candidates standing in the general election on the bbc website. the story that also we are looking at. a high—level delegation of us politicians has been meeting the exiled tibetan spiritual leader — the dalai lama — in india. the trip comes days after the us congress passed a bill, urging china to begin discussions with tibetan leaders to try and resolve the longstanding conflict. tibet is an autonomous region of china, which falls under the administration of the central government in beijing. figures, such as the dalai lama, have long advocated for more autonomy for the region, but china considers him an advocate for outright independence. the former house speaker, nancy pelosi, and the chair of the house foreign affairs committee were among those who met the dalai lama. they said they would not allow china to influence the choice of the tibetan leader's successor. let's get more on this and speak to victor gao, vice president of the center for china and globalization, a chinese think tank, based in beijing. he's frequently spoken to us, defending the chinese government. thank you very much for your time here on newsday. let's start with that issue of who succeeds the dalai lama. the person who will choose the next one was abducted as a six—year—old boy almost 30 years ago, yet the us have been warned not to interfere. can you see how this looks? thank ou ve you see how this looks? thank you very much _ you see how this looks? thank you very much for _ you see how this looks? thank you very much for having - you see how this looks? thank you very much for having me. | you very much for having me. first of all the dalai lama as an institution is carved in stone. it is very much ritualised and all the processes and procedures are well written and it has been carried on for hundreds of years. therefore for any politician in washington, including nancy pelosi, to try to dictate how the dalai lama reincarnation should be handled as completely ludicrous. it is none of their business. they are not tibetan monks, they do not know the tibetan tradition, they are not involved in any way in any iota of way possible. so let the dalai lama institution play its work, let's follow the tradition, and the hundreds of years are the tradition of selecting the next dalai lama. now this is very simple, and if it is handled by the americans, for example, the tibetans will never accept that, and they are not promoting the dalai lama as an institution, they are destroying it as an institution. if destroying it as an institution. . . , institution. if china decides on that, will— institution. if china decides on that, will it _ institution. if china decides on that, will it be - institution. if china decides on that, will it be seen - institution. if china decides on that, will it be seen as l on that, will it be seen as legitimate by the tibetan buddhists?— legitimate by the tibetan buddhists? ., ., ., buddhists? the dalai lama institution _ buddhists? the dalai lama institution was _ buddhists? the dalai lama institution was established | institution was established when the chinese emperors were very much looking after tibet. therefore, the involvement and the participation of the emperor, and now the central government, will be a big dispensable crucial part of the whole process of deciding the reincarnation of the dalai lama. the current dalai lama is the 14th dalai lama, and whoever that will follow him will be the 15th dalai lama. according to the tibetan tradition, while the body of the dalai lama may perish, the institution of the dalai lama will be eternal. they will continue, and it has a process to involve. one crucial part of that process is for china, that is the asian emperors before and now the central government, to play a very crucial, indispensable, insurmountable role in this whole process. it doesn't involve congress of the united states or any other speak in the united states at all. ., _ ~ speak in the united states at all. ., ~ ., all. you say, mr gao, that the us has no _ all. you say, mr gao, that the us has no business _ all. you say, mr gao, that the us has no business to - all. you say, mr gao, that the us has no business to look i all. you say, mr gao, that the | us has no business to look into this, but lawmakers say, who are part of the new delegation and these visits as a way of putting pressure on beijing to engage in dialogue. or is china open to engaging in a dialogue on this? , ., . on this? first of all, there are peeple _ on this? first of all, there are people in _ on this? first of all, there are people in the - on this? first of all, there are people in the united l are people in the united states, especially in washington, who believe that they are gods and whatever they do can change the world. they are not. there are no gods represented by these people in the world. they should mind their own business, rather than intervene in the tibetan buddhist holy process. secondly, china is perfectly happy to deal with his holiness dalai lama the 14th on one condition, and one condition only. that is the 14th dalai lama needs to recognise and acknowledge, in clear terms, unequivocally, that there is only one china, and tibet is part of china. i personally believe his holiness the dalai lama will make that statement sooner or later, and the sooner rather than later, given his advanced age, he will be 90 years old next year, and i personally hope his holiness the dalai lama can make his way back to china for personal visits and then go back to india again, back and forth on many occasions, and eventually he will be a force promoting the fact that there is only one china and tibet is part of china. . , ., , , . ., china. that is the aspect that the dalai lama _ china. that is the aspect that the dalai lama and _ china. that is the aspect that the dalai lama and his - the dalai lama and his followers have been disputing, butjust followers have been disputing, but just a word followers have been disputing, butjust a word on the us bill, which complains about china demanding the dalai lama accept that tibet has been part of china since ancient times. it says bluntly that is false. the dalai llama is willing to agree to china's sovereignty. why is his agreeing to a current timeline so important to beijing? timeline so important to bei'in: ? ~ timeline so important to bei'in: ? . ., timeline so important to bei'inu? . ., ., ., beijing? the current dalai lama fled tibet in — beijing? the current dalai lama fled tibet in 1969, _ beijing? the current dalai lama fled tibet in 1969, partially - fled tibet in 1969, partially encouraged by the cia and american forces. this is well recorded. his holiness the dalai lama personally acknowledged that. now, his holiness the dalai lama said after the former prime minister of india passed away, the current dalai lama never demanded independence for tibet, because he knows for sure this is a mission impossible. he wants to make sure that the tibetan traditions, culture, language, religious faith etc are well preserved and protected. this is exactly what china wants to do, including people like me. i am a firm promoter of... i do, including people like me. i am a firm promoter of. . .- am a firm promoter of... i am afraid i am — am a firm promoter of... i am afraid i am running _ am a firm promoter of... i am afraid i am running out - am a firm promoter of. .. i am afraid i am running out of- afraid i am running out of time, apologies for cutting you off, but thank you forjoining us and sharing your views on that. that is all we have time for. thank you for watching. stay with bbc news. 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—205, 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. russia and north korea ink a new defence pact, as vladimir putin looks at ways to bypass global sanctions. as inflation remains elevated in the us, we take a look at how americans are struggling to make ends meet. hello and welcome to business today. i'm arunoday mukharji. we've had a rare glimpse into the world's most reclusive state with russia's president vladimir putin visiting north korea for roughly 2a hours. during that time the two countries inked a mutual security pact, which mr putin described as a �*breakthrough�* deal. details of that pact though have not been made public. putin's visit comes at a time where russia is facing fresh sanctions aimed at cutting off its ability to fund the war in ukraine. the bbc�*s suranjana tewari takes a look at the impact that has had on the russian economy. russia has been facing economic challenges for several years now. ever since moscow annexed crimea from ukraine back in 2014. the country has been subject to sanctions when moscow launched a full—scale invasion of ukraine in february 2022, the west further tighten the screws.