a warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: donald trump's travel ban comes into force. a supreme court ruling partially allows travel restrictions on six mainly muslim countries. under siege in raqqa — the extremist group that calls itself islamic state fighting to survive in syria. forces backed by the us this around the capital of the us this around the capital of the so—called caliphate. the us urges china to respect freedom and civil liberties in hong kong as president xi makes a highly symbolic visit marking 20 years since reunification. and a potentially purlis day on the fairway as en elk gives this swedish golfer a run for his money. president trump's temporary ban on

refugees and travellers from six mainly muslim countries is officially in effect. the us supreme court allowed parts of it after a five—month battle with human rights groups. the trump administration says it is necessary to block terrace from entering the country. many argued it unconstitutionally singles out muslims. these were the scenes across the country when the original ban was imposed without warning in january. it was called unconstitutional, a ban on muslims. despite months of legal challenges president trump once again has his travel ban, at least parts of it, in place after a victory at the supreme court. this has been one of the president's top issues. he has talked consistently about how he believes the united

states needs to do more to enhance oui’ states needs to do more to enhance our screening procedures and take a better look at people who will be coming into the united states because of the safety of security of americans comes first. from thursday those travelling from six predominantly muslim countries could be barred from entering the us for 90 days and refugees for 120 days. 0n 90 days and refugees for 120 days. on monday the supreme court offered guidelines on who could be exempt from president trump's ban, saying visa applicants had to prove a donor final eight she with a us person or entity. the trump administration has narrowly interpreted that to mean those with a close family relationships such as a parent or child qualify. so too anyone with a business or educational tie to the us. the relationship must be formal and documented, not made up to evade the executive order. extended family such as a grandparent, grandchild or auntand such as a grandparent, grandchild or aunt and uncle will be denied visas.

the ban also means refugees, even those working with a resettlement agency, faced the same restrictions. civil rights and immigration activists have vowed lawsuit and have said it is discriminatory. many rushed to the airports. the world is watching the united states of america and what they are saying is, we thought that was the country for opportunity and justice for all. it doesn't seem that way. this administration is redefining what a family is. i was raised by my grandparents, so the idea of grandparents, so the idea of grandparents not being part of a family is very foreign to me. already the state of hawaii has challenged the administration in court, arguing the federal government is violating the supreme court by excluding people with an extended family relationship to the united states. let's speak now with associate

professor of law at the university of detroit. this will affect millions of people. how much will it impact their lives? it is important to frame it broadly. 0bviously impact their lives? it is important to frame it broadly. obviously it will impact immigrants, refugees are brought in these restricted states. it is also going to impact millions of americans stateside who are families of individuals barred from entering the states, grandparents, grandchildren, cousins and fiances. the scope of individuals to be impacted is quite broad. last time we saw chaos at the borders — do you expect to see the same?” we saw chaos at the borders — do you expect to see the same? i think so. we have a situation where in the next four months until the supreme court ta kes next four months until the supreme court takes this and makes a final resolution there will be considerable protest in response to the ban. there is going to be

considerable confusion at airports because border officials are essentially interpreting and assessing who qualifies as a butterfly family member. so my chaos on both sides. —— bona fides. butterfly family member. so my chaos on both sides. -- bona fides. the state of hawaii in challenging what constitutes close family? yes, this narrow definition conflicts with existing definitions the supreme court has rendered before, which are brought in nature and include many classifications which these executive orders have restricted. so it conflicts with restricting definitions of family on the books. the supreme court will make a ruling in october. what do you make on that? and a lot of things can happen in the interim, whether it is turnover on the court, whether it is another tack, national security interests and so on to be bolstered. a lot in happen. if nothing changes

my hunch in line with the court is it will be stricken down on free exercise or establishment cause grounds. lastly, what do you make of it, will it do what the drum administration wanted to do?” it, will it do what the drum administration wanted to do? i don't think so. it has a disproportionate and broad impact on individuals fleeing war, refugees and so on. i think it could have a different effect. it feeds into the propaganda of terror networks like isis and it perpetuates the idea that we are this clash of spheres, civilisations, context, so it has a detrimental effect. thank you very much for that. hong kong is marking 20 years since the end of british colonial world. the chinese president is visiting the territory under tight security. that is to curtail pro—democracy protests. carrie gracie has met with

some of those bought in the year of the handover. hong kong's patriots greet their president and first lady. flags, but no umbrellas allowed, because umbrellas are the symbol of protest here. he said he'd come to support hong kong. protesters chant that's not how democracy activists see it, occupying a monument that china presented to hong kong for the handover. one student insisted on herfreedom to protest as she was arrested. hours earlier, she had illustrated her feelings about the chinese communist state. a hong kong flag in mourning. a veteran protester at 20. but she's no longer optimistic about what protest can achieve. another hong konger,

born in the year of the handover. coffee shop barista and freestyle footballer lai cunyin busks to make ends meet. in one of the world's most unaffordable cities, he resents the people from mainland china who he says are pricing him out. to find a 20—year—old who's celebrating this week, it's best to look for a mainlander. sunny tan is a student here, but she grew up in china and from an early age was taught

to be proud of her country. free liu xiaobo! some celebrate, and others mourn. this vigil, calling for the release of a political dissident, would be impossible anywhere else in china. 0nly hong kong has the freedom to protest, which is what makes it so special, but what also makes it a thorn in china's side. carrie gracie, bbc news, hong kong. we can speak with our correspondent now in hong kong. how widespread is the feeling for more democracy, even

independence, and how much is likely to impact on the chinese president? he has addressed the issue of democratic rights on this visit, hasn't he? yes, i would say there is a big difference between voices calling for greater democracy and greater voting rights and those calling for outright independence. these voices tend to be representing different factions within the pro—democracy movement. certainly the chinese president has made rather frank comments about the independence movement in hong kong. he made those comments when he met top hong kong officials for a meeting. essentially he praised them for effectively curbing the independence movement. i think it is worth noting that the independence movement is not a mass movement. and also, if you look at a series of opinion polls, it would suggest young people are moving away from that movement. there is less support for it. there is less support than a

year ago. this is the elephant in the room for the chinese government. it is very embarrassing that this movement even exist in hong kong, a place which is supposed to have prospered under chinese leadership. he did tackle the issue. we were waiting for him to tackle it. he did that last night. and he is not really likely to be facing direct challenge during his trip to hong kong. there have been sporadic small—scale protests against him because of tight security. he is unlikely to face that had on. as you know, you meet a lot of people in hong kong who said the beijing leadership doesn't seem to get that oui’ leadership doesn't seem to get that our dna in hong kong is a little bit different from the mainland. we value certain freedoms here. many people have told me that china really wa nts people have told me that china really wants hong kong to be another province of china. is that fair?

just a a few hours ago the us state department issued a statement asking china to respect those rights in hong kong, especially the freedom of the press, and this isjust one of the press, and this isjust one of the freedoms that hong kong does enjoy that the rest of china doesn't. hong kong was promised its own system until 2047. you are right, those feelings that china is violating some of these promises has marred the chinese president's trip, for example, simply on press freedom. a lot ofjournalists have said that in recent years the chinese government has been directly interfering with what they have been publishing, or perhaps even commercial pressures, growing commercial pressures, growing commercial pressures, growing commercial pressures has affected what they are able to say, affecting those freedoms. thank you very much. let's quickly round up more of the main news. the governor of new york

declared a state of emergency on the city subway, saying its performance is wholly unacceptable. this is two days after a subway train derailed in northern manhattan, injuring dozens and raising concerns about safety. he has announced another $1 billion to improve the service. venus williams is accused of causing a car crash that led to the death of a car crash that led to the death of a passenger in another vehicle according to a police report. the former world number one tennis player was driving in florida when the accident happened at a crossroads. as 78—year—old man suffered injuries and died two weeks later. ms williams was not hurt. in point is well protesters have returned to the streets to continue three months of anti—government demonstrations. according to the attorney generals office there is evidence of the excessive use of force against demonstrators. the former head of the national guard has been called into question as 80 people have died in the protest. forces opposed to the group that

causes of islamic state have made significant advances against strongholds in syria and iraq. interior kurdish and arab troops supported by the us had the city of raqqa completely surrounded. it was ca ptu red raqqa completely surrounded. it was captured by is three years ago. gabriel gatehouse has sent this. the battle for raqqa is still far from won but already they look to a future post caliphate. here to meet local leaders in waiting, the us envoy. the american presence here has been growing quietly. there is tremendous challenges ahead but the united states is committed to defeating daesh. that is why we are here. we are going to defeat daesh. we wa nt here. we are going to defeat daesh. we want to make sure what comes after da es h we want to make sure what comes after daesh is stable. if you look at the record to date we have now, coalition backed operations in iraq and syria, have cleared out 60,000 square kilometres of territory. we

have liberated 4 million people. as the coalition advances into raqqa families are fleeing. many end up in this camp. all lived under the harsh rule of the group that calls itself islamic state, not all against their will. 0ne corner of the camp is reserved for the wise and shorter of eye as fighters. —— is fighters. this woman left lebanon for raqqa two years ago to join her husband, a jihadi. when he was killed she married a tunisian and so she joined the ranks of a relatively privileged group — the wives of foreign fighters. there seems little sympathy here for the treatment of sex slaves at the hands of their ca ptors. the caliphate maybe be weakened but

its mentality persists. if and when raqqa falls, it will be thanks in large part to the american military and their allies, including britain. this is their main logistics hub, cut discreetly into the side of northern raqqa. from this base a support their own forces and armed the sdf, the coalition of arabs and kurds who are leading the assault in raqqa. all of this infrastructure has gone up in a really short space of time and it has coincided with rapid advances by the anti—is coalition but the question is what happens when the caliphate falls. because, as we know from afghanistan at iraq, it is always easier to get in that it is to get out. american

troops in syria number in the hundreds. they won't say exactly how many. their special forces are involved in the fighting on the ground. their planes are bombing raqqa from the air. isis is certainly not defeated and mosul is liberated, raqqa is liberated. there isa liberated, raqqa is liberated. there is a lot of hard work left to do. do you know where abu bakr al—baghdadi is? laughter man, iwas you know where abu bakr al—baghdadi is? laughter man, i was hoping you knew! if you know, please tell me and we will kill him forthright. everyone claims to kill him at least once a month. we have someone claiming to kill abu bakr al—baghdadi. the latest one was made by the russians. i wish them well. i hope that they did. i will be happy to hear that they did. i suspect they didn't. for now russia and the us share a common enemy. 0nce they didn't. for now russia and the us share a common enemy. once the islamic state is gone, two the powers will be left backing different sides in an unfinished war. the potential for confrontation

is real. stay with some bbc news. far to come, including this. just days before the tour to france, we take a spin through the history of the b i cycle. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong, with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost

50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. good to have you with us. the latest headlines — parts of president trump's ban on travellers have come in to force but the legal wrangling goes on. forces opposed to the extremist group that calls itself islamic state have made significant advancesin islamic state have made significant advances in strongholds in both syria and iraq. in syria, troops in the city of raqqa are surrounded. congress has a lot on its plate right now, particularly as it struggles to pass major changes to healthcare. you may think the white

house would be focusing on that. instead, republicans have been answering questions about the president's morning tweets insulting two television anchors. a particularly personal attack. a number of republican senators spoke publicly of their dismay at. saying it was beneath the dignity of the office of the president. this is what the speaker of the house had to say. obviously i do not see that as an appropriate comment. what we are trying to do here is improve the tone, the stability of the debate and this does not help do that. the white house was not backing down. the official line — the president did not go too this is the kind of

thing this supporters voted for. the president has been attacked mercilessly on personal accounts by people on the programme and i think he has been very clear that when he is attacked he will hit back. i think the american people elected somebody who is tough, smart and a fighter and that is donald trump. i think that it is no surprise to anybody that he fight fire with fire. the tour de france starts this weekend. starting in germany for the first time since 1987. that seems fitting, because that is where the bicycle has its roots, dating back around 200 years. when the coast of feeding horses was on the rise, people needed eight quick cheap method of transport. —— cost of feeding horses. if you imagine these were the early days of the bicycle, the penny fa rthings, days of the bicycle, the penny farthings, the days of the bicycle, the penny fa rthings, the bonesha kers, days of the bicycle, the penny farthings, the boneshakers, you would be nearly 50 years out. because this is the first verifiable bike. the velocipedes, or a dandy

horse, recreated to my 200 years since its invention in 1817. uniform optional, no pedals, not much saddle and banned for being dangerous to pedestrians. ultimately, here to stay. in sweltering heat, the 110 mile first leg has begun. baby time the tour de france was up and running... averaging 28 miles an hour on the first day... the bicycle was a feature of everyday life and sport. as a tool for self punishment, that it drove riders from alcohol to epo. punishment, that it drove riders from alcoholto epo. it has punishment, that it drove riders from alcohol to epo. it has a lot to a nswer from alcohol to epo. it has a lot to answer for. bicycle polo from alcohol to epo. it has a lot to answerfor. bicycle polo is almost as popular as the game for it. 0thers tried to expand the portfolio of the bike, mccoist universal acclaim. there has been the odd niche market, perhaps, but buses and trains have proved more popularfor mass transport. these days, cycling

is just about the way to get about. it is healthy, environmentally friendly and can be quite cheap. it can be high—tech as well. you can get disc brakes, electronic gear shifting, carbon fibre frame is, you name it. but get this — when the first velocipedes was demonstrated 200 years ago, he clocked up 15 kilometres an hour. that is slightly faster than the average speed for driving around london in a car today. golf may strike you as a fairly leisurely and sedate pastime. a pleasa nt leisurely and sedate pastime. a pleasant stroll, a nice course and a drink at the 19th afterwards. but for one golfer in sweden, this day out a little more perilous. beware a hazard in the rough. in sweden, a curious spectator wandering onto the fairway. at first, a golfer tries to shoot the animal away, but this is one determined elk.

it is, for a few moments, distracted by his golf bag. unhappy with the choice of club, perhaps. but then the elk realises it is the player, not his equipment, that has piqued his interest, and decides, for reasons known only to the animal itself, to chase him around the trees. all this being filmed by an amused friend on the other side of the fairway. the elk obviously deciding it might like a word with him, as well. so over they came, both of them at some speed. but by now the animal felt it had made its point, and wandered off. they say golf is a good walk spoiled. it is certainly true if elks have any say in the matter. finally, watermelons are mostly

round but not all. these, being unloaded at a warehouse injapan, we re unloaded at a warehouse injapan, were developed four to five years ago to fit neatly inside a fridge. they are not very sweet so they more ornamental instead. customers can pay hundreds of dollars for these designerfruits. farmers pay hundreds of dollars for these designer fruits. farmers say they had a good crop this year because there were many clear days. and briefly, our main news again, people from six mainly muslim countries, and all refugees, now faced tougher american entry because of the highly controversial travel ban which has 110w controversial travel ban which has now come partially into force. it means people without close family or business relationships in the us will be tonight visas and barred entry. grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces are not considered to be battered by the close relations. —— bona fides close relations. hi there. june has been a pretty wacky weather month, with a number of records set.

you'll remember last week it was hot and humid, temperatures up to 35 degrees, the highest temperature recorded for over 40 years, but this week it has been cloudy, cool and wet. now, we've had record rainfall across parts of eastern scotland. in edinburgh, 178 millimetres of rain has already fallen injune so far. that makes it the wettestjune on record and, yesterday, for a time roads were turned to rivers. now, looking at the forecast for today, low pressure is still with us, and we still have a lot of cloud left over with rain at the start of the day. but at least it is mild, with temperatures 12 to 14 degrees first thing in the morning. we will still have rain left over across parts of western wales. south—west england still with some fairly gusty wind here, so the rain heavy over the hills for a time. but moving further eastwards, breaks in the cloud coming in. so there will be some glimmers of sunshine first thing in the morning. through the peaks, pennines, eastern areas of scotland, expect hill fog with low cloud. there will be further outbreaks of rain as well, but the rain won't be quite as heavy as it was yesterday. it will be a relatively

mild start to the day, but those temperatures will struggle to rise much of the day goes by. we still see these northerly winds and the wind will continue to push cloud on to the hills with further bursts of rain. but overall, the rain gets a little bit lighter as the day goes by. yes, there could be a few isolated showers moving into south—east england, but equally, some sunny spells breaking through the cloud. still cool across the north and the west but we do see bright spells across parts of england, temperatures could reach as high as 23 towards south—east england. and then overnight our weather front, our band of rain, sinks southwards, taking the rain with it. at the same time, the rain eases across scotland. so here, the weather becomes a little bit dry overnight, and that is because we got a ridge of high—pressure moving in overnight across the north—west of the uk, before spreading in across england and wales as we move on into saturday. it means, all in all, for this weekend, that the weather prospects are a little bit drier and a little bit brighter. most of us will see spells of sunshine. that said, there could be a little bit of rain left over

for the night—time across with extreme south—east of england, clearing away. then comes the sunshine. in the afternoon, thick cloud into scotland and northern ireland with a band of rain pushing in here. the winds freshening, as well. should stay relatively cool, 15 to 17 degrees for the north—west. quite warm across south—east of england, with highs up to 24. sunday again most of us will have a dry day with sunny spells. a few showers across north—west, and similar kinds of temperatures. 16 to about 22. that is your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: parts of president trump's controversial ban on travellers from six mainly muslim countries have come into effect. on monday the us supreme court partially upheld the ban, which also covers all refugees. it means travellers without close family or business relationships in the us could be barred from entry. forces opposed to the islamic state group have made significant advances against strongholds in both syria and iraq. in syria, kurdish and arab troops supported by the us have the city of raqqa completely surrounded.

raqqa was captured by is militants over three years ago. the united states has urged china to respect freedom and civil liberties in hong kong, as president xi makes his highly symbolic visit marking 20 years of reunification. 0fficial celebrations are planned this weekend, as well as protests from pro—democracy activists. now on bbc news, it's time for thursday in parliament.