welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: donald trump junior says he's willing to testify about his links with russia during the presidential election campaign. victory in mosul. iraq's prime minister claims the extremist group, the so—called islamic state, has been defeated in the city after a brutal fight. unravelling the mysteries of jupiter's great red spot. juno gathering close—up data for the first time! and from the old silk road to the new. a special report on the trillion dollar project linking china with europe. president trump's eldest son has said he's willing to testify before

the senate intelligence committee about the meeting he's admitted having with a russian lawyer, during last year's election. donald trump junior met the contact, believed to have links to the kremlin, because she said she had damaging information about hillary clinton. the white house insists there was nothing inappropriate about the meeting. gavin hewitt reports. this is donald trump's eldest son. i'm donald trump jr. lastjune, after his father's nomination, he met with a russian lawyer who promised damaging material on hillary clinton's campaign. the meeting was here at trump tower in new york. until this weekend, trump jr hadn't mentioned it, but it wasn't a casual encounter, he brought along trump's campaign manager and his son—in—law. then his story has changed. on saturday he said, "we primarily discussed a programme about the adoption of russian children." by the following day he said, "the woman lawyer stated

that she had information that individuals connected to russia were funding the democratic national committee and supporting mrs clinton." he was told there would be information that may be helpful to the campaign. there was no such information. but, again i want to ask you a question, if we are going to use the word collusion, where is the evidence of collusion? trump jr pushed back sarcastically on twitter today to say, "obviously i'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear information about an opponent." on friday, president trump met president putin and asked him directly about meddling in the election campaign. putin denied it. it's not clear how forcefully president trump pursued this, but there was an agreement between the two leaders that it was time to move forward. news of trumer‘s russian meeting doesn't put president trump in immediatejeopardy. he says he has no knowledge of it. but it keeps open the central question that has dogged this administration, was there collusion between the trump campaign team and the russians? it promises months of further investigations. trumer called the latest revelations a big yawn, but it is the first confirmed meeting between members of the trump inner circle and a russian national.

the senate intelligence committee says it wants to speak to donald trump jr. for the president, it's a reminder that not everything goes his way. gavin hewitt, bbc news, washington. our correspondent, david willis, gave me the latest updates in washington, on reports of how trumpjunior‘s links and meetings with the russian lawyer were formed. this story is moving, another development. the new york times, which broke the story of this meeting on sunday, is now reporting that donald trump junior was informed by e—mail that the compromising information he was to receive about hillary clinton from this russian lawyer was all part of a russian government attempt to basically assist

the donald trump candidacy. it has been seen by three people and information was passed on to the new york times. that report is unconfirmed at this time. the e—mail is said to have come from a man called rob goldsten. it was he who brokered the meeting between donald trump junior and the russian lawyer, according to the new york times, a former publicist and tabloid journalist. it is clear this e—mail would be of interest to congressional investigators. today, both democrat and republican senators called for donald trumpjunior to testify before them as part of their ongoing enquiry into the donald trump campaign and alleged links to russia. if it is true, david, donald trumpjunior took of that

meeting with that knowledge, that could be significant legally, couldn't it? yes. donald trumpjunior said the meeting itself came to nothing, and also made the point on twitter that it was not unusual for members of an election campaign to seek information about their opponents. that, of course, is true. what makes all of this slightly unusual, to put it mildly, is that in this particular case, that information appeared to have been given by a representative of a foreign government, and in this case, a foreign government not friendly towards the united states. breaking news. reports that five

people have been killed in a plane crash in mississippi. a marine corp plane, a c130 military aircraft, exploded in midair. record was found on both sides of the highway. police say the plane was loaded with ammunition. emergency teams have had to keep their distance. we are expecting more information on this from a press conference just as soon as possible. and we will bring that to you. and now for some other news briefly for you. rex tillerson is in kuwait trying to

help solve the issue with qatar. the un envoy to syria says a ceasefire in the southwest has held quite well since sunday. it's hoped the truce might give the negotiations some momentum. staffan de mistura said the de—escalation of the conflict should be a stage on the path to a nationwide truce. the high court in london has rejected a case brought against the british government, claiming it's arms sales to saudi arabia are illegal. the case was brought by human rights campaigners, who argue the uk is breaking international laws by selling weapons that have killed civilians in yemen. the saudis have been conducting airstrikes against the houthi rebels for more than two years. a us soldier accused of providing material support to the so called isamic state group has been taken into custody. the fbi say the soldier was with the 25th infantry division stationed in hawaii. it's reported that the soldier had been under investigation for more than a year.

president trump has congratulated the government of iraq on defeating so—called islamic state in the city of mosul. and as celebrations continue hopes and worries about what happens next are already forming. members of a 72 nation coalition will meet in washington this week to work out how a stable future can be secured. caroline davies reports. so—called islamic state appears to be on the back foot. in iraq they've lost mosul. translation: our victory today is a victory against darkness, against brutality and against terrorism. in syria, us—backed forces are closing in on raqqa, but this is not the end of the battle. there are a number of isis fighters still left in iraq that'll have to be defeated before we've won the war. meetings are planned in washington this week to stop victories turning to defeat and chaos. so what happens next? even if is do lose the cities it doesn't mean they're defeated. the group could go underground, which could create a new set of problems. one of the first questions diplomats will want to know is what will be done to rebuild after is?

there's worry that if power—sharing is handled badly, more people might become is converts. there's also concern that as is pull out, iran will be able to increase its influence. much of mosul is in ruins with no water or electricity. nearly a million of its people have fled. as aid agencies call out for money, the memories of iraq in 2003 will be ringing in many people's ears, but who will be paying for the peace and what will be the price if no one steps in? caroline davies, bbc news. our correspondent, jonathan beale, was with the iraqi army as they advanced on mosul, and a few hours ago he phoned in this update. even though prime minister abadi has declared complete victory against is, it doesn't certainly seem like it on the ground. there's plenty of evidence today that we've seen of an is presence, but it is, as i say, much less intense than it's been in recent days, and of course

prime minister abadi came here yesterday and his office indicated he would declare victory. he said at the end of that day that victory was just around the corner, this is a formal declaration but we seen this in the past, that the iraqis claim victory even when there are still pockets of resistance in places like falluja as well. i think we should treat it with caution. there's no doubt is is on its last legs in mosul, but certainly so are the civilians who've got to rebuild this city and rebuild their lives. a man who's confessed to being an ira bomb maker has told

bbc news he accepts "collective responsibility" for all the group's actions in england, including one of the deadliest acts of the so—called "troubles." mick hayes has never spoken openly about his role. he says he was an "active volunteer" in november 1974, when the birmingham pub bombings killed 21 people. the ira has never officially admitted the attack. the apology was dismissed by relatives as "insulting." this from our ireland correspondent, chris buckler. the bombs were left in the heart of birmingham on a thursday night. placed inside pubs to cause destruction. explosions that led to 21 deaths. in the same year, 1974, mick hayes took part in this funeral for a hunger striker in london. he was a well—known republican, an admitted ira bomb—maker who was convicted of paramilitary offences in the republic of ireland. and now, four decades after the murders in birmingham, mick hayes has emerged again to admit he was part of the group that bombed the city. i was a participant in the ira's

activities in birmingham, how clear can i make it? did you plant the bombs? i was a participant in the ira's campaign in england. but you're not answering the question, did you plant the bombs? i'm giving you the only answer i can give you. mick hayes has in the past been questioned and named as a suspect in the bombings, but he's never been charged. even now he won't say what role he played in the ira attack, but he says he takes collective responsibility for it. and i apologise, not only for myself. i apologise for all republicans, who had no intention of hurting anybody and sympathise with you. and the relatives, again, the relatives would say that you have blood on your hands. i know they'll say that, and from their point of view,

i can justify that. i don't... i don't shirk my responsibility in that direction. a group of men were charged and found guilty of the bombing, but it was a famous miscarriage of justice. and the convictions of the men who became known as the birmingham six were eventually overturned. for 16 and a half years, we have been used as political scapegoats! west midlands police said tonight that the investigation into the 21 murders remains open. one of those who died was maxine hambleton. her sisterjulie was among a group of relatives who watched the interview with mick hayes this afternoon. his words and apology caused nothing but anger. he's a coward, short and simple. he reckons that he'd rather die than be an informer.

but he's more than happy to take "collective responsibility" for the murder of 21 innocents in birmingham. mick hayes avoided many questions, but he claims mistakes led the ira to give bomb warnings too late, and that he personally defused a third bomb left in birmingham city centre that night. the explosions, they were horrific. they were terrible. it shocked the ira. when they found out what had happened, we defused the third bomb, in the hagley road. who defused it? idid. many in modern—day birmingham will question why mick hayes has come forward now, particularly as no—one has ever been held legally responsible for murdering the 21 people who died on a night out in this city. chris buckler, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news.

still to come: china's ambitious plan for a new silk road. our china editor, carrie gracie, brings us a special report on the trillion dollar project to connect the world. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they pipped the favourite, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated and celebration parties were cancelled. a man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom. then he asked her for a cigarette, and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book and one pen

can change the world. education is the only solution. this is bbc news. the latest headline: donald trumer says he's willing to testify about his links with russia during the us presidential election campaign. it comes as the new york times reports that he was told the russian government was behind efforts to help father's campaign. nasa's juno spacecraft is about to get humanity's best look atjupiter‘s great red spot. juno will fly over the storm, nearly 10,000 miles across, so big that three earths

could fit inside it. and we have to wait till the weekend to process the signal and form the pictures on earth. mika mckinnon is a space geo—physicist for the seti institute and was atended the laucnh of juno last year. tell us about this great red spot and its significance, i know people have been studying it since 1830 but it's endlessly fascinating. have been studying it since 1830 but it's endlessly fascinatinglj have been studying it since 1830 but it's endlessly fascinating. i was there for the orbital orbit last year, the launch was a couple of yea rs year, the launch was a couple of years earlier than that. this storm is interesting, the largest longest—running storm in the solar system. it's big enough you could fit two or three earths inside of it and we went within 5000 miles of this storm with all the instruments on, we measured gravity, magnetic fields, radio. or so on, we measured gravity, magnetic fields, radio. orso we on, we measured gravity, magnetic fields, radio. or so we will find out what the clouds look like belief the surface. -- vanitha. you are a

geophysicist, isn't it a robot version of you probing beneath the clouds to work out what's going on in? -- clouds to work out what's going on in? —— bernice. how can a storm have kept going for so long with such for city? -- bernice. i claim kinship with it. -- city? -- bernice. i claim kinship with it. —— ferocity —— bernice. what's going on? we don't know. —— bernice. it's a storm several times the size of our planet —— bernice. we have ideas. we think it is read because it is carrying elements from lower down in the atmosphere carrying them up to the surface and we think that because most of the other storms start white and get darker and darker with age. we won't know until about a week from now when the data starts getting sent

back and we can find out whatjuno learned. tantalising waiting for the data. the pictures you will see slightly sooner but you will still have to wait for that and are you hoping to learn more about the wider nature of the universe? absolutely. we've been learning a lot about all these different planets, we've been finding thousands of planets. the more we find the more we realise we don't understand what's going on with them, how they form, where they form. the more we learn, the more we find out how we will find out about other planets in the solar system. the new silk road is chinese president xijinping's project of the century. he plans to spend around a trillion dollars on road, rail and infrastructure across 60 countries. to understand china's ambitions, the bbc‘s china editor, carrie gracie, has been travelling the length of the new silk road. herjourney begins in eastern china,

where the new rail route to the uk starts. they call them the ships of the desert. for centuries, the camel trains of the silk road dominated trade between china and the west. now china wants to recreate the silk road. this time, by train. when wu xiaodong started here 3a years ago, china sold the world next to nothing. now he's a foot soldier for a trading superpower. i asked how that had changed him. translation: we are under a lot of pressure, expectations are high, but there is also a lot of hope. we need the train to develop faster and better.

the pressure is coming from the top. not led by merchants, but by a president. chinese emperors once claimed to rule all under heaven. with the united states no longer leading on trade, president xi has seized his chance. he calls his vision the belt and road. china's belt and road vision is so vast it may be decades before we can tell whether it is a worthy successor to the ancient silk road. but what we can say is that with no other country offering a big idea right now, this is the most ambitious bid to shape our century. already, china shapes our material lives. yiwu market one of the biggest in the world. but selling abroad and building at home is no longer enough to keep

this giant economy growing. now it plans to build abroad, too. a win—win for all, says china. i'll take 7,200. 0k. but when the talking's done, chinese traders drive a hard bargain. will you do 1,475? come on, for an old friend. the world buying much more from them than the other way around. red tape can make importing a nightmare. the government can change the law at any time, so there's no real concrete law. it's a very grey area at the moment. if the government made it a little bit more clear on how to go about it, it would be a bit easier. but the new silk road is china solving china's problems, money and muscle heading west on a journey across three continents, bidding to redraw the map and command the century. carrie gracie, bbc news,

on china's new silk road. if you've ever been to thailand you will know some of the dancing in bars can be a little risque. that is certainly the view of the prime minister who has expressed his disapproval at one of the most popular dancers. she has been telling us about her decision to tone down her act. there's flash photography from the start and there's that dancing. rafael nadal‘s hopes of winning a third wimbledon title are over for another year after an epic five—set defeat by 16th seed gilles muller of luxembourg. spaniard nadal, a 15—time grand slam champion, fought back from two sets down before muller took a fifth match point to win 6—3, 6—4, 3-6,4-6,15-13. just finally, that breaking news, we've been getting reports of five people killed in a plane crash in

mississippi. it seems a marine corps plane has gone down. the c—130 military aircraft left memphis on monday and it's believed exploded in mid—air before crashing on the sunflower—leflore county line. investigators found wreckage on both sides of the highway. police say the plane was loaded with ammunition, so emergency teams have had to keep their distance. much more on all the news any time on the website. thanks for watching. hello. tuesday's forecast has some rain in it. we haven't been able to say that for some time. you may well say that monday was wet in my neck of the woods, that came from showers and thunderstorms. if one of those caught you, you certainly knew about it. not a cold start to tuesday. from the word go, some bits and pieces of rain across the heart of scotland, the north of england, through wales and the west midlands and into the southern

counties of england. it isn't wet everywhere right from the word go. scattered showers across the far north of scotland, we mentioned rain just to the north of the central belt. turning bright across a good part of northern ireland, southwestern scotland and the far north of england. further south again, the first signs of bits and pieces of rain coming through on a wee south, south—westerly breeze. further south again, some dry weather to be had across the midlands, east anglia and the south—east. already, back across the south—west, cloud filling in. some of the rain even from the word go will be quite heavy across parts of pembrokeshire and into the south—west of england. into the afternoon, still little islands of brightness and dry weather across the south. perhaps some of the driest weather found across northern ireland. in the middle of the afternoon, pembrokeshire, southern parts of wales quite widely into the south—west of england, some rain quite heavy. 20, 30, 40 millimetres building up here. even so, still islands of brighter weather. where we have some brightness in the south—east, looking at 18, 19, possibly 20 degrees. a bit cooler further north, pretty

acceptable for the time of year. 14—17 should cover it. what have we got for wimbledon? dry enough, probably, until the middle part of the afternoon. clouds thickening, the chance of a shower. as we get deeper into the day, s o that rain and low pressure and the fronts migrating across east anglia and the south—east. still there on the first part of wednesday. as they pull away, this little ridge of high—pressure toppling in across the british isles. then settling down very nicely, a lot of fine and dry weather. a splendid day, temperatures mid—teens to around 20 degrees. that is a sort of pattern we expect on wednesday and into the first part of thursday. notice we have a weather front beginning to push in from the atlantic. i think that brings the chance of some rain initially into western scotland and northern ireland. increasingly, as it topples across england and wales, a burst of showers, not much more than that. and following that in behind, another spell of fairly quiet

weather. this is bbc news — the headlines. president trump's eldest son has said he's willing to testify before the senate intelligence committee about the meeting he's admitted having with a russian lawyer during last year's election. donald trumpjunior met the contact, believed to have links to the kremlin, because she said she had damaging information about hillary clinton. celebrations in iraq after the prime minister's declaration of victory over the extremist group, the so—called islamic state in mosul. prime minister abadi described it as a triumph over darkness, brutality and terrorism. the head of the us—led coalition has warned is is still not completely defeated. nasa'sjuno probe is gathering close—up data for the first time ofjupiter‘s great red spot. the probe passed 9,000 kilometres above the planet. the spot is a vast, centuries—old storm. scientists want to examine the composition of the clouds and what lies beneath them.

now on bbc news, time for hardtalk.