welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: a trip to france and a hint from donald trump that he might change his position on the paris climate change agreement. china's best—known political prisoner, the nobel peace prize winner liu xiaobo, dies of cancer after eight years in jail. the parents of baby charlie gard return to court as an american doctor says a trial therapy could give him a slim chance of meaningful improvement. another attempt to close the world's deadliest migration route. italy tries to stem the flow across the mediterranean. hello. president trump has publicly hinted that american policy could shift yet

again on the paris climate accord, despite last month's decision to withdraw, in a few years, from the global agreement to limit climate change. mr trump was talking in paris, where he's been the focus of a relentless charm and sightseeing offensive by the french president. he also faced more questions about his eldest son's hugely controversial meeting with a russian lawyer during last year's election. from paris, lucy williamson. if diplomacy is about power disguised as flattery, there are few more potent greetings than a ten—second handshake. emmanuel macron welcomed donald trump today with a visit to the tomb of france's grand military leader, napoleon, the impressive location designed to flatter both the visitor and host. both these two men see themselves as modern—day political revolutionaries, sweeping away the old rules and expectations. but mr macron also sees nothing wrong with using france's imperial history and military might to put its current diplomatic

relations in context. the two men have been battling for the role of alpha male ever since their first handshake on the sidelines of a g7 summit. donald trump later pulled out of a key climate change deal brokered in paris, prompting mr macron to issue a video parodying the us president's campaign slogan. make our planet great again. but mr macron, keen to boost french influence abroad, has since turned on the charm. and mr trump's comments today on climate change suggest it might be working. something could happen with respect to the paris accord. we'll see what happens. but we will talk about that over the coming period of time. and if it happens, that will be wonderful, and if it doesn't that will be ok, too. translation: i want to continue

discussions with the us and president trump on this very important subject. i respect the wish to preserve jobs. i think it's compatible in the paris agreement. now we have to let the us work on its road map and to continue talking with them. and amid allegations that russia interfered in the us election, mr trump was also asked about his son's contact with a russian lawyer last year. i have a son who is a great young man, he is a fine person. he took a meeting with a lawyer from russia. it lasted for a very short period and nothing came of the meeting. and i think it's a meeting that most people in politics probably would have taken. today, no differences were allowed to mar the transatlantic ties. but what do french voters think of mr trump's visit? i don't like him much, but what do i have to say? he's not my president. thank god. trying to understand what he wants

and where he's going is not a bad idea. even if he does not appreciate him as a person, or what he stands. so i think french diplomacy at its best. in a visit where symbolism was the substance, the two couples dined tonight at the eiffel tower. a place labelled pragmatic, rather than pretty, to cement an alliance imperfect but crucial to france's place in the world. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. the chairman of the us senatejudiciary committee says he's sending a letter to donald trump junior to ask him to testify about the meeting he had last year with a russian lawyer who supposedly had compromising material on his father's democratic presidential rival, hillary clinton. after news of the meeting emerged last weekend, donald trumpjunior released emails in which he welcomed the opportunity to meet the woman. speaking in paris, president trump defended his son again. one of china's most prominent political dissidents, liu xiaobo, has died

of cancer a month after he was moved from prison to hospital. he was 61. he'd been serving an 11—year sentence for "inciting subversion of state power." he won the nobel peace prize in 2010, while in prison, for his pursuit of democracy. there've been tributes from around the world. the leader of the nobel committee said the government in beijing bore a heavy responsibility for his death. this from our china editor carrie gracie. liu xiaobo in happier times. and liu xiaobo last week. reunited with his wife only at the end. and still, under the watchful eye of the state. two foreign doctors were allowed to visit his bedside. the pictures released abroad to support the government's claim that it had done what it could. along with videos to deflect the charge that his cancer was neglected until too late.

but he was denied his dying wish — to leave china. we have been through these kind of cases one after another, but it has still come as a big shock. because, not only because i know him, but also because he has been such a symbol for china's human rights, or democratic movement. liu xiaobo's course was set in 1989. the tiananmen square democracy protests. he tried to secure students safe passage out. before the army moved into kill unknown numbers. many gave up, but he stood firm. in and out ofjail, for demanding political freedoms. translation: as a survivor of the tiananmen square democracy movement, ifeel i have a duty to uphold justice for those who died in that event.

in 2010 he won the nobel peace prize, but he was back in prison for subversion. "empty chair" became a banned expression on china's internet. his once irrepressible wife, lui xia, was placed under house arrest, where she fell victim to depression. it was only two weeks‘ ago the world learned of liu xiaobo's illness. hong kong, the one place in china citizens could call for his release. chinese censorship is formidable, and few here know of liu xiaobo's life, his death or his nobel peace prize. many chinese see the one party state as an unavoidable fact of life, and under the strong arm rule of president xijinping it has become even more dangerous to challenge that.

liu xiaobo once warned, "if you want to enter hell, don't complain of the dark." he felt no ill—will toward his jailers. he said he'd committed no crime, but had no complaints. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. a congressional committee in brazil has voted not to send corruption charges against president michel temer to the supreme court. the charges will now be debated by the whole of congress, but it is increasingly unlikely that mr temer will face prosecution. meanwhile, the former president, luiz inacio lula da silva, has challenged his corruption conviction by announcing he intends to seek re—election. a russian military court has jailed five members of a chechen gang for the killing of opposition leader boris nemstov in 2015.

ringleader zaur dadayev, who carried out the shooting, was handed a 20—year sentence, while his four accomplices were jailed for between 11 and 19 years. the uk government says it has taken a major step in withdrawing the country from the european union. it's published legislation to convert thousands of european laws and regulations into british law to help ensure a smooth transition once separation occurs. the repeal bill will convert 45 years of european legislation into british law. an american doctor has told the high court here in london that a trial therapy in america could give a chance of meaningful improvement to the condition of the terminally ill baby charlie gard. charlie's parents were in court on thursday for the latest stage of their legal battle to keep him alive. the judge says he will only change his ruling, allowing great 0rmond street hospital to withdraw life support, if new evidence is compelling. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. save charlie gard, save charlie gard. they call themselves charlie's army,

some of the half a million people who signed the petition calling for him to be allowed abroad for experimental treatment. chris gard and connie yates reject evidence from charlie's doctors that their son has irreversible brain damage. we love him more than life itself. if he is still fighting, then we are still fighting. charlie is terminally ill, can't move or breathe unaided. four courts have already ruled he should be allowed to die. the key evidence today came via video link from the american doctor offering to treat charlie. he said he now had a better understanding of the benefits of nucleoside therapy. of nine patients treated so far, none of whom has the same genetic mutation as charlie, five now spent less time each day

on a ventilator, and one of them could breathe completely unaided. he said this led him to conclude there was at least a 10% chance of meaningful improvement for charlie. and this is nucleoside therapy. it's a powder added to food, which aims to boost energy production in cells. six—year—old art estopinan has a muscle—wasting condition and is one of those treated with it in the us. we were able to give him the medications, and little by little he started to get stronger. they gave us hope. i didn't care if he was the first human to try these medications, because they only told us he was going to die. but great 0rmond street says charlie's catastrophic brain damage makes the treatment futile. they say:

the final decision of the court is aimed to be at charlie's best interest, and that would be a balance of the many risks and benefits. it's not black—and—white, but it's going to be a summation of all the possible benefits and all the possible risks, and what that could do for charlie, not what it does for anybody else. in court, connie yates insisted charlie is not suffering or in pain, and both parents briefly walked out of the hearing after the judge said they had agreed their son currently had no quality of life. so this desperately sick boy remains in intensive care, kept alive on a ventilator, as arguments over what is in his best interests continue. fergus walsh, bbc news.

a group of 11 people have been shot at a children's party in the mexican city of tizayuca by a group of masked men. police said they had found three children alive at the scene. the party had been taking place in a tent set up by the host outside a family home in a residential area. mexico has recently seen a new spike in violence linked to disputes between drug cartels. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, the bag that brought moon dust back to earth. a unique piece of space history goes up for auction in new york. the flamboyant italian fashion designer gianni versace has been shot dead in florida. the multimillionaire was gunned down in his home in the exclusive south beach district of miami. emergency services in central europe have stepped up efforts to contain the worst floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans

but tonight it is completely blacked out. it's a timely reminder of all americans about the problems the energy crisis has brought them. 200 years ago today a huge parisian crowd stormed the bastille prison, the first act of the revolution which was to topple the french monarchy. today hundreds of thousands thronged the champs—elysees for the traditional military parade. finally, fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge shoal of their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump has publicly hinted that american policy could shift yet again on the paris climate accord, despite last month's decision to withdraw. china's best—known political prisoner, the nobel peace prize

winner liu xiaobo, has died of cancer after eight years in jail. it has been called the world's most deadly migration route. the sea crossing from libya to europe has claimed more than 2,000 lives so far this year. an italian delegation has been in libya in an attempt to stop people smugglers sending thousands of migrants across the mediterranean to italy. italian coastguards have taken to burning the smugglers boats to stem the flow despite criticism that it makes the migrants more vulnerable in less seaworthy dinghies. 0ur europe editor katya adler reports. italy is keen to crack down on the people smugglers, but charities working on the front line accuse the eu of cutting back on rescue missions, in an attempt, they say, to put other migrants off trying to come to europe. this footage was filmed by the bbc off the libyan coast. throughout the day the italian coastguard has been moving around,

trying to set fire to as many of these smugglers‘ boats as possible. both rubber boats and wooden boats. the eu says this is the most important thing to do on the central mediterranean. in addition to saving lives, to disrupt the business model of the smugglers, and this is how they do it. so where are the migrants coming from? at the height of the crisis, two years ago, many were fleeing the war in syria. hundreds of thousands made perilous crossing from turkey to greece and on to northern europe. that route has now been slammed shut, partly due to an eu deal with turkey to stop the people smugglers. but italy's story is a different one. migrants are heading there from across sub—saharan africa, and as far as bangladesh. they set off to europe from conflict torn libya. most are not refugees but economic migrants, young men looking for a better life. the international 0rganisation

for migration says we're facing this for the long—term because people are attracted by europe's wealth and jobs. it's not something that is going to go away in a year or two. it's something that is going to stay for a variety of reasons. the numbers are manageable. what is complicated is the fact that the response is left to just a few of the eu member states. the front line and a couple of others more in the interior of the eu that are ready to come and share the responsibility of the flow. that is the major issue. germany's angela merkel and france's emmanuel macron met the italian prime minister yesterday. they pledge to stand by italy. but italians say they have heard lots of empty promises. italy could send economic migrants back home, since they are neither refugees nor asylum—seekers, but many have no id papers. their countries of origin are often reluctant to issue new ones, and they can't be returned

to libya safely because of the volatile situation there. it's just over a month since the fire that swept through a tower block in west london killing at least 80 people. last week, the british government announced a 12—month amnesty for illegal immigrants who had been living inside grenfell tower. investigators believe 350 people were living at the address, but it's not known how many more were not registered as residents. one of them has now come forward. she's been speaking exclusively to the bbc‘s asian network's rickin majithia. we may never know how many illegal immigrants lived in grenfell tower, how many died and how many survived. but one of them has come forward. she spoke to me today. she agreed to speak to us on the condition that we don't show herface. what support have you received since the night of the fire? there's a problem now as not paying

the rain. that's why they don't recognise me as one of the victims. they say are not on the list. —— i'm not. investigators believe that around 350 people were living inside the tower. but residents like raha were not registered and it isn't known how many were in the same situation as her and whether they are among those who perished that night. i do believe that the death toll is much higher than the one published. why? from what i've seen in the towel, some of them are undocumented, like my case. and there were some people homeless who were squatting inside the tower sleeping in the stairs. last week, the home office granted a 12 month deportation amnesty for survivors like her, but with a young son in the uk and family to support in the philippines, she still fears about the future. after 12 months, i am not sure if i can renew my visa or they are going to deport me.

that's what i am afraid. of course i wanted to stay here to work and to support my kids back home. to give them a better future. raha's friend and her daughter both managed to escape from the 21st floor and have since been discharged from hospital. but the ordeal has deeply affected raha. how have you coped with the trauma of surviving something as horrific as the grenfell tower fire? i'm trying to move on. talking to friends about what's inside because it's really helped me. my friend when i was talking to her on the phone i didn't feel guilty, i'm grateful she survived the cause if not, how long can i keep this for life i'm going to carry the guilt? for almost a0 years, dippy the diplodocus stood

in the entrance hall at london's natural history museum. but now he has been replaced by the skeleton of a giant blue whale, suspended from the ceiling. pallab ghosh has been to see it. the blue whale, the biggest creature that's ever existed on earth. now one of them is the main display at the natural history museum. it's been named hope. the 25—metre skeleton of this young female fills the entire length of the entrance hall of the museum. its skull alone weighs more than a ton and its lowerjawbone is the single longest bone of any animal on the planet. as visitors arrive, they're greeted by it swooping down towards them as if they're the tiny krill that whales feed upon. just getting it through the narrow doors of the building was a challenge. and lifting it into position was an engineering feat, but it was far from straightforward.

there was one heart—stopping moment when a bolt sheared. the team succeeded in the end but it wasn't easy for them. nerve—racking, obviously. going up when other people were kind of in control of that process and we just had to stand and watch. sometimes we just couldn't watch and had to walk away. the whale replaces the much—loved dippy the dinosaur, which after more than 100 years at the museum, will tour venues across the uk. the museum staff believe that hope will take the same place in their hearts as dippy once did. pallab ghosh, bbc news. an elephant in sri lanka has had a miraculous escape after it was swept out to sea. the mamanl was spotted by the sri lankan navy as it struggled to stay afloat. it seemed to be using its trunk as a snorkel to breathe. divers and wildlife officials launched a 12—hour rescue operation and managed to gently tow the elephant back to more shallow waters. next week will see the 48th

anniversary of what is arguably humanity's greatest achievement, our firstjourney to the moon. now an auction is taking place in new york that contains a unique memento from that trip, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. also sprach zarathustra by strauss plays it may not look all that special but, as bags go, this is really rather important. this was the bag used to bring the first samples back from the lunar surface. and it's claimed traces of moondust and small rock are still embedded in its material. it's an outer decontamination bag, so it was used to protect those samples from any contamination from us and planet earth, but also to protect the spacecraft and planet earth from potential contamination lunar pathogens.

armstrong archive: that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. neil armstrong and buzz aldrin spent just a single day on the moon surface but it was a day that made history. nearly half a century later, space still fascinates. it doesn't matter your religion, where you are from, what language you speak, what your educational background, how old you are. i mean, i could talk to a 4—year—old, i can talk to a 94—year—old, they're both going to get excited about it. we all have that common experience of staring up at the sky and wondering what's going on amongst the stars. the bag is expected to fetch somewhere in the region of $3—$5 million but it's not the only item up for sale. there's the flight plan from the unsuccessful apollo 13 mission. maps, space suits, even astronaut snoopy, the mascot aboard apollo 10. proof that mankind's one giant leap still

captures the imagination. tim allman, bbc news. now nobody likes a backseat driver but take a look at this. britain's red arrows from the royal air force have been performing some stunning manoeuvres with their american counterparts, the thunderbirds sat directly behind them. and to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the united states air force, the thunderbirds have been invited to perform at the 2017 royal international air tattoo this coming weekend. and before we go, we want to show you the new bundle ofjoy at the national zoo in washington. and this one comes with stripes. video shows a rare sumatran tiger curled up next to its mother after its birth this week. these animals are critically endangered, with only about 400 of them left in the wild. veterinarians haven't determined the sex of the cub yet, because they are giving the animals time to bond. thanks for watching. hello there.

with the weekend fast approaching, please don't make this the last forecast you see. we'll be fine—tuning the details because we'll have some weather fronts around. one thing is for sure, it won't be as hot as it has been in spain. on thursday we had record—breaking heat. friday looks just as hot. although then the temperatures may ease a little, the heat will be sustained. the day ahead looks mainly dry and will feel quite warm. sunshine as well. a weather front has made its way southwards at eastwards overnight. tending to fizzle out, but there is initially heavy rain on it. although that means it will be another comfortable night, not as chilly to start this morning as it was yesterday morning. there could still be the odd light passing shower around. you can see those in the northern isles, for example one or two in the north—west. feeling a little bit fresher here. quite cool in the glens of scotland. good spells of sunshine, as there will be in northern ireland.

with lighter winds the temperatures will respond through the day. still quite a breeze. still the odd passing shower in the south, with quite a bit of cloud first thing. it may well be that compared with yesterday we see the best of the sunshine through the afternoon, as the weather system clears out of the way we get the brisk north—westerly coming down behind it. it feels fresher and we have good spells of sunshine coming through most of mainland uk, until later when we have the next weather front knocking on the door of northern ireland and western scotland. feeling warmerfor some in the north, especially compared to yesterday, and it looks set fairfor wimbledon. a lot of cloud initially first thing. but it's the men's semi—final day and we should get a mostly dry day. very unlucky to catch a passing shower here. through the evening and overnight we can see the first pulse of rain coming in. the steady south—westerly keeps throwing these further wriggles on our weather front, if you like, further enhancements of the rain across the north and west into saturday. with the influence of high pressure in the south we won't have much rain but more cloud and an increasingly humid feel on saturday. many areas have quite a bit of rain initially and it keeps

going across western upslopes of scotland and northern ireland. elsewhere, brighter skies into the afternoon. feeling warm in the brightness. through saturday evening and overnight the weather front starts to meander southwards and as it does it fizzles out. that means more cloud. to the south we could have really warm sunshine breaking through and a brighter day to the north as well, with just the odd passing blustery showers. again, quite a bit of cloud. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has hinted that the united states‘ position on climate change could change. at a news conference in paris ahead of the bastille day celebrations, mr trump said something could happen with respect to the paris accord on climate change, from which the us withdrew six weeks ago. president trump and chancellor angela merkel have led the tributes to the chinese nobel peace laureate, liu xiaobo, who has died of liver cancer. but his death has not been acknowledged by the government in beijing, which had sentenced him to 11 years in prison for subversion against the state. a us doctor offering to treat

the seriously ill charlie gard has told the high court there‘s a 10% chance he could improve the baby‘s condition. ajudge is looking again at the case. doctors at great 0rmond street hospital don‘t believe his quality of life can be significantly improved. now on bbc news, thursday in parliament.