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 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. and on that trip, president trump apparently told journalists that he had changed his idea of a physical border wall along the entire us border with mexico. he now seems to accept that the natural terrain provides a sufficient barrier along about half the length of the border. only a small extension to the existing structure would be required. one of china's most prominent political dissidents,

liu xiabao, 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. it's looking increasingly unlikely that brazil's current president will face prosecution. a congressional committee has voted not to send corruption charges against michel temer to the supreme court. they'll now be debated by the whole of congress. former president, luiz inacio lula da silva, has challenged his corruption conviction. he's seeking re—election next year. a russian military court has jailed five members of a chechen gang for killing opposition leader boris nemtsov in 2015. the man said to have carried the shooting, zaur dadayev, got a 20—year sentence. 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. 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. they call themselves charlie's army, some of the half a million people

who have signed a 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. 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. 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 across central europe are stepping up their 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 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 as desperate men women and children —— than 2,000 lives so far this year as desperate men, women and children crowd onto small boats in the hope of reaching europe. they're put there by people

smugglers, who exploit them for huge sums. as bbc arabic‘s rami ruhayem discovered, they are using very different tactics. migrants in distress outside libyan waters. search and rescue charity handout lifejackets. just behind them, three men on a ski boat approach. they want to take the engine of the migrant‘s boat. we are ona ship engine of the migrant‘s boat. we are on a ship run by doctors without borders. their mission is to save lives on one of the deadliest migration route in the world. on this day, they pulled out early 1000 migrants from six boats. the smugglers are often close by. the

rescue is barely halfway through but we can see just a few metres away this white speedboat, probably the smugglers waiting until the boat is empty the vacant went back to libya for reuse. it is highly possible but again we have no idea and we need to just save lives. we are humanitarians, we are not police. it's the same as when we find a kalashnikov on the battlefield, we are not disarming the kalashnikov, we arejust are not disarming the kalashnikov, we are just there to save lives. as more migrant boats arrive, the italian coastguard showed up in force. throughout the day the italian coastguard has been moving around, trying to set fire to as many of these smugglers's boat as possible. with rubber and wooden. the eu says this is the most important thing to do on the central mediterranean. in addition to saving lives, they disrupt the business model of the smugglers, and this is how they do it.

but the strategy is now under attack. last week, a report by amnesty international and this week a report from the house of lords but said the smugglers have about their tactics by using lower quality boats. and it's the migrants who are paying with their lives. those who made it know they are lucky. this year alone more than 2100 people have drowned off the coast of libya. i took the risk because i knew it was 50—50, either you survive or you die, soi was 50—50, either you survive or you die, so i took the boat and i believe that god will save me. soon they will all disembark in italy but their time they will all disembark in italy but theirtime in they will all disembark in italy but their time in europe is turning against them. —— the tide. 0ther their time in europe is turning against them. —— the tide. other eu countries have rejected repeated italian government pleas to open their ports to the rescue ships. for

now, european governments remain focused on trying to seal off the central mediterranean route. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. masked men have shot 11 people at a children's party in the mexican city of tizayuca. police found three children alive at the scene. the party was in a tent set up by the host outside a family home. mexico has seen a new spike in violence linked to disputes between drug cartels. ajudge in peru has ordered that the country's former president, 0llanta humala, and his wife be jailed for up to 18 months while prosecutors prepare formal money—laundering charges against them. he has denied the charges but prosecutors are concerned they might flee abroad. a venezuelan police helicopter pilot who's been on the run since he attacked government buildings from the air in a protest against president maduro has re—emerged at a demonstration in caracas. 0scar perez, who is also an action film star, hijacked a police helicopter two weeks ago to fire shots and lob grenades at the interior ministry and supreme court. it's just over a month since fire

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 in grenfell tower. investigators believe 350 people were living there. it's not known how many more were there but not registered as residents. one 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. rhea rojo 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 i'm not paying the rent and i'm not registered in the tower, so that's why they don't recognise me as one of the victims. they say i'm not on the list.

investigators believe that around 350 people were living inside the tower. but residents like rhea 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 that is published. why? from what i've seen in the tower, some of them are undocumented, as in 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 rhea, 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 they can renew my visa or they are going to deport me. that's what i am afraid of. of course, i wanted to stay

here to work and to support my kids back home to give them a better future. rhea'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 rhea. 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 hurt me. my friend, when i was talking to her on the phone, i didn't feel guilty — i'm also grateful she survived because if not, how long can i keep this? for my whole 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. now he has been replaced by the skeleton of a giant blue whale, suspended from the ceiling. pallab ghosh has been to see it, and hear the message the museum wants to send.

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 25m 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. next week is the 48th anniversary of what is arguably humanity's greatest achievement — our firstjourney to the moon. and an auction in new york 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 moon dust and small rocks 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 from lunar pathogens. neil armstrong: 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're 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, spacesuits, even astronaut snoopy — the mascot aboard apollo 10. proof that mankind's one giant leap still captures the imagination. tim allman, bbc news. more on that and all the news any time on our website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching. come again. hello there.

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

and i think with lighter winds, the temperatures will respond to the sunshine as we go through the day. still quite a breeze in northern areas, 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, actually, through the afternoon as that weather system clears out of the way. we get that brisk north—westerly coming down behind it, feels a bit fresher. we start to see some good spells of sunshine coming through across most mainland uk until later when we've got the next weather front knocking on the door of northern ireland and western scotland, but i think feeling a little bit warmerfor some in the north, particularly compared with yesterday and it looks set fairfor wimbledon. yes, a lot of cloud initially first thing but it's men's semifinal day and we should get a mostly dry day. very unlucky if you catch a passing shower here. however, through the evening and overnight, you can see further north the first pulse of rain comes in. that 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, there won't be that much rain but certainly there will be more cloud and an increasingly humid feel on saturday, so many areas have quite a bit of rain initially and it keeps going across western up slopes of scotland and northern ireland, but elsewhere, we'll see some brighter spells developing into the afternoon. it'll feel quite warm in the brightness. then through saturday evening and overnight, that weather front starts to meander its way southwards and as it does so, it tends to fizzle out but it does mean a lot more cloud. to the south, we could have some really warm sunshine breaking through and a brighter day to the north as well and with just the odd passing blustery shower, but again quite a bit of cloud. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump has hinted the american position on climate change could change. in paris for the bastille day celebrations, mr trump said "something could happen" with respect to the international paris accord. six weeks ago, the us announced it would be withdrawing. president trump and chancellor merkel have led tributes to the political dissident

and nobel peace laureate liu xiaobo, who has died in a chinese prison from liver cancer. his death has not been acknowledged by the government in beijing, which jailed him for 11 years for his campaign for democracy. an american doctor has told the high court in london there's a 10% chance he could improve the condition of the seriously ill baby charlie gard. ajudge is looking again at the case. doctors at great 0rmond street hospital don't believe his quality of life can be improved significantly. now on bbc news, hardtalk.