this is bbc news. our top stories: president trump claims "complete power" to issue pardons as senators prepare to question his family's contacts with russians during the us election. venezuela's crisis intensifies as the military clash with protesters trying to march towards the supreme court in caracas. london's great ormond street hospital says staff have received death threats and online abuse in relation to the charlie gard case. and victims of heroin in philadelphia — we'll hear from the people fighting an addiction, leaving them sleeping under bridges and off the tracks. hello and welcome to bbc news. president trump has insisted he has complete power to pardon people.

it comes amid reports that he's been looking at ways of pardoning himself and his family should investigators decide there was collusion with russia during the us election campaign. next week, his eldest son and his son—in—law are due to testify before congress. but there was no mention of the controversy when the president spoke at a naval ceremony in virginia. from washington, laura bicker reports. donald trump hoped this week would be a celebration of all that is made in america, including this new state—of—the—art aircraft carrier. instead, he finds himself gearing up for what could be one of his biggest battles. he's clearing the decks and finding new staff to fight off claims the kremlin helped him win the white house. his core message has become engulfed by the many investigations. instead, this is the kind of sales pitch he'd prefer americans to hear. american steel and american hands have constructed a 100,000—ton message to the world. america might is second to none.

donald trump is upgrading his team just as the investigation into whether or not russia meddled in the us presidential election has widened its scope to reportedly include the trump finances. the president is thought to be furious. and this inquiry is no longer outside the white house gates — it's within his inner circle, including his own family, who are due to give evidence later this week. mr trump's son—in—law jared kushner is one of his closest advisors, seen so often at his side but rarely heard. he has done some talking, though — to russians, during the campaign. he'll be asked about that in congress on monday. donald trumer is also in discussions about testifying after it was revealed he met with a russian lawyer who'd offered incriminating information about hillary clinton during the campaign. white house spokesman sean spicer often struggled to convey the president's message amidst

the barrage of questions about russian influence. if the president puts russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a russian connection. he's now saying farewell, resigning. i think it was in the best interests of our communications department, of our press organisation, to not have too many cooks in the kitchen. because he reportedly didn't want to work for this man. the slick, outspoken wall street financier anthony scaramucci will now be in charge of rebranding team trump. donald trump relishes a good fight. he's described the enquiries into his campaign's links with russia as a witch—hunt, a hoax. he's getting combat ready, just in case investigators do not agree with him. laura bicker, bbc news, washington. venezuelan soldiers on motorbikes have fired tear gas at hundreds of masked, stone—throwing protesters in caracas — the latest round of demonstrations against the government

of nicolas maduro. several people were injured in the clashes. which came as the opposition attempted to march to the supreme court building. greg dawson reports. it's become a near—daily occurrence in venezuela — protesters versus police, molotov cocktails versus tear gas. these people are marching towards their country's supreme court, which they believe is biased in favour of nicolas maduro — a president who they claim is turning into a dictator. translation: we have to help our children. we are fighting here for them and these boys cannot be left alone. while others are in their houses, these people are risking their lives for us all. on friday, opposition politicians elected 33 newjudges to form a so—called ‘shadow supreme court.‘ president maduro rejects them, as well as ongoing calls for a general election in his country. and he's got support, too.

for every anti—government demonstration, there's a rally in support of the venezuelan leader. this gathering was to back the president's plans for a new assembly to rewrite the constitution. for the last four months, venezuela has been locked in an impasse of political crisis and violent demonstration. scores of people have been killed since the protests began. nicolas maduro says they are led by right—wing extremists. on thursday, millions of venezuelans joined a general strike called by the opposition. president maduro called the effects minimal, and plans to press ahead with a vote for a new assembly next week. greg dawson, bbc news. a british children's hospital that's seeking to remove life support from the terminally ill baby charlie gard has called in the police after a number of its staff received death threats. great ormond street hospital

in london said its employees had been subjected to a "shocking and disgraceful tide of hostility". the parents of charlie gard have been fighting a high court battle to allow him to be flown to the united states for experimental treatment. laura tra nt reports. it's a case that's touched people around the world. attracting a growing number of campaigners who disagree with medical experts over the treatment of a critically ill baby boy. a growing number of campaigners who disagree with medical experts over the treatment of a critically ill baby boy. ii—month—old charlie gard has a form of mitochondrial disease — a condition that causes progressive muscle weakness and irreversible brain damage. his parents, connie yates and chris gard, want to take him to the us for pioneering treatment, but great ormond street hospital says it's in charlie's best interests to turn off his life support and allow him to die. tonight, the hospital said in a statement that their doctors and nurses have been subjected to a shocking and disgraceful tide of hostility. staff have received abuse both

in the street and online. thousands of abusive messages, they said, have been sent to doctors and nurses, whose life's work is to care for sick children. many of these messages are menacing, including death threats. the hospital has reported the abuse to the police. it comes as the high court decides on charlie's future and a day after the judge urged any campaigners outside the hospital to respect the needs and wishes of sick children being treated there and their parents. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the united nations security council is to meet on monday to discuss the latest violence in jerusalem. three israelis and four palestinians have died since protests began on friday against new metal detectors installed outside the al—aqsa mosque compound, known tojews as the temple mount. israel has indicated that it's willing to consider alternatives. more protests have taken place in the polish capital

warsaw over government plans to reform the supreme court. critics argue it would undermine the independence of the judiciary. earlier, hungary's prime minister viktor orban said he would use all legal options to thwart eu attempts to penalise poland over the controversial legislation. the charity medecins sans frontieres has opened a new clinic in the afghan city of kunduz. it's after a hospital it ran there was destroyed by american air strikes in 2015. 42 people were killed in the attack, which took place during intense clashes between the security forces and taliban militants. anbarasan ethirajan has more. after a gap of nearly two years, msf is returning to kunduz. a much—needed health lifeline for the residents of this northern afghan city. for now, the facilities are basic. the new clinic will provide outpatient treatment for minor

or chronic injuries. translation: i have had this problem before. i have had severe pain previously, and i was treated by foreign doctors. now that this facility has been reopened, i'm very happy. now i can come here and get treated for my other problems. the old hospital was bombed by american planes in 2015 during clashes between afghan forces and taliban militants. more than a0 people, including patients and medical staff, were killed in the attack. the us military blamed a combination of human error and equipment failure. medecins sans frontieres wants security guarantees from all sides before expanding its operation in kunduz. we are in the process to finalize commitment that are assuring us about the safety of our staff, our patients and our structure, and we think we have enough assurances to reopen activities

as well as to have communication enough to co—ordinate about the location of our structure. the charity hopes to begin building a new trauma centre in 2018, although it is likely to be smaller than the previous facility. even so, it would help to relieve the pressure on the overstretched government—run local hospital. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. more than 80,000 migrants have landed in italy this year — a i6% increase in the numbers who arrived over the same period last year. the government is aiming to disperse many people across the country but some smaller communities are resisting. 0ur correspondent james reynolds reports from sicily. the torrenova town council has called an emergency public meeting — the state has ordered this town to take in around 20 migrants.

"i want guarantees," says retired teacher enzo salvia. "they need medical and criminal checks." "they were already checked when they landed," argues saverio corao. "i don't think they will damage our country. " the next morning, the region's mayors get together to oppose the plan to take in so many migrants. they have come to the regional capital of messina to persuade the government to reconsider. wearing a tie may help. the italian government is struggling to find a solution that works. it wants to scatter migrants as soon as they land here in big ports. but that just shuffles the problem from built—up areas to the depths of the countryside. the semi—derelict kangaroo hotel in the small town of castell‘umberto

is now home to 50 migrants — six times the number the government recommends for a town this size. translation: it's not good. it's not good because these here haven't been checked by a doctor. we don't know who they are. it's no good. the town's mayor returns with news of a victory. the state has agreed that half the new arrivals will go back to messina. translation: i certainly don't want to become their hero. they need someone else to defend them. 0ur town is too small. at night, amid cheers from volunteers, migrants are escorted out. they barely know where they're going. i was told i'm going to messina. do you know where that is? no, sir. italy's relocation plan, improvised and haphazard, has to start again.

james reynolds, bbc news, sicily. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: artist's impression — campaigners use a life—size model of a beached whale to raise awareness of sea life under pressure. mission control: you can see them coming down the ladder now. it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today.

there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunction of sperm unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump insists he has the "complete power to pardon" and attacks the media for its coverage of claims russia interfered in the us election. earlier, i spoke to michaeljohns. he is co—founder of the republican pa rty‘s tea party movement and former speech writer for george bush senior. i asked him if the president doesn't think he has done anything wrong,

why then, is he wanting to pardon his family and himself? i suppose there is only one person who knows the answer to that, and that is the president. but i do think that what he has been able to do by sort of bringing this up is reflect on the question what really is the ultimate goal of this investigation? we are many months into this investigation. there is no indication ofany criminal wrongdoing. 0bama and officials testified under oath there was no wrongdoing. even the allegation of collusion, there is no federal statute that precludes it. the probably should be. and i think what he has done is probably get the american people to reflect on, which i believe they are, on what a distraction this has been with so many political, economic and foreign policy issues facing our country today. presumably some conclusion

will come out of the mueller investigation. but do you think that this is revealed a flaw in the american democratic institutions, that there must be much tougher and clearer guidelines on what a presidential candidate and a president should be able to do? i think the issue of it being a distraction, what is intriguing — and i think the president realises this, to his credit — this has been a creation of two entities. one, the democratic party, which lost, and is bitter, and is looking for an excuse, and two, media institutions, which for whatever reason have developed a very activist left—of—centre agenda, with many exceptions. as far as what the country can do, i do believe the issue of collusion is taken seriously by everyone —

certainly by me. and yet the greatest legal scholars in our country will be the first to tell you that it may be frowned upon but it is not illegal, and it might well be an opportunity to amend our federal election commission regulations, or by congressional statute or other means, something that stops it from going forward, seeing as i don't see anyone suggesting that it's a constructive thing, nor do i think it happened in this campaign, to be clear. in an area of philadelphia known locally as the bad—lands, some of the purest heroin in the country can be bought for just five dollars. but from next week the city authorities will clear the area to stop the heroin trade. but where will the addicts go? the bbc has been to the city to find out. we live in a world of heroin,

that's the reality we live in. heroin is what is killing people, but, like, not giving people the opportunity to say "help me," not giving people the opportunity to ask for or seek treatment, it keeps them in the basement, it keeps them in places like the train tracks. that is why they are down there, that is why they are in abandoned buildings. so they can be left alone. kensington has the purest heroin in the country. it is the most potent and is the most inexpensive, about $5 a bag. at gurney street, it's kind of like a safe consumption site underground no one knows about.

they save lives and are there for each other. my son was addicted to heroin. he is in recovery. but during his addiction, he was on the streets of kensington on and off for five years. we know that if we go to gurney street, there is a certain group of people that we might always see there. when we disperse people, where are we dispersing them to, and will we be able to find them once we disperse them? sunday marks two months since militants,

inspired by the islamic state group, took over the city of marawi on mindanao in the southern philippines. the number of soldiers killed trying to recapture the city has now passed 100 and fighting is still going on. new pictures have revealed the intensity of the conflict. bill hayton reports. gunfire. packed into an armoured vehicle, this unit is on a rescue mission. ahead, a comrade lies wounded in the rubble of marawi. reaching the spot, they dropped smoke grenades for cover, only then could they pull him to safety. these pictures, provided by the philippine military, show the devastation caused by two months of fighting. nearly 600 people are known to have died here — over 400 militants, more than 100 soldiers, and dozens of civilians. the military has struggled

to cope with the determined and well—prepa red enemy. we need to adopt to the situation so we bring out our minds, our brightest minds, we adopted the tactics of the enemy to hunt them down. in late may, marawi was taken over by the maute group, named after its founders who pledged alligiance to the islamic state. security analysts fear they are supported by foreigners and that mindanao could become a haven for is in asia. in response, the philippine government imposed martial law across the whole island and, on saturday, congress extended that for the whole of the year. but human rights groups say martial law is allowing authorities to abuse civilians. a move that has no basis, factual basis, the factual basis of the existance of the real threat of rebellion in marawi is highly questionable.

fighting is far from over in marawi, and the consequences for its inhabitants, the philippines, and the region, will last much, much longer. bill hayton, bbc news. and head to our website for more on that and the latest on all of our main stories. the actor, john heard, best known for his role in the home alone films, has died at the age of 72. us media reports say he was found dead at a hotel in california. as well as enjoying a successful film career, john heard earned an emmy nomination for playing a corrupt detective in the tv series, the sopranos. an amateur poker player, who normally enjoys a modest game at his local casino in hull in north east england, is celebrating a win worth more than $2,5 million at the world's most prestigious tournament in las vegas.

john hesp, a 64—year—old caravan salesman, finished fourth in a field of 7,000 entrants. he's played pokerfor twenty years, but always as an amateur. now if you happened to visit paris this saturday you may have had something of a surprise. all the normal attractions were there, exactly as you'd expect but there was a rather unusual guest. and a guest that was large in stature. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. at first glance, this looks somewhat surprising — a giant sperm whale washed up on the banks of the river seine. a medical team appear to be examining the body. tourists look on with more than a little interest. but things are not what they seem. this is, in fact, a giant replica, created by a group of belgium artists. they are trying to raise awareness about the environment, so much so, they won't break

character, even for the cameras. translation: this happens fairly often but not in paris. he come up the river to escape sonar and we found out he had an eye infection so he couldn't see properly. he came up and got stuck over there by the bridge. the firemen were called and pulled him out with a crane, because you can'tjust leave a body in the water. similar replica beachings have taken place across europe, and it seems like the artists do a pretty convincing job. someone posted an article but we thought it was real so we came over and then my mum saw in the morning that it was a sculpture. of course, i had to look it up and i saw that it was a sculpture. and i was, like, "that's amazing!" it's like a really neat thing that they did to bring awareness. the team behind this say they want to explore the boundaries between reality and fiction. in the shadow of notre dame, it is certainly an interesting place to try.

tim allman, bbc news. incredibly convincing as a sculpture. i am on on twitter as most of the team, you can reach me there. hello. saturday turned into the day of the downpour. not surprising when you see threatening skies like this, and there were many others from our weather watchers. the heavens opened shortly after this was taken, and the area of low pressure producing those showers, or the outbreaks of rain on saturday, still close by on sunday. so even if you have a dry start, be prepared for some showers as the day goes on. a lot of cloud around first thing, and perhaps still some outbreaks of rain affecting parts of the midlands and northern england, and into eastern scotland, with low cloud. we will look at things in greater detail at 9:00am in the morning. there will also be, where we have had clear skies overnight,

some mist and fog patches in wales and south—west england. they will gradually clear. england, brighter spots, sunny spells. expect a fair amount of cloud to begin the day, and again the chance of some outbreaks of rain in the midlands, and it will clear into showers, as it will eventually brighten up. for northern ireland, though, bar the odd shower, a lot of dry weather to come. western scotland starting fine. but here in north—east scotland, we've got that low cloud, we've got a cool breeze coming in, some outbreaks of rain. and that rain will go south during the day across scotland, avoiding the far north—west. and once it's moved through, it should brighten up again. northern ireland, the odd shower. dry weather, sunny spells. late morning, into the afternoon, though, showers getting going in england and wales. catch one, it could be heavy. but in between, some pleasant, sunny spells, with temperatures in the high teens and low 20s. so what does that mean for the final round of the open golf at royal birkdale? well, it could be a cloudy and damp start. maybe a bit of overnight rain lingering for a time,

then a few showers around. but an improving picture through the day, although it will be breezier compared to saturday. the women's world cup, at lord's, sunshine in the morning, but going through the afternoon, there is an increasing chance of a shower that could be heavy. and some of those showers will continue into sunday evening, before slowly fading. an area of rain then moving out of scotland into parts of northern england, and by the time we get to monday, that is only slowly clearing from eastern parts of england. a cool breeze with that. whereas elsewhere, it will be a dry and sunnier day. temperatures in the west approaching the mid—20s. now, looking at the big picture for tuesday, by then we are in between weather systems, so most places, there'll be the odd shower around, but most places will have a fine day. but look at this. the next weather system is not too far away. so take advantage of that fine day on tuesday, some pleasantly warm, sunny spells, because by the time we get to wednesday, we're going to see that system coming in, and more rain coming in from the west. this is bbc news. the headlines.

president trump insists he has the complete power to pardon and attacks the media for its coverage of the claims russia interfered in the us election. next week, his eldest son and his son—in—law are due to testify before congress about their contacts with a russian lawyer. venezuelan soldiers have fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters trying to march to the supreme court in caracas. the opposition group say president nicolas maduro is seeking to consolidate his power by re—writing the constitution. the hospital seeking to remove life support from the seriously ill baby charlie gard says doctors and nurses have faced abuse in the street and online. it comes as the high court considers whether charlie's parents should be allowed to take him to the us for experimental treatment. now on bbc news, the week in parliament.