welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: the us house of representatives votes overwhelmingly to impose new sanctions on russia, iran and north korea. moscow says the move would complicate relations. how long will he last? america's attorney general faces yet more public criticism from his own boss. i told you before, i'm very disappointed with the attorney general. but we will see what happens. time will tell. tales from the dark heart of the caliphate. we hear from the wives of islamic state fighters who've fled their former stronghold, raqqa. one of the vatican's most seniorfigures cardinal pell has appeared in court in australia to face multiple charges of sex abuse. he insists he's innocent. and how britain's gay culture left the shadows and became mainstream. we look back on the 50—year battle for equality. it's a powerful indication

of how little trust there is between president trump and members of congress from his own party. the us house of representatives has voted overwhelmingly for new sanctions on russia and set them up quite deliberately in a way that makes it very hard for the president to change or dilute them. the sanctions target key russian officials in retaliation for interference in last year's us election and in eastern ukraine. they also target north korea and iran. sarah corker reports. i, donald john trump do solemnly swear... throughout his first six months in office, preisdent trump has been dogged by allegations that moscow interfered to help get him elected. this new bill is likely antagonise

the kremlin and complicate mr trump's plans to improve relations with russia. on this vote, the yays are 419, the nays are three. these tougher sanctions passed overwhelmingly by the house expand restrictions on doing business with russian companies and limit the president's authority to roll back the sanctions. we simply cannot allow any foreign power to interfere in our electoral process. given our president's complete unwillingness to hold russia accountable for their attack — let's not mistake this for anything but an attack on america — it has become necessary for congress to assert its role in this area and ensure that russia will be held accountable. russia has denied any meddling in the election and prior to tuesday's vote, its foreign ministry said: and this comes as three separate investigations looking into whether donald trump's campaign team colluded with the russians over the elections, something

he strongly refutes. and this comes as three separate investigations looking into whether donald trump's campaign team colluded with the russians over the elections, something he strongly refutes. on tuesday, jared kushner, the president's son—in—law, was questioned by the house intelligence committee. the new sanctions also target north korea and iran over ballistic missile tests. the bill must now pass the senate before it can be signed or vetoed by the president. the white house says they are reviewing the legislation, but yet again, the intense focus on russia is overshadowing donald trump's agenda. sarah corker, bbc news. on healthcare, one of donald trump's big election issues, a senate vote on tuesday opened the doorfor, well, further debate. republicans have been struggling to decide whether to repeal and replace president obama's affordable care act immediately or repeal it with a two—year delay to give time to find an alternative.

john mccain returned to capitol hill for the first time since he was diagnosed with brain cancer, to urge all senators to work together. i hope we can again rely on humility, on our need to co—operate, on our dependence on each other, to learn how to trust each other again and in doing so better serve the people that elected us. stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and internet. to hell with them! and the fate of the us attorney general appears to be hanging in the balance, he was for a long time one of mr trump's closest allies, but now the president has called him weak and said time will tell about his future. mr trump is very publicly seething about the fact thatjeff sessions stood aside from the fbi inquiry into russian interference in the 2016 election. this from our north america editorjon sopel. jeff sessions, the man who presides

over america's judicial system, seemingly about to face rough justice from his boss and one—time close friend, the president. for the past two days, donald trump has taken potshots at his top law enforcement officer via twitter. today... yesterday... the president of the united states and the president of the council of ministers of the republic of lebanon. and the president heaped further ignominy on the attorney—general in a rose garden news conference this afternoon over sessions‘ decision to step aside from the russian investigation. i am disappointed in the attorney general. he should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office. and if he was going to recuse himself, he should've told me

prior to taking office and i would've quite simply picked somebody else. "but, come on," reporters demanded, "are you going to fire the attorney general?" i told you before, i'm very disappointed with the attorney general, but we will see what happens. time will tell. if sessions does go over the whole russia investigation, then he willjoin the former fbi directorjames comey sacked over this issue, and the former national security adviser michael flynn, who was fired after lying about his contacts with the russians. all of which begs the question, what happens next to robert mueller, the special counsel called on to investigate the sprawling russia investigation? if he goes, that is bound to lead to charges that the president is trying to obstructjustice. and who knows where that will lead. with these bewildering developments, in the senate the democrats fired a warning shot. many americans must be wondering if the president is trying to pry open the office of attorney general to appoint someone during the august

recess who will fire special counsel mueller and shut down the russian investigation. even if the president has disagreements with him, which i think founded, self—centred and wrong, you don't ridicule him in public. someone who is your close friend? that speaks to character. senatorjeff sessions! jeff sessions was the first senator to endorse donald trump during the campaign, giving his candidacy a massive boost and has given the president unswerving loyalty ever since. it is not being reciprocated. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. so is the president setting the stage for the departure of another senior law officer? i spoke just now to the bbc‘s

nada tawfik in ohio, where mr trump has been speaking at a rally. jeff sessions was the first sitting senator to endorse president trump and president trump is someone who puts a very high value on loyalty but in an interview today he said it wasn't a great loyalty thing, the fact he was the first to endorse him, and we've seen that president trump in a way is almost trying to push the attorney general to resign with this kind of constant attack, calling him beleaguered a few days ago, now saying he's very dissatisfied with him, rather than putting himself in a position where he might have to oust him. we've heard from the likes of ann coulter for example on the right saying if you're not satisfied with the attorney general thenjust get rid of him. when i spoke to supporters outside this rally, we asked them about the staff changes in the administration in the last few weeks, and now we're hearing the possibility that attorney generaljeff sessions might not have the confidence of the president, how do you feel about that? a lot of them said the president has the right to fine—tune his administration so it's really

interesting to get the perspective from the base where in dc this is a big issue, if president trump did decide to replace attorney generaljeff sessions. the house of representatives vote on sanctions, people might be thinking, yeah, yeah, more sanctions on russia in particular, on north korea and iran, but members of his own party, a vast majority, on capitol hill couldn't have made it clearer they don't trust the president on russia. absolutely. what this is doing is it's taking a little bit of power away from the executive branch to lead on foreign policy and putting it in the hands of congress and the white house objected to this for one because the president wants a good relationship with russia, they say it's in the best interests of the two countries to work together and he's trying to make that shift and on the other hand because the legislation would make it that the president couldn't roll back those sanctions

without congressional approval, so a big blow to his ability to drive foreign policy. it's really clear that senators even from his own party were so concerned about the investigations into his campaign's possible ties to russia they felt it necessary to have that in the bill. it was a blow to president trump despite the fact he objected again to this and made his views known. the white house has said today they will view that house legislation and view the full package if the senate passes it and decide what to do, the president, if he decides to veto this, would be very bad timing given the investigations into russia and the pressure on that and even if he did veto if the lawmakers could just overturn that so it does put the president in an awkward position. head to our website for all the latest developments from washington, just

go to, bbc.com/news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. swiss police say they have arrested the man they believe carried out an attack with a chainsaw on office workers on monday. after a large manhunt, 51—year—old franz wrousis was detained 60 kilometres from the town of schaffhausen, where the attack took place. the palestinian president mahmoud abbas says he will maintain a freeze on security cooperation with israel, despite an israeli decision to remove controversial metal detectors at the al—aqsa mosque compound in eastjerusalem. palestinians are boycotting the holy site, where israel is currently installing cameras. the two main rival leaders in libya have reached a joint agreement to try to bring stability to their country. after talks brokered by president macron in france, fayez al—sarraj and khalifa haftar committed themselves to a conditional ceasefire. ajudge in london, who will decide on wednesday where charlie gard should spend his final days,

has said the chances are small of him being able to die at home. doctors treating the ii—month—old argue it's unrealistic given the demands of his care. his parents have appealed for a paediatric doctor to help. us—backed kurdish forces are now thought to have gained control of nearly half the city of raqqa, the last remaining stronghold of so—called islamic state in syria. the offensive has led thousands to flee the city, including some families of is militants. shaimaa khalil has spoken to one of he is wives who has just fled the city and who's now being held on the outskirts of raqqa. they came from different parts of the world with one aim — to join the self—proclaimed caliphate. now they've escaped and are being held by the kurdish forces in northern syria. iman and her husband left tunisia for raqqa, the so—called islamic state stronghold. he wanted to be a fighter.

she says she wanted to live a proper islamic life. i had many questions and i managed to send them to her. i'm just wondering if you saw other videos, videos of beheadings, of them burning people alive? were you not put off by that? how did you think that was proper islam? but she says when they arrived it wasn't what they expected.

iman‘s husband is now in a kurdish—run prison outside raqqa. it's hard to determine whether the women who escaped are all victims. at some point they were all part of the so—called islamic state. iman‘s son was born in raqqa. now she's hoping he'll grow up as far away from the islamic state as she can take him. do you think they'll take you back easily and how do you expect them to believe you or forgive you when you've been part of the so—called islamic state? these children know nothing but life under the islamic state.

for now they and their mothers are stuck between a caliphate they fled and homelands that may not want them back. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: how britain's gay culture left the shadows and became mainstream, the 50—year battle for equality. 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: the us house of representatives has voted overwhelmingly to impose new sanctions on russia, iran and north korea. moscow says the move would complicate relations. president trump has criticised his

attorney generaljeff sessions, further fuelling speculation he might be on his way out. the migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016 was a particularly grim moment in history — but was it, in legal terms, exceptional circumstances? the european court ofjustice has to decide that, on wednesday. it matters to many migrants and many governments, because it should then be clear whether some of the european union's key rules on asylum applied at the time. the so—called dublin regulation puts the burden on refugees to file for asylum in the first european country they arrive in and this case involves austria and slovenia. austria's border with slavonia in 2016, during the migrant crisis. throughout the balkans, frontiers we re throughout the balkans, frontiers were open. thousands applied for

asylu m were open. thousands applied for asylum in austria, including two sisters from afghanistan, and their children. but they were not given asylum, unlike many others. the austrian authorities decided they should be deported back to croatia, their point of entry to the european union, under the eu's dublin regulation. was vienna right to send them back at a time when the borders we re them back at a time when the borders were open? this case is now before europe's top court, along with a similar case from slavonia. the court's decision could affect the lives of a lot of people. one of those people is this man from afghanistan. he first came to austria in february last year, but was deported back to croatia.|j tried so hard, i did everything i could. i did football, i was doing a german course. at school i was in a

choir. i went to my interview and they said no. it is so long, you have to go back. you can't stay. croatia was very hard. it was winter and we didn't have good blankets and oui’ and we didn't have good blankets and our room was and we didn't have good blankets and oui’ room was always and we didn't have good blankets and our room was always cold. the european court ofjustice has to rule on whether the asylum rules we re rule on whether the asylum rules were applicable during the exceptional circumstances of the migrant crisis. some lawyers believe this could have implications for countries like italy, facing mass arrivals in future. but others are not so sure. i don't think so, the situation in 2015 was special. governments contributed actively, they used buses to bring people through. we are talking about a border crossing, as long as we don't have such a situation again, i don't think this will arise again. this man is now back in austria, pending a court decision. he hopes he will

be able to stay here. one of the pope's most senior advisors, the vatican treasurer, has made his first court appearance in australia, on charges of historical sexual abuse. cardinal george pell said he is innocent — and will clear his name. earlier i spoke with our correspondent, phil mercer, in melbourne. he told me more about the proceedings. cardinal george pell‘s lawyer was telling the magistrates that he will be pleading not guilty. last month, police here in victoria said they we re police here in victoria said they were charging cardinal george pell with historic sexual offences involving multiple complainants. at the time, cardinal pell said that he would have his day in court to vigorously defend himself against allegations he vehemently denies. as we can see, he was escorted into the building earlier today by police,

and was surrounded by an enormous media contingent. thatjust goes to show what interest there is in the story, not just show what interest there is in the story, notjust in australia but well beyond these shores. let's round—up some other stories now: huge forest fires in the south—east of france are being fanned by unusually hot, dry and windy weather. the island of corsica, and areas near nice and saint—tropez are badly affected. dozens of homes have been evacuated — some roads and railways temporarily closed. the british government is to announce a ban on new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 20110, as part of efforts to tackle air pollution. it's seen as a milestone in the shift towards electric cars. similar plans were announced in france this month. new research reveals in less than a0 years, sperm counts have fallen by more than half in western countries. scientists say the results indicate a potential threat to fertility in industrialised countries. no similar pattern was seen in south america, asia and africa. it's 50 years this week

since the laws on homosexuality were amended in england and wales. our special correspondent allan little has been looking at what the changes to the sexual offences act meant in 1967 — and how they affected people in the years that followed. in 1967, a change in the law did not bring a change in attitudes. this is the bbc‘s man alive programme. voiceover: for many of us this is revolting. men dancing with men. homosexuals in this country today break the law. these two have lived together for 26 years. they might almost be a married couple but they are still queer, in the minority. thousands of men went to prison. few dared speak publically. i couldn't believe just because i wanted somebody to love me and to have friendship i had to suffer all this. they put me in a cell and i was in a cell from saturday afternoon until monday morning. i never slept.

i just sat and cried. this is a celebration to mark the anniversary of the act, hosted by an lgbt group for the over 50s called opening doors. some here were sexually active when it was still a criminal offence. well, it's like living in an alien society, it's like being a spy. very clandestine. i had to just make out a false lifestyle really. it's like being non—existent, you know, like you just weren't there, so it was confidence—sapping. the act did not apply to scotland or northern ireland and even in england and wales it did not end prosecution. right into the 1990s, police used the gross indecency laws to continue to criminalise gay behaviour and social activity.

voiceover: it is a deadly disease and there is no known cure. in the ‘80s, hiv and aids brought a new atmosphere of moral panic. by the end of the decade, the number of gross indecency prosecutions against gay men was as high as it had been in the 1950s. many, many lead completely double lives... the writer maureen duffy, who campaigned for the 1967 act, says it was not a moment of sudden liberation. it was the beginning of a process. but never assume that what you have achieved you have got for good and it cannot be reversed because at any time, anything can be completely changed. and there are sometimes still some very nasty rumblings and utterances, partially stoked by the use of social media, that could turn very nasty indeed if we're not vigilant. injuly1967, the home secretary roy

jenkins told parliament that homosexuality was a disability that brought lifelong shame. it has taken generations of vigilance to get from there to this. alan little, bbc news. sadly, australia's best—selling indigenous musician, doctor g yunupingu, has died at the age of 46. —— indigenous. the family has requested that his image is not be broadcast. the singer, who performed around the world and sold hundreds of thousands of albums, had been in poor health for some

time. good morning. there's rain in the forecast for the next few days, but i think the important message is, it's not going to be raining all the time. that's certainly the story for today. some wet and windy weather for a time, but not all the time. we have low pressure pushing a band of cloud in from the atlantic and that will bring some outbreaks rain eastwards through the day. with that wet weather some fairly strong and gusty winds. so we start the morning in northern ireland and western scotland, wales and the south—west with this rain. they then move across the midlands, north—east england, east scotland, eventually rain into the south—east, but by this stage the wet weather quite light and patchy. behind the rain band, things will brighten up. there will be showers across northern ireland and scotland into the afternoon. some of these will be quite heavy and the wind is still fairly blustery. notice the persistent rain holding on across the far north and east of scotland right through the afternoon. brighter skies into wales. a fairly cool and fresh feel to the weather. 19 in cardiff.

similar in plymouth, with patchy cloud and sunny spells for the afternoon across the south—west of england. we come further east across hampshire, berkshire, into london, kent and east anglia there will be a fair amount of cloud through the afternoon. some outbreaks of rain, fairly light and patchy, extending through the coast of england. further west some bright weather developing. in the evening the cloud and patchy rain will be chased away to the east. a lot of dry weather through the night, however, some hefty showers developing across northern ireland and western scotland. there could be the odd rumble of thunder here. temperatures overnight about 11—15 degrees. into thursday and low pressure still the dominant feature. this isn't what we expect to see on the weather charts at this point in late july. some tightly squeezed isobars, meaning there will be strong winds and some heavy showers. most frequent up to the north—west, but even further south and east

we could catch the odd heavy shower and maybe a rumble of thunder. some sunny spells in between. but those temperatures no great shakes, about 16 in aberdeen, 18 in cardiff, 20 in london. another day of showers on friday. some sunny spells between the showers. then late in the day more persistent rain pushing in again across the south—west and wales. but that should move its way through on friday night and into the early hours of saturday. so the weekend is certainly not a complete washout. there will be some spells of sunshine and some heavy showers as well. some rain in forecast, but not all the time. the latest headlines 3—1 bbc news. the us house of representatives has voted overwhelmingly for new sanctions on russia, iran, and north korea. only three against the 319 who voted for the changes. donald trump has criticised his attorney general again.

he said time would tell about his future. george pell has appeared in court ina future. george pell has appeared in court in a straight or multiple charges of historical sex abuse. the former archbishop of sydney and melbourne insists he is innocent. the details of the charges have not yet been made public. here in london,