hello. this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. president trump reluctantly signs off new sanctions against russia. moscow says the move amounts to a "full—scale trade war." following condemnation at home and abroad, venezuela's president nicolas maduro postpones the launch of a controversial new assembly to replace parliament and rewrite the constitution. weather warnings across europe as several countries are hit by potentially dangerous heatwaves. and will he become the world's most expensive footballer? neymar could cost paris st germain a quarter of a billion dollars. he'll earn one dollar every second. and i'm sally bundock. the business stories. charged up! sales surge at tesla. but can it stay number one as rivals plug into the electric car business? plus, hard labourfor nissan, as workers in mississippi vote on the right to form a union after a ill—year battle.

welcome to the programme. the russian prime minister says new sanctions imposed by the united states are tantamount to declaring a full—scale trade war. dmitry medvedev said the measures, which were approved reluctantly by donald trump, demonstrated the complete impotence of the president. unusually, mr trump signed the law behind closed doors, and then described it as "significa ntly flawed." our north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. the sanctions are in retaliation for russia's alleged role in last year's election. it is also punishment for

the annexation of crimea in 2014. it will limit the amount people can invest in russian energy projects, making it more difficult for us companies to do business with russia. it also imposes sanctions on iran and north korea. congress overwhelmingly passed the move and sent it to the desk of donald trump. he sat on it for a few days before relu cta ntly a nd he sat on it for a few days before reluctantly and behind closed doors signing it into law. he later accused congress of overstepping its constitutional authority because the law handcuffs him from easing the penalties on russia. he said it was deeply flawed. the president favours tough measures to deter and punish bad behaviour of iran and north korea. he also said we will not tolerate this by russia. moscow has condemned and ridiculed the sanctions. the russian prime minister responded in a series of tweets. the russian ambassador to the united

nations adopted a similar tone. some us officials were saying this was a deal that might encourage russia to co—operate with the us. to me, that isa co—operate with the us. to me, that is a strange encouragement. sentiment president trump may agree with. after signing the deal, he saidi with. after signing the deal, he said i can make far better deals with other countries than congress. peter bowes, bbc news. for more analysis of the arguments surrounding us sanctions on russia, as well as reports on events in washington, and across the americas, head to our website at bbc.com/news. you can also download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news. the brazilian president has welcomed the congressional vote to drop corruption charges against him, as "clear and incontestable. " michel temer vowed to work until the end of his term next year to restore economic growth. the president was accused of receiving bribes from one of brazil's top companies. he strongly denies the allegations. the italian parliament has agreed to send the country's navy to help the libyan coastguard combat people—traffickers. the italian government is denying any breach of libya's sovereignty. it insists the mission will act only with the agreement of the government in tripoli, which is backed by the un. two people have died on a beach crowded with sunbathers in portugal, when a light aircraft made an emergency landing. an eight year old girl and a 50—year—old man died on saojoao beach near lisbon. the two people on board the plane were unharmed. venezuela's president, nicolas maduro, has postponed

the inauguration of a new assembly until friday following international accusations that democracy is being undermined and the opposition calling for protests. the british firm behind the voting system used to elect members of new body said turnout was at least one million fewer than the government figure, a claim that's been dismissed by the venezuelan electoral authorities. katy watson reports from caracas. as international witticism grows over the vote, nicolas maduro appears defiant. there were more than 10 million venezuelan soon came out onto the street and 8 million could vote. the rest faced the barricades. the company that provided the vote said the government inflated the numbers of those who turned out. based on the robust nature of our system, we know without any doubt that the turnout

of the recent election for a national constituent assembly was manipulated. the head of the electoral authorities in venezuela said these claims are baseless and irresponsible. they are not bowing to pressure here or abroad, saying the country is now at peace. fewer grey. this man drives a taxi. translation: opposition protesters broke in. translation: 0pposition protesters broke it when i went through a road block because this taxi was given to me by the government. i am fed up. politics is like a marriage, both sides need to sit down and talk. the oppositionjust thinks about themselves. venezuela would be better off without them. the concern among opposition politicians and the international community is that that could be the country's new reality. katy watson, bbc news, caracas. sally bundock is here with all the

business news. the latest news from tesla. and much, much more. companies are coming out with all venues. we start in california, with electric car maker, tesla. investors have been taking a huge gamble on the company, betting it's the future of the car industry, and pushing its share price price ever higher. late last night, we got its latest set of results, and they haven't disappointed. let's show you some of the details. in the three months sincejune, it made revenues of this, $2.8 billion. that's well over double what it made in the same period last year and way more than wall street was expecting. it's still losing money though, over $336 million in the three months. that's15% more than last year, but it wasn't as much as investors feared. some are worried about the speed tesla is burning through its cash pile as it builds its position in the car market, so, again, that's good news. and it's paying off.

tesla says it delivered almost 26 thousand vehicles over the period, a big jump of 40% on this time last year. and that number could soon be a lot higher, because of this. the tesla model three. with a starting price of $35,000, it's the company's first real mass market vehicle. it has taken around half a million orders and the first cars were delivered last week. lots more in 20 minutes' time. that is in world business report. we are also in canton mississippi, where workers at nissan's factory vote this thursday and friday on the right to form a union. ahead of the deadline,

tensions have escalated with the union describing it as "one of the nastiest anti—union fights" in us history. if successful, this would end an historic 14 year campaign to unionise the plant and would be a major breakthrough for the united auto workers union's efforts to organise the south. the bbc‘s michelle fleury is there, a full report in 20 minutes' time. we will have all of the other business stories as well. thank you. some more stories in brief now: a natural gas explosion has killed two ina a natural gas explosion has killed two in a minnesota school. a construction crew was working

nearby. they are trying to stabilise the remaining structure to conduct a more thorough search. a series of grass fires have forced people to leave their homes in northern california. authorities in berkeley say the fire's partially contained and no lives or structures are in danger. crews on the ground and air tankers are also targeting the blaze. the cause is being investigated. the congress in chile has approved a bill lifting the country's total ban on abortions. the measure, if passed by the constitutional court, would allow for abortions in cases of rape, if the mother's life was at risk or if the foetus would not survive the pregnancy. currently, women can be prosecuted if they have an abortion. a new study says the number of blind people across the world will triple in decades. research suggests cases will rise from 36 million today to 150 million by the year 2050 if treatment does not improve. the

reason being that there needs to be better research for cataract surgery. health warnings are in place across europe as summer temperatures reach potentially dangerous levels. a record breaking heatwave is currently affecting wide areas of europe from romania in the east to spain and portugal in the south. sarah corker reports. as much of europe sizzles, what is the best way to keep your cool? and almost continent wide heatwave has pushed temperatures above 40 celsius, breaking records and sending people and their pet for cover. “— sending people and their pet for cover. —— pets. in austria, the elephants of the zoo took to the pool to cool. horses had to go home. 0thers pool to cool. horses had to go home. others were not as lucky. the heat is centred on italy. it is

experiencing its worst drought in 60 yea rs. experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. rome has started to ration water. 11 of its 20 regions would soon declare a state of emergency. it is unusual to see temperatures above 40 degrees in such a large area, but the impacts keep on coming from this with water shortages and power cuts in places. and of course, the implications of the heat, with older people and people with conditions suffering. these weather warnings come after last week's fires in france. firefighters remain in standby. the risk of further fires is high. in southern spain, forecasters described the weather as extreme, a high of 47 degrees is expected in cordoba. . in romania, ice cream was not the only thing melting. but work must go on. translation: we are drinking a lot

of water. we take more breaks and cut the working schedule. we worked eight hours a day. in neighbouring hungary, this scheme get is calling people off. —— steam gate. translation: i put hats and sunscreen on the children and we strive to stay in the shade. the advice is to drink as much water as possible and despite the lure of the beach, stay indoors for the hottest pa rt beach, stay indoors for the hottest part of the day. sarah corker, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come. the test pilots who pioneered the space race. nasa releases footage from the 1950s. the question was whether we wanted to save our people, and japanese as well, and win the war, or whether we want to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began

at 2am this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. and we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigor, vitality and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said quietly to be very pleased indeed she has achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc news.

—— i'm ben bland. the latest headlines: following condemnation at home and abroad, venezuela's president nicolas maduro has postponed the launch of a controversial new assembly to replace parliament and rewrite the constitution. there's new hope for thousands of families who live with the prospect of passing on inherited diseases to future generations. for the first time, scientists have successfully repaired a faulty gene in human embryos. they used a process known as "gene editing" to correct dna that causes a deadly heart condition. but there is concern that the technique could, ultimately, be used to create so called "designer babies". 0ur medical correspondent, fergus walsh reports. the goal could not be more ambitious: to eradicate inherited diseases. these scientists have taken

an impressive first step on a long road, editing dna in human embryos. so how is it done? inside the nucleus of each of ourselves is our genome, billions of pieces of dna. it's the instruction manual for life. the scientists were targeting a faulty gene that causes a serious heart condition. they fertilised a healthy egg with sperm from a man carrying the faulty gene. they then injected the gene editing system known as crispr. this scans the dna, like a spell—check or a satnav. it then cuts both strands of the dna and removes the faulty gene. a healthy copy of the gene from the egg was then naturally inserted. now here are some of the embryos from the study in the journal nature after being edited. 42 of 58 embryos were corrected. they were allowed to develop for five days. none was implanted. we are very excited about all the work, of course... the research has been

welcomed by a team in london who have a license to edit human embryos. they say the technology could eventually help many families. there are some nasty genetic diseases, such as huntington's or, as in this case, a disease that affects heart function later in life, which can basically blight families for many generations. so a method of being able to avoid having having affected children passing on the defective gene could be really very important for those families. nicole mowbray has the same heart condition which was corrected in human embryos. she now has a defibrillator implanted in her chest in case her heart stops. she has a 50% risk of passing on the condition, but is unsure whether she would ever consider gene editing. i wouldn't want to pass on something that caused my child to have a limited life or a painful life or a life of risk.

i mean, that does obviously come to the front of my mind when i think about having children. i wouldn't want to create the "perfect" — in inverted commas — child. i feel like my condition makes me me. and some are worried gene editing technology could lead to an era of designer babies. we will get into a society in which some people's children are genetically enhanced and given advantages over other people's children. people start to be judged on the basis of their genes rather than who they are. as well as ethical issues, there are safety concerns. previous attempts at gene editing human embryos in china led to serious errors in the dna so a lot more research is needed before this could be used to treat patients. fergus walsh reporting there.

around $260 million — that's what's expected to be paid for the brazilian footballer neymar in a world record football transfer deal. the 25—year—old says he wants to leave his current club, barcelona, and move to paris saint germain. if the deal goes ahead it will make him the most expensive player in history. 0ur sports news correspondent richard conway reports from paris. a hasty arrival for neymar at barcelona's training ground this morning, but this slow—burning transfer saga now appears to now be reaching a conclusion. after saying goodbye to his teammates, his strike partner, lionel messi, took to social media to wish him well for the future. today's destination was unknown but, according to one of his representatives, the poster boy of brazilian football is likely to be a psg player by the weekend. translation: yes, paris made the proposal. they're going to pay the clause. the planned dealfor neymar

would set a clear world record. back in 2009, cristiano ronaldojoin real madrid for £80 million. in 2013, gareth bale made a move also to real for £85 million. then last summer manchester united signed paul pogba for the current record sum, but, at £198 million, neymar‘s fee would eclipse them all. psg is owned by qatar. the gulf state has a world cup in 2022 to prepare for, but this mega seal is a sign that, despite being subjected to an economic blockade by four other arab countries, it will not be cowed or diminished in its international dealings. i think what we are seeing is qatar saying, "we want to be considered a serious power in the business of football. we can bring lots and lots of commercial endorsements to the game.

we can have a much bigger influence on a global scale, notjust a european scale," and there's no finer example of doing that than signing one of the world's best. back on the streets of paris, there's a sense of disbelief this deal appears to be finally happening. so, too, about the pricetag. i like paris and he can make good things in this team. he's too expensive. but it's neymar. and so the stage is set. paris st germain will likely name neymar as their new leading light within the next 48 hours. this is a most political and financial of transfers but ultimately he will be judged by what he does on the pitch. well, it was a good day all round for france after ajax knocked out ajax in the third round of champions league qualification. after the 2—2 draw in amsterdam, the site went to a play—off round. also through our scottish champions celtic. they win

1-0 scottish champions celtic. they win 1—0 on aggregate. swedish swimmer sarah sjostrom has set her third world record in 11 days on wednesday, in the short freestyle. after setting records in 50 metres and 100 metres at the world championships in budapest, lastly, the 23 rolf recorded a time of 23.10 seconds, taking zero point 14 seconds, taking zero point 14 seconds off the previous record.|j felt a bit tired, after the worlds, but i was looking forward to the race today, and yes, i felt like but i was looking forward to the race today, and yes, ifelt like my 100 medley was a really good warmup for today. so i was expecting a fast time. just mention the word "test pilot"

and you know you are talking about a special breed. back in the 1950s it was one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, but their courage and skill brought big advances to the space race. hundreds of films showing those early flights have just been released and dana purifoy from nasa talked us through them. coming out of world war two, we were ina race coming out of world war two, we were in a race committee will, to see who could go the highest, who go the fastest. so there were a very large number of unknowns associated with each of these vehicles and how they we re each of these vehicles and how they were going to perform. so the risks we re were going to perform. so the risks were significant. aedes aegypti the pilots went up, they were probably doing something for the first time. a lot of these flights, you didn't know what the endgame was going to be. —— and so are lots of these pilots that went up. you didn't

understand the physics that would go to occur in these tests. there were a large number of accidents in the early days as we learnt the big risks and what we could do to keep the pilots safe. i think it is important to remember that in the 50s, we were trying to expand both the speed and out of food of aeroplanes, so bigger motors covered new materials, and new ways to build and fly aeroplanes. so that what motivates them, what drives into this business, which in the 1950s was relatively risky. and i think the answer is a desire to push the envelope a little, to be a pioneer, and clearly these people felt themselves to be competent pilots. many of them were very good aerospace engineers, so they participated not only in flying the vehicle, but also developing the profiles, developing the technology.

so curious people, explorers, who we re so curious people, explorers, who were confident in their ability to handle almost any situation. and that it handle almost any situation. and thatitis handle almost any situation. and that it is characteristic follow—through to today, as well. while the risks are generally better understood and better mitigated, the character of the people that undertake these flights and work in this business is fundamentally the same. finally some remarkable dash cam footage from the us — it's not for the feint—hearted. this is the moment a drunk driver crashed into a police officer, during a traffic stop in texas. oh! incredibly, matt lesell was able to walk away from the scene, and is being treated for injuries to his back and foot. no one else was badly hurt in a crash. don't forget you can always get in touch with me and the team on twitter, i am @benmbland. hello.

the area of low pressure that brought wednesday's rain is still close enough during thursday to produce showers across the uk, making it quite windy too. that is southern flank is unfeasibly windy for this time of year. gusty winds particularly into england and wales, at around 40 mph, for example. showers from the word go. not too many across the midlands and the finland, but a fair few not too many across the midlands and the finland, but a fairfew in not too many across the midlands and the finland, but a fair few in the west, wales, and northern england, from the word go, with hail and thunder possible. pulling away from northern ireland, but certainly into scotla nd northern ireland, but certainly into scotland at this stage. longer rain into the northern isles on through the day. the dish out to begin with, but fewer in england and wales in the afternoon. sunny spells will

develop. the downpours across eastern parts of scotland into the afternoon. temperatures in the high teens to lower 20s. it is the start of the women's british open golf at kingsbarns, and andrews, on thursday. we have sunshine and showers. winds at least a little lighter than a lot of the rest of the uk. through thursday evening, some showers will fade away. thursday night, a spot of rain through northern ireland and to make brea ks through northern ireland and to make breaks of rain in scotland. temperatures falling into the mid—teens for some of us as friday begins. friday will bring the wind down a little. showers for many of us down a little. showers for many of us few and far between. pleasant when the sun makes an appearance. call in the showers, but there will move through quickly in the breeze. —— cool in. 0nto the weekend. low

pressure moving towards scandinavia, high—pressure dredge million. in between, some showers, particularly for the first part of saturday. —— trying to move in. so did us into the afternoon. a chilly night of saturday night. most of us will be dry on sunday. this is bbc world news. the headlines: president trump has reluctantly signed off on new sanctions against russia, saying that the law was "significa ntly flawed." russian prime minister dmitry medvedev said the move was tantamount to declaring a full—scale trade war. venezuela has delayed swearing in members of a controversial new assembly which would replace parliament and rewrite the constitution. president nicolas maduro has been accused of pushing the country towards dictatorship. meanwhile, the firm which helped organise sunday's election says the results can't be trusted. weather warnings are in place

across europe as summer temperatures reach potentially dangerous levels. the strongest heatwave of the year so far is predicted in the coming