in the election that brought donald trump to power. speaking for the first time since the news was announced, the president once again dismissed concerns about his campaign's links to the kremlin. the russia story is a totalfabrication. it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics. also this lunchtime... the royal bank of scotland, still mainly owned by the taxpayer, reports substantial profit for the first half of the year. ireland's prime minister and challenges britain to come up with an answer to the difficult issue of the irish border. the brazilian forward neymar‘s unveiled at paris st—germain, as the most expensive player in the history of football. as the deadly heatwave in europe continue, a warning for holiday—makers and those living in countries with temperatures now reaching over a0 degrees. and i am here at the london stadium

as mo farah goes for gold on the opening day of the world athletics championships. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, england won the toss and decided to bat on the first morning of the fourth and final test at old trafford — they lead the series 2—1. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the man leading the investigation into claims of collusion between president trump's election campaign and russia, has convened a grand jury and russia, has convened a grand jury to consider whether there are grounds for criminal charges. the

panel of ordinary citizens which hears evidence in private has already reportedly demanded more information about a meeting between mr trump's eldest son and a lawyer in russia last year. the white house says it will cooperate with the inquiry. ata says it will cooperate with the inquiry. at a rally last night, the president rubbished claims about russian interference. tom baric reports. in west virginia last night, it felt like the president was still fighting an election. but he and his very loyal supporters are battling allegations that his campaign in last november's election colluded with russia. now, with a grand jury up and running, the investigation is into a new phase, and the president, as always, is in fighting form. the russia story is a totalfabrication. it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics, that's all it is. cheering. the grand jury is meeting to consider evidence behind closed doors in this building.

it's a panel of american citizens. theirjob isn't to determine guilt or innocence. they can call witnesses to testify or demand to see documents, and they must decide if the evidence that the trump campaign colluded with russia is strong enough for a criminal trial. the decision to call a grand jury was made by this man, former fbi boss robert mueller. the move is a logical next step in his investigation into the trump campaign, but it shows the evidence gathered so far merits a thorough investigation. but the whole affair is a rallying cry for president trump's core support. his supporters are not put off by all that's happened in washington, rather they've been galvanised by it. the constant drumbeat of opposition from the media and the resistance, as they call it, of the democrats in congress. according to the us media,

the grand jury already wants information about a meeting between donald trumer and a russian lawyer in june of last year. donald trumer has admitted he was promised damaging material about his dad's opponent, hillary clinton, but he says he got none. the white house said it supported any action that would accelerate the conclusion of the investigation fairly. today, the president is off on holiday to play golf. the us media is unlikely to take time off from talking about what went on before he was elected. tom burridge, bbc news. rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. just how significant has this —— is this being seen? it issues the significant. it is worth reminding

that there are five different investigations going on into whether the trump campaigned —— colluded with the russians. four of those are being led by politicians for the fifth is being led by robert muller, looking into potential criminal charges. the grand jury is significant because it has huge power to demand that witnesses come forward with statements, to request documents as well, as it decides whether or not to pursue criminal charges. the second reason this matters so much is because the net is also closing in on president trump's inner circle. we have heard reports the grand jury has already requested documents relating to a meeting that the president's son had with a russian lawyer during the election campaign meeting in which he was promised dirt on hillary clinton. and the other reason why this matters so much is because once again the white house is having to play damage limitation, damage

control, on another story about the russia investigation. instead of focusing on what it wants to, and policy priorities, like health care reforms, like trying to boostjobs and the economy. president trump has described this as a witchhunt. there is no evidence at the moment to prove that his campaign colluded with the russians. but this grand jury with the russians. but this grand jury does showed that things are ramping up. it is being taken extremely seriously. thank you. the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, has called for "unique solutions" to preserve relations between britain and the european union after brexit. speaking during his first official visit to northern ireland, he raised the possibility of a bilateral customs union between the uk and the eu and an alternative to the european court ofjustice to oversee any deal. our ireland correspondent, chris buckler, reports. leo varadker crossed the irish

borderfor the first time leo varadker crossed the irish border for the first time as ireland's pm —— prime minister to set out his concerns about what could happen to it after brexit. he arrived after upsetting unionist about brexiteers. but in queens university the new taoiseach was quick to point out how much relationships have changed in a few decades. the border itself was a very different place. a place of bloodshed, of violence, of checkpoints. he is of a new generation. the first time leo varadker voted was generation. the first time leo va radker voted was in generation. the first time leo varadker voted was in the referendum for the good friday agreement. but there is a new challenge and the potential of a new border. there are people who do want a border, a trade border, between the united kingdom and the european union, and therefore between ireland and britain, and therefore, across ireland. these are the advocates of the so—called hard brexit. at a time when brexit threatens to drive a

wedge between north and south between britain and ireland, we need to build more bridges and fewer borders. there are scores of cross—border links. he wants to keep them completely open. today mr varadker post them completely open. today mr va radker post is them completely open. today mr varadker post is demand for any reds agreement to protect the free movement of people, goods and services across this island. —— anni brexit. when people talk about the border of the past, they refer to the troubles when huge security was needed. that is not the case any more. this is the dividing line between the countries, not so you would notice. the political tensions in northern ireland are obvious. those questions of what will happen to the border after brexit. the irish prime minister will be on the eu's side of the table during negotiations. on a shared island there is a shared interest in finding solutions. they only have

months to discover them. chris buckler, bbc news, northern ireland. the royal bank of scotland, which is still predominantly owned by the taxpayer, has reported a substantial profit after a £2 billion loss for the same period last year. the bank made almost £940 million in the six months to the end ofjune. they also announced they were in talks to move their european headquarters to amsterdam after brexit. our business correspondent, joe lynam, reports. it's been posting annual losses almost a decade but today at least, it can say that things were looking up in the first of the year. rbs made what's called an attributable profit of £939 million over the past six months. that reversed losses of more than £2 billion over the same period a year ago. and unlike barclays or lloyds, rbs won't be setting aside any more money for ppi. its boss admitted that taxpayers would not be getting their money back in full if the government sold its shares in rbs immediately. if we sold it, they wouldn't get their money back, but it is... what we're trying to do is create a good bank so they get as much

of that money back as possible. and a 70% stake won't be sold overnight. so it will take some time and this bank is getting better every quarter. and the bank's capital buffers have reached a new high. it means it should have more than enough money set aside in the event of another major downturn. but rbs still expects to post a loss for all of 2017, that's because it is still dealing with past misdeeds. it is expected to pay a further multi—billion pound fine to us regulators for mis—selling specialist investments called mortgage—backed assets before the financial crisis. the estimates for the department ofjustice's fine is anything from 4 billion to $15 billion. we just don't know the final amount. most of us would estimate it is going to be between five and six but if it is more than that, then actually, it is a slap in the face. the difficulty we have is we don't know how big that fine could be. and what we have signalled very clearly, that it could be large and we have a big range on that.

what — 5 billion? 10 billion? we don't know. we haven't got into those conversations with the department ofjustice. it's the last big issue this bank has to face. the bank has also had to take steps to minimise any disruption after brexit. it has chosen amsterdam for its european headquarters, serving its eu customers. up to 150 staff may have to move to the dutch city. joe lynam, bbc news. at terror suspect in australia tried to smuggle a bomb on a plane by planting it on his unsuspecting brother, according to police, who say they plan to ring down the plane was directed by so—called islamic state. investigators believe the bomb was made using military grade explosives and another device had been found to release toxic gas in a public place. howell griffith has more. described as one of the most

sophisticated terror plots ever on australian soil, officers say they have ended a plan which could have caused catastrophic loss of life. they believe that khaled khayat and mahmoud khayat were sent military grade explosives by so—called islamic state on a cargo flight. they allege they then put together a bomb packed inside a meat grinder. onjuly 15, bomb packed inside a meat grinder. on july 15, it's alleged bomb packed inside a meat grinder. onjuly 15, it's alleged the men went to take the improvised explosive device onto an etihad flight explosive device onto an etihad flight out of sydney. but officers say it was never checked in. we will be alleging in court that a fully functioning ied was to be brought on that flight on the 15th ofjuly. one thing that is important to state is it did not get through security. having aborted the first attack, it's alleged the mental part of the bomb to try and create a chemical device instead, which would emit

poisonous hydrogen sulphide. officers say the men were arrested before that plot became advanced. detailed forensic searches are continuing. a third man is still being questioned by police. airport security routines have secured —— returned to normal. passengers are being assured the threat has been disrupted. but new questions have been raised over how explosives could be sent into australia by islamic state, and how the terror threat is evolving. british holiday—makers and people across europe are being urged to take great care as the dangerous heatwave continues — in parts of italy, spain and the balkans, temperatures have soared to 45 degrees. several countries have issued red alert health warnings, and some regions are still contending with drought and forest fires. sophie long reports. plane spotting at wildfires in corsica. last week, the north of the

mediterranean island burned. now it is the south. the extreme heat has sparked wildfires across europe. swathes of the south of france were scorched. now hungry, too. here, hundreds of hectares in grassland —— of grassland burn. firefighters battled to put out flames before they spread to urban areas. italy is experiencing its worst drought in 60 yea rs. experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. thousands of tourists travel there every year in search of sunshine. but the intense heat means people are desperately searching for shade. we have had some nice weather this year but it is not as hard as rome. nowhere near. drinking lots of water. it is fantastic having the water. it is fantastic having the water fountains around rome. across the country, 26 major towns and cities are on heat alert. hospital admissions have increased by 15%. and the prolonged drought is said ——

set to cost agriculture billions, with 11 regions facing critical water shortages. arlit crops are already 50% lower than normal. —— olive. in sicily, beaches are quieter than usual as people follow the leader of the local and staying indoors. others do what they can to protect themselves and keep cool, as forecasters see no respite. sophie long, bbc news. gavin lee is in the town of castellammara del golfo in the north—east of sicily. as we heard from sophie, the beach is very quiet. what is it like where you are now? it is 43.5 degrees here, an all—time high of sicily this year. you have to go back to 1999 when the temperature was higher, 48.9 degrees, and for some comparison we are talking about average temperatures for august in the south, on the mediterranean, of

about 33 degrees, 10 degrees higher. this is the main square in castellammara del golfo, very close to palermo, sicily. usually packed, look at it now. the restaurants in front of us, the tourist information com pletely front of us, the tourist information completely empty, goes down. they say mad dogs and englishmen in the midday sun, there are just a few waiters and me at the moment. talking about the fires, above this building here, there are three fires going on right now being put out by fire crews, those are the charred remains of there, it started a few days ago and was put out two days ago now, and that is the big risk. we are told, stay indoors, it is a government emergency, there are seven countries like italy saying the same advice for the afternoons, if you are going to go out, this is the best place to be right now, by the best place to be right now, by the sea. gavin, thank you very much indeed. serious situation indeed, thank you. he's now the most expensive player

in the history of football. paris saint—germain have completed the record £200 million transfer dealfor neymar with the brazilian forward signing a five—year contract. the french club have been unveiling their star player at a press conference. our correspondent, jonny dymond, is outside psg's stadium in paris. the anticipation finally over? the anticipation finally over? the anticipation finally over? the anticipation is over and i think the focus of the fans is on the skills of this astonishing player. the focus of the rest of the world is on the staggering amount of money he is being paid. there are already complaints from barcelona and from la liga about the way that this deal has been made, and there is focus on the extraordinary position of paris st germain, because this is not a normal football club, this is st germain, because this is not a normalfootball club, this is a club thatis normalfootball club, this is a club that is entirely owned by a country, by oil and gas rich gulf state qatar, the accusation is that qatar

is not just buying qatar, the accusation is that qatar is notjust buying one of the best footballers in the world but buying global influence and political power with that purchase. neymar, when asked about the money, said it was not about the money but about the new challenge, and for the fans it is all about the football. one person i spoke to coming in here said, every footballer has their price, so long as he wins. thank you. our main story this lunchtime... political pressure mounts on donald trump asa political pressure mounts on donald trump as a grand jury is called to look into claims that russia interfered in the election that brought him to power. coming up, we will be live at old trafford for the first day of the fourth test between england and south africa. coming up in sport, neymar has arrived in paris ahead of becoming the most expensive player in the history of football. he signed a five—year deal with paris st germain. the deadline for submissions

on what the grenfell tower fire inquiry should cover will expire later today. hundreds of suggestions have been received, with the total expected to be around 300 by the 5pm cut—off. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds is at the tower in north west london. what have people been telling you? there is a big debate in this community about the terms of this inquiry. to give you the context, thejudge said, when he inquiry. to give you the context, the judge said, when he was appointed, that he would look primarily at the causes of the fire, and a lot of people took that to mean that would be a very narrow focus. he later clarified and said actually he would look at the whole history of grenfell tower and its fire safety record and therefore it would be a much broader examination of the issues, but that still has not been enough.

i have been at public meetings at this church in the last week or so where he has faced a lot of angry pressure from people in this area for him to expand the scope of the inquiry, and today one of the residents' groups, justice for parental, has published a document setting out in detail the kind of green that they would like to see for the inquiry. for example, they would like him to look at the way in which councils, this council in particular, kensington and chelsea, has effectively outsourced the provision of social housing and the effect not just provision of social housing and the effect notjust on the fire provision of social housing and the effect not just on the fire safety issues, standards of fire safety at g re nfell tower, issues, standards of fire safety at grenfell tower, but also the standards of housing in this area, and potentially much more widely. now, sources at the justice moore—bick inquiries said he will have to take on board that sort of pressure, he may have to find another way of delivering that sort ofan inquiry, another way of delivering that sort of an inquiry, because he is intent on keeping the inquiry manageable. the timescale is quite punishing for him, he has to deliver his recommit to the prime minister next week, she

will respond the week after because it is her decision in the end as the sponsoring minister what the inquiry examines, he will then work throughout the rest of the summer until september, when the inquiry is due to start, and then he has to produce some form of an interim report within probably a year. he has said it will take some months to do that but that could be quite detailed, it could go to some detail about the causes of the fire. so there is a lot of pressure on thisjudge. i get the sense that in the area generally people have accepted him as the chair, but their raw a lot of people who feel he is not right for thejob and people who feel he is not right for the job and this people who feel he is not right for thejob and this inquiry people who feel he is not right for the job and this inquiry will run into difficulties. ok, tom, thank you. amid the controversy over air pollution and debate about the merits of electric cars vs diesel and petrol, today sees the latest new car sales numbers. our business correspondent jonty bloom is here to go

through the figures. what do they tell us? they basically show there has been another fall in new car sales, they basically show there has been anotherfall in new car sales, down 996 in anotherfall in new car sales, down 9% injuly alone. that is the fourth month in a row that car sales have gone down. previously the society for motor manufacturing and trading said it was due to changes in vehicle excise duty, now they say they are noticing lack of consumer and business confidence caused by uncertainty around brexit, a popular whipping boy at the moment but not the full story, because we have seen a collapse in diesel sales in particular. petrol ca rs cars not so bad but diesel cars down 20% injust one month, that is bound to be about the controversy about pollution and fears the government may step in and do something about that, so making diesel less

attractive. the other side of that, attractive. the other side of that, a large increase in electric and hybrid cars, up 65% injust one month, so sales taking off there but it still accounts for only one in 20 of new car sales. what about predictions going forward ? as predicted by the society for motor manufacturing and traders, it predicted a slowdown but putting the best possible spin on it it says there will be bargains out there because all of those companies have a lot of cars on their hands they are trying to sell. 0k, are trying to sell. ok, thank you. it's the first day of the fourth test between england and south africa. england lead the four match series 2—1 and won the toss and chose to bat first. our sports correspondent patrick gearey is at old trafford. england haven't actually won a test series in more than a year, they have lost the final test in eight of the last nine series. their form is as changeable as the local weather here in manchester so just as well they have a man in their side who knows this ground so well he is officially now part of it. the first morning of the test, a good time to get a new bit of kit. james anderson took this frame, part of old trafford took his name. the pavilion end now the james anderson end, a title chosen by lancastrians

for a lancastrian. england's record wicket taker had to watch the first over bowled from it, kagiso rabada of south africa nearly channelled jimmy, keaton jennings escaped of south africa nearly channelled jimmy, keatonjennings escaped this time. the outfield here has suffered since a radiohead concert was held on ita since a radiohead concert was held on it a few weeks ago, still no alarms and no surprises for anyone in the first half an hour. nothing is truly calm when you are still finding your way is truly calm when you are still finding yourway in is truly calm when you are still finding your way in this game, though. young jennings edgy, caught behind the 17. after that nervous energy departed, all was becalmed, the occasional alastair cook push all that moved the match from a standstill. no matter, england lead the series, they have time. the plan was to keep south africa waiting, and, wherever possible, chasing. it is, afterall, a good idea in manchester to stay out there as long as you can while it is dry. and dry is by no means a given in

this part of the world, monday and tuesday look like a chance of rain and that is bad news for south africa. the onus is on them to win this match, remember, in order to win the series, they must make the running. england will be pleased with their morning work, 67—1. they know in this case slow and steady might well win the race. patrick, thank you. the world athletics championships get under way in london tonight, with sir mo farah and usain bolt both competing in the event for the final time. farah, who'll switch to road racing next season, is hoping to win an unprecedented fifth double in the 5000 and 10,000 metres races, while bolt is set to compete in the 100 metres and the 4x100m relay. a record 650,000 tickets have been sold for the ten—day event. our sports correspondent andy swiss is at the london stadium. huge excitement of course for the next ten days. yes, it was here exactly five years

ago that british athletics enjoyed one of its greatest days, so—called super saturday at london 2012. once again this stadium will be packed out for the start of the world championships and all eyes will be ona championships and all eyes will be on a home hero. back on british turf, five years on from the olympics the stage is set once again for the world's greatest athletes. and if this morning's for mowing, tonight's for mo, back in the stadium where, on this very date in 2012, he lit up london. commentator: mo farah for great britain, it's gold! farah goes for gold in the 10,000 metres tonight in what will be his last major track championships. it's once—in—a—lifetime to have the olympics right on your doorstep, and to do what i did. and then you come back years later and it's the world champs. i'm like, "you know what, i'm going to end it at that track." but while mo farah's back competing here, britain's other stars of 2012 aren't. greg rutherford's injured, jessica ennis—hill now retired. the hosts will have to find some new heroes. one potential candidate

is laura muir, who goes in tonight's 1500 metres heats. the british team's target here of six medals will be tough, but they have high hopes. i look at sophie hitchon in the hammer, i look at katarina johnson—thompson in the highjump and the heptathlon, we could go on and on. many of them are young, their futures are ahead of them, and this is a fantastic stage for them to step up in front of a home crowd, excite us and win medals, and i think they will. but, as ever, there's no doubting the style of show, as athletics says goodbye to the greatest. tonight, usain bolt begins his quest for a final 100 metres title before he retires. so, can he bow out in style? some believe it's far from guaranteed. the emotion of it being his very last race will certainly get to him. he's an entertainer, he's a performer, and when the crowd literally are going to give him a standing ovation when he lines up, and how much does that take out of him before he lines up to actually go? who knows, it's going to be a tough one for him. it will be the very

fondest of farewells. how on earth will athletics replace the utterly irreplaceable? so, catch him while you can, as sport's ultimate showman looks to conjure a final magical moment. so, andy, tal is a little bit more about what we can expect tonight. it should be some opening evening, katy b stop we have laura muir going in the heats of the 1500 metres around 7:35pm. in with a chance of a medal, she has been in exceptional form over the last year or so. at 8:20pm, usain bolt goes in the heats of the 100 metres, the final of the 100 metres takes place tomorrow evening, a game that should be some atmosphere, one of the highlights of these championships. at 9:20pm, mo farah going for gold in the 10,000 metres, it is the first

final of these championships, a chanter briton to win the first gold here in the london stadium at these championships, and certainly the vast majority of the fans here will be willing mo farah onto what would be willing mo farah onto what would be the perfect conclusion to his extraordinary career. thank you very much, and if you would like to follow the coverage, which i'm sure many of you will, it is 6:30pm on bbc two, 7pm on bbc one. time to look at the weather. i thought i would start with the heat in the mediterranean. very high humidity, temperatures in the low 40 celsius again today. this dangerous heatwave. the ebb away this weekend and into the start of next week. meanwhile, drifting northwards, an area of low pressure gradually clearing away from our shores. in its wake, good spells of sunshine, there have been plenty of that this

morning across england and wales, a lovely start of the day, a few showers around in south wales, south—west england, probably most of them throughout the day will be across scotland, but largely fine and dryfor across scotland, but largely fine and dry for many to england and wales. the wind will remain a feature across southern areas as this area of low pressure pulls away and the wind will continue to become lighter but quite fresh across scotland and the north east of england, most of the north east of england, most of the showers here, northern ireland and scotland with that wind around 18 celsius. on the flip side for england and wales the wind is much lighter than yesterday, more in the way of sunshine, warmer air as well, tempered is already around 23 degrees in the south—east, we could make degrees in the south—east, we could ma ke 2425 degrees in the south—east, we could make 2425 celsius. the showers continue for a while this evening and continued to fizzle out during the