to uphold his travel ban targeting five muslim—majority countries. he said that in an age of worldwide terrorism, "we have to be tough and we have to be safe." one dissenting judge said the ban was motivated by bias against muslims. the human rights group amnesty international has published what it calls detailed, new evidence of the extent of the burmese military‘s crimes against the rohingya people in myanmar. it accuses the army's commander in chief and 12 others of orchestrating rape and murder and driving out more than half a million rohingyas. six european countries have agreed to accept more than 200 migrants stranded for nearly a week on a rescue ship in the mediterranean. but italy's interior minister has accused charity—run rescue ships of operating a "taxi service" for migrants. as temperatures are continuing to rise, many are basking in the sun. the met office though has issued a heat health alert.

and a fire has devastated parts of saddleworth moor in the north west of england. danny savage reports from blackpool. on the pennine moors east of manchester, uplands are on fire. smoke can be seen for miles. it has been burning since sunday. firefighters are trying to put out the blaze. 30 foot flames coming straight towards us. as a result, visibility and air quality has deteriorated in surrounding villages and towns. most of britain is basking under blue skies, but large parts of greater manchester are shrouded in smoke. further south, stoke—on—trent, a search continues for a missing boy stoke—on—trent, a search continues fora missing boy in stoke—on—trent, a search continues for a missing boy in westbourne lake. ryan disappeared after

difficulty yesterday evening. two other boys managed to get the safety. as temperatures soared again today, they attempted to stop roads from melting. but here in blackpool, conditions could not be better. bounce out you hear about it. it is fantastic. —— down south. bounce out you hear about it. it is fantastic. -- down south. for the hottest weather, west is best in the next few days as the heatwave. —— west. da n ny next few days as the heatwave. —— west. danny savage, bbc news, lapal. —— blackpool. now on bbc news: africa's secret. the sahara desert is the size of america. for centuries, nomads have crossed this inhospitable wilderness, trading gold and salt. but people are the new commodity. human trafficking drives the migrant trail to europe and funds violent extremists who are spreading across the sahel, the desert‘s long southern edge. and so the soldiers are coming. the sahel is a really important

place for us to focus now because of al-qaeda and isis—affiliated violent extremist organisations, which are growing in strength. us bases are being built across africa, butjust how fast is america's military footprint growing? drones and special forces are the tools of modern, western warfare. but are united nations peacekeepers becoming collateral as they struggle to bring peace to a fast—changing landscape? there is still a peace to keep. government has abandoned the villages, allowing historic feuds to erupt, and radical islamists to become the law. this potent mix is turning the sahara into the new frontline of the war on terror. the sahel spreads 5000 kilometres

from mauritania in the west to sudan in the east. these nations are struggling with an encroaching desert, massive population growth, unemployment and increasing insecurity. here in northern niger, in a scrap of desert at the edge of agadez, the world's special forces have assembled to tackle the terrorist threat. the aim of this briefing is to give you an overview of all of the activities that have been conducted in the field in the last four hours. for african nations, it is a chance to learn how western armies work.

for the visitors, an opportunity to find partners who can help fight foreign terrorfor them. to work by, with and through our african partners and our western partners in an international coalition of the willing to help improve the security infrastructure, build capability and capacity in these multinational organisations. the men whose faces cannot be seen are sharing tactics with african troops. i am going to try to peek inside without showing my muzzle. but their students are poorly trained and equipped. speaks french. progress is slow when the message passes through two translators. as soon as this muzzle is in this door, it goes here. while rich nations balk at losing many in a distant desert, these are the boots that will be on the ground. for us, this is an opportunity to help our african partners deal with threats of mutual interest with a modest investment by the international community to deal with a problem that is bigger than any one state, and if we don't take this opportunity to deal with it now, where it is at a level that is affordable and sustainable, both in blood and treasure,

then it might cost much, much more to deal with at a later time. billions are already being spent. modest in america means much in niger. after years of secrecy we were let in to see work on airbase 201. in name, it belongs to niger. to us forces, it is expeditionary or temporary, rather than enduring. but it is unmistakably american, and being built to last. well, the scale of this new us airbase is huge. when this runway is finished it will be able to land some of the biggest cargo planes the military has got, and it will also be able to fly armed drones from here. it is a dramatic indicator ofjust how much the american military footprint in africa is growing. actually, it is the largest air

force, us military—led labour project in history. $110 million. it is at the request of niger and we are here helping them to provide the security they are looking for. why such a big base, and why here? obviously we are helping to project power to the continent of africa to help to support niger, because it is so remote here, it's important to provide a base big enough to support the mission. american power is slowly and secretly being projected across the sahara. there are now at least 3a individual bases in africa. few knew about their mission until four american special operations troops were lost last october, a long way from home. islamist fighters ambushed four us soldiers in niger. an investigation into what went wrong continues. staff sergeants jeremiah johnson

and dustin wright remained with staff sergeant bryan black until overwhelming enemy fire forced them to withdraw. this is where america met islamic state in the greater sahara. their biggest loss on the continent in since somalia's black hawk down. five nigerians also died. questions are still being asked in washington. insecurity and instability are rife across the sahel. boko haram has been causing chaos in north—eastern nigeria and the countries bordering lake chad for years. northern mali was overrun by islamists five years ago, and now groups affiliated with al-qaeda and the so—called islamic state are dividing and growing, competing for influence across the region. libya has become a key route for sub—saharan african migrants

trying to reach europe by sea. agadez has been at the heart of the sahara's people—smuggling business since libya's collapse into chaos. it used to be a thriving tourist town but most visitors are now on their way to, rather than from, europe. tour guides have become traffickers. the money bankrolls islamist groups directly, and corrupt officials in niger taking kickbacks have no incentive to kill off their cash cow. are you frustrated by the amount of corruption that allows this to happen? yes, of course i am frustrated. i know this generates a lot of money. islamic state organisations are also involved in the operations. they are making a lot of money out of it. he makes excuses for the government but corruption is allowing islamists to thrive.

the fear is that these violent organisations will expand. we have seen how they have overtaken most of mali, back in 2012. so if nothing is done, they will keep on expanding, and actually join forces across the continent. the desert of neighbouring mali is still a dangerous, ungoverned space. international troops here have wildly different goals, from seek and destroy to bringing and keeping peace. in early 2012, during the tuareg rebellion in northern mali and the military coup in the capital, the door was opened to al-qaeda backed islamists, who took timbuktu and then occupied the north. they destroyed ancient artefacts and imposed strict sharia law. as the violence spread,

the government asked for help. french troops arrived injanuary 2013 and were joined by african forces. within a month, they had driven the violent extremists into the desert. they were down, but not out. then the united nations came in to help police a peace deal between the rebellious armed groups. minusma, as it is known, is still here. it is one of the largest un peacekeeping missions, and is currently the most dangerous in the world. nearly 111,000 personnel from almost 60 countries — but they are not in harmony. different countries have different priorities, and accept different levels of risk.

these bangladeshi troops were rehearsing weeks ahead for their departure parade. cambodia is in charge of mine clearance for the un supply convoys that cross northern mali every month and are often targeted by roadside bombs. blue helmets no longer provide the protection they used to. the hours it takes to safely deal with a bomb, the heightened risks and the damaged roads mean that missions which should take a few days now take nearly two weeks. over the past five years, the un memorial wall has gradually filled up with names. hundreds more have been severely injured in targeted attacks across mali. that is the main problem we have to cope with. and we have to face that violence, we have to protect ourselves, we have to protect the mandate, we have to protect the human system and we have to protect the civilians. it is a $1 billion a year mission, where the top priority is protecting themselves. i have several objectives. first, being present. be present, it is important for the population, because i need the support of the population. but that means leaving their base, which is more dangerous. every time they go out on the streets to show that presence

they also provide a target for extremists to attack. it takes a convoy of armoured vehicles and heavily armed senegalese troops to escort a local policemen out on his beat. locals have gathered around tv screens to watch european cup football. they seemed genuinely pleased to see the police drop by, but said it was the first time this had happened. all the citizens are scared about the terrorists, you know, sometimes they steal the vehicles and kill people, so this is not good for us. that's why we are scared. but right now, everything is ok. is it dangerous?

translation: security is not 100%, do you understand? so we need to be able to, first, secure ourselves, so we can work better. without the un vehicles would you be afraid to be on patrol? translation: of course, of course, but we are obliged to carry out our mission, the mission that the state has entrusted us with. we are forced to do it. half an hour on the ground and not much achieved in terms of either being present or winning the support of the population. germany is one of the largest western contributors to a un mission mostly staffed by african forces. their drones watch over patrols and search for potential threats from above, but it's not enough. i need better equipped and better—trained contingents.

i do not need additional 2,000, 3,000 people, no, no, no. but you need better troops or better—trained troops? yes. i need additional some capabilities like helicopters, for sure, additional hospitals, for sure. but i need, first of all, equipment, more vehicles, more protected vehicles, to protect my people against the ieds and the mines and so on. and i need to upgrade the training level of my contingents, for sure. this united nations mission is undermined by its own rules. the un here doesn't do counter—terrorism, but yet the biggest threat to peace is from these terror groups. and with thousands of international troops being sucked into the sahel to deal with the islamist threat,

you've got to wonder if they're actually creating a target, fuelling the very fire they've come here to put out. the lines between different international missions are blurring. while us and french troops are carrying out counter—terror strikes, the un is trying to make friends, build wells, and bring peace. in the middle ages, mali was a great islamic empire that grew rich on gold and trade. its mosques are still revered. the sultan of the malian empire, thought to be the richest man that ever lived, created a centre of learning for science, literature, religion, and art. centuries—old manuscripts will all have been destroyed in timbuktu by the modern extremists, were it not for the ancient families that protected them.

mali's rich history brought thousands of tourists to the towns that cling to the niger river as it arcs through the desert. but violence has driven the visitors away and has robbed the region of an income. islam here had always been tolerant of local norms and customs, but the voices of radicalism are now starting to take root. the boats would normally be out on the river, but the water is low. there's little work around and the economy is struggling. translation: the young people sitting on the boats need tourists to survive. djougal goro is the leader of a youth group in mopti. translation: when you talk about unemployment, it's all about young people. today, here, if you've nothing else to do but hang around, you'll eventually be swayed by negative influences and you'll be forced to be radicalised, you'll be forced to go

to their side, that's what causes the insecurity here. with dramatic population growth here, there's a lot more chance of that happening. the only way to really understand these issues is to take the risk of going out into remote villages to meet local leaders. this part of central mali used to be safe, but the influence of violent extremists is spreading. wejoined a rare and heavily protected convoy of un staff looking to find friends and to influence people. they have been hit by roadside bombs on this route before. the soldiers were on high alert. they were nervous.

a senior un commanderjoined the mission to two neighbouring and rival villages. the elders were waiting. young people, security — the un team listed what they wanted to talk about. they were trying to work out how to win people over. "it is important for you to tell us what is happening here", he said, "and what you'd like solved." what is the main security problem from your perspective? and my second question is, what is your perception about minusma and the military forces? "i understand you're here to alleviate our suffering", he said, "but there is no security".

he couldn't explain why. they laughed awkwardly. everyone knew islamists had a presence in the room. this side of the village has a traditional malian mosque. it was just a short distance to what used to be one village, now split between two ethnic groups who fight over land. on this site, a brand new mosque had been built, paid for, we were told, by qatar, and preaching conservative islam. the kids here don't play football any more, radios have fallen silent, their old schools have closed. one of the un staff, not keen to speak on camera, described the meetings. some people, they were quite economical in terms of the answers, especially when we referred to schools and security, they want it open. we can understand.

sometimes, you have the perpetrators among those people. so they were not allowed to express themselves very freely. it is quite obvious that insecurity is in the area. there are some forces here that would prefer to have koranic school over secular teaching. you don't know who is who. amid all this talk of violent extremist groups, you forget some of the complications there are here. for hundreds of years, there have been ethnic conflict between different groups of people, those who are farmers, those who are herdsmen who move around with their cattle, those tensions have been inflamed recently. there's no government here at all. because of the violence, the government has completely pulled out of these areas. and that means people are losing faith in that. you've also got, of course, the economy failing, tourists are gone, unemployment is higher, it's absolutely prime territory for the extremists to come

in and radicalise young people in these areas. you are probably well aware there was an attack yesterday in timbuktu. in april, the airport base for un, french, and malian troops suffered what they call a complex attack. attackers were wearing a combination of western military uniforms and blue helmets. translation: it was indeed a complex attack, the first of this type we have had to face, which shows a co—ordination of indirect shooting, suicide vehicles, fighters on foot — some of whom were wearing explosive belts — with a strong intention to cause casualties. seven french troops were among the 16 people severely injured but their commander described the attack as a failure. translation: whatever happens, given our level of training

and preparation and the power of our means, any terrorist attack will be doomed to fail. france is taking the lead in the counter—terror effort against islamist groups in the sahel. they are supporting a new force from five regional armies, the g5. its effectiveness is being questioned before it has been properly formed. gunfire the sahel is now a deeply dangerous place. gunfire this was an anti—poaching patrol, ambushed by suspected islamic state militants. everyone agrees this region is important, especially if is is looking for somewhere to start a new caliphate. it's something we worry about a great deal, certainly with the collapse of the physical caliphate in iraq and syria. the load of foreign fighters that have moved to the caliphate are likely to go somewhere.

if they come here, that could be devastating to the security situation across north africa. more people, more poverty, and climate change will play into extremists‘ hands in the years ahead. like in afghanistan, the people in the sahara don't like outsiders, and fighting an ideological insurgency has proved almost impossible for even the most advanced armies. is the war lost before it is even begun or can the islamist threat in the sahara be broken? well, it does look as though there could be some slightly cooler

weather, with a little bit of rain on the way, but not until the end of the weekend and into next week. in the short—term, well, the heatwave's just going to continue for the next few days, and into the weekend as well. and in fact, on wednesday, the highest temperatures are expected across, potentially at least, scotland and northern ireland. temperatures could hit 30 celsius, and it'll be quite a bit cooler closer to the north sea coast. so this high pressure's very much in charge of the weather, notjust across the uk, but much of western europe and across scandinavia too, even in stockholm and oslo, the temperatures have been skyrocketing. so through the early hours of wednesday morning, it's a case of clear skies. there will be some low cloud lapping onto the coastlines, some mist and fog as well. so for some of us in the eastern counties, it is a case of grey skies first thing in the morning, but only briefly, and then quickly that sea threat will burn back

to the coast and we'll get that sunshine. so it's a sunny, hot day across much of the country, and again, the highest temperatures are expected across scotland and northern ireland. but there will be a huge contrast in the temperatures. for example, look at that north sea coastal strip, even across scotland. the yellows there indicate much lower temperatures, and anywhere from newcastle, hull, into norwich — not spectacularly high, the temperatures here. in fact, in the low 20s, and all of that heat, because of the wind, is being pushed in the direction of western britain. so this is where we're going to see the high temperatures — again, the west midlands, into wales. now, that eastern coast may hang on to some of that low cloud notjust into wednesday, but into thursday as well. but we're mostly talking about the mornings. so again, in the morning, we could be waking up to some clouds in the east, and those temperatures may be getting up to 21, whereas across northern ireland and scotland here, where we've got more sunshine and those clear skies right from the word go, highs will be getting up into the high 20s, and quite possibly

breaking 30 degrees. and then somewhat cooler, i think, by the time we get to friday. temperatures in belfast back down to around 25 celsius, but they may rise a little bit across the south. now, here's the outlook into the weekend. temperatures modestly high in belfast, around 21 or 22 degrees, but perhaps picking up into the high 20s. not far off 30 there across southern parts of the uk. now, i mentioned that there is a change on the way. looks as though thunderstorms across the south will be developing as we head into the weekend, and they could be drifting northwards probably sunday night into monday, but at the moment it's a low risk. there's no guarantee, and not necessarily cooling off all that much, so there is a change on the way towards the weekend. hi there. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the world. our top stories: a victory for president trump, as the us supreme court upholds the travel ban targeting five muslim—majority countries. many migrants now face a more uncertain future. we have a special report from the us—mexico border. fresh claims of atrocities against myanmar‘s rohingya minority. amnesty international accuses the country's army chiefs. and, a last gasp goal from argentina

sends them through to the last 16 of the word cup. we'll bring you all the latest from moscow.