this is bbc news. our top stories: hundreds of thousands protest across the united states over president trump's hardline immigration policies syrian forces shell opposition—held deraa as rebels refuse to surrender. we know it affects our lungs — but new research has found air pollution is also linked to diabetes. game overfor messi and ronaldo — argentina out, portugal sent packing in the world cup knockouts. from coast to coast, in major cities and small towns, hundreds of thousands of americans came out to protest against president trump's

immigration policies. protestors used the slogan families belong together at 700 marches nationalwide. swealtering heat in new york didnt stop thousands there from crossing the brooklyn bridge. they called for migrant families split up at the us border to be reunited. it should be pointed out that the rallies were organised before mr trump ordered an end to the widely criticised "zero tolerance" policy of separating children from their parents. however most of the 2,300 children taken to detention centres or into foster care are yet to be reunited. chris buckler reports. chanting: no trump, no kkk, no fascist usa! a nation that was built on the back of immigration seems more than ever divided by the issue. chanting: vote them out! vote them out! no hate, no fear! across america, tens of thousands gathered, to protest at how people are treated when they arrive at this country's borders.

from new york to san francisco, families marched together in support of otherfamilies. no kids should be put injail. in washington, on a stage that could be seen from the white house, children were among those sending a message to president trump. you could imagine if someone took away our kids, you know, under the guise of giving them a bath. it's horrible, we want the families together, we want them to be together as soon as possible. and you know, we're here to make our voices heard. cheering. it was public anger that forced donald trump to change his policy of separating families however there is concern here that many parents have still not been reunited with their children. there's also a worry about what will come next — this suggestion that families could simply be held together. but president trump knows among his supporters there are many who want this border

with mexico to remain secure. and he believes america couldn't cope with the huge numbers that want to make the country its home. i can't imagine being these people. i can't imagine not speaking the language. i can't imagine not having lawyers. i can't imagine not knowing what's going to happen to you. this day of action was planned before the outcry over family separations but the white house knows the president's polarising policies will remain under close scrutiny. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. talks aimed at stopping the fighting between government forces and rebels in southern syria have ended in failure. the opposition forces were attempting to negotiate a ceasefire with the government's russian allies in order to stop a major offensive by syrian military forces in deraa province, near the border with jordan. but the rebels have reportedly rejected what they called a humiliating demand to surrender. bill hayton reports. daraa was one of the first cities to

rise up against president assad seven rise up against president assad seve n years rise up against president assad seven years ago. since then it has been a battleground and now it is being pounded into submission. from there and the ground, russian jets and government soldiers are close to destroying the last major rebel stronghold in southern syria. —— from the air. around half the city is reported to be in government hands and another eight nearby towns fell to the regime on saturday, according to local reports. translation: we have successfully fulfilled our mission in the region. 0ur soldiers' health, ourfaith in victory and our commitment to the president enabled us to win this victory and defeat the terrorist groups in this rugged region. the current offensive has been going on for almost two weeks. the rebels are caught between government forces and the border with jordan, but caught between government forces and the border withjordan, but are refusing to surrender. a bitter battle is taking place around a military airbase. casualties figures

are not known but one human rights group estimates that 100 civilians have in kilburn daraa in the past week. —— have been killed in daraa. the un estimates 160,000 people have been forced to flee. some i headed toa been forced to flee. some i headed to a sliver of territory held to a rival rebel group linked to islamic state. with the russian government forces and syrian government forces making steady progress, it seems like the end of rebel controlled southern syria is not far away. a 7—year—old girl who was raped and tortured in the indian state of madhya pradesh recently is now believed to be recovering from severe injuries. meanwhile, thousands have been out on the streets protesting against the incident. the bbc‘s nitin srivastava visits the town of mandsaur. pray is for someone they have never seen 01’ pray is for someone they have never seen or met. —— prayers. these schoolgirls have been out on the streets demanding justice for a seven—year—old who was brutally

raped and stabbed. translation: this happened in our town today and can happened in our town today and can happen somewhere else tomorrow. such incidents have been on the rise. we wa nt incidents have been on the rise. we want these monsters to be hanged. sleepy town in central india struggles with shock. thousands have come out in support of the victim, who was taken from outside her school and tortured for hours. translation: her school cctv cameras we re translation: her school cctv cameras were not working so we had to take footage from shop keepers and social media platforms. we are now pushing for a speedy trial. such is the anger on the streets that even the legal community are taking the unusual step of refusing to defend the suspects. translation: this is a crime against humanity and we have decided that no one from our fraternity will defend the accused in the courts. the accused are from

the minority muslim community and there are worries regarding the communal backlash. but the muslim community has taken a stand two. —— too. if the men are found guilty, theirfamilies will too. if the men are found guilty, their families will suffer too. translation: our community has declared that if the accused are convicted and get capital punishment, we would not even allow them to be buried in this town. even theirfamilies would them to be buried in this town. even their families would be them to be buried in this town. even theirfamilies would be made them to be buried in this town. even their families would be made to leave. there have been huge protests against the suspects and demands for capital punishment is growing. but the fact remains that such horrific incidents continue to haunt india again and again. nitin srivastava reporting from mandsaur in the indian state of madhya pradesh. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the militant islamist group al—shabab has banned single—use plastic bags in areas under its control in somalia. according to media outlets affiliated with the group, the militants consider plastic bags a serious threat to the wellbeing of both humans and animals. al—shabab did not say how it

would implement the ban but because of widespread fear of the group's use of violence, orders are usually followed. the sri lankan navy is to move to a port leased to a state—run chinese firm. after the end of the civil war sri lanka borrowed billions of dollars from china to implement major infrastructure projects, including the hambantota port. but last year in lieu of the debt, sri lanka agreed to give china a majority stake in the port. now to uganda, where hundreds of protesters have marched through the capital kampala, demanding police action over a spate of rapes, murders and kidnappings, targeting women. janey mitchell reports. stop the rapists! anger over the murder of more than a0 women in kampala since last year has boiled over into the streets with demands for justice for the victims, many of them young and mothers and whose cases remain unsolved. what sort of society are we living in where 42 women are dead and we are asking what they

were wearing, how many boyfriends they had? that is such a rape culture and victim—blaming mentality. among the marchers, ambassadors from the us and france, demanding improved security for staff who are afraid to go out. translation: this violence is intolerable. i am side by side with ugandan women for better protection, because women are the backbone of society. critics say the police response has been inadequate, accusing the ugandan force of devoting too many of its resources against opponents of the country's long serving president, yoweri museveni. but for some marchers, the blame lies with ugandan society as a whole. in africa, it is the responsibility of the men to protect the women. and we men have failed to protect our wives. we have failed to protect our mothers and we have failed to protect our daughters.

the message to uganda's government is that women's lives matter, and they have had enough of living in fear. a spokesman for hungary's government has denied reports that it is one 01:14 eu states to have entered a migrant repatriation agreement with berlin. the deal would see the nations take back migrants who initially registered in their countries before travelling on to germany. german chancellor angela merkel has been facing a political crisis at home over her approach towards migrants. speaking at a ceremony marking the handover of the eu's rotating presidency from bulgaria, austria's chancellor sebastian kurz said its motto would be "a europe that protects." mr kurz has put security and the fight against what he calls "illegal" migration among his top priorities. bethany bell has more from vienna. sebastian kurz has promised to make the fight against illegal migration

a major priority for austria's eu presidency. he's welcomed the deal that was reached earlier this week in brussels, but he says now it's a question of trying to implement that quickly. but there is still quite a bit of confusion about the details of this. eu leaders have agreed to set up asylum processing centres. it's not clear in which countries those will be or how quickly they can be brought into being. what sebastian kurz has said is that he wants to shift the focus from repatriating asylum seekers within eu countries to strengthening europe's outer borders, but there are still a great number of differences as to the best way of dealing with that, and germany in particular has tried to strike up agreements with 1a eu countries to repatriate some of those asylum seekers. this is a complex political problem for the eu, and there are a great many disagreements about it still. but it has to be said that while the problem is political, the number of migrants who are reaching europe

at the moment has dropped significantly since the migrant crisis of 2015—16. that was bethany bell in vienna. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come — new research finds a significant link between air pollution and diabetes. we're live in the us to speak to the lead author of the study. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced

a sheep called dolly, that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit, at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc world news. our top story: from washington, dc to los angeles, hundreds of thousands of americans protest across the united states

against president trump's immigration policies. well, let's get more on that story now. earlier, i wasjoined by david fitzgerald of the center for comparative immigration studies at the university of california san diego. what's different about this occasion is the trump administration has deliberately ignored the long—standing effective policies that we have two be able to give people seeking sanctuary, they meet the criteria for being granted asylu m the criteria for being granted asylum and if they don't, to the repatriation back to their countries of origin. but we have a long history of being able to handle much larger flows than we have been seeing at the border here. in 1980, 120 5000 cubans came within a few months, and that was a process that the government was able to handle, it even larger numbers of processing of refugees after the vietnam war,

not to mention after world war two. so we know what to do. it is just a question of having the political will to do it. on this occasion, it isa will to do it. on this occasion, it is a question of good practice. i know that as part of your job, you are talking to migration experts. who should the us be turning to when it comes to good track is on irregular migration? i don't think the us needs to necessarily look at the us needs to necessarily look at the example of what other countries are doing. i think we have developed that although the our own history. but if you look, there are other cases of countries that are doing a much betterjob in the us —— van the us of handling the migration. 0ne much betterjob in the us —— van the us of handling the migration. one of the practices that we see in places like canada that we used to see in the us is for example looking for alternatives to detention instead of taking people who are asking for asylu m taking people who are asking for asylum and locking them up, sometimes having them wear a gps,

having them callie and bobby visited by government agents to make sure that they are still here and still complying with the terms of their release, and we have seen that those programmes are highly effective. the vast majority of asylum seekers in alternative detention come to their court hearings. when it comes to europe specifically, we have been talking about the numbers and they are going down. why does it remain such a political hot point right now? it is a political hot point because it is possible for politicians and journalists to use immigrants as skate goes, frankly, and they have been able to do this in places that don't have that many immigrants. two major steel producers thyssenkrupp of germany and india's tata steel have agreed

to merge in the biggest such deal in europe for more than a decade. the new company will be the second largest steel manufacturer in the region, employing almost 50,000 people. the two firms have been in negotiations for more than a year. they had previously warned that about 4,000 jobs could go as a result of the merger. tomos morgan reports. jobs have been cut, pension terms reduced. but now it seems the steelworkers have some security. port talbot is home to almost half of the british workforce, and today's news is most welcome to scott barclay, who along with severalfamily scott barclay, who along with several family members, has worked in the steelworks all his adult life. morale has been really low. today has given us a clear future and a wake—up. today has given us a clear future and a wake-up. they will be the second—biggest steel maker in europe. together, they will have a workforce of around a0 8000. the 50—

50 joint venture anticipates making cost savings up to £aao million the year. due to the increased size of this new company, the annual sales will be about £13 billion. within the merger is a commitment to invest in extending the life of the blast furnace, a key part of steel production here in south wales. without this commitment, the rest of the uk operation suffers. something the uk operation suffers. something the unions have been battling for all along this process. what we need now is a period of stability. getting on and making steel which is what they are best at. the larger european giant better equipped to deal with the world market comes at a cruel shall time as the reason threat of steel tariffs and it is knock—on effect looms over the industry. the government say they will work closely with new management teams and trade unions as this new company develops its

business plan. there will be some volu nta ry business plan. there will be some voluntary redundancies as part of this merger, mostly in administrative roles. there will be no compulsory redundancies for the steelworkers at port talbot. some certainty, some security than our pleased after is what has been such a turbulence few years. a study in the united states has found a significant link between air pollution and an increased risk of diabetes. scientists estimate that in 2016, outdoor air pollution contributed to one in seven new cases of diabetes globally. around a20 million people are suffering from diabetes, according to the world health organisation, and pollution is thought to have been responsible for 9 million premature deaths in 2015. the lead author of the research, dr ziyad al—aly, explained the key findings. 0urfindings linka 0urfindings link a higher level of

air pollution with diabetes. the way it most likely work is when we inhale pollutants, they don't only into our lungs, they sit there, they get into the bloodstream where they travel to the pancreas and pancreas secretes insulin. we find our study between exposure to higher level of air pollution and the risk of diabetes, and the risk started at levels su bsta ntially lower tha n diabetes, and the risk started at levels substantially lower than what is currently recommended to be safe levels by the world health 0rganization. levels by the world health organization. what does it mean in terms of revenge on, diagnosis, treatment for example? it generally means that reducing air pollution worldwide, especially in highly condensed and highly populated areas will alleviate the burden, reduce the burden of that in those cities, those metropolitan areas and also

worldwide. it is definitely driven by obesity and unhealthy diet, a lack of exercise, certainly, air pollution is significant in the number of diabetes worldwide. we estimate one in seven diabetes cases is likely related to air pollution exposure. soldiers in thailand have been carrying out evacuation rehearsals as they continue to search for 12 missing boys inside a flooded cave. the fate of the boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their football coach, has gripped the nation since they went missing seven days ago in chiang rai province. the bbc‘s howard johnson has been spending some time behind the police corden where the children's families and rescue workers are waiting anxiously. the relatives of the missing 13 have been waiting inside this tented area now for a week. they have heard very little from search and rescue teams since their boys went missing inside the caves, which were flooded following heavy rain. in times like this, thai families

come together to pray, eat together and comfort one another. 0ne mother we spoke to said it would be depressing to stay at home waiting for them. "staying together helps to give moral support," she said. but they are part of a wider thai community here, and central to the support effort is food. it is what really bonds the thai people. these meals here have been provided by the thai king. there are also hundreds of civilian volunteers helping out here. this morning i saw three cavers going off into the hills behind us to find routes into the caverns. this woman has come along to help with her translation skills. why did you decide to come along and help? because i watched the news from the first day and i have my own children, two children at home, and i thought if they are in the cave, so i could not sleep or eat, so i come, maybe i can support and help here.

what we have seen in the last few minutes is one of the most prestigious monks in the country to give a ceremony for the missing 13. it demonstrates what happens when a vip takes part. police blowing whistles. sometimes it can get a bit chaotic here. there are hundreds of search and rescue workers here waiting to be called into action the moment that the boys are found. but the conditions here are tough. there is mud everywhere. it is hot and humid, and when it rains, it is torrential. for now, all they can do is be patient and wait for news on the teams inside the cave. the bbc‘s howard johnson reporting from northern thailand there. in an exciting day of action at the football world cup in russia, these two heavyweights

have been knocked out. yes, ronaldo and messi are both going home following the first day of the knockout phase. uruguay beat portugal two goals to one. france knocked out argentina in a 7—goal thriller, which ended a—3. 0lly foster has been following the world cup in moscow. what a start we have had to the round of 16, the first knockout round. this is when the world cup get serious, and, yes, those two shining stars of the game going home after two very different matches. we will get to the french in a moment. she and the last couple of minutes in sochi, cristiano ronaldo, we saw him wandering around the pitch looking forlorn full—time whistle because they were beaten 2—1 by uruguay. innocent and only was uruguay‘s matchwinner. look at that header. actually came off his face, of his nose. still found the top corner. his second after they had equalised for portugal was a beauty, swept it home. 0r

equalised for portugal was a beauty, swept it home. or should all going home, uruguay who look very good in the group stages, we shouldn't be too surprised with uruguay. that is four wins out of four now. they are through to the quarter—finals where they are going to be playing the french. what a match that is going to be. the french stunned argentina a-3. this to be. the french stunned argentina a—3. this match had just about everything. lin alessi on the losing side has been so out of sorts here in russia. the french were 1—0 up and then 2—1 down. they finally won a-3. and then 2—1 down. they finally won 14—3. —— and then 2—1 down. they finally won a—3. —— lionel messi. there is the very latest from the world cup. we will be kept up to speed over the coming days as well. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @krupapadhy.

hello there, june has been exceptionally dry for large parts of the uk. for the first day ofjuly, many of us will see more of the same. not quite everywhere because we have the chance of a few thundery downpours towards the far south—west. we will be very close to this growing area of cloud that has sprung into life over the past few hours. it is drifting towards the south—west of the uk. a slightly different wind direction, more south—easterly, but that is picking up south—easterly, but that is picking up more heat and humidity blowing into the south. that is treating a feud bunbury downpours towards the far south—west and the channel islands. at the same time, a very wea k islands. at the same time, a very weak weather front brings cloud towards ireland. elsewhere, it will be dry and sunny. temperatures in the mid—20s. scotland and northern

ireland, high 20s, perhaps 30 degrees or so ireland, high 20s, perhaps 30 degrees 01’ s0 across ireland, high 20s, perhaps 30 degrees or so across england and wales. focusing on the showers, thunderstorm warning issued by the met office for the very first time. for the south—west of england and wales, but storms could rival into sussex and surrey, maybe into the midlands. don't take the positions of those areas of raynaud's gospel because it is the developing situation. all developing around this flabby area of low pressure. we have high pressure building across the north. 0n have high pressure building across the north. on monday, those braces will have a dry and sunny day once again. there will still be a few storms not far away from the far south—west through the english channel and towards channel islands. away from here, no sign of any rain. those temperatures still on the high side of year, particularly high towards the south—east towards the south—east into the midlands and towards the fence. for the first week ofjuly, not a grey deal of change. hot weather for most. the

highest temperatures will be in the south where there is still the chance of some thundery downpours, although that risk is diminishing. because that high pressure is going to be building across more of the uk, settling things down once again, again on tuesday, sunny skies for most areas. with the high pressure building across the north, here it is somewhat cooler and fresher, a bit more cloud in northern scotland for a while, you are showers through the english channel. in the outlook for our capital forecast, it looks like it should stay dry, temperatures widely into the mid—to high 20s. that it from me. goodbye. this is bbc world news. the headlines: hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in protests across the united states against president trump's immigration policies. the demonstrators called for migrant families split up at the us border to be reunited. syrian forces have bombed areas of opposition—held daraa after ceasefire negotiations collapsed. rebels in the region rejected a deal to surrender. scientists estimate that in 2016

outdoor air pollution contributed to one in seven new cases of diabetes globally. around 120 million people are suffering from diabetes, according to the world health 0rganization, according to the world health organization, and pollution is thought to be —— to have been responsible for 9 million premature deaths in 2015. those are the latest headlines. four young men, three of them teenagers, have died in a crash in leeds. they were in a vehicle which collided with a taxi early this morning.