this is bbc news. i'm nkem ifejika. and these are our top stories: protests across the uk as tens of thousands of people demonstrate against president trump and his policies. more are planned over the weekend. i feel that the fact that he is on a state visit and he is going to see the queen, is saying what you say is fine as long as we have a trade deal, while he is doing atrocious things, i think that is not ok. there was pomp and pageantry. queen elizabeth welcomed the president for afternoon tea at windsor castle. there was also an apology for his interview with a newspaper and mr trump rowed back on his criticism of the prime minist calling her instead an "incredible woman". as his visit draws to a close, president trump is now in scotland. he's expected to spend the weekend playing golf at turnberry. in other news, the us

justice department charges 12 russian intelligence officers with meddling in the 2016 us election. hello and welcome to the programme. there've been demonstrations across the uk, with tens of thousands of people showing their opposition to president trump and his policies. at a news conference, the us president rowed back on his criticism of the prime minister theresa may's brexit strategy, praising her instead as an "incredible woman". he also dismissed as "fake news" the newspaper interview in which he'd suggested the british government's plans for leaving the eu would probably kill any trade deal with the us. with a roundup of the day's events, including tea with the queen, here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. you don't need to count the helicopters to know how much this visitor matters. president trump's entourage blasted through the countryside as subtly as he warned this week that his host

might not get the trade deal she covets. for theresa may, herjob was not just to grin and bear it today, but more importantly, to try to change his mind. when first the tricky question was asked, he left it to her. yeah, have you had a chance to talk about the interview this morning? we've got a lot to discuss. we're going to discuss our special relationship. the question repeated, this time he made a face, rather than answer. but after talks, back to the choreography around the stately home — exactly where she brokered her brexit compromise, this time last week. the prime minister appeared to have taken hold of president trump, and predicted he's now on her side. we agreed today that as the uk leaves the european union, we'll pursue an ambitious us—uk free trade agreement. the chequers agreement reached last week provides the platform for donald and me to agree an ambitious deal that works for both countries right

across our economies. was he quite so convinced? once the brexit process is concluded, and perhaps the uk has left the eu, i don't know what they're going to do, but whatever you do is ok with me, that's your decision. whatever you're going to do is ok with us, just make sure we can trade together, that's all that matters. mr president, you seem rather to have changed your tune from what you said earlier this week, when you said that on the current brexit plan, that would probably kill the possibility of a trade deal the uk. our countries are meant to have a special relationship, yet you publicly criticised the prime minister's policy and her personally for not listening to you this week, is that really the behaviour of a friend? i didn't criticise the prime minister, i have a lot of respect for the prime minister, and unfortunately there was a story that was done, which was generally fine, but it didn't put in what i said about the prime minister, and i said tremendous things.

to be accurate, it did. she's going to make a decision as to what she's going to do, the only thing i ask of theresa is that we make sure we can trade, that we don't have any restrictions. i read reports where that won't be possible, but i believe, after speaking with the prime minister's people and representatives and trade experts, it will absolutely be possible. for years, british prime ministers have strained to show that they matter to the united states. they want to be listened to, they want to be respected, but with characteristic smash and grab style, donald trump has made that tricky, very tricky for theresa may, just at the moment when she needs friends and reliable allies. goodbye to chequers, then for the president to move to call on one of the few people in the world whose status rivals his. the queen has now met a dozen american presidents.

this spectacle a product of all that shared history. these images perhaps the ones that donald trump truly desired. but the politics between the united states and britain are fraught, the lines less precise. and as both our countries change, so diplomatic decorum isn't guaranteed. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, chequers. there were cheers as a six metre balloon in the shape of donald trump wearing a nappy took to the air over parliament square in london. our special correspondent lucy manning has more on the anti—trump protests. all chant: say it loud, say it clear, donald trump's not welcome here! his name echoed round the streets of london. all chant: donald trump has got to go! it was on the posters they carried, the t—shirts they wore. they were loud and they were certainly many, but as tens of thousands came

to protest against president trump, he wasn't even in the city to see or hear the anger. the relationship normally a special one, the "highest level of special", said the president, but they weren't lining the streets for the american president, but against him. i think his policies are awful, i think the way he talks to people, the way he talks about women, the way he talks about disabled people, the policies on climate change. the list of things he does wrong is longer than... well, you're not going to stop trump, are you? i think peaceful protest is a beautiful thing. what do you make of so many british people coming out against your president? it's really nice that they care that much. the day of protests started with london's newest tourist attraction, flying outside parliament, the trump baby balloon, not huge in size, but big in impact. i think it's brilliant, i think it's an epitome of british humour really, and i think trump doesn't get that, but i think it stands for the way

that we deal with things we don't like. then this peculiarly british day of protests took to the streets, the women's march starting the demonstrations, armed with song, pots and pans, wit, and anger. he's the worst thing to happen to the world right now. i have a daughter, i am a mother, i am a woman, he is not... we do not deserve him on this world. he has done nothing but wrong. but is it for british people to say that about... she — and she does not like him! it's for anyone to say it, because we are citizens of the world. we're not telling him necessarily he shouldn't be here, we're protesting some of the policy decisions he's made. but america is our closest ally, so... yeah, and this is not against america, this is against trump. then the main anti—trump protest of the day, filling central london. no presidential motorcade here, the streets instead taken over

by the mass of protesters. well, the american president might not be in london to see and hear these protests, but he's certainly aware of them, saying he wasn't spending more time in the capital because he'd been made to feel "unwelcome". but as donald trump said, he believes the real british people love the american president. but across the country, there were protests. in glasgow, as he landed in scotland tonight, and in other cities. all chant: say dump, dump, dump the trump! all chant: hey hey, ho ho, donald trump has got to go! meanwhile, trump's supporters toasted his arrival. i don't think it's the most hospitable welcome. i think it's a bit shortsighted of some british, those that have protested, and a bit of wasted energy on their part.

they were saying, "keep trump out of the uk." i mean, i don't know where to start with how you're leaving the european union and now you're trying to shun away the us? but with every corner of trafalgar square taken up with those against the president, it wasn't the welcome he wanted. lucy manning, bbc news. the white house insists the indictments of 12 russian intelligence officers for interfering in the 2016 presidential election will not jeopardise monday's summit between donald trump and vladimir putin in helsinki. the russian foreign ministry said the charges announced had been intended to throw the meeting off course. here's the us deputy attorney general rod rosenstein outlining the alleged involvement of the russian state. the indictment charges 12 russian military officers by name for conspiring to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. 11 of the defendants are charged with conspiring to hack into computers, steal documents, and release those documents with the intent to interfere in the election. one of those defendants and a 12th

russian military officer are charged with conspiring to infiltrate computers of organisations involved in administrating elections. a little earlier, i spoke to evan mcmullin in new york, who's a former central intelligence agency operations officer and he also ran as an independent candidate during that election. i asked him whether these latest indictments came as any surprise. it's not a surprise, frankly. i think we have been waiting here in the united states for details around the special counsel robert mueller‘s investigation of the hacking part of russian interference, of course, they also carried out a disinformation campaign leveraging social media, in part. mueller has already issued a number of indictments of russian intelligence associates related to that part of their effort. but today we learned more about the actual

hacking part. and i suspect we'll learn more down the road. there's obviously a lot to cover for the special counsel, so they're doing the indictments in batches. i think over time we'll see whether they're learning about the involvement of us persons, potentially involved in the trump campaign, numbers of the trump campaign, and potentially trump himself. that has been the crucial element of all of this. there hasn't been any proven collusion. i think that is the important word, there's no proof so far of collusion with the trump campaign. well, i wouldn't exactly say that. i would say that the special counsel has not indicted anyone. but already available in the media, there's a lot of information about different contacts thatseveral members of the trump campaign had, or the trump family. one of them, for example, was donald trump jr,

donald trump's son, emailing with a representative of the russian representative, somebody who was representing the russian government, who offered hacked information on hillary clinton and donald trump jr said that he loved it and recommended that the information be used later in the summer. so there is quite a lot of information there, actually. but robert mueller and the special counsel's office, they haven't commented on that yet. we don't know how they look at that from a legal perspective. we, as american citizens, have to make our own decision about that politically, when we go to the polls for the mid—term elections to decide who controls congress in 2018, but also in 2020, when, if donald trump is still president, we'll make another decision about whether he'll remain so. do you believe that the 2016 elections are, for want of a better legal term, unsafe? i think our national security professionals have said repeatedly that we are not doing enough,

that there is not a co—ordinated us government response yet, or a plan to protect our elections from foreign interference. we're fortunate in some way that in the united states, our presidential elections are run by the states, not at the national level. so states can take action. but the federal government in washington, led by president donald trump, has not really taken a lead on this. which is quite shocking and not what you'd find with any other president in the past, republican or democrat, but that's the situation in which we find ourselves, we have a president who still, even today, taking questions with prime minister theresa may, called the investigation a witch—hunt and a rigged witch—hunt. this is even after he was briefed by the department ofjustice earlier in the week about these impending indictments of russian intelligence officers involved in hacking

the democratic party and related targets. so that's where the president is. the president is still covering for vladimir putin. it's quite shocking that this would be what the president of the united states would do, but this is the situation we're in. the president was assisted by russians and he continues to protect them. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we follow the us first lady, melania trump, as she meets chelsea pensioners on her visit to london with the president. the flamboyant italian fashion designer, gianni versace, has been shot dead in florida. the multimillionaire was gunned down outside his home in the exclusive south beach district of miami. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worst floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans, but tonight it's completely blacked out. it's a timely reminder

to all americans of the problems the energy crisis has brought to them. 200 years ago today, a huge parisian crowd stormed the bastille prison, the first act of the revolution which was to topple the french monarchy. today, hundreds of thousands thronged the champs—elysee for the traditional military parade. finally, fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on huge shoal of their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: demonstrations have taken place across the uk, with huge numbers of people showing their opposition to mr trump's visit. at least 120 people have been killed at an election rally in pakistan, and more than 100 others were hurt.

the islamic state group said it carried out the attack. lebo diseko has more. just to warn you, there are distressing images from the start of her report. a community gripped by shock and grief, as victims arrive in hospital, caught up in what is the worst militant attack in this country for nearly four years. more than 100 were killed in the suicide bombing at an election rally in the province of baluchistan. translation: we reached the blast site and found people scattered, there was hardly a person who was in a good condition. we alerted our vehicles and sent 30 ambulances to help the wounded. the army had claimed that militants had been cleared from the region near the afghan border, which has been marred by ongoing violence and instability. in a separate incident, four people were killed in a bomb blast in the north of the country. another politician's campaign convoy was hit. it's less than two weeks before

pakistan goes to the polls, and these attacks could trigger a new set of tensions ahead of an election already marred by controversy. lebo diseko, bbc news. aid agencies are calling for urgent access to south western syria after several weeks of fighting. the un says tens of thousands of people remain in desperate need of assistance. the syrian government has retaken control of most of daraa province, but cross—border aid supplies are being denied access. 0ur middle east correspondent tom bateman reports from thejordan—syria border. lined up on the border with syria, but going nowhere. these aid supplies are for tens of thousands of people who have fled the fighting in at daraa province, but they remain stuck beside a desert road in jordan. ebrahim has a lorry full of

food, the engine runs day and night keeping it cool, he is syrian, he left da raa keeping it cool, he is syrian, he left daraa with his family in 2014. translation: nobody knows what is going to happen, whether we will go in or not. i feel optimistic. going to happen, whether we will go in or not. ifeel optimistic. i haven't seen my relatives in four yea rs. haven't seen my relatives in four years. just a few dozen syrian refugees remain at the border with jordan. his mother four suffered refugees remain at the border with jordan. his motherfour suffered a scorpion bite in the desert. she told me she had travelled for three days to escape the fighting. but thousands of displaced people who we re thousands of displaced people who were you have returned to daraa. jordan is home to more than1 million syrian refugees. it refused to ta ke million syrian refugees. it refused to take any more from the latest fighting. russian airstrikes backed up fighting. russian airstrikes backed up the syrian regime's recent offensive in daraa. the province was a symbol of rebellion, the place where the uprising began. the un says the latest fighting has left

tens of thousands of people in desperate need of shelter, food, and clea n desperate need of shelter, food, and clean water. what we are appealing forfrom clean water. what we are appealing for from the different parties fighting on the ground is that we need unimpeded sustained axis, a lull in the fighting, so we can get to these people with as much assistance as possible. the syrian regime has been back in control of most of daraa since last week. cross—border aid has since been unable to go in. jordanian troops took us to their closed border crossing with the province. a bustling trade route years ago, but the two arrests are long gone and the two arrests are long gone and the duty—free shops shuttered. 0nly soldiers now keeping watch at the edge of a conflict that has strained jordan's borders. from here you get a real sense of how the landscape has changed in the syria's will. untiljust a has changed in the syria's will. until just a few has changed in the syria's will. untiljust a few days ago it was rebel groups that help the other side of this crossing, patrolling syria's border. today it is president assad's men are back in

charge. aid workers as they privately supplies are stuck because the syrian regime is refusing access to cross—border assistance. this warehouse full private donations jordan is overflowing. like the un aid nearby, help is on hand, but it cannot reach those who need it. tom bateman, bbc news, on thejordan— syrian border. missions don't get any more ambitious. searching for the origins of life and the secrets of universe. now a vast new project's been unveiled in south africa that could bring some of the answers a step closer. andy beatt reports. scanning the skies of south africa, a key new part of the world's biggest and most powerful radiotelescope. 64 dishes, collectively called meerkat, are built at a cost of $330 million. they'll link up with thousands more across africa and australia. a scientific megaproject known as the square kilometre array. these are cameras taking pictures of galaxies outside our solar

system, and the more antennas we have, the better. meerkat aims to unlock cosmic conundrums, from dark energy to detecting extraterrestrial life. it will search the reaches of space 10,000 times faster than before, and with 50 times the resolution. taking images like this one, a supermassive black hole at the centre of the milky way 25,000 light years away. or this, the first image meerkat captured, showing 1,300 galaxies, only 70 of which were previously known. the pioneering project is pushing the frontiers of science and putting south africa in the spotlight. what's great today is we're seeing an instrument that is the best of its kind anywhere, and what that means is people like myself, other people who aspire to this, can grow up

in an environment where they have access to that facility right on their own doorstep. hundreds more telescopes are planned here and in kenya and ghana, expanding meerkat‘s reach still further. they're due to be fully operational in the late 2020s. andy beatt, bbc news. the us first lady melania trump has met some chelsea pensioners, during a visit to the royal hospital in london. accompanied by philip may, the prime minister's husband, mrs trump helped veterans and local schoolchildren assemble poppies for the royal british legion. the first lady also spoke to the schoolchildren about her be best campaign, as our correspondent sian lloyd reports. hello. a smile as melania trump arrived at the home of the famous chelsea pensioners. good morning, how are you?

to receive a lesson in poppy making, with the help of local schoolchildren. and she'd done a pretty good job, according to the prime minister's husband, philip may. that's very impressive. the audience was chosen to chime with her be best campaign, which champions children's well—being initiatives. there was no speech from the first lady. she chatted and listened to the experiences of two different generations. did she when you two over? she was magic. i don't think we have been invited to the white house yet. the first lady's visit to meet the chelsea pensioners was shrouded in secrecy, and there's been tight security surrounding this event. while her husband has certainly made waves, this was an opportunity for melania to show a softer side of the partnership.

whisked away by her entourage, the first lady had made an impression on the children she'd met, who go to a school a stone's throw away from the us embassy. she gave me a hug, and she shaked my hand. and what did you feel about that? i was actually really happy. i was — i don't even want to wash my hands. nana sat next to melania trump and said he was honoured to meet her. it inspired me. i've learned that i should try my best and be the best i can be, even in hard times, i should be the best that i can be. the aim of this visit was to show a lighter touch, and while this was a tightly controlled event with no opportunity for media questions, those who met melania trump said she was a good sport. sian lloyd, bbc news, chelsea. so who gets to wear a poppy come

november, that is the big question. a reminder of our top story, two days before president misplayed method putin a grand jury in the us has decided to charge 12 russian intelligence officers for —— hacking into the computers of hillary clinton and her party. you can keep up—to—date with the latest news, business, and sport on the bbc website. you will find reaction and analysis, including updated like pages and reports from our correspondence who are based in over 80 locations around the globe. nobody matches the bbc. you can reach me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @nkem|fejika. i will try and tweet something by the end of the month. goodbye. hello.

welcome to the weekend, which will offer a bit of cloud and some rain to parts of scotland and northern ireland, whereas much of england and wales will stay dry. here's the rain—maker — this weak weather front coming in. but for saturday, it's just towards the far north, north—west of scotland. it will affect more of scotland and northern ireland on sunday, as we'll see in a moment. for many over the weekend there will be sunshine, there will be warmth. in fact, building warmth particularly across parts of england and wales. sunday looking even hotter in places. so a real range of weather this weekend. this is what it looks on saturday morning then. the cloud, some outbreaks of rain, far north—west of scotland, maybe willjust fringe into the west of northern ireland later in the day. yes, cloud increases ahead of that. but the further south and east you are in scotland and northern ireland there will be some sunny spells to be had. some cloud building in england and wales. you can see from the colours here, warm to hot sunshine to be had. a range of temperatures, quite breezy as well with the cloud and some outbreaks of rain in north—west scotland. there mayjust be an isolated shower popping up across eastern parts of england. most will avoid that and stay dry. here's how it's looking for the wimbledon finals this weekend, the men's final could be

one of the hottest men's finals for decades, coming up on sunday with temperatures around 30 celsius, if not slightly above in some spots in south—east england. heading out and about on saturday evening, a lot of fine weather to come. but through the night some outbreaks of rain moving into northern ireland and western scotland. staying dry in england and wales. these are the overnight temperatures going into sunday morning. so on sunday, scotland and northern ireland, more have cloud, more have some outbreaks of rain. gradually pushing further east. mayjust reach into the far north—west of england later in the day. elsewhere, across western england and wales, there could be a few showers popping up here and there. but again, most will avoid them and stay dry. most in england and wales will hold on to the very warm to hot sunshine. temperatures will be a few degrees higher in the sunshine compared with saturday. just 17 degrees in stornoway. this weather front is taking some cooler and fresher air south eastwards across the uk. it's just going to take its time. so on sunday evening, not a great deal of change

in the position of that front, if you're heading out and about. it will gradually slide further south—eastwards monday into tuesday, but it's a very slow process. any rain on itjust becomes just a few showers. don't expect much as it does so. we are left with something, eventually, into next week, cooler and fresher, with more cloud around and than perhaps some of us have seen recently. a greater chance of picking up one or two showers around as well. enjoy your weekend. this is bbc world news, the headlines: tens of thousands converged on central london in protest at president trump's visit to britain. there have also been demonstrations in other cities around the country and he is now facing fresh protests in scotland as he continues his visit to the uk. at least 120 people have been killed

atan at least 120 people have been killed at an election rally in pakistan and hundreds of others have been heard. the attack in baluchistan province is the deadliest in more than a year. the islamic state group claimed responsibility for the attack. two days before mr trump meets vladimir putin, a grand jury in the us has decided to charge 12 russian intelligence officers with hacking into the computers of the democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton and her party. president trump is in scotland, as part now on bbc news, the travel show.