welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: making his mind up. president trump now says vladimir putin is to blame for russia meddling in the us election. well, iwould, because he's in charge of the country, just like i consider myself to be responsible for things that happen in this country. so certainly, as the leader of a country, you would have to hold him responsible, yes. the thai cave boys finally go home, after telling the world's media how it felt to be rescued. google is fined a record sum by the european union, almost $5 billion, over its android operating system. and, from the arctic circle to the baltic sea, sweden calls for international help as it battles to contain at least a0 wildfires. donald trump now says he holds vladimir putin personally

responsible for russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. that comment in an interview on the us tv network cbs is the latest piece of damage control in the wake of the president's news conference with vladimir putin in helsinki, when mr trump seemed to put russia's denials above the unanimous conclusion of his own us intelligence agencies. he has since said he misspoke, and has suggested that no other us president has ever been tougher on russia. chris buckler reports from washington. when president trump shared a stage with vladimir putin in helsinki, for some within his republican party, it appeared all too cosy, particularly as he seemed to side with the russian president over america's own intelligence agencies. now, after days of criticism, in an interview with america's cbs news, he has

taken a deliberately tougher line. you're saying you agree with us intelligence that russia meddled in the election in 2016. yes, and i have said that before, jeff. i have said that numerous times before, and i would say that that is true, yes. but you haven't condemned putin specifically. do you hold him personally responsible? well, i would, because he is in charge of the country, just like i consider myself to be responsible for things that happen in this country. so certainly, as the leader of a country, you would have to hold him responsible, yes. after he returned to washington, the president claimed he misspoke when he said at that now notorious news conference in helsinki that he didn't see why russia would have been involved in a lateral interference. but it took 2a hours to set the record straight —— electoral interference. there has been no president ever as tough as i have been on russia. and that was followed by more confusion, as he

appeared to dismiss his intelligence service's assessment that russia remains a threat to american democracy. is russia still targeting the us? no. let's go. he did appear to say no, but then came another clarification from the white house. the president was saying thank you very much and were saying no to answering any more questions. the president and his administration are working very hard to make sure that russia is unable to meddle in our elections, as they have done in the past and as we have stated. on twitter, donald trump said... something which he called trump derangement syndrome. and, in reaching out to russia, the president is continuing to defend his own unique style of diplomacy. james lamond is senior policy adviser at the centre for american progress, where he focuses on issues related to us—russia relations. he is also the managing director of the moscow project. you may not like mr trump or what he

does or what he says all the way he says it, but surely talking to russia or to north korea is better than war. absolutely, i support diplomacy. i think it is a tool that every administration should pursue. what my problem with president trump's approach towards russia is not that he necessarily had a summit with vladimir putin. it is that he stood next to him and defended his position about russia's interference in our election, without confronting him whatsoever about it. he sided with him over his own government's determinations about russian meddling and when he got back to washington he walked back slightly,

but still muddled the message, and this is not what the american people had in mind when they want donald trump to defend their interests. and what exactly are you suggesting about why the president is doing this? i mean, iam not asserting this, the bbc is not asserting this, but it is clear, reading around and looking at a wide range of sources that many people's reaction to that press c0 nfe re nce that many people's reaction to that press conference in helsinki is either mr trump is stupid but conceited, a kind of useful idiot for conceited, a kind of useful idiot foer putin, or conceited, a kind of useful idiot for mr putin, or he is being blackmailed by russian intelligence, 01’ blackmailed by russian intelligence, oertrump stands to blackmailed by russian intelligence, or mr trump stands to gain financially from some undisclosed russian connections. now, are you really suggesting that? because there is of course a simple explanation, that mr trump is kind of understandably anxious to knock down anything that suggests he didn't win the presidency, fair and square. that would explain some issues around election meddling, but it wouldn't explain the broader pattern of behaviour, issues across the board where president trump has

consistently, throughout his administration, pursued policies that advance vladimir putin's interests, not the united states. these are issues including divides within the west, the nato alliance, undermining the european union, these are issues that donald trump has been pursuing which have nothing to do with election meddling. do your first to do with election meddling. do yourfirst question to do with election meddling. do your first question about what the motivations, that is exactly what robert mueller is looking into, and this is exactly why we need to continue to protect this investigation, and why this investigation, and why this investigation should be allowed to continue to the fullest extent. well, even if people are right to be worried about what the president is doing, where does it stop? because it does seem that, even with the kickback against what happened recently, mostly republicans in congress, and certainly his core voters, a re congress, and certainly his core voters, are happy, whatever he does, as long as he delivers on tax cuts,

on more conservative judges as long as he delivers on tax cuts, on more conservativejudges in the supreme court, and possibly changing the law on abortion. well, it is the role of congress right now to perform their oversight responsibilities. it doesn't matter whether it is republicans that are in charge or democrats that are in charge, it is congress's duty to oversee the executive branch, and they should immediately be pursuing hearings of enquiry about what occurred in helsinki, what happened behind closed doors, what happened in this one—on—one meeting between donald trump and vladimir putin. we don't know. and there should be immediate oversight of those hearings, so this is the responsibility of republicans in congress, whether or not they are the same party as the president or not. just briefly, games, if you can, the russian woman maria butina, who is accused of conspiring against the us government, she of course has not gone to trial, she is innocent until proven guilty, but some of what she has done is not disputed. what does this tell you? —— james.

what she has done is not disputed. what does this tell you? —— jameslj think this demonstrates that the russian campaign towards influencing united states politics and government is much more expensive than just donald trump. government is much more expensive thanjust donald trump. i think government is much more expensive than just donald trump. i think this demonstrates, along with the indictment from the robert mueller investigation just last friday, that there was an expensive, extensive effort to undermine and influence us political system, as well as the decision—making process. political system, as well as the decision-making process. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you. their story of survival captured the world's imagination, and now the 12 thai boys and their coach have been speaking for the first time about their cave rescue. at a news conference, the boys spoke about their ordeal, calling it a moment of miracle when the rescuers found them. 0ur correspondentjonathan head was at the news conference and has this report. dom spent his 13th birthday in the cave, at the time unsure if he would ever get out. but you would hardly know it

as he thanked the doctors and nurses on leaving hospital today, the very picture of health. this was him two weeks ago, smiling for his rescuers when the 12 boys and their coach were discovered, after nine days without food. he and his team—mates made their first public appearance since their astonishing rescue. treating journalists to some nifty footwork, before taking the stage to recount their experiences in the cave. they had gone to explore, just for an hour, they said, but found themselves cut off by fast—rising water. 14—year—old adun, who speaks the best english among them, then describes the moment when, after nine days, they heard the two british divers close by. translation: we were digging and we heard somebody talking,

but we didn't think that it was real, so we stopped and listened. but, as it turned out, it happened, it was real. i was shocked. i thought they were thai officers, but when they got out of the water, i found that they were english. i didn't know what to say to them, so ijust said hello. it was a miracle, it was a miracle. i was shocked. for all of them, the hardest thing in the cave was the hunger. this is the youngest, titan, who is 11 years old. translation: i tried not to think about food. but, because thinking about food, it... i tried not to think about fried rice. they finished with a tribute to saman gunan, the thai diver who died while trying to save them. watching at home was dom's family. his stepfather hadn't been able to see him in hospital. with just a few hours before he came home, it was hard keeping his emotions back. "i'm just waiting to welcome him as soon as he gets here", he said. "we'll all be there.

ijust want to hug him." well, it's been a very long wait this evening for dom's family, but we thinkjust a few more minutes to go before he comes home and for this very ordinary family, hopefully, an end to a very extraordinary story. and then he was there, the boy who had missed his 13th birthday, but with his miraculous escape, had been given a second chance. it is not often you get an ending as happy as this. jonathan head, bbc news, mae sai, northern thailand. earlier i spoke to the bbc‘s devina gupta, in chiang rai, and asked her just what happens next. well, today is all about picking up the pieces for these boys, who are trying to come back to their normal life. i'm in the buddhist temple in their hometown here,

and these boys are inside in a blessing ceremony. what they're trying to do is to say thank you, and gather blessings of the buddhist monks here. they're also paying tribute to the thai diver who lost his life to rescue them. this is a very elaborate ceremony, that has been on for the last 60 minutes, but what's important to see here is how the family has come together, how the community has come together around them, to protect them and to give them the support that they need. also, very importantly, the media has been asked to only film the ceremony, but not to approach these families, not to approach these boys and to protect their privacy and help them move on. from here, the boys will be resting through the day, and try to absorb what has happened around them in the last really a month, and how their own lives have changed. for many of them, it is also a time when they'll be recounting their ordeal and sharing

it with their family, to lessen their burden. of course, they'll be going back to school very soon, and as they said in a news conference, they look forward to being professional footballers, so it's back to practising on those football fields. we talk about them getting back to normal life, there are still some treats in store. i know there was talk of them going to the world cup final, couldn't take it for health reasons. but there is still talk of other things being planned. absolutely, they have been invited to visit the manchester united team, and that's something they really look forward to. they're really enthusiastic players. i must add to this that these boys have coped really incredibly well, because yesterday, at the news conference, they walked together as a team, cheering and waving to the press cameras. also, right now they are sitting together as a team with their coach, and for them, it's a journey togetherfrom here on,

when they move ahead to fulfil their dreams. let's get some of the day's other news: turkey's state media say the government is lifting the state of emergency imposed after the failed coup two years ago. tens of thousands have been arrested and held without trial on the orders of president erdogan. thousands have been dismissed from theirjobs. britain's former foreign secretary boris johnson has given a scathing resignation speech. he told the uk parliament it is not too late to save brexit, but right now, a fog of self—doubt is descending over the process. he also claimed the prime minister's current brexit plan would leave britain in a miserable, permanent limbo. he resigned last week in protest, saying he could no longer support theresa may's approach to brexit. the british pop star sir cliff richard has won his high court privacy battle against the bbc, and has been awarded an initial $270,000 in damages. the court found the bbc‘s reporting of a police raid in connection with an allegation of historical child sex abuse infringed the star's privacy rights in a serious and sensationalist way. sir cliff always denied the allegations, and was never arrested or charged. he described the ruling as wonderful news. the bbc says it is very sorry for the distress caused

to sir cliff, but will look at appealing the decision. european financial authorities have fined google a record $5 billion over the use of its android operating system. the european commission says the company illegally used the technology to cement its dominant position in searches. google has denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the ruling. this from our tech correspondent rory cellan—jones. advert: if you believe in innovation from everyone, then welcome to android. it sees itself as a benevolent giant that just wants to help us communicate. the eu has a different view. google has engaged in illegal practices to cement its dominant market position in internet search. google's android operating system runs on three quarters of europe's mobile phones.

it's free for phone makers, but the eu says that google applies conditions which promote its own interests at the expense of rivals. there are three complaints — that phone makers must preinstall google search in chrome if they want to use the app store. they're paid to promote google search by installing it and not other search engines. and that they're effectively banned from creating alternative versions of android. as a matter of principle, we could ourselves look up another search engine, but only 1% of us who has a android phone say, "0h, i'll do something else." 99% of us, if the search app is on your phone, this is what you use. the fact that google has so much control over what happens on so many phones not only gives it a lot of power, it gives it a lot of money, because it collects vast amounts of data which enables it to target advertising. but the company says that ends up with a great deal for phone users. google must now pay a record fine and change its ways within 90 days

if it's not to face bigger penalties, but it's appealing against the ruling. a spokesperson said... with the us and europe already locking horns over trade, the google ruling provides another source of conflict. i don't think trade negotiations are going to be helped by this measure. the biggest losers, however, are going to be european users of smartphones and consumers, because google has already hinted at the prospect of changing its practices, maybe charging for some services that it didn't charge for before. google and other american tech giants insist they're good for consumers, but the eu is determined to curb what it sees as their abuse of their dominance. rory cellan—jones, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: up, up, and away.

you can now buy your very own jet pack, as long as you have deep pockets. 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: donald trump says he holds vladimir putin personally responsible for russian interference in the 2016 us presidential election. let's return to our top story, the latest comments by donald trump that he now holds vladimir putin personally responsible for russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. earlier i spoke to ren brewster who is a supporter of the president, and an election campaign manager for fomer republican president ronald reagan in the 1980's. it looked like donald trump does look in public, he is a much more strong negotiator behind closed doors. no matter what he said, the media in the us would have

jumped all over him no matter what he said, how nice or how angry or confrontational he would have been with vladimir putin. did you have any sense that he is losing control of the situation? that his base is weakening in his support? not at all. i have it from inside sources that donations were up yesterday. what happens in the us, we support donald trump through social media and also through donations. he has 63— 64 million strong base of supporters and they are basically the rock of gibraltar. sweden has called for international help to fight more than a0 wildfires that have broken out across the country. specialist planes and helicopters are trying to control the flames. weeks of high temperatures and minimal rain, have seen huge fires breaking out in

countries across the globe. andrew plant reports. wildfire sweeping across this forest in sweden, one of dozens being fought here, firefighters soaking ground that has seen no significant rain in several weeks. translation: over there, we made a line of water, and we stopped the fire so it can't spread out. hopefully it won't spread this way now. over the dry, sunbaked forests, two italian planes had flown north to help. each one is capable of dumping 6000 litres of water each time. still, sweden's fires are spreading. translation: we have done ok the whole day, until the wind started, and then we lost some control there. i think it mayjump across the road over there. the record heat is causing blazes across some of the coldest countries on earth. this is a snapshot of sweden on wednesday — 44 separate fires.

norway, finland and russia are facing similar problems, even the arctic circle ablaze in the summer heat. it is notjust sweden. the uk has spent weeks battling a grassland fire. in the us, they raged across california earlier this year, and los angeles earlier this month. australia is also seeing some of its worst fires in years. in sweden, volunteers are helping fight back the flames to try to stop more fire from spreading. translation: monday was very hard. it feels like we work in vain. all the time, fires, fires. at the end we had to retreat three kilometres, because it became too dangerous. norwegian helicopters, too, are flying repeat missions here, dropping buckets of water. 0ne fire has caused the evacuation of two nearby towns. with weather warnings issued across almost the entire country,

the wildfires are raging in the summer heat, and thriving in a drought that shows no sign of ending. in the pages of comics books or on the silver screen, one of the staples of science fiction has been the jet pack. a personal rocket—fuelled passport to the stars. well, the space—faring version is still a little beyond our reach, but a more modestjet pack is now available and, if you want, you can buy one yourself. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. it's 2018 — shouldn't we all be flying to work in rocket suits by now? well, if richard browning has his way, we will be doing exactly that. this is a gravity industries series iii jet suit, which is now commercially available for the first time from a department store in london. essentially it's made of five micro jet engines, gas turbines, two on each arm and one on the back. other than that you're charging

some lithium batteries, which are what start the engines, and that's it. other than that, it's flying it sensibly and looking after it. it's not really — i could say rocket science. it is not cheap, either. one of these suits, custom—made, will set you back about £340,000. that is more than $440,000. you can'tjust walk out of the shop, strap yourself in and press ignition, either. there is a bit of work involved before you take off. so that involves the customer going to ourflight training hangar and then spending three days in a series of progressive steps, even starting with a vr system, just to get familiar. a bit like — the analogy of riding a bike is not actually misplaced. the rocket suit can reach a maximum altitude of around 3,500 metres, with a top speed of 51 km/h. but, with a maximum flight time of three or four minutes, you will be able to fly to work, as long as work isn't too far away.

there was so much excitement when it showed up just outside our work this morning. just time to show you this from st ives, in cornwall in south—west england. a blue shark measuring almost 3 metres was filmed in a harbour there. two teenagers shot this video showing it close to shore. blue sharks rarely bite humans but swimmers have been told to stay out of the water. much more of the news on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley. thank you for watching. hello there.

i think there's a little bit of something for everyone in this forecast, some rain and also some warm sunshine. but on wednesday it was a case of high pressure, and most places seeing some sunshine. also quite a bit of cloud around, too, but that did lead to some dramatic sunset photos sent in by our weather watchers. high pressure was the dominant force on wednesday, but we look to the north—west for a tangle of weather fronts which will bring some rain on friday. but first thing on thursday, it's going to be a dry one. variable cloud, some clear spells. quite a warm one to start the day for england and wales, but a few chilly spots across some rural parts of central northern scotland. but thursday promises to be another dry one, i think, for most. probably more sunshine around, across the board, than what we saw on wednesday. just a slim chance of a shower across north—east england and south—east scotland. and then late in the day, breeze and cloud pick up across this north—west corner, with those weather fronts. a little bit of rain here, as well. 15 to 23 degrees in the north, but as high as 28 or 29 celsius across the south—east, so it's going to be warm here. now, this is the tangle of weather fronts which will bring some rain

to northern and western parts of the uk. it will continue to move its way south—eastwards as friday wears on. so a lot more cloud across the northern half of the uk. some substantial rain in places, fairly heavy bursts at times. but as it moves southwards, it will tend to ease and become a little lighter and patchier. so it's going to be a little bit cooler across northern areas, 18 to 20 degrees. further south, though, another warm day, with temperatures reaching 28 or 29 degrees. and then, into friday evening, there is just a slim chance of seeing a thundery downpour move up from the near continent, across the south—east of england in towards east anglia. they will be very few and far between, but if you catch one, you'll certainly know about it. that cold front then continues to sink southwards during the course of saturday, so it may linger on across southern areas for a while. so we could see a fair amount of cloud central, southern england and wales on saturday, the odd spot of light rain on it. to the north, a little bit drier, variable cloud, some spells of sunshine.

temperature—wise, again the high teens celsius, mostly, across northern ireland and scotland. a bit cooler and freser as well across england and wales, 21 to 25 degrees. on sunday it's a warmer day, central and southern areas with more sunshine. further north, a bit breezier and more cloud, with outbreaks of rain. that pressure across western scotland. for the south—east, though, again mid to high 20s celsius. so it's quite a mixed weekend, with variable amounts of cloud, a little bit of rain, but also some spells of warm sunshine. this is bbc news. the headlines: damage limitation still in full swing after president trump's bizarre press conference with the russian leader in helsinki. mr trump has said again that he really does accept the conclusion of us intelligence agencies that russia interfered in the 2016 us election, and now says he holds vladimir putin personally responsible. he was speaking to cbs tv news. the group of boys from thailand who spent two weeks trapped in a flooded cave have paid tribute

to the team who found them, describing their rescue as a miracle. and they honoured saman kunan, the former thai navy seal who died preparing their escape route. the european commission has fined google a record $5 billion over the use of its android operating system. the commission says the tech giant illegally used the technology to cement its dominant position in searches. google plans to appeal.