welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: now they're going for a second summit. the white house announces surprise plans to invite vladimir putin to washington. president trump bats away accusations he's cozying up to russia. getting along with president putin, getting along with russia is a positive, not a negative. with that being said, if that doesn't work out, i'll be the worst enemy he's ever had! britain's new brexit secretary promises to intensify talks with brussels, but the european commission is now warning that no deal looks more likely than ever. south korea's foreign minister tells the bbc she believes north korea will denuclearise, but she's not prepared to put all herfaith in kimjong—un. and a facebook furore, as mark zuckerberg says posts from holocaust deniers should be allowed. russia's president vladimir

putin is being invited to washington by donald trump in the autumn. that news seemed to come as a bombshell this evening to the us director of national intelligence, as american security services still struggle to find out what was agreed earlier this week in the us president's closed—door meeting with president putin. the white house, still under fire for mr trump's bizarre performance at the press conference after the putin meeting, has now said it will not allow russia access to 11 americans it wanted to interrogate, including a former ambassador. mr trump had said earlier it was an interesting idea. but then came news of the invitation to mr putin. here's that news being broken, in public, to dan coats, mr trump's own appointee as us director of national intelligence. he was on stage at the aspen security forum with msnbc‘s

andrea mitchell. we have some breaking news, the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. say that again. laughter. vladimir putin... did i hear you? yeah, yeah. 0k... that's gonna be special. laughter. live now to the bbc‘s chris buckler in washington dc. chris, helsinki the sequel, wow. yes, it does seem bizarre and quite remarkable to some of donald trump's political opponents and some in his republican party that he is rolling out the red carpet to vladimir putin so soon out the red carpet to vladimir putin

so soon after that helsinki summit that frankly had a fallout that was pretty difficult for president trump. whatever he spoke alongside vladimir putin appearing to back his suggestion that russia hadn't interfered in the election back in 2016 against a word of his own intelligence services. of course donald trump has gone back on that and says he backs his intelligence services. dan coats, who you saw, director of national intelligence, he was at the security forum being interviewed on stage when the news broke and he was specifically setting out what the intelligentsia agencies think. he was being diplomatic but he was making very clear that their assessment is that russia interfered in the election with cyber attacks two years ago and that they remain a threat to american diplomacy and that that is a concern with the mid—term congressional elections coming up in just a few months' time. so on the one hand we have these very harsh words from parts of president

trump's administration saying russia area trump's administration saying russia are a menacing government who are doing things that potentially jeopardise democracy, and on the other hand president trump is opening the door and saying come to the white house to see me. and yet with the mid—term elections in mind you have to assume the president is being buoyed by the polls which suggest the american population as a whole might be unhappy with his russia policy but his core supporters love it by a large margin. and we've talked about this before. the truth is there is a divide and little of what president trump does makes a different to the polling because we have president trump's support base firmly behind him and that doesn't look like it is going to change. nonetheless when you look at this on a wider brief you look at this on a wider brief you have to take into account that russia themselves continue to be a threat to america and therefore if there is another situation where the intelligence agencies have to come out to say, listen, potentially this

is an attack, that could be a real problem for president trump but for the moment he appears prepared not just to whether this but to take his own tack, to lead his own way. as far as he is concerned he has the right diplomatic approach and others who he criticise on the sidelines but it is his call at —— as president. more on this later but for now thank you very much. here in the uk the new brexit secretary has promised to intensify and energise negotiations with brussels. the uk's official departure date, next march, is fast approaching, but the european commission has now advised eu member states to step up preparations for a no—deal brexit, anticipating that no formal deal may have been reached by the deadline. from brussels, our europe editor katya adler. a new face in brussels, confronting the same old brexit challenges. michel barnier, the eu's by now rather dour chief negotiator, has been in on this process from the start. our challenge will be to find common ground between the fundamental

principles that define the eu and the uk positions. the smiling enthusiasm of the new brexit secretary came in stark contrast. i come out today to discuss the detailed proposals that we've got in our white paper, that you will have seen. and i'm looking forward to, with renewed energy, vigor and vim, heating up the negotiations, and making sure we're in the best position to get the best deal. is the government stable enough to make a deal with brussels? dominic raab's upbeat message doesn't quite match the political turmoil we've seen this week in westminster. the eu is not convinced by the new brexit secretary's calm, confident message. are you sure? we were really presented several positions, and great britain was facing even some resignings of ministers and of state secretaries. now, we have a new brexit secretary. which has got the eu thinking that the possibility of the uk

crashing out of the club without a deal has become a lot more likely. but what exactly is this no—deal brexit? all this brexit terminology, the political toings and froings, it can make the brexit process seem very theoretical and far away from our everyday lives. which is why the european commission has come up with this — a stark warning about planes, trains and queues at borders, published just as britain's new brexit secretary arrives in town. it is a reminder to eu countries to do more contingency planning, in case, after more than a0 years of being intertwined, the uk and the eu now break apart without any practical agreement in place of how to work together after brexit. remember these kind of border queues when there have been hold—ups in calais in the past? well, expect the same or worse, says the european commission in its paper, if freight trucks, passenger vehicles and travellers

themselves are subject to new, post—brexit checks between the uk and the eu. the eu paper has more warnings of potential disruptions for europeans, including airports, if eu—uk aviation and passenger rights deals are no longer valid. businesses, too, could be affected if the uk is a key exporter or importer of goods, or in the financial services sector. and in security terms, with the uk being taken off eu intelligence sharing databases. a no—deal brexit could have a big impact on northern ireland, too. the prime minister arrived there this evening at the start of a two—day visit. first stop — a china factory, a perfect setting to make assurances about safeguarding the fragile peace process, while preventing the uk from breaking apart. disagreement over the irish border is possibly the biggest elephant in the room in eu—uk brexit talks, with the potential to shatter whatever other progress is made.

mark zuckerberg has once again found himself at the centre of a row, after saying posts from holocaust deniers should be allowed on facebook. in an interview with technology website recode, facebook‘s ceo said that he did not believe such people should be removed from the site. they were not, he said, "intentionally" getting their facts wrong. let's go now to the bbc‘s north america tech reporter dave lee in san francisco. how is this looking? it is looking particularly painful for mark zuckerberg i have to say. this was an interview with a well respected tech journalist in silicon valley named cara swisher and it was so valley named cara swisher and it was so that he could go into the various m essa 9 es so that he could go into the various messages and views it has on dealing with problems facing the site which as we know this year have become a

real issue for the network. instead mark zuckerberg has managed to talk himself into another controversy, speaking about holocaust deniers on facebook, of which there are a significant amount. he said he found it deeply offensive, but that he saidi it deeply offensive, but that he said i don't think they are intentionally getting it wrong and those words many have taken serious issue with, condemning that as of view and thinking holocaust deniers simply have no phase on the network and that they should be covered by facebook‘s hate speech policy which isn't allowed on the network. while mark zuckerberg, himselfjewish, says he finds the comments offensive, he doesn't think the policy should be to remove it. instead he clarified later they will reduce the distribution, so not delete them, but make them harder to see. many don't think that is enough and facebook once again this year is facing huge amounts of criticism. and facebook once again this year is facing huge amounts of criticismm does seem bizarre from a man who is jewish, clearly smart. seems naive

and am thinking to suggest holocaust deniers are not intentional or malicious and that they are just mistaken. yes, and what this shows very strongly is that facebook is really struggling right now to find out what its policies are. on the one hand it says it is a place that is free to say what they please, to have free speech just like in wider discourse in the us, but on the other had it wants to draw some lines when it comes to comments that directly incite violence. many people would say that although a post denying the holocaust might not call for violence directly, it still does naturally create a huge amount of anger and hatred towards certain groups. i think what facebook has found itself in is a real problem trying to define exactly what is bad content and what it wants to do about it. i think frankly it is not just a debate affecting facebook.

other networks will think about this and what their policy should be. for right now because it is the biggest, with 2 billion users worldwide, this isa with 2 billion users worldwide, this is a problem very much on mark zuckerberg's desk. thank you very much for that. let's get some of the day's other news: french prosecutors have opened an investigation into one of president macron‘s senior aides for allegedly assaulting a demonstrator. video footage has emerged of a man wearing a policeman‘s helmet hitting a protester during may day demonstrations. he's been identified as alexandre benalla, an assistant to president macron‘s chief of staff. arab politicians in israel have reacted with fury to new legislation defining the country as a jewish state. the controversial law, adopted after hours of heated debate, also says advancing jewish settlement is a national interest and that the entirety ofjerusalem is the country's capital. it also puts hebrew above arabic as its official language. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: buried for 2,000 years, but what's inside?

an egyptian sarcophagus spills its secrets. coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. thousands of households

across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime, as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: donald trump has defended his relations with russia and said he plans to invite vladimir putin to washington in the autumn. britain's new brexit secretary has promised to intensify talks with brussels, but the european commission is warning that "no deal" looks more likely than ever. let's get more on our main story this hour. we can speak to jeffrey prescott, who served on the national security council and was a special assistant to president obama. he is now executive director at national security action. good to talk to you. how can it be

that there is a new summit being planned when it seemed that america's intelligence services still don't know what was agreed behind closed doors in the last one, and even this one seems to be news to the director of national intelligence? well, you are absolutely right. first of all, thanks for having me. i think it's a little early to talk about a new summit, we don't really know much at all about what happened in the meeting that just all about what happened in the meeting thatjust concluded. what we have seen so far and what we saw obviously in the press conference between president trump and president putin was quite disturbing, both president trump siding with putin over american intelligence agencies when it comes to attacks on the american democracy. with her disturbing things from president trump after that meeting in regards to possible agreements over interviewing a former us ambassador, at which the white house has subsequently walked back, and also concerning reports about agreement that may have been

reached in a very long one—on—one meeting where our secretary of state, as you said, the director of national intelligence and others don't seem to have any idea what happened in the meeting, and all we are getting in terms of reports on the meeting is coming from the russian side. it is quite unusual for a diplomatic endeavour with the sta kes for a diplomatic endeavour with the stakes this high. that is for sure. russian diplomats seem to be celebrating military agreements they say were made behind those closed doors. and yet mr trump is right, isn't it, but getting along with russia or north korea is better than fighting a war with them? well, there is no doubt that diplomacy is important ina there is no doubt that diplomacy is important in a relationship like the one with russia. those kinds of summit meetings can be important. they require preparation, and we have to be very clear eyed about what we are trying to achieve. you know, i think there are a couple of danger going into a meeting like this, andi danger going into a meeting like this, and i think we have seen some evidence of them on the back end. one is the idea that a personal relationship is really going to make a difference. both countries are

really, at the end of the day, and certainly president putin, is going to make decisions on what is in his interests, and it is very important for the united states to make sure does the same. a chummy relationship is not really going to get us very far. in the second idea is that there is some kind of grand bargain, that sitting one—on—one at a table you are going to work out all the issues at once. i think we need to ta ke issues at once. i think we need to take each issue in—turner be hard—nosed take each issue in—turner be ha rd—nosed about it take each issue in—turner be hard—nosed about it and coming out of this meeting we have president trump giving an interview where he questioned, in some ways, the foundational role of nato in protecting the united states and protecting the united states and protecting european security, and thatis protecting european security, and that is quite troubling. thank you very much indeed. thank you. south korea has responded to criticism over the lack of progress in talks to denuclearise the north. since last month's summit with president trump, the north korean leadership has accused washington of gangster—like behaviour in the push for nuclear disarmament. kang kyung—wha told the bbc‘s babita sharma the negotiations still have momentum. last month, the us president met with the north korean leader in unprecedented scenes

in singapore, with the promise of change. but, since then, little has emerged regarding the details of an agreed plan for denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. but south korea's foreign minister, kang kyung—wha, warns the process will take time. it's created an expectation that things are going to move quickly. the issue isjust technically a very complicated one, and we need to give it time. we need to think through the past experience of dealing with north korea on these issues, to ensure that we make progress that is not reversible. the north koreans clearly understand what is at stake, what is expected when they come and declare before the world, at the highest level, complete denuclearisation. do you trust his word? "trust" is a tricky word. we go by action, and we go

by the stated commitment that he has made several times in the international community. there has been a lot of criticism that the issue of human rights abuses in north korea has not been directly addressed. why have you not addressed that? it doesn't mean that we're not concerned. i think it is entirely appropriate that the dire human rights situation in north korea continues to be on the international agenda, and we are very much a part of that discussion. is it at the bottom of the list? as government to government, and trying to deal with what is a security threat not just for us, but for the entire international community, the clear priority now is the nuclear and missiles issue. i asked you earlier if you trust kim jong—un. do you trust donald trump, and his word? well, as i say, i have confidence

in his determination to resolve this issue, and that has been clear from day one. and based upon that determination, combined with my president's determination also, had been the political push that has brought us to this point. what is your biggest concern? um... lack of patience. for the process of denuclearisation? the impatience that — as i said, the extraordinary diplomatic events of this year has created, and the excitement has turned into an expectation that things are going to move it quickly. that political will at the top, on the highest levels of all sides, makes this very different from previous rounds.

but it will require methodic, heavy, focused negotiations all around. south—north, us—north korea, and of course the other countries that have a big stake in this. years? i don't want to prejudge how many years, but it will take time. it is reported british police have identified from cctv footage several suspects responsible for the chemical attack on a former russian spy and his daughter. a woman, dawn sturgess, died after being poisoned by the novichok nerve agent, and her partner is still in hospital. police believe the incidents are linked. daniel sandford reports. in central salisbury this afternoon, troops in gas masks again, gathering possible evidence of the nerve agent attack. the focus on this occasion — a large plastic container, which was taken away for examination. it is now more than four months since sergei skripal and his daughter yulia fell ill, not long after leaving his home, here in a quiet cul—de—sac,

where they had become contaminated by a russian—made, military-grade nerve agent, a novichok, that had been smeared or sprayed on his front door. the cnn network in the united states suggested today that detectives have used cctv and facial recognition software to isolate pictures of two suspects seen leaving britain soon after the attack, though it is not known if they are russian, and it is not clear they have been fully identified. counterterrorism detectives refused to discuss the reports, leaving only the russian ambassador to comment. unfortunately, we don't have official statements of the british side. i want to hear that from the scotland yard or the foreign office. a lot of versions that we here in the newspapers, they are not supported by the statements of the foreign office. the attack ended up taking dawn sturgess's life. she is thought to have been contaminated by a perfume bottle which somehow ended up in her partner's flat. the inquest into her death opened and adjourned at the local

coroner's court today. the coroner confirmed that police had recovered a bottle of liquid novichok. one of the last places dawn sturgess went before falling ill was the queen elizabeth gardens in salisbury. and that has been the focus of the police searches for the last two days. detectives now have a bottle of the possible chemical weapon and may have images of two suspects to work with. this unique investigation appears to be edging gently forward. daniel sandford, bbc news, salisbury. archaeologists in egypt have unsealed a massive black sarcophagus which some suggested might contain the body of alexander the great, or unleash a deadly curse. the huge coffin was found at a construction site in the city of alexandria. gail maclellan reports. tightly sealed and made of black granite, the sarcophagus's

monumental dimensions sparked fevered speculation that it might contain the remains of alexander, the great leader who conquered much of the ancient world and died in 323 bc. other rumours, not entirely serious, warned against opening it and releasing a deadly curse. in the end, neither was the case. when opened, it revealed three skeletons and a red liquid, which gave off pungent smell. egypt's antiquities ministry never believed it was the great man's restingplace. translation: it is not alexander. it is not royal. here is the evidence. we denied it a few days ago, but we we re we denied it a few days ago, but we were sure, i was we denied it a few days ago, but we were sure, i was sure. we denied it a few days ago, but we were sure, i was sure. here is the cough lid, there are no hieroglyphics carvings. it is unfinished. how could this be a king? it might not be a royal sarcophagus, orfull of king? it might not be a royal sarcophagus, or full of pharaoh's gold, but it is still impressive. nearly three metres long and two

metres high, it has lain unopened for more than 2000 years. weighing more than 30 tons, it is the largest sarcophagus ever discovered in alexandria. the occupants will probably remain unknown, and as to the whereabouts of the man who gave the whereabouts of the man who gave the city its name, that will continue to be a tantalising mystery. briefly that main story again, the white house says president trump will be inviting vladimir putin to washington later this year, and discussions are already taking place. the us director of national intelligence was visibly taken by surprise on live television when news of the invitation was broken to him, this despite the continuing criticism of mr trump's summit with the russian leader in helsinki on monday. much more on all the news any time for you on the bbc website. thank you for watching. hello there.

we're set to see a little bit of a change to our weather for the next 2a hours, some very useful rain moving in across northern and western areas. thursday, though, was another fine, dry day. quite warm, too, plenty of sunshine. we start to see the change taking place, though, across the north—west corner of the country. clouds thickening, outbreaks of rain pushing there into the highlands later on in the day. now, during the early hours of friday, that tangle of weather fronts will continue to move south—eastwards slowly across the country, bringing some rain, initially to parts of northern ireland and scotland, with some heavy bursts of rain, turning quite breezy as well. but early on on friday, it's going to be a dry one again for england and wales, bar the odd shower across the extreme south—east. a warm and muggy to start the day, too, but something a bit cooler and fresher in the north, with that cloud and rain. so this is the picture on friday, then. a lot more cloud across northern and western areas, with outbreaks of rain, some of it quite heavy. the rain will tend to become light and patchier as it pushes further

southwards and eastwards. so it will be a cooler day because of more cloud around, the rain, the breeze. temperatures in the mid—to—upper teens celsius. but across the south—east, it could be quite warm again, 2a—25 degrees. now, what we'll see through the afternoon across the south—east is also the risk of some thundery downpours. hit—and—miss showers, generally starting in a line from the wash down to hampshire, and then moving eastwards. if you catch one of these downpours, you really will know about it. it could give rise to some disruption, perhaps some flash—flooding too. now, as we head on in towards saturday, we lose the showers across southern areas, and actually across england and wales will have good spells of sunshine. a little bit of patchy cloud in the afternoon, and there'll also be a bit more sunshine across northern and western areas. so it'll feel that bit warmer, certainly across england and wales, 24—27 degrees. high—teens to low 20s further north. on sunday, again a fine—looking day for much england and wales, and more sunshine around, so it's going to be warmer, too. a bit more cloud further

north, more of a breeze. thicker cloud could bring some outbreaks of rain to western parts of scotland, where it'll be cooler. but eastern scotland will do pretty well. we could be looking at 26—29 celsius in england and wales. then, as we head on in towards next week we'll see this weather front, a new one, waxing and waning across the north—west corner of the country. further south and east, though, we'll be tapping into some very warm and humid air off the near continent, so it's likely we could see temperatures reaching the low 30s celsius in one or two places. so always a little bit cooler and cloudier further north and west, with some fierce heat and humidity further south and east. the latest headlines: the white house says donald trump intends to invite vladimir putin to washington later this year, despite continuing criticism of his summit with the russian leader in helsinki. the us director of national intelligence, who was personally appointed by president trump, was visibly taken by surprise on live tv when the news was broken to him. britain's new brexit secretary has promised to intensify talks

with brussels, as the official departure date — next march — fast approaches. meanwhile, the european commission has advised eu member states to step up preparations for a no deal brexit. south korea's foreign minister has responded to criticism over the lack of progress in talks to denuclearise the north. talking to the bbc, she insisted the negotiations still have momentum. just after 2:30am