this is bbc world news today. president trump attacks his former lawyer in the row over alleged payments to a former playboy model. survivors of a boat sinking that killed nine members of the same family have been talking about how the disaster happened. i couldn't see anybody, i couldn't hear anything. i felt like i i couldn't see anybody, i couldn't hear anything. ifelt like i was i couldn't see anybody, i couldn't hear anything. i felt like i was out there on my own. people urged to take precautions after the death toll in the japanese heatwave rises to 30. and a novel way of getting a bird's eye view of paris. thank you for watching world news today. president trump has attacked his

former lawyer following claims that michael cohen secretly taped a conversation about payments to a former playboy model. mr trump said it was "inconceivable" that a lawyer would tape a client, and he had done nothing wrong. karen mcdougal sold her account of an alleged affair with the president to a newspaper before the 2016 election — though its never been published. donald trump tweeted. .. earlier, our correspondent in washington, chris buckler, said that michael cohen was more than just a lawyer to mr trump and had been his fixer for many years. he prided himself on being able to make problems go away for donald trump. however, his business dealings are currently the subject ofan

dealings are currently the subject of an investigation by the fbi. they raided his offices in april this year and they see is some documents, phones and computers and it seems as though they also took this taped conversation which dates back to 2016, a couple of months before the presidential election took place here in the us. it seems in this conversation they distil us karen mcdougal selling her story to the national enquirer and they talk about the potential of them buying the rights of that story from the tabloid newspaper. if they were to do that, it means it would effectively silence her because they would own the rights to the story and she wouldn't be able to talk about it until it was published. we have had this tweet from donald trump in which he is very angry at, not just the trump in which he is very angry at, notjust the fbi but also michael cohen, who dealt with donald trump's private business for many years. do we know if donald trump is right in

suggesting a lawyer secretly recording a client was, as he says, totally unheard of and perhaps illegal? it seems not. in new york as long as one person involved in the discussion gives their consent, it can be recorded. if michael cohen knew he was recording the conversation, effectively, he could go ahead and record it, according to the law. he also said in a tweet that it the law. he also said in a tweet thatitis the law. he also said in a tweet that it is inconceivable that the government should break into the lawyer's offers. but they did have a warrant and they searched his office with regards this ongoing investigation. michael cohen's own lawyer has said he has his family as his priority. in the past he said he would take a bullet for donald trump, but he has given every indication he's more concerned about his family and himself going

forward. mr cohen's representative said, as faras forward. mr cohen's representative said, as far as he was concerned, he believed his client wasn't hurt about what was on the tape. he went on to say no amount of spin could change what had actually been recorded. but does raise two questions. first of all, if mr cohen would not be heard, is that an indication that somebody else could be? and secondly, what exactly is on tape. and you can find more analysis and the latest updates, on those reported tape recordings on our website. there's also a profile about trump's former lawyer michael cohen. that's at bbc.com/news. survivors of the boat sinking that killed nine members of the same family have been talking about how the disaster happened. 17 people died when the amphibious vehicle, called a "duck boat" went down in stormy weather on table rock lake in the us state of missouri. the victims were aged between one and 70. sophia tran—thomson has this report. these boat passengers

filming a sudden storm on table rock lake while out on tour, seem unaware of the danger they are in. oh no, no. oh my god. it's going under. further ahead of them, another boat couldn't cope in the severe weather. of the 31 on board, more than half were killed. one of the survivors said as conditions worsened, the passengers were not told to put life vests on, but to stay seated. i couldn't see anybody. i couldn't hear anything. i could hear screams, ifelt like i was out there on my own. and i was yelling, i was screaming. and finally i said, "lord, just let me die, let me die." i said, "i can't keep drowning, ijust can't keep drowning." that's how i felt.

and then ijust let go and i started floating. nine members of herfamily died in the accident. according to the national weather service, the winds were over 100 kilometres per hour and the authorities say whether is and the authorities say weather is the cause of the accident. the owner of the duck boat has also taken responsibility. what can you say? you know, we are so sorry this happened. it was just... something happened and we don't know exactly what it was. it doesn't matter, any time people suffer a loss like that, they can't be replaced. it is absolutely devastating. investigators say a preliminary report should be complete in a month. but there are still several unanswered questions about whether the boat crew was aware of the weather warnings and why the passengers didn't have life vests on.

sophia tran—thompson, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: spanish congressman, pablo casado, has been elected leader of the opposition conservative people's party. he's expected to take the party further to the right. mr casado succeeds mariano rajoy who lost a parliamentary vote of confidence last month. three policemen in paris have been detained for questioning for leaking images of a french presidential bodyguard hitting a demonstrator. emmanuel macron has sacked his aide, alexandre benalla, but there has been continued criticism of the failure of the elysee to act swiftly. france's interior minister has been summoned to answer questions in the national assembly on monday. the indian government says it's exempting sanitary towels from goods and services tax after months of protests by activists. the government introduced the tax, known as gst, on all goods a year ago, and there was widespread anger at the 12% duty on menstrual hygiene products. zimbabwe's president,

emmerson mnangagwa has told white farmers that their land will not be taken and that they should work together with the government ahead of elections on july 30th. speaking in harare, the president said that land invasions, instigated by the ousted former president robert mugabe 18 years ago, should no longer happen. people across japan have been urged to take precautions against a heatwave that has killed about 30 people. thousands more have sought hospital treatment for heat—related conditions. temperatures reached a0 degrees in centraljapan earlier this week, the highest for five years. 0livia crellin reports. earlier this month, western japan looked like this. after being buffeted by severe storms and waves of up to nine metres. now, the waves look somewhat more inviting as temperatures have

rocketed to over a0 celsius in some parts. a five—year nationwide high. translation: it's hot all overjapan. it was 39 celsius yesterday, and the day before. when i was a kid the hottest day was about 33 degrees. the recent climate is surely abnormal. it's a dangerous high. and it's already killed about 30 people. and with thousands hospitalized for heat related conditions, authorities are urging people to stay hydrated. translation: my job is demanding so i majored to drink lots water. that advice is even more challenging for the volunteers taking part in flood recovery afterwards. the rain that pounded japan led to flooding and landslides.

over 200 people died and more than 2500 people who evacuated are still not ready to return. the heat is weighing on their minds as they continued the clean—up effort. translation: i will take care not to get sick from the heat because that would only cause trouble for other people. it's no longer rain, but raise down injapan. it's no longer rain, but rays pounding japan. a new meteorological trial for assistance but for some, like these children soaking up the sun on a beach open for the first time since the country's 2011 tsunami, the weather means summer has arrived. japan is not the only place where we are seeing extreme heat and other weather events. in sweden, people have been evacuated from certain areas as dozens of forest fires rage across the country as far north as the arctic circle. sweden has been struggling to cope with the amount of fires in unusually hot conditions. severe thunderstorms have affected parts of the us southeast. there have been tornadoes

in iowa, and wind damage in kansas and missouri. and here in the uk, there's been no substantial rain since may, with temperatures tipping past 30 degrees celcius. water restrictions have been brought in for some areas. so what's behind these weather events? and to what extent are they linked to climate change? 0ystein hov is a professor at the norwegian meteorological institute. it is obviously related to climate change but how much, it is difficult to quantify. whether at the moment has a climate change component in it and it has been unusual in the terms of temperatures. climate change also has a component of adaptation to it.

you need to take precautions and at the same time, there are things we need to mitigate and that is to reduce the climate gas emissions. you talk about adapting, what can governments potentially do to try to mitigate this extreme weather that seems to be happening far more frequently? it has to do with the emissions of those gases and particles affecting the climate. to mitigate means to reduce these emissions and that is the way we use fossils fuels for instance. that is the mitigation part. we need to reduce emissions to zero in a couple of decades like the paris accord stated. it is very difficult. so

adaptation is very important, but adaptation is very important, but adaptation without mitigation is almost undoable and very expensive. so these two strategies, mitigation and adaptation, they need to go hand—in—hand. and adaptation, they need to go hand-in-hand. you mentioned the paris accord and we note the united states is still in this agreement with a lot of that, the current administration of president trump says climate change is not responsible for some of this extreme weather we are seeing. what can be done to bring countries together to create some sort of cohesive way to mitigate the problem? the like—minded countries and the like—minded countries and the like—minded businesses, they have to act in concert to go in the right direction. if we don't have large—scale mitigation happening, we will punish ourselves. if we don't do it now, it will become worse and worse. stay with us on bbc

world news, still to come... we meet nine—year—old meghan — the schoolgirl who's helping to keep a quarter of a million london commuters safe on the underground. can see you coming down the ladder now. it'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 concord, 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 world news today. our top story: president trump attacks his former lawyer in the row over alleged payments to a former playboy model. it was an historic moment in colombian politics. eight former members of the farc rebel group turned politicians after 2016 s peace accord, took their seats among the rest of the country's lawmakers. but they're joining an openly hostile congress and those divisions are likely to overshadow this sitting. rylee carlson reports. hundreds of colombian lawmakers took

office. eight of them brought because of the peace accord. translation: this is a unique congress, congress we wouldn't have imagined eight years ago. the peace accord between the government and fa rc accord between the government and farc rebels ended the violence. it brought them into politics instead. translation: we are here in this congress to defend the interests of the people and the territories and of course to support this piece that colombia needs so much. translation: now they have sworn to protect our constitution and the norms and principles of our republic, welcome to this temple of democracy. the

accord provided the political party with five seats in each of the upper and lower chambers. the former farc commander refused to take up his seat partly to protest the arrest of another rebel who had a seat reserved for him but was arrested on drug trafficking charges. but their fellow lawmakers are divided. the right wing president—elect wants to adjust the peace accord and scrap amnesty for fa rc adjust the peace accord and scrap amnesty for farc commanders who committed crimes and bar them from politics until they serve jail time. translation: the farc should start by telling the truth and ask for forgiveness for their crimes. by telling the truth and ask for forgiveness for their crimeslj by telling the truth and ask for forgiveness for their crimes. i do not feel right with them being here. in more than half a century of conflict with farc in colombia 250,000 people were killed and even more displaced. those who support the opening hope this turns another page towards peace.

cu ba's national assembly are debating a new constitution which would bring sweeping reforms if passed by a public vote. the changes would see public property recognised for the first time on the communist run island since 1976, and would drastically reduce the state's control of the economy. foreign businesses would also be able to invest in the country. the bbc‘s cuba correspondent, will grant is in havana. i think this is about modernising the constitution to reflect some of the constitution to reflect some of the changes that do already exist under raul castro. he allowed certain relaxations of the economic rules so you could have a private business, for example. this idea you could have private property, essentially have a business with a number of employees and that would be enshrined in law, but is significant. we're looking at the other things, some of them

political. for example, the imposition terms on the president, two consecutive five—year terms. in some of them social, like the recognition of same—sex marriage. holly hamilton has all the sport. hello and thanks for joining us on sport today. once again the americans are circling around a major tournament. the third round has finished at the open at carnoustie and once again the top of the leaderboard is heavily decorated with stars and stripes. defending champion jordan spieth, xander schauffele and kevin kisner share the lead on nine under par. let's take a look at the leaderboard in full. another american, kevin chappell, is on seven under. italy's francesco molinari breaks up the american dominance at six under. the american dominance at six under. and then a group of seven players on five under including 2014 champion rory mcilroy and a man who many thought would never play again at this level again — tiger woods.

i have shown that i have been their close enough with a chance to win this year. given what happened over the last few years, i did know if it would ever happen again. but here i am. chance came on sunday for a major championship. ferrari's sebastian vettel will start the german grand prix from pole after delivering a blistering lap in the dying moments of qualifying. and he'll be confident of extending his eight point lead at the top of the formula one championship standings at his home grand prix, because his title rival lewis hamilton, will be back in 14th after his mercedes broke down. i felt ifelt in q1 i felt in 01 the car can do it. sometimes you just know, but you still have to do it. itjust kept getting better and the last lap i had it in me. i was able to squeeze everything out. so i am still full of adrenaline. team sky's geraint thomas retained the yellowjersey as 0mar fraile won stage 1a of the tour de france.

the top three in the standings crossed the line together as thomas followed home team—mate chris froome and team sunweb's tom dumoulin. thomas retained his lead of one minute 39 seconds over froome, with dumoulin a further 11 seconds back. there were more boos for thomas during he stage, but he said after he would rather be booed on the podium than cheered on a bus taking him way from the race world cup fever has returned this weekend, as the women's hockey world cup got under way in london earlier today — the last match of the day finishing in the next few minutes between australia and japan. the score 3—1 to the hockeyroos. a comfortable win for germany in pool c earlier — beating south africa 3—1. but the biggest upset from ireland though who beat the united states 3—1 thanks to a deirdre duke double and a shirley mccay strike — putting them at the top of pool b.

and the hosts england began theircampaign — with a disappointing 1—1 draw with india.. it is very daunting to play in front of all these people, you just want to make them proud. i am very emotional about how many people have come to see us. they pulled us through the last quarter and you feel everyone is behind you and wishing you well. american ronnie baker has won the 100 metres race on the first day of the anniversary games in london though, who won the race in 9.90 seconds. baker had just too much for highly rated british sprinter zharnel hughes and won the race in a time of 9.90 seconds, hughes finsihed second ahead of commonwealth games gold medallist akani simbine and former world champion yohan blake. that's all the sport for now. we all have our own experiences

of hearing loud speaker announcements at railway stations. some are easier to understand than others. for the last six months, one of london's busiest underground stations has been trying an unusual way of getting passengers' attention. dougal shaw reports. around 250,000 people use victoria station in london each weekday, and for past few months, they've been hearing an unusual voice. meet the station's newest — and youngest — safety announcer, nine—year—old megan. her proud parents both work at the station. i said to my colleague that my wife was bringing down the two kids to meet me after work and he said, "would megan mind doing a pa announcement?" she does like a bit of acting. i knew she's be up for it. i was really nervous when i first was going to do it but then once i did it, i thought, "this is actually 0k!" hello, everybody, and please listen up. take care on the escalators, hold on to the handrail and your luggage. megan's recorded announcement

is designed to tackle a serious problem — around ten people a day get injured on the underground network. what we have noticed is that when people do injure themselves, it's typically because they are not taking enough care when using stairs and escalators. at victoria alone, on average, 15 people a month are injured this way. for some passengers, at least, megan's message seems to be getting through. gets your attention straight away. you think, "0h, what's going on?" i think everyone takes notice when a child says something, and because they don't — you know, they always mean it. so what does somebody who studies the psychology of the human voice make of this? research shows that deeper adult voices are perceived by humans as having more authority than higher voices, so a child's voice wouldn't have that authority. but perhaps it's the shock factor of using a child's voice. it may be just a short—term result from this shock factor, but the station says injuries have dropped by nearly two—thirds since megan's announcement started.

do you think adults listen enough to children? um, no. they should listen more to children because, sometimes, children are right. dougal shaw, bbc news. now if you're afraid of heights, then look away as — we're just going to show you some pictures of french tightrope walker tatiana—mosio bongonga scaling the skyline above montmartre hill in paris. ms bongonga walked on the cord, suspended 35 metres from the ground, with no security cable attached to her costume. she's been tightrope walking since she was eight years old, and has spent the last year preparing for this stunt. we will leave you with some of those incredible pictures. the weekend is turning out to be not

too hot for most of us. low 20s, bit of cloud in the sky and that this how it will remain for the rest of the weekend. it still will be warm in the south compared to what we normally get at this time of year, but hotter weather is on the way. the jet stream is but hotter weather is on the way. thejet stream is making but hotter weather is on the way. the jet stream is making a but hotter weather is on the way. thejet stream is making a brief appearance and sending some clouds and a few spits and spots of rain are way, not really enough and we do need the rainfall. but tonight, it isa need the rainfall. but tonight, it is a case of thick cloud across many northwestern and western parts of the country. very muggy, 15 in belfast and 18 in london. it is very moist air coming off the atlantic. it will be with us through tomorrow and it might be murky andrew 0sagie in some north—western coasts. but to the east and the south it is a case of broken summertime cloud and a

beautiful day on the way. how warm will it be on sunday? temperatures will it be on sunday? temperatures will be up to 28 degrees in london, but generally speaking, the mid 20s across southern and western parts of the uk and maybe 25 in hull. then the uk and maybe 25 in hull. then the more northern parts of the country, scotland, we are talking about 15 degrees in stornoway and 20 or so about 15 degrees in stornoway and 20 orso in the about 15 degrees in stornoway and 20 or so in the western isles, but eastern scotland could be in the mid—20s. tomorrow, not much change across mid—20s. tomorrow, not much change a cross m ost mid—20s. tomorrow, not much change across most of the country but in the northwest we will see a bit of rain. these little weather fronts will be making a brief appearance here and some rain will be moving into the western areas of the country next week. to the south of that we will see how their so the temperatures are expected to get into the 30s across the southern half of the uk. —— we will see hot air. temperatures set to climb from monday onwards. pressure in

north—western parts of scotland, only maybe around the high teens for stornaway. a warm start to the week under way and the temperatures will keep on climbing. look at those values for london, 30 degrees pretty much every single day, mid—20s in cardiff, belfast isn't bad either. goodbye. this is bbc world news, the headlines: president trump attacks his former lawyer in the row over alleged payments to a former playboy model. mr trump said it was inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client, and he had done nothing wrong. survivors of the boat sinking that killed nine members of the same family have been talking about how the disaster happened. 17 people died when the amphibious "duck boat" capsized in missouri. people injapan have been urged to take precautions after the death toll in the country's heatwave rose to 30. temperatures reached a0 degress celcius in central

japan earlier this week and a massive clean up effort is under way in the dominican republic where tonnes of plastic has washed into its once prestine coastline. officials say they have already scooped up around 60 tonnes.