—— ourtop —— our top stories. the survivors of the boat sinking in the us that claimed 17 lives say the captain told passengers not to use lifejackets. a0 degrees and rising, warnings as japan's deadly heat wave claims dozens of lives. facebook suspends and other analytics firm over concerns about the collection and sharing of user data. and learning the ropes in paris. a novel way of getting a bird's eye view of the french capital. hello and welcome to bbc news. resident tribe has attacked his former lawyer lolling claims that michael cole and secretly taped a conversation about payments to a former playboy model. —— michael

cohen. he claims he has done nothing wrong. karen dougal sold her claims ofan as wrong. karen dougal sold her claims of an as they were donald trump to a newspaper poet has never been published. —— karen dougal. donald trump tweeted. .. even published. —— karen dougal. donald trump tweeted... even more inconceivable that a lawyer would ta ke inconceivable that a lawyer would take a client. totally unheard of and perhaps illegal. —— karen mcdougal. earlier, chris buchler said that michael cohen was more than just said that michael cohen was more thanjust a said that michael cohen was more than just a lawyer to mr trump and had been his fixerfor many 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 of an investigation by the fbi. they raided his offices in april this year and they seized 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 discuss 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, 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 is "inconceivable" that the government should break into a lawyer's offers. but they did have a warrant and they searched his office with regards to 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 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 that does raise two questions. first of all, if mr cohen would not be hurt — is that an indication that somebody else could be? and secondly, what exactly is on tha tape? more analysis and the latest update on the tape recordings on our website. also profile of trump‘s former lawyer michael colin. —— secretary to the survivors of the boat sinking that killed nine members of the same family have been talking about how the disaster happened. seventeen people died when the amphibious vehicle — called a duck boat, went down 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. oh, my god. 0h, we're goin' under. sinking. 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 couldn't hear screams, ijust — it felt like i was out there on my own. and i was yelling and i was screaming and finally i said, lord, just let me die, let me die. i said i can't — i can't keep drowning, just 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 the cause of the accident. the owner of the duck boat has also taken responsibility. what can you say? we are so sorry, i mean, that this happened. it wasjust, something happened and we don't know exactly what it was and we will but it doesn't matter. any time that people suffer a loss like that, it can't be replaced. i mean, it's 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. let's get some of the day's other news. 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. 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. 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 onjuly 30. speaking in harare, the president said that land invasions, instigated by the ousted former president robert mugabe 18 years ago, should no longer happen. the technology giant facebook has suspended a social media firm that analyses the personal data of millions of users. it's part of an investigation into possible links between the company, crimson hexagon, and the russian and us governments. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones has more on why facebook is taking action and how this case compares to its relationship with cambridge analytica. it has a problem with surveillance. using the data and selling it to government. the wall streetjournal reported it had contracts with the

american government and an organisation in russia some kremlin links. therefore, facebook suspended its access to the data, launched an investigation. the company hasn't said much of its chief technology officer chris ingham wrote in a blog... he also said yes, we do have government contracts but we impose strict limits on what we do —— what they do. they are saying they have done nothing wrong. cambridge analytica was accused of collect an 87 million people is the black people's private data —— people's. there is no allegation so far here that this company has done that. it is not how it collected the data. it is not how it collected the data. it is probably 0k. it is what was then done without that is being investigated by facebook. 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. the heat wave has already killed about 30 people. and with thousands more hospitalized for heat—related conditions,

authorities are urging people to stay hydrated. translation: my job is physically demanding so i make sure to drink lots water. that advice is even more challenging for the hundreds of volunteers taking part in flood recovery afterwards. the rain that pounded japan led to flooding and landslides. over 200 people died and more than a500 people who were evacuated are still not ready to return. the heat is weighing on volunteers' 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 rays pounding japan. a new meteorological trial for its citizens, 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 south—east. 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.

i think it is busily related to climate change. it is difficult to quantify. whether as we see it as any time as climate change, it is very likely that we see a strong climate challenge —— climate change signal in level. we need to take precautions. at the same time, we also need to mitigate, to reduce the climate gas emissions. you talk of adapting. what can government is potentially do to try to mitigate some of this extreme weather that seems to be happening far more frequently? mitigation has to do with the emissions of those gases and particles of that affect the climate. to mitigate means to reduce

these emissions and that hath to include has two. we have two not running to really large changes in climate and we need to reduce emissions to zero in the coming decades like the paris accord stated. that is very difficult. adaptation is very important that adaptation without mitigation is almost impossible and very expensive. these two strategies, mitigation and adaptation, need to go hand—in—hand. mitigation and adaptation, need to go hand-in-hand. you mentioned the paris accord. we know the united states is doing disagreement with a lot of that, the current administration of president trump says climate change is potentially not responsible for some of this extreme weather we are seeing so what can be done to bring countries

together to bring some kind of cohesive way to mitigate the problem? the like-minded countries and businesses that do act in the right direction. if we don't have large—scale mitigation effort happening, it will become worse and worse and have social and settling effect. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come — we'll have more on the hot weather in the uk, which has left some canals parched, and now one of britain's longest waterways is to close for a month. 0k, 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: president trump has attacked his former lawyer in the row over

alleged payments to a former playboy model. survivors of a boat sinking in the us that claimed 17 lives say the captain told passengers not to use life jackets. 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 their oath of office on friday. eight of them were brought here by an peace accord. translation: this isa an peace accord. translation: this is a genuinely unique congress, a congress that we would not have even imagined eight years ago. the peace

accord between the government and fa rc accord between the government and farc rebels ended more than 50 years of violence, drawing people like vittorio away from guerrilla tactics in thejungle vittorio away from guerrilla tactics in the jungle and into politics instead. we are here in this congress to defend the interests of the people and territories, and of course to support this piece that colombia so much. now that they have swoi’i'i colombia so much. now that they have sworn to protect our constitution and norms and the 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. former farc commander of iron marketers refuse to take up his seat, partly to protest against the arrest of another rebel who had a congressional seat reserved for him but was instead arrested, wanted by the us on drug trafficking charges. —— ivan marquez. but their fellow

colombians, like many, are divided. some want to scrap the amnesty for fa rc some want to scrap the amnesty for farc commanders who committed crimes and bar them from politics until they serve jail time. the farc should start by telling the country the truth. i do not feel right about them being here. in more than half a century of conflict between the farc and colombia, more than 250,000 people were killed and millions more displaced. those who support the agreements at the opening of this new congress turns another page towards peace. china's president xijinping has signed trade deals with senegal on the first leg of a week—long tour of african countries. senegalese president macky sall welcomed his counterpart to dakar for afternoon talks. there's been some criticism of beijing's growing presence in the country, which has discovered large offshore oil and gas reserves. from there, xi will head to rwanda and then south africa ahead of a brics summit of developing nations starting wednesday. 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. will grant reports from havana. after decades of soviet style socialism, glimpses of meaningful change in cuba. the 1976 constitution isn't just change in cuba. the 1976 constitution isn'tjust going to be reformed. it is being completely rewritten. key to the changes, private property recognised on the communist run island for the first time in generations. naturally, the state will remain the biggest factor

in this caribbean controlled economy, but including private property rights in the new constitution gives legal protection to the thousands of small businesses which cropped up since raul castro changed the economic rules a decade ago. weather small restaurants or modest accommodation, private enterprise has been propping up the boom in cuban tourism. finally, their right to exist will be enshrined in law. term limits are set to be imposed on the new president, of two consecutive five—year terms. socially, too, a huge breakthrough. after decades of a shameful record on gay rights, now there will be a recognition of marriage in cuba as no longer solely between a man and a woman, but simply between two people instead. the principles of equality, justice and humanism that our project has a reinforced by the possibility of marriage between two people. i think

it is fair. we have discussed it a lot. it is fair. astonishingly, even the very word communism has been struck from the constitution, replaced with the more accessible "socialism". these were the sorts of changes the 0bama administration had hoped to foster through its engagement with cuba, but since president trump took office, the bilateral relationship has almost com pletely bilateral relationship has almost completely frozen once again. as always, change in cuba is closely slow. even once this new constitution is approved, it will still go to a national referendum. but the leadership he hoped that by recognising private property, they will boost a stagnant economy, and by legalising same—sex marriage they will better reflect a more modern cuban will better reflect a more modern cu ban society. the exceptionally dry start to the summer is forcing the closure of one of britain's longest waterways. 55 miles of the leeds and liverpool canal will shut for a month

at the end ofjuly, because of concerns over water supplies. phil bodmer has the story. a narrow boat navigates barrowford lock on the leeds liverpool canal. but from the end of this month, that will no longer be possible as a 55 mile stretch of one of britain's most popular waterways is closed simply because of a lack of water. we have not got the water to feed into the canal to keep them going. it is a difficult decision for us to take but it is simply down to this glorious summer that we are all enjoying. the leeds liverpool canal, which crosses the pennines through yorkshire and lancashire, is the longest man—made waterway in britain. it is also one of the highest, with water travelling downhill from huge reservoirs it is stored in. this is just one of a number of reservoirs high in the pennines which feeds the canal network. at the moment, as you can see, it is around 20% of its total capacity. indeed, sheep are now even beginning to graze where the water level should be.

just 50 millimetres of rain fell between the first ofjune and the 19th ofjuly this year. meaning this is the driest summer since records began. despite recent rain in the north—west of england, it is not enough to replenish depleted reserves. phil bodmer, bbc news, lancashire. 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 8 years old, and has spent the last year preparing for this stunt. more than 1,00 spectators have gathered to cheer on the release of two sea turtles, who were rescued and rehabilitated at an animal hospital in florida.

-- 1,000. they've been fitted with satellite trackers and returned to the ocean to become part of the tour de turtles, an annual event which follows the long—distance migration of different species of sea turtles. and here in the uk the royal family will be celebrating prince george's fifth birthday today. this new official picture of the prince has been released, showing him looking rather happy. the snap was apparently taken after the christening of his brother prince louis in the garden of clarence house, the official residence of the duke and duchess of cambridge. that is it for world news. i am sharanjit leyl. that is it for world news. i am shara njit leyl. thanks that is it for world news. i am sharanjit leyl. thanks for watching. well, looks like the temperatures are going to soar over the coming daysin are going to soar over the coming days in some parts of the country. we got up to 29 on saturday. sunday

will be similar. so we are technically already in a heatwave, but the really hot air is set to return from monday. temperatures will be in excess of 30 celsius. this is true mostly for south—eastern parts of the uk. in the short term we have weather fronts close to north—western parts of the uk. in fact, this weather front is responsible for bringing a lot of cloud through the early hours of sunday morning, and also very humid airstuck in of sunday morning, and also very humid air stuck in this air mass which is coming off the atlantic. temperatures dropping no lower than 15 degrees in belfast, 18 in london. quite overcast, quite murky, misty and with a bit of drizzle in some areas. a damp feeling to things, but it is still very, very warm. sunday sta rts it is still very, very warm. sunday starts off overcast and i think the clouds will be thickest through the day across north—western areas, even some spots of rain. the best chance for the clouds to break up, if sunshine is what you want, it is

good news for those in southern areas. temperatures once again getting up to 28 in london, 26 in norwich. mid—20s into yorkshire, even newcastle will be around 2a. mid-205 even newcastle will be around 2a. mid—20s for belfast and aberdeen. a little bit fresher across western scotland, maybe not quite so warm in glasgow. warm enough. that is how we are going to end the weekend. bright rather than sunny skies, but cloudy here in the north—west, with some very light rain on and off. next week, or rather in the week ahead, week, or rather in the week ahead, we will see more weather fronts pushing on to north—western areas, with slightly fresher atlantic air. ahead of the weather fronts, that air is coming all the way from africa, from spain and portugal, across france. so we could see some of the highest temperatures we have seen so of the highest temperatures we have seen so far this summer, affecting some south—eastern, eastern and maybe central parts of england. 33 degrees is not out of the question. for london and norwich, at least 31,

possibly already hitting 33 in one or two spots. northern ireland in scotland, much more comfortable. temperatures mostly in the 20s, and the possibility of a little bit of rain. look at those temperatures in london. 0ver rain. look at those temperatures in london. over 30 degrees pretty much all through the week. much more co mforta ble all through the week. much more comfortable in cardiff. that's it from me. this is bbc news. the headlines — president trump has hit out at his former lawyer, michael cohen, after claims he secretly recorded them talking about payments to a former playboy model. mr trump said it was inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client, and insisted he'd done nothing wrong. survivors of the boat sinking in the us that clamed 17 lives have been giving their accounts of the disaster. one woman, who lost nine members of her family, said the captain told the passengers not to grab the life jackets as they ‘wouldn't need them'. people injapan have been

urged to take precautions after the death toll in the country's heatwave rose to 30. thousands more have sought hospital treatment for heat—related conditions. temperatures reached a0 degress celcius in central japan earlier this week, the highest for five years. now on bbc news, from mama mia! here we go again to incredibles 2, mark kermode takes us