hexagon this is bbc news. our top stories — on the brink of a new era. cuba's national assembly considers a new constitution that would bring sweeping reforms. police in los angeles arrest a suspect after a hostage siege at a grocery shop. one woman's been killed. survivors of a boat sinking in the us that claimed 17 lives say the captain told passengers not to use life jackets. president trump attacks his former lawyer in the row over alleged payments to a former playboy model. and knowing the ropes in paris. a novel way of getting a birds eye view of the french capital. hello.

cuba's national assembly is debating the draft of a new constitution which could introduce radical changes to the communist country's economic and social policies. private ownership of property might be recognised for the first time in 50 years and same—sex marriage legalised. will grant reports from havana. after decades of soviet—style socialism, glimpses of meaningful change in cuba. the 1976 constitution isn'tjust going to be reformed. it's 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. whether 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. politically, 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. translation: the principles of equality, justice and humanism that our project has reinforced by the possibility of marriage between two people. i think it is fair. we have discussed it a lot. it's 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 obama administration had hoped to foster through its engagement

with cuba, but since president trump took office, the 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 hope that by recognising private property, they will boost a stagnant economy, and by legalising same—sex marriage they will better reflect a more modern cu ban society. you'll find more detailed information about the changes happening in cuba on our website. there's anaylsis, as well as reports from our correspondents based in the region. go to bbc.com/news — or download the bbc news app. a woman has died at a supermarket in los angeles where a gunman took hostages after a shoot—out with police. a suspect is now in custody after a stand—off lasting three hours. our correspondent james cook has

the latest from los angeles. what we know is this started in central los angeles, south of the downtown area where the suspect was, according to police, accused of shooting his grandmother and his girlfriend before grabbing the younger woman and fleeing across the city. sometime later, officers spotted his car near hollywood and gave chase. as they did so, they say they fired at him —— at them as he went they fired at him —— at them as he we nt a cross they fired at him —— at them as he went across the city and at least one officer fired back. went across the city and at least one officerfired back. in went across the city and at least one officer fired back. in the car crashed in the silverlake area and again, as he got out of the car, another exchange of gunfire with police as the suspect ran into a branch of the supermarket trader joe's. it was busy, shoppers and staff at touk run in panic and some jumped from windows and other clients down a rope ladder. children

we re clients down a rope ladder. children were also carried to safety by heavily armed officers. there was also a stand—off which lasted three hours and after that, the gunmen who had been injured, surrendered and police confirmed a woman had died inside the building. it's not clear exactly how died but we do know that is the gunmen arrived at the front of the store, police opened fire. one eyewitness said windows at the front of traderjoe's had been shot out apparently by bullets from the police and the police and said he had returned fire. it is not clear whether bullets from the suspect of bullets from the police killed the woman inside or whether indeed something of happened after he went inside the shop. he was then detained and swarmed by police. they say he actually negotiated with them for several hours and asked for ha ndcuffs for several hours and asked for handcuffs and eventually he came out and was detained. clearly distressed

and was detained. clearly distressed and shock for people who were out shopping and shock, too, for people who worked at this supermarket. another example of gun violence in the united states. let's get some of the day's other news. thousands of nicaraguans have joined rival demonstrations for and against president daniel ortega in the capital managua. his opponents are demanding his resignation and the release of political prisoners. his supporters accuse anti—government protesters of trying to mount a coup. searches have been continuing at a park where it's believed that two people, poisoned by a nerve agent, may have picked up a contaminated bottle. charlie rowley, whose partner dawn sturgess died, is now out of hospital but still unable to return to his home, which remains cordoned off. spain's main opposition party, the conservative people's party, has chosen a right wing candidate as its new leader. pablo casado succeeds mariano rajoy, who was ousted as prime minister last month after he lost a confidence vote brought by the socialists who now control the government. 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. a woman who lost nine members of her family in a tourist boat accident on a lake in the united states has been describing the disaster. tia coleman said passengers were told they would not need lifejackets but if she had managed to reach one she might have saved her children. 17 people died when the amphibious vehicle, called a "duck boat", sank in stormy weather. sophia tran—thomson reports. 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. oh, 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're 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. president trump has reacted angrily to reports his former personal lawyer taped a conversation in which they discussed payments to a playboy model who claims she had an affair with mr trump. the president has denied any wrongdoing, and said michael cohen's

actions in recording him might have been illegal. the president tweeted: "it's inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer's office — almost unheard of. even more inconceivable, that a lawyer would tape a client — totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. the good news is that your favourite president did nothing wrong!" our washington correspondent, chris buckler, assesses whether the tape could be a problem for the us president. mr trump indicates he is not concerned, but he is clearly angry at both the fbi who sees the tape and michael cohen who made it. he is often referred to as donald trump's personal lawyer, but he was more. he was a fixer who prided himself on making donald trump's problems disappear. and on this tape that was recorded about two months before the election in 2016, they are discussing one of those issues.

karen mcdougal had sold her story of an alleged affair with donald trump to the national inquirer newspaper. and they seem to be discussing on the recording the potential of buying the rights of the story, which would stop it being made public — and, if that was done to stop an embarrassing story from emerging during an election campaign, it could breach campaign finance laws. donald trump insists no such purchase was made, however, at the same time, there was a change of attitude coming from michael cohen — a man who once said that he would take a bullet for donald trump. there has been a pointed statement from his lawyers in which they say that their client will not be harmed by what is on this tape. however, they said, that no amount of spin will change what was said. the us director of national intelligence, dan coats, says he hadn't meant to be disrespectful toward president trump when he reacted with obvious surprise to news the president was planning a second summit with vladimir putin. mr coats said his response earlier this week had been "awkward" vladimir putin... 0k... yeah, yeah.

that is going to be special. mr coats said his response earlier this week had been "awkward" but he, and the entire intelligence community, were committed to providing the best possible support to mr trump. in vietnam at least 10 people have died in floods in the wake of typhoon son teen. heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in the northern coastal region triggering landslides and damaging thousands of houses. large areas of farm land have been damaged and thousands of livestock killed. more rain is expected in the coming days. the authorities injapan are warning people to take precautions as a severe heatwave continues. more than thirty people are reported to have died as a result of the heat over the last fortnight, and thousands more have sought hospital treatment.

in the city of kyoto, temperatures have exceeded 38 degrees for seven consecutive days. olivia 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 i drink lots water. that advice is even more challenging

for the hundreds of volunteers taking part in flood recovery efforts. 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 able to return. the heat is weighing on volunteers' minds as they continue 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. stay with us on bbc news. still to come — knowing the ropes in paris. a novel way of getting a birds—eye

view of the french capital. ok, 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: cu ba's national assembly is considering a new constitution that would bring sweeping reforms, including the recognition of private property. police in los angeles have arrested a suspect after a hostage siege at a grocery shop. one woman's been killed. the french finance minister, bruno le maire, has compared the current us trade policy to the law of the jungle. speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of international finance ministers and central bankers in argentina, he said that a trade war was now a reality. translation: we ask the united states to see sense.

we call for them to respect multilateral rules and to respect their allies. world trade cannot base itself on the law of the jungle, and the unilateral increase in tariffs is the law of the jungle. the law of the jungle, the law of the fittest, this cannot be the future of global trade relations. until the age of 12, martin pistorius had an unremarkable childhood — but then he fell ill with what's known as locked—in syndrome. for over a decade he could see and hear everything around him but no—one knew he was conscious. eventually a carer spotted life in his eyes, setting him on the road to a remarkable recovery. this is his amazing story. i was trapped inside my body for more than a decade. the doctors said i was unaware, but i could see and hear everything. as a child growing up, i was perhaps a little quieter than most, but happy, healthy,

and always busy with something. shortly after my 12th birthday, i became ill. i came home from school with what seemed like a cold, and within months, i was an empty shell of the vibrant little boy i once was. being unable to communicate was the worst, most terrifying feeling ever. i was utterly powerless. i kept my mind busy by escaping into my imagination. living in my mind was the only way i was able to cope and distract

myself from my dire reality. i often wished i could tell people i was in pain, or reassure my mum that she was a good mother, and to simply tell people that i loved them. she recommended i be taken for an assessment, to see if there was an alternative way for me to communicate. my family were overjoyed when, after the assessment, it became clear that i was still in there and had the potential to communicate. i found readjusting to life really difficult. it was absolutely wonderful, but also scary and very daunting. there was so much i didn't know.

in april, we found out we were having a baby. we were both very surprised, perhaps a little shocked, and very excited. i think the most difficult thing about fatherhood for me will be finding effective ways to communicate with the baby. i have experienced extreme loneliness, but it taught me to be comfortable with my own company. i think it is easy to take communicating for granted. everyone says actions are more powerful than words, but i wonder. communication is one of our most powerful tools, and is it not our words that lead to action? the exceptionally dry start to the summer in the uk 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 narrowboat 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.

so it's a difficult decision for us to take, but it's simply down to this glorious summer that we're 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. well, this isjust 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 mm of rain fell between 1 june and 19july 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. now if you're afraid of heights, brace yourself. spectators in paris have been thrilled and had their nerves wracked by a tightrope walker performing in front of one of the city's

most iconic sights. aaron safir has the story. they call paris the city of lights. for one afternoon in the montmartre neighbourhood, it was the city of heights. with the skyline as her backdrop, french tightrope walker tatiana—mosio bongonga started 35 metres above montmartre hill, and inched her way towards one of the city's most famous sites, the sacre—coeur basilica. she wasn't the only one hanging by a thread. down below they looked on and filmed, with wonder, admiration, but also a little fear. this stunt was done without a security cable. translation: it was very surprising and very dangerous. it really impressed me, actually. i noticed that she was not secured. there was a lot of acrobatics. i had a really good time.

even getting to the starting position would scare off the fainthearted. but this stunt has been a year in preparation, all to be carried out one step at a time. and, waiting for her at the end, members of the city's chamber orchestra, who provided the soundtrack for this parisian high—wire act. translation: every walk has something unique, because it takes place somewhere different. here, i had the chance to face a monument, which has never happened to me before. it was something new, and it was magical. 34—year—old tatiana—mosio says she grew up on a tightrope. she started when she was eight, so while she has had time to develop her nerves of steel, her spectators have some catching up to do.

i understand the whole human endeavour thing, but stay on the ground. the japanese olympic committee has revealed their mascots, in costume form, for the tokyo olympics in 2020. the characters were originally chosen in february — miratowa on the left and someta on the right. the mascots were chosen by japanese school children. miratowa will represent events for the olympics and someta will be the symbol for the paralympics. organisors say the olympic mascot "embodies both old tradition and new innovation" and they say the paralympic mascot is a "cool character" with cherry blossom ears and supernatural powers. william and kate 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 photo was 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. to mark prince george's birthday, a new £5 coin has been issued by the royal mint, showing st george and the dragon. that's all from us for now. could

live. —— goodbye. well, looks like the temperatures 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 degrees celsius, but 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 air, stuck in this air mass which is coming off the atlantic. so temperatures dropping no lower than 15 in belfast, 18 degrees in london.

but it is quite overcast, quite murky, mist, even a little bit of drizzle in some areas. so it's sort of a damp feel to things, but it is still very, very warm. now, sunday starts off pretty overcast, and i think the clouds will be thickest through the day across north—western areas, even some spots of rain. but the best chance for the clouds to break up — if sunshine is what you want, then i guess it's good news for the folks across southern areas. and those temperatures will once again get up to around 28 at least in london, 26 in norwich. mid—20s into yorkshire, even newcastle at around 2a celsius. mid—20s for belfast, for aberdeen there. a little bit fresher across western scotland, maybe not quite so warm there in glasgow, but warm enough. and that's how we're going to end the weekend. so bright rather than sunny skies, but cloudy here in the north—west, with some very light rain on and off. and next week, or rather the week ahead, we'll see more weatherfronts

just about pushing into north—western areas, so slightly fresher atlantic air. but ahead of the weather fronts, my goodness, the air is coming all the way from africa, from spain, portugal, across france, and we could see some of the highest temperatures we've seen so far this summer, affecting some south—eastern, eastern and maybe central parts of england. 33 is not out of the question. this is sort of a more conservative estimate there. for london and for norwich, at least 31 degrees, possibly already hitting 33 in one or two spots. but notice northern ireland and scotland, a lot more comfortable here. temperatures mostly into the 20s, and the possibility of a little bit of rain, at least some showers. now, look at those temperatures in london. over 30 degrees pretty much all through the week. mid—20s, so more comfortable there, i think, for you in cardiff. that's it from me. bye— bye. 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. siege at a grocery shop. a gunman had barricaded himself inside the store after crashing his car during a pursuit and exchanging fire with officers. a woman was shot dead inside the shop before he surrendered. about a0 hostages have been freed. 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'.