a very warm welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: a deadline passes for the us government to try to reunite families separated by donald trump's zero tolerance policy. former world cricket star, imran khan, claims victory in pakistan's election, promising the people he'll fight corruption. translation: whatever the ruling elite has been doing in pakistan so far with the taxpayers‘ money, i'm promising you today that i will change all of that. bruised and bewildered. the children who survived the laos dam collapse. we've just found this shelter where hundreds of people are now gathered. they want food, water, blankets, medicine, if they need it. talking to people here, they all tell you the same story. they had very little time to escape. # the magical mystery tour... and a blast from the past. how sir paul mccartney got back

to where he once belonged. hello. a deadline has now passed for the us government to try to reunite families separated at its southern border by donald trump's controversial zero tolerance policy. under that policy, aimed at discouraging illegal immigration, more than 2500 children have been separated from their parents and detained. in the latest figures filed in court by the government, 1800 children have been brought back to their families, but government lawyers say more than 700 were not eligible — in many cases, because the parents were no longer in the united states. 0ur correspondent, aleem maqbool, has been talking to some of the migrant familes on the us—mexico border. yessica has had to wait in what has been the worst time of her life. earlier this year, us immigration

officials took away her six—year—old son, not telling her where they were sending him. evenjoking, she says, that they were giving him up for adoption. the last time we saw her, yessica had been desperately trying to find out anything she could about her son's whereabouts. crying finally, weeks later, the agony is over. "i'm the happiest woman in the world", yessica says, "having this little one with me." and across the us, there's been a flurry of reunions of immigrant parents and their children, after a court gave the trump administration a deadline. but this is certainly not the happy ending for many migrants. the us has already deported hundreds of parents without their children, and we know it currently views many more to be ineligible for reunification, and we ourselves have just spoken on the phone with a mother inside this detention facility who was one of many

immigrant parents who are still waiting to hear as to when they'll see their child again. maritza came from honduras with her 11—year—old daughter, from whom she was separated. she's seen no sign they will be reunited. translation: in here, you feel forgotten because you are locked in four walls. we spend our days waiting for good news, but nothing comes. i'm not a bad person. my only mistake is coming here illegally. for maritza, coming across the border in the window during which donald trump suddenly decided to implement a much tougher stance has been a disaster. but others celebrated that change, including many whose job it is to catch illegal immigrants. the idea of adding a consequence to an unlawful act paid dividends. even if it meant separating families? if you are shopping with your child at walmart and you're shoplifting,

you get arrested. is that child going to go with you to countyjail? no, they will be separated, because you as an individual who violated the law need to be prosecuted. but some parents have paid the penalty of being deported without their sons and daughters. lawyers have been shocked by government tactics used to get parents to sign away the right to reunification. deportation officers are going into people's barracks and cafeterias, and some people truly feel they are being forced to sign this without the presence of an attorney, and now they're not ever going to have a chance to reunify with her child. this is changing the course of a child's and a parent's life forever. yessica realises she is lucky to be back with here son.

"if i could do it all again", she says, i would never have come over here with him." "it is the worst thing to happen to a mother, to be separated from her child." she now hopes for a better future in the us where the immigration case is being considered. but hundreds of parents who wanted the same thing for their families are still living through agony. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in el paso, texas. i'll be speaking to a lawyer with the american civil liberties union for her reaction in just a few minutes. the former pakistan cricket captain, imran khan, has claimed victory in the country's general election. his party has won the most seats and he is set to become prime minister. but his opponents claim widespread vote—rigging and interference from the military and security services. 0ur pakistan correspondent secunder kermani reports. crowds gathered outside imran khan's home on the outskirts of islamabad, hoping for a glimpse of the man set to become pakistan's new prime minister. he can bring real reforms, and we think that he's the only one who can take pakistan forward in the right direction. from inside his home,

imran khan addressed the nation. pakistanis across the country watched him promise to create a fairer, more equal society. translation: we will run pakistan in a way it has never been run before. we'll provide the kind of governance it has never had. khan first became a star as an international cricketer. in britain, he was known for his good looks and playboy lifestyle. in 1995, he married, then later divorced, british socialitejemima goldsmith. he developed a keen interest in charitable causes, one he shared with his friend, princess diana. after entering politics 22 years ago, he initially struggled but in recent years, his anti—corruption message has energised young voters. he has, however, faced accusations that pakistan's powerful military has been working behind the scenes

to bring him to power. his political rivals have rejected the results of the vote. we are all united tomorrow in islamabad and we will be giving our strategy to the people of the country from a united political front, and we will spell out our concerns over these historic rigged elections in pakistan. khan's party, though, dismissed those claims. for his supporters, imran khan represents a break with the old form of politics, one that was dominated by a few influential families. imran khan's promised to create a new pakistan, but as prime minister, he'll face real challenges. chief amongst them will be reaching out to those who didn't vote for him, as well as the continuing questions about the fairness of this election. secunder kermani, bbc news, islamabad. let's go live now to annapolis, maryland, and speak

to michael kugelman, senior associate for south asia at the wilson centre. michael, good to talk to you. when imran khan promises a fairer and more equal society, toulon pakistan ina way more equal society, toulon pakistan in a way that it has never been on before, what do you make of it? what do you think are his chances? before, what do you make of it? what do you think are his chance57m going to be very difficult to transform pakistan in the way that he would like to. —— it is. pakistan isa he would like to. —— it is. pakistan is a very volatile, complex country on the one thing that has attracted people to imran khan is his idealism and his optimism that things can be done differently, that you can take these big reforms and bring about dramatic transformations in the country. but i do think that he will eventually have two scale back his ambitions. imran khan and his party have never held national power before, so i think they will learn that once you are in the halls of

power, so that once you are in the halls of power, so to speak, what you say out on the campaign trail and what you say that plays well to public opinion when you on the outside, it does not work when you're actually in the government, trying to get these things done. he faces a bunch of challenges, forming a coalition in the first place, running a minority government, then as he himself is says, the economy, corruption, seeking a balanced relationship with the united states. first of all though, of course, the other major parties may challenge the result. how do you expect that to go? yeah, it remains to be seen. they actually think things may quite down. as we know, everytime there is an election pakistan, the losing party ‘s alleged wrong. so the parties that are decrying begin here, they have several options. —— losing parties allege. they could well ta ke to losing parties allege. they could well take to the streets, or they

could appeal. i think that is the bigger risk giving you have so many parties alleging fraud, and you could have many people taking to the streets if they wanted to go that route, and that could be very precarious. i really do not know if it will come to that given that pti's margin of victory appears to be so large. i think it would be very ha rd to be so large. i think it would be very hard to think that these parties will have their concerns addressed, rather than overturning the election victory. he has changed his style quite a lot since he was a cricket star and in the 22 years since he entered politics. how do you think is character will play into this? is such a contradiction. he was seen as someone

into this? is such a contradiction. he was seen as someone who into this? is such a contradiction. he was seen as someone who is co mforta ble he was seen as someone who is comfortable in the west and he has really reinvented himself as a conservative islamist, which actually works out very well in pakistan. —— he is. perhaps it works out very well to betray yourself that way because pakistan certainly isa that way because pakistan certainly is a very conservative and religious nation, and that has helped to win this election. michael, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. turkey is saying it will not tolerate us threats over a detained american pastor, whose trial on terrorism charges is straining relations. it comes after president trump demanded that turkey immediately release andrew brunson, who was transferred to house arrest on wednesday. he has spent 21 months in prison. the us vice president says there will be consequences. if turkey does not take immediate action to free this innocent man of faith and send him home to america, the united states will impose significant sanctions on turkey until pastor andrew brunson is free. mike pence there.

michel barnier, the eu's chief brexit negotiator, has dismissed some of the main elements of britain's proposal for a new customs arrangement. mr barnier‘s been holding talks in brussels with britain's brexit minister, dominic raab. he said the eu could not delegate its customs policy and tax duty collection to a non—member. shares in facebook plummeted almost 20% as trading opened in new york, wiping about $120 billion off the company's market value. a day ago, the social media giant forecast that profits would increase more slowly. facebook executives blamed the cost of improving privacy safeguards and monitoring content, coupled with slowing growth. hundreds of people are still believed to be missing after the collapse of a dam in a remote part of laos. at least 27 people died. 0ur correspondent, nick beake, is the first western correspondent to gain access to the area in attapeu province and has sent this report. bruised, bewildered and with no idea

if their parents are still alive. the stories from the hospital nearest the collapsed dam tell you all you need to know about the ferocity of the flood it unleashed. this man and his wife quietly explain how their one—year—old daughter was swept away. translation: i put my daughter and my wife on a boat. i tried to hold it, but the water was very strong, and the boat flipped over, and my daughter fell into the water. it all happened right before my eyes. it's feared as many as 3000 people are still stranded in this part of southern laos, their rooftops now islands in a murky sea of despair. the authorities are reluctant for the world to see this and so have banned foreign journalists, but we managed to press on undetected and find more survivors. well, we've just found the shelter,

where hundreds of people are now gathered. they want food, water, blankets, medicine, if they need it. talking to people here, they all tell you the same story — they had very little time to escape, their homes have been destroyed by the flood water, and this now is the reality of their life. this evening, on the border with thailand, new teams are arriving to help survivors and to retrieve the dead. harnessing the power of water was supposed to turbocharge the country's economy, but this disaster has plunged laos into a humanitarian crisis, and there are concerns the regime will keep the true human cost shrouded in secrecy. nick beake, bbc news, southern laos. a government minister in greece has said there are "serious indications"

that wildfires near athens earlier this week were started deliberately. over 80 people died, and many more are still missing, after the fires which started on monday. mark lowen reports. searching for the trace of a life. at the place where 26 bodies were found after the fire, some hugging each other, rescue workers think they spot something else. it is so charred that they call police to make out if it's human remains. could this field of devastation yield even more fatalities? for the family who lived here, the nightmare endures. the first group running down... jason fragos says 30 people ran through here, escaping into the sea as the flames closed in. they didn't see the group of 26 behind. our house, it was our heavenly place, and that we had all our childhood memories, both mine, my mother's and even my grandmother's. inside our property,

inside that house, 26 people were dead, were actually burned alive. i couldn't walk, i couldn't breathe. his neighbour, alexandra, heard the screams from the sea and shouted back, "where are you?" to no avail. as they fled, a piece of burning wood hit her husband's eye. the rescuers are determined and resilient. until our last drop of strength, we will be here looking for everything. you can't stop thinking that it might be your children, it might be your child, it might be your husband, it might be your mother. pain is turning to rage — the defence minister tells survivors he doesn't believe they waited for hours to be rescued, and he blames illegal building for the fact houses were destroyed. they have occupied the coast without rules. after this tragedy, i think it's the moment to understand in themselves that it is dangerous for them and for their families

to don't follow the rules and the laws. this traumatised country takes solace in community, donating supplies to those who've lost everything. greeks come together at a time of crisis, and this is no exception — people give whatever they can. and with many feeling that the state has come up short, they turn to each other for solidarity. the rain they craved came lightly today, but not enough to quench the anger or heal the wounds. mark lowen, bbc news, mati. stay with us on bbc news. it's like beatlemania all over again. sir paul mccartney makes a surprise appearance in his home town. the us space agency nasa ordered

an investigation after confirmation today astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldier's lot — trudgery and danger. now no more after four decades. if one is on one's own in a private house, not doing harm to anyone i don't see why these people should wander in and say you are doing something wrong. six rare white lion cubs on the prowl at worcestershire park and already they have been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they are lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: a deadline passes for the us government to try and reunite families separated by donald trump's zero tolerance policy. let's get more on that top story. madhu grewal is a lawyer and federal immigration policy counsel with the american civil liberties union which took the government to court about the separations. she is in washington. it was the aclu who took the government to court about the separation is. just to try to understand the figures we have been giving people, there are more people who were separated who are unaccounted for in these figures, as i understand it, and even within the 711 children officially regarded as ineligible, there are 400 children

whose parents are now out of the country. how all those children ever be reunited ? country. how all those children ever be reunited? these are all great question is. thank you for having me. that is one of the biggest questions that we have for the government and wonder we have consistently been bringing up in court and asking elected officials to push the government on detailed plans for tracking down those pa rents plans for tracking down those parents that they themselves have deported after tearing from their children. the court has made very clear that those deported parents are members of this and must be reunited with his children so the government must find them. the trump administration has made it absolutely clear that the point of this policy was to discourage people trying to get across the border. you get the sense authorities are trying very ha rd to get the sense authorities are trying very hard to reunite? they are under a court order to reunite so they are... they are telling the court, at least, that they are making their

best faith efforts to reunite those they have deemed unilaterally as eligible for reunification. we're thrilled to be reunification could have happened but we are deeply concerned about the hundreds of children, almost 1000, yet to be reunited with their parents. and to be clear, we have heard in our reports various officials, a sheriff in one of them saying that these children have to be separated because their parents have broken the law and children cannot be detained with adults. but actually, if people are seeking asylum and flicking —— figured —— fleeing violence, they are not breaking any law, are they? that is the heart of the issue. 0ne law, are they? that is the heart of the issue. one piece is that in the us we have a law in our criminal justice system deemed illegal entry all re—entry and that is what they have chosen under the zero tolerance policy to prosecute every single person who does not present

themselves at an official port of entry and would prosecute the pa rents for entry and would prosecute the parents for illegal entry all re—entry. the aclu has long opposed outlaw, stating that the criminal justice system does not need to handle immigration violations in the past, we did not have this zero tolerance policy in place and many asylu m tolerance policy in place and many asylum seekers, even when they did not appear at asylum seekers, even when they did notappearatan asylum seekers, even when they did not appear at an official port of entry, because many asylum seekers coming to our border do not understand the difference between an official port of entry and just entering anywhere in between, those asylu m entering anywhere in between, those asylum seekers were typically referred to the immigration system and not to federal criminal court to finesse. and that is kind of what has happened under this administration, under the trump administration's zero tolerance policy. as soon as i have tolerance policy. as soon as i have tolerance policy was enacted, that is when we saw the huge rise in family separation. sounds like there is much more to talk about on this. i

do hope we will talk again shortly. thank you very much. police in colombia have moved a sniffer dog to a secure location in the capital, bogota, after the country's most powerful criminal organisation offered $70,000 to anyone who killed her. the six—year—old german shepherd — known as "sombra", or shadow — has already helped police locate almost ten tons of cocaine the urabenos drugs gang was trying to ship to the united states. the colombian authorities say sombra will be safer at bogota international airport, which falls out of the gangs zone of influence. music legend sir paul mccartney turned back time on thursday with a surprise concert at one of rock'n'roll‘s most famous venues. he appeared at the cavern — the liverpool club where the beatles first made their name. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. in liverpool, queueing up to see one of the fab four. a chance to get back to where we once belonged. this concept had not even been announced

until a few hours earlier that no—one wanted to miss out. until a few hours earlier that no-one wanted to miss out. it is a dream, isn't it? my dream is to go backin dream, isn't it? my dream is to go back in time to the 1960s and see paul mccartney and this is the closest i will ever get. i am so excited. he is a legend, isn't it? the beatles are synonymous with music around the world and it is the chance to see a legend up close. music around the world and it is the chance to see a legend up closem is amazing. 0f chance to see a legend up closem is amazing. of course, this the cavern is not the real deal. the original was demolished in the 19705. but original was demolished in the 1970s. but this rebuilt venue has the same feel and the same cramped charm. liverpool! the cavern! # the magical mystery tour... paul mccartney turning back time with nearly 30 songs in his set. a few

more recent numbers, but plenty of classic hits. # the magical mystery tour. all these years ago when we came here and played, you know... we did not know if we would ever have a future but we did 0k. did not know if we would ever have a future but we did ok. so coming back here it is pretty amazing to me. pretty amazing for all those who came to watch as one of the sands centre, it was like beatlemania all over again. —— as one of the sands said. —— fans. as they once famously said, hope they passed the audition. hello. good morning. for most places the heatwave has reached its peak. what a peak it was.

temperatures on thursday above 35 degrees in surrey. 35 on the nose in central london. further north in edinburgh, temperatures of 27 degrees. however, the heat sparks off thunderstorms, some of which will continue on friday. then for the weekend things will feel much fresher. the fresh air lies behind the bands of cloud, atlantic frontal systems heading our way. where we have the clumpy cloud is where we have thunderstorms breaking out on thursday evening. as we start friday morning the temperatures will be pretty high. 16 in belfast and newcastle. 20 in london. still some showers and thunderstorms, particularly eastern areas. things may be dry around the middle of the day and then showers will return later on. 0ut west we will see cloud moving across northern ireland, western scotland, fringes of england and wales,

patchy rain here. for the far east of the country it is a hot day. 32 in norwich. further west it is cooler and fresher. friday night we could see some really vicious downpours and thunderstorms across eastern england and scotland. could be some travel disruption. this heavy rain could also have some thunder and lightning included. still warm and humid for many. signs of something fresher pushing into the west. that is a sign of what is to come. these frontal systems drift through on saturday. there will be rain around at times on saturday. some sunny spells as well. but as we chase to the north—east we will bring in further showers and we will also bring in some cooler and fresher air. so temperatures on saturday afternoon well down on where they have been, 25 or 26 degrees. sunday is quite windy.

this band of rain pushing north and east. this is a very different weekend compared with what we've been used to recently. spells of sunshine into the west later on. look at the wind. much more windy than it has been for some time. those temperatures actually on the low side. 20 in belfast and glasgow. 21 in london. that is your lot. we stick with the fresh feel for the start of the coming week. it looks like there will be some spells of sunshine. then later in the week it looks like it will warm up again. this is bbc news. the headlines: the us government says more than 1800 children separated from their parents as they illegally crossed the border from mexico have now been reunited with their families or released. but even though theres is a court deadline for reunions that has more than 700 others remain in custody.

imran khan, the former cricket legend who's set to become pakistan's next prime minister, he said the election was clean but he's willing to investigate his rivals' claims of vote rigging in the general election. the greek government says it believes the deadly wildfires near the capital may have been started deliberately. the deputy minister for citizens' protection says there is serious evidence of possible criminal involvement.