a very warm welcome to bbc news broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a deadline passes for the us government to try and 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 devastating laos dam collapse. we have 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. and a blast from the past: how sir paul mccartney got back to where he once belonged. hello.

a deadline has passed for the us government to try to reunite families separated at its southern border by donald trump's controversial zero tolerance policy. civil rights campaigners say they're concerned some children have yet to be matched with their parents. so let's look at the figures. under president trump's policy, aimed at discouraging illegal immigration, more than 2,500 children have been separated from their families and detained. in the latest figures filed in court by the government, 1,800 children have been brought back to their parents.

but government lawyers say more than 700 weren't 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. finally, weeks later, the agony is over. "i'm the happiest woman in the world," she says, "having this little one with me." and across the us, there has been a flurry of reunions with 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. iam 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 the child at walmart and you're shoplifting, you get arrested. is that child going to go with you to countyjail? no, you'll be separated, because you as an individual who violated the law need to be prosecuted. but some parents have paid the very high price of being deported without them. 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 are not ever going to have a chance to reunify with her child. this is changing the course of a child and a parent's life forever. it is clear she realises how lucky

she is to be with her 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 other, 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 aleem maqbool, bbc news, in el paso, texas. a bit later in the programme we'll hear from someone with the american civil liberties union, who brought the case for her reaction in just a few minutes. the former pakistan cricket captain imran khan has claimed victory in the general election. his party has won the most seats and he's set to become prime minister. but his opponents claim widespread vote—rigging and interference from the military and the 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 socialite, jemima 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. earlier i spoke to michael kugelman, senior associate for south asia at the wilson centre, and i asked him whether imran khan could transform pakistan. it is going to be very difficult to transform pakistan in the way that he would like to. pakistan is a very volatile, complex country and 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 to 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 to speak,

what you say out on the campaign trail and what you say that plays well to public opinion when you are 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, doesn't he? forming a coalition then, as he himself 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. i actually think things may quiet down. as we know, every time there is an election in pakistan, the losing parties allege wrong. so the parties that are decrying here, they have several options. they could appeal or they could well take to the streets. i think that is the bigger risk, given 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 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 years since he entered politics. how do you think his character will play into this? he is such a contradiction. 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. it works out very well to betray yourself that way because pakistan certainly is a very conservative and religious nation, and that has helped to win this election. let's get some of the day's other news. turkey says it won't 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 after spending 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. 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, who's been holding talks in brussels with britain's brexit minister, dominic raab, said the eu could not delegate its customs policy and tax duty collection to a non—member. 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 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, 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. this news just coming this newsjust coming in. it is an issue that matters a lot in korea and the united states. the white house has just announced that north korea has transferred the remains of a number of soldiers killed in the korean war to the united states. the number of the remains is not specified. this repatriation of

people killed in the korean war to refrain from 1950 to 1953 was one of the agreements reached at summit between donald trump and kim jong—un in singapore injune. more on that as soon in singapore injune. more on that as soon as we have in singapore injune. more on that as soon as we have it for you. a government minister in greece has said there are "serious indications" the wildfires near athens this week were started deliberately. at least 80 people died, and many more are still missing. 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... iason 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. this is

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. still to come:

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 — drudgery 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. our top story this hour: a deadline passes for the us government to try and reunite families separated by donald trump's zero tolerance policy. i spoke just now to madhu greywal, federal immigration policy counsel with the american civil liberties union. the aclu brought the case to force the government to reunite the families. but it's still not clear what is happening to some of these children — because among the more than 700 who government officials describe as "not eligible" for reunification, are more than 400 children whose parents have already been deported.

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 parents that they themselves have deported after tearing them from their children. the court has made very clear that those deported parents a routine are members of our class and must be reunited with their 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. do you 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 see

the reunifications that 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 fleeing violence, they are not breaking any 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 or 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 parents for illegal entry or re—entry.

the aclu has long opposed that law, stating that the criminaljustice system does not need to handle immigration violations in the past, in the past, we did not have this zero tolerance policy in place and many 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 asylum seekers were typically referred to the immigration system and not to federal criminal court. and that is kind of what has happened under this administration, under the trump administration's zero tolerance policy. as soon as that tolerance policy was enacted, that is when we saw the huge rise in family separation. police in colombia have moved a sniffer dog to a secure location in the capital, bogota, because the country's most powerful

criminal organisation has offered $70,000 to anyone who kills her. the six—year—old german shepherd known as "sombra", or shadow, has already helped police find almost ten tons of cocaine the urabenos gang was trying to ship to the united states. colombian authorities say sombra will be safer at bogota international airport, which is thought to be 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. 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 concert had not even been announced until a few hours earlier, but no—one wanted to miss out. it is a 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. it is amazing. of course, this cavern club is not the real deal. the original was demolished in the 1970s. but this rebuilt venue has the same feel and the same cramped charm. liverpool! cheering 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 didn't know if we would ever

have a future, but we did 0k. laughter so coming back here it is pretty amazing for me. pretty amazing for all those who came to watch. as one of the fans said, it was like beatlemania all over again. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley. 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. will so temperatures on saturday afternoon well down on where they have been, 25 or 26 degrees. quite a breezy day as well. 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.

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: us government officials say more than 1800 children separated from their parents as they crossed the border from mexico have now been reunited with their families or released. but even though a court deadline for reunions has expired more than 700 other children are still being held in custody. imran khan, the former cricket star who looks certain to be pakistan's next prime minister, has said he wants to unite the country and run it in a way it's never been run before. he insists the election was clean but he's willing to investigate his rivals‘ claims of vote rigging. 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. and an investigation had begun. at least 83 people are known to have died. now on bbc news, panorama. it was a murder that sent shock waves around the world. a prominent russian journalist has been shot dead. arkady babchenko was an outspoken critic of president vladimir putin. just weeks after the novichok poisonings in salisbury, another apparent attack on foreign soil. borisjohnson has said he is appalled by the murder of one of russia's best known investigative journalists. but a day later arkady babchenko was back from the dead. an anti—kremlin journalist reported killed in ukraine is actually alive. tonight, for the first time, the inside story of the fake murder. translation: they put pigs‘ blood in my mouth