this is bbc news, the headlines at 7pm. —— at 8pm. travel chaos as the extreme weather causes disruption to rail and road journeys across the uk. two and a half hours queuing from the motorway down to the check—in terminal. sat on the motorway embankment in sa degrees heat. police warn against jumping into rivers and lakes to cool off. one boy is missing, two other people have died. but the heatwave could be coming to an end, as hail hits york while the met office issues an amber weather for the east of england and the east midlands as thunderstorms sweep in. also this evening: letters exchanged between prince charles and a bishop later convicted of being a paedophile have been read out at the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. the prince of wales insists he was unaware of peter ball's crimes. a six—year—old boy has died after being shot with a pellet gun at a house in east yorkshire. stanley metcalf had been visiting relatives near hull. some private probation contracts are

scrapped at the cost of £170 million after failing to deliver expected improvements. skywatchers hope for clear skies tonight as the longest total lunar eclipse of the century takes place, with the moon expected to turn blood red. good evening, it isjust after 7pm. the heat weather has caused major to lack of major disruptions. the weather is causing problems on various roads and railways, many on the euro tunnel experience hours of

delays. lightning strikes have caused forced cancellations across yorkshire. some of you will be seeing them already. the police are urging people to take care, especially while swimming in rivers and lakes trying to cool off. to have died, and a boy it is missing your market. the summer holiday getaway, stopped a bru ptly the summer holiday getaway, stopped abruptly ina the summer holiday getaway, stopped abruptly in a car park. those hoping to go via eurotunnel told they can't because of the heat. and there's caution for those planning long drives. we are expecting a breakdown to happen every four seconds. so before you get in your car, check your water coolant levels, your oil levels, your tyre pressure, make sure you have lots of water in the car, and when you are travelling at slower speeds, if you can handle it, turn yourair slower speeds, if you can handle it, turn your air conditioning off, bring your windows down and let the air circulate in the car. that will alleviate some of the pressure that

is happening to your engine at the moment. meanwhile in new york, thousands of real visitors suffered severe disruptions due to a lightning strike which damaged signalling equipment. we have given little information, it stifling hot in here. there's no way to get water, i got a small child who is five, we've been on the train for four hours. first up talk of some are taking full advantage of the beaches and getting fully involved ina beaches and getting fully involved in a staycation. it's a lovely day, nowhere, just want to be in the sunshine at the beach. there's a pool which i really like, and the weather is very hot. there are warnings up and down the country about people cooling off in open water. it works her, police searching for a 17—year—old boy who got into trouble in a quarry lake in

itching to say they have found a body. you will recall at 6:30pm last night after concerns were raised for a 17—year—old boy who was reported to have entered the water. formal identification has yet to take place, but next of kin have been informed. essex police are still looking for a boy last seen in the water near collecting peer. days of temperatures have also put pressure on fire brigades. local people have been delivering food and drink to a local crews who have been tackling several fires for a week. but for those hoping for rain, their wish may come true. in the east of england, hailstones and thunderstorms and heavy rain are projected elsewhere. fierce thunderstorms have brought untold chaos to rail passengers across yorkshire today. lightning strikes during the morning rush—hour disabled hundreds of trains as rail signalling failed across the network. the disruption is still on going as train operators struggle to move stranded trains back

where they belong george tweeted earlier today to say "high temperatures, danger to life but i cannot see any reaction from companies where a lot of people use like here at leeds coach station. no fans, no aircon, no water distributed. and all that when a lot of people wait for delayed buses' sarah sarah was also caught up in the chaos around leeds station saying "still no news, and the best they can do is tell us ‘we have no new‘!?" we are less than a mile from york station and could get a bus if we could get into the station. rachel described her chaotic journey as "badly affected by the leeds chaos. tried to get a train to huddersfield to leeds but couldn't due to the faults then managed to get to leeds via bus then was crammed on the 13.45 train to kings cross which insisted on letting more people at each station". we will be speaking to more of you a

little bit later in this hour. the prince of wales says he regrets being deceived by a bishop, who was convicted of sexually abusing young men and teenagers. in a letter to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, the prince wrote that he'd been friends with peter ball, the former bishop of gloucester, for several decades between the 19705 and 1990s. but he said he was unaware of his crimes, and felt "deep personal regret" at being misled. sophie long reports. a senior and powerful figure in the church of england for decades, peter ball had friends in high places. but in 2015, the former bishop of lewis in gloucester, seen here on the left, was convicted of abusing teenagers and young men and jailed for 32 months. he received a caution for gross indecency in 1993. tooday, in a letter read to the inquiry by its senior

counsel, the prince of wales tried to distance himself from the man he once described as a loyal friend, saying he had taken him on what he believed to be his good word. events later demonstrated beyond any doubt to my deep regret that i, along with many others, had been misled, and the reverse was true. the prince said he was unaware until recently that a caution carried an acceptance of guilt. i have to say, the victims find that excuse rather unconvincing. prince charles is somebody who had access to the best legal advice that money can buy, he had the opportunity to clarify the legal position, and he should've taken that opportunity and avoided a relationship with this man. in 1997, peter ball and his brother were found in this house in rural somerset, then owned by the duchy of cornwall. prince charles wrote to him saying he longed to see him settled somewhere they gave him peace and tranquility. the two men exchanged letters over two decades. in 1993, peter ball wrote... in 1995, prince charles wrote

to peter ball, saying... prince charles said he hadn't been aware of the true context and details of the complaints against peter ball until his trial in 2015. he said that during the 19805 and 90s, there was a presumption that you could take people such as bishops at their word, but he was clear that he never sought to influence the outcome of the police investigation into peter ball, nor did he instruct any of his staff to do so. sophie long, bbc news, south london. 0ur royal correspondent,

nicholas witchell explains how embarrasing this is for prince charles. from the perspective of 2018, knowing what we know now, to read that in 1995 that the prince of wales expressed sympathy for the "monstrous wrongs" supposedly done to bishop ball is unquestionably embarrassing for him. it suggests a degree of naivety, a disinclination to ask reasonable questions about the "indiscretion" that had caused the bishop to resign as bishop of gloucester. but we must remember that prince charles was not alone in the 19905 in being na ve and at a disinclination to ask questions about the sort of thing. the wider church, the nhs, the bbc, in the case ofjimmy saville, were equally at fault in that respect. there are two things in particular that we muster member in the case of prince charles. we know he is interested in faith, he is attracted to a charismatic people of faith who make faith more accessible. by all accounts, bishop ball

was one such person. charles said he found him interesting and engaging. the other thing to bear in mind is that in the 19905, charles himself felt that he was the victim of unfair treatment by the media, and i think that will have made him unduly sympathetic to this charismatic person who said that he was also being victimized by the media. but there is no question at the moment that clarence house feels frustration and anger that that presumption of good faith, which charles placed in this man, was so grievously betrayed. a six—year—old boy has died after being shot with a pellet gun, at a house in east yorkshire. it is understood the child was visiting relatives in spread nude —— spratly near coal when he was seriously injured. he died in hospital. tragedy at the star of the school holidays. six—year—old stanley

metcalfe was visiting relatives when he was shot with a pellet gun. it happened yesterday afternoon at this house on church lane. emergency services were called to report a boy had been seriously injured. he was taken to hull royal infirmary, but sadly died. we are still investigating the circumstances of what exactly happened. but the initial indications are that this was a tragic accident involving a pellet gun. we have not made any arrests in connection with this incident, but we are speaking to a number of family members to assist us number of family members to assist us with our inquiries. many people in the village view the family, and the news has left many incredibly upset and the news has left many incredibly upsetand in the news has left many incredibly upset and in shock. sickening. we have a little grandson, seven years old. to think of them... have a little grandson, seven years old. to think of them. .. astounded. shocked, really shocked. sad for the

6—year—old. a pellet gun. i got children. it goes out to the family, doesn't it? he can't even guess how they feel, can you? it's so tragic, especially a 6—year—old. they feel, can you? it's so tragic, especially a 6-year-old. specialist officers are supporting the family, saying they are trying to piece together what happened to this football loving little boy. theresa may has been told it is important for the uk to avoid a heartbreaker. the important for the uk to avoid a heartbrea ker. the prime important for the uk to avoid a heartbreaker. the prime minister was meeting insult berg as part of a government drive to sell their proposals for a new trade relationship with the european union. theresa may will mount travel to her czech counterpart before taking a summer break. five people including a four—year—old boy have died ina including a four—year—old boy have died in a road crash in northeast scotland. it happened on the a 96

just before midnight. five others we re just before midnight. five others were injured. the tangled, horrific aftermath of a fatal late—night crash between two vehicles on one of scotland's busiest roads. for much of the day, police remained on site. the debris a sign of the efforts made to free those injured. a few hours earlier, emergency services, including the coast guard helicopter and locals, had worked together in the darkness to help those caught up in the collision. the dreadful scene faced by emergency responders was both the distressing and extremely challenging for those involved. i would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made valiant attem pts to thank all those who made valiant atte m pts to to thank all those who made valiant attempts to save the lives. their effo rts attempts to save the lives. their efforts cannot be underestimated. i would also like to thank members of the public that came across this terrible incident and phoned the emergency services, and provided first aid emergency services, and provided firstaid and emergency services, and provided first aid and comfort. the minibus had been carrying italian tourists,

two of them including a four—year—old boy were about —— among those who lost their lives. between passengers in the car also died. it's believed they were friends who live locally and had been returning from a social event. this is clearly a truly horrific traffic accident. everyone i've spoken to in the local community is shocked and fight hard to take and how many work —— how many people we re how many work —— how many people were affected by this accident. how many work —— how many people were affected by this accidentm is not yet clear what happened here. investigators will not be trying to piece together why this crash occurred, and why so many lives were lost. the headlines on bbc news. the travel network is under pressure in the extreme weather with long delays on the eurotunnel, and lightning strikes lead to cancellations on the east coast mainline. daesh one. prince charles has expressed "deep personal regret" that he was decieved by the disgraced former bishop, peter ball, who was later convicted of sex offences. a six—year—old boy has died in what police are calling a tragic accident near hull. stanley metcalf was shot

with a pellet gun. but now the justice secretary but now thejustice secretary is scrapping a number of contracts after admitting they are not delivering the benefits they promised. the decision will cost £170 million. 0ur promised. the decision will cost £170 million. our home affairs correspondent reports. lunch, shortly to be served in this community centre. but back in the kitchen, the staff are also serving sentences. this is community payback. you have criminals working for you here, that's odd, what you think of that? it's great, to be quite honest. we're happy with them, they don't ask us questions, and we

don't ask them. i've been sent here because of benefit fraud, so obviously it's payback. but the fact i've been place here, it's an amazing place. you know when you've been convicted with something, you have to do your time, and it's the best way to do a. this is privatise probation. the government contracted out to encourage new ideas for getting criminals out of crime. but it's getting criminals out of crime. but its run into trouble, in particular, financial trouble. these companies are paid for each member they persuade not to reoffend. but they persuade not to reoffend. but the courts have been telling fewer of them, partly because judges and magistrates are uncertain as to whether these sorts of schemes work. sure, 2% fewer criminals are reoffending, but those who do are reoffending, but those who do are reoffending more often. in the chief probation inspectors eight staff cuts mean they get less attention. good proportion have been supervised

by telephone, telephone only contact. i have long argued that is just unacceptable, that you don't change people by not engaging with them and not meeting and seeing them. the then justice secretary chris grayling came up with the privatisation plan. all there have beena numberof privatisation plan. all there have been a number of positive changes that came into effect three years ago, we think we can make further ones. it is important that we have a probation system that helps people rehabilitate. the existing contracts are not working as well as they might do. but he said they are terminating the contract early. in the future, the government still wa nts the future, the government still wants private companies involved, but it's considering setting tougher standards to ensure they get more criminals out of crime. tom simons, bbc news, 0ldham. mike mcclelland is a director at the probation institute, hejoins us from devizes in wichester. and you support some of the

companies that were given those contracts for probation officers and probation staff who are involved with that, but you are completely independent gazelle of we are indeed an independent body, we've been working with the community rehabilitation companies over the past three years since the contracts we re past three years since the contracts were let. see you have your ear on the ground, what went wrong? what's your analysis? in the first instance, the whole project that was introduced was —— with undue haste, many organisations told the government that they can't introduce these policies within two years from announcing, it was unrealistic. and the contracts that were let were let on calculations which were incorrect. so the community

rehabilitation companies have not been receiving the amount of work they expected in the first instance. there are lots of questions about this that we would all love the speech of the government about, but they have close for the summer. i'm sure it's a coincidence, but are you saying it is the government at fault, rather than some of the companies that you were supporting and advising? i wouldn't say we were supporting the companies, but ultimately the responsibility for the current situation has to rest with the government, and we are grateful for the justice secretary announcing the closure of these contracts and the review of what should happen under democrat in the future. but you advised some of the people that work for these companies, what problems were they coming to you with? the advice from the staff within the rehabilitation community was offered not so much by

the probation institute as it was by the probation institute as it was by the unions representing the members. what were the problems that you were hearing about? the fundamental problems were that when transforming rehabilitation was introduced in 2014, it was a schema which split a previously unified service into two, a national public service and a series of 21 private contracts. so you have a split between two parts ofan you have a split between two parts of an organisation which was inherently unhelpful. in what way? was it not joined inherently unhelpful. in what way? was it notjoined up at the hip, is that what saying? what you already heard is that the courtjudges and magistrates said that they don't really know what goes on and the ground, they don't have confidence and they don't understand the services that are being provided by the community rehabilitation companies. and ultimately it that is inevitable when you split a service

such that the advice given by the courts is given by the national probation service, whereas the work with the offenders who are managed by the community is a separate entity altogether. and that has cause a problem. welts would you like to see the government combat with? they have said they are reviewing it today and will come up with new ideas, perhaps a little less rushed next time? you say a little less rushed, but they say the contract will end in 2020, which doesn't give us a whole lot of time to decide what to do for the best in 18 months or two years' time. it's like brexit in some ways, we don't really have enough time to create a new model. and that is an issue. i think we would like to see a service which was unified and provide a service to the courts that they can understand and were confident end.

ultimately what we would hope to see is more use of community sentences and less use of short—term prison sentences. good to talk to you, mike,. nick miller is here with all the a nswe rs. nick miller is here with all the answers. it's a mixed bag tonight depending on where you live, but it remains extreme, doesn't it? absolutely, in terms of the torrential downpour, certainly. i think this is the end of the current heat which has affected parts of england, and it is coming to an end with the torrential thunderstorms we are seeing at the moment. we have —— in that office amber warning for those thunderstorms, particularly a across areas of east anglia, cambridgeshire downed at six, and this is where we have seen the greatest threats, i have seen

pictures of large hail from greatest threats, i have seen pictures of large hailfrom norfolk, really intense thunderstorms. we are talking about flash flooding, gusty winds, lightning can cause so many problems, and to hell. any and all of these can cause impact and affect travel, that's what we have at the moment. but while the amber warning cove rs moment. but while the amber warning covers the area and east anglia,... york has had a big storm, i've seen pictures of hailfrom york has had a big storm, i've seen pictures of hail from there as well. just this area from the isle of wight through to london, it's been bouncing off the ground up into yorkshire, but we see the stars of the moment. a broad swathe of london is seeing these downpours, causing problems over the next few hours into the night. i want to show you these lightning strikes, look how that has been kicking off the past few hours. these are in an area which has just few hours. these are in an area which hasjust had few hours. these are in an area which has just had several days of heat building, a lot of energy

around to produce these storms. but as wejump ahead to around to produce these storms. but as we jump ahead to the forecast for tomorrow afternoon, one thing you will notice the most, along with plenty of showers still around, the temperatures in east anglia, it looks like it was about 35 celsius, but a high of 24 degrees in norfolk. it will be more noticeable and there are more stars to come. this'll turn out to be a weekend of the likes of which have not seen in a while, summer weekends have typically been settled. but this particular one is coming to an end of first doctor across parts of england. is this weather unusual, particularly the heatwave we've had? some of those out there are too young to remember the last one. is clearly on president in modern record, we've had a lot of days where temperatures have been above 25 degrees, a lot of days where they've been above 30

degrees. we have not seen this prolonged spell of hot weather, and several days, yesterday we were at 35.3, the top temperature, these have been very close to somejuly records. it doesn't happen very often, but quite often when we see styles of hot weather like that, they come to an end with storms, lots of energy in the atmosphere, heat lightning, storms will be bigger as a result. thank you for that update. much more on the bbc news website. great news for the garden. we will keep you updated. do be careful out there. we will also keep you updated on the travel chaos caused by lightning strikes in the heat. turning our attention to donald trump. donald trump says america is the "economic envy of the entire world," after new figures showed the economy has grown by more than 4%, the fastest rate since 2014. the figures cover the three months to june. he insisted they were sustainable, and would be accelerated by his policies.

but many economists say the numbers have been boosted by temporary factors, including exporters racing to beat new trade tariffs. let's go live to new york, where we can speak to our business correspondent kim gittleson. how much truth and how much fake news is there in what donald trump is telling us about the economic success of america tonight? look, the us economy is doing better than it's been since the great financial crisis, and that is due to a whole host of factors, including an overall global economic environment that has been doing quite well as of late. that is partially because of certain factors in the us economy, we have seen unemployment at a record low, businesses are investing asa record low, businesses are investing as a result of donald trump does not tax cuts. american consumers are spending more than they have been a

long time, so all of these things are true, the us economy is fundamentally in good shape. but the question is whether or not this rate can be sustained ? question is whether or not this rate can be sustained? and when it comes to that, there are quite a few eyebrows raised during a news conference earlier today when president donald trump claimed that this 4-.1% president donald trump claimed that this 4—.1% annual raise to rate would continue into the third and fourth quarters this year, because as you mentioned, that is nearly a quarter of the growth that came in the last three month was the result of the exports as a result of us soybean farmers selling all their product abroad before chinese ta riffs product abroad before chinese tariffs came into effect. that has led to a lot of economists calling this a sugar rush, meaning it is good for now but it won't last until the long—term. good for now but it won't last until the long-term. many thank you to that. donald trump's former lawyer says donald trump's former lawyer says donald trump's former lawyer says donald trump nude in advance about a

meeting between russian delegations... michael cohen says he was present when... something the president strenuously denies. gary 0'donoghuejoined gary 0'donoghue joined us. gary 0'donoghuejoined us. we not hearing anything that many people already believe, i suppose it's down to how much evidence there is about this meeting and how much donald trump knew? the evidence is a crucial point, because michael: has obviously put this thing out there and we don't know what he has. it would be significant if it turned out to be true. bear in mind that the whole investigation into alleged collusion between the trunk campaign and russia has settled really on a number of circumstantial things. but one of the most concrete things has been this public knowledge about a meeting that took place injune of

2016 where donald trumpjunior and the president's son—in—law, jared kushner, and along with a bunch of russians connected to the kremlin. so if he knew that had happened and had given some sort of nod to that happening, even if nothing came out of it, that would put a completely different light on donald trump's insistence that there was absolutely no connection between him and russia during the campaign. michael cohen has also revealed that tape which we now have all heard where they discussed paying off a woman who claimed to have an affair, a former playboy girl. how much trouble is donald trump in? some of these type of things are also the micro already factors in the market. donald trump's alleged affairs with playboy models and that kind of thing is

kind of already in there, the people who voted for him knew those allegations were around, and they've discounted that. so i think that sort of thing is not necessarily a huge problem for him. there are questions around campaign finance laws that he might face, but that would be quite technical question. the bigger question here is the extent to which there was a connection, if at all, with russia. that would not play well with anyone in this country at all, if they felt that one of their leaders was in hock with someone else, particularly a foreign power. that is the thing that donald trump has kept his eye on throughout this whole process of the robert miller investigation, insisting there was absolutely nothing to it. we will see what he comes up nothing to it. we will see what he comes up with, he has already indicted 31 people as part of his investigation, including 12 members

of russia's military intelligence. thank you very much, gary. we will have more on the heatwave and the end of the heatwave and the problems thatis end of the heatwave and the problems that is causing for many of you across the country tonight. nic has the latest for you. radar storms this evening, but what is whether we have seen this evening, but what is whether we have seen across this evening, but what is whether we have seen across the uk for question time. some dangerous thunderstorms out there, the met office amber warning, be prepared for the storms, particularly through parts of south east anglia through to lincolnshire, flash flooding and dangerous winds, hail, and a broad swathe of england will be affected by thundering downpours as we go through tonight and into tomorrow morning, particularly tomorrow morning in northeast scotland. another muggy night upon us to across england, temperatures coming down but still outbreaks of rain. into tomorrow, heavy and thundering rain to parts of eastern scotland moving towards

the northern isles. you may see a few sunny spells, sharp move in, expect some heavy showers and parts of wales in northwest england and ireland. it is cooler and faster than has been in some time, and it is also quite breezy. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. delays on the rails as the extreme weather leads to thousands of eurotunnel cancellations and disruption to rail users in the north east but the heatwave could be coming to an end as hail hits york and an amber weather warning is in place for the east midland and the east of england. letters exchanged between prince charles and a bishop later convicted of being a paedophile have been read out at the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. the prince of wales insists he was unaware of peter ball's crimes. police have named a six—year—old boy

who was killed after being shot with a pellet gun as stanley metcalfe. the boy who was a twin died after the incident. the government scrapped some private probation contracts after they failed to deliver expected improvements. and coming up, as skywatchers prepare for the lunar eclipse, we will speak to an astronomer hoping to catch a good view on the fringes of dartmoor. so, the heatwave has caused another day of destruction for people trying to leave the country for their summer holidays, eurotunnel cancelled hundreds of same—day tickets because of the continuing failure of its air—conditioning systems and further north, thunderstorms have been sleeping in causing problems on the rail services there. we are going to speak to one of many passenger scott up speak to one of many passenger scott upa nat, speak to one of many passenger scott up a nat, jen smith. hello. you are

at liverpool street station. talk us through the nightmare of getting to where you are now. i was leaving lots of other people from leeds, so there were thousands of us descending on the station. then we arrived and the station was packed. the trains were cancelled. british transport police were in attendance trying to make sure that everyone was safe and imposition. my train was safe and imposition. my train was delayed by about an hour and a half but when we got on, there was no air conditioning, it was stifling. yeah. it is not pleasant in the heat. you cannot be angry with the rail company in this case. a lightning strike hit the rail, there is nothing they can do. there seems to be a lot of anger on social media about a lack of information and provisions, was that your experience? yeah. it was quite

tricky because when we got to the station, they gave us a platform numberand we station, they gave us a platform number and we got onto the train and we we re number and we got onto the train and we were sitting down ready to go and then we were asked to step off the trade that leave our luggage on because they said the air conditioning was not working. they told us to go and get our luggage and move to a different train that was even hotter. every time we looked at the board, it was delayed by even more minutes and there was limited information. you have been a proper civilian journalist today. we will not pay you for it, you know! did you see any other passengers struggling because presumably there we re struggling because presumably there were people with children, the elderly as well, did they get any help? we saw a lady in a wheelchair trying to go up the ramp to get onto the train and people were literally,

a man on my own carriage who had to get off at doncaster, because he had fainted and he was given medical attention by the train staff. he lived in a really bad way. it is horrendous. get home and have a nice cool glass of wine, in the breeze in the garden, between the thunderstorms. well done for finally getting there. thank you for all your information. you are very welcome. a passenger who finally made it. north korea has returned what is believed to be the remains of 55 american soldiers, who died during the korean war. the repatriation was a promise made by kim jong—un to president trump, during their meeting in singapore last month. the move comes on the 65th anniversary of the signing of the armistice, that ended the korean war. here's laura bicker. finally, these fallen soldiers are making their way home. it has been over 65 years since they were killed, fighting in a war many feared had been forgotten. one by one, 55 caskets, wrapped up in the united nations flag,

are carefully carried from the cargo plane. but until the remains are tested, it is unclear how many have been returned. still, today will be seen as progress by a us president who made it a priority during his summit with the north korean leader. donald trump took the chance to publicly thank him. i want to thank chairman kim, in front of the media, forfulfilling a promise that he made to me and i am sure that he will continue to fulfil that promise. but the fundamental problem remains. north korea still has nuclear material and nuclear missiles. in pyongyang, kim jong—un was exulted by war veterans as he marked the anniversary of the armistice which ended the korean war. something described here as a day of victory. in seoul, the repatriation raised

hopes among veterans that peace will one day come to this peninsula. 15 countries fought alongside the us in the conflict, including almost 100,000 british troops. brigadier general brian parrott was one of them. it was painful to lose guys, but i think all veterans thought it was a worthwhile thing to have done. he now welcomes the repatriation of fallen comrade. that is very good news and i do hope there are are some british guys, because there was a significant number of the infantry in particular who were caught in ambushes on patrol and bodies were not found. the handover of remains could prompt north korea to ask for concessions from the united states, but it could also breathe new life into a peace process that has stalled since the two leaders met at their singapore summit.

laura bicker, bbc news, south korea. the foreign secretary has been asked to intervene in a custody case involving two children living in china, whose british father was murdered by their chinese mother. the family of michael simpson want jeremy hunt to appeal to chinese officials when he visits the country next week — as katharine da costa reports. seven—year—old jack and six—year—old alice are at the centre of an international custody battle. their british father, michael, seen here with them, was stabbed to death in his shanghai apartment in march of last year by his estranged chinese wife. she is now serving a life sentence for murder. since their dad's death, jack and alice have been living with their chinese grandparents, unaware of what has happened to their parents. happy birthday, grandpa! wait a minute, wait... but their english granddad wants to raise them back in the uk. he's fighting for them to be brought back here, which he says is what his son michael would so

desperately have wanted. # happy birthday to you! they do not know what has happened to their father. they do not know where their mother is. so they need to be brought into a truthful world, a world that michael wanted for them, which was very much a western environment. they have travelled with him, they've gone to english schools in shanghai. we need to get them back. in a statement, the foreign & commonwealth office said... during her trial, their mother said she would have no problem with the children coming to us. she said out loud at the trial in november that the children love us, and that she knows how much

we love them. she has no problem with them coming here. it was the family who tried to stop this from happening. mr simpson says his daughter—in—law‘s family are demanding tens of thousands of pounds in exchange for the children, something they deny. he thinks political intervention is needed, and hopes that with the backing of the british government and the new foreign secretary, they can be reunited by the autumn. katharine da costa, bbc news. whether pending we are possibly in full tonight. we're all in for a treat tonight with the appearance of the longest "blood moon" eclipse of the century. it will turn a striking shade of red, as it rises and passes through the earth's shadow. barring clouds and thunderstorms we should see it here in the uk, and unlike a solar eclipse, you don't need any special glasses.

victoria gill is at joddrell bank 0bservatory and explains what we'll see. i have to admit, it is looking quite ominous behind the telescope, the clouds are gathering on the horizon but if they part, people should be looking at that horizon around 9pm. the further north you are in the uk, the later that moon rise will be but around that time you should look towards the south—east wherever you are and don't worry if you miss the moon rise, it will be eclipsing and that will last to around 10:15 p:m.. this is the longest lunar eclipse of the century. the red colour is because they only light that can get from the sun through the atmosphere of the earth and bend around to the moon is that red light from the sun. if these clouds blow away, we should be infor if these clouds blow away, we should be in for quite a spectacle. will gater — astronomer and journalist joins me via skype from taunton in somerset * what is so special about this lunar eclipse and how does it compare to a solar eclipse? a total lunar eclipse —— acquires a

special alignment of the sun earth and moon and we need the sun on one side and the moon to pass into the shadow of the earth. what is happening as we speak is that the moon is passing into what is known as the penumbra, the lighter portion of the earth's shadow but later on, as the moon rises in the uk will be deeply inside the earth's umbra, the central core of the earth's shadow and it is what causes this beautiful total lu nar and it is what causes this beautiful total lunar eclipse. as victoria was saying, as the light from the sun passes through our atmosphere and essentially the wavelengths are filtered out, scattered by the gases in our atmosphere and that is why we have blue skies. what ends up reaching the moon and what is refra ctor, reaching the moon and what is refractor, bent around by the atmosphere of the earth, into its own shadow is that red orange light which falls on the moon creating those gorgeous spectacles. even i

understood that. it is a bit like since. where are the best places to seeit? since. where are the best places to see it? you're going to, off to have a look. the car is packed with my camera equipment and i'm hoping to chase some cloud gaps. basically, you need a very clear south—east horizon and the interesting thing with this eclipse which is different to the one we saw in 2015 is that the total phase is going to be occurring as the moon is rising. in the uk, the moon rises about nine o'clock, but because of that total eclipse, the moon is going to be very dim and it might be that we have to wait until nearer ten o'clock to see anything, essentially wait for this guide to darken and the moon to climb higher in the sky. have a look out, hopefully someone somewhere in the uk will get clear skies and look to the south—east horizon for this eclipse that is under way. send them to us here, we would love to see them. you can treat them as well. you can take

photographs of them as well on your phone, it is safe to look at. that is right, that is one of the wonderful things about lunar eclipses. with solar eclipses, you need special filters, eclipses. with solar eclipses, you need specialfilters, but eclipses. with solar eclipses, you need special filters, but with this you do not need them, just go outside. i think everyone has smartphones these days and a lunar eclipse like this, it is a perfect target, if you'rejust eclipse like this, it is a perfect target, if you're just getting into astronomy, just starting out, try and takea astronomy, just starting out, try and take a picture of this beautiful event and who knows, it might lead you on to a lifetime of enjoyment looking at the start. if the thunderclouds do not go away, you can do what i did and head to the live camera from nasa. can you talk us live camera from nasa. can you talk us through exactly what is happening now the second? we are seen half the moon in darkness and looks fairly normal. we are looking at the time, we are beginning the moment when the total phase of the eclipse will start happening. the thing about

this eclipse is that totality will occur and it is going to last over 100 minutes but what will happen is that the moon is currently entering into the earth's umbra, that dark corner and wit is fully immersed, thatis corner and wit is fully immersed, that is not for a little while yet, looking at the clock, when it is fully immersed, that is the beginning of totality and as the moon rises at about nine o'clock, it will be in this dark central umbra and creating that beautiful red colour. i'm tired work-out, are you better off been a part of the word for it is night? where it is night, the optimum place at the moment is further east than we are, the middle east and india. because there are the moon will have already been quite high in the sky and present and ina quite high in the sky and present and in a perfect position to see the full eclipse. when is the next time we get a chance to see something like this? no, this is the great thing. we have had to wait since

2015 for this one and this one, as we have discussed, the conditions are not optimal but you only have to wait until 2019, january next year for the next one and in that one, we will be able to see the whole eclipse unfold from start to finish. don't worry if you don't see this, there is still one next year. if you get any decent pictures, will you send them to us? thank you. you had better go. you will miss it. that would not be funny if you missed it speaking to us. you have quite a few hours and if you get a fantastic picture of the blood moon, send them to us. you can always tweak them. let us bring you up to date with the headlines. the headlines on bbc news... lightning strikes lead to cancellations on these coast main line. prince charles has expressed deep personal regret that he was deceived by the disgraced former

bishop peter bull who was later convicted of sex offences. and a six—year—old boy has died in what police are calling a tragic accident near a whole. stanley metcalfe was shot with a pellet gun. the search for victims of greece's deadly wildfires is continuing today. there have already been at least 83 people confirmed dead. a full police investigation is underway as authorities say they have serious indications the blaze was the result of arson. meanwhile, a bitter debate has now erupted over who should be held to account over the response to the disaster. james reynolds reports. there is a wider argument. who was responsible for the bad design which

made worse the death toll? the fact that buildings were allowed to be built on the coast, blocking access to the safety of the ocean. the fact that homes, some of them were built in an unlicensed way over decades and the fact that homes and forest, pine trees which were extremely flammable or build right next to one another. there are no easy answers for this. the government blamed residents but they have stressed that there was no coherent town plan here and a lot of the building along this coast line, which stopped access to the sea happened in the 19605 and 19705 when it was legal under the government. james reynolds in greece, the state of california is also experiencing high temperatures and wildfires — with blazes leaving at least one person dead and hundreds fleeing their homes. rebecca hartmann reports. . high temperatures, erratic winds and low humidity are fuelling wild fires in california as firefighters struggle to control blazes

on both ends of the state. the governor for california has declared states of emergency in two counties, shasta county in the north and riverside in the south. in northern california, the out—of—control wildfire is threatening the city of reading. the blaze has killed at least one person and has tripled in size over the past few days. residents have been ordered to evacuate as soon as possible. further south, a suspect was arrested on wednesday and accused of starting a fire that has now grown to 75,000 acres, causing the evacuation of thousands of homes. there are around 75 major wildfires burning in the us in what is an unusually active fire season. california has been sweltering under record temperatures in recent weeks and forecasts show little sign of relief. rebecca hartman, bbc news. yesterday it emerged that sir paul

mccartney laid a surprise gig at the covering club in front of an audience of 250. the venue word john, paul, george and ringo made their names. 0ur reporter was there. she witnessed the return of beatlemania. # welcome to the mystery tour. this is the moment fans have been waiting for. the excitement had been building since sir paul dropped a massive hint. we have a little secret gig somewhere in liverpool. some fans spent the night outside the cavern club, hoping to get in early, only to find out that tickets were being given out across town at the echo arena. they were told there were no tickets. they were running across the streets to the arena. the first 110 managed to get them.

it was a once in a lifetime. yes, i am away from work. i am not really bothered. i got a ticket. it was amazing. chance of a lifetime. absolutely overwhelmed, overjoyed. delighted. super fans. we follow paul over the world. i have this tattoo of the beatles. and i also have this one. for the lucky ones with tickets, they have already gone in, but matthew street is crowded full of people. someone with a loud—hailer made an official announcement telling everyone that sir paul will not come outside to make an appearance. they are not deterred.

they are waiting hoping for a glimpse. all those years ago we came here and played, you know, and we didn't know if we would ever have any future, but we did 0k. it was amazing. i can't believe thatjust happened. i am shocked. extraordinary. amazing. it was just unbelievable. and, if you missed out, he will be back playing to a few people at the echo arena in december. after surviving the brutal war in syria, and being driven from their homes, a group of child refugees and their classmates will take to the stage of the royal albert hall on sunday. they'll be performing a poem about the conflict, written for the bbc proms. it's part of a project to help young refugees and asylum seekers tell their stories creatively. caroline hawley went along for rehearsals. it isa

it is a long way from the rubble of war to this. welcome to the royal albert hall. what do you think?m has been a tough but extraordinary journey for these children. this is a girl who is 14, several of family members were killed in syria and her story is not unique. mohammad asghar also 14 and he escaped to levitt and before coming here and still dreams of home. for the first time, the voices of child refugees are being heard here at one of the most prestigious venues in the country with a poll on they have written themselves. it makes me feel i am in syria having breakfast with my family. what do you want people to ta ke family. what do you want people to take away from the poll on? to

understand that syria is a very nice country, where people would like to live all their lives, but because of the war, everything is gone now. neither muhammad or subdued spoke english before they arrived and it was hard to settle in. some children we re was hard to settle in. some children were telling me to go away and go back home, we do not want to hear. i remember iraq. i remember syria. i'm so remember iraq. i remember syria. i'm so proud of myself. and then i say, when i was small, i did think, i am going to be on stage, in front of all these people. really excited for sunday and i hope that the audience will enjoy. stories of refugees from iraq and syria there as part of bbc

proms. we are going to head to johannesburg which has possibly the best you come here to britain of the longest blood moon eclipse of the 215t longest blood moon eclipse of the 21st century. it has not quite kicked in bad as it rises during this total eclipse, this natural satellite turns a striking shade of red or brown. not all the light reaching our eyes on earth, it turns a very dark shade of red and it is getting there in johannesburg. a very dark shade of red and it is getting there injohannesburg. let us getting there injohannesburg. let us look at the nasa camera. that is the kind of moon we are used to seeing that there will be a total eclipse, it will be totally obscured for one hour and 43 minutes. no excuses, go and find a gap in the clouds, you will see it. we are told the best time to see it in the uk will probably be around ten o'clock

tonight. if you can find a gap in the clouds. nick miller has the details. a big change in the weather. cooler, fresher, some rain and showers around, after storms affecting some of us this evening and into tonight. a met office amber warning in force for thunderstorms, be aware of the risk of flash flooding, strong winds, hale particularly in east anglia and into lincolnshire over the next few hours. 0n the satellite picture, rain bearing cloud to the west but it is this film here, the cloud is building and some of the storms breaking out and it will become more widespread through the east of the uk as we go through tonight and by the end of the night, heavy and thundery rain will be sitting through the north—east of scotland. behind that we see another area of fabrics of rain moving on from the west. there is a greater chance for many of us to see some rain word has been quite dry for some time. temperatures lower in the west but still quite a muggy night further east. 0ne still quite a muggy night further east. one more muggy night before it cools down. into tomorrow, early heavy rain affecting price of north—east scotland and some rumbles of thunder moving towards the

northern isles through the day, elsewhere showers moving in and particularly towards parts of northern ireland, north—west england, they could be heavy with a rumble of thunder and a few showers. the other thing we will notice about the weekend weather, it is windy, wind up to 40 mph but saturday and sunday as well, particularly in england and wales but blustery across england and wales but blustery a cross m ost england and wales but blustery across most bars but with the temperature colours, it is cooler. it will be most noticeable were it has been so hard, as much as 10 degrees cooler in parts of these stunning and compared with recent days, but everywhere feeling rather cool days, but everywhere feeling rather cool, rather fresh compared with the weather we have had recently. then i wa nt to weather we have had recently. then i want to show you the big picture going into the second half of the weekend. another weather system feeding in outbreaks of rain and that will spread north and east during the day, a few showers early in scotland, but looking at the drier weather until this feeds north, quite brisk winds, gusting up to 40 or 50 mph. as that pushes

north, expect guys to brighten behind with showers following on behind, and temperatures just into the high teens, a few spots into the low 205. that is going to feel quite different. that issue weekend weather. this is bbc news, i am chris rogers. the headlines at 8pm. travel chaos as storms and soaring heat caused disruption for travellers on the realnetworks. two and a half hours queuing from the motorway to the check—in, and fat on the motorway and back in the 34 degrees heat. hailstorms hit the keys of the england and a weather warning is in place for thunderstorms. could the heat waves be coming to an end? also this evening, letters exchanged between prince charles and a bishop convicted of being a paedophile have been read out at the inquiry of child sex abuse. prince charles says

he was unaware of the crimes. a nine—year—old has