welcome to bbc news. i'm alpa patel. our top stories: donald trump celebrates the strongest us economic growth in four years, despite warnings it might not last. the president takes credit for putting america first. we are the economic and the of the entire world are soppy when i meet the leaders of countries, the first thing they say invariably is "mr president, so nice to meet you, congratulations on your economy". a spectacular night sky show as a blood moon rises, in the longest lunar eclipse this century. the cbs television network investigates an allegation of sexual misconduct against its chaiman and chief executive. and from syria, to the royal albert hall here in london. the child refugees turning their experiences into poetry. hello.

president trump has described economic growth in the us as historic, after it rose at an annualised rate of more than 4% between april and june. the growth was driven by strong consumer spending and a surge in exports as firms rushed to beat new trade tariffs imposed on the us. the white house hopes the strong economy, diverts attention away from controversy surrounding alleged russian involvement in the 2016 election. with more, here's our north america editor, jon sopel. the sun shone and donald trump beamed as he basked in the warm glow of these latest economic figures. this is what he promised the american people and now 18 months or so into his presidency, he can say this is what he's delivered.

these numbers are very, very sustainable. this isn't a one—time shot. i happen to think we're going to do extraordinarily well in our next report next quarter. i think it's going to be outstanding. i won't go too strong because then if it's not quite as good, you will not let me forget it. the economy is powering ahead but these figures don't take account of the trade war launched against mexico, china and the european union and the retaliation taken against us products. and though donald trump says the economy is set fair, the effects of the tariffs are yet to feed through. i think there probably will be a lower number in the next quarter of data, just because there will be some give—back. we had a temporary surge in exports and that is not going to happen, that is people buying stuff ahead of the tariffs going up. the other reason why these figures are such a welcome tonic is it allows the president to try to shift

the conversation away from russia, a subject which took another murky twist last night. the white house believes that people will be much more interested in their wages, their livelihood and the state of the economy than they will be in whether there was collusion between donald trump and the russians over the last election. michael cohen, his long—time lawyer and personal bag carrier, has let it be known that he is prepared to testify, that donald trump was lying when he said he knew nothing about meeting held at trump tower before the election, with a kremlin linked official promising to dish dirt on hillary clinton, a potentially explosive claim. donald trump's current lawyer was sent out to do a number on the ex—lawyer. there's nobody that i know that knows him who hasn't warned me that if his back is up against the wall, he will lie like crazy because he's lied all his life. but this was rudy giuliani just a couple of months earlier. the man is an honest and honourable lawyer. the president entered

the fray this morning, saying: thank you very much, everybody. mr president, are you going to go to moscow? as donald trump left the south lawn, there were no shouted questions about the economy. it was all russia. the issue thatjust won't go away. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. let's get other stories now. british mps are warning that democracy has been plunged into crisis by the spread of fake news, with voters being systematically manipulated by campaigns which rely on hate and misinformation. in a leaked report, they've criticised the behaviour of big tech companies such as facebook and google — and called for new laws to make them responsible for content published on their sites. greece's prime minister alexis tsipras says he assumes full political responsibility for the bushfires which killed more than 80 people around athens.

the government has faced calls from the opposition to apologise forfailing to respond quickly enough to the disaster. but mr tsipras said the authorities would act quickly to tackle unlicensed residential building development. a group of political parties in pakistan say they have rejected the results of wednesday's general election alleging widespread rigging. results declared so far show the party of former cricket star imran khan has emerged as the single largest in parliament. pakistan's election commission has dismissed the allegations of manipulation. millions of people around the world, have been gazing skywards to catch the longest lunar eclipse this century. it's as the moon passes through the earth's shadow. those lucky enough not to be dissapointed by cloud cover can see the phenomenon known as a "blood moon". at least part of the eclipse was visible from europe, the middle east, africa, australia, most of asia and south america. victoria gill reports. passing through the shadow

of our own planet. in the darkest skies, stargazers took in the view of the moon during the longest lunar eclipse of the century. our natural satellite spent one hour and 43 minutes cast spectacularly red, as it was totally eclipsed by the earth. the moon is passing right through the centre of the earth's shadow, so it is where the earth's shadow is at its widest. and so it lasts the longest. the only light from the sun that can reach it is actually the light that has been filtered through the earth's atmosphere and that is why it goes this beautiful dusky red colour. at the same time, our solar system neighbour, mars, will be as close as it is possible to be to the earth on its own journey around the sun, significantly improving our view of it. this recent picture captured by the hubble telescope shows the detail of a dust

storm on the red planet. so it is clear they will see a brighter, red mars. and it won't happen again until 2023, so it is a good night to look skywards. victoria gill, bbc news. the directors of cbs, one of the big us television networks, say they will investigate claims of sexual misconduct against the chairman and chief executive, leslie moonves. the allegations have been published by the new yorker magazine. shares in cbs fell more than 6% on news of the claims against mr moonves, who is one of america's highest—paid business executives. let us get more from our correspondent, chris buckler, in washington. leslie moonves is one of the most powerful and influential figures in

american television. he led cbs to the top of american television and is responsible for a number of hit shows, even appearing himself on the david letterman talk show, an extremely influential television show and he has been responsible for commissioning many big programmes. he has also been, in recent months, a supporter of the metoo movement, a system of people on and forward and to stories of men trying to take a package of women in the workplace. now he has found that he himself has been accused of doing exactly that. this article in the new yorker, the writer says for women described leslie moonves as it did to forcibly kiss or touch them in business meetings and two that leslie moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers.

he has denied the inappropriate behaviour, but there is a statement from him. it says, "i recognise there were times decades ago where i mayhap made women uncomfortable and made advances, those were mistakes andi made advances, those were mistakes and i regret them immensely but i a lwa ys and i regret them immensely but i always understood and respected and abide by the principal that no means no andi abide by the principal that no means no and i have never used a position to harm or hinder anyone‘s career". nonetheless, these are damaging allegations and wider questions that the culture at cbs, which you may remember that a previous presenter who denied any allegations, but cbs stop his employment. an independent investigation started back then they say that continuing. they will look at these allegations as part of that. the moving story, chris from washington, thank you very much. —— a moving.

the hollywood reporter said that the new yorker is set —— austria's chancellor, sebastian kurz, has told the british prime minister that it's "important to avoid a hard brexit". the two leaders have been meeting in salzburg, where theresa may also used a meeting with her czech counterpart, to push her case for greater flexibility from the european union. from salzburg, our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins sent this report, a warning it contains repeated flash phtography. arriving for a night at the opera, at the end of yet another bruising brexit week. theresa may is finally starting her holidays with mozart's the magic flute, in the city of his birth. she's the guest of austria's chancellor, sebastian kurz. in a session of talks earlier, she tried to persuade him to urge a softer brexit stance from the entire eu side. but, at this particularly tense moment, both deliberately said very little publicly. and i hope that we can find a way that also after the brexit,

the relations between the uk and austria and the uk and the european union remain very strong. we are delivering on the vote that the british people made. they chose to leave the european union and we will deliver. so, could austria prove to be a british ally? this is a country both highly conservative and eurosceptic. hostile to migrants from outside the eu, but not to freedom of movement inside it. tonight, austria's foreign minister told me brexit has now pushed her country deeper into european unity. the current uncertainty on what brexit will be like, has in a different way shaped austrian public opinion, that interestingly enough, people have become a little bit more pro—eu than they used to be. a little bit more supportive of the 27? exactly. but it doesn't look

like theresa may got much comfort from the czech prime minister either. another leader she's been meeting here in salzburg. some other eu leaders may be sympathetic, but, and it's a big but, when britain says you must blink first, they tend to stand solidly together and say "no, after you". so, for mrs may, tonight's mozart, a serious fairytale, offers an escape and her holiday in italy does start tomorrow, but it's only an interval before the hardest bargaining britain has ever faced. james robbins, bbc news, salzburg. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the us high school students are relu cta nt to the us high school students are reluctant to share their conservative views, due to criticism from their peers. the us space agency, nasa,

has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that 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 really 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.

here are the latest headlines: donald trump celebrates the strongest us economic growth in four yea rs, strongest us economic growth in four years, despite warnings and might not last. a spectacular night sky show for millions as a blood moon rises in the longest lunar eclipse this century. the prince of wales has told an inquiry that he "at no stage" sought to influence a police investigation into a bishop who was later convicted of paedophile offences. in a written statement to the uk's independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, prince charles wrote that he'd been friends with peter ball, the former bishop of gloucester, between the 1970s and 1990s. but he said he was unaware of his crimes and felt "deep personal regret" at being misled. peter ball, who is 86, was jailed in 2015 and released in 2017. he is too ill to give evidence to the inquiry in person. sophie long reports.

peter ball was a senior and powerful figure in the anglican church for decades. he was a man with friends in high places. prince charles attended when he became a bishop. in 1999, he was arrested and charged for gross indecency. it was not until 2015 that he was convicted for abusing 18 teenagers and young men and jailed. today, prince charles was at raf marham, he tried to distance himself from the man he once called a loyal friend. in a letter read out by

senior counsel, he said he had ceased contact with mr peter ball he was found guilty of serious offences against young people. it remains a source of deep personal regret that i was one of many who were deceived over a long of time about the true nature of peter ball's activities. clarence house says prince charles did not know about the caution until 2009, and he said he had not been aware that an admission that carried an acceptance of guilt. 0ne aware that an admission that carried an acceptance of guilt. one of peter ball's victims, who wants to remain anonymous, told me he did not feel that was good enough. anonymous, told me he did not feel that was good enoughlj anonymous, told me he did not feel that was good enough. i have been let down by prince charles. we have been fighting to 25 years for this enquiry, and the fact that prince charles did not come out and say that he was absolutely devastated as to what had happened was was hurtful. in 1997, peter ball his brother were found at this house and rural somerset, then owned by the duchy of cornwall. prince charles

wrote to him, saying he would love to see and settled somewhere that gave him peace and tranquillity. the two men exchanged letters over two decades. life continues to be pretty nasty for me, peter ball wrote to the two years later, the prince calls one of peter ball's accuses a glassly men, adding... in his letter to the enquiry, prince charles said he did not recall whether this was in reference to individual accuser 01’ in reference to individual accuser or member of the press. prince charles said he had not been aware of the true context and details of the complaints against peter ball until his trial in 2015. he said that during the 1980s and 90s there was a presumption that you could ta ke 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 a

police investigation into peter ball, nor did he instruct any of his staff to do so. there's been more protests in iraq as demonstrators rally against widespread corruption and social inequality. on friday, thousands of people took to the streets of basra — and other cities across the country — calling for political change. stefan levy reports. for two weeks now, angry protests have rocked basra. the southern city is iraq's main oil hub, home to over 70% of its reserves, but few living here reap the rewards. people lack basic amenities like clean water and electricity, jobs are hard to come by. these placards read i want my rights, i want my country. rallies over these issues are not new but this time around, that the unrest has been more widespread. protestors are demanding reform to the

parliamentary quota system installed after the us invasion of iraq in 2003. translation: the government are making the same promises time and time again and i tell you that they could not filth will demands because of the quota system. each party what something for it. —— fulfil. i challenge to meet the demand. the proteas come at a sensitive time. different political factions are currently trying to form a coalition government. this is often made's elections were tainted by allegations of fraud, and the pressure is on. by allegations of fraud, and the ressure is on. ira ‘s by allegations of fraud, and the pressure is on. iraq's top cleric has backed the calls of protest is to establish a new government. the current government must work hard to a nswer current government must work hard to answer their demands, to prevent suffering. secondly, the new government must be formed as quickly as possible with suitably qualified

people. as it currently stands, the corruption will continue and the wealth generated by the oil which country will remain in the hands of the few, rather than the many. stefan levy, bbc news. life is not always easy as a teenager. some young conservatives in the us believe they have the additional problem of struggling to go public with their views. we went to a meeting of conservative high school students, to ask them about their politics. (tx) i love america, it is amazing he. i love america, it is amazing helj love i love america, it is amazing he.” love being conservative. there are a lot of stereotypes about what the conservative movement is really about. -- it is amazing here. it is pretty difficult being a young conservative in the us right now, just because of the hysteria going

on stop —— going on. just because of the hysteria going on stop -- going on. it feels like a much better place to be a conservative now than it was a few years ago. is a little bit difficult, i kind of have to watch what i say and the huay say it. —— end to who i say it. —— and. apple has been concerned about being at 'pro—life', that is one of my main values. my main concern would be gun rights. i see the left coming out it and it concerns me a bit.” am 'pro—life' and is one of the biggest issues to meet. another thing that is really important to me as national security. i am in florida and we just had, we used to be able to buy a rifle and a 18 and theyjust that right away from me.”

feel like donald trump himself is sort of device in a way not really the best leader for the conservative move on. president trump is someone who is so, so formulaic, keep america great again, ex— cremation point. i think it is great having a conservative leader in the white house right now. --!. iwant conservative leader in the white house right now. --!. i want him to do well, i really, really wanted to do well, i really, really wanted to do well. i do not feel he has done a greatjob at do well. i do not feel he has done a great job at uniting the country but ido great job at uniting the country but i do feel he has done a good job of moving the country forward. trump is the most patriotically as i have seen. the most patriotically as i have seen. he is the american dream. just some of the young conservative is there he said is tough to beat conservative in today 's united states. —— who say it is. the brutal war in syria,

and being driven from their homes, a group of child refugees and their classmates will take to the stage in london, at 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 war to this. it has been a long but extraordinary journey for these children. this is sajeda, was 1a. several of herfamily children. this is sajeda, was 1a. several of her family were killed at in syria and the story is not unique. muhamed is also 14, he escaped the lebanon before coming here and still dreams of home. -- mohhammed. the first time, the voices of refugees are being heard here at one of the country's most prestigious venues, with material they have written themselves. what do you want people to take away from the poem? syria is a very nice

country, that people would like to live in all their lives, but... because of the war and things, everything is going wrong. neither mohhammed, nor sajeda spoke english when they arrived. it was hard settling in. some children were treating me like go away, go back to your home, we don't want you here. i'm so proud of myself. and then i said, like, when i was small, i did think i'm going to be on stage in front of all these people. —— i did not think. i'm very excited for sunday and i hope people will enjoy. is an inspiring teenagers there. finally, some more remarkable images

of the blood moon clips. —— some. —— blood moon clips. —— blood moon eclipse. hello there. the thunderstorms broke out across southern and central parts of the country late on friday. this marks the end of the current heatwave. this thunderstorms continued to clear northwards and eastwards and then things turn cooler with showers following on behind. that is the culprit for the change to our weather, the big area of low pressure that has been moving in off the atlantic. the thunderstorms, line them across east anglia and in the england and eastern scotland. as we head into the early hours of saturday, most of the thunderstorms will clear off into the north sea,

they could however mingle on a bit longer into the north—east of scotland. behind it does, further pulses of rain pushing into start saturday morning. is going to be slightly cooler and fresher here but the england and wales, again another warm and humid and the night. saturday, we start off with showery rain, maybe some of the country. quite a wet start for north—east scotland. some of these producing longer spells of rain in northern ireland. could be even heavier thunder across england and into the west of wales. is something we have not seen for a while, blustery winds. i have got the wind areas on here because it is going to be quite dusty, 20 to 40 miles an hour in some places. is going to be a lot cooler and fresher to what we have been used to. 10 degrees cooler now

than what we saw thursday and friday. the low pressure is still with us as we head into part two of the week and. in fact, this feature running up in the south—western parts of england will someday could bring a spell of storms. —— weekend. windier and we bring a spell of storms. —— weekend. windierand we are bring a spell of storms. —— weekend. windier and we are pretty much across the board. some of this rain will be pretty heavy and prolonged, good news of gardeners and rowers as it continues to push its way northwards into much of scotland. behind that we could see a few brea ks behind that we could see a few breaks but it is going to be another windy day, particularly across england and wales and even fresher on saturday, temperatures at best 21 01’ on saturday, temperatures at best 21 or 22 across southern areas. closer to the high teens celsius further north. yes, it is going to be called rather fresh week, with some strong outbreaks of rain. the signs are as we head into the new working week, high—pressure continues to push in and these temperatures are going to be on the rise again.

this is bbc news. the headlines: donald trump is celebrating the strongest us economic growth in four years, despite warnings it might not last. the increase of 4% was driven by strong consumer spending and a surge in exports, as firms rushed to beat new trade tariffs imposed on the us. millions of people are gazing skywards to catch the longest lunar eclipse this century as the moon passes through earth's shadow. the phenomenon known as a "blood moon" occures when the earth's natural satellite appears as shades of red as light from the sun is filtered through our atmosphere. the directors of cbs, one of the big us television networks, say they will investigate claims of sexual misconduct against the chairman and chief executive, leslie moonves. shares in cbs fell more than 6% on news of the claim.

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