a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: president trump says he's ready to meet iran's leaders any time and with no preconditions. fleeing syria to fight another day. we have a special report on the hunt for is fighters still on the run. burning out of control — raging wildfires in california force 50,000 people to leave their homes. high turnout and hopes for a better future — counting is underway in zimbabwe's historic elections. hello to you. president trump has suggested he's willing to meet the leaders of iran without preconditions any time they want to discuss how to improve relations. strains have deepened since may, when mr trump pulled out of the international deal designed to limit iran's nuclear ambitions, and the white house

is about to reimpose sanctions. leaders of iran and the us have not met for around four decades. this is what president trump said. i would certainly meet if they want to. do you have preconditions for a meeting? no. anytime they want. i would certainly meet with iran. i don't know if they are ready yet. they are having a hard time at our. i ended the iran deal. it was a ridiculous deal. they will probably wa nt to ridiculous deal. they will probably want to meet. i am ready to do that. i don't do that from strength or from weakness. it is an appropriate thing to do. if we could work something out that is meaningful, not the waste of paper that the other deal was, i would certainly be willing to meet. an adviser to president rouhani has

responded on twitter. hamid aboutalebi said: "returning to the nuclear deal" and "respecting the iranian nation's rights" would pave the way for talks. we asked our north america editor jon sopel at the white house about mr trump's words. it would be easy to think of it as a throwaway remark, but then few people thought donald trump would meet vladimir putin and we saw what happened in helsinki. and fewer thought he would meet north korean leader kim jong—un. we saw what happened in singapore. there is something of the north korea playbook. donald trump threatening. weapons locked and loaded and fire and fury. eight days ago he tweeted this, never ever threaten the us again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before. we are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words or violence and death. and now today eight days later donald trump says we can have talks anytime, no preconditions at all. they might

happen as soon as this september at the un general assembly. what we don't have yet is the reaction of israel or saudi arabia, implacable foes to iran. live now to our washington bureau and to the journalist geneive abdo, who's also a senior fellow at the atlantic council. geneive, i know you're also the author of several books on the middle east and muslim world. what do you make of this? well, i think that, as your correspondent alluded to, it is unclear. and just as we should take his inflammatory rhetoric all that seriously, that he tweeted eight days ago, we should also really question what he is talking about today about meeting iran. and despite what people on the outside might perceive as us policy oi’ outside might perceive as us policy or the us government, president trump doesn't speak for the entire

us government. so there will be other people waiting in on this —— weighing in on this, and when he tweets and talks off that doesn't necessarily mean that is us policy. the iranians have suggested that president trump tried to meet president trump tried to meet president rouhani last september. do you think there might be such a meeting? yes, i do think so. this is the perfect venue for a official and unofficial meeting. and according to the iranians, and this hasn't been confirmed in washington, according to the iranians president trump asked president rouhani several times to have a meeting last september. so i think it is possible. but even if we get beyond a meeting, what can actually be accomplished? a meeting, what can actually be accomplished ? we a meeting, what can actually be accomplished? we have to get beyond the rhetoric. i wasjust accomplished? we have to get beyond the rhetoric. i was just in accomplished? we have to get beyond the rhetoric. i wasjust in iraq, for example, and the irani and ——

iranians are making huge inroads into iraq, they are influencing the next government and the us is pulling out of iraq. so we need to separate the sort of reality from the rhetoric. and the iranians have been very successful in syria, of course. mr trump is right when he says the iranian regime is in trouble. economically they are under enormous pressure. indeed they are under enormous pressure. as of today the real is 120,000 reals to the dollar and sanctions haven't even gone into effect yet. the first sanctions, the effects of sanctions will take place in a week's time. european firms are not investing in iran, despite what eu politicians

say. and even china and india have reservations. so unfortunately for the iraqis that leaves iraq as the playground for the iranians. the iranians are in trouble. what that means in the long—term, i think it is too early to say. there are demonstrations across the country over economic issues. but that doesn't spell regime change, which is the stated policy of the trump administration. very interesting to talk to you. thank you very much. thank you. and you can keep up to date with the latest developments on relations betweeen iran and the trump white house on the bbc website. you'll also find analysis of the diplomatic options open to tehran. that's all at bbc.com/news. negotiations are underway to try to free around 30 women and children who are being held by the islamic state group in syria. they were reportedly kidnapped during an is attack on the sweida region, in which 200 people were killed. last week's raid shows is militants remain a deadly threat in syria. as many as 50,000 foreign fighters

from across the world poured into syria through turkey, tojoin militant groups including islamic state. now, after the fall of is, there's increasing concern about those who haven't been captured. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville has been following the trail of the extremists from syria to europe, who are still on the run. syria is a country of checkpoints and of escape routes. these free syrian army rebels are on the lookout for the so—called islamic state. is are flooding out of the former caliphate, trying to leave the country. this bus, it's full of civilians, gets the all clear, but it's a haphazard hunt. translation: after we take their pictures and record their voices, we message locals who know if they are is members or not. if not, then we let them go. foreigners arouse suspicion here. he may be only 13 years old, but this boy is a long way from home. "i'm from saudi arabia," he tells the men.

his knees are shaking. he says he wasn't in is, but was taken away for further questioning. this may not look like much, it might seem very far away, but this checkpoint is one of the last defences against is making it to europe. here, in the last four months, they've stopped more than 1000 is fighters, some of them small fry, some of them big commanders. many more are still on the run, and they aren't just stopping here in syria. we've been following the escape of is fighters from syria for months. many were set free in separate deals across the country. thousands have escaped the battlefield, and some are already in turkey. it's1am on the streets of istanbul and the counterterror police are on the search for is hideouts. this neighbourhood is full of syrians and other foreigners. turkey, which has been blamed for letting so many fighters into syria, says the flow

has now reversed. the swat team is taking no chances. they're worried that the suspect may be armed or have a suicide vest. there are women and children inside. police are ready to break down the door. there's stand—off, but eventually they're let in. turkey has a list of 50,000 names of foreign fighters who went to syria. they're now searching the apartment for evidence to link the suspect to any terror activities, but that's almost immaterial because he will be deported in any case. he won't be returning to this apartment. they get their man, an uzbek. he's accused of having fought for is in syria. this is one of nearly a dozen raids

tonight across istanbul. in about a fifth of all of these raids, and there have been hundreds, the suspect has already fled. these are civilians. this is the last leg of their escape route from war, but it's also being used by the islamic state. it's just before dawn on turkey's aegean coast. they're just half an hour away from lesbos. there are no fighters here today, but, says the people smuggler in charge, they use this route regularly. translation: yes, the number of is members fleeing to turkey has definitely increased during the last four orfive months. we learned some people made it to germany. this is new footage of chechen and syrian fighters crossing into turkeyjust last month. britain and others don't want

the foreign fighters back, but syria's darkness won't be contained. plenty of islamic state fighters are determined to return to europe regardless. quentin somerville, bbc news, istanbul. let's go live now to washington, dc. joining me now from washington is joyce karam, washington correspondent for the newspaper, the national. do you have a sense of the proportions, how many is fighters are crossing borders, taking the fight elsewhere, how many are simply fleeing and how many fighting in syria? for sure we are seeing a drift from foreign fighters, recruits, back to their countries, or trying to go back to their countries of origin. but when you

look inside syria, when you look inside iraq, isis is farfrom gone. they are recruiting in local cities, they are recruiting in pockets that they are recruiting in pockets that they still have in syria, two or three pockets, they have. and iraq, while they don't have any pockets left, the land, the cities have been cleared out, we are seeing a new tactic for the group, it is re—emerging as an insurgency carrying kidnappings, assassinations and bombings, very similar, you know, what the washington post called it, to what we saw pre— 2014 emergence of the caliphate. so while we are seeing a movement from its fighters fleeing the area is that they are losing, underground the group is far from they are losing, underground the group is farfrom being defeated,

and it is changing its tactics. the way it operates in both iraq and syria, as you opened up, today, you know, we learned that they have 36 women and children that they kidnapped from soweida in syria after an ambush attack that left more than 200 dead, so i think we have to be a little bit realistic about the dimension of the group and the operations it is carrying in both what used to be the caliphate. without the caliphate, without the territory, how dangerous would you say members of the group still are. they have lost many of their leaders, of course. definitely they have lost many of their leaders and the iraqi services were jubilant that five very dangerous isis leaders were killed. but we are seeing them going underground in a

more dangerous way, perhaps, like they are invisible at the moment, us intelligence services believe that he is still alive. we have seen spiritual leaders come forth and in some cases we have even seen foreign fighters take more leadership roles. 0ne fighters take more leadership roles. one of them is an american fighter whojoined one of them is an american fighter who joined the group. so the dynamic, the operation, the isis we knew during the caliphate is perhaps over, but its tactics are very new and we are seeing a new generation of isis. and here, if you look at mosul, at areas in iraq where the government has not been present, you know, when you talk about

reconstruction, when you talk about services, the iraqi government has not come back to those areas. and that vacuum is very much welcomed by isis. they are trying to come back by launching attacks, by recruiting children, recruiting the youth in those areas by paying men who are desperate forjobs, money, to have them back in their ranks. so i would be very careful in ascribing that isis is over or isis is defeated. if anything i think the announcement of its defeat was very premature from both the us government and the iraqi government. thank you for that. thousands of firefighters battling

the flames in california. nasa has released this image from space. you can see it right there on the left of your screen. conditions are very hot and very dry. these are just some of the 130 fires burning across the uist and canada. the fire season is no more. california is now a blaze all year round. in the past six years, not one month has passed without a major wildfire here. just now, 17 are burning up and down the state, causing problems for this battalion chief and his team. the fire coming up behind us is a bit enthusiastic, reacting to the wind and the fuels. it's coming up from the bottom below us, mostly the thermal collins carrying it up, you

can hear the moisture, the crackling part. then it's picking up the embers and throwing them. kind of not looking for it to go the right now. across north america, tens of thousands of firefighters are battling to save life and protect property. setting controlled burns like this one and hacking away at the undergrowth to try to deprive the wildfires of fuel. it is relentless and often dangerous work. quite how dangerous was underlined again with the death of brian shoes. the 33—year—old captain of the arrowhead hotshots. he was fighting this blaze near yosemite national park when he was struck by a falling tree, the fourth firefighter to die in the wildfires. 50,000 people in the state have now fled their homes. but stating could be deadly. in the mountains of shasta county, where this village was reduced to ashes,

they found the body of someone who refused to leave. these pictures of the fire sweeping in were filmed by a helicopter pilot, showing them jumping the sacramento river, leading to young children and their great—grandmother among the dead and the fear here is that this is what the fear here is that this is what the future looks like. james cook, bbc news, in northern california. 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 almost four decades. if one is on one's own in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't really see why these people should wander in and say, "you're doing something wrong." six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl at worcestershire park, and already they've been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they're lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute. president trump says he's ready to meet iran's leaders any time and with no preconditions. wildfires in caifornia have forced 50,000 people to flee

and claimed at least seven lives, including four firefighters. counting is underway in historic elections in zimbabwe, the first without robert mugabe running for high office. voters have relished the opportunity for new leadership, with turnout said to be as high as 75%. emmerson mnangagwa of the ruling zanu—pf party, is up against nelson chamisa of the opposition movement for democratic change, in the battle for the presidency. 0ur africa editor fergal keane reports from the capital harare. it was peaceful across zimbabwe, in matebeleland, and midlands province, where who overthrew the regime cast its vote. 0nce where who overthrew the regime cast its vote. once an enforcer for robert mugabe, he is hoping that voters will want change. i'm happy that both the process for campaigning was peaceful and voting today is peaceful.

i have no doubt that the end process of the entire electoral process will remain peaceful. in the capital harare, stronghold of the opposition movement for democratic change, its young leader nelson chamisa arrived at a local school to vote. he's campaigned energetically for months. how is it going? is it going well? "very good," he said. nelson chamisa just after voting. it is chaotic, but it is democracy as zimbabwe has never known it before. a few moments later, i caught up with him again. will you accept the result, even if you lose? i have told you that we are not losing in this election, we are winning this election. so i am not interested in impossibilities. so you are confident? we will win this election, to the extent that it is a free and fair election, particularly in the rural areas. it is a done deal. it has been a hard road to this place. to ensure its free and fair,

hundreds of observers have been deployed. are you happy? so far, so good and we trust in the process. the coming days will reveal the winner and may prove the ultimate test of zi m ba bwe winner and may prove the ultimate test of zimbabwe pompous back —— zimbabwe's test of zimbabwe pompous back —— zimba bwe's democracy. for members of the russian punk group pussy riot say they were detained again after their world cup protest. the match was being watched by vladimir putin and other world leaders. to the philippenes now where more than 60 luxury cars and motorbikes have been smashed by a bulldozer on the orders of the president. lebo diseko has the story. president rodrigo duterte came

to show that he means business. his target, illegally imported luxury vehicles. harley—davidsons, porsches, lamborghinis and mercedes—benzes were among the smuggled loot all about to be destroyed. a total of eight motorbikes and 68 cars worth more than $5 million were crushed, smashed to smithereens as a bulldozer ran over them. the president has been criticised for his tough stance on crime. rights groups say his war on drugs has led to extrajudicial killings. but he is hugely popular in his country and his crackdown on smuggling seems in keeping with his overall approach so as painful as this might be for any car lover to watch, the president will be hoping pictures like these will serve as a powerful deterrent for anyone thinking of smuggling in the future. lebo diseko, bbc news.

fresh from his tour de france victory, the welsh cyclist gai—rint thomas has arrived back in the uk. —— geraint thomas has arrived back in the uk. discussions are underway in cardiff about how to mark his achievement, but the champion says he doesn't think all his success, will change him. sian lloyd reports. the city waiting for geraint thomas to come home. flags have gone up at cardiff castle. behind the scenes, plans are being made to give him a hero's welcome. ijust think it is amazing that geraint thomas has won tour de france and, you know, it inspires little kids to get onto their bikes. i was watching the tour de france and i want to know when is he coming back to cardiff, geraint thomas? we don't know yet, but when we do, we'll let you know. all right, thank you. one step closer to home, geraint thomas is back in the uk and headed to the one show sofa tonight. cheered on by young members of his former cycling club from cardiff, excited to meet their hero. but he is still trying to take it all in. it's been nuts. it's just been crazy. you know, you think about the race, the racing part and all that, and, suddenly, you win

and it is all over and itjust goes crazy and you just don't expect anything else. it's just a whirlwind. what are your thoughts from here, now? i haven't actually signed a new contract yet, so quite good timing really. laughter just sit and wait for the office to call you tomorrow. at home, they're talking about building a legacy on the back of geraint thomas's win. there's already a gold postbox in the city centre to celebrate his 0lympic triumphs, but now they have more ambitious plans. the biggest tribute we can pay to cycling and to geraint is to put in place high—quality cycle lanes and cycling infrastructure, so everybody has a chance to cycle in cardiff, not just the champions. that goal will take some time to achieve, but first, this city and its cyclists are looking forward to seeing geraint and the yellowjersey here. sian lloyd, bbc news, cardiff. and before we go, a dog is a man's best friend and also for barcelona forward lionel messi who was captured showing

off his skills with his dog hulk via his wife's instagram account. and it seems that even with his dog he doesn't take any prisoners putting the animal through its paces. hello again. love it or loathe it, it looks like the hot weather is set to return to south—east england towards the end of the week and the weekend as well. before we get there, though, we'll showers on monday. there will be further showers around today as well. of more immediate concern is this developing area of cloud towards the south—west approaches. this is going to reactivate a weatherfront, and during the early hours of tuesday, we will see showers widespread in southern england, wales, the midlands and one or two in northern england as well, but as well as those showers, there's going to be a clump of heavier rain that will probably become quite widespread across central, southern england, the south midlands and swinging into east anglia and south—east england.

the thing with this big area of rain is we will have squally winds and could have some lightning in it as well. the rain could be intense, so we could have some pretty awful conditions on the roads first thing in the east midlands, east anglia and south—east england, somewhere in that part of the world. the rain could be quite slow to ease off in the morning. by the afternoon, they will be long out of the way and we will see sunshine following on behind. looking at the weather picture further northwards and westwards, it was always going to be a kind of cloudy and windy kind of day and there's rain in the forecast too, especially in the highlands and western isles. a few showers pushing into north—western counties of northern ireland, but otherwise, there should be a fair bit of dry and cloudy weather. temperatures, 18 in belfast. moving further south and we lose the early rain in eastern areas, that could be quite heavy and the afternoon is much brighter with some sunshine, and temperatures pushing on to around 25 degrees. it might feel a little on the humid side for you. that's tuesday's weather, let's take a look towards the middle part of the week, and we've got this warm front approaching the british isles. that's going to thicken the cloud up in northern ireland, and outbreaks of rain setting

in here through wednesday afternoon, turning quite heavy as well. i think it probably will cloud over across wales and south—western england too. we'll get some rain towards the end of the day working into west scotland, but that still leaves east anglia and the south—east of england with warm air, temperatures up to 27. so pushing into the 80s in terms of fahrenheit. showers will continue to be a feature on thursday into north—western areas, some of these could be quite heavy, and normally there's a good deal of cloud in the north—west, keeping the temperatures generally in the low 20s. not bad for the time of year, but it's the heat is really lingering in east anglia and the south—east of england as well. those temperatures build further towards the end of the week into the weekend.

look at cambridge, not far from 30 here. cloudy but bright in north—western parts of the uk but towards the end of the week, some areas could reach the low 30s in the very hottest spots. the latest headlines: president trump has said he's willing to meet iranian leaders "without preconditions", to discuss how to improve relations between the two countries. tensions have increased since may, when mr trump pulled out of the iran nuclear deal, while the white house is preparing to reimpose sanctions. at least 50,000 people have now fled their homes in california, as wildfires ravage parts of the state. at least seven people have died, including four firefighters. thousands more are working around the clock to try to battle the blazes. the worst — the carr fire — is now 20% contained, up from 5% on sunday. votes are being counted in zimbabwe's presidential and parliamentary elections.