this is the briefing. i'm victoria fritz. our top story: the united arab emirates blames a state actor for last month's attacks on four oil tankers in the gulf. the us, which has sent warships to the region, says its clear iran was responsible. we're aboard the uss abraham lincoln. the eighth women's world cup begins in france later. the host nation will face south korea in the opening game in paris this evening. and cock—a—doodle do, or cock—a—doodle don't? a court case for maurice the noisy cockerel. coming up in busines: deal, no deal, or no brexit? businesses brace for more uncertainty as theresa may prepares to step down and rivals

line up to replace her a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. tell us what you think, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. as we heard, france postpone the case of the over eager cockrell. tell us what you think. an investigation into sabotage attacks on four oil tankers off the united arab emirates last month has concluded that it's very likely they were carried out by a state actor. preliminary findings suggest limpet

mines were attached to the vessels by divers operating from fast boats — an operation described in the report as "highly sophisticated". the investigators don't blame a specific country, but the united states has accused iran of being behind the attacks. our washington correspondent chris buckler has more: the details could have come from a movie screenplay, frankly, rather than an official report. it says fast boats were used to navigate the difficult waters of the gulf and that special divers were deployed to fit limpet mines to the holes of the ships. pictures have been release of the damage caused to the vessels. you can see from the photographs of the impact of those naval mines exploding after they have been fitted to the ship using magnets. they cause destruction but no—one

was injured. an operation would have required expertise, co—ordination and knowledge of the vessels. preliminary findings suggest a state actor was probably involved. basically an individual or organisation related to a government. while they do not name a country, the ambassador to the un from saudi arabia suggests that iran bought responsibility. that echoed some of what was suggested byjohn bolton from the us. he pointed the finger firmly bolton from the us. he pointed the fingerfirmly at tyrone. bolton from the us. he pointed the finger firmly at tyrone. that has been firmly denied by iran —— the capital of iran. this report will heighten tensions in the region and they have been confirms in

washington. the us has been steadily increasing its military presence in the middle east since the beginning of may, when the trump administration said it needed to send a clear message to the iranian regime that any attack on united states interests, or on those of its allies, would be met with what it called "unrelenting force." our defence correspondent, jonathan beale has been granted access to the uss abraham lincoln, one of the carriers now stationed in the gulf. america is flexing its military muscle. right up, close to iran. the bbc was among the first media to fly onto the uss abraham lincoln scenes its hasty deployment out to the arabian sea. a response, says the trump administration, to credible threat from the iranians regime.

sailing close to everyone, just over the horizon, this is notjust the torrent, it is a warning as well. the stash deterrent. jed and the carrier have been adjoined by b—52 bombers as well as hundreds more troops in the region. the us insists it is not looking for a fight. but to iran, this all looks like ciba rattling on steroid. whatjustifies this response? i am absolutely convinced that intelligence is credible and that is why we're here. iran was going to attack us forces? there was credible intelligence. what would happen? immediate consequences. they are not revealing any more details about the

intelligence and whatever the thread, this is also part of a concerted effort to try to force iran to change its behaviour. the trump administration is a ready turn its back on an international deal on iran's nuclear programme and stepped—up sanctions instead. the message now is confrontation and that includes, if necessary, the use of military force. we are not looking for while. our key mission isa looking for while. our key mission is a deterrence. however, if the united states is attacked, if our interests are attacked, then we will respond with unrelenting force. with tension simmering, the biggest fear will be miscalculation by either side. one possible reason why so far this aircraft carrier has not sailed through the narrow strait closest to iran. let's brief you on some of the other stories

making the news. here, labour has seen off a challenge from the brexit party to win the peterborough by—election for a seat in the house of commons. nigel farage's fledgling movement lost by fewer than 700 votes and finished ahead of the conservatives and liberal democrats. the new labour mp, lisa forbes, said her victory was "significant" and showed that people had "rejected the politics of division". the world health organization has warned that humanity is entering a new phase, where large outbreaks of deadly diseases like ebola are becoming normal. the two largest ever outbreaks of ebola have taken place in africa in the past five years. the who says greater effort needs to be made to prepare for deadly epidemics. the head of the new york police department has apologised for a notorious raid on a gay bar, that led to riots and was ultimately a catalyst for the lgbt rights movement. injune 1969 new york police raided the stonewall inn to enforce laws that made it illegal to serve

alcohol to known homosexuals. the american grammy—winning musician, drjohn, has died of a heart attack, aged 77. he was prominent as a pianist and singer on the new orleans music scene from the late 1950s, creating a unique sound which was influenced by voodoo, and blended blues, jazz, rock and funk. he's perhaps best known for his 1973 hit, right place, wrong time. in may 2017, extremists loyal to the so—called islamic state group took over marawi in the philippines. after 5 months of heavy bombing and more than a thousand deaths, government forces took back the city. but large parts are in ruins and thousands of people still cannot return home. our correspondent howard johnson joined a government—controlled tour

of marawi to see what progress is being made in rebuilding it. this is marawi city's ground zero today. it is the area where the fiercest fighting took place. bbc drone footage reveals that large parts of the city remain completely devastated. here, the city's grand mosque, an iconic image of the siege, 1.5 years later after the fighting, it is still peppered with shell holes. i hereby declare marawi city liberated, that marks the beginning of rehabilitation. applause. the philippine government has said it will completely rehabilitate the city by 2021, but looking around marawi it's apparent that progress has been slow. i'm here in quezon avenue — one of the main streets here in marawi city's ground zero. and as you can see to the left

of me, a mechanical digger clearing some of the rubble from this war zone. locals have complained that these diggers are often inactive but during this government—controlled and army—backed press trip, we are seeing that the diggers are busy at work. local officials say rebuilding has been hampered by work to clear unexploded devices, leaving thousands excluded from what's left of their family homes. sophia is one of them. she and 20 others cram into a small temporary hut outside of the city centre. life in the camp is incredibly tough. translation: it's too hot. water only flows at alternating hours and with only a little amount. my mother experienced a stroke here because of the heat of the sun. i will not accept this as my permanent residence. there are fears that delays in rebuilding could cause resentment and a potential recruiting tool forjihadists still at large. but the philippine army say that that threat is minimal.

we believe that because of the death of their leaders, and last march, the death of the last leader, abu dar, their capability of really recruiting, training and organising again another attack such as marawi siege, has been maybe nil. local officials insist all explosives will be cleared by august of this year, keeping them on track to hit their 2021 target. an ambitious deadline considering the extent of the damage. howard johnson, bbc news, marawi city. let's turn to our top business story this friday as a new period of huge uncertainty is about to begin for businesses both inside and outside britain over the future of brexit. prime minister theresa may formally steps down today as leader of the governing conservative party, but will remain acting prime minster until a new leader is chosen. who replaces her will decide

the shape of britain's departure from the eu at the end of october, less than five months away: deal, no deal, or no brexit. independent analyst stephanie harejoins me now. the stakes could not be higher for the country and for the conservative party. indeed. everyone is going to be curious to see who wins the contest. we should have a new prime minister installed at the end of july 26. that will decide, we leave this country a deal, just crash out, no trade rules apply? do we extend? do we go back to the people and have a vote? everything is still on the table but actually very few people are going to get to decide who the next prime minister will be, just a party membership which is also pretty undemocratic stop very

interesting that such a big decision will be down to a tiny part of the electorate. lots of people looking at this thing and seeing victims in terms of the brexit bill, people who prepared for one eventuality and it has not come to pass. we also have the parliamentary system on its knees. some people saying it should just be disbanded for the moment until such time that we come up with some sort of idea. as an onlooker to these shores, what you make of all of this? i think from the outside m, of this? i think from the outside in, a lot of people thought the uk was one of the steadier member states of the european union and in the past three years that has changed the perception of the uk abroad and for business that is difficult as well because you do not know how to do any investing and any long—term strategy. candidates for the leadership will be looking at

this. cbi saying no deal exit would not be great. anyone that makes the claim that we can live without a deal, need to show the specific. how is it going to work? how will it work for business? for investment? what signal and deals are potentially on the horizon for the uk. some of the comments from the cbi, the big trade body, confederation of business industry, do you agree with them that no—deal brexit will be disastrous? it is a very difficult. anyone who has to a nswer very difficult. anyone who has to answer the question do we agreed to one answer 01’ answer the question do we agreed to one answer or know it is going to put in their personal view and i'm going to keep that to myself. everyone needs to have that voice heard. before rex said, no—one

wa nted heard. before rex said, no—one wanted to dictate the flow of politics and leave it to the people. we need to know what would be the business consequences of a no deal. would it lead tojob business consequences of a no deal. would it lead to job losses or would it be great for us stop we are missing some of the detail. should it be dictated by what businesses want or what people want? either way, if staying in is the bad decision or living is the bad decision, the british people have the right to make that decision? a democracy purist with so yes, that is where parliament is meant to step in and act as a control to that. the world has changed since 2016, conditions are different, that is the argument to have a second vote. it's not for me to decide what the british people should do, those are the key things of the debate here. there is another five months to go, buckle up. buckle up. we have a lot

of papers to get through in half—an—hour‘s time. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: his owner may love him, but not his neighbours. a court case for maurice the noisy cockerel. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given, the great guns of the tower shall be shot off. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali, who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely outfought, ali transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was three times a world champion. he was a good fighter. he fought all the way to the end, even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe.

today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles lp sergeant pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as "the album of the century." you're watching the briefing. our headlines: the united arab emirates has blamed a "state actor" for last month's attacks on four oil tankers in the gulf. the us has pointed the finger at iran. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello i'm tulsen tollett and this

is your friday sport briefing where we start with the news that the netherlands are through to the inaugural uefa nations league final after an extra time semi—final win over england. the match finished level at 1—1 after 90 minutes but poor defending from england handed the dutch two further goals seeing them through 3—1 and they'll play portugal on sunday in porto. i think we have big talents coming through the system, there is really experience in the team, this experience in the team, this experience to play and win the semifinal, to get experience to pay the final this sunday. australia dug themselves out of a hole and beat west indies by 15 runs at trent bridge to claim a second successive victory at the cricket world cup. after falling to 79 for five at one point, steve smith and nathan coulter—nile added a partnership of 102 before smith fell to an incredible catch from sheldon cottrell and mitchell starc claimed figures of five for 46 leading his side to the win.

perhaps the biggest shock of the french open so far, defending champion simona halep beaten in the women's quarterfinals by american teenager amanda anisimova. the 17—year—old had never won a match at roland—garros before this year but is yet to drop a set on the way to her first grand slam semifinal and she'll face australian ashleigh barty in the last four. rafael nadal will play roger federer in the coming hours in their much anticipated, but delayed, semifinal while world number one novak djokovic will go up against last year's runner up, dominic thiem, after a straight sets victory over alexander zverev. and the 32—year—old serb could hold all four grand slams at the same time if he wins the tournament. the women's football world cup begins on friday with organisers being accused that more could be done to promote the tournament. host nation france will play south korea at parc des princes

in paris — those behind this event claim that nearly a million tickets have been sold, but there remains a distance between the men's and women's world cup in terms of prize money and publicity. we have most of our sponsors are really activating quite strongly about it that's a step up this year, same on the broadcast side, 206 broadcasters covering the events. i think it's the development. of course we can always do better, but it is such a tremendous improvement of where data from where we have beenin of where data from where we have been in the past. —— an improvement from where we have been in the past. the golden state warriors will again be without kevin durant and possibly klay thompson for game four of the nba finals against toronto raptors on friday. the raptors eased to a 1k point win and a 2—1 series lead on wednesday. stephen curry scored a career playoff—high 47 points in the losing

effort for golden state. while this could also be the last game in oakland, with the franchise moving to san francisco next season. now you know that phrase ‘start them early‘, well, take a look at this. this is great skill indeed. and he didn't break anything, most importantly, but watch the replay closely and see how his brother watches until the ball drops and goes back to what he was doing first. you can get all the latest sports news at our website, that's bbc.com/sport. but from me — tulsen tollett — and the rest of the team, that is your friday sport briefing. amazing. as we've been hearing, the eighth women's world cup kicks off today. anita jones of bbc reality check has been looking at the figures behind the tournament's headlines. it's one of the biggest sporting events of the year, so here's all you need to know about the fifa women's world cup 2019. it's the eighth time the tournament has been

held, the first was in 1991, 61 yea rs held, the first was in 1991, 61 years after the men's. it didn't help that women were banned from playing in club football clubs including england and germany until the 1970s. this year's tournament is taking place in france and 2a teams have qualified. just four of wonder title, though. us, japan, norway and germany. everywhere, women's footballs are —— women's would bowl is on the rise, more than 800,000 tickets have already been sold for this year's events, with the final and semifinal selling out within 2a hours. the world cup in canada attracted more than half a billion tv viewers worldwide in the final game between the us and japan was the most watched football game ever in the us with over 25 million viewers. winning us women's team then received $2 million in prize

money, that amount is set to double for this year's world cup in france. it's still far less than what the winning men's team got last year. it is often argued this is the biggest reason for the gap. but fever, which sets the prize money says commercial reve nu es sets the prize money says commercial revenues from the women's world cup cannot be separated from other fever compositions as the writer often cited a package. despite grievances about money, treatment and support, participation is on the rise. in 2017 more than 1.3 million female players were registered with the national foot while association or an affiliated club in europe. there isa an affiliated club in europe. there is a growing number of europe players —— youth players, semipro and polar players as well as coaches and polar players as well as coaches and officials at mac pro players. —— pro players. so if you just in numbers, women's football has become a serious force to reckon with.

rather unusual court case in france has been delayed in the hope that both sides can reach and entente cordiale. gareth barlow has the details. cockerels are the emblem of france, the sound that accompanies sunrise, but one is at the centre of a court case. translation: my clientsjust want peace and tranquillity, this is a secondary residence, they are retired. they want to be able to sleep until a normal time in the morning and they would like the rooster in question enclosed at night as it is usually daylight that triggers the rooster‘s cry. at the hearts of the argument, it said that maurice rises to early for a sleep in. his owner says there is nothing wrong. translation: he doesn't sing anymore, actually. we've been wondering why.

it's said he sings all the time — morning till night, which is not true. it's been proven to be false. on thursday, the legal proceedings were delayed. maurice at home in his coup, rather than in the dock. the hope now that both sides can settle out of court. maurice's case mirrors a wider issue across french society, a growing gap between urban and rural france. while the outcome of the lawsuit is still uncertain, if maurice wins, he'll certainly have something to crow about. clucking. gareth barlow, bbc news. well, it's not the only thing to keep people awake in the middle of the night. we have been asking about your comments about what should be done on the topic of noisy neighbourhoods and neighbours. courtney says we have a dog that

barks at 4:30 am every note, this is life, we just get on with it. and one writer says noise pollution can be avoided just by good interiors and some common sense. hello. whilst rain has been plentiful across some parts of the uk, recently, others have seen very little. that's all about to change through friday, this deep area of low pressure pushing its way northwards out of iberia and france will bring some notable rainfall, across a large swathe of the uk, in particular, southern and eastern counties of england, areas which haven't had very much rain recently. and the rain stays with us as we go into saturday, pulling its way northwards. and all the while we'll see some quite windy conditions. a tricky rush hour through friday morning across southern counties of england and south wales as this rain works its way northwards. a fine start across scotland, northern ireland and northern england, some rain arriving into northern england, the east of northern ireland and southern scotland through the afternoon. and behind the rain, some thunderstorms developing. winds, as i mentioned,

very much a feature of this forecast, becoming particularly gusty across southern counties of england and for the channel coast. temperatures in the mid to high teens, it's going to feel cooler than these values suggest, given the strength of the wind and the rain. let's take a closer look at southern counties of england and wales and the channel islands through friday afternoon, because we've got thunderstorms to deal with and also some gusty winds, gusts quite widely, 45—50 miles an hour. so another tricky rush hour through friday evening. and this area of low pressure continues to work its way northwards through friday night and into saturday. notice the squeeze in the isobars, some strong winds through friday night and into saturday. and more heavy rain continuing to work its way northwards, so by the time we get through the early hours of saturday morning, it will be closer to the central belt and still working its way a little bit further westwards into northern ireland. still see some thunderstorms as well across parts of england and wales, but all of this is going to keep temperatures up into double figures, 10 or 11 celsius the overnight low. for saturday, it's a blustery day, more spells of heavy rain, by this stage starting to get into the north midlands, north wales, northwards.

and behind this we'll see some spells of sunshine across central, southern england and wales, but also further blustery showers. it's another windy day, these are average speeds, but the gusts will be even higher. and temperatures on saturday for most in the mid—teens, and again, given the strength of the wind and the rain, it's still going to be feeling on the cool side. so we go into sunday, our area of low pressure does start to pull away northwards, notice how the isobars start to open up so the winds will start to fall lighter as we go into sunday. there will still be some showers around, particularly the further north and west you are, but looking drier further south and east. bye— bye.

this is the business briefing. i'm victoria fritz. deal, no deal, or no brexit? businesses brace for more uncertainty as theresa may prepares to step down and rivals line up to replace her. plus: beyond meat — beyond expectations! soaring sales and a 400% share price surge reward investors‘ appetite for the vegan burger maker. and on the markets: us shares moving higher on reports the us could delay imposing tariffs on mexico over immigration. that‘s since been played down by the white house. those talks resuming on friday will be closely watched