this is bbc world news today, i'm samantha simmonds. our top stories: hong kong's leader suspends a bill that allows extraditions to mainland china, but campaigners say it's not enough. amid continued tensions in the gulf, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british—iranianjailed in iran, begins a new hunger strike in protest against her imprisonment. franco zeffirelli, one the 20th century's most creative and prolific directors, has died aged 96. we'll hear from the star of one of his best known films. and holy mass in hard hats. a roman catholic service is held at notre—dame cathedral in paris for the first time since a fire ripped through the building two months ago.

hello and welcome to world news today. hong kong's government has suspended its controversial plan to allow extraditions to mainland china. the proposals resulted in mass protests in the former british colony, some of which turned violent. our correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes, reports from hong kong. fellow citizens and members of the media... as she stood alone at the podium, carrie lam must have known every pair of eyes in hong kong was watching her. would she or wouldn't she back down and drop the widely hated extradition bill? i now announce that the government has decided to suspend the legislative amendment exercise. not a withdrawal, then. so is this just a trick to pacify the protesters? it has nothing to do with an intention or wish to pacify.

i need to do something decisive to address i need to do something decisive to a d dress two i need to do something decisive to address two issues. how could i restore, as fast as possible, the calm in society, and how could i avoid any more law—enforcement officers and ordinary citizens being injured? the fear of more angry protesters returning to these barricades is what has prompted carrie lam and her administration to make what is clearly a major climb—down. this is not a temporary pause to the extradition bill — this is an indefinite suspension. nevertheless, it may not be enough to prevent very large crowds from coming out here again on sunday for another huge show of discontent. on wednesday, the police just... this young protester and many of his friends will be out there, and possibly thousands more like them. they want the bill completely withdrawn, but for them it is about so much more. we don't trust the government. we don't need a small victory. we want to cancel the bill,

but not temporarily. and i don't want to see hong kong to be invaded by a totalitarian government. the problem for passionate young hong kongers like this is that communist china isjust 16 miles away across the harbour. somehow, they're going to have to learn to live with that fact. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in hong kong. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british—iranian mother jailed in iran on spying charges, has begun a new hunger strike in protest at her imprisonment. she's been held since 2016 and denies any wrongdoing. her move comes at a time of escalating tension, with the united sates accusing iran of a series of attacks on oil tankers in the gulf of oman. our world affairs correspondent, caroline hawley, reports. these are the moments before nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe‘s arrest more than three years ago at tehran airport. she thought she was heading home

with her young daughter when she was approached by iran's revolutionary guard then accused of espionage than sentenced to five years in jail in a case that has been called a mockery of justice. these are the moments before nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe‘s arrest just a few days earlier, they'd been enjoying a holiday together with herfamily in iran. hello, sweetheart! today in london, friends and relatives gathered to celebrate gabriella's fifth birthday, with her on the phone from tehran. # happy birthday, gabriella # happy birthday to you... but richard ratcliffe won't be eating the cake himself as hejoins his wife in solidarity on an open—ended hunger strike. she called him from jail this morning to say she'd started to refuse food. she had been quite tense and stressed and angry in previous phone calls, distraught. actually, today she was quite calm,

she'd made the decision, she'd sent a letter to the judiciary, and she was quite nervous, but also calm. we will see how things go. this is a desperate move by an ordinary couple caught up in extraordinarily complex international politics. their case is intricately connected to the difficult relationship between the uk and iran — a relationship that has got even more fraught. two days ago, two oil tankers were attacked in the gulf of oman, one of the busiest waterways in the world. the us and britain are blaming iran, tehran denies any involvement, the labour party says the evidence behind it is not clear, but it has all dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the region. our message to iran is, whatever the disagreements you might have with the united kingdom, there is an innocent woman at the heart of this, she just wants to get back together with her daughter, gabriella, to reunite that family, please show that you have humanity, show that you have a heart, let nazanin come home.

this morning, jeremy hunt met richard ratcliffe. he has praised the family's bravery, but there is concern that the latest trouble in the middle east will do nothing to solve his wife's plight, as they embark on a joint hunger strike aimed at bringing their family back together. caroline hawley, bbc news. in the past hour, iran's foreign ministry has said that it summoned the british ambassador over the uk's assessment that tehran was behind thursday's attacks on those tankers in the gulf of oman. in a statement, the ministry said rob macaire was summoned "following the false remarks made by the british foreign affairs minister." british foreign secretaryjeremy hunt said yesterday that iran was "almost certainly" responsible for the attacks. the ukf foreign office denies there was any summoning, saying there are regular meetings between the two. an international shipping association says some firms have ordered their ships not to enter

the strait of hormuz and the gulf following attacks on two tankers on thursday. earlier we spoke to jakob larson the head of maritime security at the shipping association, bimco, we asked him if the situation was reaching a point where military escorts may be needed? yeah, it is an option. it depends on how the situation develops but if it gets worse than now that is certainly something that we would like to be initiated. we have seen this before in this part of the world in the late 805, close to the iran iraq war, both of the belligerents were attacking each other at the time. it has been used before and may be relevant again. the risks are higher than what they have been in this region for a while. we also have concerns about security and the free flow of trade in this region. and of course the implications of that to the wider

global economy. if the global economy slows down, it will have an impact on production and consumption and thereby will also impact not only the tank industry but all trade. 20% of the world's food is transferred via c, another 20% i5 transported, but there is no indication that the tax line5 transported, but there is no indication that the tax lines will have increased capacity to take up requirements of the oil. so if the situation get5 requirements of the oil. so if the situation gets worse, we will see 5ome 5hips get cold feet and pull out of trade, and of course that would impact the economy. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. sudan's chief prosecutor say5 the depo5ed president, 0mar al—bashir, will be referred for trial next week. he's been charged with corruption and involvement in the killing of protesters during the mass demonstrations that led to the end of his 30—year rule. the military ousted the long—time president in april following months of protests.

india says it's imposing trade tariffs on 28 us products including almond5, apples and walnuts. the tariffs will come into effect from sunday. india says the move is in response to washington's refusal to exempt delhi from higher steel and aluminium taxes. amanda knox has spoken of the pain of what she called being tried by the media over the murder of the british student meredith kercher in italy in 2007. she told a conference in modena that she feared being attacked and even charged again. it is m5 knox‘s first trip to italy since being cleared of the murder afterfour year5 injail. zuzana caputova has been formally sworn in as slovakia's first female president at a ceremony in the capital, brati5lava. the lawyer and anti—corru ption campaigner took an oath at a special session of the slovak parliament before reviewing the troops on the city's central 5quare and meeting members of the public. the new head—of—state is a liberal with out5poken views on such issues

a5 lgbt rights and abortion. but as rob cameron reports, she may struggle to close divisions in slovak society. zuzana caputova — slovakia's fifth president, its younge5t ever head of state, and the first woman to occupy this largely ceremonial po5t. the inauguration began with an oath of allegiance here at a special parliamentary se55ion at brati5lava'5 reduta building, home to the slovak philharmonic. she's promised more progressive leadership in country that's still relatively conservative. indeed, many on the far left, the far right and some in the catholic church believe her openly liberal values represent a threat to slovakia. she knows she has her work cut out to bring together this divided country. after the inauguration, 5he emerged followed by her two teenage daughters to review

the troops on brati5lava'5 central 5quare before a walkabout through the streets of the old town, surrounded by extremely heavy 5ecurity. this is a country 5till 5haken by last year's murder of a young journalist who was writing about the links between politics and organised crime. the mass prote5t5 following his killing brought down the government and set in motion a chain of events which has brought a liberal lawyer, a divorced mother of two with almost no political experience, to the presidential office. but while zuzana caputova is being hailed as a breath of fresh air in a region dominated by male politicians, including many with populist and authoritarian tendencies, she is far from univer5ally adored. the former prime minister, who was ousted in the protests following the killing last year, did not attend the ceremony,

saying he had a prior private engagement elsewhere. that and a few incidents of heckling during the walkabout were a hint at her more inclusive, tolerant, progre55ive vi5ion of society is not one that is shared by all slovak5. rob cameron, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: we'll have all the sport, including a preview of one of the biggest global sporting rivalrie5, india and pakistan, who are preparing to face off in the cricket world cup. there was a bomb in the city centre, a code word known to be one used by the ira wa5 a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. experts a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. expert5 were examining a suspect than when there was a huge explo5ion. examining a suspect than when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the

foundation of the party by abolishing an act which classified each citizen according to race. germany's parliament has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government to berlin. berlin are celebrated into the night but the decision was greeted by shocking bomb. the new prince was taken by his mother and father in kensington palace. the real focus of attention today was valentina, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what you think of russian woman in space?! wonderful achievement. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines: hong kong's government has indefinitely 5u5pended controversial plans to allow extradition to mainland china.

nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the briti5h—iranianjailed in iran, has begun a new hunger strike in protest against her imprisonment. the italian film and opera director franco zeffirelli has died at the age of 96. a great anglophile, he's perhap5 best known for his adaptations of works by shakespeare. lizo mzimba looks back on his life. operatic music franco zeffirelli made his name as an opera director, on stage and occasionally on screen. 0pera taught him how to deal with highly 5trung and highly talented performers. it is a simple as that — holding their hands. really dealing with very vulnerable people. very charming little kids. they can't believe their luck

and they are afraid. his experience proved useful when he made a film with a famou5ly temperamental couple — richard burton and elizabeth taylor. his film version of romeo and juliet was nominated for an oscar but was controversial. 0livia hu55ey, then just 15, appeared topless. franco zeffirelli, who'd started out a5 a stage and screen de5igner, was sometimes attacked for self—indulgence and for sentimentality. but jesus of nazareth, made for television, showed a different and more austere side to his work. if my kingdom were of this world, my followers would have fought to prevent me from being captured. in 2004, he was given

an honorary knighthood. he'd always been an anglophile. in terms of the country i would like to see married with my country, italy. and i managed to make this marriage happen with my work. and a55ociation and association with british talent. such a traditional honour meant a lot to a director renowned for his love of formality, opulence and beauty. joining us on the phone from london is actor leonard whiting, who played the lead role in zeffirelli's romeo and juliet. tell us what franco zeffirelli wa5 like to work with. i was asked to go an audition. 600 people went. it

went lower and lower and finally i was one of the last three, and franco came in and saw me and said, thati5 franco came in and saw me and said, that is the one i want. that is the wonderful thing about working with franco, if you did not know exactly what to do, he was so theatrical and extravagant and intimate on5et that he would be able to act it for you, so he would be able to act it for you, so that was a great time to start. and this bill became iconic, didn't it? i watched at school in the 19805. did it? i watched at school in the i9805. did you foresee it all, how famou5 you would become from it and how well—known film would be? famou5 you would become from it and how well-known film would be? to be hone5t how well-known film would be? to be honest with you, no, not at the time, buti honest with you, no, not at the time, but i had done the taming of the shrew. i was at the national theatre at the old vic. i had seen 5ome theatre at the old vic. i had seen some of his work before. his 1960

version withjohn 5tride some of his work before. his 1960 version withjohn stride and judi dench wa5 version withjohn stride and judi dench was beautiful. he brought that 5ame dench was beautiful. he brought that same kind of feeling into ourfilm because what was very important to franco wa5 because what was very important to franco was he considered himself a renaissance italian artist. he wa nted renaissance italian artist. he wanted something to be beautiful because he thought that beauty was truth, or a sort of truth. and as well as working with him, you stayed in touch with him and he became a good friend. absolutely. i always try to make it over once or twice a year to see try to make it over once or twice a yearto see him. try to make it over once or twice a year to see him. it was such a great honour and privilege to work with him, and he completely changed my life. the amazing thing is that, because it is such a magic medium, kid5 sing every day, and to them it i5 kid5 sing every day, and to them it is contemporary, it is almost like because of the magic of cinema it was made yesterday, and it is still

amazing and still has lots of letter5 asking for photographs and saying how much they loved it. but mo5t saying how much they loved it. but most one of the most important things of his work, because he 5ta rted things of his work, because he started as a designer in opera, wa5 his incredible i and sense of beauty in constructing a scene. he will be very 5adly in constructing a scene. he will be very sadly missed. we do appreciate you talking to us. and remembering how you worked with him all those yea r5 how you worked with him all those years ago. how do you hope you will be remembered by others?|j years ago. how do you hope you will be remembered by others? i hope that people will realise that one of his mo5t people will realise that one of his most important things, i touched upon this before, the importance of him creating a grand plan in a scene that was not only very strong

dramatically, but also something that was not too bad to look at either at the same time. thank you very much for your thoughts on franco zeffirelli today. hello. we begin with the cricket world cup, where au5tralia made it two wins in four days with an 87—run victory over sri lanka to go top of the leaderboard. australia were put into bat and racked up ssa—7 from their 50 over5 with captain aaron finch clubbing 153 — equalling the highest individual score of the tournament. sri lanka got their cha5e off to an absolutely flyer with dimuth karunaratne spraying the ball around the oval. his dismi55alfor 97 sparked a flurry of wicket5 from which they never recovered — mitchell starc with four wickets in the end. au5tralia top — afghanistan rooted to the bottom

of the world cup table. imran tahirtookfour wicket5 as the afghan5 were bowled out for 125. in reply, the south african opening pair of hashim amla and quinten de kock put on a century partnership as they ea5ed to their revi5ed target of 127. one of the most eagerly anticipated matches of the world cup is at old trafford on sunday — india against pakistan. 0ur sport5 correspondent, andy swi55, has been with the teams. welcome to old trafford where i am afraid it is an all too familiar 5cene afraid it is an all too familiar scene at this cricket world cup. 0nce scene at this cricket world cup. once again the rain has been pouring down, hardly ideal preparation for india and pakistan although india did get some time out in net5 early on ahead of what is one of the biggest rivalrie5 in world sport. just to give you an idea, there were more than 500,000 ticket applications for this game, in other words, they could have sold out 0ld trafford more than 20 times, and it i5 trafford more than 20 times, and it is estimated there could be a tv

audience around the world of1 billion people. remember, india and pakistan rarely play each other outside of major tournaments like this because of the political tension5 this because of the political tensions between the two countries so tensions between the two countries so that only adds to the anticipation, and not surprisingly both teams are looking forward to it. there is always pressure in any game. the5e it. there is always pressure in any game. these games carry the same amount of points, two points. there i5a amount of points, two points. there is a massive hub created by the media. we are prepared, ready, co mforta ble, media. we are prepared, ready, comfortable, we can get out there and perform, and we are so excited about the opportunity tomorrow. any game that you play for your country can be emotional, adrenaline filled. no wonder game is more important or special than the other. as cricketers who have been selected to play for their country, our responsibility is to treat every game equally because you have to be

committed to play for your country. but all the excitement to one side, india will start as the favourites tomorrow. they are unbeaten in this world cup so far. they had one of the best bat5men in the world in virat kohli. a5 for pakistan, they have never india in a cricket world cup match, they have only one run of their four matches so far in this tournament, but as they showed in their victory over england, when they do click, they are capable of doing something very special indeed. the only other big factor is the weather. there is the threat of more showers here tomorrow afternoon, but fingers crossed we will get to see what could be one of the matches of this world cup. it's day 7 at the women's football world cup in france as we head towards the business end of the tournament. the netherlands secured their place in the last 16 with a game to spare after beating cameroon 3—1 with a double for arsenal's vivianne miedema, making her her country's

all—time record goalscorerer. that's all the sport for now. a roman catholic mass has been held at notre dame cathedral in paris for the first time since a fire ripped through the building two months ago. for safety reasons the priests who attended the small 5ervice had to wear hard hats. freya cole reports. it's not your usual attire for over a delicious 5ervice it's not your usual attire for over a delicious service but given the iconic notre—dame i5 a delicious service but given the iconic notre—dame is not structurally sound a hard hat is a nece55ity. structurally sound a hard hat is a necessity. the intimate 5ervice structurally sound a hard hat is a necessity. the intimate service is the first since the spectacular fire 5pread the first since the spectacular fire spread to the cathedral in april,

devastating pre5cience in sending 5hock devastating pre5cience in sending shock waves around the world. monument 5uch shock waves around the world. monument such as the notre—dame continue5 monument such as the notre—dame continues to live on, even if there was a fire. there is not a lot of monument but it continues to have life. just 30 people were invited for a mass led by the archbishop of pari5. for a mass led by the archbishop of paris. it is with strong emotion that we find ourselves here celebrating the consecration of this cathedral. but we are profoundly happy to be able to celebrate the eucharist and it is white is built. authorities now know the fire 5ta rted authorities now know the fire 5tarted near the base of the 5pire. fla me5 5tarted near the base of the 5pire. flame5 5pread 5tarted near the base of the 5pire. flame5 spread to the booth within a matter of hours, con5uming more than 800 years of history. —— through the roof. what was lost will never be exactly the same but it can be rebuilt and replicated. donations for the cathedral‘5 the construction of the nearly $1 billion. don't forget you can get

in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @samanthatvnew5. 0na day on a day weather has been a frequent showers and longer spell5 of rain, let's find some 5un5hine fir5t. lyme regi5 this afternoon managed to find 5ome 5un5hine for a few hours, others have seen frequent shower5, longer spell5 of rain, this was abery5twyth early on this afternoon. through the midlands and northern england, though showers merged to give a longer 5pell england, though showers merged to give a longer spell of rain as a frontal system worked its way eastwards a cross frontal system worked its way eastwards across the uk. we have al5o eastwards across the uk. we have also seen frequent showers acro55 northern ireland, northern and we5tern scotland. across northern we5tern scotland. across northern we5tern scotland. across northern we5tern scotland they will continue. el5ewhere, they will fade before showers returned acro55 part5 el5ewhere, they will fade before showers returned acro55 parts of wale5, 5outhern showers returned acro55 parts of wale5, southern and western england later in the night, clear skies elsewhere. temperatures 6—9dc,

double figures acro55 part5 elsewhere. temperatures 6—9dc, double figures acro55 parts of wales and southern england. as we going to sunday, high pressure is tantalisingly close but we are still under the influence of this area of low pressure and another frontal system working its way across which will introduce more showers acro55 much of england and wales to the day, some of them heavy infantry, more showers across day, some of them heavy infantry, more showers acro55 northern ireland, we5tern more showers acro55 northern ireland, western and northern scotland, working their way eastwa rds. scotland, working their way ea5twards. it looks like east anglian south england sing more in the way of sunshine to the afternoon, gu5ty wind5 though a55ociated afternoon, gu5ty wind5 though associated with those showers and a rumble of thunder embedded in the heavier one5. rumble of thunder embedded in the heavier ones. in the sunshine, 21 cel5ius, but the showers mid—teens. and we will keep those showers going a5 and we will keep those showers going as we go through this evening and overnight. they will fade but we will keep some lingering acro55 north—west england, into northern ireland and pa rt5 north—west england, into northern ireland and parts of western scotla nd ireland and parts of western scotland as well. as we go into monday, we have this area of low pressure to the north—west of the uk

keeping the showers close by. showers acro55 parts of keeping the showers close by. showers acro55 pa rt5 of wales, northern and north—west england, further south and east mainly dry with spell5 of sunshine, but some of the showers acro55 with spell5 of sunshine, but some of the showers across scotland and northern ireland on monday could well be heavy and thundery, slow—moving a5 well be heavy and thundery, slow—moving as well bringing rain in the short amount of time. 21 celsius where we get the sunshine. it looks like many of us will see a respite on tuesday, spell5 of sunshine, a few showers scattered around, but heavy rain overnight into wednesday.

this is bbc world news, the headlines: hong kong has suspended its highly controversial plan to allow extraditions to mainland china. chief executive carrie lam said her priority was to re5tore peace and order. china says it understands and supports the decision. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the briti5h—iranianjailed in iran, has begun a new hunger strike in protest against her imprisonment. she was jailed for five years in 2016 after being convicted of spying, which she denies. italian film director franco zeffirelli has died aged 96. the florence native directed 5tar5 including elizabeth taylor and dame judi dench. italian media said he died after a long illne55 which had grown worse in recent months. a roman catholic mass has been held at notre dame cathedral in paris for the first time since a fire ripped