welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: an air strike on a migrant centre leaves dozens dead in libya. un officials say it may be a war crime. china tells the uk to keep out of its affairs as the row over britain's support for hong kong's protesters deepens the uk government chose to stand on the wrong side. it has made inappropriate remarks. boeing promises $100 million for families of those killed in the 737 max crashes. and can cuba's tourism industry stay afloat after us sanctions force cruise liners to wave goodbye?

the united nations has called for an independent investigation into an air strike that killed at least 44 people in a detention centre near the libyan capital, tripoli. the top un official there has described it as a possible war crime, but after a meeting in new york, the security council failed to issue a formal condemnation. libyan officials say forces loyal to the warlord, general haftar, are responsible. his group blames local militia. thousands of african migrants trying to reach europe are being held in libya, as the conflict there intensifies. quentin sommerville reports. they came to libya in search of an escape, but were killed before they could flee its shores. more than 100 migrants, mostly africans, were corralled inside the detention centre in east tripoli. they had nowhere to run to when it took a direct hit. dozens were killed, many more injured.

they had fled their countries' war, persecution, and poverty, with few possessions. in the rubble, they looked for any scraps that survived. people are still under the block, so we don't know what to say. all we know is we want the un to help people out of this place because this place is dangerous. the men and women who died were caught in the crossfire of libya's latest civil war. the government in tripoli is battling the forces of khalifa haftar, a warlord with his own self—styled libyan national army. the rebel forces had earlier threatened an escalation in air strikes, but now deny that they were responsible for the bombing of the migrant centre. the un says it's unclear who is to blame, but again called on better protection for migrants in libya. we have to see a change now, there has to be an immediate release of all the detainees

from the centres and we have to make sure that no rescued refugee rescued on the mediterranean is taken back to libya. detention centres across the country are overwhelmed. the conditions inside are appalling. this one was filmed in april this year. people—smuggling flourished after the fall of gaddafi eight years ago. hundreds of thousands came here in the hope of making it to europe. for migrants, death is familiar. around 500 have drowned this year alone trying to cross the sea. but as the war continues, the risk increases and libya offers them little refuge. quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. there's been an angry exchange of words between china and britain over the recent mass demonstrations in hong kong. the british foreign secretary has warned of "serious consequences" for china if the rights of people living in the territory are infringed. in response, chinese officials accuse the uk of indulging "colonial era fantasies".

0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. the aftermath of an invasion. this was hong kong's parliament today, where they were beginning to clear up the mess left by protesters on monday. for many pro—democracy campaigners, their demonstration was peaceful. but for some, it was violent, forcing their way into the legislative council, where they wrought substantial damage. damage that also had diplomatic consequences in london. the uk government chose to stand on the wrong side. it has made inappropriate remarks. china's ambassador said britain's support for the demonstrations was wrong, disappointing and hypocritical. it had damaged uk—china relations. we strongly condemn and oppose the gross interference in hong kong affairs and china's internal affairs by the british side.

i call on them to keep hands off hong kong. what upset the ambassador was the warning from the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt that there would be serious consequences if china diluted hong kong's freedoms, and the promise from borisjohnson that he would back the demonstrators every inch of the way. the row centres on the joint declaration agreed by britain and china in 1984 that in future, hong kong should retain some autonomy and freedom. this meant that after the handover in 1997, hong kong would exist under a so—called "one country, two systems" policy. britain thinks that until the declaration expires in 2047, hong kong should keep its freedom. but china says the treaty is now just an historical document. theresa may said she had been shocked by the violence, but emphasised that the majority had marched peacefully and lawfully. it's vital that hong kong's high

degree of autonomy and the rights and freedoms set down in the sino—british joint declaration are respected. i have raised my concerns directly with chinese leaders, as has my right honourable friend the foreign secretary and other ministers, and we will continue to do so. jeremy hunt did that in a tweet, telling the chinese government that good relations between countries are based on mutual respect and honouring the legally binding agreements between them. he also summoned the chinese ambassador to the foreign office, where he was told by britain's top diplomat that what he had said was both unacceptable and inaccurate. it's rare for the chinese embassy to hold a news conference. it's even rarer for ambassadors to be so outspoken. the question now is whether this war of words escalates and causes lasting damage to britain's relations with china. james landale, bbc news. let's get an idea of how all this is being seen in beijing now.

joining me from there is victor gao, director of the centre on china and globalisation. good to talk to you again. you tend to hear the point of the view of the leadership, you know what the official line is. how is it being seenin official line is. how is it being seen in beijing? the statement from the british foreign secretary warning of serious consequences. you know, suspicion is this isjust words. china is so big, so powerful, can do what it likes. from the chinese perspective, i think they foreign secretary's statement is very offensive and it is really double standards. what happened in hong kong on july double standards. what happened in hong kong onjuly one is obvious for everyone. it is rioting, it is vandalism, it is attacking the police. it is a complete violation of the rule of law. it would not be a cce pta ble of the rule of law. it would not be acceptable to the hong kong people of the hong kong government or any

government anywhere. just imagine if similar attacks on the parliament building in london happen. i think the british government can really avoid any more fuel to the fire and really appearfor avoid any more fuel to the fire and really appear for antiviolence, anti— attack on police, indistinct. that is the minimum. indistinct. it is not for china relations in any sense of the word. but, victor, you know that those people are very angry about a complete violation, to use your phrase, of the rights they we re use your phrase, of the rights they were promised by china until 2047. absolutely. i think violence did happen. writing did happen. federalisation did happen. attacking

the police did happen onjuly the first —— vandalism. as you did know, hamley bridge probably know this better than people in many other countries, in hong kong there is a tradition of rule of law and people have the right to demonstrate and to protest. . . have the right to demonstrate and to protest... crosstalk. you understand surely why people are angry. nectar, forgive me, you must understand why people are angry because they see the chinese leadership pushing and pushing against those liberties that they we re against those liberties that they were promised by the chinese government. -- victor. allow me to say, whatever happiness you may have, —— unhappiness, grievances, you have no right to violate the rule of law. you have no right to attack police, because if you do then the system in hong kong indistinct it will get back to you. and this will be a universal law in

the hole world. any democracy. any civilised nation will not tolerate such violence and rioting. on that point, victor, can open you down on that point, you know how the leadership thinks that, do you think that the leadership in beijing will see what happened, what we have been seeing on the pictures there and the whole world saw it, as a reason to be much tougher on hong kong, in fa ct? be much tougher on hong kong, in fact? no, right now under the one country fact? no, right now under the one cou ntry two fact? no, right now under the one country two system principle, whatever is happening in hong kong is to be dealt with by the hong kong local government. and the central government in beijing does not need to get involved directly dealing with in the violence or the rioting, et cetera. and there is a long process with many, many loops before you need to go through before mainland china will be directly involved in bringing the situation

back to control in hong kong. we are talking about a highly, highly hypothetical situation, many, many miles down the road. i think for the moment the hong kong government is doing the right thing. they are appealing for sense, they are appealing for sense, they are appealing for sense, they are appealing for sanity, they are appealing for sanity, they are appealing for sanity, they are appealing for restoration of order in hong kong. and they are really expressing confidence in hong kong police. the hong kong police, after all, we're very much trained by the british before 1997. and they are one of the best police forces in the whole world. very transparent, very disciplined, very law—abiding. and i think this is the time for all of us to applaud the law enforcement forces in hong kong and the british can do the same thing. they need to express can do the same thing. they need to ex press a can do the same thing. they need to express a vote of confidence in the police force in hong kong and they need to appeal to the people in hong kong to abide... inaudible. and to behave, rather than attacking police forces in hong kong. you know

the hong kong government does what it is told by the leadership in beijing. how do you think the leadership in beijing sees what's happening? is it going to retreat given the strength of feeling that is obvious that or is it likely to push on even harder?” is obvious that or is it likely to push on even harder? i think if you really understand the ins and outs of the 102 system principle, —— one country, two system... inaudible. therefore, carrie lam and her government, in hong kong, including the police forces in hong kong, need to make the best decision to their own discretion as to how to deal with writing in hong kong. how to be sure that the people's living standards and safety are not decimated by the riots in hong kong

and how they can remain the international financial centre. and as far as the central government in beijing indistinct. the central government will stand firmly to support the hong kong government and will defend the one country, two system. and will make whatever lies necessary to support the hong kong government to ensure peace, stability, and tranquillity in hong kong. and not let it be undermined by violence and by vandalism. victor, forgive me, i'm sorry to the viewers as well, the quality of the link is getting worse and worse. we we re link is getting worse and worse. we were hoping it will get better. we will leave it there. victor gao, thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news. a federaljudge in ohio has temporarily blocked a law that would have banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

there have been rallies across the country and in washington dc against states imposing such restrictive measures. the law in ohio would have been one of the strictest, with no exemptions even in case of rape or incest. argentina's energy secretary has claimed the blackout that affected argentina and uruguay last month was caused by a chain of failures originating with an electricity transport company. more than 50 million people were left without power across south america for several hours on june 16th. the government has promised a full investigation. there've been more protests in israel over the killing of a young man of ethiopian origin by an off—duty police officer. the officer claims he opened fire because he felt his life was in danger, when he tried to break up a fight. activists complain of discrimination and harassment against the ethiopian—israeli community. boeing has announced the creation of $100 million fund for the families of those who died in two crashes, involving its 737 max aircraft. the fund promises to help pay for living and education expenses, but lawyers representing

the victims' families have dismissed the compa ny‘s announcement. the bbc‘s nada tawfik has this update. many believe boeing's response to the crashes has been tone—deaf and so they see this as boeing trying to repair a lot of that damage. in this statement, the boeing ceo says he hopes that this money will give some comfort to the families who lost their loved ones in the crashes. the $100 million, the plan is, will be invested over a number of years. boeing will partner with local governments and also non—profit organisations to invest in things like economic development for communities, and also to pay living expenses and educational expenses for the families. now, already one law firm in chicago, which represents 23 family members who have sued boeing, came out with a statement kind

of pouring cold water on this pledge, saying that it was disingenuous when there are still so many facts that are unknown about what happened. they said boeing should take that money instead and help families recover the remains of their loved ones and ensure that the 737 max is safe to fly. cutting off the cruises to cuba. how the trump administration's sanctions are affecting tourism on the island. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using

a cell of another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the un says an air strike on a migrant centre in libya could be a war crime. dozens of people died in an attack that the government and rebels blame on each other. let's get more on libya now. hardin lang is from

refugees international. well, all evidence would suggest at this stage that we are potentially looking at a war crime, indeed. if nothing else, we're pretty sure at this stage that this is the worst civilian casualty incident in the course of the libyan civil war to date, which is saying something. and all of this is made all that more horrific by the fact that the information regarding the location of the migrant centre, detention centre, and the people who run it, had been shared with the parties to the conflict. so all this is shaping up to be extremely serious. so do you deduce from that that it was some kind of mistake, or that the combatants actually didn't care? it's quite hard to tell at this stage, one way or the other. really, that doesn't absolve them of the responsibility for what's taken place here. and i think there are a couple of things that we would want to see going forward. the first is that additional pressure be brought to bear not only on general haftar, but also on the countries that support him from outside libya, including the uae, saudi arabia, so they must pull back on this

offensive into libya, and perhaps to bring them back to the peace table, where we were hoping to get a couple of months ago. in addition, there is some... forgive me, i didn't mean to interrupt you. i was just going to ask you about this issue of a war crime, and blame generally. it does seem that they have been put in a warehouse next to a weapon store, or a weapon store had been put next to them. perhaps they were in some way being used as human shields. it appears that that could be a possibility. that nonetheless does not absolve the parties, and potentially general haftar and his forces, of responsibility for the deaths. and of course, i guess, the overall picture here is european countries are in effect paying libyan militia, because they want to avoid taking in more migrants themselves, to keep migrants in these conditions, and treat them terribly, in many cases. indeed, and in addition to what's going on inside of libya itself, in the actual centres, the european union has been, and its members have been, supporting the libyan coastguard now for a number of years.

the libyan coastguard in essence does europe's dirty work for it. they prevent the migrants at sea, turn them around and bring them back into libyan waters, and back into the detention centres. so in essence, by ignoring its responsibilities to provide some sort of legal pathway for these asylum seekers to make their way into europe, europe is now working through the libyan coastguard to prevent that from happening, and this needs to change immediately. cuba is feeling the economic effects of the trump administration's latest sanctions, tourism especially. since the announcement from washington that american cruise ships would once again be banned from visiting the island, noticeably fewer american tourists are making the trip. from havana, will grant reports. it was a fitting metaphor. when the

empress of the seas pulled out of havana's port last empress of the seas pulled out of hava na's port last month, empress of the seas pulled out of havana's port last month, it ended the policy of trump's communication with cuba. it will be the last american ship to dock on the island if for the foreseeable future. in may 2016, i if for the foreseeable future. in may 2016, i travelled amid the excitement and celebration on the first cruise ship in 50 years to make the short trip across the florida straits. now it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of tickets to cuba will go unused, hitting the tourism industry on the island hard, particularly tour guides and taxi drivers. translation: i think it is a pretty unjust measure, because quite honestly the problems the us government have with the government of cu ba government have with the government of cuba shouldn't mean that we, the people, should have to suffer the consequences. people should be free to visit whatever country they like.

restau ra nt to visit whatever country they like. restaurant owners will be hurt too, not just by the restaurant owners will be hurt too, notjust by the cancellation of cruise ships but also tighter rules on us visitors in general. this resident once entertained president 0bama during happier times. translation: we are at around 20% capacity at the moment. there were just six tables occupied yesterday and i'm one of the fortunate ones. we were lucky enough to host president 0bama during his visit so people know us, but there are other restau ra nts people know us, but there are other restaurants around town that haven't had a single booking recently. there can be few better symbols in the change of washington's policy then this — while yesterday there were cruise ships in the port, today there is the russian navy. this squeeze is expected to hurt where the cubans will feel that the most, its tourism industry, and its reason

—to its tourism industry, and its reason — to punish them for their support of venezuela. cuba is unlikely to change on that alliance. two present a united front, a representative recently criticised policy against both nations. the hardline policy towards cuba isn't new. it has been the norm over the past 50 years. thus far it has enforced any political change. cubans had hoped the friendship under 0bama would last, but instead, the trump administration is determined to cut the island off anyway it can, including by c. —— sea. the andes' blue skies have been

inspirational for people in the andes' blue skies have been inspirationalfor people in one city. cable cars saw over the everyday suburbs of la paz. this neighbourhood of bolivia's highest altitude capital is getting a makeover, organised by the council president and the women of the community. men, says the president, ijust community. men, says the president, i just visitors. they don't understand the day—to—day struggles. translation: that's why we have rolled up our sleeves with women in charge to better our streets, better oui’ charge to better our streets, better our patios, better everything, because we know what is needed. our patios, better everything, because we know what is neededm the cold and thin mountain air, the art, they say, bringsjoy.

translation: i say the colours are so translation: i say the colours are so beautiful, it's truly a joy for me to get up in the morning and not see dirt, the colour of adobe or brick. smile, this mural commands, and, of course, you do. art bringing joy in la paz, bolivia. let's leave you with these pictures of ukraine. you canjust about let's leave you with these pictures of ukraine. you can just about make out this baby albino kangaroo poking its head out of his mother's pout. he has been named george. his mother is grey and red but his father is also an albino. they are incredibly

rare. hello there. for some parts of the uk, the next couple of days will bring blue skies, sunshine and warmth. but in other places, it will look and feel very different. this is how it looked in the far north of scotland on wednesday. 0n the satellite picture, you can see the way in which this cloud has been approaching, pushing in from the north—west, and as this cloud makes a bit more progress, we will see some outbreaks of rain. so, as we head through thursday, rain initially across the northern and the western isles will increasingly spread across the northern half of mainland scotland. the heaviest rain always across hills in the west. to the east of high ground, the rain very showery, very patchy in nature. more cloud filtering into northern england, northern ireland through the day, but the further south you are, we're going to see quite a lot

of sunshine and some real warmth. 24 degrees for birmingham, 26 degrees in london, so that's the sort of temperature we could well attain at wimbledon during thursday afternoon. certainly sunny skies overhead, very light winds as well. the day ends on a sunny note across the southern half of the uk. but further north, we have our cloud, we have our outbreaks of patchy rain, sinking a little further southwards, and then a new push of slightly heavier, more persistent rain gets into the far north—west of scotland by the end of the night. quite a mild night, as well — lows of 11—15 degrees. so, as we go into friday, high pressure still trying to hold on across the south. some fine weather here, but these frontal systems will continue to bring some outbreaks of rain across the north of the uk. certainly a lot of cloud into northern ireland, north—west england and scotland, some rain once again pushing down across the northern half of scotland through the day. ahead of that, in the sunshine, some real warmth — 26, maybe 27 degrees. but underneath the cloud, with the outbreaks of rain, it will feel cooler —

17 degrees in aberdeen, 18 in belfast. and that is a sign of things to come, because as we move out of friday into the weekend, these frontal systems in the north will make some progress further south, and as this cold front here moves southwards, it will open the door to some cooler air. the winds switching round to north or north—westerlies. this band of cloud sinking southwards, maybe getting stuck across southern england and south wales for a time. could be the odd spot of rain here on saturday. elsewhere, patchy cloud and sunny spells, but with those north or north—westerly winds, not especially brisk for most of us, butjust bringing a slightly cooler feel, so temperatures 13 degrees in aberdeen, maybe 22 in london. and we keep those slightly lower temperatures as we head into sunday. a lot of dry weather, a lot of cloud as well, but some spells of sunshine.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the united nations has called for an independent investigation into an airstrike that killed at least 44 people in a migrant centre near the libyan capital, tripoli. the top un official there has described it as a possible war crime. the government and rebels both blame each other. there's been an angry exchange of words between china and britain over the protests in hong kong. the british foreign secretary has warned of "serious consequences" for china if the rights of people living in the territory are infringed. in response, chinese officials accuse the uk of indulging "colonial era fantasies". boeing is giving $100 million to help families affected by the two crashes of the company's 737 max planes in indonesia and ethiopia. the payment, stretching over several years, is independent of lawsuits filed in the wake of the disasters in which 346 people were killed. the baby boy of a heavily pregnant

woman who was stabbed to death