this is bbc news. welcome if you are watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: a special bbc investigation reveals muslim children in china, some as young as two, are being systematically separated from theirfamilies. we uncover evidence of boarding schools, surrounded by barbed wire, housing children from the minority uighur community. families of victims of the boeing plane crash in ethiopia speak exclusively to the bbc about their search for justice. his opponents say he has politicised independence day to boost his re—election campaign. president trump doesn't let the rain

spoil his 4july parade. with this very special salute to america, we celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly defend ourflag — the brave men and women of the united states military. cheering and a $6 million row over this bust of king tutankhamun has come to a head. the bbc has uncovered disturbing evidence that muslim children in china's xinjiang region are being systematically separated from their families and placed in secure state schools. official documents reveal large numbers of boarding schools have been built, housing children as young as two. critics of china's government say it isa deliberate policy targeting children from the minority uighur

population, to cut them off from their own communities. our china correspondentjohn sudworth has this exclusive report. in account after account, gathered in a meeting hall in istanbul, muslims from xinjiang speak again and again of the immeasurable grief of separation from their children. who is looking after the children? back home, china has been sweeping xinjiang's uighurs, kazakhs and other minorities, who have their own languages and culture, into giant camps, where they are taught chinese

and to love the communist party. abdurahman tohti moved to turkey in 2013. three years ago, his wife and children went back to xinjiang for a short trip, and vanished. but then he found this — a video posted online of his son in a boarding school, speaking not in uighur, his mother tongue, but in chinese. alongside the camps, china has been building something else — giant new schools, many with huge dormitories. this kindergarten sleeps hundreds.

we film at one camp. while the adults are kept here, their children are in this nearby school. and this kindergarten has barbed wire, cameras, and signs that say only chinese should be spoken. chinese officials deny the adult detention camps have left large numbers of children without anyone to look after them. but such cases are not hard to find. amine wayit, who now runs a clothes shop in turkey, recently found this picture of her stepdaughter on social media. it is a sign her close relatives are in the camps, her stepdaughter in a boarding school, and wearing traditional chinese costume.

if you could send a message to akide today, what would you tell her? research of online documents commissioned by the bbc shows only an 8% increase in kindergarten places for china as a whole. but in xinjiang, as the camps have been built, there has been an 82% jump, and in some uighur—majority areas, numbers have shot up even further. the xinjiang government is attempting to gain full control over the young generation, to literally raise a new generation that has been cut off from original roots, from religious beliefs, from cultural knowledge, even from their own language. i believe the evidence really points

what we must call cultural genocide. khalida akytkankyzy has moved to kazakhstan, but when she heard that the chinese camps had left her 14 grandchildren without parents, she phoned the village official. we try to look for khalida's missing relatives. the family home is locked and deserted. we call the village official. but he hangs up on us too. we find only the signs of a giant vanishing, and the shattering of countless families. john sudworth, bbc news, xinjiang.

and you can find more on this story on our website, bbc.com/news. with all boeing 737 max aircraft grounded because of two disastrous crashes, distraught families are pressing for answers. they most want to know why the planes were not grounded after the first crash in indonesia last november. investigations suggest the same flight control system was at fault four months later, when an ethiopian airlines jet went down. speaking exclusively to the bbc, some families claim the aircraft manufacturer put commercial priorities ahead of safety. if wrongdoing is revealed, they want criminal charges. simon browning reports. everywhere we look, there's a blank where she should be. struggling with their loss. nadia and michael's daughter samya rose was on a boeing plane that crashed in ethiopian. samya's right here.

she was one of 157 people on board. how did those first couple of hours evolve for you both? i learned standing right over there in the laundry room. i — it was 3:00am in the morning, and ijust started physically shaking, like, icouldn't stop my body from shaking. and then ijust thought, "i can't tell the other people in the house." it was the second identical boeing jet to crash in five months. initial reports say they happened for the same reason — a faulty flight control system. the 737 max has been grounded ever since. critics say the development and launch of the jets was rushed, and that boeing cut corners at the expense of safety. definitely my daughter died for the profit of boeing, and i don't want anyone else to die for that reason. i want these planes to be safe, and invest in the company, and the hardware and the infrastructure,

to make our aviation systems safe. nadia and michael want to know why their daughter died, and their fight has taken them to the top of the american government. they are now representing families from across north america. when et302 crashed, there were passengers from more than 30 countries on board. the highest proportion of those were from kenya, because the flight was bound for nairobi. but the second—highest amount were from here in canada, and families in toronto are starting to want answers as to why their loved ones were killed. well, i lost my wife, carol, my three children, ryan, kelly and ruby, and i also lost my mum—in—law. i feel so lonely. i look at people, i see them with their children, playing outside, and i know i cannot have my children.

paul njoroge lost his entire family. he believes they would still be alive if boeing had grounded the planes earlier. the crash of ethiopian airlines flight 302 was preventable. but these individuals knew that they will not be held criminally liable, they will not face years in prison. but, if they knew that they would face years in prison, then they would have grounded those planes in november. we asked boeing for an interview, and they declined. in a statement, they said: but, for the families, life is changed forever. their resolve now — finding the truth. simon browning, bbc news, in toronto.

let's get some of the day's other news: british marines have seized an iranian oil tanker as it entered the mediterranean. the uk claims oil was being transported to syria, in breach of european union sanctions. commandos used helicopters and boats to take control of the ship around british—controlled gibraltar. no shots were fired. iran has accused the uk of piracy and summoned the british ambassador in tehran. southern california has been struck by its strongest earthquake in two decades, causing fires and some damage. the quake, magnitude 6.4, struck on the edge of death valley, and was felt from the mojave desert to the pacific coast. there are reports of significant damage in the city of ridgecrest. firefighters have been dealing with flames and providing medical assistance. the russian president has met the pope on a one—day visit to italy. their meeting may be paving the way for a papal visit to russia. vladimir putin also met the italian president and prime ministerfor a news conference, where they discussed

russia and italy's troubled relationships with the european union. very shortly, we will find out how nirmala sitharaman plans to reinvigorate india's slowing economy. the country's first female finance minister is about to present this year's budget. unemployment is at its highest in 45 years, and there are concerns over key industries, including farming. our business correspondent joe miller is in delhi. no shortage of challenges, then. no, not at all. unlike many of her male predecessors, nirmala sitharaman has quite a juggling act in front of her. on the one hand, she has to find money for many of narendra modi's election promises, such as money forfarmers modi's election promises, such as money for farmers and increased investment in infrastructure. and on the other hand she has to deal with a slowing indian economy. it recently a slowing indian economy. it rece ntly ha d a slowing indian economy. it recently had to link which its crown of the fastest—growing major economy to china. unemployment is at a

higher, and there are signs, plenty of signs, that domestic consumption, that middle—class spending spree that middle—class spending spree that fuelled the indian economy for so that fuelled the indian economy for so long, is starting to slow down. and many other factors, so long, is starting to slow down. and many otherfactors, such so long, is starting to slow down. and many other factors, such as the delayed monsoon, which of course has hit farmers and water supplies in the country. so there's quite a difficult budget for her ahead. and joe, i guess it shouldn't really be news that india has its first female finance minister, but it probably is. she has heard other senior ministerial posts before. what are her chances of addressing these problems? it is actually quite big news, as you say, it shouldn't be, but it is. but one of the things she may be looking at is of course raising taxes. and where she will raise those taxes will be the focus today. one of the possibilities is that we'll see multinational companies, massive companies from other countries that do big business here but aren't based here, so think big tech firms, there may be new taxes for them. they could also be

an inheritance tax. india currently doesn't have an inheritance tax. that might be introduced, and it might really hurt some of the more prosperous indians. but what we might also see is india trying to ta ke might also see is india trying to take advantage of the us china trade war, by introducing more favourable policies to attract companies in special economic zones to come and set up here, where supposedly india will have better relations, hopefully, with the united states. joe, thank you very much for that. you will find out more in a few hours. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we will find out why maurice the rowdy rooster is in the dock. 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 world news. the latest headlines: a special bbc investigation reveals how china is systematically separating muslim uighur children from theirfamilies.

and, speaking exclusively to the bbc, families of victims of the boeing plane crash in ethiopia tell us those responsible must be held to account. researchers in switzerland are arguing that a massive global programme of planting trees is the most effective weapon to counter climate change currently available. their study, published in thejournal science, suggests that in total, around the planet, an area the size of the united states is available to plant trees. the extra canopy cover would be enough, they say, to remove 25% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere right now. i've been speaking to the lead author of the report — jean—francois bastin. he believes climate change requires ambitious solutions. but the thing is that it remains, like, a beautiful challenge. like, its a very important one that we have faced, because it's maybe the most important one of the century. but the thing is that anyone can participate. like, anyone around the world, anyone that can walk, that has the capacity to plant

seeds, as long as they have good information, they can do it. when your study says this is the most effective weapon available right now, surely if we don't stop using fossil fuels, its effectiveness will be very limited indeed, won't it? yes, exactly. the thing is that what we can do with the restoration of natural ecosystem is just to buy a bit of time. so we can maybe freeze climate change for as much as 20 years, if we were able to do it right now. that, of course, is not possible, but we can gain that time. but of course, this needs to be executed with a change in the way we are living on the planet, to reach a carbon—neutral way of living on the planet. otherwise, it's all for nothing. you will know, i'm sure, that there are other scientists suggestions that — may question your estimates of how effective tree—planting could be, and say that they are not supported by previous studies or climate models. what do you say to that? it's true in the sense that it's the first fully comprehensive study that is realised on the subject, so of course there's no previous study that can back it up. and there are also estimations which are promoting numbers that

are higher than the number we are promoting. i think i am not surprised, but it's like we share everything in the meteorology field. we are the most open we can, always accessible, and we invite other scientists to pick up our code and to try and do it we did, and to go in the same direction. but you know the worry, of course, that often when things sound too good to be true, they may indeed be too good to be true. does this take account of the massive deforestation that's going on currently, pretty much all the time, particularly in brazil, for instance? exactly, so they are two different things. of course it sounds too good to be true, but this is exactly the point. climate change is a big problem, and we need to be ambitious if we want to face it. and then, of course, we need to limit — we need to avoid deforestation. so we need to conserve tropicalforests, we need to stop deforestation. 0nly that way we can conserve carbon

which is stuck in those forests. president trump has staged his own very individual — very militarised — independence day parade in washington dc. there were tanks on the streets, and military flypasts. he's called it "salute to america", focusing, he insists on patriotism rather than politics. his opponents see it as a made for tv campaign event. thousands gathered to watch his speech on big screens, with protesters nearby. right from the outset, mr trump lauded america's armed forces. with this very special salute to america, we celebrate our history, our people, and the heroes who proudly defend ourflag — the brave men and women of the united states military. cheering 0ur correspondent chris buckler was at the lincoln memorial. to some extent the

celebrations continue. but the militaristic element of this whole event, the element that donald trump was at the centre of, has now come to a close, and people can now reflect on the speech that he made. the white house had promised that his focus would be on patriotism, not politics, and actually, if you listened to the speech, that was true. it was a much more measured speech than the addresses that we're used to from president trump at rallies. for example, he referenced the civil rights movement in the us. he referenced martin luther king, who also spoke here at the lincoln memorial, with his i have a dream speech. and president trump did do his best to reflect all elements of america, as well as putting the real focus on each of the different branches of the us military. there were flyovers, there were tanks which sat alongside his podium here at lincoln memorial. but beyond that, there was a genuine attempt, i suppose, to reach out and try to say that, as one country, people should be able to celebrate on ajuly. at the same time, when you talk to some of the crowd who have

gathered here, it's clear that most of them were donald trump supporters, and perhaps others were on the other end of the national mall, where that capitol concert is taking place, just in the shadow of the capitol building. in mid—century america, life magazine was hugely influential. its photo essays were a window onto the world for the living rooms of the nation. and in a male dominated industry, a small group of female photojournalists created some of the magazine's most enduring images — including the very first cover in 1936. their work is now on display at new york's historical society. there were only six women photographers on staff for life magazine, of the 101 staff photographers for life magazine. some of them didn't even think about it. they were so focused on taking the photographs that they wanted to take, that they thought, well, wejust went in and did it,

and we got jostled around a little bit, and maybe some of the men were jealous of the fact that we were women, but it was a different time then. these women were not living in the early 21st century, we are very aware of what women are doing and how they break into fields. they weren't thinking that way in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, which is the parameters of the years that are in this exhibition. they wanted to take photographs and they loved photography, and they went out and took those photographs when they were given the assignment to do so. this is one of my favourites in the exhibition, by margaret bourke—white, and it graced the cover of the first issue of life magazine, which makes it a very important photograph. you will see in the very bottom, these two tiny figures, they are in this so you can see the enormity of the dam itself. so it gives it a sense of scale, and then one realises, what an amazing feat of technology building this dam was. i want people to come away

with an idea of what certain parts of america were like, and how americans were thinking during this time period. this is a photograph taken by martha holmes, of billy eckstine. it appeared in a 1950 issue of life magazine. holmes was very proud of this photograph, and when the editors looked at it, they questioned whether they were going to run it or not, because it pictures a white woman embracing a black man. and it was finally decided that the photograph would run, asis. they felt that it was an important photograph that would show that we were confronting racism in america. the problem was that the editors received so much criticism, that it had an adverse effect on eckstine's career. some of these stories resonate today because you look at the american woman's dilemma, that nina leen did. and i think a lot of women today still think, "am i going to go to work full—time?

if i go to work full—time am i going to see my children grow up?" there are issues that still do resonate today, and i think that's important for us to realise, that this is not the first time women have had these issues to think about. it is the court case that has rocked france — well almost. on one side — a retired couple who own a holiday home in the picturesque island of 0leron. 0n the other — a rooster called maurice. the couple say he makes too much noise — and now they want the judicial system to sort it out. tim allman has more. meet the accused. maurice is a rooster, a symbol of the french republic, no less. when he goes for his early—morning cock—a—doodle—doo, the next door neighbours say, cock—a—doodle—don‘t. the dispute has made it all the way to court, but maurice has not. 0ther roosters and cockerels were there to offer moral support to him and his owner.

translation: i'm fighting for a cause, many people support me and we tried to explain that the rooster is normal in the countryside and that you have to adapt. if you don't adapt, you don't have to stay in the countryside. ms fesseau says she has tried looking maurice up overnight, and even used egg cartons to soundproof his coop. none of which seems to have worked. translation: my clients do not blame the rooster for singing, my clients want it to be quiet in the morning between 6:30 and 8:30. they would like to be able to sleep. it's not quite the dreyfus affair, but it has at least, for some, highlighted the divide between urban and rural life. the court is expected to announce a verdict in september. if maurice wins, he will have plenty to crow about. there is more for you on all the

news any time on the bbc website, you can reach us all on twitter. thank you all for watching. hello there. if you were looking for the warmest, sunniest weather on thursday, you had to turn your eyes southwards. the further south you went, the bluer the skies remained. a bit of wispy, high cloud overhead in london, but temperatures in the london area got very close to 27 degrees. compare and contrast that with the scene for this weather watcher in ullapool, in north—west scotland. grey, murky, damp, temperatures at 13 degrees. and similar rules apply through the day ahead. the best of the sunshine to be found across central and southern parts of the uk. further north, more cloud, some patchy rain, some mist and murk, especially for hills and coasts in the west. and then some heavy rain returning to northern and western scotland later in the day, where it will also be quite breezy.

so let's take a closer look. lots of sunshine for the channel islands, southern england, wales, the midlands, east anglia, temperatures 23 in plymouth, 2a degrees for cardiff, 27 once again across the london area. but some extra cloud will push in across north wales in north—west england, north—east england, to the east of the pennines should hold onto at least a little bit of brightness through the day. northern ireland turning pretty grey, rain pepping up again across western scotland through the afternoon. but, with some shelter for the mountains in eastern scotland, aberdeen down to edinburgh, we should hold onto a little bit of brightness and temperatures around 18 degrees. now that cloud and rain which has been plaguing northern areas will start to move its way southwards during friday night. behind it, the skies will start to clear across scotland and ahead of that band of cloud and patchy rain we'll keep some clear skies in the south as well. temperatures as we start saturday between 10—15 degrees. that band of cloud and patchy rain will start off the weekend across northern england and northern ireland, associated with this, a cold front. you can tell it's a cold front

by the blue triangles here. and behind that cold front, well, the air turns cooler and fresher. but the front is likely to drag its heels, though, there will be a zone of cloudy here and potentially damp weather. i'm not expecting huge amounts of rain, that will sink across parts of east anglia, the midlands, wales. to the south—east coast of england, we are likely to hold onto some sunshine and warm all day long. temperatures could get to around 2a degrees. but to the north of the band of cloud and patchy rain, it will be cold and fresher although, it will be largely dry with some sunny spells. and all of us get into that fresher regime on sunday. the front will have cleared away by this stage, there will be some fairly large areas of cloud floating around, some spells of sunshine, just a small chance of one or two showers. and those temperatures ranging from 13 degrees in aberdeen to a high of 22 in cardiff.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a special bbc investigation has revealed how muslim children in china are being systematically separated from their families. official documents show the chinese government has built many boarding schools, housing children as young as two. human rights experts say it is part of a deliberate policy targeting the uighur population. families of the victims in the boeing crash in ethiopia in march have told the bbc those found responsible should have criminal charges brought against them. all boeing 737 max aircraft have been grounded because of two deadly crashes. some families claim the manufacturer put commercial priorities ahead of safety. donald trump has presided over an elaborate ceremony to mark us independence day, in an event dubbed "salute to america." but the militaristic tone and cost have been criticised by his democratic opponents, with suggestions he has politicised the 4july tradition.