this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: venezuela releases more than 20 prisoners — and a high—profilejudge — after the un accused the government of human rights abuses. president trump threatens to use his executive powers to include a controversial citizenship question in the census. alaska is baking — the us state, which partly lies in the arctic circle, records its highest ever temperature. and centre court rises up for coco gauff as the teenager keeps alive her wimbledon dream.

hello and welcome. venezuela's supreme court has released 22 prisoners, including a high profilejudge. maria afiuni is one of many people the opposition says are political prisoners. she was first arrested ten years ago and had been sentenced again in march for corruption. the move has been welcomed by the un, which published a highly critical report on thursday, accusing president maduro‘s government of widespread human rights abuses against the opposition and minority groups. will grant reports. venezuela's independence day traditionally marks the togetherness and resistance of its people in the face of the spanish colonial power. not any longer. now it seems it is an opportunity for the two sides in the country's unending political crisis to call for the other to back down. first, the opposition led by

the self—declared interim president juan guaido. he is the national holiday to highlight profoundly damning report by the united nations into the government's human rights record. translation: the un has said it clearly. venezuela today lives in a dictatorship. let the world see that too. we have not surrendered, nor are we going to surrender, we are going to continue in the streets. meanwhile, the government of nicolas maduro is still reeling from the un report. it can still turn out its supporters, and the military, for a show of force on independence day, but it cannot disguise the fact that the un outlined numerous cases of torture at the hands of the state, and the killing of more than 5000 people last year by a pro—government elite police unit. the madeira government

has tried to discredit the report as biased, however it came from a former ally, michele bachelet, the woman who knows human rights abuses when she sees them. the un commission was a victim of torture herself under the dictatorship of pinochet in chile. my office has also documented extensive use of force in the context of security operations by the special act and is —— agent for the, with multiple killings of young men. many could constitute extrajudicial killings and could be —— should be fully investigated. despite the government's defiance, they did release more than 20 prisoners, including judge maria afiuni. she is considered by many venezuelans to be the victim of major political interference in the dust system. —— justice system. although she has been released from prison for the bizarre crime of spiritual corruption, have family says she is

not completely free. translation: she can't speak to the media, she can't use social media, she cannot leave the country. she has to present herself every 30 days. the logical thing would be to get rid of the cautionary measures and respect what the un says, which is complete freedom, but that does not happen. we to wait. the un says one thing about the madeira government is another. they are never serious about what international organisations say, so we are in the same situation. we continue to wait. —— maduro. the crisis in venezuela shows no sign of letting up. talks are stalling on both sides are as farapart as are stalling on both sides are as far apart as they have ever been. there is little chance of greater unity in venezuela by next year's independence day. eight people have been convicted for running what's being described as the largest modern slavery ring in britain. the gang leaders, all of them from poland, lured alcoholics, homeless people and freed prisoners from poland with promises of well paid jobs. once in the country, they were forced into heavy manual

labour, threatened, humiliated and beaten up. sima kotecha reports. these were the sordid conditions victims were forced to endure. some were as young as 17. filthy, often rat—infested, with no heating or light. toilets blocked, and the stench unbearable. the gang was made up of five men and three women, all from poland. 52—year—old ignacy brzezinski, 41—year—old wojciech nowa kowski and 26—year—old jan sadowski were between them sentenced to more than 20 years in total. for the first time the bbc can report that in february five others we re report that in february five others were convicted of their roles in the conspiracy and were also jailed. together they prayed on the vulnerable in poland, and lord them to the west midlands, promising them a wealthy life. the targeted former prisoners, the homeless, alcoholics.

translation: to be honest, i came here to start a new life, but i didn't know that this new life would start with such a really big problem. i couldn't even leave the house to go for a walk. they were following me a spying on me, they we re following me a spying on me, they were controlling me. more than 90 victims gave evidence at the trial here, but the police believe the true number of victims is in the hundreds. they were forced to carry out manual labour on farms and in factories, and were paid as little as 50p a day, while their masters kept most of their earnings. the antislavery commissioner said that this case sends a strong message that trafficking will not be tolerated. west midlands police began looking into what was happening four years ago. they would convince the victims, for example, that they were unlawfully in the country, that if they left the house that the traffickers

provided for them, that they would be arrested by the police. sometimes they were given a debt, they were told that they owed the traffic is £5,000 and had to work off the debt. there's a lot of these methods the traffickers would use to make them feel trapped. 0ne one man was given a chicken as payment, another was told he had to wash ina payment, another was told he had to wash in a toilet. the gang was discovered after charities identified victims. this man works undercover, and wants to remain anonymous. very withdrawn, physically shaken, very disorientated. we had victims presented with black eyes. 0ne victim presented with a broken arm, so his broken arm had reset itself, out of alignment. ripped clothing, emaciated. while the victims suffered, the gang bosses lived an opulent lifestyle, driving lavish cars and buying designer clothes. over five years, they made at least £2 million. after sentencing, thejudge,

mary stacey, told the court the harm in this case was at the very highest level, and she warned that all too often such offences were being carried out in plain sight. let's get some of the day's other news. the united nations has welcomed the power sharing agreement reached in sudan in the early hours of friday. the secretary general, antonio guterres, called on both the military and the civilian opposition to implement the deal fully. both parties will take turns leading a sovereign council until elections are held in three years time. the government in gibraltar says an iranian oil tanker currently detained on its coast can be held for another 14 days. the tanker was seized in an operation by british commandos on monday, after intelligence reports suggested it was carrying oil to syria in violation of european union sanctions.

president trump has blamed the rain and a malfunctioning telepromter for a mistake in his fourth ofjuly speech. the president was widely mocked for saying the us military took over airports during the american revolution — which was long before air travel existed. he's told reporters the teleprompter "went kaput", and that it was hard to red because of heavy rain. —— to read because of heavy rain. staying with the president now because he's refusing to back down over his plan to put in a controversial citizenship question in the 2020 us census. he has threatened to issue an executive order to get it on the form. the supreme court has ruled against including the question, and civil rights groups say its inclusion is politically motivated. 0ur correspondent david willis in washington and has more. the us constitution mandates a census take place here in the united states every ten years. now, the next one is due next year, in 2020, and that census helps the government to allocate billions of dollars in federal resources, and it also helps define how areas

are drawn up for contesting in the house of representatives. now, president trump wants the question inserted into next year's census: "is this person a citizen of the united states?" it's 70 years since that question has been asked in a general census here, and democrats and some immigrant rights groups are up in arms because they say that merely posing that question could deter a lot of illegal immigrants from taking part in the exercise, which would skew the outcome, and could lead to them losing both congressional state legislative seats, and of course those billions of dollars in federal funds that i was talking about. now, last week, the united states supreme court blocked a move by the trump administration to have that question asked in the 2020 census, president trump now saying that he might use an executive order to basically overrule them.

so, if he issues that executive order, does he actually have the authority to force that question into the census? it's a very good question, and in actualfact, a lot of legal scholars are saying that he probably doesn't, for the simple reason that in the us constitution, it falls to congress to oversee the implementation of a census here, not so much the president himself. so this is clearly destined for some sort of protracted legal challenge, given that government lawyers have told a federaljudge that they intend — they have been told to basically prepare additional arguments to go back to the us supreme court and see if they can get that verdict overturned.

things are heating up in alaska — the us state has just experienced a new record—high temperature. the us weather service says 90 degrees fahrenheit, or 32 celsius, was recorded at anchorage airport on independence day, ajuly. the previous high was around 30 celsius, while the average at this time of the year is just 18. brian brettschneider, who's in anchorage, is a climate researcher at the university of alaska fairbanks. he told us climate change is affecting everything. the entirety of alaska has been warming quite a bit in the last number of decades and it is unquestionable we are several degrees warmer and you add a warm air mass on top of a warmer world, then these records are far more likely to occur. these kinds of temperatures that we've seen, is this where we expected to be with unchecked climate change, or is this worse or better than you thought it might be? well, i know, you know, there are are a number of projected

temperatures and ranges for 50—100 years, this kind of temperature was off our radar. we didn't expect anything like this for quite a long time. so it's kind of caught everyone off guard, and perhaps may be something we should expect to see in decades to come. what did it actually mean for anchorage and alaska to have these kind of temperatures that are so unusual at this time of year? this far north we just aren't built for cold — sorry, warm temperatures. 0ur houses don't have air—conditioning. they are built to keep heat in, not to let it out, so it's been very uncomfortable at nights, our house — my house didn't get below 26c at night. we've also been dealing with wildfire smoke from a nearby forest fire meaning we have to keep our doors and windows closed at night. it's very unpleasant and something we are accustomed to.

people, especially the elderly and people with breathing and respiratory issues, many of them are having a difficult time. as a climate researcher, where do you think alaska needs to go from here? is it a matter of continuing to try and get movement on climate change globally or does alaska need to climate—proof its state? we really, we attack this from two different sides. one is from the adaptation side and the mitigation side, but also from the policy side to work to reduce our carbon emissions here in anchorage. we have a climate action plan that we just implemented, other cities around the state are doing that as well. we also have some acute community issues, they are literally being washed into the ocean as permafrost melts and sea ice is no longer there. so this is a 2—pronged approach on how do we deal with it in the short—term versus how do

we deal with it in the long—term and we are making progress on both sides. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a 36—year campaign to recognise babylon as a world heritage site finally bears fruit. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup, and they pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. a man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom. then he asked her for a cigarette,

and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: venezuela has released 22 prisoners, including a high—profile judge, after the un accused the government of abuses against the oppostion. president trump may use an executive order to include a controversial question on citizenship in next year's census. government lawyers say they're still looking for legal grounds for the move. the ancient mesopotamian city

of babylon has been declared a unesco world heritage site. iraq has been campaigning for nearly a0 years for it to be added to the united nation's prestigious list. but unesco has warned that babylon is in an extremely vulnerable condition and needs urgent conservation work. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. 4,000 years old, give or take. 0nce home to the mythic

hanging gardens of babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. it's almost a surprise that this place, steeped in history, wasn't already on unesco's list. translation: babylon is a symbol of identity for the iraqis, so the city is considered a part of the history of iraq, whether on the architectural or scientific aspects. but babylon has suffered in recent years. first, from the construction of a palace by saddam hussein, then with it being used as a base for us troops. the iraqi government has promised millions of dollars to safeguard the site. translation: when i come to babylon and see the civilisation and ruins here, i feel proud that my ancestors built this. therefore, it's our duty to preserve it. world heritage status is meant

to protect places or landmarks that are considered to be important for the whole of humanity. many here will say that babylon, with its legacy and art, culture and religion, is finally being given the recognition it deserves. tim allman, bbc news. the remarkable journey of the 15—year—old tennis sensation cori gauff, nicknamed coco, has seen her through to the fourth round after she defeated polona hercog in three sets on friday, saving two match points before fighting back to win the next two sets. it comes after her win earlier this week against five—time champion venus williams. she now plays former world number one, simona halep of romania, for a place in the last eight. john watson has more. there can be no doubt that she has been one of the stories of the tournament so far, and that story continues as coco gauff books her place in the fourth round at wimbledon, the furthest

she has ever been at a grand slam. it was a performance beyond her years, we know her achievements already, knocking out venus williams in the opening round, magdalena rybarikova, a former wimbledon semifinalist, no less, in the second round, and she has overcome polona hercog here today in quite dramatic circumstances, when you consider she dropped the first set, she had to save two points in this match before managing to claw her way back into the match, salvaging the second set before closing it out over three sets. a huge amount of support on centre court where she was playing for the first time, and you can only imagine that that support is going to grow, because she really has been one of the standout performers so far, a grand slam champion in the making and you wonder perhaps, a future world number one as well. could her first grand slam title come here at wimbledon at the tender age of 15? you wonder. we were waiting to see serena williams and andy murray in action today, they were due to begin their doubles partnership in the mixed doubles, that has been pushed back until saturday, but no doubt what the talk

of the town is here at wimbledon on day five at this championships — coco gauff, the 15—year—old, into the fourth round. i'm joined now by dan wolken, national sports columnist at usa today. thank you so much for your time. she is trending on twitter. vans are so excited. dennis has had a lot of these young prodigies over the years, but it's actually been quite a while since we've had someone quite a while since we've had someone this young —— tennis, to make it into a grand slam tournament. the game has gotten so much more physical. the winner of the prime years for men and women has really moved into the mid— 20s, late 20s. natalie pirks so the teenagers, it's really difficult to get there being in professional tennis, so for this young lady to break through it wimbledon, she was going 300 and something in the world and had to qualify to get in. very

unusual surface, grass, she just seemed like such a young, lovely woman, great family, bright smile, she is really captivated notjust the american tennis fans, but american sports fans in general who are on the fringes of the sport really, left on the bandwagon today. there is obviously, she's very talented and done so well to get this it wimbledon, but is itjust talents or was it a bit of luck, too? certainly. she is a player who people within the tennis world have known about for a couple of years, there's been a lot of buzz around her, so it was only a matter of time before she got one of these kinds of opportunities. but you get the wimbledon, you don't expect much, you beat venus williams, then there sta rts you beat venus williams, then there starts to be this momentum and it looks for a little while today like it was going to and, hercog was really in control of that match,

then trying to serve it out, she could not get it done, the momentum turn, hercog got a bit nervous. she played poorly late in the second set and in parts of the third is that and in parts of the third is that and it gave coco an opportunity to ta ke and it gave coco an opportunity to take control. but you have to give a lot of credit, a 15—year—old was able to really commit to her game, commit to her shots and raise her level under a lot of pressure, very unusualfor someone level under a lot of pressure, very unusual for someone that young.‘ yea rs unusual for someone that young.‘ years is unusual for someone that young.‘ yea rs is really unusual for someone that young.‘ years is really young and we have seen younger years is really young and we have seen younger players get burnt out in tennis. what does someone like coco do, how do you remain resilient and have longevity? it's going to be very interesting because coming up this experience is going to have so many opportunities, the sponsors are going to be knocking down her door, it's going to be millions of dollars of worldwide fame, that's a lot to deal with for someone that young. i think becoming that overnight sensation, how that affects somebody

emotionally is something we don't have a great handle on. hopefully she's matured and her support system around her is strong enough to help her deal with it but women's tennis association only allows someone between their fifth 10th and 16th birth dates are played ten tournaments —— 15th, and i goes up a little bit every year until they turn 18. maybe there will be pressure on the women's tennis circuit to allow her to play more events because of her success, but i think they should limit her exposure to the pro tour, take this very slowly, don't skip steps and make sure she doesn't get burnt out as we've a number of these donors prodigies in the 80s and 90s that enforce this rule to begin with. —— tennis prodigies. dan wolken with usa today, thank you very much.

sunday's women's world cup final will see the defending champions the usa up against the current european champions the netherlands. such has been the success of this year's tournament, that fifa is suggesting the next world cup in 2023 should be expanded to 32 teams. fifa also wants significant progress to be made in equalising prize money between the men's and the women's game. we have already more than doubled the prize money for the women's world cup this year, going from 15 to 50 million, i think and i'm very optimistic about that and i'm... moving ahead for the next world cup, we will double it for the next world cup, i'm very confident that we can achieve the necessary figures in order to do that. a statue of the american first lady, melania trump, has been unveiled outside her slovenian hometown. commissioned by american artist brad downey and carved from a treetrunk by a local sculptor, the statue has prompted very mixed reviews, with critics suggesting that the figure looks like a scarecrow.

downey said he wanted to highlight melania trump's immigrant status while being married to a president sworn to reduce immigration. stay with us. hello. we saw the peak in the heat yesterday, and the top temperature, 28 celsius, 82 fahrenheit, compared with the cooler, cloudier 16, that's 61 fahrenheit, further north. and that cooler, cloudier air is heading southwards, it's on a weather front which through the night has been meandering its way very slowly south giving a little bit of rain to northern ireland, northern england, heading towards north wales and the wash by the time we get towards dawn. the warm air uncomfortable for sleeping but it will feel much fresher by morning further north. and that fresher air is on a cold weatherfront and it's heading southwards, so i think it will introduce more cloud across england and wales during the course of saturday,

and in particular today, so it will feel cooler as a result. now that cold weather front‘s also being followed by a north—westerly breeze which is never a warm direction. but again, if you're sheltered from the breeze in the sunshine that follows across scotland, northern england and northern ireland, it will feel quite pleasant. but this weather front will take much of the day to meander across wales, the midlands and east anglia, down into the south—east. introducing cloudy skies definitely and even the odd splash of rain, so if you are heading off to wimbledon, lucky enough to be heading off to wimbledon, it does look cooler, more cloudy, still think there could be some sunshine getting through that cloud, but i would not also like to rule out a shower later in the afternoon, early evening — because that weather front could give a few sharp splashes of rain here and there — not for all, but what it does do is dampen the heat. so the 28 that we saw on friday not repeated, still pretty warm across the south coast but for most of us, it's cooler temperatures, back down to what they should be, with some lovely sunshine,

though, coming through behind that weather front, some strong july sunshine does not mean the temperatures are lower, it is just as strong. a few showers across the north and north—east of scotland, and they will continue through the evening and overnight, just blowing further southwards, blowing that fresher air into the far south of england. so it looks like a fresher night on the whole, cooler night on the whole, even further south, just a little bit of warmth just maintained in the towns and the cities. but it could be that on sunday we still have that weather front dragging its heels across southern parts of england, still giving the odd shower and slow to clear. a little more cloud in eastern parts of england and scotland with the odd shower around, but again some dry, bright weather for the majority, the best of the sunshine potentially in south—west scotland and north—west england, further south as well, feeling a bit fresher, temperatures down to where they should be, and that's maintained into next week though it looks more unsettled, doesn't it, further north. there's more on the website.

this is bbc news, the headlines: venezuela's supreme court has released 22 people from prison, including a high profile judge, after the un said the country uses a campaign of fear to suppress opposition. president trump is threatening to use executive powers to count the number of us citizens in the population census. the supreme court has ruled against the practice, and the census forms are already being printed without the question. the american state of alaska, which lies partly in the arctic circle, has recorded its highest ever temperature of 32 degrees celsius. and cori gauff is through to the second week of wimbledon. the 15—year—old american beat slovenia's polona hercog in a thrilling contest, saving two match points along the way. nerves inside paralysed people's

bodies have been rewired to give