this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. our top stories: reports that armed iranian boats tried to intercept a british oil tanker in the strait of hormuz but were driven off by a british warship. britain's ambassador to the us resigns, following the leaking of his critical remarks about the trump white house. washington opens a trade investigation — into french plans for a digital services tax likely to target internet giants. we travel deep into myanmar‘s rakhine state. some displaced families are offered new homes but none go to the muslim community.

some breaking news this hour: five boats believed to belong to the iranian revolutionary guards have approached a british oil tanker in the gulf, asking it to stop in iranian waters but reportedly withdrew after a british frigate trained its guns on them and warned them over radio. the incident happened in the strait of hormuz — that strategically very important stretch of water between the persian gulf and the gulf of oman, bordered by iran and the united arab emirates. peter bowes is watching the situation from the us. as we understand it this tanker, this british heritage tanker was passing through the area, it was just about to cross the strait of hormuz,

when it was, at least there was an attempt to intercept it by these five iranian boats who were ordering it to change its direction but the boat, the british warship that was escorting the tanker, then trained its guns on the iranian boats and ordered them to back off, and they heeded that order, they did indeed back off, no shots were fired. the tanker, the british tanker was allowed to go on its way. we have had a short statement from the pentagon, the ministry of defence and the states, confirming they are aware of the reports, not adding any additional detail, still waiting, hoping for more information from the british ministry of defence. give us a sense of the bigger picture here. this might be related to an incident last week when an iranian supertanker was intercepted with the help of british royal marines off gibraltar, suspected of taking oilfrom iran to syria which would have been in breach of eu sanctions. iran described that

as a form of piracy and since that vessel was seized, since then, iranian officials have been saying things like, a british oil tanker should be seized if this detained ship is not released. we are still putting together the details of this latest incident but it does seem as if this may well have been an attempt at some form of retaliation. there's been an angry reaction in britain to the resignation of the ambassador to the united states, who's quit under intense criticism from president trump. britain's foreign secretary jeremy hunt, said the resignation is a black day for british diplomacy. his rival in the race to become prime minister, borisjohnson, has been criticised for failing to back the ambassador, although it's emerged he did phone sir kim darroch on wednesday, praising him. the head of the uk's diplomatic service says he's not seen a situation like it, in 37 years.

sir kim darroch, 42 years a loyal public servant, the boy from the council estate who advised prime ministers and, until this morning, her majesty's ambassador to the united states. he resigned, he said, because his leaked remarks, critical of donald trump, had made it impossible for him to carry out his role. at westminster, there was anger and support in equal measure. sir kim has given a lifetime of service to the united kingdom and we owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. good government depends on public servants being able to give full and frank advice. i think the comments made about him are beyond unfair and wrong. i think he's given honourable and good service and he should be thanked for it. at last month's state visit, mr trump and sir kim were on good terms, but his private description of a dysfunctional white house prompted a wave of presidential insults and a refusal to deal

with the man he called, "the wacky ambassador". i will keep him until he's due to retire and i think we'd like to know if you would? 0k, well, i'm not going to be so presumptuous... but it was these words, the repeated refusal of borisjohnson last night to defend sir kim that prompted the ambassador‘s decision to go. according to whitehall sources, mrjohnson's critics were furious. boris johnson, a former foreign secretary, and he hopes to be a future, the future prime minister, has basically thrown our top diplomat under the bus. and there are a lot of people here in the commons who are very, very angry. allies of mrjohnson said this was a shabby attempt to politicise the resignation, and that sir kim's position had become untenable before last night's debate. he was a superb, is a superb diplomat and i worked with him for many years, and i think that whoever leaked his diptels really has done a grave disservice to our civil servants. you said last night

you weren't going to back him? no, on the contrary... my view is it's wrong to drag civil servants into the political arena, that's what i think. that did not assuage the fury of foreign office officials, nor did the fact that mrjohnson chose to phone sir kim this afternoon, to praise him for his dedication and hard work. sir kim's resignation has wrought a heavy blow on british diplomacy. morale here at the foreign office is low and the risk is that it leaves britain looking like a leaky ship, buffeted by a foreign power, with its diplomats fearful in future of speaking truth to politicians who may not defend them if that truth were ever to leak. this afternoon, foreign office staff met to show solidarity with sir kim. earlier, their boss said it was unprecedented for a friendly government not to co—operate with a british ambassador. what's morale like in the foreign office at the moment? erm, i think people are shaken by what has happened.

there is a reason why i've asked to see all my colleagues at four o'clock this afternoon. the basis on which we have worked all our careers suddenly feels as though it is challenged. the question now is who will choose the next resident of the british embassy in washington, theresa may oi’ her successoi’? either way, they'll have a big repairjob to do. james landale, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news flights at london gatwick airport were suspended for 2 hours on wednesday because of an issue with air traffic control systems. 28 flights were cancelled, 26 were diverted to other airports. in december, flights were suspended for more than a day when drone sightings caused chaos for tens of thousands of passengers. german chancellor angela merkel has been seen shaking for the third time in less than a month.

it happened during a military ceremony in berlin, marking the arrival of finland's prime minister. after her meeting the leader insisted she was fine and said there was no need to worry. a man has been detained for climbing over a fence onto the forecourt of buckingham palace. it's understood he scaled the barrier to the side of the building in the early hours of wednesday. he was arrested moments later. royal officials say he did not enter the palace building. in myanmar‘s rakhine state, hundreds of new houses have been handed over to families displaced by the violence against the rohingya muslims in 2017. but none of the homes was actually for the minority group. almost two years on, there's no sign the 700,000 rohingya who fled over the border to neighbouring bangladesh will be returning soon. myanmar denies its troops carried out ethnic cleansing and genocide. our myanmar correspondent nick beake gained rare access to the affected part of rakhine. it takes time to reach myanmar‘s killing fields.

a grim journey to where, they say, a genocide was committed. far from the eyes of the outside world. for the past year, the myanmar government has not allowed us to travel to northern rakhine state. finally we now have permission to go to an event there. how much the authorities will let us see is another matter. this was the highway from hell. two years ago, hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims escaped along this route. fleeing the burmese army's campaign of rape and murder. but now we are told, some of those displaced in the bloodshed are coming back. under close scrutiny we are invited see 250 new homes and the people who will live in them. they have been paid

for by neighbouring india. this family are waiting to talk to us. although it turns out they will not be sleeping here tonight. they will be going back to their nearby village. because these are not rohingya muslims coming home. like everyone we meet here, they are hindu. how would you feel if your muslim neighbours came back? we would not like it, she tells us. many hindus were killed in muslim villages. many outsiders believe rakhine state is still soaked in religious hatred and it is not safe for different communities to live side—by—side. but ministers claim progress is being made. and today they are celebrating their efforts. they are battling on with this event despite the relentless rain because myanmar‘s government is desperate to show it is doing things in rakhine state to try and improve lives. the reality is none of the houses we see here today are for rohingya people.

they remain in refugee camps across the border in bangladesh and for now, two years on after the terrible violence, there is no home. the families today are hindu families. will you be providing housing for the rohingya families? not only for the hindu people but also for the muslim people and the rakhine people. the project will become more and more. up to half a million rohingya muslims who did not flee the 2017 persecution remain in rakhine state. one united nations investigator said they live in modern day concentration camps, denied many freedoms. and while there is such a bleak outlook there is little chance that friends and family across the border in the refugee camps will be coming home tojoin them.

the united states has opened an investigation into french plans to tax internet and tech giants such as google and facebook. the us trade representative has said he's concerned the digital services tax will unfairly target american companies. the french government says companies that make big profits selling digital services in france should not be able to escape tax simply because their headquarters are elsewhere. i asked our correspondent in san francisco, dave lee, if france was taking a risk with its approach towards the us. yes, it is taking a risk and for now, at least, france is fairly isolated. there have been talks of a europe—wide digital tax like this but that fell through because of opposition from countries that ireland that have some of these tech companies basing their european operations there. france has pledged to go ahead alone, implement this 3% tax on the revenues that tech companies

make in france, and the criteria for being part of this tax is that it's a tech company that owns more than 750 million euros every year, globally, and so the american complaint is that many of those companies that fit that criteria, the majority of the companies that fit the criteria in france, are american companies — google, apple, facebook, firms like that, and that is why america says it is going to investigate what is happening to see whether or not, as they see it, that american companies, are in theireyes, being unfairly targeted by this new tax from france. but dave, the kind of investigation the americans are talking about has often been a prelude to punitive tariffs, hasn't it? yes, it has and that is what france is going to be particularly wary of here. and there is a precedent here where the us has begun this kind of investigation and then, as a result,

started implementing new us tariffs, most notably involving china. now france, although as part of the eu, it is more difficult to do french—specific tariffs. what the us can do is look at particular industries where france is particularly active when it comes to exporting to the us. that is something the us could look to do. but it seems both sides do think the proper way to solve this, eventually, might be a multilateral agreement on how internet companies should be taxed across the world, not just in france. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a hero's welcome for the us football team — winners of the women's world cup back in new york city. 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. 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. the 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. applause

this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: armed iranian boats have reportedly tried to intercept a british oil tanker near the strait of hormuz but withdrew after a british warship warned them to stop. many british politicians have expressed concern at the resignation of britain's ambassador to washington, after his confidential criticism of president trump's administration was leaked. the afghan government is facing allegations of sexual harassment. in may a former advisor to the president accused men in positions of power of trading officialjobs for sex. while the government rejects the claims, a bbc investigation has heard from women who allege they were sexually harassed by top officials. to protect the identity of some of the women in yogita limaye's report, their words have been voiced by actors. one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman.

life might be better than under a repressive taliban regime, but freedom is still limited. equality a distant dream. and every day here they face the threat of violence, rape, harassment. now there are disturbing allegations that even in government women aren't safe, that some men in positions of power are sexually harassing them. we're in kabul to probe these claims. in a conservative, male—dominated society it is hard for women to speak out, but our investigation has finally lead us to a former government employee. we're hiding her identity because she fears backlash. her former boss is a senior minister in the current government.

and did you file a complaint after this incident? she also told us two other women had come forward to tell her the same minister had raped them. claims the bbc has been unable to independently verify. it's notjust one individual, ministry, or department,

several women we've spoken to have told us that sexual harassment is widespread in the government. most of them are too afraid to speak out. but now we're going to meet another woman who's willing to share her story with us. in fact, this is the first time she's telling anyone about it. she had all but secured a government job when she was asked to meet a close aide of president ashraf ghani. do you want some water? shall i get you some? last year she contested parliamentary polls and says election commission officials also harassed her.

the president's office declined the bbc‘s request for an interview. earlier, they'd rejected claims of sexual misconduct in government. the response that the government gave is defensive. i think that the culture of impunity is one of the reasons — the people who commit this don't get trial, so therefore the man or the perpetrators feel protected. democracy here has come at the cost of a deadly war. more women are in parliament and in government now. but if they are not considered safe places to work this progress could come to a halt. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. president trump's labor secretary, alex acosta, is resisting calls for his resignation over his part in a case

involving the billionaire financier, jeffrey epstein. on monday, jeffrey epstein pleaded not guilty to charges that he oversaw a network, trafficking underage girls for sex. alex acosta is under scrutiny for negotiating a lighter sentence for him, in 2008. let me start by reiterating that i am pleased that the new york prosecution is going forward. they brought these charges based on new evidence againstjeffrey epstein, who is now a registered sex offender. this is a very, very good thing. his acts are despicable, the prosecution offers an important opportunity to more fully bring epstein to justice. thousands turned out in new york city to honour the us women's soccer team, world cup champions once again. there were official speakers, but the players and especially team captain, megan rapinoe, were very much the stars of the show. the bbc‘s nada tawfik was there.

cheering and applause. how is this for a homecoming? new york was buzzing with excitement as the us women's soccer team made their way down the parade route known as the canyon of heroes. amid a sea of red white and blue, and with tickertape raining down from above, the world champions basked in the glory of their win. there is so much energy and pride here for the us women's soccer team. they have shown they are a force on the field and they have proved that perseverance in another battle, the fight for equal pay. fans hear say they no doubt deserve it. chant: equal pay, equal pay! i think they deserve more pay. they keep winning, the have won four world cups. the men have won zero. we need some women to, like, stand up for this world and, like, be ahead of man sometimes. the party continued all the way to city hall, where the players showed off that victory dance. co—captain, megan rapinoe, who has been a vocal critic of president trump

and the us soccer federation, praise her team—mates for their impact on and off the field. it is our responsibility to make this world a better place. i think this team does an incredible job of taking that on our shoulders and understanding the position that we have and the platform that we have. the players were honoured with a symbolic key to the city by mayor bill de blasio, who spoke about their influence on future generations. they have inspired particular young women to believe in themselves, to be brave, to be bold, to be fierce. # bring me a higher love...# this team's record—breaking run shows once again that women's soccer is a force to be reckoned with. the big question now is, after the celebrations are over, and they are back on the field, will they receive equal pay? nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. taylor swift has been named the world's top—earning celebrity. she was number one in the annual forbes list.

in the past year she earned, forbes estimates, at least $180 million. most of the money most likely came from her reputation tour, thought to be the highest—grossing tour in american history. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. # i promise that you'll never find another like me—e—e ooh—ooh—ooh—ooh. i'm the only one of me. baby, that's the fun of me eeh—eeh—eeh...#. she may have recently lost the rights to her back catalogue but taylor swift certainly has not lost the capacity to make lots and lots...and lots of money. nearly $200 million of it, in fact — well, once the taxman took his share — and she made most of it by putting on a show. she toured like crazy, she did about a quarter of a billion dollars gross on her latest tour so we measured over the past 12 months and we cut most of that tour

and it is good business when you can gross $5 million $6 million a night on the road. coming in second with a positively paltry $170 million was social media sensation and cosmetics billionaire, kyliejenner. her brother—in—law, kanye west, came in third, scraping by on a measly $150 million. as for taylor swift, she is releasing a new album next month and there is speculation another tour may follow. if any financial obstacle gets in her way, she will, presumably, just shake it off. tim allman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story. armed iranian vessels are reported to have tried to intercept a british tanker in the gulf. media reports, quoting us officials, said the iranian vessel asked the tanker to stop in iranian waters close by, but withdrew after

a warning from a royal navy frigate. thank you very much watching. well, it's been a very humid couple of days across many parts of the uk. temperatures have got up to 27 degrees. some of that humidity is also going to spark off a few thunderstorms. certainly across northern and eastern parts of the country on thursday. not everybody is going to get them though. this is what it looks like through the early hours. so already some showers dotted around across the uk. the south is largely dry early in the morning. and very warm 15—16 degrees after dawn, just in the north—west there, maybe around 12 degrees in stornoway. now, low pressure is crossing the country on thursday. that's going to spark off some of those thunderstorms. once again across scotland and eastern parts of the uk. so further south it is looking dry.

the weather is looking absolutely fine for wimbledon. partly cloudy skies. temperatures around the mid—20s and light winds. but still quite humid. so the forecast for the morning, showers possible almost anywhere across central, northern england, scotland, maybe one or two in northern ireland. but it is later on from lincolnshire, the eastern counties, and also eastern scotland where we will see the heaviest of the showers brewing. now, 20 degrees in the north. in the south, around 25 or 26. so still another warm, humid day. let's zoom into eastern scotland. these showers will continue to move across scotland into the evening hours and, again, thunderstorms possible almost anywhere from yorkshire northwards. thursday night into friday, that low pressure pushes away. this high pressure is trying to build in that will help improve the weather as we head into the weekend. here is friday's weather forecast. there is going to be a shift in the wind direction, it's going to be coming more

from the north—west. so it will put away some of that humidity. temperatures will drop a touch as well. on friday, again, further showers are possible in some eastern areas of the uk. temperatures typically around the low 20s, maybe touching 23, 2a degrees in southern parts of the uk. so that's friday. let's have a look at saturday now. the winds mostly in from the north. so feeling a little bit fresher, i think, across the majority of the uk. it will cloud over at times. there is the chance of one or two showers, but on the whole it is a dry saturday for most of us. not a bad one. quite a bright one. temperatures typically 21—22 degrees. sunday looks fairly similar as well. in cardiff, 2a, light winds, really a very pleasant saturday and sunday on the way. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: armed iranian boats have reportedly tried to intercept a british oil tanker near the strait of hormuz, asking it to stop in iranian waters. it's reported they were warned off over radio, by a british frigate escorting the tanker. it also apparently trained its guns on the iranian boats. british politicians have expressed concern at the resignation of britain's ambassador to washington. sir kim darroch quit after his confidential criticism of the trump administration was leaked, prompting the us president to say he wouldn't work with him. the foreign secretary called the resignation a black day for british diplomacy. the american government has launched an investigation into france's plan to tax technology giants like google and facebook — saying it may unfairly target us companies. the french government says the companies should not be able to escape paying tax simply because their headquarters