this is bbc world news today. i'm samantha simmonds. our top stories. president trump's labour secretary resigns after criticism of the plea deal he brokered forjeffrey epstein it would be selfish for me to stay in this position and continue talking about a case that is 12 years old. a potentially devastating tropical storm gains strength as it nears the us state of louisiana — a state of emergency has been declared. dozens of passengers on an air canada flight to australia are injured following severe and unexpected turbulance. in tennis, roger federer has defeated rafael nadal in a nail—biting semifinal at wimbledon to earn his place in the final against novak djokovic.

hello and welcome to world news today. president trump's labor secretary, alex acosta, has announced his resignation. he'd come under pressure following the latest arrest of the billionaire financierjeffrey epstein. mr acosta, who is the former us attorney for southern florida, agreed a plea deal with mr epstein in 2008, granting him immunity from federal prosecution. earlier this week, the wealthy financier pleaded not guilty to new charges of trafficking underage girls for sex. the president has tried to distance himself from jeffrey epstein, saying he wasn't a fan. mr trump has praised mr acosta as an excellent labour secretary. mr acosta and president trump spoke to the media earlier. here's what they had to say. he was a great labour secretary. not a good labour secretary. he has done a fantasticjob. he is a friend of everybody

in the administration and i got a call this morning early from alex and i think he did a very good job yesterday under a lot of pressure, he did a fantasticjob. and he explained it, that he made a deal that people were happy with and then 12 years later, they're not happy with it. he'll have to figure all of that out but the fact of the matter is, he has been a fantastic secretary of labour. i look forward. i do not think it is right and fair for this administration's labour department and to have epstein as the focus, rather than the incredible economy that we have today. and so i called the president this morning, i told them that i thought the right thing was to step aside. cabinet positions are temporary trusts. it would be selfish for me to stay in this position and continue talking about a case that is 12 years old rather than about the amazing economy we have right now.

let's go live to washington and speak to our correspondent gary o'donaghue tell us more about this case and how he was involved. it goes back 12 yea rs he was involved. it goes back 12 years when he was a federal prosecutor down in florida. and he was involved in arranging a plea dealforjeffrey epstein was involved in arranging a plea deal forjeffrey epstein in a previous set of allegations involving sex trafficking and underage girls. and he says that at the time, the state of florida was going to settle for a much lesser charge against him and he stepped in because he thought he would get a jail sentence and that deal involved mr epstein getting a jail sentence of 13 months and it was pretty lenient because he spent six days a week, 12 hours outside ofjail and in his office. he was put on the sex offender register and since he has been charged again with other

similar allegations, similar indictments of the new york, the previous deal has come under scrutiny and mr costa is facing a barrage of criticism of the fact that he entered into an incredibly lenient arrangement of the time for mr epstein. they seem to be very concerned about why he is had to resign when he gave that statement a little earlier, is that damaging to the trump administration?” little earlier, is that damaging to the trump administration? i think the trump administration? i think the damage has been limited in the sense that they moved quickly to get rid of him. the president said it was alex costa's decision but he did not do much to stop them and it was only a few days really seems to be damaging if they drag on a lot. it could've been potentially distracting and embarrassing and shed a light on connections that

donald trump might if epstein. he said he was not a fan, the previously in interviews a few years ago, he did say thatjeffrey epstein was a terrific guy and a lot of fun. soi was a terrific guy and a lot of fun. so i that extent, they may have kept a lid on this and mr acosta's departure will mean that there left to get a new labour secretary confirmed in the senate, there are a whole batch of confirmations and waiting to be signed off on, the chief of staff and indeed the defence secretary. a whole lot of people who still need to go through congress. a state of emergency has been declared in the us state of lousiana, as storm barry approaches hurricane speeds. new orleans is bracing itself as the storm approaches shore, having already seen severe rain and flooding. the new orleans mayor said they weren't ordering evacuations from the city, but u.s. oil producers have evacuated 257

platforms in the gulf of mexico. our correspondent sophie long, is in new orleans for us. she's with residents preparing for the coming storm. people are bracing themselves as she said, a few months ago there there were huge piles of sandbags here. local residents where the oldest neighbourhoods in new orleans, people have been coming to filling up sandbags to shore up their homes and no compulsory evacuations of the moment, some people are choosing to shore up their homes and get out for the next 2a hours. still on the approach, still very slow moving and as it moves towards the coast of louisiana, is growing in intensity. forecasters fear it could reach hurricane strength so winds of over 7a miles an hour, just before makes landfall. later tonight and early tomorrow morning. i'm here with one of the local residents, mike, i thank him for getting back with us. we have seen huge activity here, whole community coming together to fill sandbags and shrub their homes. and shore up their homes.

how would you say people are feeling at this stage? well, i think the neighbours are all a little bit nervous. but this is something we have been through so many times. this neighbourhood is the second oldest in new orleans. we've been here since 1719. we are used to it and hopeful that the one concern is the height of the water on the river right now. we are hopeful that that does not become an issue. everyone i've spoken to here of course, remembers katrina. 1a years have passed but the impact of that awful time is still being felt. what is the sense that you have, do you feel that because people have survived that, they feel they can go through anything? and other people are saying to me that is a reminder of something that is so horrific. it was terrific. the city suffered immensely from that. we were very fortunate that we did not have flooding from katrina and parts of the neighbourhood were up and running with power and we can have after the storm. and running with power a week and a half after the storm. i think the biggest concern here is not necessarily

the catastrophic category five, it really is are we going to be without power? how long will he be without power? it is very hot time, summer of new orleans 90% humidity and 100 degrees. i am hoping we can avoid that. what is your biggest concern over the next 2a hours? the historic neighbourhoods in new orleans, most of the houses are elevated and they predate the levy structures being there. if the water comes over, i think the biggest concern will be people's vehicles, roadways and houses are built for water to go underneath them. more recent construction under a building, the is a serious concern of water getting inside. thank you so much and good luck. one of the main concerns here in new orleans is the water level. the mississippi river is already high and there was flooding on wednesday and that is just a precursor of flash flooding in the main event, the levee system has been strengthened but with the water level is already at higher than 16 feet, 20 is the limit and broadcasters are predicting a storm surge they could push it up to those kind of levels. there is anxiety here and there

is nervousness, but at the moment, people are just making the preparations they can and getting as much water and emergency supplies as they can, ready to survive three days if that is what they need to do. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the r&b singer, r kelly, has been arrested in chicago and charged with 13 new sexual offences. the accusations include enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice. the musician known for hits such as "i believe i can fly"— has been dogged by allegations of sexual crimes for over a decade — he denies all allegations against him. the uk is sending a second warship to the gulf after the latest incident involving a british frigate and iranian gunboats. meanwhile, police in gibraltar have arrested two more officers from the iranian oil tanker seized off the british territory last week. four men have now been detained, though none have yet been charged. china will impose sanctions on american companies

selling arms to taiwan, as part of an ongoing trade war. it comes after washington approved a potential sale of more than two billion dollars. beijing says the sale undermines china's sovereignty and national security. the two men competing to be britain's next prime minister, boris johnson and jeremy hunt, have been cross—examined by the bbc‘s andrew neil. the front runner borisjohnson admitted that an account of comments he'd made about the british ambassador in washington had been a factor in the diplomat‘s resignation. and in the last hour british police have formally launched a criminal investigation into the leaking of diplomatic communications that triggered that resignation. let's hear what mrjohnson had to say about his part in the resignation. after watching it, he was so appalled by your failure to do so thatis appalled by your failure to do so that is why he resigned. appalled by your failure to do so that is why he resignedlj appalled by your failure to do so that is why he resigned. i said how sad i was that he resigned and he pointed out that he did not watch

it. you might have to check your facts before... he told me that he had not. i spoke to him. did he say that you played any part in his resignation? in my view, he was very sad that he resigned and he said someone sad that he resigned and he said someone relayed to him what i had said. didn't play a factor in his resignation? somebody had relayed to him and it certainly had benefactor. so it was a factor in his resignation? what i said on that tv debate was misrepresented to kim darroch. boris johnson's rivaljeremy hunt was also questioned. mr hunt has said that he would be prepared to keep the uk in the eu passed the october 31st deadline if a deal was in the offing. here's what he said when pressed on the date britain would leave the eu. is there any chance we could still

go to 2020 and be members of the eu? ido go to 2020 and be members of the eu? i do not think so. i do not think they'll be the case. this is why people do not really trust you on this. it could linger on and on as it has under theresa may. what people get with me is a prime minister who will get them out of the eu more quickly than the alternative. you just cannot tell us when. i'm being honest with people, it is in negotiation, i do not control the parliamentary time table. what would you rather? just a straight answer? that is that i'm giving you. know you haven't because you haven't told us. let's speak to our political correspondent in westminster nick eardley. what did we learn from these two interrogations? both men up against the ropes and he's half an hour interviews. the boys

the ropes and he's half an hour interviews. the bostohnson clip he displayed was really interesting. his team have been fairly adamant so far that it was not because of him trying to stand down as the uk ambassador to the united states preclear for —— preclear from those comments he does not feel he was to blame. he feels his comments were misrepresented but admitting that the account that kim darroch had been given did have some bearing on his decision to stand down. whether that's having a cut between conservative members is not com pletely conservative members is not completely clear but ijust watched a hosting this event that around the uk, talking and some condescending fairly straightforward events. it is a friendly audience. conservative party members, boris johnson a friendly audience. conservative party members, borisjohnson was heckled there by a tory member who accuse them of not answering questions when he came to kim

darroch. i think is under a lot of pressure under that issue and a lot of people are really uncomfortable with the fact that he did not get behind the ambassador and that debate. the second thing to take away from it is jeremy debate. the second thing to take away from it isjeremy hunt. the clip those played on brexit, that is jeremy hunt's weakest spot when it comes to this leadership race. because he doesn't have this clear ina because he doesn't have this clear in a message is borisjohnson has. borisjohnson in a message is borisjohnson has. boris johnson says in a message is borisjohnson has. borisjohnson says over me and i'll get you out of this by the end of october, he believes he can get brexit done, he is confident that he can negotiate a new deal, but he is not think a date on it and the fear that some conservatives have is that he would do what theresa may has done and kick the road more than once and that could end up with another lengthy delay to the brexit process. the issue of sir kim darroch‘s resignation, people are

leading an investigation. by an hour ago the police confirmed that they we re ago the police confirmed that they were now fully investigating this, they say it is in the public interest because of the damage that this leak has done in the public interest for them to fully investigated, the system commissioner is tellings them to give themselves up, clearly this is being taken seriously, notjust in government but in the police force as well. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: we'll have all the latest from wimbledon where roger federer has defeated rafael nadal in a nail—biting semi—final.

this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines. trump's labour secretary, alexander acosta, resigns amid criticism of the way he handled a plea deal with financier jeffery epstein. emergency preparations are underway in the us state of louisiana as residents prepare for the arrival of what's expected to be a devastating storm. dozens of air passengers have been left battered and bloodied after a sudden patch of turblence sent them literally flying through the air on board a plane. the air canada boeing triple 7 jet was on its way from vancouver to sydney when it happened, forcing it to make an emergency landing in hawaii. lisa hampele has more. inside the plane, once they knew they were safe. moments earlier, at 36,000 feet in the air, and two hours into the flight, the aircraft had plunged. one passenger said it

fell hundreds of feet, eryk anders said it hit sudden turbulence. and oxygen masks fell, people smashed their heads, smashing plastic casing. the girl hit the plastic and actually snapped and broke it and the oxygen masks came down. the plane was diverted to honolulu, passengers and crew, with thankful to be on the ground. the emergency services were on hand, most of them suffered neck and back injuries. services were on hand, most of them suffered neck and back injuriesm we nt suffered neck and back injuriesm went bang and the people just shot up. and then down again and it was over. couple of stewardesses were injured and a lot of people had cuts to their head stop by when rescue services got on they assessed the injured. there were 37 injured, 37

we re injured. there were 37 injured, 37 were transported, nine were serious, 21 we re were transported, nine were serious, 21 were stable. the nightmare is overfor 21 were stable. the nightmare is over for the 284 people who were on the flight, with only one of them still in hospital and the civil servant from vancouver is set to continue its journey to sydney on the latest day. let's get more now on the singer r kelly who is in custody after being arrested in chicago on federal sex crimes charges. according to the us attorney's office in chicago, the star has been charged on 13 counts, including counts on child abuse images. in recent years the singer has pleaded not guilty to more than 20 sexual offences. peter bowes has the details. r kelly is in there right now. i wa nt r kelly is in there right now. i want and r kelly is in there right now. i wantand are r kelly is in there right now. i want and are my daughters. a publicist under attack, his music star client behind bars. demanding a nswe rs star client behind bars. demanding answers the family of a woman who lived with artillery in chicago. it

follows the latest arrest who is facing a string of fresh charges in chicago and new york. kelly and members of his entourage are accused of recruiting women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with the r&b singer. he's also accused of paying victims and witnesses to cover his alleged crimes. these are the latest sex charges to face the embattled musician who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. last year, a documentary alleged that the singer was holding women against their will and running a sex cult. during a sometimes combative interview this year, he said the allegations against him were all lies. you'll make how stupid would it be for me, with my crazy past and what i've been through right now, i thinki need to be a monster and hold against their and chain them in my

basement. it did not come as a product to some as he hope to be released from jail next week. ben croucher has all the sport. thank you the evergreen roger federer is in a 12th wimbledon final gear and rafe nadal produced a great semifinal with the eight time champion coming through in four sets, he will face the defending champion. what a match it was, what a great performance, for uniting out on the centre court, it will be hard to top that epic meeting, came on top of that day rafael nadal. but a different go this time around, roger federer was the one on the winning side. a brilliant performance or much of federative book his place and another wimbledon final as he chases

the 21st grand slam title. by on the dow hit back to get the second before roger threw down the third and fourth set. he will face the walk number one and defending champion, the first time they have faced each other in a major final since the us open back in 2015. coming through his match against roberto and four sets, dropping a second set so far as this enthralling tournament goes on. serena williams and she chases that elusive 24th grand slam to get her hands on that, she has to beat her in the final. he is costing the champion such a $35 million he signed a five—year deal, his new minimum buyout clause is an eye

watering $900 million. pocket change for some these football clubs. once again, as sunday's race, it was them who picked lewis hamilton and their own backyard, not much to choose from between mercedes, ferrari and red bull, so another close race ahead on sunday. in the champion remains in fifth place of the tour de france, one of the longest stage of this years race, it was always going to be one for the sprinters, and for peter on the line. 49 seconds behind as the race enters the hills. on saturday. england and new zealand will face each other in the cricket world cup final on sunday at the home of cricket lords.

they will both surprise australia in india in theirfinals respectively, the coach is pleased that there will bea the coach is pleased that there will be a new name on the trophy. the exciting thing is neither team is one a road cup and the finals experience as well. you'll have a winner than last time and, i think there is pressure on both teams being that england and india were the two that are touted as the winners and maybe there's more pressure on them. is that world cup finishes, they'll be in full swing, liverpool where australia fired an ominous warning to anybody hoping to wrestle the title from them. they thrashed northern ireland 88—24 this morning. new zealand and barbados made winning starts in group b and group c, england east past uganda at

64- group c, england east past uganda at 64 - 32. group c, england east past uganda at 64 — 32. scotland beat samoa 53 to 35 injamaica and south africa and zimbabwe. and you are up—to—date from the sportscenter. the car makers ford and volkswagen have announced they will spend billions in a joint project to develop electric and self—driving vehicles. vw will invest 2.6 billion dollars in ford's self—driving cars venture, while ford will build an electric car in europe using vw‘s platform. ford's ceo jim hackett says the two companies will remain competitors despite teaming up on this project. now confirming that we will extend our collaboration into autonomous technology. we share the view that technology. we share the view that technology is an enabler and not an into itself. that is the first thing we aligned on. we will remain in this ever—changing world.

don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of my team on twitter — i'm samanthatvnews if you spent the week dodging the downpour moving across the british isles, there is a change for the weekend, goodbye low pressure and hello to high—pressure settling down and initially fewer showers and expect clear blue skies not warm but fine leather on the way for most of us. still evening showers affecting parts of eastern scotland, eastern england and they will slowly fade as ago england and they will slowly fade as a go deeper into the night, cloud probably increasing but temperatures falling a little bit below than they have on recent nights, it could be a little bit easier for sleeping and a touch fresher out there. so we are onto the weekend and it starts at the fairmont of cloud around but there will be sunny spells and high—pressure has not yet been fully established but while most places will be dry, there's still the

chance of catching a shower in the northeastern parts developing of reports another in england in the mittens, maybe one or two towards the southeast very hidden this, people have pleasant spells, priests and the sea, perhaps a bit of low cloud were missed in some spots. in the 20s at wimbledon, slight chance ofa the 20s at wimbledon, slight chance of a shower but tomorrow on sunday, it is looking dry and a wonderful weekend of tennis is on the way. this is how sunday is shaping up for right across the uk and look at this, you can see any showers on this, you can see any showers on this but a fair amount of cloud around, particularly around the eastern spells. in the west, temperatures into the low 20s and still a little bit cooler on the north sea coast with that breeze after c. the british grand prix silverstone should not receive too many issues with the temperature of the track at 22 degrees for a high, not a huge amount of sunshine for that cloud as well but importantly it is dry and it is strive for the

cricket world cup finals of lords. it is drying to the start of next week with high—pressure and a bit warmerfor week with high—pressure and a bit warmer for the week with high—pressure and a bit warmerfor the north sea coast week with high—pressure and a bit warmer for the north sea coast and for midweek next week, the chances for midweek next week, the chances for rain going up and are you may wa nt for rain going up and are you may want some rain and when you're on the garden, for the people of louisiana, and mississippi, this tropical moisture from barry over the weekend in april to teddy my prolific rainmaker and in a couple of days you could see york and newcastle, it is going to be a very wet weekend.

now on bbc news, britain's outgoing prime minister tells the bbc‘s political editor of her pride and disappointment inside number ten ahead of the handover to a new prime minister this month. thank you very much. three years almost exactly since you... yes, it is seems hardly possible please have a seat. does it feel like it's run by actually, it feel like it's been in over in a flash? i suppose it does, so much has happened and i know obviously we know quite a lot of what's been happening, but things are happening every day, government business every day, dealing with things every day, say you're co nsta ntly things every day, say you're constantly sort of thinking