50 years since the launch of apollo 11, we'll retrace the astronauts' four—dayjourney to the moon. five, four, three, two, one, zero. all engine running. lift off. we have a lift off. the start of a voyage that would redefine humanity's view of space — days later, man first set foot on the moon. 50 years ago the saturn 5 took the command module, the lunar module, three of us to the moon. we landed, explored, got back up again, rendezvoused, came back. we'll relive that historic moment and bring you the start of commemorations on this 50th anniversary. also this lunchtime...

drug—related deaths in scotland soar — according to new figures, they're now the highest in the eu. i was in the house and i had again injected, i think it was morphine at that stage, and i had od'd. four us congresswomen hit back at donald trump after his tweets about them, widely dubbed racist and the extraordinary skill of surgeons who've spent months separating female twins fused at the head. and you've still got, what, four or five hours to do? yeah, we have to put them together now. so we've taken them apart and we have to reconstruct their heads. and coming up on bbc news — england's attention turns to the ashes as they look to make it a summer of double success.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. exactly 50 years ago today, the mission which took mankind to the moon for the first time — apollo 11 — was launched. four days later, neil armstrong and buzz aldrin made history by setting foot on the lunar surface, a feat of technological ingenuity and human daring. events commemorating this extraordinary achievement will this week focus on the kennedy space center in florida, where the vast saturn rocket took off in 1969. our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. for generations, it inspired our ancestors. today was the day that humanity would aim to reach the —— today was the day that humanity would aim to reach the moon. neil armstrong, buzz aldrin and mike

collins set off on this most dangerous of nations, entering a rocket with the explosive power of a small atom bomb. they themselves thought they only had a 50% chance of making it back. engines on. five, four, three, two, one. all engines running. we have liftoff. the face with a roll, the saturn v rocket lifts beautifully into the sky. just 12 minutes later, the astronauts are in orbit and on their way. in 80 days, apollo 11 arrives at its destination. bet in a few days. the lunar lander, eagle, separate from the command module. but as eagle approaches the lunar surface, armstrong notices the spacecraft is of course and headed not for the

preplanned landing site but terrain littered with dangerous builders. the flight director as his control tea m the flight director as his control team to call out whether it would go no go for landing. go, go, go. so the nation continues, but then an alarm sounds in the learn a module —— so alarm sounds in the learn a module —— so the mission continues. the computer on the eagle, primitive by today's standards, crashes. neil armstrong has to take manual control, and with fuel running low, brings the spacecraft down. the eagles has landed. we copy you on the ground, we had a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we are breathing again. neil armstrong about to turn blue, we are breathing again. neilarmstrong makes his descent onto the lunar surface. and he uttered the words that would reverberate through history forevermore. that's one small step

forevermore. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. along with buzz aldrin, the astronauts planted america's flag. 50 yea rs astronauts planted america's flag. 50 years ago when the space programme was in full swing, the world was divided. there were wars and conflicts all across the globe. but when the astronauts first set foot on the moon it seemed for a moment in time that the whole world came together. there was a sense that all things were possible, that it humanity put aside its differences it could achieve anything. buzz aldrin, the second man to set that on the moon, looks back on his mission with pride but also some anger, because we have not been back for so long. 50 years ago the saturn v took the command module, the learner module, three of us, to the moon. we landed,

explored, got back up again, had a rendezvous, came back, that is 50 yea rs of rendezvous, came back, that is 50 years of non—progress. i think we all ought to be a little ashamed that we can't do better than that. but others are more optimistic that we will be back sooner rather than later. our ambitions have changed. after the apollo programme we had done what they set out to do, got a marl done what they set out to do, got a man to the moon. i think the difference now is we don't want to just go to the moon and come back, we want to go to the moon and survive and colonise it for a longer period. neil armstrong came survive and colonise it for a longer period. neilarmstrong came back survive and colonise it for a longer period. neil armstrong came back to his hometown to a hero's welcome. his mission inspired a generation. the moon landing showed that, working together, humanity could achieve whatever we set our minds to. a few moments ago, i spoke to jane 0'brien

who is at the kennedy space center in cape canaveral — from where that mission was launched 50 years ago and she told me what was happening there to mark the occasion. this is a special moment indeed. we are expecting thousands of people to turn up here to come and mark the beginning of the week of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of apollo 11. we have even got two of the surviving astronauts, buzz aldrin and michael collins. they're expected to make an appearance. and, of course, across the country all sorts of events are going on, including a projection of the saturn five rocket onto the washington monument. now, the rocket you see behind me is similar to the one that was actually used to take the three astronauts to the moon. a three stage rocket at top speeds it was flying at 25,000 mph. so it's absolutely massive. but the little capsule that the astronauts sat in when they were taking off is tiny by comparison. that's it up there where it says the united states.

so it gives you a sense of the fragility and the precariousness of this extraordinary mission and the fact that they even came back to earth alive is yet another thing to celebrate today. fascinating detail, jane. this must be an emotional moment, not least for the people who were there 50 years ago. it is indeed, because there was a lot of doubt about this mission. it had never been done before, of course. and so, there was a real concern about the safety. but also about the cost, because, even though it sounds extraordinary today when you think about what a massive achievement it was, there were a lot of people in america who felt it cost too much, and what was the purpose, and why would you want to send people to the moon? debates that are still going on today, because president trump, of course, is planning to send people back to the moon in 202a. so, a lot of those arguments

are still going on. but this was an extraordinary achievement, and arguably, it marked the beginning of the space race, of course, but also, arguably, signified america's supremacy in the golden age of space exploration. jane 0'brien. and there will be more on this momentous occasion across the bbc throughout the day. the number of drug—related deaths in scotland last year has risen to its highest level ever. it's now nearly three times that of the uk as a whole, and means that scotland has a higher proportion of drug deaths than the us — or any other country where figures are available. it's also the first time in scotland that more people died from drugs than alcohol. james shaw reports. when i think of all the drugs i've taken over the years, there's no crying left, i've run out of tears. an open mic event for drug users in dundee. sylvia fox started taking

drugs at the age of 1a. now she only uses the heroin substitute methadone and recognises that her addiction caused a lifetime of risk—taking. once i was found in the street, just in the middle of the road. i must have been walking and then collapsed. and then the other time i was in the house and i had again injected, i think it was morphine at that stage, and i had 0d‘d. last year, dundee had the highest rates of drug deaths. but the problem affects all scotland's major cities. in areas like this piece of waste ground in the centre of glasgow, the chaotic nature of drug use does start to become apparent. there were 1,187 drug—related deaths in scotland last year, which means the death rate in scotland is nearly three times that of the uk as a whole.

for the first time, deaths from drugs in scotland have overtaken deaths from alcohol. the scottish government says it is a very troubling situation. i'm absolutely determined to use the powers that we have at our disposal to make a difference here but the evidence is that actions like the safer consumption rooms will make a difference, will save lives, so i think we should follow the evidence and i really would encourage the uk government to work with us in order to make that happen. the boss of one organisation which supports drug users is a former deputy chief constable and now wants some decriminalisation. enabling some of the things that at the moment we cannot do around drug testing, around indeed treatment centres, and alike, would be sensible, progressive measures that would enable us to have a more effective approach to drug harms than we are currently able to do under the current framework.

that may be a controversial view. but demands for change are likely to become harder to ignore. james shaw, bbc news, dundee. four democratic congresswomen have described donald trump's comments — that they should go back to their countries of origin — as a racist attempt to distract from his failing policies. they are all us citizens and three of them were born there. the women held a press conference last night accusing the president of following a white nationalist agenda. david willis reports. facing accusations of racism and xenophobia, president trump is not backing down — spelling out his message in capital letters, lest anyone be in any doubt. and going on to attack the democrats for closing ranks around the four women. "the dems were trying to distance themselves from the four progressives," he wrote, "but now they are forced to embrace them. that means they're endorsing socialism, hate of israel and the usa."

minutes later at a joint new conference, the congresswomen, three of whom were born in the usa, hit back. he is launching a blatantly racist attack on four duly elected members of the united states house of representatives, all of whom are women of colour. this is the agenda of white nationalists. the first note that i want to tell children across this country is that no matter what the president says, this country belongs to you. and it belongs to everyone. this is a distraction and we should not take the bait. we can sit here and continue to recycle his hateful rhetoric, of which i cannot feign surprise, or inflated outrage, because he is, if nothing else, predictable.

what we are focused on are the hateful policies that are draconian and oppressive and life—threatening and family separating that is being rolled out by this administration every day. sadly, this is not the first — nor will it be the last — time we will hear this disgusting, bigoted language from the president. we know this is who he is, and we know that he and his administration are constantly engaged in actions that harm residents and american people in our country. i guess some people think it's controversial. a lot of people love it, by the way. downing street has called the president's language completely unacceptable, but while some republican lawmakers have been critical, the silence from senior party members has been deafening. the question now for more moderate republicans going into next year's presidential election is, "what constitutes a crossing of the line?" david willis, bbc news, washington.

gary 0'donoghue is in washington for us. is this being seen as a new low for us politics? i think so. i think this is seen as pa rt i think so. i think this is seen as part of the spectrum and part of the continuum, but perhaps a step change in the kind of rhetoric that the president is prepared to use. bearing in mind, there is no nuance, no finesse, this is pretty straightforward in its nature, the attack he has made on these congresswomen, and he has done what he often does in these situations which is reflected back the thing he is accused of onto his accusers, so this morning he said the democrat congresswomen had been spewing some of the most vile, hateful and disgusting things ever said, horrible anti israel, andy usa, pro—terrorist. so he sends it back in the direction it came from. but

what you are seeing politically, there is some strategy, this is not just him lashing out. he wants people like these four congresswomen to be the face of the democratic party going into election year. he wa nts party going into election year. he wants them to seem like extremists, he wants to paint the democrats and socialists and at a time when the economy is doing well, that could be quite an effective way of holding on to the perhaps more moderates who have had to hold their nose and look away with some of his more extreme comments. there could well be some strategy here. gary, thank you. the woman nominated to be the next head of the european commission has said she'd be willing to extend the brexit deadline beyond 0ctober if she's voted in as president later today. ursula von der leyen said the withdrawal agreement already negotiated between the eu and britain provided certainty, and also stability in ireland. but she said more time

could be given if needed. however, i stand ready for further extension of the withdrawal date, should more time be required for a good reason. applause 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. so, norman, the probable new head of the european commission says she's willing to grant britain more time — but here the two candidates are talking about ripping up the withdrawal deal. both men appeared to have given the uk an on my to shove in the direction of no deal by ruling out any reworking of the northern ireland backstop, —— at the centre of mrs may's doom steel, even though some leading brexiteers like liam fox have suggested a compromise, like setting an end date for the backstop might meet the concerns of

mps so we are not trapped in it for ever and a day and something the eu might be prepared to concede given they have always said the backstop should be temporary, that that might bea should be temporary, that that might be a way out of it. last night boris johnson and jeremy hunt said, no, we are not johnson and jeremy hunt said, no, we a re not interested johnson and jeremy hunt said, no, we are not interested in an end date or some sort of unilateral exit mechanism, the backstop is dead, which means mrs may's deal is dead, which means mrs may's deal is dead, which means mrs may's deal is dead, which means both men would havejust three months to agree an entirely new deal, even if the eu were prepared to negotiate on something, which at the moment, they do not seem which at the moment, they do not seem in the least inclined to do. now, it's possible this is all part of some gigantic bluff to crank up the pressure on the eu in the hope that at the last moment they blink and do agree a shiny new deal shaun of the backstop. but if they're wrong and the eu doesn't blink then it's very hard to see how we can avoid leaving without any deal

regardless of who becomes prime minister. norman, thank you. norman smith there. the time is 1:18pm. our top story this lunchtime. 50 years since the launch of apollo 11 — commemorations take place to mark the voyage that would redefine humanity's view of space. coming up — how rose brown — who was left unable to walk or talk — hears her new voice for the first time. coming up on bbc news — 0liver giroud tells the bbc laurent koscielny is very hurt by his row with club side arsenal, as the wantaway defender faces disciplinary action. this week, we are telling the remarkable story of conjoined twins safa and marwa, who were born joined at the head. it's an incredibly rare condition, but surgeons at great 0rmond street hospital have

successfully separated them. the surgery was so complex that it was split over three major operations. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh and producer rachael buchanan have had exclusive access to the family and the surgery — and a warning their report contains images some viewers may find distressing. safa and marwa share a single skull. the two—year—olds have already undergone two complex operations at great 0rmond street hospital to prepare them for separation. now, finally, that day has come. two whole brains, laid out. their brains, locked together since birth, are eased apart. after seven hours, the final connections of bone and tissue are severed. fantastic. at last, after three major operations, the twins are no longerjoined. what was the moment like when they

were separate for the first time? what did that feel like? it's a very emotional moment. we've been working a long time to get them here, they've been through so many operations and now it's worked. so you've still got another four or five hours to do? yes, we have to put them together now. so we've taken them apart, and we have to reconstruct their heads. marwa is still in the operating theatre through here, while safa has been moved just next door. for the first time, the survival of each of the twins is not dependent on the other. and that'll make it easier for the two surgical teams to regulate their heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs. this means both teams can begin reconstruction. a patchwork of skull pieces are shared between theatres. piece for me, piece for you. to have enough to cover their heads, they had to divide each bit in two.

everything is good. at 1:30 in the morning, the surgeons bring the good news to the girls' family. # hello, safa. # hello, marwa. # how are you today? then begins the long road to recovery. the twins have daily physiotherapy. this will help them reach some basic milestones — learning to roll, sit and hold their heads up. five months after separation, nearly a year since they were admitted to hospital, the girls are leaving great 0rmond street. time to say goodbye to doctors and nurses who have become friends. and to move to a new home. the twins are likely to have some learning difficulties, but their mum is overjoyed at the freedom separation has brought.

whatever hurdles safa and marwa might face in years to come, they will at least do that as separate, independent girls. twins still, but conjoined no more. fergus walsh, bbc news. britain's railways should be overseen by someone independent of government — that's the view of the man tasked by the government to work out how to improve the network. keith williams is due to publish his final recommendations this autumn, but he's been giving our transport correspondent, tom burridge, an indication of some of the changes he's planning to recommend. driving change on our railways, a mix of privately run

trains and publicly managed track, is the task of a review. the man appointed by the government to run the review once a to run the review wants a new body to manage the rail system day to day. he told me more accountability is needed at the top and more input from councils and city mayors. somebody needs to be accountable to the public for the services that they receive, and that needs to be at a national level. but what we also recognise is that the role of the regions needs to be emphasised because maybe what's been lacking in the past is regional input into the national system. this morning, some trains to edinburgh stuck in london after damage to overhead lines near newcastle. the rail review says it is focused on improvements for passengers. i think really what i'd like to see is less cancellations, less delays. more staff, more trains, cheaper fares. it's expensive. i'd like to see the rail is put back into public ownership. i think we pay a lot of money

and i'd prefer that to go back into the coffers for the taxpayer. one idea is to make railfranchises more accountable to passengers by basing contracts with train companies on performance—related targets. we all want cheaper tickets but someone has to pay. the way the fares would come down is if the taxpayer puts in more money, that's why fares are cheaper in parts of europe, they are supported socially more. the governments in this country of both parties in recent years have taken the view that people who use the railways should pay for the railways. there have been rail reviews before but significant change now feels inevitable. passenger growth on our railways has slowed dramatically and now some rail franchises are losing money. companies are not queueing up to run our trains, so less competition. a principle which underpins the system today.

0ne union criticised the review for ducking the question of whether the trains should be renationalised. but this is a review commissioned by the current government. unless there is an election, it will be conservative ministers who implement change. tom burridge, bbc news. users of facebook in the uk who are victims of online scams monsoon rains in south asia have killed more than 180 people and displaced millions in india, bangladesh and nepal. amidst the heavy rains a four—storey building has collapsed in india's financial capital of mumbai — killing at least 12 people and trapping dozens more in the rubble. when rose brown was aged 12, she was hit by a drink—driver and left unable to walk or talk. now aged 21, she's studying drama at the national star college in cheltenham, which has teamed up with the royal academy of dramatic art, to create a bespoke digital voice to transform her ability to communicate. clairejones has the story.

but here i am. i'm rose brown. i got a brain injury when i was 12 following a hit and run accident. i can't walk and talk. i communicate using a computer which i control by using a switch and moving my head. iam amazing. rose is a drama student at the national star college, which provides specialist educational support and residential services to young people with complex disabilities. the college has teamed up with rada, the royal academy of dramatic art, and they've been creating a bespoke digital voice to transform rose's ability to communicate. rada graduate tash has been chosen to create the new voice for rose. they're about to meet for the first time. hello. i'm tash. it's so lovely to meet you.

now tash can start the task of recording her voice. male voice: frog was the strongest dog of the bunch. frog was the strongest dog of the bunch. everyone... everyone deserves the right to speak, everyone deserves a voice. and, you know, to have that... to be able to give that to somebody is just amazing. tash has finished recording her voice so now all the sound bites will be sent to america, to one of many companies, model talker, headed by tim bunnell. what we're going to do is take the recordings that you've made, and we'll take each of the 1,600 sentences and we'll label them with a really, really detailed description of the speech. so we'll label every vowel and consonant. now the voice needs to be created, and all rose can do is wait. we're back at the national star college. rose's voice has been developed

and we are about to hear it for the very first time. do you want to hear it? are you ready? here we go. recorded voice plays. that's your voice. is that what you wanted? it's got such a good cockney accent as well, it's done a really good job. amazing. i'll have to get you on eastenders next. rose's grandmother and aunts have travelled to be here in cheltenham as rose unveils her new voice. so, are you ready to pay your voice? hello, my name is rose. it sounds cheeky, just like you. are you happy? i think she's happy. i think she's really happy. as voice technology improves, hopefully more people can take part, so in the future anyone who has

lost their voice from a disability can also benefit. claire jones, bbc news. a street in wales has been named the steepest in the world following a campaign by local people. ffordd pen llech in the seaside town of harlech in north wales was pronounced the winner by guinness world records. it stole the title of the world's steepest street from the previous record holders in dunedin in new zealand. time for a look at the weather — here's ben rich. i'll tell you something, the weather is going downhill through the rest of this week, although it has temporarily gone uphill for some parts of eastern england, if you like sunshine that is. yesterday, lowestoft looked like that and it felt pretty cool. today, the sun has been shining and we had some blue skies overhead and temperatures are climbing. you can see from the satellite picture more in the way of clear skies across eastern england, some speckled shower clouds further north and west and more generally

cloudy weather in the