welcome to bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: the british government warns of "serious consequences" after an oil tanker in the gulf is seized by iran. the vessel was tracked moving off course, to the north — no longer in contact with its owners. aid agencies call for a faster international response to the ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo. and america lights up the washington monument to mark the 50th anniversary of the apollo moon landings.

hello and welcome. the british foreign secretary has warned of "serious consequences" if the seizure of a british tanker in the strait of hormuz by iran is not resolved. the stena impero was bound for saudi arabia when the owners say they lost contact with the vessel. there are 23 personnel on board but no british citizens are among them. it comes after an iranian vessel was captured earlier this month. james robbins reports. this is stena impero, built only last year, british flagged, 183 metres long, now in the hands of iran, together with her 23 crew. routine satellite tracking of the tanker shows her under way from the emirates of fujairah, around midday, heading north, staying well inside international waters of the gulf — until this happened. just after three o'clock, the 30,000 ton tanker diverts seriously off course. her last known movement was around four o'clock, inside iranian waters.

the owners, stena bulk and northern marine management, say in a statement: and then news tonight that a second ship had been seized, the mesdar, liberian registered. it has now been released. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt condemned the seizures as unacceptable, saying he was extremely concerned. and president trump confirmed the news. so we don't have very many tankers going in but we have a lot of ships there that are warships and we'll talk to the uk. and we have no written agreement, but we have an agreement. they've been a very

great ally of ours. so we heard about it. we heard it was one, we heard it was two. and we'll be working with uk. these are pictures released by iran said to show pictures of the islamic revolution guard corps circling another vessel, the riah, in recent days. the guard corps appear to use these armed boats and sometimes helicopters to force ships into their waters. their efforts to seize british vessels were intensified after royal marines and gibraltar police boarded and seized a tanker, grace 0ne. it was carrying iranian oil in gibraltar waters, suspected of heading for syria, in defiance of eu sanctions. iran called this piracy, but that's dismissed as nonsense by britain. that was followed by an incident in the gulf when the british frigate, montrose, moved in into protect the tanker british heritage in the gulf. but the threat to british vessels was spelled out earlier this week by iran's supreme leader.

translation: evil britain commits piracy and steals our ship. it's an act of piracy. of course the islamic republic will not leave such evil deeds unanswered. there will be a response at the appropriate time and place. so the iranian guard corps will consider today's seizures a significant victory in a crisis which has been escalating for months. a former head of the royal navy, lord west, says britain simply has too few ships to provide escorts for merchant vessels. my biggest concern, i have to say, is i find it extraordinary that british flagged ships, tankers, particularly, are steaming on their own into this area of danger. i mean, think we should be trying to de—escalate, but you can't allow thugs and effective criminal actions by a nation against your nation. with american warships the dominant naval force in the gulf,

british cooperation with washington will be key if protection of a vital trade route is to be improved. but for now the immediate focus will be on getting iran to free the stena impero and her crew. james robbins, bbc news. speaking before the latest statement, the british foreign secretary jeremy hunt condemned the seizure of the british tanker. i have spoken to secretary of state pompeo in the united states earlier this evening about the situation. i've tried to talk to the foreign minister of iran, but understand he is on a plane. i will speak to him as soon as i can. this is completely unacceptable. freedom of navigation must be maintained. we will respond in a way that is considered but robust and we are absolutely clear that if this situation is not resolved quickly, there will be serious consequences. jeremy hunt there. with me is is simon jones, who has been

following that cobr meeting. that meeting has just finished up. it's the government emergency meeting known as cobr. they have read the statement after that meeting describing the seizure of the richest tanker is completely unacceptable. this goes completely against international maritime rules. they say they are deeply concerned about tensions in the area and adjusting me, they're suggesting british shipping should stay out of that area for the time being. that is quite a development when obviously there are a large number of tankers passing through, particularly in the international community. there is also a statement talking of a robust response and consequences for iran. they haven't said exactly what they mean by that, no deadlines, not saying to say ryan you have to return it by a particular time, they aren't wishing to escalate things in that way ——

tehran. are they thinking of using force 7 tehran. are they thinking of using force? no, so far they are hoping to go down the route of diplomacy. michael hunt has been talking to his us counterpart and counterpart in tehran. so i think going down the diplomatic route and possibly the government saying possibly there are going to be more emergency meetings in the coming days over the weekend suggesting they are necessarily expecting a quick resolution to this. but perhaps trying to build some international coalition to put pressure on iran to say this is unacceptable, uniting the us, the uk, other countries in europe to say, on, you've got to release this ship. this does come at an awkward time for the uk government. british politics is very much in a state of turmoil. jeremy hunt, who we heard from there, is one of two contenders to become a new prime minister forbidden, which is going to be announced next week —— for britain

stop so there is some expectation iran has chosen this moment to act because the british government is in this state of flux, i would say pretty wea k this state of flux, i would say pretty weak at the moment, there is a lack of leadership from the top with theresa may passing her last few days as a minister. it's possible iran saw this as a moment to train escalate tensions, but certainly there are deep concerns in the buddhist government and we are expecting more of these emergency meetings in the coming hours and days —— british government. meetings in the coming hours and days -- british government. thanks for the analysis on the uk side. now peter bowes joins for the analysis on the uk side. now peter bowesjoins me for the analysis on the uk side. now peter bowes joins me for more for the analysis on the uk side. now peter bowesjoins me for more in for the analysis on the uk side. now peter bowes joins me for more in the us. peter, we've actually essentially seen a tit—for—tat essentially, an escalating tit—for—tat between iran and the us. yes. this seems to have been going on for a number of weeks. especially

in relation to the drones that we've been hearing about and president trump, according to his own words said we came within ten minutes, the us came within ten minutes of launching a military action against iran after shooting down one of america's drones. in the last few days the us saying it destroyed one of iran's drones although iran says it doesn't know anything about it. so, certainly, yes, a tit—for—tat feeling about what is going on. but the events of his last few hours really seem to have ratcheted up the tensions that exist not only between the us and iran but also tensions between iran and the united kingdom. what we heard from president trump, how he is standing by the united kingdom describing that close relationship and the uk is a close ally, talking about the military vessels the us has in the region and by implication offering to help the

uk in whatever way the us and the uk might want. although, as again with been hearing, diplomatic discussions and actions seem to be the preferred course of action, at least for the foreseeable future. in amongst all of this we've been hearing about a us trip appointment to saudi arabia —— deployment, can you explain whether it is connected? it seems like it is certainly connected to the overall tensions and problems that we are seeing in the gulf and especially about that crucial shipping lane and the dangers that i now posed to vessels in international waters. the us defence department has announced a deployment of troops to saudi arabia where previously for the past few yea rs where previously for the past few years there haven't been any troops. we understand 500 in number, patriot defence missile systems, the f—22 stealth fighters will also be

deployed to a base in saudi arabia. two, according to the us, protect american interest but also respond to what it describes as credible threats in the region. is part of the problem that iran is essentially playing into donald trump's hands doing what donald trump may be expected or wanting to do? well, you could always turn that around and say donald trump may well feel that he has been proven correct in terms of his attitude towards iran and what iran is capable of doing. he's taken a very hard line of course playing out of the nuclear agreement and being really at odds with his european allies and going it alone in terms of the hardline. those increased sanctions against iran. president trump may well feel as if

his action has been the correct course of action when dealing with a nation like iran. peter bowes, our north american corresponded, thank you very much for that analysis. we will have a lot more on what's been happening between iran and the uk and the seizure of the tanker coming up and the seizure of the tanker coming up in the next half—an—hour. aid agencies are calling on the world to speed up its response to the ebola emergency in the democratic republic of congo. more than 1,700 people have already died there and the world health organization has declared an international public health emergency. vaccination programmes are ongoing in the city of goma where a priest died from ebola this week. 0ur correspondent anne soy is there. goma, in the east of the drc. a bustling transit city, home to more than two million, mostly traders who are constantly on the move. an outbreak of ebola here could be devastating.

as they trudged on up north, the city prepared. last weekend, its health systems were put to the test. these brothers say their uncle drove the bus on which an ebola patient travelled. the uncle later paid them a visit. now they have come here to be vaccinated. they told us that this vaccine don't prevent you at 100% from ebola. that's why i am still afraid a little bit. people who have been in contact with patients and those around them are advised to get the jab. so far in the democratic republic of congo, more than 165,000 people have been vaccinated. this is still an experimental vaccine, but experts believe that it has played a big role in preventing the further spread of the disease. rwanda, just beyond this gate, is on alert. the conditions here showjust how

bad things could get if a bigger outbreak hit the city. the livelihoods of all these people depend on cross—border trade. and the world health organization has advised against closing borders because in any case, it doesn't stop the spread of ebola. experts say it could even make an already complex outbreak worse. it would hurt the congolese people who, if they can't move in a formal way over formal border crossings, will find informal ways, which will make detection of contact much harder if they cross. and of course, it will make the movement of goods and healthcare workers and humanitarian aid workers much harder as well. aid agencies say they need more funds to help keep notjust these people safe from ebola, but also many others around the region. as long as there is an outbreak in the drc, trade and travel means it could spread to neighbouring countries and beyond. anne soy, bbc news, goma.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we'll have more on iran's seizure of a british—flagged ship and what it means for the global oil market. mission control: you can see them coming down the ladder now. it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunction of sperm

unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the british government warns of serious diplomatic consequences following the seizure of a tanker in the strait of hormuz. uk ships have been advised to stay out of the area. we'll stay with that story now. sara vakhshouri is an energy security and global oil market analyst, and the president of her own energy consultancy based in washington. shejoins me now. thank you for your time. i'm wondering what the writer

is trying to achieve, is it trying to disrupt the global oil market? not as of now but the government officials and different occasions before may 2019, the sanctions were implemented, if you are not able to sell a drop of oil, then none of the neighbours would be able to sell their oil and supply the market. it seems the market is going through more and more tense situations and many of the oil tankers at a passing to the street, and also the water around the area is facing a serious threat. what does it mean for the global oil trade thus far? we've seen some skirmishes, how reliant i will be on oil coming from the middle east? the middle east has a

lot of ups and downs and the supply of oilfrom lot of ups and downs and the supply of oil from these regions, lot of ups and downs and the supply of oilfrom these regions, this is not the first time there is a trend of interruptions but we do not think that iran is going to use this to close the straight, as of now it might be the last car to use but it seems it started to flex its muscles and use the tensions that have been created as a message to the world that things could get worse if it is not able to easily have its oil tankers and oil pass through the international waters. now the tankers and oil pass through the internationalwaters. now the uk tankers and oil pass through the international waters. now the uk as of this evening has warned other british tankers to avoid the area, other alternative routes other than this area so that dish tankers and other tankers can transport the oil ina other tankers can transport the oil in a safe manner? yes, there are alternative routes but there is a significant capacity that is passing

through the strait of hormuz. it is very ha rd to through the strait of hormuz. it is very hard to imagine bypassing all of this capacity. it is very normal and followed by british tankers and british ships, there might be many international ships and tankers that might get the same morning and it's very important to consider that in the past few weeks, the insurance premium for the tankers and ships that are going and entering the strait of hormuz. there have been significantly increased and that will have an impact on the prices to the end users and these have been even more so for the british tankers since iran has started threatening the british tankers. politically, where do you see things going now? how much worse where do you see things going now? how much worse can where do you see things going now? how much worse can it get? well, i

think that things are very tense, the market has kept calm, the prices have increased, sadly, but it seems that there is a war going on in the region and different parties are trying to take and test each other‘s patients and insecurities, this tit—for—tat operation that is affecting the flow of oil, and also other goods through commercial ships and other vessels in these waters, have all been impacted and it seems like is getting more tense. immediately after the government announced that there have been delays, we see the tankers today, being seized, yesterday there was another story only another tanker.

there have been attacks and explosions of tankers. sara, thank you so much, there are so much to think -- you so much, there are so much to think —— there are so much to unpack. thank you for your time. you can geta unpack. thank you for your time. you can get a lot more on that story. and any other story we're working on, on our website. the address is bbcnews.com. or you can download the bbc news app. extremely hot weather has started to hit most of the united states, with temperatures set to peak over the weekend. ramzan karmali has the details. the race to stay cool in new york city. extreme hot weather is already starting to be felt here. and though it may look like fun in the pool, the city ‘s mayor declared a local emergency. the message i want to get across to all new yorkers is take this with a serious, we have not seen temperatures like this and at least seven years, we have never seen this many concentrated hot days ina long, seen this many concentrated hot days in a long, long time. take this very

seriously. people are being advised to stay indoors as much as possible over the weekend. and avoid exposure to the heat. new york's triathlon was due to take place on sunday but was due to take place on sunday but was cancelled due to the extreme weather conditions, this would have likely faced. but the heat is on. notjust in the big apple. many major cities across the eastern seaboard was the record temperatures. in fact, they trade is going to affect around two—thirds of the eastern part of the us, temperatures will likely hit 100 fahrenheit and some major cities. that's 38 celsius. but it will actually feel hotter than that due to the humidity. we are going to see due points which is a way to measure the amount of moisture in the air, well into the 70s, the highest it has ever been in boston, 78 agreed to point about going to approach that in the next couple of days —— 78 degrees will stop it will feel between 102 and 110 degrees.

78 degrees will stop it will feel between 102 and 110 degreesm 78 degrees will stop it will feel between 102 and 110 degrees. it is not just the between 102 and 110 degrees. it is notjust the us weatherhead will be felt. and montreal, the humidity could make you feel at 45 degrees. the world experiencesjune on record lost one. we've experienced more frequent hippos. this expert says it's down to climate change. c grave is likely to last all weekend but there will be some quick relief is temperatures are set to fall rapidly next week. it was 50 years ago tonight that america was on the eve of apollo 11 touching down on the moon and us astronauts becoming the first to step foot there. the bbc‘s nick bryant reports. in a week that's highlighted the deep divisions in washington and america, a gigantic reminder of a unifying national mission. apollo 11, projected onto the washington monument for this back—to—the—future celebration. and at ground level, a coming together of the american generations. i want to be an astronaut one day. you want to go to the moon?

yes. do you think you'll ever get there? i don't know. it's been pretty cool to see it through youtube. so to be here and be alive, it's brand—new to me. to me, it'sjust as exciting as when we did it the first time. it was beyond remarkable. it was almost the type of thing that you didn't think could possibly come to be. lift—off! we have lift—off. conquering new frontiers has always been an essential part of the american spirit. but it was conquering the soviet union that made the space race such an urgent national priority. in those cold war years, soviet cosmonauts had outpaced american astronauts. the moon mission was also about a global ideological battle. the space race was all about the cold war. the whole reason for the race to the moon was to beat the soviet union and prove that the western capitalist model of government was better than the soviet model.

and that was a serious issue in the early ‘60s. but the united states beats the soviet union to the moon in 1969, tremendously undercuts the legitimacy of the soviet union both internally and externally, and i think contributes to the collapse of the soviet union 30 years later. taking the stars and stripes to the moon was, surprisingly, something of an afterthought. it was purchased from a local hardware shop. as you talk to us from the sea of tranquillity... and though the moon mission was launched byjohn f kennedy, it was his one—time rival richard nixon who was president at the time. for every american, this has to be the proudest day of our lives. the moon landing came at the end of a tumultuous decade. the ‘60s brought the struggle for black equality, the vietnam war, the assassinations of the kennedy brothers and dr martin luther king. here, finally, was a moment that transcended national strife. there's been a wave of space—age nostalgia, marking a glorious, near—hypnotic moment

when "america first" had a very different connotation. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. stay with us. it felt as if summer had taken a break on friday, it will return though, as i will show you later in this forecast. but over the last 24 hours we have seen some heavy downpours, that picture came from a weather watcher in staffordshire late on friday afternoon. the radar shows the way in which these pulses of heavy rain flung themselves across the british isles, with some lightning, rumbles of thunder and the last vestiges of this wet weather still with us as we start off saturday morning, some heavy rain across the far south—east, patches of rain elsewhere as well. all tied in with this frontal system which is clearing away, so that will allow things to improve a little through the day ahead, but low pressure still in charge, so while there will be some spells

of sunshine there will also be some showers, some of which could be heavy and thundery. it is quite a soggy start across the south—east of england, that rain should clear away fairly smartly through the morning, rain hanging back across shetland for a good part of the day. for the majority it is that regime of sunny spells and heavy, thundery downpours, although for northern ireland, a much drier day in prospect with patchy cloud and sunny spells, 20 in belfast, 22 in plymouth, 24 in london. those showers should quickly fade away during saturday evening, into the early hours of sunday we will be left with clear, starry skies, maybe the odd mist patch and it will be a little cooler and fresher with temperatures getting down to 11—14. sunday starts off on a fine, dry and in many places sunny note — the further south and east you are the better the chances of holding on to that fine weather, but for northern ireland, western scotland, far north—west of england, maybe north—west wales

will see outbreaks of rain and strengthening winds through the day. still some wet weather around the northern half of the uk on monday, that rain tending to retreat northwards, further south some spells of sunshine, and things start to warm up. temperatures could get to 29, possibly 30, but that is not the end of it — because across iberia and france, a significant heat wave will be developing through early next week and some of that heat will waft its way northwards, some is likely to get around 34 degrees. the north—west of the uk, likely to see some outbreaks of rain at times, but even in edinburgh we are looking at highs of 25—26, some areas of cloud flirting with western coast at times, further south and east is where we will have the highest temperatures, 33—34, with the chance of some thunderstorms later in the week.

anne soy, bbc news, goma. this is bbc news. the headlines: the british foreign secretary has warned there will be "serious consequences" if iran does not release a british—flagged tanker seized in the gulf, and the uk government has warned shipping to stay out of the region. tehran says the vessel was breaking maritime navigation rules. the stena impero's owners say they have been unable to contact their vessel. aid agencies are calling on international governments to speed up their response to the ebola emergency in the democratic republic of the congo. more than 1,600 people have already died there. the world health organisation has declared an international public health emergency. extremely hot weather has started to hit north america, with temperatures of around 38 degrees celsius expected at the weekend. meteorologists warn the vulnerable could be at risk. now on bbc news: the week in parliament.