welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: president trump praises the emergency workers and survivors of saturday's mass shootings in el paso, and says despite criticism he's been warmly welcomed. we had an amazing day. as you know, we left ohio and the love, the respect for the office of the presidency, it was... i wish you could have been in there to see it. canadian police believe they have found the bodies of two teenage fugitives suspected of three murders. the us calls for calm and restraint over kashmir, as tensions between india and pakistan continue to escalate. and vodka with a twist. we look at the first consumer product made from ingredients grown inside the chernobyl exclusion zone.

hello. president trump has met emergency workers and survivors of the mass shooting in the texan city of el paso, in which 22 people were killed. it's now being investigated as domestic terrorism. earlier the president was in dayton, ohio, where nine died in another mass shooting. protesters and leading democrats say mr trump's anti—immigrant rhetoric has fuelled violence and racism. our north america editor jon sopel is in el paso. president trump and first lady melania arrived in el paso and it's fair to say civic leaders aren't hanging out the flags for him. a white nationalist killed 22 people, targeting hispanics. before leaving the white house,

the president denied his fiery rhetoric on immigration had contributed to the problem. i am concerned about the rise of any group of hate, i don't, any group of hate, i am... whether it's white supremacy, whether it's any other kind of supremacy, whether it's antifur, whether it's any group of hate, i am very concerned about it and i'll do something about it. trump is responsible and he is part of the problem! in el paso, a big protest has been taking place against the visit. the main speaker, the former congressman for the area and democratic presidential hopeful beto o'rourke. he's critical of the president coming. i'm just so focused, as are my fellow el pasoans, on this community, on the family's struggling with a loved one still recuperating or who's lost

someone in their lives. i think the president's visit distracts from that healing and our ability as a community to come together. this makeshift shrine alongside the walmart here in el paso probably stretches for something like 100 yards. there's always the hope on occasions like this that something good might emerge out of something so dreadful, but in america today, the problems of hate, of guns, of racism seem as intractable as ever. these two nurses, erin and stephanie, where working these two nurses, erin and stephanie, were working at the local hospital last saturday. everything was chaotic. nurses get called in. things are different and you can feel sombre in the hospital. what do you feel about the president coming today? i think it's probably bad timing for him to come right now. and emotions are still incredibly raw. i would prefer you talk to my daughter. 0k. i can't talk. i would like him to bring unity,

not only to el paso, texas but to our country. what's going on?! but it's now emerged a shooting that took place two weeks ago in gilroy, california is now also being treated as an act of domestic terrorism, like el paso. from the fbi, over the last two years, the number of their investigations are racially motivated, and within that category, the majority are white supremacist extremist motivated. this morning, president trump was in dayton, ohio, where nine people were killed at the weekend, meeting survivors and their relatives. these images released by the white house — no journalists were allowed in. he offered consolation, but in terms of concrete measures to tackle gun violence, he was much more vague. jon sopel, bbc news, el paso.

president trump met law enforcement officers and first responders at an emergency operations centre in el paso. his remarks afterwards centred on how he and the first lady had been received. we had an amazing day. as you know, we left ohio, and the love, the respect for the office of the presidency, it was... i wish you could have been there to see it. i wish you could have been in there. it was no different here. we went to the hospital, just came from the hospital. we were there a lot longer than we were anticipating to be. it was just supposed to be just a fairly quick... we met with numerous people. we met with also the doctors, the nurses, the medical staff. they have done an incredible job, both places, just incredible. and the enthusiasm, the love, the respect, and also the... telling them, let's see if we can get something done. and republicans want to do it, and democrats want to do it.

chris babcock is the editor of the el paso herald post. he told us about the atmosphere in the city during president trump's visit. well, i can tell you that from the early morning when i was at the memorial this morning at about 6:30am, it was very calm, very peaceful, very reflective and then as the day started to dawn, this palpable feeling of unease started going through the crowd there as more and more people showed up to lay flowers. and it really, really felt different. again, we've had several memorial services for a couple of the victims, and they were very solemn, very respectful. and it's been like that the whole week, but it seemed today it kind of turned with president donald trump coming in, they were really, reallyjust... there was a feeling of unease and discomfort really overall. chris, obviously it's a terrible time for people in el paso. tell us more about how different and why the unease.

you have to realise that this goes back before the attack on saturday. president donald trump really called out our city during the state of the union address. he went out there in front of the congress in the joint session and the united states and the world and said el paso is the most dangerous city in north america, in america, and that was just not correct, it was not truthful. we have our share of crime, we have ratings, we have car theft, we have murders, anywhere bebetween six, seven, eight per year but those people are caught. —— break—ins. he made it seem there was some sort of dystopian future going round here where hordes of people are coming from the south and creating crime and burning down things. it's never been the case. that statement kicked it off that we were all of a sudden the focus of all that was wrong with the border, all that was wrong

with immigration, all that was wrong with immigrants coming in. from january... and when he came to his campaign rally in february, of course he did have his supporters here, i'm not saying this is a town that doesn't like donald trump, there's a large percentage of people who just don't like him, this is a democratic town, but there's about 15—20% that back president. they did so today. the unease was with all of his rhetoric starting in january and continuing to put el paso on people's radar, it really, for lack of a better word, it made us a prime target. you've had a border wall there i think since the early 1990s, haven't you? do you think it's likely the president will feel a little political impact in this area as a result of the things he's been saying in his public rallies and on social media? i was thinking about that on the way home and i think those people who like the president and believe what he's saying, there's not going to be any wavering of what they feel. i think that with a very slim

margin, those undecided here, and in the country, especially with the way this was specifically targeted. i hate to say this, because we have so many of them, but this was not your typical american mass shooting. this gunman came in with a specific intent of killing hispanic people, and that's what he did. and now i think some of the people that might have thought, "it's just words, just rhetoric, he doesn't really mean it," people have to look at that and really start to question is this the type of leadership we need going forward? he's going to have his people behind him regardless, and whether that's here in el paso, and that's part of our democratic process, but i think this was such a bolt from the blue, as it were, that it's really going to shock people, and then to have dayton notjust more than 12 hours later, i think it's a 1—2 punch to the american psyche that's going to make us look at not only what actions we could take

what actions led up to this. chris babcock, editor of the el paso herald post. police in canada believe they have found the bodies of two men who they were hunting in connection with the murder of three people. kam mcleod, aged 19, and bryer schmegelsky, 18, were wanted over the murders of an australian man and his american girlfriend, and a canadian university professor. it was in british columbia. the bodies were discovered more than 3,000 kilometres away in manitoba. john mcmanus reports: kam mcleod and bryer schmegelsky — two teenagers who canadian police began searching for after their burned—out car was discovered, but who quickly became murder suspects themselves. the two friends were from vancouver but had been travelling to find work. police had been hunting them for three weeks over a territory of more than 3,000 kilometres, as far as the village of gillam in manitoba province. they were wanted for questioning over the murder of this couple — 23—year—old australian lucas fowler and 24—year—old american chyna deese, who were found dead from gunshot wounds along a highway in british columbia.

authorities then discovered the body of 64—year—old leonard dyke, a professor of botany. late last week, items belonging to the suspects were found along the nelson river in manitoba and here police concentrated their search using tracker dogs to search the dense undergrowth. this morning, at approximately 10am, rcmp officers identified two male bodies in the dense brush one kilometre from where the items were found. this is approximately eight kilometres from where the burnt vehicle was located. at this time, we believe these are the bodies of the two suspects. an autopsy of the bodies will now take place, but police still don't know why mcleod and schmegelsky might have killed their victims, although last month schmegelsky's father described his son as deeply troubled and said he was on a suicide mission. john mcmanus, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. supporters of the former

leader of kyrgyzstan almazbek atambayev have fought off an attempt to arrest him on corruption allegations. it's reported a member of special forces was shot dead in the raid on mr atambayev‘s home outside the capital, bishkek. he was stripped of immunity injune, but has resisted all official demands to face questioning by investigators. puerto rico's justice secretary wanda vazquez has been sworn in as the new governor hours after her predecessor was forced to stand down by the supreme court. she's the third politician to occupy the post in less than a week. she's promised to bring political stability to the us territory, devastated two years ago by hurricane maria. a woman from tennessee sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting a man she said tried to rape her has been released. cyntoia brown was jailed 15 years ago when she was 16. she says she was forced into prostitution and feared for her life when she killed a real estate agent in nashville. kim kardashian—west, rihanna and other stars campaigned for her release.

the state department in the us has offered its support for direct dialogue between india and pakistan on kashmir, as tensions rise over the disputed territory. the pakistani government has expelled india's envoy and downgraded diplomatic relations with delhi. after years of special status for the part of kashmir it administers, the indian government has revoked it and placed it under direct control, and a security lockdown. there have been clashes between police and protesters. all of kashmir has been claimed by both india and pakistan since british india was partitioned in 19117. the two countries have fought two wars over kashmir, and came close, not long ago, to a third. yogita limaye sent this report from srinagar. it's the third day that kashmir remains in lockdown, but sporadic protests have begun to break out now. in a particularly restive part of srinagar, every evening, protesters are coming out, throwing stones and chanting anti—indian slogans, and security forces have been using pellet guns to contain the violence. there are also reports that clashes

have been breaking out in southern kashmir, as well. but these do remain quite small and sporadic, and there are a number of reasons for that. one of the big reasons is what you can see behind me. literally at every street corner there are armed soldiers, barbed wire, checkpoints. you're asked to show your identity, where you're going, why you're going there. hundreds of thousands of extra troops have been deployed, in what is already one of the most militarised regions in the world. on monday, india's government unilaterally revoked kashmir‘s special status. it had included a number of things. it gave the local government here the right to make laws about everything other than defence, communication and external affairs. it also allowed the local government to define who the permanent residents of this region are, and it only allowed those people to buy land here. all of that is now gone.

yogita limaye for us there. pakistan has reacted angrily to india's decision. our correspondent asif farooqi is in islamabad. the government statement says the committee has decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with india. now, what this means is that pakistan will be recalling its high commissioner to india and vice—versa — india will have to do the same. the other thing this committee has decided is to suspend bilateral trade with india. pakistan and india do not have a huge trade between them, but along the border, in punjab and kashmir region, there used to be local—level trade but that will not happen. this trade was helping local communities in the region. pakistan also decided today it will take this matter to the united nations security council and independence day

of pakistan, on the 14th of august, will be celebrated as the solidarity day with kashmiri people, and on the 15th of august, which is india's independence day, that will be celebrated as black day in pakistan. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why chernobyl‘s nuclear legacy is no problem for makers of this pioneering product. the question was whether we want to save our people and japanese as well and win the war, or whether we want to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at two o'clock this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigour, vitality and enjoyment of life.

no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president trump has visited the sites of last weekend's mass shootings — as critics accuse him of stoking racial hatred. the us has called for calm and restraint over kashmir — as tensions between india and pakistan continue to escalate. at least 1a people have been killed, more than 100 injured by a large truck bomb outside a police station

in the afghan capital, kabul. the taliban has claimed responsibility. the injured include soldiers and police and a number of children. tensions are high in the city despite talks to end the afghan conflict. secunder kermani sent this report. a large plume of smoke rises above the side of this morning ‘s attack was not the powerful truck bomb left nearby buildings almost completely demolished. i was driving in the area what i heard a terrible sound on the explosion. in my car was shaking. but after that, a soberness of the nearby shops blown up. the attack comes in spite of progress between american officials who have been holding talks in qatar, and enriching a peace agreement was up details of any settlement on clear but they are thought to include commitments to foreign forces from organist and it exclusion from

guarantees from 12 and they want a larger hardest groups to operate in the country until abound with begin talks of the afghan representatives. what is feared would be included in the settlement is an immediate declaration of a ceasefire and the concern is that the violence on the ground will still continue. the first half of this year alone, more than a thousand of gun civilians have still lives as a result of this conflict. british airways says it has fixed the it glitch which caused more than 100 flights to be cancelled and more than 200 others to be delayed. the airline said flights were returning to normal but warned that there may be "knock—on operational disruption". thousands of passengers were affected by delays, disruption and queues at heathrow, gatwick and london's city airport. our correspondent lucy manning spent the day at heathrow. this is not how the start of a holiday should look — queues, cancellations, frustration. this is not how the run—up to a wedding should look. alex and chloe get

married on saturday. they were flying with 25 family members, but got stuck on the runway in newcastle, missing theirflight to venice, and then onto slovenia for their wedding ceremony. we got on the flight from newcastle at 6:00am in the morning, and then they started telling us that there was delays, delays, delays. we were expecting to be around ten, 15, 20 minutes, half an hour, and then itjust kept on getting more and more and more. it's very unlikely we will get on a flight tonight. we could possibly get one tomorrow. they don't have any hotels. we're from newcastle. i've got elderly people. it's just... how do you feel about the way that you've been treated by ba? i'm actually gutted for chloe and alex. gutted. we'll have that sorted out. we've booked with the best airline in the world. we could have gone with wizz air, but we booked with the best airline in the world because of how important it was. and theyjust don't care. how has it left you feeling about what is going to happen with the wedding? terrified, terrified. it should be such a happy occasion.

she was so... they were so... it still will be a happy occasion. it is passengers on short—haul flights affected, mainly flying in and out of london airports, computer systems dealing with checking and departures down, delaying thousands. some passengers were stranded abroad, sam and julie stuck in cyprus. it's the height of the summer season. people want to go on holiday with their kids, you know, and this is a multibillion—pound company. you can't be blaming things on it systems. it's a joke. it has not been the best summer for travellers or for british airways. some flights were already cancelled this week because of fears of a strike at heathrow, and there is also the looming threat of a strike by british airways pilots. ba has apologised to customers, and says the computer problems have now been solved, but disruption could continue. alex and chloe and the wedding party will now get a new flight tomorrow night.

so where's ba going to put us tonight? 0k, i've got no hotels... lucy manning, bbc news. wildfires in the highlands of northern peru have destroyed acres of ancient forest — and threaten one of the country's most important archaeological sites. it's a race against time to save the sixth century home of the chachapoya ns, known as the "cloud warriors". andy beatt reports. the fast moving forest fire sweeping through peru's amazon region. more than 100 firefighters so far failing to control the blaze. than 100 firefighters so far failing to controlthe blaze. if than 100 firefighters so far failing to control the blaze. if spent four days here, fighting against this fire, the strong winds are making it much more difficult stop but is not just the region ‘s fragile ecosystem under threat. plans are now within a kilometre of this historic hilltop side. this is the largest brewery in can settlement in south america. three times older than machu picchu.

the remains of some 500 houses, the centre of a nation civilisation that at its peak was home to nearly half at its peak was home to nearly half a million people. a four—day operation with s support aiding teams in the army, police, and ministry of culture. at times, looking woefully ill—equipped. more specialised forces are on their way here to the remote region. but as fires continue to spread, peru's herbs of saving the link with the past and by a thread. —— hopes. scientists from ukraine and the uk — who've spent decades studying the abandoned landscape around the chernobyl nuclear plant — have launched a vodka made from ingredients grown inside the exclusion zone. it's the first officially consumable product made in chernobyl since the disaster there in 1986. our science correspondent victoria gill had a taste of what's on offer. abandoned for more than 30 years, but in one small pocket of the 4,000

square kilometre exclusion zone that surrounds the chernobyl nuclear power plant, it's harvest time. this experimental farm was set up by a team of scientists, and the crops being grown here, they say, could be a first step towards using this land productively again. very nice chernobylski rye grains. this means we don't just abandon the land. we can use this land in different and diverse ways and we can produce something which will be totally clean from the radioactivity. and this is what it is being used to produce. our idea was to distil it and produce a kind of moonshine artisan vodka. this is set to be the first consumer product that's made entirely from ingredients grown within the exclusion zone.

i tremble when they pick it up, because this is the only bottle in existence. this is no more radioactive than any other vodka. we've checked it, we've have two of the best laboratories in the world looking to see if they can find any radioactivity from chernobyl and they haven't found it. it might not be for everyone, but this is about much more than making a spirit with a unique selling point. communities in relatively uncontaminated outer regions of the exclusion zone still live under strict regulations. no agriculture is permitted here. it's hoped that some of those restrictions will soon be lifted, but any vodka profits will be channelled into supporting economic development in areas still affected by the social impacts of the nuclear accident. until atomik production starts, though, i'm allowed just a tiny taste poured from a genuinely unique bottle. victoria gill, bbc news. there is more for you anytime on the

bbc website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ bbcmikeembley. good morning. yet again it was scotland and northern ireland that bore the brunt of the showers for wednesday. the area of low pressure that was responsible, that's now drifting off into the north sea, allowing this brief ridge of high pressure to build before this deepening area of low pressure starts to push into the south—west during the early hours of friday morning. and it's going to stay with us friday, into the weekend as well, heavy rain and gales are going to be a feature of the forecast. but, for the next few hours, we've still got a few showers through scotland and northern ireland in particular. and a little bit of patchy mist and fog forming in western areas. elsewhere, we'll see lengthier spells and temperatures falling down to a comfortable 11—13 degrees just first thing on thursday morning. there will be some early morning sunshine and generally, thursday not a bad day for many. some lengthy, dry prolonged spells around. we still can't rule out a few isolated showers in scotland

and northern ireland and maybe one or two into north wales and cropping up in the midlands. but, with some sunshine we will get some warm highs of 2a degrees, that's 75 fahrenheit. but that low pressure is going to start to push into the south—west during the early hours of friday morning, it's going to be some heavy rain and strong to gale force gusts of winds, particularly on exposed south—west coasts. so that rain at 1am will start to push its way up through cornwall, across wales, up into the midlands. so for the early morning rush hour, it'll be leaving north wales, the north midlands and will be sitting across northern england. don't forget the yellow and greens denoting heavier pulses of rain. some areas could see 20—30 millimetres before the morning is through. and, with the additional prolonged showers that we've seen, that could bring some localised flooding. so the frontal system clears to the north of scotland, behind it, a trail of showers and some blustery winds gusting in excess of 50—60 miles an hour in exposed coasts in the south—west. eastern england will stay largely fine. still breezy, but 211—25 degrees is 77 fahrenheit, it will be quite a humid feel to things. now friday into saturday, we'll see that area of low pressure sitting across the extreme north. and the southern flank of that low is where we are likely to see

the strongest in the winds. saturday, plenty of frequent showers across scotland, northern ireland, north—west england, the rainfall totals really starting to add up and some gales further south. but still, those highs of 22 degrees. the frontal system really not moving very far, very fast, that low pressure dawdles its way steadily eastwards, we've still got plenty of showers with us on sunday. the best of the drier weather into the south. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines:

president trump has visited the texan city of el paso where a gunmen shot dead 22 people in an apparent hate crime. he went earlier to dayton, ohio — scene of the weekend's other mass shooting. nine people died there. the president himself is accused of stoking violence and racism by his anti—immigrant speeches and twitter posts. the us state department has called for calm and restraint over kashmir, as tensions rise between india and pakistan. pakistan is to expel india's envoy and downgrade diplomatic relations, a response to delhi taking direct control of kashmir. police in canada believe they've found the bodies of two fugitive teenage boys in the central province of manitoba. the teenagers, suspected of killing three people, had been on the run for for almost three weeks. more than 50,000 people who have tickets for a music