welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: us prosecuters charge the british socialite ghislaine maxwell with grooming young girls for her former boyfriend, the convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein. she pretended to be a woman they could trust. all the while, she was setting them up to be sexually abused by epstein, and in some cases, by maxwell herself. texas makes wearing a face masks compulsory across much of the state, as covid—19 cases continue to soar. we speak to one of hong kong's leading pro—democracy campaigners, who has fled the territory following china's imposition of a new security law. the british government lifts covid—19 quarantine requirements, but only for arrivals in england

from some countries, including france, germany, italy and spain. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the british socialite ghislaine maxwell has appeared in court in the usjust hours after she was arrested by the fbi. the 58—year—old has been charged with grooming girls for herformer boyfriend, the convicted paedophile jeffrey epstein, and repeatedly lying about it. prosectuors claim that ghislaine maxwell helped epstein to exploit underage girls, some as young as m. ms maxwell has denied any wrongdoing as well as any knowledge of epstein‘s crimes. neda tawfik has this report. until now, ghislaine maxwell

has remained out of sight ever since the arrest of sex offender and paedophile jeffrey epstein. as his former girlfriend and closest associate, she is central to the fbi's probe of his sex crimes against underage girls. authorities had been discreetly keeping tabs on her whereabouts for the last year. when they moved in to arrest her on thursday, she was living on a 156—acre property that she bought in cash to shield her identity. we've been discreetly keeping tabs on maxwell's whereabouts as we work this investigation. and more recently, we learned she'd slithered away to a gorgeous property in new hampshire, continuing to live a life of privilege, while her victims live with the trauma inflicted upon them years ago. federal prosecutors in new york have charged her with six criminal counts linked to epstein‘s alleged sex trafficking operation, including enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, and two counts of perjury. they allege the victims were as young as m years

old when the crimes took place, between 1994 and 1997. she has previously denied all of the allegations against her. maxwell would discuss sexual topics with the victim, and undress in front of the victim, or be present for sex acts involving the minor victims and epstein. maxwell's presence as an adult woman helped put the victims at ease. as maxwell and epstein intended, this grooming process left the minor victims susceptible to sexual abuse. the daughter of the late media magnate robert maxwell is a longtime friend of prince andrew. in this now—infamous photo from 2001, the two are seen with virginia giuffre, who says she was trafficked to maxwell's home in central london to have sex with prince andrew. in an interview with newsnight which led to his retirement from public duty, prince andrew was asked directly about it. i have no recollection of ever meeting this lady. none whatsoever. you don't remember meeting her?

nope. prince andrew has long denied having sex with underage girls, but prosecutors today reiterated their desire to speak with him. i will say that we would welcome prince andrew coming in to talk with us. we would like to have the benefit of his statement. ghislaine maxwell appeared briefly in court in new hampshire, and remains in custody. but her trial will take place here in new york, where she faces 35 years in prison if convicted. it is a major moment for epstein‘s victims, who have had to relive their trauma in the public eye while fighting for justice for decades. we can speak to kate briquelet, who is a senior reporter at the daily beast, and has been following the epstein—maxwell case very closely. thanks for coming on the programme. thanks for having me. so what was your reaction to the arrest here, and then quickly, the charges as well?|j was quickly, the charges as well?” was completely shocked to hear that, you know, she had

ultimately been arrested today, approaching the one—year anniversary of jeffrey epstein‘s arrest. earlier this i had been working on a story related to the one—year anniversary, and as part of my reporting, had interviewing multiple victims of geoffrey epstein‘s trafficking scheme, and they all had expressed frustration that maxwell and other people hadn't been arrested. i mean, ithink people were worried that the case was going to die with geoffrey epstein. that clearly not the case now. what do you make of these charges that she is facing? it interesting that these charges are stemming from victims and incidents that occurred in the mid— 1990s, occurred in the mid—1990s, which shows just how far and for how long geoffrey epstein‘s alleged sex ring had been going on. when we were looking at the

case with the charges with epstein last year, those charges were related to, you know, incidents and victims that were in new york in the early to thousands. you know, the charges that maxwell is facing relate to a victim that was met in london. it relates toa was met in london. it relates to a victim that was transported from florida to new york, and also a victim who had been abused in new mexico. i mean, just makes you wonder how farand mean, just makes you wonder how far and wide mean, just makes you wonder how farand wide did mean, just makes you wonder how far and wide did this alleged scheme run. i mean, it was an international sex trafficking scheme, and so i think there's a lot of questions as to, you know, the extent of maxwell's involvement, you know, how long she was involved and how many people besides her were also taking part in this. and we should stress, of course, ms maxwell has denied any involvement as well as any knowledge of epstein‘s crimes. what do you think this development today means for the wider investigation here?”

think for the wider investigation, a lot of people, a lot of powerful people that we re a lot of powerful people that were in jeffrey a lot of powerful people that were injeffrey epstein‘s orbit, a lot of powerful people that were friends with ghislaine maxwell, are probably very scared right now, because, imean, if very scared right now, because, i mean, if you were ghislaine maxwell, you would be facing, you know, if she is convicted, if she is found guilty, she is going to be facing possibly the rest of her life in prison. 35 yea rs rest of her life in prison. 35 years maximum. so, you know, you would think that she would wa nt to you would think that she would want to co—operate with investigators and, you know, perhaps cut herself a deal. and i think it's also interesting to note that this case is being prosecuted by the southern district of new york's public direction unit, so there are questions as to would a public official be wrapped up in this investigation? i think time will tell. yes, of course, she does retain that presumption of innocence. really good to speak to you and hear your thoughts on that. thanks very much. thank you. the governor of the us state of texas, greg abbott,

has ordered that face masks must be worn in public across nearly all of the state. it was amongst the first us states to reopen for business, but it has become one of the country's main coronavirus hotspots since restrictions were lifted. mr abbott said face coverings will help slow the spread of the virus. one of the best ways to keep businesses open, while also slowing the spread, is for everyone to wear a face covering like this when they go out. medical studies have shown that wearing a face covering slows the spread of covid—19, and it protects you and your family. the governor's plea comes on the day that the us reported more than 53,000 new covid 19 infections, a record increase for a third day in a row. america is now into its fourth month of emergency measures

to tackle coronavirus, and the situation is getting worse — way worse. yesterday broke all records, with nearly 53,000 new cases being recorded in a single day, resulting in hospitals like this one in houston, texas drowning in a sea of covid. all you have to do is take a look at the news at night and you see people congregating in bars without masks, congregating in different types of groups that are well beyond the recommended number of people. what happens when you do that, and you don't wear a mask? you get the kind of outbreaks we're seeing. but, though many in the us are wearing facial coverings, there's a sizeable chunk of the population that refuses — an almost "real men don't wear masks" attitude, a viewpoint that at times has been aided and abetted by the president. can you take it off? because i cannot hear you. i'll just speak louder, sir. 0h, 0k, good. you want to be

politically correct. go ahead. and look at the last rally the president attended. this was in arizona last week, where cases are going through the roof. but at no point did donald trump tell anyone they should put on a face covering, and he has done all he can to avoid being filmed wearing one, though he now says that might change. i mean, i'd have no problem. actually, i had a mask on. i sort of liked the way i looked. i thought it was ok. i looked like the lone ranger. it's a sign of the division in america — maybe even the madness — that the simple act of wearing a facemask has become a political issue, and notjust a matter of public health during a pandemic. there is a danger that this becomes the new frontier in the culture wars, that pits conservative against liberal. the past two weeks have been a torrid and horrid time for donald trump. today, his bounce was back, with good news on the economy. these are historic numbers, in a time that a lot of people would have wilted. but, with many states that had

opened talking about shutting down again, and those that were about to open putting plans on hold, the nightmare goes on. president trump vowed to defeat the hidden enemy, but coronavirus has been a curveball that he has nowhere near been able to master. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the uk government has announced it will remove travel restrictions for lower—risk countries ahead of the summer holiday season. from 10 july, holidaymakers returning from germany, france, spain and italy will no longer need to self—isolate upon their arrival in england. for now, the new rules will not apply to scotland. paul charles is the ceo of the travel consultancy the pc agency. he has welcomed the end of blanket quarantine restrictions. it's good news that the foreign office will be removing its non—essential travel advice from this saturday. and it means that many millions

of holidaymakers will actually be able to travel from this saturday to certainly those countries you've mentioned, spain, italy, france and germany, but also many others which they're going to unveil in a few hours' time. i think the list, when it's published later on friday, will be potentially 70—80 countries. we understand that the government will be unveiling the traffic light system, which seems on the face of it to be a system providing a lot of clarity, which is what we need in the industry, and there'll be green, amber and red countries. now, obviously the green and amber countries will be those where you won't have to quarantine on your return. but apart from germany, france, italy and spain, it's not clear yet which countries will be green and which ones will be amber, although we could hazard a guess. amber means that there's more risk attached to that destination, and indeed that travellers there should be more cautious, and it

also makes it easier for the government, of course, to adjust the rating to red if they have to, if there's a spike in that country or if there's a sudden outbreak that affects the whole country. it gives the government flexibility, whereas the green rating, of course, is for those countries that are deemed very, very low risk indeed. there are still issues with this system. so while we welcome it, scotland is not recognising it. disagreement between scotland and westminster over how these countries have been chosen, which ones are in the final list. and there's a potential that when this is announced by the transport secretary in a few hours' time, officially, that it could apply to england only. so that will still leave confusion reigning in scotland. let's get some of the day's other news: more than 800 people have been arrested after british and european police infiltrated

a top secret chat network used by criminal gangs. drugs, guns and millions of dollars in cash were also seized. it is being called the biggest and most significant law enforcement operation ever carried out in the uk. colombian security forces have arrested eight left—wing rebels for their alleged involvement in a deadly car bomb attack against a police academy last year. the eln said it carried out the attack, which killed 22 people in the capital, bogota. the uk and the eu say serious differences remain over a post—brexit trade deal following negotiations in brussels. the latest talks are the first to be held in person since the covid—19 crisis began. the uk has ruled out extending the december deadline. the japanese authorities have asked the us to extradite a former special forces soldier and his son who are accused of helping the ex nissan boss carlos ghosn flee japan last year. despite being under house arrest, mr ghosn, who the japanese authorities accuse of financial misconduct, managed to evade security checks and fly to lebanon.

two of the biggest harry potter fan websites have distanced themselves from the authorjk rowling, who created the fictional boy wizard, over her recent comments on transgender issues. critics have accused ms rowling of being transphobic after she suggested that demands for some transgender rights were harmful to women. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: how new york is trying to welcome back tourists ahead of the 4 july independence day holiday weekend. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal.

scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 3h years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: us prosecutors have charged the british socialite ghislaine maxwell with grooming young girls for her former boyfriend, the convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein. texas makes wearing a face

masks compulsory across much of the state, as covid—19 cases continue to soar. china has called on the united kingdom to stop interfering in its domestic affairs. it follows the uk's offer of a pathway to citizenship to hong kong residents who hold british national 0verseas passports. this was sparked by china imposing a new national security law — which protesters say limits hong kong's freedoms. danny vincent has spoken to protesters facing big decisions. it is not new to be arrested in hong kong as a pro—democracy activist, but potentially facing life imprisonment is. tak—chi tam was arrested after taking part in a protest. he is now out on bail after being charged with the offence of illegal assembly, but he can yet face steeper charges under hong kong's new national security law. nearly 200 people inside — 200.

most of them are youngsters, and some of them are middle—aged people, and some are old ladies, old men, inside. nobody knows of the future holds, but many fear the worst. in an abandoned building, we meet brian, who isjust out of college. translation: we, the younger generation, feel hong kong's prospects are gloomy. this includes choosing your career and your personal life. even personal freedoms and basic human rights can't be secured. hong kong is constantly being suppressed. but brian has a way out. he holds a british national overseas passport, and is planning to leave. after china imposed the national security law, britain said the passport could lead to citizenship for up to 3 million hong kongers. this 27—year—old also holds a passport.

he was a member of the now disbanded political group, but he feels a responsibility to stay. translation: the main people in this social movement are those who were born after 1997. they're not like us, who are older, and have a british national overseas passport, and can easily leave. right now, i'm going to stay with my fellow protesters, to resist together. i have no plan to leave for the uk. it's not clear whether china will even allow bno holders to travel to the uk. china will reiterate that hong kong affairs are china's internal affairs, and there is no place for foreign interference. the new national security law has changed this city, and its people, overnight. a landslide at a jade mine in northern myanmar has killed at least 162 people and rescue workers fear the death toll will rise.

they died after a wave of mud and rock engulfed those looking for precious stones on the hillside in kachin state. police had warned people to not work in the area following heavy rain. jonathan head reports. shouting. sodden with rain, an entire hillside collapses into a flooded jade mine, pushing a wall of water down into the valley below. shouting. people scramble to safety, shouting out warnings. but it was too late for many of them. they pointed out people swept up in the deluge. "there's another caught in the wave!", he shouts. "they've all gone." hundreds of thousands are drawn to the mines by poverty in the rest of the country

and the possibility of striking it rich here. jade can fetch prices similar to gold. the industry has long been dominated by companies with shady links — to the myanmar military, to chinese businesses, to drug dealers and armed insurgent groups. scavengers of all ages sift through the waste left by the big companies, working and living under a ravaged and unstable landscape which they know can come down and bury them at any time. once the deluge had subsided, they could start collecting the victims — a scene that's all too familiar here. last year, two landslides claimed more than 70 lives. this looks like being the deadliest yet. the mines were supposed to be closed for the wet season,

but rules mean little in this lawless region of myanmar. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. new york city is usually swarming with tourists at this time of year, visiting for the july fourth fireworks, or a broadway show. but the coronavirus pandemic has knocked the tourism industry sideways — with international travellers grounded, and now visitors from 16 us states with high infection rates must quarantine upon arrival. laura trevelyan has this report. the view of the statue of liberty is stunning from the water and there is nothing blocking the view from the harbour cruise either. tourists here are scarce and the city is losing millions of dollars a day as citizens avoid the place that was the original heart of the coronavirus outbreak. brian manages a hotel in manhattan. most of the guests in our medical workers. american tourists are

starting to book rooms. he is working on how to be welcoming behind plexiglass. hospitality is a relationship—based industry. the mask means smiling is harder to communicate warmth and hospitality, so how do you smile and show that through your eyes? so we are talking about those things. but how to make staff feel safe is the challenge. this woman has been volunteering at a food bank since she was laid off at a hotel front desk. her union is pushing for safe conditions and she is on the fence about going back, to given the number of guests she normally sees. on a regular day more than 300 people, because people leave, people check—in. do you anticipate you will return to work injuly? i don't know how i would feel about the commute to manhattan, taking the train, so i am still waiting for that to see how it feels. new york city is one of the most popular destinations in the world usually attracting more than 60

million tourists a year. but the coronavirus outbreak has had a catastrophic impact on tourism and it is far from clear just how long the recovery will take. jonathan runs a think tank focusing on the new york economy. out in queens, at the park where the world fair was held “119611, he says the city has a history of resilience. we must go above and beyond to show that the city has a public health reform response that makes people safe in a pandemic. the good thing is new york has done this before. after 9/11 there were significant fears around the globe that people would not come to new york because of fears of terrorism. but i think the city took a lot of steps to make people feel safe. how to do that so manhattan bustles again with tourists and their dollars is the question. a coronavirus vaccine may reassure travellers. perhaps byjuly fourth next year, new york city will be its vibrant

and crowded self again. and before we go a tale of man's best friend — stranded at sea. naval officers in chile spotted the dog struggling about a mile offshore. they pulled the pooch from the chilly coastal waters, and now they're trying to find his owner. a quick reminder of our top story this hour, the former girlfriend of the convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein, ghislaine maxwell has been charged with helping to abuse underage girls. prosecutors say the british socialite played a critical role in offences committed by epstein who took his own life in prison last year while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. ms maxwell has previously denied any wrongdoing. and that is it from

me. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. good morning. we're halfway through 2020. it's supposed to be the middle of summer but the weather is very un—summerlike, unfortunately at the moment. as you can see through thursday afternoon, across the midlands and south—east england, we had a rash of showers and some of those were heavy and thundery with it as well. we did close the day on thursday with a window a finer weather out to the west, but look what is waiting in the wings. more cloud and more rain on its way, an area of low pressure will push in over the next few hours, bringing some heavy rain with it and if we look out into the atlantic, we can see that it is fairly extensive and will have a conveyor belt of wet and perhaps pretty windy weather for this time of year. it will, however, be a relatively mild start. double digits with the wind direction coming from the southwest with more of a humid feel developing

across the country. some of the rain through northern ireland and western scotland first thing in the morning will be quite heavy. we're going to see a couple of inches of rain maybe more to higher ground as we going into the afternoon and it starts to pep up across wales as well. so, this is a snapshot into the afternoon, scattered sharp showers through the northern isles. central and southern parts of scotland will see heavier rain, particularly the further west you are, the rain easing a touch into northern ireland with some heavier bursts across wales and southwest england. maybe the midlands and the southeast of england staying largely dry for much of the day, and if that happens, 21 degrees will be the high. we will see more wet weather feeding in particularly through northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england and it will stay pretty breezy to the south in particular. and because that wind direction again from the southwest, it will drag up some pretty humid air with it, so, despite the cloud, you will notice the feel when you're stepping outside. some of that rain fairly persistent through northern ireland, southern scotland,

and in northwest england and wales, and just like last weekend, pretty windy with it and unusually windy for this time of year with gusts in excess of potentially 30 miles an hour. we do manage to get a few breaks in the cloud and there will be very few and then temperatures will likely peak at 22 or 23 degrees. that humidity will start to ease for the second half of the weekend as the wind direction changes to more of a northwesterly. so, a cooler source but weather will start to dry up at the beginning of next week. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the british socialite ghislaine maxwell has appeared in court in the united states after being charged with helping the late paedophile and financier jeffrey epstein to sexually abuse underage girls. she has previously denied wrongdoing, as well as any knowledge of epstein‘s crimes. texas is making the wearing of a face mask compulsory across much of the state, as covid—19 infections continue to soar. coronavirus cases in the us have risen by nearly 55,000 in the past 2a hours, the largest daily increase in any country in the world. one of hong kong's leading pro—democracy campaigners has fled the territory following china's

introduction of sweeping new security powers. beijing has called on the united kingdom to stop interfering in its domestic affairs after britain's offer of a pathway to citizenship for holders of a national overseas passport. now on bbc news, panorama. tonight on panorama: the great testing gamble. the stakes are very high indeed. testing is absolutely critical and central to preventing a second wave now. thousands of lives now depend on the government getting testing right. we should be very concerned, until we can see there is a fully effective testing and contact tracing system in place. so why do our covid investigators have nothing to do? i have had zero cases. absolutely zero. and why haven't millions of test results been shared with the nhs?