successfully launches. we start with china's ambassador to the uk denying reports that his country is carrying out a programme of sterilisation of uighur women in the western part of country — xinjang. reports and eyewitness accounts

have accused china of trying to reduce the uighur population by forced sterilisation. the uighur muslims are the largest ethnic group in china's far west xinjiang region. china denies human rights abuses there, but there's evidence of mosques being destroyed — as you see in these before and after pictures — and uighurs say they are subject to intense state surveillance. britain's foreign secretary, dominic raab, said there were ‘gross and egregious‘ human rights abuses going on there and that he found it deeply troubling. it comes amid a rise in diplomatic tension between the two countries over a new national security law in hong kong, and the british government's decision to ban the chinese company huawei from the uk's 56 network. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has the story. hong kong in crisis. the protests have been going on for months and the future of britain's former colony is straining relations. imposing new security laws undermining hong kong autonomy has dramatically escalated tensions between beijing and the west. as britain prepares to step up its response, a warning from china. if the uk government go that far, goes that far to impose sanctions on any individuals in china, china will certainly make resolute response to it.

but britain feels it must act when it can no longer trust the independence of hong kong's legal system. i said we will conduct an interview of our extradition arrangements and also a range of other measures that we wish to take. i've now, with the home secretary and the rest of government, completed that review, i will update the house of commons with further measures will be taking tomorrow. david cameron talked about a golden era with china, but the relationship has deteriorated badly in recent months and is not beset by problems on several fronts take huawei, last week the government banned the compa ny‘s technologies in britain's 56 network because of security concerns. a u—turn prompted by pressure from the americans. there are fears now of the potential economic fallout of british business, other countries including the us, japan and australia have paid a price forfalling out with china. china has sanctioned commerce, trade and companies of those

countries operating in china. so, to be honest, it is difficult to predict what china might do with regard to the united kingdom, but we may have to expect that the british companies will be in the cross hairs. with china is doing to its uighur minority has caused international outrage and men have been forced into mass re—education camps, women forcibly sterilized. dominic raab said the human rights abuse were egregious and deeply, deeply troubling. the ambassador was shown video that appears to show bound, blindfolded men being forced onto a train. this was his response. what is happening here, ambassador? i do not know where you got this video clip. these have been going around the world, there have been authenticated by western intelligence agencies and by australian experts who say that these are people being put in on trains and taken off. the so—called western

intelligence make this false accusation against china. in hong kong, the protests go on despite coronavirus and the government here must weigh up its human rights as well as its economic and diplomatic interests. a difficult balancing act. the united arab emirates has launched its first space mission, using japanese rockets to send a spacecraft on a five— hundred— million kilometere journey towards mars. the robotic probe, called hope, is due to study the red planet's weather and climate when it arrives next february. to date, only the united states, europe, india and russia have managed to put a craft into orbit around mars. the mission is being overseen at the dubai space centre. our correspondent sameer hashmi is there. is sameer hashmi is there. a very long journey to ma so

is a very long journey to mars, so this first stage was successful, what are the next steps that will be watching for? we know about the next stage very soon because what happens after the launch is within a couple of hours, once the spacecraft reaches a certain distance, it separates itself from the rocket and then itself from the rocket and then it starts sending signals to the control room over here. so, thatis the control room over here. so, that is very critical moment in this launch phase because if the control room starts receiving those signals, it means so receiving those signals, it means so much as been successful in the can focus on the rest of the journey which isa the rest of the journey which is a long one and would take seven months of it. we're waiting for the announcement will be in the next few minutes where it has reached that critical point in sending signals back to the control room. the uae is doing something that few countries have managed to do in that is put a craft into orbit around mars. this is bold, ambitious and also quite risky. it is

risky, but it is a very ambitious project and if you look at the last mission programme, announced six years ago and within a short span of time, they partnered with other countries and put together the craft and launch it towards mars. in the countries point of view, it is notjust about science, much more than that, they want to use this project to inspire the young people of the country to start taking up science in school, which will help them build a knowledge—based economy in the future, away from the oil on which their economy relies on this point of time. they need to inspire the young people to start taking up interest in this. but there is also a political angle to it. if you look at the region, israel has been the leader of space flight. been the leader of space flight. they have their own space project but that is not been very successful, israel has launched on satellite, and

they also said a few satellites in the past few years, but this is clearly one of the programmes launches in the region and if it is successful, the space in this region will definitely heat up. we already have saudi arabia announcing that they will be in their own space programmes and from that point of view, things will only get interesting as far as the space race goes going ahead. what are scientists hoping to learn and what type of information will this be sending to earth shallow it is going to take several minutes? it will be going around mars foran it will be going around mars for an entire martian year which will be 37 earth days. gathering critical data on the atmosphere in the climate of mars, why, for example, why has reduced on the planet and this information will be used by

scientists to make more discoveries about the red planet that will be helpful in the future. that is where the main objectives of this mission when we talk about science. thank you for keeping the cross for us andi thank you for keeping the cross for us and i and she will keep us for us and i and she will keep us up—to—date for any developments. in the united states the number of people who've died with covid—i9 has passed 140 thousand — almost a quarter of the global total. but president trump has dismissed evidence from johns hopkins university that the us has the world's seventh highest mortality rate from the disease. in an interview with fox news, he insisted — incorrectly — that his country had one of the lowest rates. for some analysis on the claims being made by president trump, here's our north america correspondent peter bowes. america's sunbelt is being hit hard. southern and western states are dealing with a big surgeon coronavirus cases and lockdown restrictions are back

in force. but president trump insists that the us is the envy of the world for the way it is dealt with covid—i9. again, playing down the seriousness of new outbreaks of the disease and suggesting the skill of the problem is being exaggerated by the media. many of those cases are young people that will human the day, we see them with the sniffles and weak market down. it's around 99.7%, people, people are going to get better and better quickly. in a contentious interview, he denied a high death rate from the virus in the us was to blame for the country's continuing isolation from europe. the european union has us on the travel ban. what we will do, we have a travel ban too. i close them too. i was going to do the european union very early, but when you talk about mortality rates, i think it is the opposite. i think we have one of the lowest mortality rates. that is not

true, sir. we have 90 deaths in a single this week. can you please give me the mortality rate. she is right here. i heard we have one of the lowest, may be the lowest mortality rates anywhere in the world. df the numbers for us? because i herby had the best mortality rate. this is... the data from the university, does not support the president's claim. it is mortality rate in the us is higher than many other countries, although the uk is worst affected. president trump also defended his decision not to enforce the use of facemasks around the country. no, i want of facemasks around the country. no, iwant people of facemasks around the country. no, i want people to have a certain freedom and i do not believe in that. no. i do not believe in that. no. i do not believe in that. no. i do not believe that if everyone wore a mask, everything disappears. the doctors that do not wear a mask. our surgeon general said do not wear a mask, everyone was saying do not wear a mask and now

eve ryo ne not wear a mask and now everyone has to wear a mask. and as you know, masks cause problems too. i am a believer in mask sniping masks are good. this is the new at the centre for covid—i9 and there is little masks here. florida is facing a growing crisis, although the streets of this party town are still busy. of the persistently high number of cases and states, miami beach is under curfew. we have a lot of visitors, a lot of visitors we re of visitors, a lot of visitors were not complying with the mandates of the orders to wear a face cover and to have that social distancing. so, we are hoping that by closing, we actually toned down the party and will allow these people to go back to their hotels wherever they are staying and possibly keep everyone else around them and everyone in our city safe. in these 14 us states are reporting record numbers of people being admitted to hospital with coronavirus so far this month. with president trump impeding his view that the virus will

eventually disappear, there is little sign of it happening anytime soon. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: how the worst locust infestation in asia in decades could see numbers increase a further 20—fold if swarms are not tackled before the coming rainy season.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines. china is denying an accusation by britain's foreign minister that it's carrying out human rights abuses against its uighur population. president trump has defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, incorrectly telling fox news that the us has the lowest mortality rate in the world. huge swarms of desert locusts are wreaking havoc in parts of east africa, asia and the middle east, threatening crops,

livelihoods and food supplies. it is already the worst locust infestation in decades, but the forthcoming rainy season could see numbers increase a further 20—fold in some places if swarms are not tackled. i'm joined now by muhammad tariq khan, the technical director for at pakistan's department of plant protection. you're concerned that a swarms near somalia could cross the india ocean and arrive in your country and others in the region — what is your fear abotu what will happen next? desert lotuses are the typical behaviour of the locust to respond to the rainfall. we are having the second breeding season of the locusts in pakistan and we believe that there will be two in this season and it is expected that

400 times it will increase during the desert locus number. and so, as you know, the desert locus is something we need to have a level, multiple levels we have been working together on this issue which includes the surveillance of control activity through ground operation, and close coordination with the regional countries. we have a commission for controlling desert locus and under that, we have been closely working with india, pakistan, iran and afghanistan. we have had weekly meetings and the desert locus situation is closely discussed with each other for early

closely discussed with each otherfor early warning. forgive me for interrupting. i just want to get a sense of what the impact on food supplies and food security would be if no action is taken? serious repercussions will be there because both are agricultural base countries. summer crops and winter crops will be effective. and at the time of the planting, the time we are investigating. in the summer, we have the crops which area summer, we have the crops which are a lifeline for the pakistan population in india. and if this is not done in a timely manage, the community efforts, and to establish a control sector, and we have so far, we

have surveyed an area of 400,000 km2 in pakistan, and we have control an area of 10,000 metres in pakistan. so, we have been working on it and we believe that the initial locus programme should be strengthened and it should be more equipped with modern technology because we believe that because of the ongoing environment, the locus issue will be there and that needs a close collaboration from the provincial institution, from the government institution and the government institution and the community. we have been working on that. thank you for bringing us up to speed on what is been done and we wish you the best of luck in your

endeavours. thank you for your time. eu leaders are struggling to reach an agreement, on a massive coronavirus recovery plan, to help european economies. the talks in brussels have already run into a third day, and are still going on this evening, with no consensus on what conditions should be attached, to any aid package. here — the prime minister boris johnson says he'd be extremely reluctant, to impose another nationwide lockdown, if there's a second widespread wave of coronavirus infections this winter. it comes as a senior health official in the north west in blackburn and darwen, a borough with one of the highest infection rates for covid 19 in england, has warned the current test and trace system, isn't working well enough. here's our health editor, hugh pym. blackburn today. part of an area which has seen one of the biggest recent increases in coronavirus cases. it's been identified by national health officials as needing enhanced support for tackling the virus. the local council has introduced its own measures,

including limiting household gatherings. i think the two metre distance has more or less gone, but that's not the council's fault. that's down to silly people, isn't it? we need to take control of the virus, you know, and, yeah, i think, i think at the end of the day, everybodyjust needs to obey, you know, by the rulings. an investigation is under way at a blackburn mosque after about 250 people attended a funeral. there has been a positive test result, and the congregation contacted. mosque leaders say there was a misunderstanding over the guidelines for a limit of 30. in communities like this, the test and trace scheme is vital. finding people who have been in contact with those who have tested positive, and telling them to self—isolate. but the local public health chief said today the national system wasn't yet effective. we could risk seeing an exponential growth, because up to half of

the people that may have been infected by an index case, by the first case with the virus, will themselves not know they are infected or at risk of infection and get tested and self— isolate. the department of health said the test and trace service was working closely with local authorities in england, to help manage local outbreaks and data was shared daily. in the weekend ending july eighth, officials managed to get through to 78.7% of those who tested positive. that was up slightly on the previous week. they were asked to give details of their recent contacts. of those, 71.1% were reached and asked to self—isolate. that was down slightly. in total, since the scheme was launched in late may, 156,000 contacts have been traced. speeding up test results and getting to more contacts is seen as crucial as winter approaches. experts say this is especially important in places where infections are seen to be on the increase.

there has to be very large testing in those areas, with tracing, to be able to keep the epidemic under control. and certainly, i think that is where that, if you like, rise in the ability of us to test and the number of tests is incredibly important. a cluster of cases linked to a call centre has been identified at bellshill near glasgow. ironically, part of the test and tracing system. another example of the local outbreaks which health officials around the uk are striving to identify and stamp out. over the weekend the metropolitain police in london released this footage from an ilegal rave. the bodycam footage shows officers trying to break up the partyjust after midnight on friday. some people hurled bottles and canisters at officers. last month the met police commissioner, cressida dick, promised to break up events in london that break

coronavirus regulations. meanwhile in canada, fans of the band ‘monster to rock out at a safe distance at a drive—in concert. the event space is designed to host at least 200 vehicles in parking spots spaced a minimum of two metres apart. china has raised its flood alert levels in the country's east to its second highest — as rivers threaten to burst their banks after days of torrential rain. heavy downpours have swept across china for weeks — officials say millions of people have been relocated, as reged ahmad reports. the massive yangtze river in china's east. the water has spilled out over embankments, inundating homes and low lying areas. it is flowing freely into cities, submerging cars and turning streets into rivers of their own. this is the result of heavy downpours in this area and authorities are warning there may be more to come.

we have 40,000 people guarding the dam to ensure that all of the embankments that have seen high water levels are being monitored. china has raised its flood alert levels to the second highest, after days of torrential rain have caused water levels in reservoirs to rise sharply. there is concern about surrounding provinces as the river flows through major agricultural and densely populated areas. china isn't alone. the wider region is feeling the impact of those heavy rains. in india's capital, new delhi, firefighters had to rescue people trapped in their cars from fast rising floodwaters. and parts of neighbouring bangladesh have been hit by monsoons, submerging farmland and villages. all of this flooding comes at a time when countries like bangladesh are trying

to come to grips with covid—19, making lockdowns difficult. there are also fears the impact of china's flooding could be felt further afield. scenes like these during the rainy season are not uncommon, but this time the flooding could disrupt global supplies of chinese goods being used to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. more heavy rain is expected to fall. reged ahmed, bbc news. you can see some of the stunning pictures on that story on the bbc news website. a reminder of our top stories... china is denying an accusation by britain's foreign minister that it's carrying out human rights abuses against its uighur population. president trump has defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, incorrectly telling fox news that the us has the lowest mortality rate in the world. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ aaron safir.

temperatures by day will be close to average this week. we start the week with overnight temperatures below average. quite chilly, first thing monday morning. temperatures will head up. afairamount of sunshine out there. high pressure settling things down to start the week. around that area of high pressure will be some showers, especially in scotland. these are the starting temperatures for monday morning. widely in single figures. these are towns and city centres, colder in the countryside. well into single figures in the more chilly spots. some cloud is going to build. for scotland a mixture of cloud and sunshine. most of the showers north of the central belt. northern ireland and northern england may

pick up a shower later. the bulk of england and wales will stay dry with the lion's share of the sunshine for south wales and southern england with some spots creeping into the low 20s. as for the cricket at old trafford, looking like a not particularly warm monday for the final day, a mixture of cloud and sunshine with the chance of picking up a brief passing shower. monday evening, any showers that forms will tend to die away. they will continue on and off in northern scotland overnight. for most of us it will be another dry, clear and chilly night going into tuesday morning and again on tuesday there will be a lot of sunshine to start the day. there is a chance of catching a shower again more especially across parts of scotland with the odd one may be found elsewhere, northern ireland and northern england, with cloud thickening and a chance of patchy rain to the further north and west you are through the day. temperatures, a few spots

getting into the low 20s in some sunny spells but most will not get that high. there is a weather system coming on tuesday night into wednesday and as these weather fronts moving it will bring rain into northern ireland and scotland and on wednesday reaching for a time into northern england. thursday and friday, the chance of a shower, and then into next weekend, it looks like low pressure will come back, temperatures coming down a few degrees, and we will see rain spreading east. goodbye.

this is bbc news, the headlines

china is denying an accusation by britain's foreign minister that it's carrying out human rights abuses against its uighur population. it comes amid a rise in diplomatic tension between the two countries over a new national security law in hong kong. president trump has defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, incorrectly telling fox news that the us has the lowest mortality rate in the world. the number of people who have died with covid—19 has now passed 140 thousand — almost a quarter of the global total. the united arab emirates has launched its first space mission, using japanese rockets to send a spacecraft on a 500 million kilometere journey towards mars. the robotic probe, called hope, is due to study the red planet's weather and climate when it arrives next february. chelsea will play arsenal in the fa cup final after beating