this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm rajini vaidyanathan president trump says he's sending federal agents to chicago to fight violent crime — and what he calls the "radical left". vision for american cities could not be more different from the lawlessness being pushed by the extreme radical left. despite the country recording more than a thousand coronavirus deaths in one day — the president also insists schools get back to normal. tensions between the world's biggest powers escalate, as the us orders china to close its consulate in houston. million of poeple are displaced by torrential monsoon rains in india, nepaland bangladesh.

president trump is sending federal agents to chicago and other us cities, to fight what he says is "violent crime that's spiralling out of control." this comes after federal law enforcement officials were controversially deployed to portland, to put down protests there. the president is acting against the wishes of local leaders, who say he's provoking a constitutional crisis. here's how the president and his attorney—general explained the move. there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle, and dissolve our police departments. we have just started this process, and frankly, we have no choice but to get involved. we have initiated this programme, operation legend, to step up the activity of our task forces, our anti—crime task forces

in the hard—hit cities by committing more federal agents. welljoining us now on this is our correspondent david willis who is in los angeles for us. david, los angeles for us. tell us more about this. it's david, tell us more about this. it's a hugely controversial move for a start. very controversial move, virginia, because it comes across is what a lot of democrat officials, mayors and so on want to see. they believe this is a political move on the part of the president to is trying to position himself as the law and order candidate going into the election in less than four time —— four months' time. the deployment of hundreds of federal agents, the agents from the fbi, drug enforcement agency and so on, to chicago and albuquerque, new mexico, initially, at least some of those two cities, and perhaps

others— to help quell the rise in street crime. chicago is a case in point. it's seen a massive escalation in the amount of street crimes so far this year, and just yesterday, tuesday, 15 people were shot and wounded outside a funeral parlor there in what officials believe was a another act of gang violence in chicago. now, local leaders say that the president is provoking a constitutional crisis. what reaction have we had from various state governments or other local politicians? well, you are absolutely right. the president says that these democratic officials are, as he puts it, losing control of their cities, they have advocated their duties in this regard he says, in regards to safety on the streets and so on. he has accused democratic politicians of joining the crusade against the police. this is all, of course, in the

wa ke this is all, of course, in the wake of the death of george floyd at the hands of white police —— police officers back in may, and that spawned the black lives matter protests and calls for defunding of the police. now, president trump has consistently accused his democratic rival, joe biden, of wanting to defund the police in the united states. of course, thatis the united states. of course, that is not something that mr biden has actually said he intends or wants to do. nonetheless, it gives you some idea of how political office has become in the run—up to november's election. there are many people in america who are out on protests who want the police to be defunded. what is their argument behind that? well, their argument is that additionalfunds— this well, their argument is that additional funds— this is something joe biden has actually hinted out— additional funds can go towards other areas of social care, helping with mental illness, for example. perhaps weakening the

responsibilities that the police have in that regard. at its highly controversial, of course, it has led to some police forces already having cuts made to their budgets will stop los angeles to police department being one, new york as well. it is a highly controversial move, and the police argued that it simply handicaps them when it comes to combating crime. of course, it wea ke ns combating crime. of course, it weakens police morale. a very divisive issue with very strong views on both sides of the debate there. david willis, thank you very much. at his latest coronavirus briefing in the last few hours, donald trump reiterated that he wants schools in the united states to reopen, adding that he would be comfortable with his son, barron, and grandchildren attending them. as the figures continue to spike in southern and western states, the president urged young people to avoid packed bars and to take other steps to limit the spread of the virus. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. dance music.

i'd say 70 to 100. after months of lockdown, it's perhaps not surprising they are partying like it's 2019. but in florida, night—time curfews have had to be reintroduced because coronavirus is ripping through the state. last week, there were more new cases in this one state per day than there were in the whole of the european union. and the health system is buckling. it's the same story in texas. in the past couple of weeks, hospitals have been overwhelmed by the rising number of new cases and it's taking a toll on those on the front line. we are trying our best to keep everybody healthy and alive. and when it's out of our hands, it's out of our control, we sometimes feel helpless. how do you deal with that? we cry. we talk to each other. we embrace each other and try to be the best that we can. as cases in the us have soared, so donald trump's poll

ratings have slumped, and, belatedly, he is extolling the virtues of mask wearing. and last night he gave a sombre briefing about the state of play. it will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better. something i don't like saying about things, but that's the way it is. it's the way... it's what we have. you look over the world, it's all over the world. but much of the rest of the world would argue with this assessment. let's look at daily new cases in germany, italy and the uk and compare those to the us. germany eased its lockdown in late april, followed by italy in early may and the uk in mid june. what they have in common is all three countries were well below a recommended benchmark of fewer than four daily new cases per 100,000 residents. the us saw a slight decline in case numbers but wasn't even close to that benchmark when the first states let their lockdown expire on april 30th. nor by may 15th, when half of americans lived in states which had eased restrictions.

and by may 31st, 47 states — representing 90% of the population — had lifted lockdowns. one area where the president has claimed huge success is over testing. but testing is only effective if it is matched by contact tracing. and many americans are waiting so long for their results that it makes contact tracing virtually impossible. john sobel, our north america editor there. let s get some of the day s other news... china has evacuted thousand of residents in hubei province — after some of the heaviest rainfall in decades triggered a landslide. it blocked part of the yangtze river, creating a lake that threatens to submerge several villages. officials say they're monitoring the giant three gorges dam, which has been storing huge amounts of water to help ease downstream flooding risks. the united nations is warning that people in war—torn yemen do not have enough to eat. a report by two un agencies says the number of people facing acute food insecurity

in parts of yemen will rise to more than three million by the end of 2020. reports from afghanistan say air strikes in eastern province of herat have killed 45 people, including civilians and taliban. local officials say at least eight civilians were among the dead in the attack afghan forces in the area. the government is now conducting an investigation into allegations of civilian casualties. floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains have displaced millions of people in india, nepal and bangladesh and caused widespread damage. the floods, described as the worst in the area in years, have killed over three hundred people in the past few weeks. forecasters are warning of more rains in some parts of the region, already battling to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus. anbarasan ethirajan reports. nothing can stand in the way of the mighty brahmaputra — the river has burst its banks in several places in the northeastern

indian state of assam. the result: vast areas are submerged and millions have been affected. floods are an annual event here, but this year, the impact has been devastating. living conditions are basic, and the people have lost most of their belongings. translation: the situation is very bad here. everything has been damaged. 0ur houses have been ruined, the cattle are dying and we are facing difficulty getting food. tens of thousands of people have been moved to safety. the challenge is to provide them with essentials, as many roads have been cut off by the floods. the region is already travelling with the coronavirus, both the displaced and rescuers are at risk. ——the region is already grappling with the coronavirus, both the displaced and rescuers are at risk. we are facing the dual challenge of covid and floods at this time, and we have to take all the precautions. let us not forget that india personnel also to protect

themselves before they protect others, and in the process, some of them may have been infected. many have reluctantly come to these shelters — fearing for the safety of their household items and cattle. the floods have also inundated vast areas of the world—famous nature reserve — home to the worlds largest population of one horned rhinos. as their habitats are submerged the animals rush to higher grounds. at least nine rhinos have died so far — along with hundreds of deer and buffalo. further downstream in neighbouring bangladesh, officials say almost one—third of the country is underwater. the heavy rains have swollen both the brahmaputra and the ganges. some say these are the worst floods in a decade, and they are praying for respite . in nepal, landslides have caused havoc in the mountainous regions. more than 120 people have been killed in landslides alone in recent weeks —

dozens are still missing. all this happening when the economies of the region have been crippled by the coronavirus lockdowns — adding to the despair of millions of people in this region. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a rare public appearance for the duke of edinburgh, as he gives up one of his military titles, after almost 70 years. he's coming down the ladder now. that'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 malfunctioning 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 president trump says sends federal agents to chicago and other cities to tackle what he calls spiralling violent crime. the trump administration has ordered china to close its consulate in houston —

in the latest escalation of diplomatic tension. the state department said, it was acting to protect intellectual property and private information. firefighters were called after reports of documents were being burned in the courtyard, but were apparently not allowed into the building. this is the explanation the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, gave for closing the consulate. we are setting out clear expectations of how the chinese communist party is going to behave and when they don't, we are going to take actions to protect the american people, our security and also protect our economy and jobs. that is the actions that you are saying taken by president trump and will continue to engage with this. here's the reaction earlier from the chinese foreign ministry at the daily news briefing. translation: china strongly condemns this outrageous and unjustified move to sabotage china—us relations. china orders the us to immediately withdraw its wrong decision, or china

will definitely take the proper, necessary response. former us ambassador to china, max baucus explained why he thought closing the consulate was a bad idea. i think that the united states closing the houston consulate isa closing the houston consulate is a huge mistake. it's a further escalation in a dismal relationship between the us and china. it force china to retaliate, they will probably close another american embassy in china, who knows where. i worry, frankly, there will be further retaliation if president trump him as he said in today's press conference, did not rule out closing another consulate in the us. so it's not good. the other thing that struck me as the potential federal forces going into chicago and otherjurisdictions in the united states. this to

me kind of sounds like the president running a line order campaign. my honest view is that this is causing more violence than it's solving, and trump doesn't mind that, because it enables a lot of vote rs because it enables a lot of voters to see donald trump as protecting us. victor gow, vice president of the china based think—tank, centre for china and globalisation, said it was sending all the wrong signals to beijing. this is a sign of extremism, desperation and hysteria on the pa rt desperation and hysteria on the part of the washington government. this is to be condemned and to be deplored. this leaves china with no other option but to reciprocate and to retaliate by closing a us consulate general in china. both the chinese people and the american people are going to suffer the consequences. this is not the way to demonstrate courage, vision or leadership

in the united states. if washington really wants to demonstrate their leadership, focus on fighting on the coronavirus will stop focus on saving more american lives. focus on preventing more american people from getting infected by the pandemic — rather than barking up the wrong tree, rather than hurting china — us relations by closing consulate general. the actress, amber heard, has claimed her ex—husband johnny depp, threw bottles at her "like grenades", during an alleged row. she's been giving evidence in mr depp's libel claim against the sun newspaper, over an article that labelled him a wife beater. ms heard also accused mr depp of repeatedly assaulting her, fuelled by drink and drugs, on a trip to australia, claims he denies. david sillito was in court. amber heard, and day three of her account of her relationship withjohnny depp. this case, brought by johnny depp, is a libel action against news group newspapers after an article by the sun

described him as a wife—beater, a statement based on claims by his former wife, amber heard. i grew up in texas, riding horses. it was this appearance on a chat show in 2015 that was the focus of questioning. amber heard says beneath her make up were two black eyes and a broken nose. injuries she says were inflicted byjohnny depp. amber heard was questioned about evidence from a person who helped prepare herfor that tv appearance, a stylist who said she saw her without make up and without any visible injury. amber heard says she was mistaken — she was already wearing make up. the injuries had already been covered up. and another make—up artist today told the court it was she who had covered up the injuries that it is claimed are visible in these photos. also, questions about evidence from a nurse, who, it was said, had seen an injured lip but no bruising. amber heard said, "i had bruised ribs, bruises all over my body, bruises on my forums from trying to defend the blows. i had two black eyes.

she says she had serious doubts about going on television with what she says were significant injuries. johnny depp says there were no injuries. indeed, he strenuously denies all the allegations of assault. david sillito, bbc news. the us and the uk have agreed to end a legal loophole that allows the family of us diplomats to claim immunity from criminal prosecution. this comes after anne sacoolas, the wife of an american diplomat, was involved in a car crash that killed 19—year—old harry dunn last august. she was allowed to return to the us, and now can't be extradited to britain. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins. harry dunn was 19 years old, on his motorbike, when he was hit and killed by a woman apparently driving on the wrong side of the road last august. it happened close to the american british airbase raf croughton in northamptonshire.

the driver was anne sacoolas, wife of an american official posted to the intelligence base. northamptonshire police wanted to arrest and charge her with causing death by dangerous driving. the united states said they couldn't, citing diplomatic immunity, and anne sacoolas went home. today, the foreign secretary said the anomaly had now been changed by agreement with the us. we have still got a long way to go... even though it is not retrospective, harry's mother, charlotte charles, told me she is delighted. we're really pleased that they've worked as hard as we hoped they would have done to make sure that the loophole has been plugged. sadly, it doesn't bring harry back, but it certainly will make sure that another family won't suffer the injustice that we are so far suffering. harry's mother has even been to the white house as part of a campaign to get anne sacoolas back from the us to face trial. but the united states has refused an extradition request

and still won't budge. the foreign secretary hopes the closing of a legal loophole will at least bring the family some comfort. i understand the heartache for them. agony and the anguish and the fact that the process they are going through to get justice for harry adds further pain and frustration. we are on their side. we feel there is a denial ofjustice being done here. the united states has relied on a massive loophole in a secret and botched agreement covering the airbase. it meant many us officials gave up diplomatic immunity, but their families, including anne sacoolas, remained protected. one of the points we have always made to both governments is, it's absolutely, you know, it is an absolute nonsense to argue what they are trying to argue, which is that she should have her own separate, independent bubble of immunity, when we all know that immunity of dependents derives from the immunity of the diplomat

himself or herself. despite all the campaigning by harry's family, today's announcement doesn't mean anne sacoolas will face trial but harry's mother says they will fight on and she thinks harry would be proud of them. harry, i don't think, would have expected anything less of us. and i really hope that we have done him proud with today's outcome but we have still got a long way to go, but, yeah, he wouldn't have expected anything less. charlotte charles, the mother of harry dunn ending that report from james robbins. britain's duke of edinburgh has made a rare public appearance, to officially relinquish a military role, he's held for almost 70 years. prince philip who's 99 has handed over the title of colonel in chief of the rifles, to the duchess of cornwall. 0ur royal correspondent, jonny dymond has more. fanfare. no more parades. for nearly seven decades,

he has led the rifles and the regiments that came before it. now, it was time to say farewell. but first, a thank you from the assistant commandant general. all ranks, all riflemen, whether serving or retired, would like to thank you for 67 years of continuous service. fair winds and following seas, he was wished. that made an old sailor smile. the duke has never much liked ceremony, but has always had time for the enlisted men of his regiments. today, a last chat with those saying goodbye. more than 80 miles away, the baton was passed on — a new colonel—in—chief, the duchess of cornwall. camilla's father fought and was decorated in the desert rats, which became part of the rifles. now, she will be their honorary leader. the duke's retirement

from public life was in 2017. then, he said his farewells to the royal marines. hip, hip, hurray! he has had some brushes with ill—health since then but was at his granddaughter beatrice's wedding last week. today, standing almost as ramrod straight as the men of his regiment, he gave one more goodbye. jonny dymond, bbc news. qantas is the latest airline to retire its fleet of boeing 7a7s. after 50 years of flying — the lastjumbo left australia for the final time. but the pilots had one last idea. they traced the qantas logo — a kangaroo — into the sky before the jet continued on its journey over the pacific ocean. while the twists and turns of the jumbo jet would have looked pretty strange to those watching with the naked eye, as you can see the drawing could clearly be seen online, on flight tracking websites.

the jumbo jet will now join others from the airline in retirement in the moh—hah—vee desert. —— mohave desert. fans of the english premier league champions liverpool have finally got to see their team presented with the trophy. no fans were of course allowed inside the stadium of course but the club built a stage on the kop stand and hundreds gathered outside the stadium and around the city to watch on televisions in bars. the police had already warned fans not to gather outside the stadium as did several liverpool legends. but some ignored that advice well, a very well—done to liverpool and what a strange football season in these of coronavirus. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcrajiniv of course, all the rest of the headlines, if you want more on those, go to our website. thanks for now.

hello there. cloud is thickening up once again from the atlantic. it's set to bring in more rain mainly for the middle third of the uk. some areas stayed cloudy and damp throughout the day on wednesday and, as a result, it was quite cool, as well. we had a temperature of 26 celsius in london, but the sunniest weather was in bournemouth with almost 1a hours of sunshine — probably not as much sunshine though for thursday. it will be quite a cloudy start to the day with temperatures around 12—14 celsius. and we start with some outbreaks of rain mainly across northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england, and wales. that'll be quite heavy for a while, gradually turning lighter and more patchy through the day. we get some sunshine more widely across scotland and northern ireland towards the southeast. perhaps even into the midlands, it may well stay dry,

but there'll be more clouds around so it won't be quite as warm — still 23—24 celsius. we are looking at some showers to come into the southwest of england, still damp into wales, some more rain across northern england, so quite a cool day here — although the far north of england improving later on. we'll have some sunshine in the afternoon across northern ireland and more widely in scotland, so a warmer day here at 19—20 celsius. but still some rather sharp showers in the northeast and up towards the northern isles. those will tend to ease off a bit during the evening, this light and patchy rain by this stage heading down towards the midlands, eventually later on in the night towards the southeast of england. the weather front bringing that will be very weak and, as we move into friday, we are in between two wet weather systems — a transient system of high pressure before that weather front increases the cloud and brings in rain from the atlantic. but many places will have a dry day on friday. could be a fair bit of cloud, particularly across southern parts of england and south wales, the odd shower here with 1—2 showers further north, perhaps into north east england and scotland. then we get later on into

the day some rain pushing in from the west across northern ireland. ahead of that, 20 celsius through the central belt of scotland, and we're back up to 25 celsius in the southeast of england. as we head into the weekend, we're dominated by low—pressure sitting close to the north of the uk. that weather front will tend to move through, taking some heavy rain away and then it's showers following on behind. it certainly looks like saturday will be the wetter day, and those showers could be heavy and thundery. a much drier day on sunday for eastern parts of england, with the bulk of the showers in the north and west of the uk.

this is bbc news, the headlines... donald trump is sending hundreds of federal law enforcement officers to fight what he calls rising violent crime in american cities. he said he had no choice but to act, following anti—racism protests. 200 federal agents have already been deployed to kansas city — a similar number will be sent to chicago. china has reacted angrily to the us ordering the closure of its consulate in houston. beijing has theatened to retaliate, saying it was a political provocation that would jeopardise relations. the americans said china was using the consulate as a centre for its spying operations in the us. the actress amber heard has claimed her ex—husband, johnny depp, threw bottles at her "like grenades" during an alleged row. she's been giving evidence to a court, where mr depp's bringing a libel claim against the sun newspaper after it labelled him a "wife beater". now on bbc news,

it's time for hardtalk.