this is bbc news, i'm christian fraser. joe biden welcomes angela merkel to the white house as the pair seek to chart a course for the future of us—german relations. but there are ongoing disagreements — the relationship with china and the russian gas pipeline �*nord stream 2�* both of which will feature in the discussions. at least 58 people have died in germany and dozens are missing after record rainfall across parts of western europe. an 18—year—old from the netherlands willjoinjeff bezos on his flight to space next week, making him the youngest person in history to do so. plus, the newly—arrived beaver that now shares a name with one of england's best known footballers.

hello and welcome. donald trump made it known that he didn't much like angela merkel — and the feeling was mutual. the relationship between berlin and washington had withstood all manner of disagreements during her 15 years in power, but president trump's increasingly hostile exchanges with the german chancellor — over nato contributions, trade, multilateralism — left the relationship in dire need of repair. it comes as no real surprise then that the first european leader through the door ofjoe biden�*s white house is angela merkel. it is her last visit to washington before she departs the job in september. and it is seen as a precious opportunity to return some stability and trust to the trans—atlantic relationship. in the next 15 minutes

we are expecting the two leaders to appear together at a press conference at the white house. anthony zurcher is standing by for us. it was said today that donald trump wasn't so much the cause of the diverging relationship as much as the symptom and it is true that the relationship had been going awry for some time. ., , relationship had been going awry for some time. . , . ., , some time. there had been challenges with the us relationship _ some time. there had been challenges with the us relationship with _ with the us relationship with germany for quite some time and i think those challenges, while they may have been accentuated during donald trump's presidency, they certainly aren't disappearing after donald trump is left office and you made note of that. the nord stream pipeline, joe biden, although he didn't impose sanctions on the pipeline his administration has spoken out against that time and time again, the question of trade and also of afghanistan and the us's military withdrawal from them. i think there were some ruffled

feathers in germany about their lack of consultation, in their view, about that withdrawal so also there were some real challenges that biden and merkel will have to discuss even though when they had a quick tv appearance before their meetings it was all talk about friendship and rebuilding relationships and the importance of a strategic partnership between the us and germany. it partnership between the us and german . , ., ., _ ., partnership between the us and german. , ., ., , partnership between the us and german . , ., ., _ ., , ., germany. it is not easy to build a relationship _ germany. it is not easy to build a relationship between _ germany. it is not easy to build a relationship between the - germany. it is not easy to build a| relationship between the wonders that don't share the same worldview and they have both that many things before. is it possible to do anything on this particular trip because of because she is doing, going out of the door and there elections in september in germany. it is as much about legacy as it is about policy? i it is as much about legacy as it is about policy?— it is as much about legacy as it is about policy? i think expectations are low and _ about policy? i think expectations are low and the _ about policy? i think expectations are low and the biden _ about policy? i think expectations i are low and the biden administration telegraph that there wasn't going to be any kind of announcement on the pipeline or any changes with that but when you listen tojoe biden talk about his view of the world and you are right it is a multilateral view and also kinda pragmatic, he

talks about this being a conflict between democracies and authoritarian governments and he sees in the biden administration sea germany in europe as a key part of that struggle standing up against china, standing up against russia. now, germany may not always see it that way but when biden talks about this this kind of conflict and need for democracies to rise to the occasion germany is a big part of that and i wouldn't be surprised if he emphasises that again in that press conference with 50 minutes, 30 minutes as the things i was kind of relate here. minutes as the things i was kind of relate here-— minutes as the things i was kind of relate here. ., ,., _, . relate here. there are some concrete ro osals relate here. there are some concrete preposals on — relate here. there are some concrete preposals on the _ relate here. there are some concrete proposals on the table _ relate here. there are some concrete proposals on the table today - relate here. there are some concrete proposals on the table today and - proposals on the table today and more about forums that they can meet in ways that they can exchange ideas. , ., in ways that they can exchange ideas. , . ., , in ways that they can exchange ideas. , ., ., , g ., in ways that they can exchange ideas. ,., ., _., �* ideas. yes and actually joe biden was asked by _ ideas. yes and actually joe biden was asked by a — ideas. yes and actually joe biden was asked by a german - ideas. yes and actually joe biden was asked by a german reporter| was asked by a german reporter during the oval office talk about whether he was going to travel to germany and he said soon i hope because he wants to work through nato and international trade organisations and work with germany

because i think that we are going to see an emphasis on cooperation between the two of them going forward particularly an issue that you might hear something about given that there was this massive tragic flooding in germany over night is climate change and how germany and the united states are both on the same stage now and both on the same page now in addressing climate change and this is something where the combined efforts of germany in the combined efforts of germany in the united states for the first time since the 0bama administration might be to make some headway. {iii since the 0bama administration might be to make some headway. of course, the eu set out — be to make some headway. of course, the eu set out a _ be to make some headway. of course, the eu set out a very _ be to make some headway. of course, the eu set out a very impatient - the eu set out a very impatient proposal to cut emissions by a passenger survey. this is bringing political analyst thomas barrow who was in berlin follows. nice to see you. let's bring in political analyst thomas sparrow who's in berlin. what do you think happened during the four years of donald trump and how has that left opinions in europe about what sort of position they

take in united states and china? particularly for germany and also european countries they do not want to be in a position where they have to be in a position where they have to choose between the united states and china, especially when you look at germany, for example, it is absolutely clear that china is a very important partner and other officials time and time again have also criticised china's human rights record at the same time and so i do expect that the situation china and in particular how to balance the relationship with china with the relationship with china with the relationship with china with the relationship with the united states with something that will be something angela merkel will be discussing and very clearly withjoe biden that has been an important issue all along only now in this... for different united states presidents and the situation between united states and china potential complex have always been on the agenda and obviously more during donald trump's time and obviously very important issue to be discussed

in between the two leads. the emphasis _ in between the two leads. the emphasis is — in between the two leads. the emphasis is on _ in between the two leads. the emphasis is on a _ in between the two leads. the emphasis is on a new friendlier tone between these two allies put bite on the eve of the meeting as if by magic to get excerpts from a new book that is out in washington, i alone can fix it in which donald trump while discussing germany and nato was less than flattering about chancellor merkel and we will put it on the screen. you will no doubt be able to work out the tone of it. in these quotes he said i know the crowds and i was raised by the biggest crowd of the mole, referring of course his father fred trump who he had a notoriously difficult relationship with —— biggest throughout of them all. biggest crowds of them all. it is throughout of them all. biggest crowds of them all.— crowds of them all. it is not headline — crowds of them all. it is not headline news _ crowds of them all. it is not headline news here - crowds of them all. it is not headline news here in - crowds of them all. it is not. headline news here in germany because the bigger story is actually the floods in the west part of the country although it may be headline

news in the united states but it is no secret either the united states in germany that the united states did not get on very well with germany of at least donald trump did not got on as well as angela merkel got on with barack 0bama orjoe biden, a politician who she has known for very long time and in fact they met at the g7 and joe biden was very positive about angela merkel stressing how important she was as a global leader. and i think the mood here in germany is to move beyond donald trump and beyond those four very difficult years and try and rebuild trust and present a very different image of a time of that relationship and obviously understanding at the same time the angela merkel will not be able to do very much when it comes to important decisions after the election in december here in germany. she will be leaving office. this visit now to washington is obviously about substance, about discussing some of those very important issues that still remain at odds between washington and berlin but also about the symbolism of angela merkel

focusing on the atlantic relationship is one that is very important for germany and by the way i would also like to highlight the v important for her personally when she was living as a young scientist behind the berlin wall in the gdr she often said she used to dream of travelling to the united states or the fact that now she is finishing her term in office after 16 years by visiting washington is certainly both important for german politics but also important for angela merkel is a politician. but also important for angela merkel is a politician-— is a politician. yeah, 16 years, four us presidents. _ is a politician. yeah, 16 years, four us presidents. it - is a politician. yeah, 16 years, four us presidents. it is - is a politician. yeah, 16 years, four us presidents. it is an . four us presidents. it is an extraordinary legacy. perfect world, of course, we would just transition to that press conference at the white house but as anthony said they are normally late and indeed out this time so if we see them appear we will take them to that. this is just talk about this floods in germany. lets talk more about those floods — latest death toll 58, dozens more missing. police helicopters and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to help residents stranded in areas where some homes were washed away. parts of belgium, the netherlands and france have also been badly affected.

there has been record rainfall in parts of western europe these past two days and warnings that there is more to come. 0ur europe correspondentjenny hill is in one of the worst—hit areas in western germany there was, many here told us, no warning. homes destroyed, lives lost in a matter of minutes. the water ripped up the roads, tossed cars aside like toys. we met margaretta just as she arrived back in the village of schult. she and her family fled last night. "at the very last minute," she says, "a fireman got us out." the family are safe, though her son was injured — he's in hospital. margaretta points out what was her neighbour's house, but she says she doesn't know what happened to them. as to her own property, half the house has gone, her daughter tells us. it#s been a devastating 2a hours

for west germany, but for belgium and the netherlands, too. rooftop rescues, people dragged to safety. homes smashed like matchboxes. more than a0 people are dead in west germany alone. others are still missing. armin laschet, who may succeed angela merkel as germany's next chancellor, said there was no doubt this is the result of climate change. translation: we will be confronted by such events again and again - and this means we need more speed in climate protection measures — european, nationwide, worldwide. in schult, they're still in shock. michal and his friend had just finished refurbishing their pub. they were supposed to open on saturday. better news for their neighbour's dog — they managed to pull him to safety just in time last night. it's hard to imagine that just yesterday, this was a quiet village street.

what's worrying people now is that there's more rain forecast this evening. what will happen, they're asking, when the water levels rise again? for now, homeless and fearful, they mourn their dead and wait anxiously for night to come. jenny hill, bbc news, schult. goodness me. such devastation. let's hope the rain keeps off tonight. in a normal year, some 12 million british people travel to france, many of us in the summer months. right now france and its neighbouring countries are on the uk amber list, which means quarantine will be waived for fully vaccinated britons returning after their holiday. but speculation was rife this week that scientists wanted the government to move france, from the amber list, to the red list, meaning uk tourists would have to self—isolate, in a government—approved hotel, for 10 days. in the end, that decision was parked. but for how long?

they are concerned in westminster about the beta variant, formerly known as the south african variant, which is spreading and far more prominent in france than it is here in the uk. latest data shows nearly 11% of cases in france are now of the beta variant. 0ther other that is dropping and has dropped from around 13%. the better news from france is that after a sluggish start, their vaccine roll—out has been turbo—charged. president macron told the nation monday that anyone going to a restaurant, a cafe or taking a long—distance train journey would need to show a vaccine pass by august. as you will see from this graph, it has focused minds. 3 million french people have booked a vaccine appointment since monday. catherine hill is a respected french epidemologist. isn't that interesting? if you put restrictions in place to encourage people to get vaccinated they tend to fall in line.—

to fall in line. yes. it was not a aood to fall in line. yes. it was not a good thing- — to fall in line. yes. it was not a good thing- it _ to fall in line. yes. it was not a good thing. it is _ to fall in line. yes. it was not a good thing. it is a _ to fall in line. yes. it was not a good thing. it is a good - to fall in line. yes. it was not a good thing. it is a good thing. | to fall in line. yes. it was not a| good thing. it is a good thing. i wonder if the _ good thing. it is a good thing. i wonder if the united _ good thing. it is a good thing. i wonder if the united states - good thing. it is a good thing. i wonder if the united states arej wonder if the united states are watching because their vaccination rates are dropping this dissipates late at the moment. —— dropping off a precipice at the moment. how much of a worry is the beat variant? i don't think it is a big problem. we are getting more and more delta variant and are getting more and more delta variantand i'm are getting more and more delta variant and i'm not sure this beta is a difference of it is not much of a problem bailey.— is a difference of it is not much of a problem bailey. they look across the channel _ a problem bailey. they look across the channel and _ a problem bailey. they look across the channel and say _ a problem bailey. they look across the channel and say we _ a problem bailey. they look across the channel and say we don't - a problem bailey. they look across the channel and say we don't have| the channel and say we don't have very much of this and we have got plenty of delta of course but i think the concern would be that we rely heavily on astrazeneca here and what is the experience of astrazeneca when it comes to the beat of any and?— beat of any and? well, that is the roblem. beat of any and? well, that is the problem- the _ beat of any and? well, that is the problem. the astrazeneca - beat of any and? well, that is the | problem. the astrazeneca vaccine does not protect very well against bbc variants but we in france, the astrazeneca vaccine has not been

used very much and is now not really used very much and is now not really used any more so it's not so much of a problem for us and it would be a problem for the uk but this data variant has been around for a long time and it's less contagious than the delta variant so delta is going to win. 50 the delta variant so delta is going to win. ., the delta variant so delta is going to win, ., , , the delta variant so delta is going to win. . , , to win. so that is interesting. so ou think to win. so that is interesting. so you think is _ to win. so that is interesting. so you think is we've _ to win. so that is interesting. so you think is we've seen - to win. so that is interesting. so you think is we've seen in - to win. so that is interesting. so you think is we've seen in the i you think is we've seen in the figures over the last 24—48 hours 13% has become 11% and it is delta thatis 13% has become 11% and it is delta that is taking over?— 13% has become 11% and it is delta that is taking over? yes. that is aood that is taking over? yes. that is good news. _ that is taking over? yes. that is good news, isn't _ that is taking over? yes. that is good news, isn't it? _ that is taking over? yes. that is good news, isn't it? do - that is taking over? jazz that is good news, isn't it? do you see a scenario from what you heard from emmanuel macron on monday, to see a scenario where those of us going to france in the summer holidays might have a problem or might need to remain wary?— have a problem or might need to remain wary? no, i think they are remain wary? no, i think they are pretty much _ remain wary? no, i think they are pretty much the — remain wary? no, i think they are pretty much the same _ remain wary? no, i think they are pretty much the same circulation | remain wary? no, i think they are i pretty much the same circulation of virus on both sides of the channel. so it doesn't make much difference.

there is still virus circulating everywhere but less and less so and more and more people are getting vaccinated and i don't know why the french media have spread the information that the french population did not want to be vaccinated. in the meantime, the population aged 70—79, for instance, is now 90% vaccinated, which is a very good number. and the other one started, got the vaccination early and so the younger population is just the youngest are getting access to the vaccine. so i am really optimistic. i to the vaccine. so i am really optimistic— to the vaccine. so i am really otimistic. ~ ., , , ., �* optimistic. i like optimism. you're welcome back _ optimistic. i like optimism. you're welcome back enough _ optimistic. i like optimism. you're welcome back enough programme optimistic. i like optimism. you're - welcome back enough programme any time that sort of optimism. good news for those who may be travelling to veg the summer. think of optimism. good news for those who may be travelling to veg the summer. thank you so much for coming on. to stay with us here on bbc news. ——

good news for those who may be travelling to france for summer. stay with us on news. still to come... thousands of troops are deployed in south africa after days of violence. government ministers says the situation remains volatile. boris johnson says levelling up the uk will be a "win—win" for everybody. the prime minister told an audience in coventry that deprived areas would benefit more from investment in education, infrastructure and regeneration. he also pledged to hand more power to local leaders. labour described mrjohnson's speech as "gibberish nonsense". there's no place in this country that does not have something special about it. something about their scenery or culture or history or tradition, some selling point unlike anything else or anywhere else in the world. and they don't think that they're left behind, and they're right. they think that they're the future, or they could be the future, and they're right about that too, and all they need is the right

people to believe in them, to lead them and to invest in them and for government to get behind them, and that is what we're going to do. 25,000 troops are being deployed by south africa after days of looting and violence which have led to the deaths of at least 117 people. the clashes were sparked initially by the jailing of the former president, jacob zuma, who had refused to appear at a corruption inquiry. but in recent days it has turned into a protest about unemployment and poverty. nomsa maseko has sent this report. residents of johannesburg protecting their livelihoods. guarding against rioters and looters since the beginning of this week. in durban, checkpoints have been set up across the city. hold it, hold it! people looking to protect themselves and their

businesses from looting. people are hungry at the moment. people haven't had an opportunity to stock up, so they're really desperate. they're desperate for milk, for food, for supplies for their kids. they don't have formula, they don't have nappies, they're just really battling. now that looting has died down, these fears over food and fuel shortages mean long queues outside shops and petrol stations. the police minister was in durban today. he admitted that the government should have put a stop to this much sooner. is it not time for the south african government and the police to admit that you have failed this country? indeed, as i am considering, that could have been better. police were definitely overstretched. by the way, south african police service are not trained for war and times of complete eruption, they are not trained for that, hence the president will supplement and say, "you go and assist them."

25,000 troops have now been promised, but there was very little evidence of this on the streets here apart from the presence of a lone military helicopter circling above warehouses that were targeted three days ago. things are a lot calmer today. people are out on the streets cleaning up but tensions are still high. i was chased away by armed residents at a checkpoint on that side of town. all i was trying to do was to take a picture to show you that that area had been running out of fuel, but they had a problem with that, saying that my presence there would alert looters to areas that have not been hit yet. singing and chanting this could well be a turning point for south africa, with many people asking themselves if the anc, in power since the dawn of south africa's democracy in 1994, still holds the key to this country's future prospects. nomsa maseko, bbc news, durban.

at the age of 18 most young people are thinking of a full—time job, a place at university... the more adventurous go inter—railing, but there's one student in denmark, who about to go embark on a trip that will take him a little further afield — in fact, to the edge of space. 0liver daemen has been revealed as the final passenger that will travel with billionaire jeff bezos aboard his blue 0rigin spaceship, which blasts off on tuesday. he will fly with bezos, his brother mark bezos, and the aerospace pioneer wally funk — who is 82. on sunday sir richard branson at the tender age of 70, made history, travelling some 53 miles above the earth in a privately—built ship developed by virgin galactic. and, much like the rockets that are propelling them skywards, the global space industry is travelling mach 3 in the right direction. a new report shows private investment in space companies hit $4.5 billion for the second financial quarter of this year —

and that is a record for the sector. tom zelibor is the ceo of the space foundation, which is behind the report. welcome to the programme. we have become so transfixed with a more mundane things here on earth we have forgotten all about the space race thatis forgotten all about the space race that is going on all around us. do you think it is as competitive and strategic as it was maybe during the cold war when the russians were launching sputnik and the americans were bringing the apollo programme? thanks for having me and there may be a bit of a space race but what i don't think we can equate it to what happened in the past. those were nations but now it is a race for economic opportunity and workforce development which i think is incredibly important to all of us on earth. ~ , ., incredibly important to all of us on earth. . y., ., ., 4' incredibly important to all of us on earth. ~ i. ., ., ~ ., earth. when you look at the investment, _ earth. when you look at the investment, i— earth. when you look at the investment, i think - earth. when you look at the investment, i think we - earth. when you look at the | investment, i think we might

earth. when you look at the - investment, i think we might have a chat, actually, to show you, you look at investment in the space industry now and that dark blue bit there is the us government investment which is actually a shrinking part of the pie. is this the future, then? has it all private sector investment that's going to make the difference? ida. sector investment that's going to make the difference?— sector investment that's going to make the difference? no, it's not 'usti make the difference? no, it's not justify that _ make the difference? no, it's not justify that sector _ make the difference? no, it's not justify that sector but _ make the difference? no, it's not justify that sector but i _ make the difference? no, it's not justify that sector but i would - make the difference? no, it's not justify that sector but i would say | justify that sector but i would say that the commercial space revenue is increasing more rapidly than the traditional government or civil spending that we have seen in the past, so it's... i think what that spells out its amazing opportunities for people for future investment and, you know, if you look at the numbers it is about $356 billion of that total number of 41m billion is in the commercial space sector which represents almost 80% of that total. at's represents almost 80% of that total. at�*s phenomenal growth. what

represents almost 80% of that total. at's phenomenal growth.— represents almost 80% of that total. at's phenomenal growth. what sort of challen . es at's phenomenal growth. what sort of challenges the — at's phenomenal growth. what sort of challenges the industry _ at's phenomenal growth. what sort of challenges the industry setting - challenges the industry setting itself, tom? is the big focus near earth the search? is a planetary research? is it moon exploration? of is it about putting a crew on the surface of mars? i is it about putting a crew on the surface of mars?— surface of mars? i think it is all the above _ surface of mars? i think it is all the above and _ surface of mars? i think it is all the above and the _ surface of mars? i think it is all the above and the way - surface of mars? i think it is all the above and the way to - surface of mars? i think it is all the above and the way to look. surface of mars? i think it is all. the above and the way to look at surface of mars? i think it is all - the above and the way to look at it, you know, we benefit on earth from all types of exploration. we benefit from new technologies being developed, whether it's military of civil and that whole system, we call it a global space ecosystem of technologies and capabilities, really are fantastic for us on earth and what it's really contributing to is an amazing job growth, for example, just in the way to france, germany, italy and the uk they added

to that workforce is about 50,000 people which is about a 53% growth over last year so as you see that it's, you know, contributing to this whole ecosystem that we like referring to and, more importantly, it really is adding to a global economy. just so you know, we have also seen some references to the global space economy growing to almost $1 trillion in the next decade and i really believe that that can happen because the increase over the last decade is a 55%. just very quickly _ over the last decade is a 55%. just very quickly because i'm almost out of time. space has been where the big powers collaborate. is that still the case?— big powers collaborate. is that still the case? absolutely. there are programmes _ still the case? absolutely. there are programmes like _ still the case? absolutely. there are programmes like the - still the case? absolutely. there are programmes like the united| are programmes like the united states— nasa artemis programme. we have more and more international countries signing on to that all the

time and i think that we do better in space if we collaborate more and i see that is what is happening now. lovely to talk to you. thanks for being with us. hello, again. a full uk forecast in a moment but first let's cast an eye on what's been going on in europe and that severe weather. here a picture from wednesday which shows a line of severe thunderstorms just locked in the same area for hour upon hour upon hour. we think the heaviest rain was towards the southwest of bonn where 158 mm of rain fell in 2a hours, now it looks to be three times the amount of rain we'd normally see in the whole month ofjuly. it was extreme rain and has resulted in catastrophic floods. the jet stream was largely responsible because we have this cut off flow over germany locked in place, couldn't move because of the general jet stream pattern. this low fed on some very humid, hot air that originated from the mediterranean.

that's what powered some of those enormous storms and the extreme weather that resulted. here in the uk, the same jet stream pattern is building this area of high pressure. we've had plenty of sunshine across most of parts of the uk today. the best of it arguably across the north and the west. we have had a bit of thicker cloud for east anglia and southeast england but that will continue to very gradually filter its way further southwards as we go on through the night. at the same time a little bit cloudy for scotland and northern ireland. these are the lowest temperatures, another quite warm night for sleeping, about 15 degrees your overnight lows. tomorrow we got more of this dry and sunny weather on the way the exception northwest scotland a very weak weather front could bring an odd patch of rain but it won't amount to much. it would just be a fleeting odd spot. 0therwise dry with plenty

of sunshine around and day—by—day many areas will see those temperatures rise. 2a in aberdeen, 23 for belfast, we are up into the mid—20s, 26, cardiff. the weekend sees more of that hot and sunny weather. the exception, the far northwest of scotland where we will probably see a few patches of rain from time to time. hotter further south temperatures climbing again, 27, 28 in london and cardiff. it's sunday that we may well see temperatures peak into the low 30s so some very hot weather across southern areas was up slightly cooler and fresher air filtering through parts of scotland. you might well find temperatures easing back a little bit here. highs of around 20 through the central belt, but as i say, further south we could see highs reaching the 30s.

this is bbc news — our top stories. any moment now — president biden and chancellor merkel are set to hold a joint press conference, the last the german leader will have with a us president before she steps down. after foreign forces withdrew from afghanistan, the un has told the bbc that the situation unfolding in afghanistan — is a "humanitarian catastrophe". trump may be out of office, but a slew of books continue to be published about his time in the white house. we'll talk to one author later. on a visit to paris

in 2018 to commemorate the 100 year anniversay of the first world war armistice, donald trump is reported to have told his then chief of staff that "hitler had done a lot of good things." the remark from the former american president is said to have "stunned" john kelly. it is just one snapshot from the wall streetjournal reporter michael bender, whose new book 'frankly, we did win this election' is out next month. mr kelly says he did "remind the president which countries were on which side during the conflict" and he "connected the dots from the first world war to the second world war and all of hitler's atrocities". mr trump has since denied ever making those comments. michaeljoins us from washington. congratulations on the book, welcome to the programme. congratulations on the book, welcome to the programme-— to the programme. thank you very much. i to the programme. thank you very much- i was _ to the programme. thank you very much. i was going _ to the programme. thank you very much. i was going to _ to the programme. thank you very much. i was going to say _ to the programme. thank you very much. i was going to say i - to the programme. thank you very much. i was going to say i am - to the programme. thank you very much. i was going to say i am glad you brought that comment from between kelly and trump because i think it is very illustrative of what this book does, it was a through line a couple of years ago at the very end of the

administration that ends with the insurrection in the us capital, the top military general and united states is concerned that the people trump is bringing into the administration have ties to neo—nazis. what this book does is get beyond the chaos narrative and show how the people around trump and closest to trump in the final year of his ministration didn't take it was chaotic, they thought it was dangerous, they thought he was a dangerous, they thought he was a danger to the comp —— to the country and reckless it his desperation to hold onto office. it was really notable on that day, i that visit to europe that he was absent from the scene. bill europe that he was absent from the scene. �* ., ., , scene. all the world leaders were standinu scene. all the world leaders were standing there _ scene. all the world leaders were standing there out _ scene. all the world leaders were standing there out in _ scene. all the world leaders were standing there out in the - scene. all the world leaders were standing there out in the rain, - scene. all the world leaders were i standing there out in the rain, they came together a little later, he is there in those pictures and they came to gather in another memorial and he was not there and of course john kelly a retired us marine corps general was it and general was appalled by it and particularly the comments he made about fallen soldiers. who

particularly the comments he made about fallen soldiers.— about fallen soldiers. who wouldn't be a- alled about fallen soldiers. who wouldn't be appalled by _ about fallen soldiers. who wouldn't be appalled by that _ about fallen soldiers. who wouldn't be appalled by that comment? - about fallen soldiers. who wouldn't be appalled by that comment? and| be appalled by that comment? and kelly's reaction was as well. "do not say that out loud ever again", he was beside himself as anybody else was. but this was just the beginning of again what develops into a kind of violent streak as it was described to me by the people around trump. he wanted to... he told his military leaders to shoot americans, the people protesting civil rights injustices injune, he want them shot in the leg. his own secretary of state was worried that he would start a war at the end of the administration at the end of his term to hold onto power. these are the stories of some of the most striking stories in the book that i think show trump in a new light if you can imagine. it was shocking to me after having covered him for five

years now. the me after having covered him for five ears now. ., ,., ., ~ years now. the title of the book frankly we _ years now. the title of the book frankly we did _ years now. the title of the book frankly we did win _ years now. the title of the book frankly we did win this - years now. the title of the book| frankly we did win this election comes" that was a quote from him, did you come to the conclusion that did you come to the conclusion that did he think by lying about it it might work or did he believe it? i think he goes back and forth to answer that question because i know that the people who were close to him them and remain close to him now work with him on a regular basis, they don't know the answer to that question. and i am glad you brought it up because what this book does that no trump book has done to date is not only go behind—the—scenes of the white house and the campaign headquarters and decent sort of fly on the wall moments but i also embedded for two years with a real hard—core segment of the trump base, the folks that have been the 30, 40, 50 rallies to figure out what was that kept bringing them back. and a sense of community. he made their world bigger and meet people like

minded and they had biggerfamilies and more friends. but at the end this, one conclusion is that these people were just misled along the way. one of these true believers, one of these diehards is deathly ill, sure he has covid but will not go to hospital to get a test because he doesn't want to add to trump's numbers, he doesn't want to, positive or even be negative and have a negative test shows up as of this is where the thinking is from trump's supported by the end of the year. trump's supported by the end of the ear. ., .., trump's supported by the end of the ear, ., . ., ., trump's supported by the end of the ear. ., ., _, ., trump's supported by the end of the ear. ., ., ., ., year. you recall a conversation that ou had year. you recall a conversation that you had with _ year. you recall a conversation that you had with him _ year. you recall a conversation that you had with him private _ year. you recall a conversation that you had with him private -- - year. you recall a conversation that you had with him private -- prior. year. you recall a conversation that| you had with him private -- prior to you had with him private —— prior to one of these covid briefings and you say in the book that he wasn't really prepared or well briefed and in fact he wanted to blame you for holding his attention rather than reading those briefings and he was notoriously cavalier about covid and the threat of covid to his own health. and that of his staff. so take us back to the walter reed incident. how ill was he and how ill

was he when he returned to the white house? he was he when he returned to the white house? . . was he when he returned to the white house? . , . , was he when he returned to the white house? ., . , , .~' house? he was incredible he sick. i think this book— house? he was incredible he sick. i think this book gives _ house? he was incredible he sick. i think this book gives a _ house? he was incredible he sick. i think this book gives a more. - think this book gives a more. picture of that then we have seen to date and i believe there is still more reporting to be done, still some open questions on exactly what happened those few days but he was very, very sick. and i have one anecdote in here where he wants to put on airs that he is still strong and still healthy and he carries his back into the hospital but as soon as the door closes, he drops it exhausted and he's sick with covid. so as soon as he drops his bag, other staff take a step backwards. finally his chief of staff kind of shrugs his shoulders, leans down and picks up trump's back and brings it into the hospital room and that's when trump told him later, "that's when trump told him later, "that's when i knew you were my guy." and thatis when i knew you were my guy." and that is the type of where the test happening in this administration. aha, happening in this administration. a fascinating book, thank you for

coming on to the programme, michael bender. the un has told the bbc the situation unfolding in afghanistan is a "humanitarian catastrophe". there's been a sharp rise in violence across the country as foreign forces have withdrawn from the country. one report suggest the taliban now has control of a third of the country. but a senior afghan official said today the taliban have proposed a three—month ceasefire in return for the release of about 7,000 prisoners. the bbc has travelled to the strategically important kunduz province, in northern afghanistan. all of it, except the provincial capital, also called kunduz, has fallen to the taliban. the un says 35,000 freshly displaced people have arrived in kunduz city in just over a month. yogita limaye reports from there with the production team of sanjay ganguly and mafouz zubaide. decades of suffering that has now become even more brutal. in kunduz city besieged by the tablet band,

tens of thousands of afghans reflect a surge in violence. running from bullets and bombs. —— by the taliban. caught between insurgents and government forces. scared, hungry, and homeless. in 45 degrees heat. people rushed to us. to tell us their stories. it is nearly impossible to count how many they have lost. this woman said six of herfamily were have lost. this woman said six of her family were killed a few weeks ago including her husband and four sons.

more is devastating people across the country. as the taliban gamer territory every day and foreign forces leave. this woman's husband and three children were killed when and three children were killed when a mortar hit their home. this baby is malnourished, she said. her other son barely speaks. he has a shrapnel injuries and struggles to walk. there are among hundreds here who have had to run for their lives more than once. she will fled from her bro district to the widespread area of kunduz city,, that got bombed. all of her three sons were killed.

we went to where she fled from. we saw signs of battle and evidence that a part of the city is no longer under the control of these soldiers. this is a position of the afghan government forces and then just across the bridge on the other side there is territory controlled by the taliban. we are in the city of kunduz but in recent weeks, this has become a front line. the spaces that people can run two for safety are shrinking every day here. the critical care unit of the kunduz hospital was full of the war wounded. many simply aren't able to get here. abdul was caught in an explosion where he went to get

fodderfor his family explosion where he went to get fodder for his family bonsai coats. 14 years old, he has lost his hand and has serious injuries to his abdomen and wake up. this patient's condition is really... _ abdomen and wake up. this patient's condition is really... six-year-old - condition is really... six-year-old ma am condition is really... six-year-old maryam has _ condition is really... six-year-old maryam has a _ condition is really... six-year-old maryam has a bullet _ condition is really... six-year-old maryam has a bullet washing - condition is really... six-year-old maryam has a bullet washing her| maryam has a bullet washing her spine. hit as she and her family ran in their home to hide when a gun battle broke out. 50 in their home to hide when a gun battle broke out.— battle broke out. so the bullet is still lodged _ battle broke out. so the bullet is still lodged inside _ battle broke out. so the bullet is still lodged inside the _ battle broke out. so the bullet is still lodged inside the spine? - battle broke out. so the bullet is| still lodged inside the spine? she will survive _ still lodged inside the spine? ’sie: will survive but still lodged inside the spine? 5ie: will survive but she still lodged inside the spine? 5“ie: will survive but she will not still lodged inside the spine? 5ie: will survive but she will not be able to walk.— will survive but she will not be able to walk. ,, ., , ., , ., even the hospital was hit by mortars a few days ago he told me. more than half of afghanistan once people need immediate aid to just survive. many feel abandoned by their government and departing foreign troops.

0utside outside the camp, another family arrived. there was for them. even the fragile safety of the basic content is hard to find. real fear realfear in real fear in afghanistan at the moment of the situation the way it is going. yogita limaye reported, thanks to her. it's been nearly two months since an indigenous community in the canadian province of british columbia announced it had discovered the buried remains of an estimated 215 children on the grounds of a former residential school. today its leaders say they expect more graves to be found as the search continues and have called on the government to release school attendance records to help them identify the remains. there have been several similar grim discoveries in recent weeks and they have re—focused attention on the brutal legacy of canada's residential school system. the bbc�*s barbara plett usher has visited the province of saskatchewan to find out more.

for decades, the site of the muscowequan residential school filled indigenous children with fear and dread. today, it is a haunting reminder of a dark period in canadian history. six years old i was imprisoned here. isidore and three of his brothers were students in the late 1970s. he remembers strict rules and harsh punishments. around 150,000 indigenous children were sent to such schools, cutting them off from their families, traditions and language. it was a government programme but often run by the church. "cultural genocide" is what an official commission called it in 2015. what happened when you spoke your language here? i got hit, i got hit like everybody else that spoke the language here. we got beaten, you know? we got called names, you know? bad names — "dirty little savage".

a number of unmarked graves were found at muscowequan before the recent discoveries. stories of such graves were common among the students. the son of a survivor, he told me that his dad buried a kid over there just over those hills. a child from the school? a child from the school. he buried a child over there. the findings from searches at residential schools have renewed calls for justice and open old wounds. and opened old wounds. in the northern city of prince albert, survivors are reliving the trauma, talking about it openly like never before. at least we know now what happened to the students that did not return to school. the ones that did not return home. we never talked about it... cries

you never talked about it? we never talked about it, no. just kept silent. because we were afraid. indigenous leaders have finally begun to get government support for further grave searches, but they are also demanding accountability, access to archives, an apology from the pope, even an international investigation. there was a crime against humanity, a crime against children that no—one should everface. there was torture, abuse and death in those institutions. and someone somewhere must face the consequences. some catholic bishops in saskatchewan also want the vatican to act but stress that apologies are not enough. a big step towards reconciliation is a new understanding of our history in this country.

we're talking about the deepest historical wound in this country. and if it's complicated and messy to address it today, that's because that wound is deep and profound and has never been dealt with well. at another residential school site in the province come of that history in the province, that history is now painfully visible, marked out grave by grave. momentum is gathering to search for the truth across canada. barbara plett usher, bbc news, saskatchewan. terrible. there is so much we need to know about that story and we will keep going back to it. shall we lighten the mood a little? let's do that. asking the british public to name things is a recipe for trouble. do you remember the debacle that surrounded the £200 million polar research vessel which the country decided should be named boaty mcboatface. yes. well maybe we have learnt our lesson.

or maybe not. the national trust put out an appeal this week for the public to name a six week old kit, a young beaver, the first beaver to be born on exmoorfor 400 years. and the great british public have responded. it will be called rashford — after the england footballer marcus rashford. thousands of people responded to a social media poll. and the holnicoat estate have honoured the vote — so rashford it is. which is a nice sentiment after the abuse marcus received this week. but it got me thinking i am not sure it is the right name for a beaver because beavers build defences and of course marcus rashford demolishes them. it would have been better with a name likejustin, justin beaver. stand in your suggestions. stay with us on bbc news, still to com — how one tv anchor navigated the tricky situation of a lighting failure in the studio. england footballer bukayo saka has released a statement — addressing the racist abuse he received on his social media accounts following his penalty miss

in the euro 2020 final. it comes as instagram admitted a mistake in its technology meant racist comments and emojis were not removed. instagram boss adam mosseri said content had "mistakenly" been identified as within guidelines instead of being referred to human moderators. in his statement, saka wrote... "i knew instantly the kind of hate that i was about to receive "and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms "are not doing enough to stop these messages." the head of instagram made the comments following a post from the bbc�*s tech reporter cristina criddle. yeah, so i actually reported some comments on saka's instagram on monday. they were emojis of orangutans. i reported them and i received an instant notification saying that the technology had found that these comments probably didn't violate guidelines which i found very strange, so i then went to the head of instagram adam mosseri and i said, "look at these comments.

"why have they been found to not violate guidelines or probably found "to not violate guidelines?" and he said that was a mistake, that the technology was marking these comments as "benign" which meant that they weren't being followed up for a human review and they weren't being taken down. he said that this technology is now being fixed and that instagram was taking all of these reports very seriously and that they would be following them up properly. well, i think that we know this has been an issue for awhile. racist abuse on social media is nothing new. and even earlier in the year, some liverpool players were complaining that they were receiving monkey emojis on their instagram posts, but we have to remember that instagram has more than1 billion users and the sheer amount of content on there is huge and that's a very hard thing to moderate. you can't do it with human moderators alone and they are trying to find a technological fix for this, but they haven't found a true solution yet which can catch it all.

here's a first—class story about the world's rarest stamp, the mona lisa of the stamp world, that has just been for £6.2 million. it is believed to be the world's most valuable man—made item, most valuable man—made item. victoria lajer is the managing director of philately — the collection and study of postage stamps — at stanley gibbons who bought the stamp. its provenance is it was made in british guyana in 1856 due to a shortfall arriving from london, which is where they would usually get their stamps from, and they ran out far too quickly. 50,000 were supposed to arrive and only 5,000 did. so, they asked the local newspaper to print some emergency supplies whilst they waited for the next shipment, and, you know, that's how it was created. it was a very short run and as soon

as the new stamps arrived, they were quickly tried to be taken out of circulation. so, it's the last one of that batch? it is. it is the last one. has it ever been licked? has it ever been put on an envelope? it has. it's been used, yes. it has been used. that was actually on a newspaper — the one—cent rate at the time was for newspapers and the four—cent rate was for letters. right, yes, i can see it now. it's a little bit scruffy if you don't mind me saying. it's... it's had a hard life in some respects. i mean, you know, it's 1856, it's very old. obviously it was, it was used, it was sent on a newspaper and luckily, luckily it was kept and it was found and there begins it's very rich and colourful story of how it then ended up here. actually, today it arrived at stanley gibbons in the strand this afternoon.

it has taken me a little bit by surprise, this, because my old headmaster who used to run the stamp club at school and sold me some quite expensive stamps always told me that a penny black or a penny red was the most expensive stamp in the world. not the most expensive. certainly, the penny black was the most well known. 60 million plus were actually printed, so there's actually quite a few that survived to this day. what makes a penny black, sort of, a bit more expensive is the quality that they're in today, so you can buy a very, sort of, less... very not so good one for, you know, under £100, but you can also pay £12,000. it's all about the condition. right, so you wouldn't swap one of mine for your british guyana one, then, that's what you're saying?

i think i'll keep the british guyana for the moment, given that it's only been in the building a few hours. who's going to look after yours? because you don't spend £6.2 million on a stamp and leave it lying around, do you? no. we obviously house a lot of stamps in our building, so we have a vault under the offices and it's very secure — fully alarmed, cameras, you know, security is a... is, obviously, of great importance to us and our stamps so it's in a happy home. extraordinary thing, with so much money for one little stamp. in this business we are always at the mercy of the technology. it really is lights camera action, and it doesn't always go right — in fact, it hardly ever goes right. so hats off to this news anchor in germany who was introducing a segment about richard branson's trip to the edge of space when this happened...

three, two, one, release, release... somebody up stairs thinks this is funny. 0k, somebody up stairs thinks this is funny. ok, but somebody up stairs thinks this is funny. 0k, buti somebody up stairs thinks this is funny. ok, but i am ready for them. i think i am ready for them. how do

i think i am ready for them. how do i do this? there you go. i promise. i do this? there you go. i promise. i promise i will never complain again about the cameras that go flying around this building or the whites that don't work on me. i promise. —— the lights. hello there. full uk forecast in a moment, but let's take a look first at what's been going on in europe and these catastrophic floods. well, we've had a slow—moving weather system that's really locked torrential falls of rain in the same area for hour after hour. the heaviest rain was just to the south—west of bonn, where the wettest areas picked up 158 mm of rain, and that looks to be about three times the amount of rain we'd normally expect in the whole of the month ofjuly, so it has been extreme rain and we've seen catastrophic floods hitting some communities as a result. now, the reason that system didn't move around at all was because we had this upper area of low pressure. that brought the thunderstorms which fed on very moist air that had originally come

round off the mediterranean. but, meanwhile, in the uk, we're underneath this ridged part of the jet stream. air descends down through the atmosphere and collects at the earth's surface — well, we call that high pressure, and that's going to be with us for the next several days, bringing a prolonged fine spell of weather. now for friday, the thickest cloud will be across the north—west where a very weak weather front will threaten an odd patch of rain, but that's the exception rather than the rule. for the majority, there will be sunny skies, and a lot more in the way of sunshine for central and eastern england compared with thursday. now the temperatures are going to be a little bit higher again. we're going to see that day—by—day, really. 24 in aberdeen, highs of 26 for birmingham, for cardiff, and for london as well. then friday evening and overnight, most of us will keep those clear skies, and after a warm day, those temperatures will be very slow to fall away, so, it'll be quite warm still when you're perhaps heading off to bed time, but these are the lowest temperatures right at the end of the night, around 15 or so for parts of england and wales and also further north in parts of scotland. well, the weekend is set fair

as well — that area of high pressure is still with us — but weak weather fronts continue to pester the far north of scotland bringing an odd spot of rain, again not amounting to much. it certainly won't be very heavy. for most of the uk, it's sunny and it's getting hotter as well, 25 in aberdeen, 22 in belfast, still warm in the sunshine, here, but further south, 28 for cardiff and for london, and it looks to be on sunday that we'll see the day's highest temperatures, probably across the south where we could see highs of around 30 celsius in the very hottest areas. i know that heat is not everyone's favourite but it is going to be heating up nevertheless. further north in scotland, you'll notice the temperature just beginning to come down a little bit. there is the potential of seeing some slightly cooler and fresher air moving in here with some slightly lower humidity values. 0n into monday's forecast again, it's a largely dry picture with lots of sunshine around, perhaps a rogue shower — definitely not a certainty though. most of us, i'm sure, will stay fine, and those temperatures still on the warm side of average for the time of year

and could, potentially, feel a bit hotter than this. now looking at the forecast beyond that, deeper into next week, the main uncertainty, really, is how quickly high pressure moves away and low pressure starts to move in off the atlantic. now, i was talking about this this time yesterday, that the models are pretty good up until wednesday, so we've got quite a good run of forecast reliability until then, but from wednesday it gets a little bit more shaky. so, if you look at the forecast and see some thicker cloud and some patches of rain — well, what i'd say is quite often these hot and sunny spells last a little bit longer than the models think they're going to, so it could be that it stays sunny and hotter a little bit longer yet. that's your weather.

tonight at 10 — more than 65 people have been killed in flash floods in western europe after record rainfall. most of those who died were in germany — where a torrent of water swept away buildings, bridges and cars — dozens are still missing. go, go, go! in belgium — surrounded by water — part of a house is swept away in seconds — a mother and son find themselves trapped on the first floor. the german chancellor angela merkel has called it a catastrophe and linked the events to climate change. also tonight... a stark warning from the un — the situation unfolding in afghansitan is one of the worst crises in the world. we are in the city of kunduz, but in recent weeks, this has become a front line. the spaces that people can run to for safety

are shrinking every day here.