emma vardy, bbc news, larne.by from gloucester has become one of the first nhs patients in england to be treated with a potentially life—saving drug. riley cadle—birch was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at just four weeks old. it means he can't lift his head because his muscles are so weak. but he's now undergone specialist gene therapy at bristol children's hospital. matthew hill reports. the nurses call him "smiley riley" — and he has a lot to smile about, after being given the world's most expensive drug. he has spinal muscular atrophy, or sma, a condition which causes progressive muscle weakness. without treatment, those affected rarely reach beyond the age of two. this is when he was really poorly. we had to intubate him and put them on life support for three days. in those three days, we had them christened and registered because we was all preparing for the worst. this single infusion should prevent further loss of nerve cells. the list price of this drug is about £1.8 million, about the nhs has ne

emma vardy, bbc news, derry. and his journalist wife sarah vine are to separate after nearly 20 years of marriage. a statement said the couple — who have two children — had decided to end their relationship and were in the process of finalising their divorce. the england squad has arrived in rome ahead of tomorrow's euro 2020 quarter final against ukraine. fans have been urged not to travel there because of coronavirus restrictions, but some who live in italy will be at the game. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks is in rome. in the summer heat of rome, tourism is getting back in the swing. legend here says one coin in the fountain means you'll return to rome one day, but for a lucky few england fans who live here, their wishes have already been granted. we're lucky and we feel lucky and we can't wait to go tomorrow. we can't wait! friendsjoe and matt have both lived in rome for more than 15 years and have managed to get tickets. one of the fans that follows england, 0k, constantly, they deserve the ticket mo

here's our ireland correspondent, emma vardy. explosion.nd's past still haunts many families today. the vast majority of victims were killed by paramilitaries and around 10% by british armed forces. there are hundreds of investigations into decades—old cases still taking place. but now the government's announced it will bring forward legislation to ban all prosecutions in cases up to the peace deal in 1998. we know that the prospect of the end of criminal prosecutions will be difficult for some to accept, and this is not a position that we take lightly. but we've come to the view that this is the best and only way to facilitate an effective information retrieval and provision process. the plans would apply to former british soldiers as well as paramilitaries and would move towards a system in which families can be given information about their relatives' deaths. but it's opposed by political parties on all sides in northern ireland and victim's groups are angry. 0ne campaigner, whose brother was killed by the british army on bloody sunday,

emma vardy, bbc news, larne.t in straight sets by poland's hubert hurkacz, who has reached his first grand slam semifinal. but the defending champion novak djokovic sailed into the semifinals, where he will play the tenth seed denis shapovalov on friday. our sports correspondentjoe wilson was watching the day's action. all may imagine it, precious few reach it even once. only one man has won wimbledon eight times. roger federer has unmatched history here, but nothing stands still. poland's hubert hurkacz, seeded 14, moving in for a winner, and the set followed 6—3. second set went to a tie—break and at points, when it seemed federer was poised to strike back... commentator: oh, he's slipped! he is 39, he is human. still a shock to see. second set to hurkacz. now federer was trying to summon something but finding nothing. commentator: he has dragged it down into the net. _ centre court rose before the end as if to be sure they could do this one more time. federer had prioritised wimbledon, tried to be ready, but w

emma vardy, bbc news.n, are facing a lifetime of imprisonment in camps and jails in north—eastern syria. a bbc investigation has found that the children, whose parents supported the islamic state group, are being moved from desert camps to secure children's homes and then on to adult prisons. britain has repatriated only a handful of children from syria, mostly orphans. the kurdish authorities in charge say they can't cope, and that very young children are being radicalised there by is. the bbc�*s middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville, reports. from the smiles... ..and the giggles... ..you wouldn't know that these children are prisoners. this is home for the last children of the islamic state group. it's the same camp where shamima begum is held. inside, i meet two brothers. they're british, but their mum has been stripped of her citizenship. because it's in the past now... some countries are taking children back, but only without their mums. there are nearly a dozen british children in this camp.

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh.und. the 21—year—old said it was a dream come true. he has become the second most expensive english player of all time behind his new united team—mate harry maguire. and finally she is the youngest member of team gb�*s athletics team in tokyo. at the age ofjust 19 keeley hodgkinson has burst on to 5the scene, an 800—metre runner who has produced some extraordinary performances in the last few months. at the start of this year she wasn't even lottery funded. now she has high hopes of bringing home a medal, as jo currie reports. for most teenage athletes, running in a senior international race means gaining experience. for 19—year—old keely hodgkinson, it means medals. keely hodgkinson- needs to stay strong. can she win the gold? she's going to get it! this is her winning the indoor european 800m title earlier this year, and she's now heading to the tokyo olympics as the youngest member of the great britain athletics squad, after also winning the british trials, where she beat compatriot

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.oss the city are bewildered by the decision of unesco, the un's cultural body, to strip liverpool of its status as a world heritage site. liverpool was awarded the title in 2004, recognising its rich heritage as a major trading centre and port, and its architectural landmarks. but the world heritage committee says that developments on the city's waterfront have resulted in "irreversible loss". our correspondent colin paterson spent the day there. liverpool, a city with ambitions to build and regenerate, ambitions which have led to it being stripped of its unesco world heritage status after a secret ballot. the site of liverpool, maritime mercantile city, is deleted. the title brought prestige and helped attract international tourism. liverpool was chosen because of its history as a trading centre and the splendour of its waterside buildings. it has been removed as unesco believes new developments have led to a serious deterioration of landmark areas. liverpool are playing the victim he

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh.british athlete to look out for over the next few weeks. she is the youngest member of team gb�*s athletics team in tokyo. at the age ofjust 19, keely hodgkinson has burst onto the scene — an 800—metre runner, who has produced some extraordinary performances in the last few months. at the start of this year, she wasn�*t even lottery—funded. now she has high hopes of bringing home a medal, as jo currie reports. for most teenage athletes, running in a senior international race means gaining experience. for 19—year—old keely hodgkinson, it means medals. keely hodgkinson- needs to stay strong. can she win the gold? she's going to get it! this is her winning the indoor european 800m title earlier this year, and she�*s now heading to the tokyo olympics as the youngest member of the great britain athletics squad, after also winning the british trials, where she beat compatriot laura muir. just a sense of relief, really, because i really wanted to get that automatic qualification. because only

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. our top story this evening...government pays an extra £54 million to french authourities to increase their patrols. and buried for 167 million years — the uk's largest ever find of jurassic sea creatures is unearthed in the cotswolds. coming is unearthed in the cotswolds. up on sports day on news channel. coming up on sports day on the bbc news channel. crickets's newer and shorter format makes its debut tonight with the first women's game of the hundred. we will be live at the oval. the opening events of the tokyo 2020 olympic games have taken place, two days ahead of the formal opening ceremony on friday. thousands of athletes have arrived injapan for the games, which will be held without spectators, as cases of coronavirus continue to rise. in rio in 2016, team gb finished second in the medal table, and our sports correspondent natalie pirks has been catching up with some of the british athletes. the wait has been a long one, but today tokyo finally welcomed the start of an 0lympics that many thought would neve

emma vardy, bbc news, larne.ed by unidentified armed men around 1am local time. the first lady was also injured in the attack. the interim president has called for calm and declared a state of emergency. one of the most celebrated actors in indian cinema, dilip kumar, has died at the age of 98. his roles from the 1940s onwards won him more awards than any other indian performer. india's prime minister, narendra modi, said his death was a "loss to the cultural world". the government is relaxing the rules on a temporary basis to allow lorry drivers to work for longer without a break. unions and businesses have been reporting a shortage of workers. during the pandemic thousands of european drivers went home and many hgv driving tests were postponed. it has been confirmed that an extra £20 a week, which was added to universal credit during the pandemic, will be phased out in the autumn. 0ur correspondent nick eardley is in westminster — and that decision is causing some unease amongst backbenchers? it is, because thi

emma vardy, bbc news. coastal city of durban from where our south africa correspondent nomsa maseko reports. dramatic scenes in durban show the extremity of desperation of those people caught in the middle of this mayhem. people caught in the middle of this ma hem. ., , people caught in the middle of this ma hem. .,, ,. ., ., mayhem. people were screaming, throw her! she threw— mayhem. people were screaming, throw her! she threw her— mayhem. people were screaming, throw her! she threw her child _ mayhem. people were screaming, throw her! she threw her child to _ mayhem. people were screaming, throw her! she threw her child to safety - her! she threw her child to safety after her home _ her! she threw her child to safety after her home was _ her! she threw her child to safety after her home was allegedly - her! she threw her child to safety after her home was allegedly set | her! she threw her child to safety i after her home was allegedly set on fire by looters. i after her home was allegedly set on fire b

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh.rice of coffee beans has gone through the roof. arabica coffee futures have risen around 25% in a week to their highest in more than 6.5 years. so what's behind the record spike? there has been a big frost in the minas gerais region, the prime coffee—growing region of brazil. pedro dias is a brazilian coffee farmer who has been badly affected by the bad weather. thank you very much for coming on the programme. hi. thank you very much for coming on the programme.— on the programme. hi, how are ou on the programme. hi, how are you doing? _ on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good _ on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good evening. - on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good evening. i - on the programme. hi, how are you doing? good evening. i am| you doing? good evening. i am sorry about _ you doing? good evening. i am sorry about the _ you doing? good evening. i am sorry about the bad _ you doing? good evening. i am sorry about the bad weather i sorry about the bad weather

emma vardy, bbc news.the pontiff who is 84 has no appointments for the next month other than his usual sunday blessings. these images show him walking unassisted along the court or of the ward reading children, parents and doctors. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. our weather is going to become sunnier and warmer over the next few days as high pressure builds in, but before we get there, we do have some cloud that's drifting its way southwards overnight. what that cloud will tend to do is it will stop temperatures from falling, and so for some, it's going to be quite a warm night for sleeping. temperatures, for example, in liverpool dropping no lower than around 16 celsius. so, quite a warm start to the day on thursday already. there will be more cloud for england and wales slowly breaking with some sunny spells coming through during the afternoon. for northern england, parts of northern ireland and certainly most of scotland, there will be quite a lot of sunshine aro

emma vardy, bbc news, larne. it is half—time for the football. approached. that is the current score now, england has equalised in the 39th minutes as raheem sterling scores. in other news, the easing of restrictions in england will cause a summary of cass according to labour. roger better�*s hopes of winning a wimbledon title and in the quarterfinals. whoever wins tonight's match, will be in the final sunday at wembley. they won last night in a hard—fought match against spain. they go in unbeaten in the last 33 matches. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen reports now on the celebrations and the excitement ahead of the final. as midnight struck, italy dared to dream. with the winning penalty against spain, elation and relief for a country now on the cusp of its first european title in 53 years. daytime brought hangover cures in the way italians do best as they digest this special moment. it means a lot because italy didn't win in european championships since 1968, and if we win... we celebrate until we die, i think! after italy's year from hell, wi

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.d in clashes this year and hundreds of thousands are homeless. un peacekeepers pulled out of the region after 13 years on the ground, with some 20,000 sudanese troops promised to replace them. but they have not yet arrived, leaving people feel afraid and hopeless. 0ur africa correspondent reha kansara sent this report from el geneina in west darfur. the sound of a hard—earned peace falling apart. in the after maths and micro and's suppose a new era of calm. and it is not a pile of rubble —— darfur. calm. and it is not a pile of rubble -- darfur-— -- darfur. they burned all the houses and — -- darfur. they burned all the houses and when _ -- darfur. they burned all the houses and when we - -- darfur. they burned all the houses and when we tried i -- darfur. they burned all the houses and when we tried to i -- darfur. they burned all the i houses and when we tried to flee into the street, they shot my brother and he fell down. we tried to stand up, they shot him again. they killed him in

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh.ima aden, the world's first hijab wearing supermodel, meets us fashion designer tommy hilfiger to talk diversity and how to go beyond tokenism to see real change. halima aden made catwalk history when she became the world's first hijab wearing supermodel. featuring and campaigns are some of the biggest names in the fashion industry. i biggest names in the fashion indust . . ., ., industry. i had never got to experience _ industry. i had never got to experience flipping - industry. i had never got to experience flipping through industry. i had never got to - experience flipping through magazine seeing somebody in a hijab, somebody i could relate to. so to be that person for other girls was just a dream come true. but person for other girls was 'ust a dream come true.�* person for other girls was 'ust a dream come true. but over time, halima felt _ dream come true. but over time, halima felt the _ dream come true. but over time, halima felt the industry - dream come true. but over time,

he has been talking to our correspondent emma vardy.find a solution, practical solution. there are two things about the practical solution that matter. the first is, what is the solution? i think a veterinary agreement would be a big step in the right direction. but more important than that is trust. if we are to find a way forward, there has to be trust. and trust is the word that's come out of all the discussions i've had here in northern ireland. you say we need a veterinary agreement. the kind of veterinary agreement that the eu wants would do away with around 80% of those checks over the irish sea border but that would require the uk to be aligned with lots of eu rules on food. the uk government says it doesn't want to be bound to the eu in this way, it needs to be freed up, it will inhibit its ability to do trade deals with other countries. so how can you justify advocating an approach that keeps us bound to eu rules when many people will say they voted to break away from that? well, we have got to find a practical solution. we ca

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh.: arina is applying to become nina's russians with special needs live with thousands of others in huge care homes. this is the story of one of them. hello. after another fairly warm and mostly dry day on friday, things are now changing with the weather. we've got some heavy showers and some thunderstorms moving their way in from the south—west and through the course of the weekend, it's going to turn cooler and fresher with some downpours for some places, particularly towards the south. that's down to the fact that this area of low pressure is pushing its way in, and that's going to generate some really heavy downpours at times, some showers, some thunderstorms as well. and if you do catch some of those thunderstorms, they could bring some disruption to travel — particularly across parts of southern england and south wales, there is a risk of some localised flooding. so as we head through saturday morning then, initially the heaviest of the downpours will be close to the south coast an