sarah corker reports.rarely makes the headlines now but it is far from over. every day, italy is seeing more and more people arrive. most come from africa, fleeing war or poverty and these are the latest to be rescued at sea, exhausted but alive. so far this year, 2,000 people have died trying to reach italian shores and the un refugee agency says it is an unfolding tragedy. in a statement, filippo grandi said: he said europe had to organise a system for distributing migrants urgently. it comes as italy is threatening to close its ports after nearly 11,000 migrants arrived in just five days last month. and the european union says it is ready to do more to help. we are ready to increase our support to italy, including substantial financial support if needed. all member states now need to deliver and show solidarity towards italy. the situation is said to be unsustainable. at least 200,000 places for migrants have been filled and since 2014 the country has seen half a million migrants arrive by boat. and the

they also target north korea and iran, as sarah corker reports. i, donald john trump do solemnly swear... throughout his first six months in office, president trump has been dogged by allegations that moscow interfered to help get him elected. this new bill is likely antagonise the kremlin and complicate mr trump's plans to improve relations with russia. on this vote, the yays are 419, the nays are three. these tougher sanctions passed overwhelmingly by the house expand restrictions on doing business with russian companies, and limit the president's authority to roll back the sanctions. we simply cannot allow any foreign power to interfere in our electoral process. given our president's complete unwillingness to hold russia accountable for their attack — let's not mistake it for anything else, it was an attack on america — it has become necessary for congress to assert its role in this area and ensure that russia will be held accountable. russia has denied any meddling in the election and prior to tuesday's vote, its foreign ministry said: and thi

sarah corker reports. crowd chanting "constitution ! ".of protests, in dozens of polish cities, and split the country. in warsaw, crowds gathered outside the supreme court as unease and anger about the government's plans to give the justice minister and mps braod powers to sack and appointjudges. that set poland and the eu on a collision course. in brussels, the eu commission said it would sue poland and strip the country of its voting rights if it goes ahead. the first time such a sanction would be used. we have now finalised a comprehensive legal analysis confirming that four laws, as adopted by the polish parliament, would have a very significant negative impact on the independence of the polish judiciary and would increase the systemic threat to the rule of law. earlier this week, poland's president duda vetoed two of the most controversial bills, including one would would fire all supreme court judges but, despite his vito, poland's right wing government remains defiant. translation: poland will not tolerate any blackmail and pressure

sarah corker, bbc news.care, one of donald trump's big election issues, a senate vote on tuesday opened the door for, well, further debate. republicans have been struggling to decide whether to repeal and replace president obama's affordable care act, immediately, or repeal it with a two—year delay, to give time to find an alternative. john mccain returned to capitol hill for the first time since he was diagnosed with brain cancer, to urge all senators to work together. i hope we can again rely on humility, on our need to co—operate, on our dependence on each other, to trust each other again — and by so doing, better serve the people that elected us. stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and internet. to hell with them! and the fate of the us attorney general appears to be hanging in the balance, he was for a long time one of mr trump's closest allies, but now the president has called him weak and said time will tell about his future. mr trump is very publicly seething about

sarah corker, bbc news.frescoes of the sistine chapel in stunning new detail, after a five year digital, photography project. we will have more pictures for you. mission control: you can see them coming down the ladder now. armstrong: it'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 malfunction of 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's surprise decision to ban transgender people from serving in the us military, caus

sarah corker reports. in the narrow, winding streets of mosul, fighting is fierce and difficult. there are no more than 300 militants from the so—called islamic state left, now holding onto just a few streets in the west of the city. commanders also warned they are facing more suicide attacks. their way of fighting now is with explosive belts, booby traps and other things. they use female suicide bombers. yesterday, for women blew themselves up yesterday, for women blew themselves up near the troops. yesterday, there we re up near the troops. yesterday, there were 17 suicide bombers. -- format. the operation to retake of mosul was launched in october. —— to retake mosul. this area is now deserted. the months of battle have taken a huge toll on the civilian population, still fleeing with whatever they can carry. the un has said that islamic state may be holding thousands of people as human shields. for those who have escaped, the aid is limited. meanwhile, this ship deployed from the us in the mediterranean has played a leading role in the bombing campaign in iraq and syria. fight

sarah corker reports. heavy rain started to pound parts of guangxi province on saturday.er. flooding across swathes of southern china is affecting more than i million people. the rescue operation is relentless. in this region, more than 90,000 people have been forced from their homes. it has also triggered landslides, a torrent of debris buried parts of this village. further east, sections of this yangtze river are five metres higher than normal. there is huge pressure on a major dam. we received the command yesterday afternoon and we organised 85 soldiers for an emergency operation. we need to balance the water pressure and avoid collapse. water levels have risen to dangerous levels. more than 50 people have been confirmed dead. major roads are blocked, railway lines and electricity cables have been damaged. at this nature reserve, rescuers are searching for missing tourists near a waterfall. they walked all the way up, 200—300 metres upstream. there are steep slopes and dense forests there. many streams converge to make the waterfall. floods kill dozens of people every

sarah corker reports. heavy rain started to pound parts of 6uangxi province on saturday.w under water. the flooding across huge swathes of southern china is affecting more than 1 million people. and the rescue operation is relentless. injust this one region, more than 90,000 people have been forced from their homes. it has also triggered landslides. a torrent of mud buried parts of this village. further east, sections of the yangtze river are five metres higher than normal, putting huge pressure on a major dam. translation: we received the command yesterday afternoon, and organised 85 soldiers with 32 sets of equipment for an emergency operation. we plan to construct a dam within three days, to balance the water pressure and avoid collapse. water levels in at least 60 rivers have risen to dangerous levels. more than 30 people have been confirmed dead. major roads are blocked, railway lines and electricity cables have been damaged. at this nature reserve, rescuers are searching for missing tourists near a waterfall. translation: they walked all the way up, between 100—200

sarah corker, bbc news.onald trump has criticised the growing number of us states, who're refusing to pass on voters‘ details to his commission on electoralfraud. earlier he tweeted: what are they trying to hide? 0ur washington correspondent laura bicker explains what might happen next. donald trump set up an election integrity commission back in may. he wanted to look at claims, including his own claims, that voter fraud was widespread across the united states. he believes that many people who might have died in the past are still on the electoral roll and people are voting on their behalf. to that end, the commission sent out letters to all the states. they are asking for very personal information about the voters, the 200 million voters across the us. they want their names, their addresses, their birthdates and crucially the last four digits of their social security numbers but some states have real concerns. first of all, they wonder how this information can be kept safe if they send it to washington and

sarah corker reports.ok a little different this summer. the 17th—century masterpieces in st peter's square are among 100 fountains being switched off. large swathes of italy are suffering from a prolonged drought. as far as we know, at least in our memory, this is the first time we have had to shut the fountains down. as you know, in rome, rome has been blessed with lots of water, and so this is an exception. as far as we know, this is the first time in the vatican this has happened. the move comes after authorities called a halt on pumping water from this lake near rome, a decision that could force officials to impose water rationing in the italian capital. some areas have seen rainfall levels 80% below normal. the island of sardinia is among the worst—affected regions. 4,000 farms depend on this now—near—empty dam for water. translation: water only one day a week. we can't stop it, therefore we can't give water to the animals. animals cannot drink only once a week. it's a big disaster. across italy, 60%

sarah corker reports. in this deeply divided nation, running street battles have become the norm.otests over president nicolas maduro's attempts to rewrite the nation's constitution. 0pponents say it is a move towards dictatorship. and this crisis is intensifying. the government has banned protests ahead of a controversial election on sunday. those who defy the ban risk a prison sentence of up to 10 years. rally on friday. translation: we are the majority, we have the international community on oui’ have the international community on our site. we are right and we will not give up and that is why the people of venezuela, we assure you we are going to win. despite vast oil reserves, venezuela's economy has collapsed. this week, businesses closed, roads were blockaded, as millions went on a two—day strike. since april, more than 100 people have died in protests. thousands more arrested. president maduro though remains defiant, insisting a new constitution and a new assembly are the only way to bring peace. translation: i propose to the opposition that it abandon the road to insurrec

sarah corker reports. in this deeply divided nation, running street battles have become the norm. have been mass protests over president nicolas maduro‘s attempts to rewrite the nation's constitution. 0pponents say it is a move towards dictatorship. this crisis appears to be intensifying. the government banned protests ahead of a controversial election on sunday, and those who defy the ban risk a prison sentence of up to ten years. yet opposition leaders have called for another nationwide rally. despite vast oil reserves, venezuela's economy has collapsed. this week, businesses closed, roads were blockaded, as millions went on a two—day strike. translation: if people haven't noticed, the constituent assembly will destroy life, and if that happens, more venezuelans will have to leave the country because this will turn into a war, civil war. since april, more than 100 people have died in protests. thousands more have been arrested. president maduro remains defiant, insisting a new constitution and a new assembly are the only way to bring peace. translation: i propose to the oppositi

sarah corker reports. chanting "constitution".ave prompted days of protests in dozens of polish cities and split the country. in warsaw, crowds gathered outside the supreme court is angry at proposed powers to sack proposed judges. it said poland and the eu on a collision course. the eu commission said it would strip the country of its voting rights if it goes ahead. the first time such a sanction would be use. we have now finalised a comprehension that legal analysis that this would have a significant negative impact on the independence of the polish judiciary and would increase systemic threat to the rule of law. earlier this week, pollard ‘s president andrzej duda andrzej duda vetoed two of the most controversial deals including one which would fire all supreme court judges but despite this, pollard right wing government remains defiant. translation: poland will not tolerate any blackmail in the context of proposed changes in poland. these changes, as those related to judiciary systems are in line with the polish constitution.

sarah corker reports.n vatican city will look a little different this summer. the 17th—century masterpieces in st peter's square are among 100 fountains being switched off. large swathes of italy are suffering from a prolonged drought. as far as we know, at least in our memory, this is the first time we have had to shut the fountains down. as you know, in rome, rome has been blessed with lots of water, and so this is an exception. as far as we know, this is the first time in the vatican this has happened. the move comes after authorities ordered a halt on pumping water from this lake near rome, a decision that could force officials to impose water rationing in the italian capital. some areas have seen rainfall levels 80% below normal. the island of sardinia is among the worst—affected regions. 4000 farms depend on this now—near—empty dam for water. translation: water only one day a week. we can't stock it, therefore we can't give water to the animals. animals cannot drink only once a week. it's a big disas

sarah corker reports. i, donald john trump, do solemnly swear...tagonise the kremlin and complicate mr trump's plans to improve relations with russia. on this vote the yeas are 419, the nays are 3. these tougher sanctions passed overwhelmingly by the house expand restrictions on doing business with russian companies and limit the president's authority to roll back the sanctions. we simply cannot allow any foreign power to interfere in our electoral process. given our president's complete unwillingness to hold russia accountable for their attack, let's not mistake it for anything else, it was an attack on america, it has become necessary for congress to assert its role in this area and ensure that russia will be held accountable. russia has denied any meddling in the election, and prior to tuesday's vote its foreign ministry said... and this comes as three separate investigations look into whether donald trump's campaign team concluded with the russians over the elections, something he strongly refutes. on tuesday jared kushner, the president's son—

sarah -- >> guys, we're real tight on time. i want to keep you to one question. let's be polite to your colleagues. >> anthony scaramucci said the president might veto the russia sanctions bill. even though senator corker has withdrawn his objections. is that in fact possible, would he veto a vote that passed with three negative votes in the house and two negative votes in the senate? >> the president and the administration supports sanctions against russia, iran and north korea. we continue to support strong sanctions against those three countries. and we're going to wait and see what the final legislation looks like and make a decision at that point. as soon as we have a final piece of legislation, we'll let you know. >> in terms of working with the d.o.d. on the new policy, how long is it going to be before you find out what the details are. >> i don't have a specific timeline, but i believe they're going to start moving on it quickly. we'll keep you posted as the details come out. i don't have a specific timeline on what that looks like. but i know that they're ready to start moving. and work on that implementation. major? >> some senate republicans have sent signals to this white house, one, we're

sarah: we're tight on time. i'm going to keep you to one question. be polite to your colleagues. reporter: there was rumor that the president might veto the russian sanctions bill even as senator corker has withdrawn an objection to the same version from the house that will be up for the senate vote. is that possible? would he veto a bill that passed with just three negative votes in the house and two in the senate? sarah: as i said yesterday, the president and administration supports sanctions against russia, iran and north korea, continue to support strong sanctions against those countries. we'll wait and see what the final legislation looks like and make a decision at that point. as soon as we have a final piece of legislation we'll let you know. reporte: working with the d.o.d. on the new policy, when will you find out the details? sarah: i don't have a specific timeline. we'll keep you posted a as -- posted as the details come out. i don't have a specific timeline on what that looks like. they're ready to start moving and work on that implementation. reporter: several republicans have sent signals to this white house, one, don't make a recess appointment, we're not going to allo

sarah. two questions, the president had almost 24 hours to review the russia sanctions legislation. has he decided if he's going to sign that? >> well, it's a little more complicated than that. senator corker's not fully supportive where the bill stands. we expect a possibility more changes take place, so we're going to see what that looks like before we make a final decision. i can tell you the white house, the president and the entire administration, as we said many times before, strongly support sanctions against russia, iran and north korea. >> reporter: second question is, is the president considering looking at policy about transgender people serving in the white house, now that he's tried to make a decision on transgender people serving in the military? >> no, once again, this is a decision based on what was best for the military, and military cohesion, and on the council of his national security team. go ahead, major? >> reporter: so the impression we get from the pentagon, they were flat-footed by the president's tweet. as i understand it, this has been for the last couple of weeks a conversation here specifically about tricare coverage for transgender procedures and suddenly evol

>> reporter: thanks, sarah the president ha has had almost 24 hours to review the russia's sanctions legislation, has he decided to -- >> it's more complicated senator corkerse's not fully supportive of where the bill stands we expect there's a possibility more changes take place, and set looks like before we make a final decision, but i can tell you that the white house, the president, and the entire administration as we've said many times before strongly supports sanctions against russia, iran, and north korea. >> is the president considering looking at any kind of policy about transgender people serving in the white house now that he's tried to make a decision >> once again, this was a decision based on what was best for the military, and military cohesion, and on the council of his national security team go ahead, major. >> so the impression you get was a little bit flat-footed by the president's tweets as i understand it, this was -- has been for the last couple of weeks of conversation here specifically about tricare coverage or transgender procedures and it suddenly evolved for the president to then go on twitter to announce this ban and as you alrea

sarah. >> we are real tight on time i'm going to keep to you one question. let's be polite to your colleagues. >> this morning the president might veto the russia sanctions bill even though senator corkerow withdrawn his objection and the same version we have already seen from the house is going to be up for senate vote. is that, in fact, possible we veto a bill that passed with just three negative votes in the house and two negative votes in the senate. >> as i said yesterday the president and the administration support sanctions against russia, iran, and north korea. we continue to support strong sanctions against those three countries. and we're going to wait and see what that final legislation looks like and make a decision at that point. >> as of right now -- >> -- as soon as we have a final piece of legislation we will let you know. >> in terms of working with the dod on new policy, how long will it be before we find out what the details are going to be. >> i don't have a specific time line. i believe they will start working on it quickly. we will keep you posted as those details come out. again, i don't have a specific time line on what that looks like. but i know that they are