President trump has said hes dropping his attempt to add a Citizenship Question to next years us census. The move was blocked by the Supreme Court last month. Opponents fear it could deter immigrant households from taking part in the census, lead to an undercounting of the population in democratic districts, and benefit the president s republican party. But he still hopes to press on, announcing instead an executive order, requiring all Government Agencies and departments to provide records on population. Today im here to say were not backing down in our effort to determine the citizenship status of the United States population. I stand before you to outline new steps my administration is taking to ensure that citizenship is counted so that we know how many citizens we have in the United States. Our north america correspondent, peter bowes, explains why the citizenship issue is such a politicised and controversial issue, and so important to President Trump. It has become increasingly political and of course it is hugely important who is counted in the census, traditionally, it has been citizens and non citizens, it is a count of a number of people in the country, its important for allocating funds to different areas, allocating seats in the house of representatives, and the fact that the president is not getting his way of having that key question on the census form, has actually delighted a lot of his opponents, there were fears, indeed the Census Bureau themselves said that if the question were on there, it would result result in fewer people filling out the census form and the end result would be rather skewed in terms of its effectiveness and accuracy. A lot of people are delighted that the president hasnt got his way with the form, what hes doing is changing tack, hes trying to. Its important to point out that this executive order isnt usurping what the Supreme Court said, it is just a different tack. Its a different way to get that information from government departments, data that already exists about the majority of people in this country, and the president is hoping that is how he will get his count of the number of citizens and the number of non citizens. Relatives of people who died in the boeing 737 max crash in indonesia have been cheated out of compensation according to their lawyers. Many families who lost loved ones in the plane crash last october were persuaded to sign agreements that prevent them from taking legal action against boeing. The bbc has discovered relatives signed similar agreements following two previous crashes in indonesia and the agreements prevented them from suing in the us courts. Boeing declined to comment on the agreements. Panoramas Richard Bilton reports. Last october, a boeing 737 max crashed into the sea off indonesia. All 189 people onboard were killed. Within weeks, relatives were offered compensation by insurance lawyers. But families who took up the offer had to sign agreements that would prevent them from taking legal action against boeing or the airline lion air. Merdian agustins husband ika was killed in the crash. They give give me some document to sign, the document said you can have the money but you cant sue us, lion air, you cant sue boeing. Merdian didnt sign, but its believed around 50 families did. They will get compensation ofjust under £74,000 each. But under indonesian law, the families were entitled to £71,000 any way. The relatives of those who died in the crash had little to gain by signing these agreements. But they could be very valuable to boeing, because in signing them, the families have agreed never to take legal action over the crash. We asked boeing if they have had any communication with the insurance lawyers who helped organise the agreements. They didnt answer our question. They said the insurers for boeing are in discussions with other insurers round the world as is typical and customary in circumstances such as these. But we have discovered boeing has benefited from similar agreements following two earlier crashes. And each time, the same insurance lawyer was involved. Boeing use the agreements to prevent families from suing in the us courts. Now lawyers for the lion air families say they have lost out. The families who signed the releases and discharge have been cheated out of compensation, they have been preyed upon by Insurance Companies and by the council for those Insurance Companies, and ultimately to the benefit of boeing. Boeing says it truly regrets the loss of life and will continue to help with the healing process. Last week, the company said it would provide 100 million to help communities and families affected by two recent 737 max accidents. Richard bilton, bbc news seattle. Lets get some of the days other news. The Us State Department has condemned what it called the Iranian Revolutionary guards attempts to harass a british oil tanker. Iran denies confronting any foreign ships in the gulf. But britains navy said it had to intervene yesterday to protect a bp oil tanker from three iranian vessels. The uk has raised the threat to british shipping in iranian waters in the gulf to the highest level. Sudans Ruling Military Council says it has foiled an attempted coup. A spokesman, generaljamal omar, announced on state television that sixteen people had been arrested and four detained among them current and retired officers from the army and National Intelligence and security service. He said the coup attempt aimed to block a power sharing deal being finalised between the military council and pro democracy demonstrators. These dramatic pictures show the moment a majorfire broke out at an Electricity Generating power station near moscow, sending plumes of smoke and flames 50 metres high. 11 people received medical treatment including five people with minor burns but no one was hospitalised. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The mayor of new orleans has warned that a Tropical Storm moving towards the coast of louisiana could bring forty eight hours of continuous rain. Latoya cantrell warned residents to seek shelter or leave the city. Manuel bojorquez from cbs news has the latest. Those mandatory evacuations are happening in low lying parishes south of new orleans, but here in the city, all eyes are on the Mississippi River and heres why. Flooding along the nations mid section has sent a lot of water downstream so the river is already swollen. That coupled with the potential storm surge from the tropical system and the additional rain could spell trouble. Officials have said they believe the levies that protect the city, like the one we are on, will hold during the event, but they fear that the water could overtop some of them. So while there is still uncertainty in the track of the tropical system, they are urging everyone here to be prepared. The actor Harry Shearer lives in new orleans. He voices fewer than 21 7 is in the simpsons. And he was also in spinal. You made a powerful documentary about new orleans and the impact of hurricane katrina. Your house has been flooded but how are things . The houseis been flooded but how are things . The house is ok, machines are drying it out on the other room. I will add to that report you just had from cbs that report you just had from cbs that there are three things, three elements at work in this current moment. There is the river at a historic high level for a historically long period of time. A storm surge coming up from the golf from the Tropical Storm and there is the agency which so catastrophically failed to protect new orleans in 2005 during the katrina event which is prone to failures left and right if you look at its history and which issues reassuring statements about the state of levies until they colla pse the state of levies until they collapse and that is the United States army corps of engineers. That is my primary cause for concern at this moment. They say that they have done the work, as you know, but there is clearly a problem of trust. And when Authorities Say the levies will hold but then say they may be over topped by rising water, a levy that may be over top is not much use asa that may be over top is not much use as a levy, is it . Ithink that may be over top is not much use as a levy, is it . I think they are discussing two different things. They are talking about its resilience. It wont crumble nor be undermined from underneath or it is not improper height. Overtopping could occur because water would be higher than any prediction ever thought. I think that is a refuge for saying that. But the core of engineer is famous for making reassuring statements which turn out to be worthless upon later inspection. The one they have used for the last ten years in regard to the new system that we live under 110w the new system that we live under now is that new orleans has never had better hurricane protection. Given that the fact that the last one almost destroyed the city, that is quite a load buyer to clear. New o rlea ns is quite a load buyer to clear. New orleans is a particular place and i know people there feel they are treated badly by the powers that be. Can you tell us some more about that . I know it is a big question but i need a short answer. New o rlea ns but i need a short answer. New orleans is a catholic city in a protesta nt orleans is a catholic city in a protestant neighbourhood in the american south. So it has Many International influences from the korean africa and europe in an area thatis korean africa and europe in an area that is 110 american so it is foreigner in its own land and then the south in general is regarded with disdain by folks in the north and new orleans is a majority African American city and those are three key reasons why it feels that way. I think we all hope it goes better this time, harry. Thank you so better this time, harry. Thank you so much for your time. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come lobster dinner lands a french minister in hot water. More on the lavish meal charged to the taxpayer, next. Central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. Police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that alqaeda was responsible. Germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. They pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. In south africa, the possibility of losing hadnt even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. The man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queens private bedroom. Then he asked her for a cigarette, and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Applause this is bbc world news. The latest headlines President Trump abandons his bid to add a question on citizenship to the us census but insists hell press on with an executive order. The lion air crash in indonesia lawyers say the families of those who died in the boeing 737 max have been cheated out of compensation. For more on that story i spoke to kristen clarke, president of the National Lawyers committee for civil rights under law. This is her take on Donald Trumps order. Well, it is a win for the civil rights organisations that have been fighting this administration over their attempt to add a Citizenship Question to the census. We won. We filed suit against the Trump Administration to block this attempt because we knew that this was a move that would discourage immigrant communities and people of colour from participating in the census and today we learnt that that census will go out to every household in the United States without the question. So on the one hand it is a sound victory for the groups that have been fighting for a fair and accurate census. But what we did learn is that President Trump will now seek to, nonetheless, obtain information regarding the number of of undocumented people in the country by essentially collating data from various databases across the federal government. And that was an option always available to the administration. And, in some respects, we did not learn anything new today. What we will be doing is looking very carefully to see what President Trump does with that data, how does he intend to use that data . But as far as the original issue, which was fighting to ensure a fair and accurate census, we won on that issue today. And the concern about the Citizenship Question, if i understand it right, is that people who had reason to fear the authorities, for deportation in particular, if there was such a question on the census would be less likely to take part, be less likely to be counted, less likely to get the chance to vote. Yes, the Us Constitution requires that we carry out a census every decade. And a fair and accurate census is one that captures the full population, a full count of the population. And President Trumps administration pursued the Citizenship Question for one reason and one reason only, they thought to weaponise the census and structure it in a way that would discourage participation among communities of colour and immigrant communities. And that is unlawful, it violates the constitution, and was something that we went to the courts to fight back and resist and we did so successfully. Just briefly, if you dont mind, can a president ial executive order over a Supreme Court decision against it . Well, it is a victory because they are not able to obtain this information through the census. Essentially what we learn today is they will obtain it another way and on another day by combining information from various databases that are maintained by agencies across the federal government in the United States. We have concerns about this. This is essentially an attempt to compile data on a massive scale in a way that is unprecedented and in a way that we have not seen before. We dont know how long it will take for them to pull this data together. We dont know what they will do with that data. But that is a separate fight for another day and we will be policing the Trump Administration with careful vigilance to see how that effort plays out in the months ahead. For more on this story visit our website at bbc. Com news, where theres more of the attorney generals comments and plenty of background on immigration in the us. The aircraft had to make an emergency landing, the flight from vancouver to sydney hit trouble around two hours beyond hawaii and averted back to honolulu, the capital of the us island stop it was carrying 259 passengers and 15 crew. One of indias largest cities is running out of water. Millions of people in chennai are struggling as taps run dry. Monsoon rains, which the city depends on, are late this year. Environmentalists partly blame Climate Change, and warn this is a problem which could affect all countries. Our south asia correspondent rajini Vaidya Nathan reports. Scrambling for every last drop. They are running out of water and also out of patience. It is a daily desperate ritual. Here, trucks have replaced taps as the only source of water. And yet this is chennai, one of indias largest and richest cities. We are only allowed five buckets of water a day from the lorry, this woman tells me. Back at her house she shows me how her family struggles. We have to use this for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing clothes. It is difficult. Even more so because there has been a record heat wave here in india. A few houses away, a mother of two says she used to take water for granted. Water is more precious than food and gold, she tells me. God has to bring the rain. Only that can save us. For now, this landscape remains thirsty. It is hard to imagine that this is one of chennais largest lakes, now parched and desperate for rain. In better times, this reservoir is one of the citys main suppliers of water. This satellite image shows just how the lake has vanished after a year of poor monsoon rain. Almost all of the citys reservoirs have run dry. This one reduced to a mere puddle. Chennai is a warning card to the global community. If it happens here it can happen anywhere. Environmentalists blame Climate Change for the erratic weather pattern and drought but they also warned that the number of lakes and ponds that store and collect rainwater has dwindled. Taking these water bodies to build commercial and Residential Property has had an impact in regard to how much water we can conserve and how much water is therefore the population to depend on. When hollywood actor Leonardo Dicaprio shared this picture of a well in one town, the plight of chennai gained wider attention. When we visit the same well, it is almost empty. It is estimated that by 2025, half of the worlds population will live in an area where demand for water exceeds supply. As the crisis in chennai continues, millions rely on these trucks. Oh, lord, please fill the lake, they chant. Families keep praying for the rains but that alone cannot solve this citys water woes. Environmentalists warn this is a problem of our own making. Amal clooney has warned that donald trump is creating a global hostility towards journalists which is undermining democr