welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a special prosecutor is appointed to investigate allegationds a special prosecutor is appointed to investigate allegations that the trump election campaign colluded with russia, as the president complains about his treatment by the media. no politician in history, and i say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly. venezuela steps up its military presence along the colombian border as violent anti—government protests spread across the country. the record numbers of children who've fled war and poverty — we speak to the un in new york about the risks of exploitation. and she's a fierce opponent on the court. but this basketball player had to fight a legal action to play hoops in a hijab. president trump's opponents have long argued for it,

and under the weight of the past few weeks of rolling crises in the white house, it's happened. a special prosecutor has been appointed to oversee investigations into alleged russian interference in the us election. he's a former head of the fbi, robert mueller. making the announcement, the us deputy attorney—general said it didn't necessarily mean crimes had been committed. and mrtrump claimed: "a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know — there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity." our correspondent in washington, laura bicker, has more. mr mueller was appointed by george w bush. his senate confirmation hearing was held a few days before the september 11 attacks. he was kept on under president obama for another two years and retired in 2013. he was the predecessor and of the now sacked director of the fbi, james comey.

tonight you cannot find a single republican or democrat who will criticise this man. he seems to be well respected by both sides. so when it comes to appointing this particular prosecutor, although the name "prosecutor" is there does not necessarily mean that prosecution will follow, or crimes will be committed, but it does seem that he is well respected by all parties. is it clear why he has been appointed? the announcement seems to have taken many by surprise. the us media has been reporting that even the white house was not really given a lot of heads up, nearly 30 minutes before anybody else heard. but when you read the statement from the deputy attorney general what it seems to be suggesting is that there needed to be clarity. any outcome of any investigation needed to be separate

from all of the politics that is going on in washington right now. it has been a tumultuous two weeks, especially the last 48 hours. when it comes to claim and counter claim, there are several investigations going on within the fbi and donald trump's political opponents did not believe, certainly did not want to confirm any person who would be appointed as a director of the fbi by president trump, effectively, the man they would be investigating. there was distrust over that appointment and there was also a second investigation going on within the senate, the house and congress. they are really beset by partisan politics. this is someone who will be on the outside, who is independent and can carry out his investigation unimpeded by any of the investigations or mudslinging going on. the appointment has been widely welcomed by politicians

from both sides. i'm happy about it. i think it is a good start in the right direction. this administration, with the new president, has been in crisis from week to week. it is one thing after the other. i am pleased that that's happened. to bring in someone like rober mueller, that has already worked within the fbi, that it looks like he's going to work within the fbi process, you have a prime decision maker there, working within the process, it'sa good hybrid to be able to keep the career folks at fbi and to be able to make sure they can continue theirjob but you have an independent person as the final decision maker. on the direction. well, the white house controversies are making investors very nervous.

the dowjones industrial index suffered its biggest one—day fall since mr trump was elected — and the us dollar was at its lowest level against the japanese yen since april. it's not yet clear if the investigation will cover the latest allegations that mr trump asked america's former top cop — fbi directorjames comey — who he later sacked, to drop his inquiry into russian links. this from our north america editorjon sopel. donald trump was today on the way to the us coastguard academy as his administration seemed to be listing. our commander in chief, donald trump. this has been the most torrid week of the presidency and though he didn't address each individual setback, there was a message. no politician in history, and i say this with great surety, has been treated worse, or more unfairly. you cannot let them get you down. i didn't get elected to serve the washington media, i got elected to serve the forgotten men and women of our country and that's what i'm doing.

he has become more famous than me! far and away his biggest problem comes from the sacked fbi director james comey. the disclosure that james comey kept notes of his meetings with the president, including over the sacked michael flynn, is serious. donald trump is reported to have said to comey... amid allegation that this amounted to obstruction ofjustice, the white house denied any wrongdoing, saying the president hadn't told the fbi director to stop his work. it brought this from the democratic leader. the president says what comey says was wrong. prove it. it is easy to prove. as long as there are tapes

or transcripts of what happened. if the president's right, he will have no problem releasing memos, tapes, transcripts that corroborate his story. other democrats have started using the "i" word. i rise today, mr speaker, to call for the impeachment of the president of the united states of america. for obstruction ofjustice. this is not good for america. some influential republicans too a re growing restless, with comparisons to the days of nixon. i think we have seen this movie before, i think it's reaching the point where it is of watergate—size and scale and a couple of other scandals that you and i have seen. it has been a calamitous week — last tuesday came the firing of james comey with the white house giving muddled explanations about why. and then the president seemed to threaten the former fbi director, saying he had better

hope there are no tapes of our conversation. and the president divulged material to the russian foreign minister when he visited the white house. the president, who returned to the white house tonight, will be buoyed by this support, but that's what gets you elected, not what keeps you in power, and this administration can't afford any more weeks like the one that's just gone. the venezuelan government has stepped up its military presence in the state of tachira along the colombian border which it considers a centre for anti—government radicalism. it's after days of rioting and looting in the region that have left businesses destroyed. more than a0 people have been killed nationwide since the protests to against president maduro flared up 6 weeks ago as greg dawson reports. from supermarket to squalor. this is the result of another night of looting in the venezuelan

state of tachira. the shelves are empty and the floors are full of debris, dirt and rotting food. translation: we have been told an armed group on motorcycles was trying to get in. about 300 people came over the barriers. they took everything — equipment, cash registers, even refrigerators. it is notjust supermarkets. this is what is left of the family—owned bus station. translation: they were not government buses. they were mine and my family's. my father's. they left our business useless. the government says over 2,000 soldiers will be sent to the region to restore order. the looting and violent protests come amid widespread shortages of basic goods — a symptom of the deepening economic crisis in venezuela. over the last six weeks, protesters have been demanding a general election and the chance to remove president maduro from power. over a0 people have been killed

in protests across the country. the crisis was the subject of debate at a un security council meeting on wednesday where the united states appealed to president maduro to call free and fair elections. what we attempted to do in this meeting today is about prevention. we have been down this road. with syria, with north korea, with south sudan, we have been down this road. and rather than waiting for a serious situation where we have to have an open security council meeting, why not get in front of this? but the chances of maduro bending to the will of the us are slim. he has already accused washington of backing a coup attempt against him and remains determined to stay in office until at least 2019, when his term expires. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news:

the french president, emmanuel macron, has unveiled a cabinet drawing from across the political spectrum, with an equal number of men and women. president macron has appointed the pro—european conservative bruno le maire as economy minister. the outgoing socialist defence minister yves le drian moves to foreign affairs. sylvie goulard, a liberal member of the european parliament, gets defence, making her the highest—ranked woman. the king of the netherlands, willem—alexander, has revealed that he's been flying commercial passenger aircraft in secret twice a month for the past twenty—one years. the king, who succeeded to the dutch throne four years ago, told a dutch newspaper that he found flying simply fantastic. the king said he never used his name when welcoming passengers on board, and was rarely recognised while in klm company uniform. sudan's foreign minister says the country's president, omar al—bashir, will travel to saudi arabia to take part in a summit at which the us president donald trump will make a speech. mr bashir is wanted by the international criminal court for crimes allegedly committed

in the darfur conflict. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the london restaurant with specially composed music on the menu that helps you dine in the dark. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. the polling stations are all prepared for what will be the first truly free elections in romania's history. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peacefulfuneral demonstration so far, but suddenly these police are teargassing the crowd, we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well established here, helen was said to be in good spirits butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has

become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a special prosecutor — robert mueller — has been appointed to investigate alleged russian interference in the us election. venezuela has stepped up its military presence along the colombian border as violent anti—government protests continue to spread across the country. the number of child migrants and refugees travelling alone around the world has reached record numbers. the united nations is warning that many of them are at risk of being exploited by smugglers and traffickers. our correspondent caroline hawley

has been to greece, where she's been talking to children who've fled war and poverty they had to pass through five different countries to get here. three afghan orphans now being looked after at a shelter in athens. the leader is 15, his brother is 13 and the other one 11. their parents were killed in a taliban bomb. the boys arrived here in march after a month—long journey, partly on foot in the hands of smugglers. hamid says they now wish tojoin their 18—year—old brother in sweden. how difficult was the journey? what was the hardest part? with so many migrants

now stuck in greece, there is not enough space in shelters for all unaccompanied children. there are stories of teenagers working for no pay, of prostituting themselves for pocket money. one in ten of the children who arrive in greece travel alone. these syrian brothers told me their parents sent them to europe to avoid them being conscripted in syria. it is dangerous to stay in syria. they are taking many children like us from the age of 16 into the war to fight. in a shelter, 21 teenagers learning how to play again. the man in charge of the refuge fled iran as a child himself. translation: these children have

psychological difficulties. they have sleep problems, oppressiveness, self harm. not wanting to eat or be around other people. some of them will be scarred for life by what they have been through. and the un says that record numbers of children are now on the move around the world without their parents. driven from their countries by conflict and desperation. much more must be done, it says, to protect them. yens matthis co—authored the unicef report about child migrants and refugees. he told me why the report could help make a difference. i think we are at a moment in history where the world has come together to understand that it cannot go on like this and that children need a different kind of

protection than what they receive now stop and there is a process in place now to develop global compact specifically for migrants and within that we are hopeful to protect the needs of migrant children. how would you do that on the ground? i was speaking to a young refugee the other day who made a long change is journey who said the most frightening part was being in the jungle in calais at the people traffickers were his only hope and he had to rely on them. it is not an easy one. i think we need to address this by offering the kind of protection services that children require. when we have solutions that involved detaining children, they will go under the radar. when we have solutions where borders are blocked and children are pushed back and police beatings and things like that then children will not seek the

support that they could get from services. many people watching from the united states. how would you describe the situation there at the moment? they are not getting the kind of support that you would want your own children to have. when you hear these stories, they are heartbreaking. as i said, they require a different approach and a concerted effort. it is not something that is just concerning one country such as the united states. the children who are pushed back at the border now, they are still somewhere, they are deported and then other borders, on the southern border, these are still children who need assistance. they may not come out here but they are somewhere. bilqis abdul-qaadir was heading for a stellar career in professional basketball, when the rules stopped her from wearing a hijab while playing. now she can wear a headscarf and she's been telling the bbc what it means for the sport she loves.

when you hit shots and you have a good game you cannot put that feeling into words. you are in the zone. you do not see anything but the ball and the basket. basketball isa the ball and the basket. basketball is a huge part of my identity. i began playing when i was four. playing on the court and being in the game and being covered i did not worry about what people said about me because i was a basketball player first. unfortunately, to other people i was not a basketball player first. when i found out i couldn't play i felt heartbroken, questioning whether or not i wanted to take my scarf off and play or if islam was

my true religion, did i or you want to practise this? it was devastating. i did essentially have to choose between my face and the sport that i love. it is bigger than basketball. this change is going to destroy stereotypes, especially negative ones. i hope it brings positive light on my face and who i'm asa positive light on my face and who i'm as a muslim and other muslim women. whether they players bought oi’ women. whether they players bought or they are doctor or in a court room, letting people know we belong in the spaces as well. i feel like she has inspired me. she has made it what way for all of us to play. i hope to become a professional trainer in basketball or soccer. when i play i can express myself through sport and i do not want people tojudge me for what is on my head versus what i can do. the

symbol of this change is that it took unity, it took people to come together, people who are not muslim oi’ together, people who are not muslim or christian, white, asian, whatever. the fact that they supported me and others in this fight is what meant the most to me. eldest granddaughter of the emperor of japan is tomorrow marrying a university classmate. it means she gives up her royal status for love and places more pressure on the royal family. as the first grandchild of the emperor of japan, princess mako is used to posing for the cameras. but soon she will be giving up her royal status. the reason — princess mako is marrying this man, kei komuro, who works in a tokyo law firm and is known as a commoner. the couple met five years ago at university. the closest he came to royalty is starring in an ad on tourism.

translation: it is very nice to hear it because there is a lot of bad news. translation: i hope they make one of the happiest families in japan. unlike his granddaughter, emperor akihito was allowed to ascend the chrysanthemum throne, despite having married the daughter of a wealthy businessman. his engagement nearly 60 years ago to michiko shoda shocked traditionalists. she was the first commoner to marry into the japanese royal family. akihito set out to modernise the old traditions, including insisting on bringing up their children themselves. but some traditions remain in place. under current japanese law, women cannot be imperial successors, so if akihito was to retire, and lawmakers are considering allowing this, princess mako cannot take his place.

the news of this latest engagement has reignited the debate of whether to allow women to stay in the imperial family after marrying a commoner. it is a step conservatives in the country fear moves towards allowing women to inherit the throne. out of 19 royal family members, 14 are women. and so, as another princess marries, the royal family continues to shrink. most restaurants play music while their customers are eating. perhaps it's a bit of smooth jazz or maybe a romantic ballad. but at one restaurant in london they've started playing something a little more bespoke. and you'll get to listen to it in the dark. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. the chef is hard at work at his restaurant in london, determined to find just the right combination of tastes to make his food perfect.

but could something be missing? not a herb or a spice but a little musical accompaniment? this composer has come up with something he hopes will make your meal easier to swallow. the way i thought about this was to try and turn this meal into a story. so the chef, he gave me his initial ideas and then i started thinking about how can i turn this into a narrative? how can i make music from this? this is already an unusual restaurant where you can eat in the dark. each dish has its own custom—made piece of music. so the diners are taken behind the curtain to enjoy an audio gastro extravaganza in pitch black surroundings. of course, it is quite difficult to show you this on television.

once they finish and got used to the light, what was the verdict? it made me think a lot more, to be honest, which is quite weird. why, it made me feel like i was underwater when clearly i was not. an apparent success. as they say, if music be the food of love, play on. just finally, no news bulletin would be complete without a photo of a fat cat. this cat is 126 centimetres long and maybe the world ‘s longest domestic cat. he found fame after his own started up his own instagram account. he eats human greed kangaroo meat. —— human grade.

hello. i know many gardeners in england wanted some rain, but i suspect some of those gardens are now water—logged after what happened during wednesday. this is one soggy picture from lincolnshire. and in fact it was at coningsby, in lincolnshire, that was one of the wettest places during wednesday, notching up about 40mm of rain — that is nearly a month worth of rain in 2a hours, but you can see elsewhere widely around 20—a0mm of rain from this weather system and clearing now into the north sea. we have a few showers for northern ireland and western scotland, parts of wales, north—west england stayed dry. now we are looking at a fresher feel to things during thursday and for the next few days as we bring in some slightly cooler air. it is more noticeably fresher, less humid rather than cooler because, actually, in some sunshine, where we had the rain during wednesday, it will feel warmer. the sun will eventually come out after perhaps a cloudy start in east anglia and south—east england. elsewhere, plenty of blue sky to begin the day. take a look at things at 8am. some sunshine in the channel islands after wednesday wet weather. plenty of blue sky in south—west england.

again brightening up in the far east of england after perhaps a cloudy start. now there is a chance from the word go of picking up a shower somewhere in wales, north—west england. northern ireland, don't be fooled by a dry bright start, cloud will build quite quickly in the morning, showers break out and there will be one or two across western part of scotland to begin the day. let's go on through thursday and see how the weather develops then. quite quickly the cloud builds in northern ireland. the risk of catching a slow—moving heavy and possibly thundery downpours may come with a bit of hail as well. some beefy showers developing in scotland, too, especially to the north. one or two heavy showers for the afternoon for northern england, for wales and south—west england.

maybe an isolated one late in the day in the midlands. much of east anglia and south—east england staying dry. a fresher feel to things, but again quite pleasant in some sunshine. things cool down when the showers move through. some of the showers continue during thursday evening. but as we go through thursday night and into friday morning, another area of rain running up the eastern side of england. during friday, that could actually move across more of the uk, more of northern england and scotland, as we go on through the day. so there's still some uncertainty about this weather system. keep checking the forecast. elsewhere on friday, we're expecting sunshine, showers again, temperatures into the mid—teens. cooler though where you have any persistent rain rather than showers. we're going to keep low pressure close by going the weekend. perhaps some rain across part of scotland to begin saturday. elsewhere sunshine and showers. throughout the weekend, pleasant in some sunshine. cool with the showers, that could be heavy. fresh—feeling days and there will be some chilly nights. this is bbc news — the headlines: the us department ofjustice has appointed a special prosecutor to lead an investigation into allegations that the trump election campaign

colluded with russia. he's a former head of the fbi, robert mueller. the choice has been widely welcomed, across the political spectrum. the venezuelan government has reinforced its military presence in the state of tatcheera, along the colombian border — which it considers a centre for anti—government radicals. the defence minister says 2,600 troops will be sent to quell looting and rioting. the number of child migrants and refugees travelling alone around the world has reached record numbers, according to the united nations children's fund. unicef officials say at least 300,000 children applied for asylum last year and warn many are at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation by smugglers and traffickers. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.