this is bbc news. i'm samantha simmonds. our top stories: after nine years injail — us football star oj simpson is granted early release from his thirty—three year prison sentence for armed robbery. a powerful earthquake kills at least two people on the greek island of kos — aftershocks continue to be felt. and — it's a great start for the us at the open — with three american golfers sharing the lead going into day two. and i'm rachel horne. taking stock of trumponomics. markets have surged — but six months on — the president's yet to deliver on growth, tax cuts or major reforms. how long will wall street's patience last? plus brexit insurance. the european boss of goldman sachs tells us about his costly contingency plans and why london will remain a top financial centre. hello and welcome to bbc news.

after nine years spent in a jail in nevada, one time american sports legend oj simpson is to be released early from a 33 year sentence for armed robbery. it was an earlier case, when he was accused and then acquitted of murdering his ex wife and herfriend that turned him from an all american hero to one of the most divisive figures in the country. our los angeles correspondent james cook reports. it was the trial of the century. an american superstar accused of stabbing to death his ex—wife and herfriend. oj simpson had been arrested after a low speed car chase across los angeles, broadcast live to a nation in shock. but that's not why he is in prison. not guilty of the crime of murder... simpson was a free man until 2007,

when he was arrested for armed robbery in las vegas, using force to recover memorabilia he claimed he owned. he appeared via video link stating his case forfreedom from prison. i thought i was glad to get my stuff back, but it wasn't worth it. nine years is just not worth it. i am sorry. in a lengthy and emotional hearing, oj simpson was supported by his daughter and by one of his victims. he had been a model prisoner, they said, and the parole board agreed. you have no prior conviction of criminal activity. you're a low risk to reoffend on our guidelines. so based on all of that, mr simson, i do vote to grant parole when eligible. over 20 years since the sensational acquittal, it's clear that oj simpson still commands an audience. millions of americans tuned

into his parole hearing. but support may be fading. one recent poll suggests that only 7% of americans now think that the fallen star is not a killer. but it's the decision of the parole board that matters and as soon as october 1st, a man many believe got away with murder could be set free. lisa houle is a former los angeles county prosecutor and now runs her own firm. thank you very much forjoining us here. was this the expected outcome from this parole hearing? yes, it really was. i predicted this weeks ago. by all accounts, really was. i predicted this weeks ago. by allaccounts, mr simpson really was. i predicted this weeks ago. by all accounts, mr simpson was ago. by all accounts, mr simpson was a model in may he has a low risk factor for parole and he deserves to be parole after serving his minimum sentence. he was, of course, given a

33 year sentence originally. he said during the hearing that he had spent a conflict free life but in 1989 he did admit to domestic violence against his wife and a civil court held him responsible for the death of his ex—wife and her friend. held him responsible for the death of his ex-wife and her friend. that is true but it was not criminally convicted for the act. again, the pa role convicted for the act. again, the parole board cannot consider that. they need to look at prior convictions, of which he did not have. he is still a divisive figure. the parole board got hundreds of letters from people, some in favour of him receiving parole and many against. absolutely. ithink of him receiving parole and many against. absolutely. i think there isa against. absolutely. i think there is a split throughout the world about whether or not he should be released. they have made their decision. what will happen after he is released? decision. what will happen after he is released 7 will decision. what will happen after he is released? will he be able to go on and earn a yes, he will.|j is released? will he be able to go on and earn a yes, he will. i think it should lay low and stay out of trouble and do what the parole

officer asks of him, whatever that may be. hopefully he can live a peaceful life for the remainder of his time here. how about the families of his ex—wife and ron goldman? will they be coming after him at all? i think we should certainly expect that they certainly cannot take pension or is home but they are, of course, will try to collect on theirjudgement. he was confident in this hearing, a man who was used to the spotlight for many yea rs was used to the spotlight for many years and he was used that. he was asked how he deal with media attention. he smiled and laughed and said that he was used to it. correct. and he is. we will probably see some more of him to do you think we will? you said it should keep a low profile. this is a man who is used to your attention. do think that he will perhaps go on to court attention and try and earn money

from it? could he write a book, get money from that? can he make a television appearance? this is free to do whatever he likes? it depends on what the parole officers are scoffing. he needs to abide by their decisions. he is free to do whatever he wishes. if he wishes to write a book all give a talk, that is up to him. as long as this parole officer says it is ok. thank you very much. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. thousands of people have been demonstrating in poland after lawmakers passed a bill that would allow parliament to appoint the country's supreme courtjudges. the european union has called on poland to stop legislation which is seen as threatening thejudiciary‘s independence. thailand's former prime minister yingluck shinawatra has arrived at the country's supreme court for another hearing. greeted by her supporters, she faces prison and political exile if found guilty of criminal negligence over a controversial rice subsidy scheme.

those supporters claim the case against her is politically motivated. at least three people have been killed in venezuela during street protests in support of a nation—wide strike. the strike was called in opposition to president maduro's plan to draw up a new constitution. his opponents say he's taking the country towards a single party state, similar to the one in cuba. at least two people have been killed on the greek island of kos, after a powerful earthquake. the islands mayor confirmed the deaths, and said that many more were injured when the 6.7 magnitude quake struck off the southwest coast of turkey. greg dawson has the details. after being shaken from their sleep, locals and tourists is on the island of kos ran into the street to see the damage. officials on the island say two people were killed when the ceiling of the building collapsed. over 100 reported injured.

ceiling of the building collapsed. over 100 reported injuredm ceiling of the building collapsed. 0ver100 reported injured. it is half past one in the morning. we will work on by a tremendous shaking of the building. fans were thrown around, mirror came off, it lasted around, mirror came off, it lasted around 15 seconds. me, my wife and my children we gather dust off as quickly as we could and as we made oui’ quickly as we could and as we made our way out there was a second shock. tremors that lasted a few minutes were enough to damage buildings that had stood over a century. this british tourist was in his hotel room at the time. about 30 seconds you felt the room shaken, bottles fell off the night stand and you could not really here. and then suddenly you heard other people, there was a commotion, children were waking up and crying. in a turkish resort these people were at a restau ra nt resort these people were at a restaurant when the ground began to shake. the small sun army triggered at the quake led to localised flooding. authorities report there

have been no major damage to the city and have warned people to be aware of after—shocks. reports in the usa a spokesman for president trump has resigned. he is understood to have disagreed with mr trump's lawyers who are looking at ways to limit undercut or discredit the team investigation into russian meddling during the us election. our correspondent has more details. he has been in the white house forjust a few months. he was hired as a spokesman for donald trump's lawyers who are looking at ways of the russian investigation into whether 01’ russian investigation into whether or not russia interfered in the us election. they are looking at ways that donald trump may defend himself if necessary. he is their lawyer spokesperson. he has reportedly resigned on the same evening that

the washington post and the new york times have both come out with stories saying that donald trump's lawyers are seeking ways to undercut, undermine the investigation into russian meddling. this investigation led by a special counsel robert mauler. one of the reasons why, certainly, people are speculating that he has resigned is because he had warned that donald trump's lawyers not to go after robert mauler. rachel is here with all the business news. we have a new acronym, we will get to shortly. president donald trump has been in office for six months. he made some big promises on the us economy — inspiring a wave of optimism among investors. but most of them are still just that — promises. and some are now questioning the reality of trumponomics — or to use the new catchphrase, maganomics — as in make america great again. let's take a look. the dowjones index surged on mr trump's election in november —

and it has continued its upwards march after breaking through the 20,000 mark at the start of the year. but political divisions are beginning to see the trump agenda grind to a halt. take his flagship policy — replacing the affordable healthcare act — or obamacare. he's struggling to get fellow republicans to agree on what they should replace it with. one senior figure in the party is now warning it may take as long as two years for this to happen. that has raised doubts over political support for some of his other plans — the ones that got wall street so excited. cutting regulation in the energy and banking sectors... and the big one — his highly anticipated overhaul of the tax system that would see big cuts for business and middle income earners. so what about the broader economy itself? president trump promised to raise the gdp growth rate to 3% — a level it hasn't

sustained since the 1990s. but six months in — that goal still looks a long way off. in the first three months of this year — despite being revised up — the figure's less than half of that. the rate for april to june is expected to be better — but still fall way short. lots more in 20 minutes' time. we are also talking brexit — because uk prime minister theresa may has been hosting talks with british business leaders after criticism her government is not addressing their worries. she told them she's aiming for a ‘smooth orderly exit‘ from the european union — as well as a ‘comprehensive free trade deal‘. she has also promised a ‘period of implementation in order to avoid any cliff—edges‘. our business editor simonjack has been hearing from one of london‘s top banking bosses — richard gnodde — who runs the european operations of goldman sachs. he‘s been talking about the costly contingency plans he is having to make — and the need for a transitional deal to be agreed

as soon as possible don‘t forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i‘m @bbcrachelhorne stay with us on bbc news, still to come: up, up and away — as britain‘s skies experiences the busiest day of the year — a warning that the country‘s aviation infrastructure is close to breaking point. mission control: you can see them coming down the ladder now. 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: oj simpson — the former football star and actor — has won parole after serving nine years in prison. he‘s expected to be released in october. a powerful earthquake has killed at least two people on the greek island of kos. chester bennington, the lead singer of the american rock group linkin park, has died in an apparent suicide. the coroner‘s office in los angeles

said the 41—year—old had been found dead at his home in the city. fellow band—mate mike shinoda said he was heartbroken. peter bowes looks back on his career. i cannot take this any more. saying everything i‘ve said before. i cannot take this any more. saying everything i've said before. the powerhouse voice, huge, raspy vocals atop the spine —— define the middle sound of the new millennium, chester bennington, the la rger—than—life front man, his genius catapulted linkin park to international stardom with their debut album. we want to thank our fans for supporting us through our career. we have taken a lot of left turns and they‘ve come a long right with us. you know. and so, this is also a testament to them because you know we are only as great as our fans think we are. you

know what i mean? sorry... for more than 30 million copies worldwide, they filled stadiums, produced seven albums, and won two grammy awards. the band managed to fuse elements of metal and rock with a rap and hip—hop. the new metal genre evolved with songs such as crawling, in the end, and none. i've become so numb. i can‘t feel you there. end, and none. i've become so numb. i can't feel you there. his onstage persona may have been angry and harsh but bennington was, according to his friends, warm, articulate and funny in private. but he had a troubled personal life, struggling for yea rs troubled personal life, struggling for years with alcohol and drug abuse, talking about contemplating suicide as a result of being a victim of abuse as a child. celebrities and fellow musicians have flooded the intranet with tributes. bandmates like and dave said they were heartbroken by the

death of their close friend. riana said he was the most impressive talent she had ever seen live. the american comedienne jimmy kimmel said chester was one of the kindest man he‘d ever had on his chat show. chester bennington leaves a wife and six children from two marriages. the number of people in yemen with cholera is now the largest ever recorded in any country in a single year since records began. the outbreak started three months ago and oxfam says there are already 360,000 suspected cases — that‘s more than the numbers seen in haiti in 2011. the epidemic follows two years of a brutal civil war in yemen. russell trott reports. yemen, a country weakened by war, on the brink of famine and, now, overwhelmed by deadly disease. in theory, cholera should be easy to prevent and treat. but in yemen, where there is limited access to clean water and medicine,

it is thriving. translation: we are urgently appealing to the international community to supply medicine and medical supplies as soon as possible. thousands of people are malnourished and vulnerable to the infection which causes nausea and dehydration. this hospital in the capital, sana‘a, says it is treating hundreds of new cases every day. oxfam say there have been 360,000 suspected cases already this year. so far, the death toll stands atjust over 1,800. it‘s feared that total could rise to 600,000, making it one of the largest outbreaks since records began in 19119. yemen is one of the arab world‘s poorest countries and in the last two years, it has been devastated by a war between forces loyal to the saudi—backed government and the houthi rebel movement. a blockade imposed by the saudi—led coalition has triggered

a humanitarian disaster, leaving the majority of the population in need of aid. earlier this month, the un‘s aid chief made this appeal to the security council. this cholera scandal is man—made by the conflicting parties and those beyond yemen‘s borders who are leading, supplying, fighting, and perpetuating the fear of the fighting. in recent weeks, there have been signs of the epidemic slowing. but with the rainy season getting underway, there are fears it will create perfect conditions for the disease to spread even further. air traffic controllers say today will be their busiest day of the year. they‘re expecting to handle nearly 9,000 flights as millions of us start our summer holidays. but there‘s a warning that as more of us take to the skies, the country‘s aviation infrastructure is being pushed to breaking point.

colletta smith reports. the skies above us could be busier today than they have ever been, as people set off on their summer holidays. a traffic controllers so they are expecting to handle a record 800 thousand 800 flights today and they are warning it will be there to give up for busiest summer be there to give up for busiest summer yet. nats is half owned by government and controlled air traffic across the uk, they are expecting more than 770,000 flights to cross our skies this summer. that‘s to cross our skies this summer. that's 40 , 000 to cross our skies this summer. that‘s 40,000 more than last year. air traffic bosses say they can safely manage the busier skies but on passages of a future risk of regular delays if major changes are made to how uk airspace is managed. they want traditional flight paths changed with more satellite navigation used instead of ground—based radio beacons to allow

aircraft to climb, cruise, and to send more efficiently. the department of transport consulted on changing the way our skies are managed earlier in the year but they are yet to make an announcement. sport, and the 146th open championship at royal birkdale is underway and it‘s been a fantastic opening day for us golf fans. there‘s a three—way tie at the top of the leaderboard — america‘s jordan spieth is there with his compatriots matt kuchar, and us open champion brooks koepka. austin halewood was watching the action. it is the one everyone wants to win — golf‘s oldest major, the open championship. but with the biggest prize comes the biggest challenge. not for america‘s charley hoffman, though. he had just about the best start — an eagle on the first. in typically british conditions, it was englishman ian poulter who set the early pace with his best start to a major,

3—underfor the day. henrik stenson played some of the best golf the open championship has seen on his way to lifting the claretjug last year, but as defending champion, it was a modest first round. despite this tee shot on the seventh, he finished just a shot under par. but the first day was all about the americans, jordan spieth leading from the front. after winning back—to—back majors in 2015, spieth hasn‘t hit the same heights since, but he was back on song at birkdale, especially on the greens. and by lunchtime on day one at 5—under, without dropping a shot, spieth was the man to catch. newly crowned us open champion brooks koepka wasn‘t far behind, though, digging his way out of trouble and into a share of the lead at 5—under. into the afternoon, as the weather improved so did the golf.

matt kuchar racing out of the blocks, 4—under after his first six. another american sharing the lead. 2014 champion rory mcilroy was paired with world number one dustin johnson. a dream for fans, but a round that turned into a nightmare for mcilroy — a bogey on the opening hole. and that was his first of five in just six holes. but with a much better back nine, he managed to keep himself in contention, just. european football bosses could be about to receive some good news from their african counterparts — that‘s because organisers of the africa cup of nations look likely to move the tournament to june and july from 2019. they‘ll also expand the number of teams to 24. the timing of the nations cup has long been contentious as it‘s played in january and february, which clashes with the european season.

cameroon won this year‘s tournament, despite several of their european—based players refusing to play. the tournament will continue to be held every two years. does this sound familiar at all? a public body puts the naming of one of its vehicles up for a vote and the people doing the voting choose a name that is a little unusual. it happened here in the uk, and now it‘s happened again — this time in sweden — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. do you remember boaty mcboatface, the british research vessel that never was? well, meet trainy mctrainface. apparently, anything the brits can do, the swedes can do better. the local rail operator, along with a national newspaper, put the name of their new train up for a vote, and the great swedish public, in their infinite wisdom, decided trainy mctrainface was the ticket.

it‘s fun. it feels like boaty mcboatface got his revenge when trainy mctrainface got this victory in the poll. thinking about the popularity the poll had in the uk last year, i think that had an impact on this one as well. some other possibilities were hakan, miriam, and poseidon. but 49% of those voting went with trainy instead. it will run between gothenberg and stockholm. and while boaty mcboatface never took to the seas, trainy mctrainface will soon take to the tracks. don‘t forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. stay with us on bbc news. world business report is coming up and of course all of the latest headlines. injusta course all of the latest headlines. injust a moment. course all of the latest headlines. injusta moment. —— back course all of the latest headlines. injust a moment. —— back in. the end of the week sees many more

people thinking about holidays, right on cue, you know what i‘m going to say, here comes the area of low pressure to provide a combination of wet and windy weather initially across central and western parts of the british isles but there will be a slow creep of this whether further north and east with time. first up, many of you stepping out in the dry conditions, all over the cloud and cold but there is no getting away from the fact the close the ui to the centre of the pressure of low pressure will have a wet and windy start to your friday. it goes for much of the south—western england up into wales. some of those cust 13, 14 england up into wales. some of those cust13, 14 miles an hour. proprietor and dry start to east anglia, the east midlands and the south—east, the eastern side of the pennines maybe the mob or cloud of the most part dry. the best of the sunshine after a wet hinge on thursday, hallora friday, look at

much improved save perhaps for the shetland isles. northern island, which start. all tied in with the same front for around the area of low pressure among her put on the winds to remind me and you that some of this wind, around about the irish sea coast pushing on the gale force into northern ireland and is it which i mean, mid—afternoon, we haven‘t pushed the weather front very far to the east at all. with a wee bit of sunshine, 22, 23 possible but underneath the cloud and rain and the wind, then 17. it will be that combination eventually i think of wind and rain that the golfers and the spectators at royal birkdale on the lancashire coast will have to content with a really tough day all round. the weekend itself, the low pressure is close by the heavy showers, roosy in the circulation of the low, some drier interludes, but no getting away from the fact the eyecatcher is their milling away down across the south—west, pushing the showers into wales, for the show

is breaking out in the afternoon further north in england and wales, up further north in england and wales, up into the southern half of scotla nd up into the southern half of scotland in the northern ireland. top temperature, nothing to write home about, 16, depending where you are, maybe 21 if you‘re lucky. when the sunday, the low pressure moves across to the northern sea, onshore breeze and rain there for the eastern side of scotland, plenty of showers elsewhere. some of those quite sharp. this is bbc world news, the headlines. the former american football star and actor — oj simpson — is to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33—year sentence for armed robbery in las vegas. he was convicted of raiding a hotel room. two people have been killed and dozens of others injured in an earthquake which struck tourist resorts on the aegean sea. the deaths occurred on the greek holiday island of kos — when the ceiling of a building collapsed. us media reports say a spokesman for president trump‘s legal team has resigned. mark corallo had been dealing with the media on behalf of the lawyers representing mr trump as he faces an inquiry into alleged links with russia.

the lead singer of the american rock group linkin park has died in an apparent suicide. the coroner‘s office in la said chester bennington had been found dead at his home.