tonight at six. a humanitarian disaster in the west african state of sierra leone. more than three hundred dead. after torrential rain, a mudslide has buried a part of this area outside the capital. thousands more have been left homeless. emergency workers are stretched to the limit. this is a country still recovering from the ebola crisis. we'll bring you the latest... also tonight... seventy years since british colonial rule in india ended and pakistan was born. a nation created — a home for muslims — but amidst the celebrations there are memories of a darker past. the partition into pakistan and india was followed by violence between muslims, hindus and sikhs. i'll be reporting live from lahore — asking people here whether the high hopes of independence have been realised. flying while drunk and disorderly. a fifty per cent increase in the number of air passengers arrested. bong.

a sound you won't hear for four years. from next week big ben will be silent while repairs take place. and coming up in sportsday on bbc news... police have received complaints about neil lennon's conduct during hibs‘ win over rangers. his actions were believed to be inflammatory. this good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. more than 300 people are feared dead and others remain trapped after a mudslide near sierra leone's capital, freetown. a hillside in the regent area collapsed early on monday following heavy rains, leaving many homes buried under a wall of mud. around two—hundred and fifty bodies have been recovered so far. as our diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. snatched video on a mobile phone

shows a torrent of mud and water carrying away everything in its path. this driver risked his life on a bridge all but overwhelmed by the flash floods. freetown is an overcrowded coastal city. it has few defences against heavy rains. they come every year but not usually with quite such ferocity. around 250 bodies. been recovered so far, the authorities fear there could be many more trapped in the ruins of houses. a bbc reporter is there. i went down to the spot myself and you could see people using their bare hands, pulling up corpses from beneath the mud. the road itself is a disaster area, the road is almost impassable. there are massive rocks and this area, called mount sugarloaf, caved in in the early hours of this morning and it has covered literally thousands of houses.

hundreds of people are feared dead under the rubble. there are some ambulances parked here, but it is becoming a recovery mission instead of a rescue mission. the victims in sierra leone are among the world's poorest people. survivors risking everything to salvage a few possessions, trying to hang on to whatever they can despite the rising water. james is here now. this would be tough enough for any country but sierra leone, a few yea rs country but sierra leone, a few years ago was battling with the ebola crisis. this is the country with the tragic recent history, a civil war in the 1990s and then in 2014, their ebola epidemic across west africa but it killed more than 4000 people in sierra leone and

frankly once again, a very weakened economy has been struggling to recover from that crisis. according to the united nations, about six in every ten people in sierra leone to live below the poverty line, many come to the capital in search of some sort of living and they often build very fragile shacks from whatever they can find in the most unsuitable places, on river banks, on the edges of the city, low—lying land reclaimed from the sea making them particularly defenceless to a disaster like this. thank you. celebrations have been taking place in pakistan as the country marks 70 years since its creation. at midnight on august 14th 1947 british colonial rule over india came to an end and the country was divided into two independent nations — india and pakistan. what followed was a bout of sectarian violence that split families and communities apart. the partition led to the movement of around 12 million people in one of the largest migrations ever seen. many muslims fled east and west out of hindu—dominated india. similarly, millions of hindus and sikhs headed the other way.

but today, it's the birth of their nation, that pakistanis are celebrating. reeta chakrabarti is in lahore. george, lahore feels like one giant st party and you can probably hear it, there are flags and horns and fireworks. pakistanis are celebrating two things, the end of british colonial rule and also the splitting from india. pakistan was created as a homeland for the sub continent ‘s muslim people but there has been a debate going on about exactly what sort of country it should be. i have been looking at the hopes of the country's founding father and looking at how differently his vision has been interpreted by people today. in pakistan's former capital karachi, mohammadjinnah‘s home is preserved with care and reverence.

jinnah led the creation of pakistan, but today his legacy is hotly contested. just what sort of nation did he envisage? mohammad ali jinnah, pakistan's first governor general. as the british left colonial india, jinnah was desperate to secure the rights of the muslim population. the answer was a separate state, pakistan. our objective should be, peace within and peace without. but peace seems often to have eluded this nation, both within and without. poverty and security remain major issues and the debate over the role of islam rages on. a powerful message of inclusion... for this leading politician, jinnah‘s vision was for a secular pakistan, one that hasn't been fulfilled. i think mrjinnah would still be looking at moving us forward if he were here today. he made it very clear, it tolerated all religions, but we haven't been exactly the epitome of total inclusion that he sought. that's because others see islam

as central to jinnah‘s vision. the constitution, they say, is islamic in nature and successive governments have failed to implement it. what otherwise was the point they ask of creating pakistan? jinnah rebelled and struggled against secularism. there was secularism already in india with the hindus and the british and muslim identity was at risk. that is why he made pakistan, an independent islamic state. but others say pakistan's real problem is not religion, but the army. its might is on display every evening at the border with india, with troops strutting and goose—stepping in a full—blooded show of nationalism. over a third of pakistan's 70 years have been under military rule. what would jinnah have made of that? i think he would have been aghast.

the military were supposed to be a subordinate organisation to politics. i think he never ever could have imagined that the military would have played such an important role and would have dominated politics, as it does today. he would be turning in his grave if he came to know that. the military was in ceremonial mode today with an airshow to mark the anniversary of pakistan's creation. it is a public holiday and people were out in force in a mass show of patriotism and celebration. jinnah‘s resting place is this magnificent mausoleum in karachi, a fitting tribute to the first leader. he bequeathed to his people self—government and a democracy, but pakistan still struggles with what its true identity might be. reeta chakrabarti, bbc news, lahore. along with independence came partition that brought with it shocking violence on both sides. 0ur

pakistan correspondent has been speaking to those who fought, those who fled and those who helped shelter potential victims from slaughter. in 1947 as british colonial rule ended, india was divided along religious lines. hindus, sikhs and muslims who had lived in relative peace tore each other apart. amongst those involved in the violence was mohammad akram, just a teenager at the time. he helped attack a hindu politician who had been calling for calm after a muslim man was killed. translation: someone struck him on the head with a brick. then a cry went up. whoever doesn't hit him, isn't a real man. me and the rest of the crowd beat him to death. do you ever regret your role in the killing? translation: our people were being murdered. how could we tolerate that? we wanted to kill even more. i am still proud of what i did. up to1 million people

were killed in 1947. many of the most brutal attacks were on the trains carrying refugees into and out of pakistan, across the divided province of punjab. naseem is the eldest of five generations of her family living together in this city. the train she and her five—day—old baby were travelling on to pakistan was targeted by sikhs. translation: we hid under the luggage. they came on board, slashing everyone, cutting their faces, their legs, gouging their eyes. there were piles and piles of bodies. we were just silently praying. naseem lost nearly all her immediate family in the unrest. the horrors she witnessed continue to haunt her. translation: the fear never leaves you.

i still clearly remember how they used to strip people and cut them up. even now, i feel scared, that any time someone might come and kill me. atrocities were committed by both sides across the country. even here in these peaceful valleys north of islamabad, hundreds of sikhs were killed. but amidst the horror, there were heroes, too. mehboob and his father secretly hid their sikh neighbours from a rampaging mob. translation: one night, there was a knock on our door. a sikh girl was outside. she said, for the love of god, save us. let us in or we will be killed. we sheltered them for two days. mehboob is proud of what he and his family did. he remembers fondly the time when sikhs and muslims lived here, side—by—side. in pakistan though, many prefer to look to the future,

rather than at the past. but each anniversary of partition, there are fewer left who lived through it. sikander kermani, bbc news, islamabad. well, there is optimism in present—day pakistan particularly among the younger generation but there is no disguising the challenges. 0nly last month the prime minister was forced to resign over corruption charges and security isa over corruption charges and security is a constant issue with two big bomb attacks in the last few weeks. tomorrow i will be reporting from amritsar in india as that country celebrates its 70th birthday, but for now, from a very festive lahore, it is back to you, george. thank you very much. nfu mutual sake rounds in the

countryside have risen by one fifth in the first half of the year. last year england bore the brunt of rural crime with the cost atjust under £34 million. next was northern ireland, at £2.5 million. and then scotland with £1.6 million and wales, £1.3 million. live now to our midlands correspondent sima kotecha, who's on the warwickshire—leicestershire border. yes, at this farm they have several vehicles like this one. they have tractors, a combine harvester, sprayer but earlier this year several pieces of their equipment we re several pieces of their equipment were stolen, leaving the former here feeling isolated and nervous, something otherfarmers feeling isolated and nervous, something other farmers across the country can identify with. for farmers, it's an added pressure — having to constantly think about their vehicles and animals being stolen by criminals targeting the rural community. so this was the dome that was stolen. three of these off each tractor. just weeks ago, will had his gps systems stolen off his tractors, worth more than £30,000.

it makes you feel sick that someone has been in your shed. everything was locked up. all the tractors were locked up. but they can just get in and take everything. and it is stolen to order as well, i would say. because you're not going to sell it at your local car boot. today's crime report says theft in rural parts of the country has been worse this year than in the first six months of last year. we're seeing gangs of very well—organised thieves targeting tractors and equipment that's worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. it is easily transportable to europe. they can get there in a matter of hours, and also it is being transported across the globe. as this form of crime increases, there are concerns that thieves are becoming more sophisticated. and that is putting more pressure on farmers to remain one step ahead with their security measures. so now they are installing multiple cctv cameras, electronic gates and, in some cases, they are using dna markers on their sheep to protect them from rustlers. david is a dairy farmer

who makes cheese. last year, equipment was stolen from his workshop. do you think farmers are doing enough to keep their farms safe? you shouldn't have to do so much, should you, but we are certainly doing more than we were before. i think we just need more police on the ground, really. and i know that is probably a tall order under the current climate. we can only protect ourselves to a certain extent. we have been broken into twice and we have had a horse trailer stolen during sunday lunch. you know, how can you protect yourself against that? ask any farmer and they will tell you life is tough. but the additional threat of theft makes that burden even heavier and more stressful. our top story this evening. a humanitarian disaster unfolding in the west african state of sierra leone — as hundreds die in a mudslide

caused by heavy rain. and still to come. better late than never — president trump finally condemns violence committed by far right extremists. coming up in sportsday on bbc news. cristiano ronaldo has picked up a five—match ban after real madrid's spanish super cup win over barcelona. it's after he reacted to being sent off by pushing the referee in the back. it may be something you've already experienced this summer as you headed off on holiday — drunken air passengers. now a bbc panorama investigation has revealed nearly 400 people were arrested on suspicion of being drunk at uk airports or on flights in the year to february — that's up from around 250. the home office is "considering" calls for tougher rules on alcohol sales. tina daheley reports. cheering.

drunken rowdiness at 37,000 feet. violence between seats. mayhem in terminals. it is what some uk passengers are getting up to on outbound flights or at airports. an investigation by bbc panorama has revealed arrests of those suspected of being drunk at uk airports and on certain flights has risen by 50% in the past year. and half of 4000 cabin crew who responded to a survey for the programme said they had experienced or witnessed verbal, physical or sexual abuse by drunk travellers. theyjust see us as barmaids in the sky. they would touch your breasts or they would touch your bum or your legs. ally has recently quit herjob as cabin crew. she's had enough. i guess i never reported it to the police because sadly, and this is completely wrong and only really occurring to me now, you kind ofjust accept

it as part of the job. diverting flights because of drunk passengers can cost airlines thousands of pounds. phil ward runs the airlinejet2. he's already banned alcohol sales before 8am and wants airports and retailers to do more. two litre steins of beer in bars, mixers and miniatures in duty free shops, which can only be there for one reason. a voluntary code of conduct was introduced last year, which most big airlines and airports signed up to, including making it clear to passengers there could be fines or charges for disruptive behaviour. coconut rum, it's a bit early, but... never too early. the organisation running airports says the code does work but its people drinking to excess that's the problem. despite this, there are calls for airport licensing to be brought into line with pubs and bars. the government is expected to make a decision on that this autumn.

tina daheley, bbc news. and you can see more on this on tonight's panorama. plane drunk is on bbc one at 8:30pm. to america now and the aftermath of the violence that surrounded the weekend's rally by far right groups in charlottesville, virginia. in the last few minutes, president trump has condemned as repugnant the violence perpetrated by those he called white supremacists and neo—nazis. it follows criticism from democrats and many in his own party for failing democrats and many in his own party forfailing to democrats and many in his own party for failing to speak out over the actions of the far right in his first comment after the weekend's events. as our north america editorjon sopel reports. the president has returned to washington from holiday this morning to meet the director of the fbi and the attorney general following weekend violence in charlottesville.

meanwhile in the university of virginia town, there were scuffles outside the court where james alex fields appeared this morning on murder charges after a car ploughed into antiracism protesters. 0h, murder charges after a car ploughed into antiracism protesters. oh, my god! badly hurt! the president's everyone's to blame response and silence since led to a firestorm of criticism so why has donald trump been so unusually calm tide over this? well the number of fully paid—up white supremacists may be relatively small but the number who have sympathies is probably far larger. they were among the most vociferous supporters of his last november. certainly, his surrogates have condemned the far right but donald trump reluctantly so. today, 48 hours on, a marked shift in language from the battle president. racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the kkk,

neo—nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as americans. we are a nation founded on the truth, that all of us are created equal. we are equal in the eyes of our creator. we are equal under the law and we are equal under our constitution. but this was too little, too late for ken brazier. today, the boss of one of america's pharmaceutical companies resigned from the president's industry forum, saying" for —— saying:. within minutes, donald trump fired back at this prominent african—american:. donald trump is bent to criticism,

something that has not happened often, but it has left many asking, why didn't he deliver these remarks two days ago? we will get more on this withjon sopel in washington. i said before better late than never but the question is has he done enough to satisfy his critics? if we just look at the words themselves, they were very unequivocal, the kind of language donald trump has never used before in his condemnation of the far right that i have heard, the white supremacists, the neo—nazis and the kkk. in that sense, no one can then say to him, "hang on, he did not really give it full throttle". i think he did in the remarks he addressed but that said, why didn't he do that two days ago? why did it seem he was giving a nod and a wink orjust going for a moral equivalence, saying there were bad things happening in charlottesville

and everyone was to blame. i think the white house has been shocked by the white house has been shocked by the level of criticism it has taken from this, particularly from across the republican party, leaving the democrats to one side, republicans have been shocked by donald trump's seeming silence on this. the other thing i thought was really telling, we are used to watching donald trump riffing, going off on a tangent when he speaks. he clung to the lectern tightly, he focused on the camera because there was the teleprompter, the autocue in front of him, he knew he could not get a word wrong on something as important as this, which has already caused in the space of 48 hours so much damage to him. jon sopel, thank you very much. a plan to build a bridge covered with trees over the river thames in central london has officially been scrapped. almost £50 million of taxpayer money has already been spent on the garden bridge — but london mayor sadiq khan withdrew funding after a report recommended dropping the project. the bongs of big ben will fall silent for four years next week so that major conservation work can be carried out on its tower. the chimes will still be used

however, for important national events such as new year's eve and remembrance sunday, as our political correspondent leila natthoo reports. big ben chimes the hour. these chimes have filled the westminster air for more than a century and a half but soon, a four—year pause as the great bell, big ben, is silenced, so crucial repairs can be carried out. if you can imagine running your car for 160 years nonstop, 24 hours a day, it will need looking at, so that is what we are doing. we will be able to at this time, because it is such a long stoppage period, check absolutely everything on the clock. chimes. it is still working, which is good. still ticking, for now, but the clock mechanism needs attention. it is connected to the hammers that strike the bells. piece by piece, it will be dismantled. the parts cleaned and restored. and because the whole tower is being renovated, too, the construction workers cannot be

subjected to the regular ringing. loud chimes. it's deafening to be at this close range without these protective earphones on. but from next monday, big ben and all the four smaller quarter bells will get a rest, depriving westminster of its familiar soundtrack. repairs on the tower have already started and soon, the scaffolding will encase it entirely. not quite the same sight to come and see. big ben is big ben and people want to see big ben, not half a ben, a full ben. that would definitely be a bummer, for sure, to come all the way here and not to be able to see it. but you have to look at the advantages. if we are going to secure the tower for the future, forfuture generations, that far outweighs the inconvenience of having scaffolding up to two or three years. big ben will still be able to herald special events like the new year and remembrance sunday, but in the long break from its constant ringing, a strange silence will descend here, in the absence of its reassuring sound. leila natthoo, bbc

news, westminster. a strange silence indeed. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. 0ne one thing that has not been running like clockwork is the summer this year. we have seen a real lack of hot days so far this august. in fa ct, hot days so far this august. in fact, today, believe it or not, we have recorded the highest average we have recorded the highest average we have seen all month, all the way up to 25 celsius at gravesend in kent earlier today. where we see some sunshine this week, there will be some warmth but generally quite a cool week for most with some spells of rain and certainly a few showers around for one of our weather watchers in county down, northern ireland. we have seen some fairly intense thunderstorms clipping into northern ireland in the afternoon, some rain moving across scotland and now some heavy rain swarming across the far south—west, south—west england coming to wales, the odd flash of lightning and rumble of thunder as it drifts northwards

across northern england and into eastern scotland by the end of the night. further thunderstorms riff —— returning to the far south—east later in the night. skies clearing out west and into the north—west corner of scotland, cool and fresh air. tomorrow, outbreaks of rain in places but most will clear away quite smartly. we are left with not a bad day, spells sunshine and showers, yes, some will be heavy and sundry across scotland, the far north of england and northern ireland but by the south, not many showers, many places staying dry and most of us will be pegged back to 17-19 but most of us will be pegged back to 17—19 but in the south—east corner again, we could get 24 — 25 celsius. a ridge of high pressure building through tomorrow night into the first part of wednesday, quite a cool start and where the high holds an across central and eastern areas wednesday, should be largely dry with some sunshine, turning quite hazy. 0ut with some sunshine, turning quite hazy. out west for northern ireland and western scotland, eventually wales and the south—west was the outbreaks of rain, some heavy with blustery winds as well. for the end

of the week, we keep the mixed and changeable theme with some spells of sunshine, showers as well, unseasonably cool and perhaps unseasonably cool and perhaps unseasonably windy on friday so a mixed week ahead. a reminder of our main story. a humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the west african state of sierra leone, as hundreds die in a mudslide caused by heavy rain. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me. 0n bbc one, we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello. this is bbc news with me, ben brown. the headlines at 6.30pm: hundreds of people are feared dead and others remain trapped after a mudslide on the outskirts of sierra leone's capital, freetown. 70 years since the end of british colonial rule — india and pakistan mark the anniversary of their independence. partition led to one of the largest mass migrations of people the world has ever seen. new figures suggest claims for rural crime rose by more than a fifth in the uk in the first half

of this year. thieves are targeting land rovers, tractors and quad bikes, despite increased security on farms. and ryanair calls on uk airports to enforce a two—drink limit, after a bbc investigation finds arrests of drunken passengers have risen by 50% in a year. in a moment it will be time for sportsday, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news... as president trump finally condemns far—right groups after the violent scenes in virginia over the weekend, we'll be looking at the scale of america's extremist white nationalism. 70 years on from the partition of india, two men who witnessed it as children from different sides of the religious divide meet up to share their memories of that time. and, as big ben prepares to go silent for the next four years, we'll take a closer look at one of the world's most

famous clock towers. that's all ahead on bbc news.