welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: "blame on both sides" — president trump says anti—fascist protesters were partly responsible for the lethal violence in virginia. i think there's blame on both sides. you look at both sides, i think there's blame on both sides and i have no doubt about it. 400 now confirmed dead in sierra leone and rescuers fear many more still lie buried under the mudslide. columbia's fa rc rebels columbia's farc rebels hand over their weapons, ending almost a century of violence. once it would have been impossible, but will climate change allow these yachts to sail to the north pole? in a combative press conference in his new york tower,

donald trump has lashed out at reporters when pressed on his response to the violence in charlottesville, virginia at the weekend. the us president again blamed both sides for the clashes, which broke out after neo nazis and white supremacists held a rally in the town on saturday. one anti—racist campaigner was killed and many were injured when a car ploughed into a group of cou nter— protesters. two police officers also died in a helicopter clash. —— crash. we had a group on one side of the group on the other and they came out with clubs and it was vicious and horrible. but there was another side. there was a group on this side, you can call them the left, you've just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. so you can say what you want, but that's the way it is. reporter: on both sides, sir? you said there was hatred and violence on both sides? i do think there's blame, yes.

i think there's blame on both sides. you look at both sides, i think there's blame on both sides and i have no doubt about it and you don't doubt it either. and if you reported accurately you would say that. mr trump described his response to the crisis as "excellent", despite being criticised for initially failing to directly condemn the far—right groups involved in the violence. here's the thing. when i make a statement, i like to be correct. i want the facts. this event just happened. in fact, a lot of the events didn't even happen yet as we were speaking. this event just happened. before i make a statement, i need the facts. so i don't want to rush into a statement. so making the statement when i made it was excellent. in fact, the young woman, here is a fantastic young woman, it was on nbc, her mother wrote me and said

through a guess twitter, social media, the nicest things and i very much appreciated that. i hear she was a fine really actually an incredible young woman. but her mother on twitter thanked me for what i said and honestly if the press we re what i said and honestly if the press were not fake and if it was honest the press would have said what i said was very nice. the president was there to talk about his infrastructure programme and use it with that programme he is improving race relations. i think it got on better or... they think frayed for a long time and you can ask president obama about that because he made speeches about it. but i believe that the fact that i brought in... it will be soon, millions ofjobs, you see where companies are moving back into our country, i think it will have a tremendous positive impact on race relations. we have companies coming

back into our country, we have two car companiesjust back into our country, we have two car companies just announced, we have foxcon just announced, car companies just announced, we have foxconjust announced, we have many companies pouring back into the country. i think this will have a huge positive impact on race relations. you know why? jobs. people now want jobs. relations. you know why? jobs. people now wantjobs. they want greatjobs people now wantjobs. they want great jobs with people now wantjobs. they want greatjobs with good pay and when they have that you watch how race relations will be. the president talking about his job creation programme. let's cross to washington and the bbc‘s david willetts. it is ha rd to and the bbc‘s david willetts. it is hard to avoid the feeling that the president is extending the shelflife ofa president is extending the shelflife of a controversy of his own making, but he does bafflingly seem to be referring to a group of violent white prisoners as, —— white supremacist, neo—nazis, as fine people? it is extraordinary and the reaction has been what you would anticipate, calls for firm

leadership, calls for a denunciation of the very notion that both sides we re of the very notion that both sides were equally to blame for what happened in charlottesville on saturday. we've had calls from leaders of the house, paul ryan, from senator marco rubio, also a member of donald trump's party, and from the democratic governor of the state of virginia, where this violence occurred on saturday. all basically leading their voices to the genome see it on of president trump's rhetoric today and of course the only support really that has secured prominently in the headlines has been from one david duke, the former head of the ku klux klan who applauded mr trump for what he called his courage, as he saw it, for what happened on saturday. we

should probably read about quote from the governor of virginia in full. we have it here. he said: he goes on to call it: of course quite apart from all this there is collateral damage. more people feeling the need to resign from the president's manufacturing council. perhaps more to come? tabs more to come. six already. the president himself making fairly light of that, but it is the sort of thing that he takes very personally. he very swiftly responded to one of the key resignations over the weekend, while taking two days to actually really get down to the

nitty—gritty of this and give people that enunciation they were seeking of these white supremacist group. there is the feeling that the president has rendered self inflicting damage on the moral standing of the presidency itself. we had the choice, if you like, to be the unifying voice of a traditional president at a time such as this and for a moment or two he was. when he spoke from notes from the white house yesterday it was a much more emollient and considered tone, today we saw a president who spoke without notes, without any briefing. he was due to speak about infrastructure projects, but instead we heard the raw, unvarnished donald trump and it went back to the views that he espoused on saturday and the

feeling that both sides in that conflict were to blame. david, thank you very much for that. rescue workers in sierra leone have recovered almost 400 bodies after a massive mudslide near the capital, freetown, and the death toll is expected to rise. the casualty toll is expected to rise. homes were engulfed by mud and water when part of a mountain collapsed yesterday morning. thousands have been left homeless. the authorities are planning mass burials for those who've been killed because the mortuaries are full. from freetown, our correspondent umaru fofana reports. the mountainside collapsed in an avalanche of mud. families were buried as they slept. the debt huge of water surged through streets, leaving total devastation and few survivors. 0utside leaving total devastation and few survivors. outside the freetown mortuary it's been a difficult day

for the emergency services. hundreds of bodies have been brought here. this is a disaster which even by the reckoning of the head of this mortuary who has been doing this for decades is unprecedented. he says it contested nothing like the ebola virus outbreak or civil war. he says he has never seen anything like this. those who did escape look at the place where they used to live. this man lost eight members of his family. translation: ifirst this man lost eight members of his family. translation: i first saw the body of my sister and called on people to help me and we laid her on the floor. then i started hearing other people nearby crying. i've lost all of my family. meanwhile, the rescue operation continues. it is hoped survivors might still be found. it is believed that hundreds of people are lying dead here beneath the mudslide and the hope is they will be able to find one of them —— any one of them alive. those

hopes are fading fast because of the late arrival of the heavy machinery and equipment needed. many people believe the help did not come in time. the mudslide and flash floods have shaken this country. people here have already suffered a bloody civil war and the devastating ebola outbreak. now thousands have lost everything. let's take a look at some of the other stories making making the news. another woman has come forward to say she was sexually assaulted by roman polanski. known only as robin, she claimed at a news conference that she was assaulted by the director when she was 16. she is the third woman to its —— to accuse him of child abuse. the british government has set out its plans for trading with the eu and the rest of the world after brexit. the proposals allow for a temporary deal if it's needed, with the ultimate goal similar to the current free—trade agreement that comes with eu membership.

a senior eu figure has dismissed that as fantasy. in colombia, the last truckload of weapons held by the country's former rebels, the farc, has been taken away under un supervision. it's the latest stage of a peace process agreed between the rebels and the government last year and one colombia's president says marks the beginning of a "new phase" in the life of his country. aaron safir reports. for more than 50 years columbia's fa rc for more than 50 years columbia's farc rebels route used weapons like this in its conflict with the government. now the country's president has locked away the final cache of guns and bullets. some 8000 weapons and more than a million pieces of ammunition have already been collect dead by the un as part of the process. translation: wejust witnessed something truly historic. i would say the last breath. the commission of piece called back to.

the last breath of the conflict that 53 years. when we see the last container go down it is really the last stage of the abandonment of weapons. under the agreement signed just under a year ago, thousands of former farc rebels will become fully fledged citizens reintegrated into society in special demobilisation zones under the protection of the colombian security forces. from september five will become a political party represented in the colombian congress —— farc. translation: it will be called the alternative revolutionary force of colombia. we do not want to break ties to our past. have been and will continue to be a revolutionary organisation. we will be within the system but we will also have our anti— system voice clear and precise. are the arms groups are still active in colombia but this final handover is another significant step towards ending a conflict that has lasted half a century and claimed 250,000 lives

and displaced millions. as for the weapons, they will eventually be melted down and turned into monuments of celebrating the peace accord. much more to come including this: a music student steps out of the shadows to become an opera star. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a hugejob of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutalformer dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia, where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979.

two billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millenium. it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, ending three hours later when the sun set over the bay of bengal. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump has defended his response to deadly protests in charlottesville at the weekend, again claiming that both sides were to blame. india's prime minister, narendra modi, has led the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of his country's independence from britain. the division of colonial india into two states — india and pakistan — in 19117 was followed

by sectarian violence. up to a million people were killed. the partition led to the movement of around 12 million people, in one of the largest migrations ever seen. the bbc‘sjustin rowlatt reports on the challenges in modern day india. this is a day of celebration for india. the indian prime minister, narendra modi, talked of the country's successes — its growing economy, its efforts to tackle corruption and his vision for a secure, developed nation with equal opportunities for all. he knows that there are challenges. he made a point of speaking out against hate crimes. translation: in the name of religions, some people in this country commit crimes. this is the land of gandhi and buddha and violence in the name of faith will not be tolerated. he is talking about india's tiny minority of hindu extremists, people like this man. modi is a hindu nationalist and tensions have been growing between the country's hindu majority

and its large muslim minority. at the centre of the controversy is the slaughter of cows for meat. muslims eat beef. but the cow is a sacred animal in hinduism, regarded as a mother figure. translation: if i find someone killing my mother cow, i won't hesitate to kill him. i don't need the police or the authorities. i will give him punishment. i'm the court. i give the verdict. vijaykant is so passionate about protecting the cow he and his supporters take to the streets. they've been told they've got no permission to stop vehicles, but they're stopping them anyway. stopping these lorries to see if they're carrying any cows. translation: i have information

that they are smuggling cows in a truck like this. cow vigilantes have been increasingly active across the country since modi took power and there have been murders. this muslim man was accused of illegally transporting cows for slaughter by a different group of vigilantes. they beat him to death. avoiding communal conflict is crucialfor india. this new bridge isjust one of scores of major new infrastructure projects. the country's doing well — the fastest growing large economy in the world. so here is the government's dilemma: it wants to keep its hardline hindu supporters onside but, at the same time, it knows economic success depends on the country remaining peaceful. with tensions between hindus and muslims running high,

that could be quite a challenge. justin rowlatt, bbc news, uttar pradesh. toa to a heated rhetoric, it seems that north korea has backed away from its threat to fire ballistic missile is giddy american pacific island of guam. kimjong—un has giddy american pacific island of guam. kim jong—un has announced giddy american pacific island of guam. kimjong—un has announced he will wait before acting. it has been met with cautious relief. if war comes to guam, joey lopeer is ready. today, he and his brother are hunting for wild pig. if an attack comes, he says he is ready to turn his guns to defending this tiny pacific island. patriotism runs deep here. per capita, guam sends more people to the military than anywhere else in the united states.

this is an island of warriors. god forbid something happened to this island. do not be surprised that you see local men taking to malicious diol... taking up arms, protecting their homes and family. there are signs that kim jong—un is pulling back from the brink. these pictures show him studying plans for a strike on guam. but kim jong—un says he will now watch first, the foolish and stupid conduct of the yankees. the islands governor told me that his words show that donald trump's tough stance is working. how do you deal with bullies? you have to do it with strength and clarity. when the head of state is very aggressive and strong, kimjong—un may be reconsidering doing testing. we have gotten some good word,

at least for today, he hasn't made the decision to test. there is obvious relief, but not everyone agrees with the governor that it is because of the tough rhetoric of president trump. some here are furious about what they see as president trump's casual disregard of their security. we want to continue to live here for generations to come. these protesters say it is time for washington to stop playing games with their lives. they live on the frontline, but can't even vote for the us president. our islands have been used for wars for so long and caught in wars for so long. it is time for our people to examine why. it is time that we used this moment and this attention to let the people of the world know that we no longer should be a colony. this is the new reality. america's confrontation with north korea will be long, arduous and at times, frightening.

the british explorer pen hadow and his crew have set sail from alaska in a bid to become the first people ever to sail by yacht to the north pole. it's been impossible until now because of arctic ice. but that's melting at an unprecedented rate — meaning the 3,500—mile journey may now be possible. our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. setting off into uncharted arctic waters, a pair of yachts attempting a first — sailing all the way to the north pole. a crew of ten and dog, fukimi, have just departed from alaska. led by british explorer, pen hadow, they have a 3,500 mile voyage ahead. for the first time in human history, possibly for the first time in130,000 years, it is now possible to sail ships into this sea area.

it's the rapidly warming conditions in the arctic that have made this expedition even possible. this shows how sea ice has melted over time. the smaller the circle, the less ice that year. there's still data to come for 2017, but already it doesn't look good. a large—scale analysis, from the us polar science centre, estimates that, from the late 1970s, half of the volume of sea ice has been lost. it means that once inaccessible waters are opening up, and researchers say this could lead to significant changes, especially for commercial shipping routes. the north pole is here. what we're seeing in this map... at reading university, scientists say that instead of having to sail around the frozen pole, ships will have a new short cut. at the moment, we're seeing a few experimental voyages through the arctic. in the future, as the ice continues to melt, the possibility of having more commercial ships travelling through the region

will only increase. ice—strengthened ships may be able to go right over the pole by the middle of the century. the team do not know how far north they'll get. but this expedition into the unknown may be the start of a new era of arctic voyages. rebecca morelle, bbc news. it's what performers dream of — a soprano is taken ill at a world famous concert hall and the person who's drafted in to replace her at the last minute is a 23—year—old music student who usually takes the tickets and works in the cloakroom. for one night only, milly forrest swapped coats for a london stage, and wowed the audience and critics alike. chi chi izundu went to meet her. opera singing. it's the stuff of dreams. milly's normally back here taking coats and bags a couple of nights a week.

sometimes she even gets to page—turn doing a live concert. but not for the season's closing night. and that's because one of the evening's performers was taken ill, and milly was asked to step in. she says she was shocked by the opportunity. really excited. really scared. really, really nervous. but when i had a good look at the music, and i realised it was doable, i knew i could make sure i learned it in time. that was a bit of a relief. one critic dubbed her "breathtaking", even though at 23, her voice is still not mature enough to go into the profession full—time. a few people who i trust have said "have look at this girl." she's very young. so we have to take care of her and make sure that we don't do things too quickly. but there is a quality to the voice and her interpretation that came out very much, towards the end of the audition actually. milly's heading to the royal college of music for her postgrad

in september, but has already been booked to perform at the hall again. maybe mum and dad will catch that one. i rang them and i said, "mummy, i'm going to be stepping in at the wigmore hall." she said, "oh, i really wish we could go, but we're going out for dinner." my dad called me again and he said, "i'm sorry, treasure. you're going to have to forgive mum for this one." next month, she'll be back taking cloaks and bags in that cloakroom. chi chi izundu, bbc news. finally, the main news again. president trump has been widely condemned by senior republicans and others for his latest remarks, repeating claims that antiracist demonstrators share the blame for violence at a white supremacist rally in west virginia. well, we've got a bit of rain on the way on wednesday,

particularly across western areas of the uk. but at the moment out there, it is dry. a lot of clear weather. and also quite nippy, particularly across northern areas of the uk. in the countryside code temperatures will be down to the single figures. perhaps 5—6. even on the south coast, about 8—9. but that is in the countryside. here is wednesday's weather map. here is a low pressure approaching. that is going to upset western areas. but the morning could look sunny for many of us in the east, in england and scotland. south wales will be decent enough too. through the morning, rain does increase and the winds, too. things will get greyer and greyer and then there will be outbreaks of rain. rain getting to cornwall, northern parts of wales, northern ireland, certainly into the afternoon. but it will be fine and bright in many parts of england,

especially in the east. 20 in newcastle, low 20s in london. wednesday night, the rain moves through. some of it might be heavy, but it is out of the way by the time we get to wednesday — thursday morning, that is. early on thursday, still a bit of rain around. then it clears out into the north sea. thursday afternoon is looking bright. fairly brisk. some showers around — most will be across the north—west. hit and miss rain. temperatures will get to 2a in london. 21 degrees in newcastle. to get into friday, low pressure is close to our neighbourhood, essentially spelling further showers on the way. so not much change to our weather pattern. still a bit of a breeze out there. most showers will be across the northern half of the uk. so anywhere along the south coast will have a mostly dry day. and then saturday is looking quite breezy. there will be some sunshine and showers. and interesting things happening in the atlantic at the moment. right now, there is hurricane gert, which is churning off the eastern seaboard of the united states. what is going to happen with this storm system, it is going to accelerate into the north atlantic.

it will get mixed up with our normal weather patterns, and then that mess will come our way. we will get wet and windy weather at times. so i think a blustery weekend on the way. and before i go, a quick look at the weather across europe on wednesday. and there's a lot of hot sunshine out there across the mediterranean. temperatures in some spots will be around about a0 degrees or so, and some thunderstorms rumbling through central europe, as well. this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has again blamed both sides for violence at a protest in cha rlottesville on saturday. he accused what he described as alt—left groups of having

deliberately attacked those protesting against the removal of a statue of a confederate general. a spokesman for the sierra leonean president has told the bbc that at least 600 people are still missing following the mudslide that swamped hundreds of homes on the outskirts of the capital freetown on monday. the authorities say rescue workers have recovered nearly 400 bodies. the last weapons belonging to colombia's former left—wing rebels the farc have been handed over to un monitors. the colombian president, juan manuel santos, declared that this was the last breath of the country's 52—year armed conflict. a quick round—up of