welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: still — the desperate search for survivors in california, as people try to come to terms with the scale of the massive mudslides, and the damage inflicted. president trump uses crude and insulting language to attack legal protections for immigrants from african countries, also haiti and el salvador. more violent protests in pakistan over the rape and murder of a six—year—old girl and the 12 similar murders over the past two years. the new york times was barred from publishing any more classified documents dealing with the vietnam war. and steven spielberg speaks to us about his new film, the current climate in hollywood, and donald trump. rescuers are using helicopters, search dogs and thermal imaging

equipment to try to find 8 people missing in california since the devastating mudslides on tuesday. 17 people are known to have died when a torrent of mud carrying boulders the size of cars smashed through the town of montecito. at least 500 homes have been damaged or destroyed. turn around! the flash—flood's right there, the flash—flood's right there! get out of here, go! this was the moment it began. oh, my god, mom! and then panic. it was a million miles an hour, in slow motion, if that makes sense. i clicked into survival gear, survival mode. wake dad up! every second, it's just roaring and banging against the house, and the most vicious,

violent sounds you've ever heard. montecito is onlyjust beginning to grasp the scale of the disaster which will bear its name. for this idyllic little town ofjust 9,000 people, recovery will be long and hard. people walk their dogs through here, there's trails, my kids have grown up riding their bikes. noelle strogoff fled with her three children just before the storm, but many of her neighbours did not. two young boys were swept out of their home, along with their mother, in the middle of the night. and their dog is gone, and they're lucky to be fine. it's just like a war zone here. there's homes that are just missing. and i walk down the street and i see balls, and toys, and bicycles, and shoes and socks, and knives and hammers. and it's like people's lives are just washed to the ocean. much of that debris ended up clogging the main coastal motorway. we were told that the people

in this car escaped. above the town, the scorched hills are scarred by rivers of mud. well, the mudslide came roaring down here, sweeping everything before it. and, if you want to know how houses can be swept from their foundations so easily, well, this is the answer. just look at the size of the boulders that were pushed down from the mountains. to drive through this little town is to be stunned by the power of this mudslide. southern california was once famed for its agreeable climate. these days, it reels from drought, fire and flood. james cook, bbc news, montecito. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. marches are taking place in cities across peru against the pardoning of the former president, alberto fujimori. his early release from a twenty—five

year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption was ordered by president kuczynski last month. reports from france say all the jewellery stolen in a raid on the ritz in paris, worth three and a half million dollars, has been recovered. a gang of five used axes to smash the windows of the luxury hotel to gain access to display cases. three were arrested fleeing the scene. a final television debate has been held in the czech republic between candidates for the presidency, ahead of friday's first round vote. but the incumbent president, milos zeman, refused to take part, leaving a sedate debate with few surprises. two french campaign groups have filed a legal case against samsung, over the company's alleged use of child labour in chinese factories making its products. the groups accuse the company of misleading commercial practices by claiming to be one of the most ethical companies in the world. samsung says it has a zero tolerance policy on child labour. at a white house meeting, president trump has reportedly shocked some members of congress by using crude and insulting

language to attack legal protections for immigrants from the african continent — also from haiti and el savador. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes has the latest from los angeles. this was a meeting, as you say, in the white house, in the oval office, to discuss immigration reform. and it was during that discussion that the president is reported as saying this: "why are we having all of these people from these "countries come here? " now, he didn't say "these countries", he used a crude expression to describe the countries that he is talking about — haiti, el salvador, and african countries as well. and, if you want to read in detail as to what the president said, there is a full story on the bbc news website. but i can tell you a few other phrases that the president came outwith. "what do we want haitians here for?" "why do we want all these people from africa here?" and, as you said, he said,

"we should have people "from places like norway." now of course the president did meet the prime minister of norway in the white house earlier this week. you'll find the offending word, of course, on just about every other news outlet, as well. as you say, he went on to say, why can't we admit more people from countries like norway? for people who thought their president was a racist, it'sjust going to be more ammunition, isn't it? yes, and that has been the tenor of the huge amount of criticism that there has been in the last few hours, since this was first reported — that these comments are extremely racist. and i'lljust read you a few of the comments from people who have been talking about it. the republican congresswoman mia love is haitian, and she called on the president to apologise, saying the president's comments are divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation's values.

she says this behaviour is unacceptable from the leader of our nation. a democrat from maryland, elijah cummings, tweeted, "i condemn this unforgivable statement, and this demeaning "of the office of the presidency." in pakistan, police have offered a ten million rupee reward for information leading to the killer of six—year—old zainab ansari. the discovery of the young girl's body has lead to violent protests in the city of kasur, where around a dozen other children have been killed in the past two years. secunder kermani reports from kasur. more anger on the streets of kasur. police and protesters clashed after the funerals of two men killed in the unrest. residents of the city have reacted with fury to the murder and sexual assault of six—year—old zainab ansari. she went missing last thursday, whilst walking alone to a koran class.