welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: president trump calls for decisive action against the taliban after one of the deadliest suicide attacks in afghanistan for months. almost 100 people are dead and dozens more injured. gunmen storm a nightclub in north—east brazil, killing at least 1a people. local media says rival drugs gangs are to blame. hello. president trump has called for decisive action against the taliban in the wake of one of the deadliest attacks on kabul in recent months. at least 95 people were killed and 160 wounded when an ambulance packed with explosives was blown up in a busy part of the afghan capital.

zia shahreyar reports from kabul. an ambulance packed with explosives, driven into crowds on their way to work. the force of the blast shook the windows of buildings at least a mile away. some low—rise structures collapse. a plume of smoke, visible across the city. the attacker had driven his vehicle past the police checkpoint claiming to have a patient inside. when guards at a second checkpoint became suspicious, he detonated the bomb. translation: i was in an armoured plated vehicle when suddenly there was an explosion. i was in the back seat, my driver was blown out on to the ground and injured. the area of the attack is home to foreign embassies and the city's police headquarters. the road had been closed to public transport. the taliban claimed responsibility. this is their second deadly assault

on the city in the space of a week. 20 people were killed in an attack on the intercontinental hotel last week. this evening, work was continuing to clear the scene of the latest bombing. this is a very secure area and security is very tight here usually, and the question will be how they got through this far? the afghan military, backed by us air power, has intensified its campaign to drive out the taliban from its rural strongholds. but as today's strike proves, they're still able to mount deadly attacks against civilian targets in the heart of the country's major cities. zia shahreyar, bbc news, kabul. at least 1a people have been killed in a shooting at a nightclub in brazil. police say that gunmen, possibly involved in a drug trafficking gang, attacked the club in fortaleza in the early hours of saturday morning. richard forrest has more.

chaos and confusion outside the nightclub in fortaleza. police and ambulance crews arriving shortly after the shooting. eyewitnesses said the violence started after a group of armed masked men arrives in three vehicles. some said shots were fired for at least 30 minutes. 0ne police officer described the scene at the club as a massacre. amongst those kill wered two teenagers — and one of the injured, a 12—year—old boy. as news of the shooting spread, people arrived outside the club to see if family or friends had people arrived outside the club to see if family orfriends had been caught up in the horror. local media say the shooting was a clash between members of two rival drug trafficking gangs, but police haven't confirmed this. earlier this month, four people died in a drug—related shooting in the suburbs of fortaleza. water levels are continuing to rise along the river seine in paris, following some of the heaviest

rain for a century. the river's expected to reach six metres higher than usual. sections of the louvre museum have closed, some basements have flooded and tourist boats are no longer operating. luxmy gopal reports. the swollen seine still rising. more than four metres above its usual level, it's expected to peak at six metres by the end of the weekend. 0n the outskirts of parising some residents have had to resort to travelling by boat through water logged streets, while in the city centre, the tourist boats are no longer operating, with only emergency services allowed along the seine. the past month has been the third wettest here since records began in 1900. the impact of recent rains is visible in the water levels as the water laps this crimean war

statue. the french authorities have been on high alert and at a flood crisis meeting, the mayor of paris tried to reassure residents, saying the current situation isn't as bad as that of 18 months ago. translation: the flood is less significant in terms of the volume of rising water, compared to that of june 2016. even if it remains substantial, because currently we are at 5.7 metres and we should peak between 5.8 and 6 metres maximum. the flooding has already left hundreds of people without electricity and evacuated from their homes. four casters predict drier weather for the week ahead, but with much of the ground in northern france water logged, the return to normal will be a slow process. milos zeman will be the president of the czech republic once again following a tightly contested election run—off. mr zeman fiercely opposes immigration and objects to eu sanctions against russia. he beat his opponent by a narrow margin.

rob cameron reports from prague. cheering and applause a narrow victory for milos zeman, the 73—year—old president of the czech republic. all chant "relatively narrow," as he put it, 150,000 votes have separated him from his challenger. "this is my last victory," he said, and promised to be more humble, less arrogant in his second term than his first, though he didn't seem to have buried his hatchet with the media. translation: i'm convinced that not only the intelligence of journalists, but also of some politicians, is significantly lower than that of normal citizens. this message, that only he had the political experience to shield his country from the perils facing it, first and foremost, immigration, appears to have paid off. cheering and applause

but across town, the mood in his challenger‘s headquarters was upbeat. translation: the candidacy was a huge experience, a life experience and a political one. i can't quite imagine myself not using it in some way. the result was a blow to liberal pro—european voters who believed thatjiri dahos could bring about a change to reaffirm the czech place in the heart of europe, looking not east but west. they will have to wait for the next election if that dream is to be fulfilled. but how long will that be? there are concerns about president zeman‘s health. he suffers from type ii diabetes and has difficulty walking. he seemed exhausted in recent months. his doctors say he is perfectly healthy, but how long can this political veteran continue to dominate czech politics? rob cameron, bbc news, prague.

let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the attorney—general in the us state of michigan has launched a wide—ranging investigation into the conduct of officials at michigan state university, where the former usa gymnastics team doctor, larry nassar, was based. nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting young athletes. the finance chairman of the us republican national committee has resigned over allegations of sexual misconduct. steve wynn has been accused of making dozens of female staff perform sex acts. he's dismissed the accusations as preposterous. the constitutional court in madrid has ruled that the catalan separatist leader, carles puigdemont, can only be sworn in as regional president if he returns to spain. there had been speculation that mr puigdemont could be sworn in and govern from belgium, where he's in self—imposed exile for more detail and analysis

on our top stories, head to our website. that's bbc.com/news. police are searching for a second man after a car crash in west london in which three teenage pedestrians were killed. it's believed the car was travelling at speed before mounting the pavement in hayes on friday night. the victims have been named locally as harry rice, george wilkinson and josh kennedy. a 28—year—old man has been arrested. friends, classmates, mourners. three, two, one... grieving together, an improvised memorial for a tragedy as shocking as it was unexpected to mark the deaths of three teenagers struck by a speeding car in hayes in middlesex yesterday evening. two of those who died have been identified as harry rice,

on the left, and george wilkinson. the identity of the third teenager, named locally as josh, has not been confirmed. two were 16, one was aged 17. jake webb was one of the first on the scene immediately after it happened. i could see the incident in front of me. i had pulled over at that point. there was a bus driver in front of us and he came over and said, "oh, yes, there's someone dead in the road," and at that point i relayed that to 999, and within five minutes, an ambulance arrived. the three friends were walking on the other side of the road to a party less than half a mile away. as they reached the bus stop, the car mounted the curb and hit them. other friends with them were unhurt but saw the whole thing. the car, a black audi, then smashed into a lamppost before coming to a halt in the road. this image showing the force of the impact. eyewitnesses say afterwards a man who was in the car was attacked on a nearby garage forecourt. some locals say speeding cars on this stretch of road are nothing new.

it's a 60mph road. and cars, vehicles, drive up here sometimes like it's a speed track. this road's busy 2a/7, and if i'm being totally honest, i'm surprised there hasn't been more accidents along her. i'm surprised there hasn't been more accidents along here. police believe two men were in the crashed car, and with many other teenagers heading to the same party, they‘ re appealing for any witnesses to contact them. ben ando, bbc news, hayes. the release of the black cab rapist, john worboys from prison, has been put on temporary hold, following a legal challenge by two of his victims. the 60—year—old was jailed for a minimum of eight years in 2009 for the rape and sexual assault of women across london. lawyers representing the women were granted a stay on his release, after making an urgent application to the high court. all current rape and serious sexual assault cases in england and wales are to be reviewed, following the collapse

of several recent trials. the director of public prosecutions said it was a matter of urgency to make sure evidence has been properly disclosed. but the government's chief legal adviser says there's no evidence of widespread malpractice or dishonesty in the prosecution system. clive coleman reports. disclosure of evidence in some recent highly publicised rape cases has gone badly wrong. but how widespread is the problem? in december, liam allan's trial for rape and sexual assault collapsed when it emerged evidence on a computer disk, which police had examined, showed messages from the alleged victim pestering him for casual sex. and the number of prosecutions in england and wales that collapsed because of a failure by police or prosecutors to disclose evidence has increased by 70% in the last two years. now, the director of public prosecutions, alison saunders, has ordered an urgent review of all rape and serious sexual assault cases,

and conceded it's likely a number will be dropped. one of the major problems is the amount of digital evidence on phones and social media. it's very apparent that in some cases, mistakes have been made that simply shouldn't have been. it is important that when you look at that kind of case that the prosecutors and investigators look at social media traffic, look at text messages that have passed between the two individuals, because they can put what's happened in a very significant, different light. a national disclosure improvement plan has been published. it includes a review of disclosure training, developing a group of specialists in every police force, and all multimedia evidence to be provided to the defence digitally. yesterday, here, a people—trafficking case, not a rape or sexual assault trial, collapsed because prosecutors failed to disclose critical evidence to the defence. thejudge has demanded an urgent

explanation in a case made even more shocking by the fact that one of the young female defendants was held in prison for 13 months, during which time she gave birth. this problem is systemic and endemic throughout the criminaljustice system. it's been known about for many years, and it's the result of chronic underfunding, of the police, the prosecution service, and particularly, defence lawyers who have suffered years of cuts to legal aid. if public confidence in our fair trial system is to be maintained, fixing disclosure is now the criminal justice system's biggest challenge. clive coleman, bbc news. this is bbc news, the headlines: this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has called for "decisive action" against the taliban after 95 people were killed and dozens more injured in a deadly suicide attack in the afghan capital. tributes have been paid to three

young boys killed in a traffic incident. one of the world's richest men, prince alwaleed bin talal, has become the latest high—profile figure to be released after a major anti—corru ption drive in saudi arabia. an official said the prince was released after a settlement was approved by the state prosecutor. but the prince said no charges were brought against him, and no deals had been done. 0ur arab affairs editor, sebastian usher, reports. just hours before his release, prince alwaleed bin talal gave his first interview from the gilded cage of the ritz carlton hotel. in hard cash terms, he has been the biggest catch of the saudi purge. the idea of a man worth $17 billion being reduced to sleeping on a mattress while bargaining for his freedom has been a powerful

one, and an image he was keen to dispel as he gave a tour of the suite where he was held in recent weeks. i have been all the time here at this hotel. it's been fine. i have exercised, i stretch, i swim, i walk. i have my old iphone, so it's like home. i call my family every day. i'm in touch with my office every day. my private office, my kingdom office. everything is functioning. the saudi attorney general has said that 90 detainees have been released after charges were dropped against them while others have reached financial settlements to win theirfreedom. around 90 are believed to still be in detention. some will go to prison and face trial. the man behind the anti—corruption drive and all the recent startling shifts in saudi arabia is the crown prince, mohammad bin salman. it's part of his ambitious plan to transform the country, economically and socially. finally weaning it from its twin dependence on oil and religious austerity, as well as granting women basic new rights such

as for permission to drive. his vision 2030 project needs massive funding, and the authorities say the purge should deliver at least $100 billion to state coffers. those who co—operate might be somewhat lighter in cash, but they should be able to continue with their businesses and their lives. but it's still a risky move which could consolidate the crown prince's power or build up resentment against his dominance. sebastian usher, bbc news. elderly survivors have gathered in auschwitz in poland to mark holocaust memorial day. six millionjews, and millions of others were murdered

in concentration camps by the nazis during the second world war. evening prayers have been said at the former auschwitz—birkenau concentration camp, and tributes paid at the monument to the victims at the site. a mural by the world famous graffiti artist, banksy has appeared in hull. hundreds of people have been turning up to see it on a disused bridge in the city. the artist appeared to confirm it's his work on social media, although not everyone is happy about it. matthew bone has the story. the bankside area of hull is no stranger to graffiti, but this latest addition is a little different. the artwork certainly looks like a banksy, and the artist seemed to confirm its identity on social media. it's caused a lot of interest. this is a quiet, old industrial part of hull, but ever since rumours of the banksy appeared last night, a steady stream of people have come here today to check it out for themselves. it's really good. fantastic. i also like the way that the writing in it is like writing that's on a chalkboard or in a school,

like when you see that sort of thing. i like his shoes. i think he has got a nice pair of shoes on. you've got to wear a nice pair of shoes, haven't you, rosie? of the hundreds of people who have come along to see it, gavin is more excited than most. a lifelong banksy fan, he works just around the corner. for me, personally, the culture i grew up with, it is a dream come true. what does the mural mean? it depends who you ask. the bridge is raised. it is the drawbridge. for me, hundreds of years ago, we never let the king into hull. a sort of defiance, a sort of challenge. it could have been to do with us voting out, for brexit. it's all about pulling up the drawbridge again. not everyone is happy to see the graffiti appear. 0ne conservative opposition councillor has an idea of what to do. record by whatever means we can banksy‘s contribution to that piece of work, then clean it off. it is graffiti. all graffiti is damage. if banksy wants to create real art, and i'm sure he does,

then perhaps it might be a good idea to buy some canvas. the graffiti has already been graffitied, with some green spray just nicking the toe of the mural. this afternoon, new fencing was put up to prevent people from getting up close. 60 years ago, godtfred kirk kristiansen, the second generation owner of lego, patented the lego brick, which took the world by storm. gottfred's then ten—year—old son, kjeld, regularly helped his father test out the new toys in the family workshop founded by his grandfather. kjeld kirk kristiansen spoke to witness about his family's extraordinary business. the village was invented when there

was not enough work. it has developed into a huge danish export. my grandfather, he was a very happy person. he made a lot of different kinds of wooden toys. for me, it was about making quality toys good for children. that is why he came up with the name lego, which means "play well" in danish. after the second world war many houses taken down. people had to build them up. i think the idea of the basic reeks was to really build houses. —— bricks. my grandfather and my father, they were fascinated with

the opportunities of making something out of plastic. it brought new possibilities to make many other things you could not do with wood. in1958, iwas 10 things you could not do with wood. in 1958, i was 10 years old, and that was the year where my father patten did the lego bricks with the tubes. the original bricks were just hollow. now, with the tubes, you could put them together like this. he was so proud of it, he had created this system. when i came home from school, i often went to our model shop, where we had a few designers already from the 605. i

played de5igner5 already from the 605. i played a lot, and tried to suggest other things to build. i never practised le550n5 other things to build. i never practised lessons at school. i probably 5pent practised lessons at school. i probably spent three or four hours a day with lego, at least. i was used a5a day with lego, at least. i was used a5 a model for the boxes very much a5 a model for the boxes very much as well. the local photographer took picture5 as well. the local photographer took pictures of me and my sister. they call it lego land. my father thought, if he was optimistic, he would have 250,000 gue5t5 thought, if he was optimistic, he would have 250,000 guests a year. we have about 1.9 million every year. then came the idea of having a

smaller figure to fit in cars. the first minifigure was just smaller figure to fit in cars. the first minifigure wasjust a small one with no arms or legs. i said it had to be more lively. always with a yellow ha p py had to be more lively. always with a yellow happy face. it was sensible because it did not conflict with any colours of races and so on. we made this house, what we call the home of the brick. the brick is timeless. physical play will always be there, especially when it stimulates the mind of the child. children have a natural urge to learn and try things, if it doesn't work, they try again. we grow up, but we do not need to grow up. we can decide when to be serious and when to have fun. hundreds of people gathered in the dutch city of leeuwarden

to mark the opening weekend as one of this years european capitals of culture. kick starting a year of cultural events, the crowds came out for a night of music and light shows. king alexander and queen maxima started things off ringing in the opening bell. carnival is up and floating on the canals of venice. spectacularly dressed acrobats, dancers and musicians were part of a show with a circus theme. it's one of the oldest carnivals in the world, dating back to the 11th century. thousands of people from around the world are expected to visit the italian city to see the two—week long event, that will include masked balls, concerts and gondola parades — on land and water. that is the way it is looking. don't

forget, you can reach me on twitter. hello again, good morning. yesterday, we had some rain for a time, then we saw the cloud thinning, but we will see the clouds thickening up again and more rain returning across northern parts of the uk on that weather front. that area of low pressure to the north, though, for a while has been bringing some very windy weather across northern scotland, the winds easing by the morning, and we will have mild air all the way from southern parts of the mid—atlantic heading our way. this is tropical maritime air and it means a lot of cloud. across scotland, some rain. it won't be as windy by the morning across northern scotland. there will be some showers here, but rain across central southern scotland and quite a soggy start

probably across northern ireland. and some rain and drizzle over the hills of northern england, where it will be quite gusty in the wind. generally dry elsewhere across england and wales, mild and cloudy, but still very misty and murky over the hills of wales and perhaps in south—westjust for a while. for most of us, it will be a cloudy day. that rain still there for central southern scotland. improving conditions, though, for northern ireland. still a bit dreary over the hills of england and wales. 0n the whole, it will be cloudy and breezy, some gusty winds around. widely, temperatures around 12 degrees, even in the cloud. get some sunshine to the east of high ground and they could be even higher. a bit chillier across the far north of scotland north of that weather front there, which is bringing the rain actually across scotland. the weather front takes the rain southwards overnight and starts to arrive into england and wales on monday. behind it, we start draw down some colder air. the really mild air getting squeezed away into the near continent. so some changes on the way. by monday, the rain could be heavier at times, moving southwards across england and wales. in the afternoon, it is more

across southern england, and that's where we will have the highest temperatures. eventually, we will have some sunshine in wales and the midlands. sunnier skies further north in that slightly colder air. the showers in scotland could be wintry over the higher ground but there's colder air to come later on in the week. a chilly start for tuesday. maybe some frost around here and there but some sunshine early doors before things tend to cloud over, and it's going downhill right at the end of the day as we start to see some rain coming into the south—west. at the same time, some rain heading into the north—west. so temperatures are little lower, 6—8 degrees, fairly typically. those two weather systems bringing the rain sweep through overnight, then we draw our air all the way from the north and north—west, and that means it will be turning colder. and particularly for the northern half of the uk, those showers will be of a wintry flavour. it feels colder with the strong winds. goodbye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has called for decisive action against the taliban after one of the deadliest attacks on the afghan capital in recent months. at least 95 people were killed and more than 150 wounded when an ambulance packed with explosives was blown up in a busy part of kabul. gunmen have stormed a nightclub in north—east brazil, killing at least 1a people.