this is bbc news, i am kasia madera. our top stories: president trump has released a republican memo alleging that the fbi was biased during the election campaign. i think it is a disgrace what is happening in our country and when you look at that and see so many other things that are going on, a lot of people should be ashamed of themselves. democrats say the move is aimed at derailing investigations into the trump's campaign links with russia. also in this programme... rage boils over in court, father of three girls abused by the doctor of the gymnastics team. israel's embassy in poland warns of a rise in anti—semitic incidents in the country after its parliament passed a controversial bill related to the holocaust. hello, welcome to bbc world news.

a controversial memo has been published, accusing the fbi of abusing its powers to spy on an adviser to donald trump during the presidential election campaign. the document says that the bureau used an unsubstantiated, democrat—funded research report to get a warrant to conduct surveillance. democrats have slammed the decision to release the previously—secret memo. mr trump said it told a disgraceful story. nick bryant reports. ladies and gentlemen, punxsutawney phil! it's groundhog day in america, when thousands gathered to watch a rodent named punxsutawney phil make his annual prediction about how long the winter will last. in washington, too, a feeling of deja vu with the day beginning as it often does, with an attack from the white house on the russian investigation. but this has intensified the big chill between the president and his senior law

enforcement officials. the top leadership and investigators at the fbi and justice department have politicised the sacred investigative process in favour of democrats and against republicans. something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. that's the main accusation of a secret republican memo, which the president authorised the public release of today, it alleges an anti—trump bias among top law enforcement officials. i think it's a disgrace what's happening in our country. and when you look at that and you see that and so many other things, what's going on, a lot of people should be ashamed of themselves. and much worse than that. the memo, commissioned by a republican congressman, accuses the fbi of using a politically biased source, while seeking surveillance warrants against the trump campaign adviser, carter page. it alleges the request to the court relied on a much disputed trump dossier compiled by former british intelligence agent christopher steele, who, it says,

was anti—trump and funded in part by the hillary clinton campaign. but is this a partisan republicans stand to discredit the fbi and, by extension, the investigation of the special counsel, robert mueller, into possible russian collusion with the trump campaign? —— republican stunt. there's been no public response from the fbi, but it fiercely resisted the release of this memo, having expressed grave concerns about its accuracy. it's also been slammed by senior democrats. the fact that the president of the united states will blithely disregard the admonitions of both his own fbi director and the department ofjustice tells you all you need to know about where the president's priorities are, and it's not protecting classified information, it's not respecting the hard—working men and women at the fbi, it's whatever the president deems to be in his short—term political interest. what we've seen today underscores how the russian investigation 5:29.25; {ziéfiéifjf 1—3—4ng donald trump looked

pretty happy, too. his supporters will believe he's struck a blow for justice. his critics will argue he's engineered a political stunt. daniel lippman is the co—author of the daily newsletter, politico playbook. he joins us live from washington. what do you make of this, is president putin rubbing his hands?” don't alter vladimir putin every day, you probably don't as well but i think without even vladimir putin's in court, republicans feel like today was a big disappointment. —— input. they felt that this memo will confirm that the fbi and the

justice department are against trump but today's memo does not really reveal much new information will stop there is not a lot there, this isa stop there is not a lot there, this is a big nothing burger, so there is a lot of disappointment on capitol hill among republicans. your website describes it as a dramatic new stage in the republica ns's describes it as a dramatic new stage in the republicans‘s attempts to delegitimise the russia investigation. is at unprecedented? it is fairly unprecedented to see a house committee declassify something that the fbi and justice department said would hurt national security, and so it is a dramatic new stage but it is not something that helped the republican cause because most americans, they support the fbi and thejustice department, they think that they are professionals, and they look at this memo and there was not that much there. and so, a lot of people are concerned about republicans politicising real

intelligence gathering and that this person, carter page, he is not exactly the biggest american patriot, this is someone that the professionals at the court, they approved multiple times warrants to survey all human cause they were worried that he was a target of foreign intelligence, and so this really had nothing in terms of the dossier, just carter page's affiliations with russian. in that case, briefly if you could, what have the russians gain from this?” think the republicans feel like they did not gain that much. devon nunez, the chairman of the house intelligence committee, he built this up to be a ground shaking development but in the end, i feel that the white house really wants to move on from this. they want to focus on the president's agenda, this memo. daniel, fascinating to speak to you, thank you very much as

always. thank you. there have been chaotic scenes at a court in michigan during the sentencing of the former team doctor of the american gymnastics team, larry nassar, who's been found guilty of sexually abusing girls in his care. nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison last month, after more than 150 women testified that he had sexually abused them. for one father who had heard his three daughters tell the court how nassar had abused them, it was too much to bear. nedder towfik reports. that a girl who had larry nassar as her doctor... another family stands, like so many before them, to confront the disgraced doctor. all three of the margraves' children were sexually assaulted by larry nassar. at this final sentencing hearing, two of them, lauren and madison, speak of their grief, and their parents‘ guilt. i see the look in their faces and i know they want to be able to do something, but they can't. and the guilt they have will never go away. and all this is because of you. to my parents, thank you for all your love and support through all of this.

you have done everything that a parent could ever do. i love you. randall margraves then asks permission, as a distraught father, to speak. go ahead, sir. you son of a (bleep). we don't want to swear. we don't want to have profanity. i would ask you to, as part of the sentencing, to grant me five minutes in a locked room with this demon. would you do that? that is not how out... no, sir, i can't do that. would you give me one minute? you know that i can't do that, that's not how our legal system... stay down. there have been numerous powerful moments throughout nassar‘s sentencing hearings,

but this one father's reaction shows so clearly how raw emotions are. when the court resumes, the judge shows compassion. there is no way that this court is going to issue any type of punishment, given the circumstances of this case. and i do, my heart does go out to you and your family, because of what you've gone through. the reality that larry nassar sexually assaulted hundreds of girls over years is a failure of society, but it has also forced the nation to consider how women are considered and two weeks ago, 16 syrians — including several children —

died trying to travel across the mountains from syria into lebanon. they used a route taken by thousands before them, but they were caught in an icy blizzard. only a few survived — our middle east correspondent martin patience has been to meet one of them, a three—year—old girl. meet little sarah, just three years old. the black marks on her face are caused by frostbite. smugglers abandoned sarah during a blizzard as she was crossing the mountains from the war in syria tojoin her dad. she only survived because the man who dumped her was forced at gunpoint to go back and get her. but sarah's mum, big sister, and granny all froze to death. now, in a lebanese hospital, sarah's dad watches over her day and night. translation: i do my best to be a mother and a father to sarah. i'll do everything i can to help her get over this. she's all i have now. 16 syrians died trying to reach safety that day. for the rescuers, it was the worst thing they'd ever seen.

but there is some good news. a couple of days after first meeting sarah and her dad, we went to see them again. sarah's had an operation on herface. she's got her appetite back. her doctor says the surgery was a success. so you're hopeful there won't be too much scarring? yes, yes, i hope. that her face will be...? yes, will be normal, like a normal baby. fantastic, it will look normal? yes. sarah's dad captured herfirst moment after the operation. she's got a long way to go, but she's still smiling. martin patience, bbc news, lebanon. the man who drove his van into muslim worshippers outside

a mosque in north london has been sentenced to life with a minimum of 43 years in prison. darren osborne killed makram ali, who was 51, and injured 12 other people in the attack in finsbury park lastjune. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. back! everyone back now! darren osborne was seized at the scene of the finsbury park attack, after ploughing his van into a group of muslims, trying to kill as many as possible. just have a seat for us up there, mate. convicted of murder and attempted murder yesterday, his 102 previous convictions for violence, dishonesty and drugs offences were outlined to the court today. as was the devastation caused to the family of makram ali, the man he murdered. outside court, his daughter, with his tearful wife by her side, spoke of the family's love for him. he will never be forgotten. he will always stay in our hearts. his laughter will echo the walls of our home.

his smile will be reflected in our eyes and his memory will be alive in our conversations. darren osborne's absurd defence that a man called dave was driving during the attack was scorned by thejudge. addressing him directly, mrs justice cheema—grubb said: she then jailed him for life, saying the appropriate minimum term for this terrorist murder is 43 years, which means he can't be released until he's at least 90 years old. the judge drew attention to how osborne was rapidly radicalised over the internet, how in a matter of a month he'd allowed his mind to be poisoned by those who, she said, claimed to be leaders but who were determined to spread hatred of muslims. today, the judge also chose to praise the imam who protected osborne after the attack.

she said mohammed mahmoud had the strength to do the right thing under pressure, to respond to evil with good. daniel sandford, bbc news, at woolwich crown court. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: a unique insight into a polar bears' struggle for survival amidst melting arctic ice. this is the moment that millions in iran had been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid. the ban on the african national congress is lifted immediately, and the anc leader, nelson mandela, after 27 years injail,

is to be set free unconditionally. the aircraft was returning from belgrade, where manchester united had entered the semi—final of the european cup. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachstwoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing solo around the world non—stop. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the us congress has released a controversial republican memo alleging the fbi abused its surveillance powers during the election campaign. the father of three sexual abuse victims has lunged at the disgraced usa gymnastics team doctor larry nassar during his final sentencing hearing.

in the last couple of weeks, more than a 120 people have been killed in three separate attacks in the afghan capital kabul. two were carried out by the taliban, the other by so called islamic state, which has been growing in influence in afghanistan even as it loses territory in syria and iraq. secunder kermani was given exclusive access to a jailed is member in kabul and sent this report. inside an afghan prison, a man who was once willing to kill in the name of the islamic state group. translation: i took part in fighting and executing people. we used to make people sit on top of bombs and blow them up. like many is fighters in afghanistan, the detainee we spoke to was previously part of the taliban. he asked us not to show his face out of fear of reprisals. we interviewed him with members of the security services present.

translation: for the taliban, if someone from the government repents, he should be forgiven. but is say he should be killed. is preach that they are the real muslims, not the taliban. the islamic state group might only control small pockets of territory in the country, but over the last year they've carried out at least 1a major attacks here in the capital, kabul. that's significantly more than even the taliban. is have repeatedly attacked kabul‘s shia minority. they killed over a0 people at this shia cultural centre in december. this man narrowly escaped with his life. translation: in the past, shias living in the countryside used to come to kabul because it was safer. now my relatives tell me to leave kabul because it's become so dangerous here. in the past two weeks,

kabul has been repeatedly attacked by both is and the taliban. the groups have fought against each other at times. but officials here claim there is little difference between the two. and that in attacking kabul they share the same aims. their goal and their objective behind this approach is to provoke people against the government and make them rise against the government. so then the government will fall apart. and then what happens, then in afghanistan we will have chaos. but this former is member says the group is different from the taliban, and its more extreme. translation: they say they will do what taliban can't do and take over the whole country. outside the cultural centre, attacked by is, the shoes of the victims remain piled in a heap. whether it's further attacks by is or the taliban, this is a city braced for more bloodshed. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul.

the israeli embassy in warsaw has warned of a wave of anti—semitic statements in poland, in the midst of a row between the two countries over a proposed polish law related to the holocaust. the legislation outlaws references that imply that poland was complicit in crimes committed by nazi germany during the second world war. adam easton reports from warsaw. pal schmitt. the concentration and death camp that has come to symbolise the holocaust. —— auschwitz. 1 millionjews were gassed here. but polls also died in the camp. it was run and built by the camp. it was run and built by the nazis in occupied poland. the polish government wants everyone to remember that. that's why it has passed legislation that introduces prison sentences for those who

accuse poland of co— responsibility for nazi crimes. israel has reacted furiously, accusing poland of denying the historical truth. international council of the auschwitz museum is worried the bill will hinder holocaust research. there is ample evidence that some poles blackmailed and even murdered theirjewish neighbours in the war. but other poles acted heroically, risking their lives to hidejews from the nazis. poland's prime minister took people to the museum, commemorating one such family. we will not... we can't allow that this isa will not... we can't allow that this is a phrase freely said all over the world, because this is an affront to all the big firms cruelly killed by nazi germans. tensions between poland and israel are rising.

poland's president now has to decide whether to sign the bill into law. translation: i feel sorry for the poles and it hurts me that i need to dig out these memories to put them on the table again. i am still hoping that since the new bill still needs the approval of the polish president, that he will approve it. the row has caused a rise in anti—semitic incidents in poland. the israeli embassy in warsaw says it has been the target of a wave of abuse and ahead of the city'sjewish community told the bbc it has also witnessed similar incidents. scientists studying the decline in the survival rates of polar bears have observed them expending more energy than they can consume as they hunt. the researchers found that the bears have a higher metabolic rate than previously thought. victoria gill has more. a polar bear‘s view of the arctic.

these remarkable images were captured cameras inside tracking collars that scientists fitted to nine solitary female polar bears. the researchers had to work for three arctic seasons to capture and collar nine solitary bears. each aura: for about nine days before the cameras were retrieved, revealing this unique insights into their behaviour. each collar. it showed whether they got enough to eat within the critical spring for. arctic sea ice is decreasing at a rate of about 14% every decade and the bears use that ice to hunt their main and most calorie rich prey, seals. so as well as fitting them

with gps tracking and camera containing collars, the bears were injected with a metabolic tracer, showing that wild bears have a higher metabolic rate than previously thought and that most of them were unable to catch enough food to meet their energy needs. it's really quite fascinating to learn the basic behaviours of these animals and how they are using the seaice animals and how they are using the sea ice environment. this is in the spring, where temperatures can get down to —20, —30 celsius, so it is pretty inhospitable, almost impossible for a researcher to be out on the sea ice in those conditions in that period of time. there is a little information that exists on the basic behaviours of these animals on the sea ice, so the video cameras provide us actual insight into what the bears are doing. the scientists say this new

5am how will be affected 5” ' " " will be affected as is“ ' " " predators will be affected as their icy environments transforms around them. it's one of the strangest but most enduring american traditions, a groundhog named phil making his annual prediction on how long the north american winter will last. but how did the tradition come about? let's take a look. is itan is it an early spring orjust more snow? this is punxsutawney phil, pennsylvania's famous groundhog. the annual event dates back to 1886. if the groundhog sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter are in store. 0k, more weeks of winter are in store. ok, guys, i'll be ready? we've got a winner. we've got spring? shivering! yeah, shivering! ok, we've got it. i

see my royal shadow! six more weeks of winter to go! it seems fitting to say that the pop band the spice girl appear to have confirmed the reunion of some sort after they met at geri horner‘s house to discuss reforming. they posted this picture. it's the first time they've been seen all together like this since 2012. the group were hugely famous in the 1990s with their slogan girl power. the band's former manager was also at the meet—up with the five — mel brown — scary spice, geri horner — ginger spice, victoria beckham — posh spice, mel c — sporty spice, and baby spice emma. the group split up in 2000. thanks for watching. goodbye. at long last the weekend is upon us,

but as the saying goes red sky at night shepherds delight, i would get in touch with trading standards. some of you had a lovely sunset light on saturday it is far from delight. this is the cloud pushing on. it's a weather front moving in a ci’oss on. it's a weather front moving in a cross called air and that's bringing overnight some sleet and snow and an icy start for some into saturday morning. the temperatures at their lowest where it is driest, the eastern parts of england and eastern scotland. elsewhere, temperatures won't rise much through the day. the weather front in scotland, western england and wales to begin with. sleet and snow over the hills and even the lower levels further north. at lunchtime not a huge amount changes. parts of north—east scotla nd changes. parts of north—east scotland and aberdeenshire may get some brightness through the day. that could go on the western parts of scotland, with sunshine and showers throughout the day northern ireland. for much of england and wales main exception is lincolnshire

and east anglia, where you just about stay dry after morning brightness, but grey, gloomy, cold, damp and a little bit wintry in places for many, with temperatures at lunchtime only about 2— three degrees. there a chance of snow mixed in and that'll be the hills. rudy afternoon the patchy rain and drizzle, sleet and snow, gradually fizzles out. most will stick with the cloud and that will be evidenced to and from cardiff or the start of the six nations. maybe a little bit damp. dry in paris, but here it will be cold. the weather front starts to lose a bit of into sunday. we see more clearer skies and there could be ice into sunday morning. this is the temperature profile across europe on sunday. the blue collars are the coldest conditions, towards the east. that significant because it is an easterly wind that will develop a special little england and wales into sunday and should take us into next week. pushing the weather front back westwards. that means

brighter skies across much of england and on sunday. brightness breaking throughout times in scotla nd breaking throughout times in scotland and northern ireland, where the winds will be lightest. this quadrant of england will see showers coming in on the raw wind. there could be some snow inland. nothing significant at this stage. the big story for england and wales is how cold it will feel close to freezing in many areas. when this steady in the south—east in the monday and there could be some potent snow showers to begin the day. most have a frosty start and then a dry and sunny day. by the now. —— goodbye for now. this is the seniors, headlines this hour... the us congress has published a previously secret republican memo that accuses the fbi and the using its own power to spy on president trump's election campaign. mrtrump says on president trump's election campaign. mr trump says the document tells a disgraceful story, the democrats have labelled it a disgraceful stunt. earlier saying it was part of a stunt designed to discredit robert mueller, the

special counsel leading the rush investigation. the father who lunged at the former us gymnastics top, larry nassar, in court says he lost control of the hearing him give evidence in court. and poland's parliament has approved a controversial bill making it a crime to accuse the government of being complicit during the holocaust. israel's embassy has warned it could lead to a rise in anti—semitic incidents. at half—past midnight here