welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: president trump says a republican memo alleging the fbi abused its surveillance powers shows the agency is biased against him. 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. anger in. court — the father of three? 7777 7 7 ,. of the american gymnastics team is held back during the sentencing hearing. abandoned in a mountain blizzard — how one syrian refugee survived after being left for dead by smugglers. and a unique view of polar bears struggling to find enough food to stay alive on the shrinking arctic ice. hello.

welcome to the programme. after weeks of fevered speculation, a republican memo has been released alleging political bias in the us justice department and fbi. it was cleared by president trump, in spite of strong opposition from democrats and many in the intelligence community who say it misrepresents highly sensitive information. nick bryant reports from washington. in washington, the 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. that's the main accusation of a secret republican memo

which the president authorised the public release of. it alleges an anti—trump bias amongst 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 republican congressmen, accuses the fbi of using a politically biased source while seeking surveillance warrants against the trump campaign advisor carter page. it alleges the request of 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 republican stunt to discredit the fbi and, by extension, the investigation of the special counsel robert mueller into possible russian collusion with the trump campaign? there has been no public response from the fbi but it fiercely resisted the release of this memo, having expressed grave concerns

about its accuracy. it has 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 a short—term political interest. what we have seen underscores how the russian investigation is increasingly becoming the subject of a toxic and vicious fight — notjust between the political parties in washington but between branches of the us government in washington. vladimir putin must be rubbing his hands in delight. reporter: is the memo a dud, sir? is it a dud? donald trump looked pretty happy, too. his supporters will believe he has

struck a blow for justice. his critics will argue he has engineered a political stunt. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. the father of three victims of the disgraced us gymnastics team doctor larry nassar has apologised for trying to attack him during his final sentencing hearing. the court had been hearing from 150 women sexually abused by nassar. randall margraves told the court he had "lost control" when two of his daughters finished their victim statements. nada tawfik 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 asked 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. the courtroom at first chuckles as he asks for time alone with nassar. i would ask you to, as part of the sentencing, to grant me five minutes in a locked room with this demon. i have a feeling... 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... well, i'm gonna have to... 0h!

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 resumed, 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 abused close to 300 girls over years has been regarded as a failure of society. this case has inevitably led to investigations, but more importantly, it's forced the nation to take a hard look at how women are treated and valued. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the pentagon has published a policy document, saying the united states should extend its

nuclear capabilities. it wants to develop new low—yield atomic bombs, largely in response to the threat it believes is posed by russia. the deputy director of strategy at the pentagon denied that the us was entering a new arms race. a report by united nations monitors says north korea earned nearly $200 million last year by exporting banned commodities in violation of international sanctions. the leaked report from the un security council said several countries, including china, russia and malaysia, had failed to stop the illegal exports. at least 90 people are feared dead in the latest migrant tragedy in the mediterranean sea off the coast of libya, according to the un migration agency. only three people are known to have survived the sinking, which happened early on friday. the bodies of ten people have been recovered so far. french prosecutors have placed the prominent muslim academic tariq ramadan under formal investigation on charges of rape.

the swiss national denies wrongdoing and is suing one of his accusers, henda ayari, a former radical islamist who now heads a secular feminist group. a second woman has claimed she was raped in 2009. 16 syrians, including several children, died recently trying to travel across the mountains from syria into lebanon. they used a route taken by thousands before them but were caught in an icy blizzard and froze to death. one of the few to survive was a small girl called sara. she's just three years old. 0ur middle east correspondent martin patience has been to meet her. meet little sara, just three years old. the black marks on her face are caused by frostbite. smugglers abandoned sara 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 sara's mum, big sister, and granny all froze to death. now, in a lebanese hospital, sara's dad watches over her day and night. translation: i'll do my best to be a mother and a father to sara. 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. hello. but there is some good news. a couple of days after first meeting sara and her dad, we went to see them again. sara'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'll look normal? yes. sara'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 united states is trying to bring an end to south sudan's four—year civil war by banning the export of weapons there. —— 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 0sborne killed makram ali and injured 12 other people during the attack in finsbury park lastjune. daniel sandford has more. back! everyone back now! darren 0sborne 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. 0utside 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 0sborne'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: that means he can't be released until he's at least 90 years old. the judge drew attention to how 0sborne 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 0sborne 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. let's go back to the top story now, the release of the controversial

memo by congressional republicans, alleging political bias in the us justice department and the fbi. patrick baysham is director of the washington—based political think tank the democracy institute. thank you forjoining us, patrick. there's anything in this memo take you by surprise? i guess the surprise is how clear it appears that there is a trail that has been made inadvertently by the fbi. if what the republican memo says state is true, then it is pretty crystal clear that at least some senior individuals at the fbi were telling the fines are caught, rather not telling them, pertinent information. it is quite shocking. —— fisa court. we will have to see if anything else cou nters we will have to see if anything else counters that it is a pretty damning indictment so far. of course, the democrats would say, and in fact

arsene quite vehemently, but what is from the memo. young, they are, and we have to see and hopefully we will get to see their version of events, their set of facts, every public needs to see everything, however it is hard to imagine that what they can bring to the table is going to com pletely can bring to the table is going to completely pushed to one side what the republicans are presenting. they are the republicans are presenting. they a re clearly the republicans are presenting. they are clearly doing this very partisan reasons. (unintelligible). yeah. clearly a lot is being put on the christopher steele dossier, the work of the british intelligence officer. do you think republicans may be making too much of that because of course the intelligence community really does work with more than one source and they compile these reports. i think we have a slight technical problem with our link to

patrick in washington. we will see if we can get it back later. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: viva forever — after more than 20 years, the spice girls appear to confirm they're getting back together. 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: president trump says a republican memo alleging the fbi abused its surveillance powers shows the agency is biased against him. the father of three sexual abuse victims has lunged at the disgraced usa gymnastics team doctor larry nassar during his final sentencing hearing. the afghan capital kabul has seen three large attacks over the past fortnight, with more than 120 people killed. two were carried out by the taliban, one by the so—called islamic state group.

despite controlling less territory than the taliban, is has launched more major attacks in kabul than any other militant group over the past year. is is growing in influence in afghanistan just as it's being pushed out of syria and iraq. 0ur correspondent, secunder kermani, was given exclusive access to one jailed is member in kabul. 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 14 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 it's 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 has warned of a

wave of anti—semitic sentiment in poland amidst a row between the two countries over a proposed polish law related to the holocaust. the legislation outlaws references suggesting poland was implicit in crimes committed by germany during the second world war. auschwitz. the concentration and death camp that has come to symbolise the holocaust. i millionjews were gassed here, but poles, roma and others also died in the camp. it was designed, 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 people who accuse poland of co—responsibility for nazi crimes. israel has reacted furiously, accusing poland of denying

the historical truth. the international council of the auschwitz museum is worried the bill will hinder holocaust research. there is ample evidence 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 allow anybody to... we can't allow that this is a phrase freely said all over the world, because this is an affront to all the victims cruelly killed by nazi germans. tensions between poland and israel are rising. poland's president andrzej duda 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'm still hoping, 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 the head of the city's jewish community told the bbc it has also witnessed similar incidents. the former lead singer of the temptations, dennis edwards, has died at the age of 7a. he joined the group ini978 and died at the age of 7a. he joined the group in 1978 and featured on a number of their hits. he left in 1977 only to rejoin them three years

later. he died in hospital in chicago one day before his 75th birth day. 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 —— by 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 was collared for about nine days before the cameras were retrieved, revealing these unique insights into their behaviour. satellite images show 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. this revealed 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. the scientists say this new technology, following their every move and meal, reveals just how these predators' survival will be affected as their icy environment transforms around them. finally, the spice girls appear to have confirmed a reunion of some sort, after they met at geri horner‘s house to discuss reforming. they posted this picture, with emma bunton, better known

as baby spice, commenting that the "future is looking spicy". it's the first time they've been seen together like this since 2012. the group were hugely famous in the 1990s, with their girl power philosophy. they then split in 2000 and then performed a three month supposedly farewell tour in 2008, and then at the opening ceremony of the london olympics. this was one super—fan's reaction. if i'm going to be completely honest, i broke down in tears. i was in the back of a friend's car when i was like, "they're back!" there have been rumours for literally months, years, decades saying, they are going to get back together, they are going to do something, an anniversary special, another tour, and since the olympics there's been this craze, we want the spice girls are back. millions of people still want them and i think like now, especially with the me too movement and feminism being at the forefront of the news, which is great. you're watching bbc news.

good morning. at long last the weekend is upon us, but, as the saying goes, red sky at night, shepherd's delight, i would get in touch with trading standards because while some of you had a lovely sunset to finish friday, what's about to come on saturday is far from delight. this is the cloud pushing in. it's a weather front moving in across cold air and that's bringing overnight some sleet and snow and an icy start for some into saturday morning. so temperatures at their lowest where it stays driest overnight, to 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. outbreaks of rain quite widely. there will be some sleet and snow mixed in, especially over the hills, but even to lower levels further north. at lunchtime, not a huge amount changes. parts of north—east scotland and aberdeenshire may get some brightness, staying

dry through the day. it dry through the day. could brighten up the westerr parts it could brighten up the western parts of scotland, with sunshine and showers throughout the day in northern ireland. for much of england and wales, with the exception of lincolnshire and east anglia, you could stay dry after some morning brightness. but grey, gloomy, cold, damp and a little bit wintry in places for many, with temperatures at lunchtime only about 2—3 degrees. the greater chance of snow mixed in with rain will be across the hills. through the afternoon, the patchy rain and drizzle, sleet and snow, gradually fizzles out. most will stick with the cloud and that will be of course evidenced if you're going to and from cardiff for the start of the six nations. maybe a little bit damp here. a bit drier in paris, but here it will be similarly cold. as the weather front starts to lose a bit of oomph into sunday, we'll see a few more clear skies develop and there could be ice into sunday morning. this is the temperature profile across europe on sunday. the blue colours are the coldest conditions, towards the east. that's significant because it's

an easterly wind which will develop particularly for england and wales into sunday and to take us into the start of next week. pushing the weather front back westwards again. that means brighter skies across much of england on sunday. brightness also breaking through at times in scotland and northern ireland, where the winds will be lightest. but that south—eastern quadrant of england is where we'll see showers coming in on the raw wind. a mixture of rain on the coast, sleet and maybe snow. nothing too significant at this stage. the big story for england and wales is how cold it will feel — feeling close to freezing in many areas in that wind, which will still be with us in the south—east on monday and there could be some potent snow showers here to begin the day. most, after a frosty start, have a dry and sunny day. bye for now. this is bbc news, the headlines: the us congress has published a republican memo that accuses the fbi of abusing its powers to spy on president trump's election campaign. mr trump says the document tells a disgraceful story. democrats claim the memo is an attempt to discredit the investigation into russian

interference in the election. there was a disruption 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. randall margraves, whose three daughters were victims, apologised. thejudge said she would not punish him. as many as 90 migrants are feared drowned after a smuggler‘s boat capsized off the east coast of libya. the bodies of ten people have been recovered so far. only three people have been rescued. coming up in ten minutes' time, newswatch. but first on bbc news, click.