welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america on pbs and around the globe. i'm nkem ifejika. our top stories: prosecutors in the us charge 13 russian nationals with interfering in the 2016 presidential election. donald trump visits a hospital in florida where victims of wednesday's high school shooting are being treated. battling criminal gangs in rio dejaneiro — brazil's president orders the army to take over security in the state. and south africa's new president sets out his plans to end corruption in his first state of the nation address. senior officials have charged 13 russians with interfering in the presidential election that brought donald trump to power. they're the first charges from the us department ofjustice, as part of a long running

investigation into alleged meddling in the 2016 poll. president trump has, again, insisted his campaign team did nothing wrong. our north america editor jon sopel reports. there's probably not a person anywhere in the world who doesn't know who won the 2016 presidential election. but how it was won and who influenced the result is still the subject of rancorous dispute. today, in a dramatic development, charges were brought against a number of russians for their efforts to affect the outcome. the defendants allegedly conducted what they called "information warfare" against the united states. with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general. they used stolen or fictitious american identities, fraudulent bank accounts and false identification documents. the indictment says they had a strategic goal to sow discord in the us political system,

including the 2016 us presidential election. it says operations included supporting the presidential campaign of then—candidate donald] trump and disparaging hillary clinton. from that famous night of his election victory onwards, donald trump has always sought to play down russia's role. could very well have been russia but i think it could well have been other countries. ..both on the effect they had and on whether his campaign colluded. 0n those two points the deputy attorney general had helpful words today. there is no allegation in this indictment that any american was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. there is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election. and donald trump didn't wait long to tweet his reaction. the russia campaign was allegedly under the direction

of yevgeny prigozhin, a close ally of vladimir putin. tonight he was scornful, dismissing the americans as being "very emotional." "if they want to see the devil," he said, "let them." donald trump left washington this evening to fly to his home in florida. he'll be buoyed by the indictment saying nothing about collusion, but the russia investigation goes on. and that is a source of fury to the president. david tafuri is an international lawyer and a former us state department official. he's in our washington bureau. if you listen to that tape, they we re if you listen to that tape, they were talking about disparaging hillary clinton and it could have been anyone running in the election

but from a legal perspective how serious are the charges in this indictment? it is stunning in the level of detail and the presentation of evidence of russia interfering in oui’ of evidence of russia interfering in our 2016 elections. now, as the previous report mentioned, there is no reference to americans are dissipating or supporting that interference, however as deputy general rod rosenstein said, this refers to just this indictment and we do not know what comes in the next indictment or if the right any more indictments but a prosecutor like robert mueller will go step—by—step and this could be one step—by—step and this could be one step ina step—by—step and this could be one step in a long investigation that will result in more indictments. it is also notable that while this is very serious, and having serious consequences in the 2016 election, it is not include everything that

happened in the 2016 election. the intelligent assessment report talks about the hacking of d&c e—mails which was also illegal interference. perhaps the next indictment will go to that and who is responsible that illegal activity and then the question will be, was the trump campaign or make any other americans involved in that. it appears as they there will be so many layers and element to robert mueller‘s investigation and, i suppose, that could upset some people think he is exceeding his re— meet? —— remit. remember his remit is to investigate russian interference in the 2016 election and if you look at this indictment it goes to the heart of that, identifying specific individuals and entities in russia

responsible to this interference so perhaps in the future you could make that argument about things he might do but this one, no, this is a bright on. the crucial question is whether it had any bearing whatsoever on the result of the election? from a legal perspective, that does not make a difference. if russians broke the law and americans helped them break the law, they go to the heart and sanctity of our democracy and robert mueller will clearly move forward on prosecuting and tried to punish those responsible. whether or not those things made a difference in the election, that is in the past and no one will ever be able to tell whether this russian interference — which clearly happened — indictment showed more evidence that it happened, we will not be able to prove that happened. thank you very much. the fbi has admitted it failed to act on warnings

about the teenager charged with the mass shooting in florida on wednesday. nikolas cruz is accused of killing 17 people at a high school in parkland. meanwhile, more funerals have been held for the victims of the deadly attack. 0ur north america correspondent, aleem maqbool, reports. they are coming to mourn a girl shot dead inside her school, one of the 17 victims of america's latest mass shooting. alyssa alhadeff had been passionate about playing football and had been a popular and talented pupil. earlier, thousands had gathered to remember all of those who died, in many cases friends that only a few days ago they had shared classrooms with. they included 14—year—old jaime guttenberg, who family members say stood up for those who were bullied. her father spoke at the vigil. i sent her to school yesterday. she was supposed to be safe. among the others who died,

meadow pollack, who was heading to university next year. joaquin 0liver, a basketball player who loved writing poetry. and 14—year—old cara loughran, who her family says was a great student who loved being at the beach. all lives that were cut short by nikolas cruz, who the fbi admitted today it had received a call about to its hotline number at the beginning ofjanuary. and that huge mistake has now allowed gun advocates to divert attention from the other big concern, how easily the attacker was able to arm himself. this is where nikolas cruz

bought his weapon. all he had to do was produce his driving licence, give the most basic of personal details and then answer a question to say that he was not mentally ill. he was 18 at the time, too young to buy alcohol here but old enough to walk out of this shop with an ar—15 rifle. young survivors here are insisting on better gun control but feel many adults are letting them down. the fact that i have to say this is absolutely horrifying, but i feel the need to because this is the blood of children that is on the floor of the school now. these are 17 children that are dead. the politicians, again, are promising change. you call this a talking point, but why would this be any different to all the atrocities that have gone before? what makes you feel this will be different? i have never seen students speak out as boldly as they have. maybe this is the turning point. close to the school, students demonstrated to demand

a solution to stop this type of tragedy happening again. in truth, america remains a long way off finding a way to end its problems with guns. well, president trump has arrived in florida in the last couple of hours. during visits to a hospital and sheriff's office in the miami suburb of parkland, he praised emergency workers and medical staff for their response. they have done incredible job. the doctor was amazing. we saw numerous people and incredible recovery. incredible. first responders, everybody. the job they have done is incredible and i want to congratulate you. did you see the victims, mr president? yes, idid. it isa

it is a very sad something like that could happen. but the job the doctors did, the nurses, the hospital, first responders, law enforcement, really incredible. the speed with which they got the victims over to the hospital... in one case 20 minutes, in another 19 minutes from the time of the shots. it's an incredible thing. they you very much. do gun laws need to be changed, mr president? a short time ago we spoke to our correspondent outside the hospital. yes, a very brief mention and a very brief visit. i don't think he was here for more than 15 or 20 minutes. he says he met with victims and medical staff and congratulated them on an incredible job and as you said didn't really respond to that question about gun laws. he hasn't spoken about the issue of tightening laws so far in his speeches. he has spoken about ensuring the safety of schools, making them safer and has also deflected the issue to a mental health one.

he said this is evidence of a mental health crisis and people should be more vigilant about reporting signs of disturbed behaviour. but the people here are asking amongst other things for tighter gun controls. how could this young man find it so easy to purchase an assault weapon that could cause so much damage, when there had been some signs of troubled behaviour in his past? they are also asking for practical steps at schools, things like metal detectors and more security. and i suspect when president trump takes this up, if he does further, that will be more what he will focus on them that very complex and for the issue of changing gun control laws. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: a state of emergency has been declared in ethiopia, a day after the resignation of the prime minister the governing party says emergency rule is vital to ‘safeguarding

the constitutional order‘. ethiopia only fully lifted its last state of emergency in august, which was imposed after years of anti—government protests. hundreds died in the unrest. germany's chancellor, angela merkel, says she's "not frustrated" by the brexit process, but is "curious" to know more about the uk's aims, after meeting britain's prime minister theresa may in berlin earlier. mrs may reiterated her desire to maintain the closest possible economic ties with germany and the eu, but said there would have to be a "new balance of rights and obligations". the brazilian army is to take full control of security in rio de janeiro state. it comes on the orders of the president, michel temer, who says that criminal gangs have virtually seized control there. from this, to this. just a week on

from the beginning of this week ‘s rio carnival, it despite dozens of police on the streets, a series of armed robberies and confrontations between rival gangs shown a spotlight on the deteriorating situation. tourist areas usually considered safe transformed into a hot head of crime and violence. 0n friday, brazilian president michel temer signed a decree given the military full control of military operations in rio. translation: 0rganised operations in rio. translation: organised crime has virtually taking control of the state of rio de janeiro. it has extended throughout the country and threatens the credibility of our nation stopper that reason we have called for a federal intervention in the public security rio de janeiro. the army

already patrol some of the most dangerous areas of the city where drug gangs operate at now that presents will be felt all over rio. the situation unheard—of since brazil's return to democracy since 1985 after 21 years of military rule. these budgets have been slashed because of an economic crisis. finances in the state have been badly hit by a national recession and a slump in oil prices as well as high level of alleged corruption. michel temer‘s decree is expected to be approved by the national congress next week and, with it, hope for local people that something is being done. a powerful earthquake has hit the south—west of mexico. the 7.2 magnitude quake was felt across the southern states of guerrero, puebla and oaxaca. it caused buildings to shake in the capital, mexico city, more than 300 kilometres away. many people said they feared a repeat of the devastating quake in september which killed nearly 400 people,

but there have been no reports of casualties so far. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we look at peddle power in the skies. the little airship trying to cross the mediterranean. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm was murdered. that has a terrible effect on the morality of the people. i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next. as the airlift got under way, there was no letup in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flowed down to the sea on the east of the island — away from the town for the time

being, but it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they called it mir, the russian for peace. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: thirteen russian nationals have been charged by the us special counsel robert mueller with interfering in the 2016 presidential election. donald trump has met survivors of wednesday's high school gun attack in florida, in which 17 people were killed. the new south african president, cyril ramaphosa, has warned that the country faces "tough decisions" after inheriting a stagnating economy and a large national debt. in his first state of

the nation address he pledged to fight corruption. our africa editor fergal keane reports. to those who remember the birth of this democracy nearly a quarter of a century ago, the day had echoes of past greatness. he helped forge the historic compromise that delivered this nation. now he has risen to lead it. across this most diverse of nations they have waited, through years of corruption, but with the patience which has always forestalled catastrophe here. # give me hope, cyril ramaphosa...# and tonight he tried to do that, in a speech that blended lofty rhetoric with a blunt warning. we are determined to build a society defined by decency and integrity, that does not tolerate the plunder of public resources, nor the theft by corporate criminals of the hard earned savings of ordinary people. specifics, there weren't many.

next week's budget and the composition of his new cabinet, due in days, will tell a lot. he finished with an appeal to basic patriotism. this is now the time where we should honour the memory of nelson mandela, to build a new, better south africa for all our people. now is the time. thank you very much. even the anc‘s strongest opposition critics joined the standing ovation, something that would have been unthinkable in the jacob zuma years. i've just come out of the parliament chamber, and the goodwill there was quite extraordinary, even from the opposition. and that exists across this country. above all, an overwhelming desire for change. cyril ramaphosa now has a short time

to capitalise on that. with such support, president ramaphosa is now in an unprecedented position to take on those who captured the state through corruption. after the joy will come the battle. expect him to be ruthless. fergal keane, bbc news, cape town. black panther — america's first black superhero has finally it's the 18th film in the marvel universe and — if early ticket sales are any indication — it could be the most successful yet. jane o'brien has been tracing hisjourney from comic book to silver screen. in the leaking of the world's most advanced nation and possess superhuman strength and census, but it are still taken black panther more than half a century to leap from the page to the big screen —— the king obee. in the process, many

artists have put their creative stamp on the character. a loss of times i will develop that in the thumbnail stage and then i will... so you are the black panther. thumbnail stage and then i will... so you are the black pantherlj thumbnail stage and then i will... so you are the black panther. i am the black panther. and every character i. he illustrated the man without fear. he does a backflip kick, knox this guy out, the news on the floor, defeated. that is what ninjas do. he has worked on a range of comic book characters including batman and luke cage. but black panther could be a game changer. directed by rain kudla, the movie cost 200 million to make and is expected to top 100 and 50 million this weekend, setting a record three film directed by an african american —— ryan coogler. its big budget, global release, and marketing push by disney are challenging assumptions are about films with

crumbly black actors and producers. i think this movie is going to do gangbusters when it hits the theatres. the fact it has outpaced star wars theatres. the fact it has outpaced starwars in theatres. the fact it has outpaced star wars in terms of ticket sales, that there is an audience for this. you would be really stupid to let any personal bias as you have preclude you from making money. the film's settings or significant. a fictional african nation that outstrips any so—called developed country in the west. i have seen gods fly. if you are a young person giving it with politics and you are hearing politicians say that, you know, a country where your family descends from is a crap whole country, seeing someone like black panther on the screen, that will meana panther on the screen, that will mean a lot to you. it is something you have not seen before, but it is something he has tried to be. let's 0h! -- something he has tried to be. let's 0h! —— let's go. something he has tried to be. let's 0h! -- let's go. black panther make

a powerful statement on many levels. but the greatest feat may be to change the face of a hollywood often criticised for being too white. that report from jane o'brien. some sports news now and roger federer has become the oldest player to top the men's world tennis rankings. five years after losing his spot at the top, roger federer, has reclaimed the position at the age of 36. his elevation in the rankings came after he beat dutch player, robin haase, in straight sets to reach the semifinals of a tournament in rotterdam. federer, a 20—time grand slam champion, said being number one at his age is a "dream come true". let's head to the south of france now and a daring adventure to cross the mediterranean. a frenchman is planning to travel from nice to corsica. all he will use is a small inflatable zeppelin — and a whole lot of pedal power. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. # come take a trip in my airship, come sail away to the stars. #

it doesn't fly very high, it doesn't fly very fast, but don't underestimate this little airship. # we'll sail away to mars. # its creator and pilot, stephane rousson, has big plans for what he calls his zeppie. this is a precise piece of engineering. a bicycle—like structure, two propellers, and a 20—metre long helium filled balloon. it is both daring and delicate. translation: the difficulty is that the machine is extremely sensitive to weather conditions, because you need wind speeds of less than five kilometres per hour in order to fly. that means the sea must be completely flat, not a single wave on the water. the plan is to cross the mediterranean, metaphorically setting sailfrom nice, heading towards calvi on the northern coast of corsica, a journey of 175 kilometres. # come take a trip in my airship...#

this was simply a test flight, one that caused a little bemusement for passing traffic. stephane tried crossing the english channel ten years ago but had to give up after 80 hours of pedalling and a distance of 35 kilometres. the attempted flight to corsica, if a flight is the right word, is expected to take place later this year. tim allman, bbc news. his thighs are going to be burning, ican his thighs are going to be burning, i can assure you of that. senior us officials have charged 13 russians with interfering in the presidential election that brought donald trump tupou. mrtrump has election that brought donald trump tupou. mr trump has once again denied collusion between his campaign and the russians. the weather this weekend is looking a little mixed.

most of us will get at least one fine day of weather. it will be saturday. we will have skies like this. this is an image from friday from one of our weather watchers. here is the weekend summary. we have some sunny weather on saturday, it will be bright. from sunday things will turn. clouds are gathering all ready for sunday. ahead of that this is what we will have in uk over saturday, that window with a brighter weather. in the short term, through the early hours of saturday we have some rain around, maybe hill snow across the north. clear and cold weather across east anglia and the south—east. there will be a touch of frost in places. on saturday, a weak weather front moves across northern parts of the uk. first thing in the morning some of us will be waking up to overcast skies. there will be light rain here and there. through the morning, that area of cloud basically breaks

up and the sun comes out. on balance, a fine day. not a completely fine and dry day, there might be one or two little showers developing. on balance, sunshine will prevail across the uk on saturday. the best of the weather, i suspect, on the south coast and some of these western areas, around 11 degrees. the forecast for saturday night into sunday, a lot of cloud behind me, this is streaming in our direction. this is actually a warm weather front, it will be followed by some milder weather conditions. this is the weather map. a cold front there, a warm front here. within this area we have that mild air pushing in our direction. the thinking is first thing in the morning on sunday it will be clouding over across many western areas and it will feel fairly damp. for the tips of cornwall, pembrokeshire, certainly in northern ireland, the rain getting in there during the morning. for many eastern areas on sunday, you can see norwich,

hull, newcastle, all the way up to aberdeen, that eastern portion of the uk should stay dry. all day, we suspect, on sunday, before this weather front crosses you and brings the rain. watch what happens as we go through sunday into monday. still milder air, coming in from the south—west. then there is a sudden shift in the wind direction. it starts coming out of the east. that means as we had through the next few days things are set to turn that little bit colder. this is bbc news — the headlines: thirteen russian nationals have been charged by the us special counsel robert mueller, with interfering in the 2016 presidential election. mr mueller‘s office linked the group to an internet agency that allegedly churned out online posts aimed at boosting president trump's prospects. mr trump has met survivors of wednesday's high school gun attack in florida, in which seventeen people were killed. during visits to a hospital and sheriff's office in the miami suburb of parkland, he praised emergency workers and medical staff for their response, describing the shooting as very sad.

brazil's president has signed a decree authorising the army to supervise all anti—crime operations in the state of rio de janeiro. michel temer said organised crime was spreading like a cancer in the country. now on bbc news — inside out.