welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm nkem ifejika. our top stories: prosecutors in the us charge thirteen 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 de janeiro. 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 thirteen 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. earlier i spoke to david tafuri. he is an international lawyer and a former us state department official. i asked him from a legal perspective, just how serious the charges were against these russian nationals. well, the indictment is stunning in the level of detail and the presentation of evidence of russia interfering in our 2016 election.

now, as the previous report mentioned, there is no reference to americans participating or supporting that interference, however, as deputy attorney general rosenstein said, he's refered to just this indictment. now, we do not know what's coming in the next indictment or whether there will be more indictments in the future, but a careful prosecutor, like mueller, would go about this on a step—by—step process and this could be just the next step in a long investigation that is going to result in more indictments. it is also notable that this is activity and interference, while very serious, and having poteltially very serious consequences on the 2016 election, it is not include everything that we know happened in the 2016 election. for instance, if you look back to the intelligent assessment report last january, it talks about the hacking of dnc e—mails and that also was illegal interference by russia. this indictment doesn't go to that at all. so perhaps the next indictment will

go to that and who is responsible for that illegal activity and then the question there will be, was the trump campaign or were any other americans involved in that. it appears as though, david, there will be so many layers and so many elements to robert mueller‘s investigation and, i suppose, that it could upset some people who think he is exceeding his remit. well, this doesn't exceed his remit at all. in fact, this is fully within his remit — remember, his remit was to investigate russian interference in the 2016 election and, if you look at this indictment, it goes right to the heart of that. in fact, identifying specific individuals and entities, russians who were responsible to this interference so perhaps in the future you could make that argument about some of the things he might do in the future,

but this one, no, this is right on. but here's the crucial question is whether the russian interference 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 if americans helped them break the law, those are very serious violations, go to the heart and sanctity of our democracy that robert mueller is clearly going to move forward on prosecuting and trying to punish those who are responsible. whether or not those things made a difference in the election, that is in the past, and no one is ever going to be able to tell whether this russian interference — which clearly happened — and the indictment shows even more evidence that it happened — we will know whether it actually made a difference. that is not provable. 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 the miami suburb of 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. 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 the sheriff's office in 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've done is incredible and i want to congratulate you. you've done a greatjob. reporter: did you see some victims, mr president? yes, i did, yes, i did. idid indeed. very sad that something like that could happen, but the job the doctors did, the nurses, the hospital, first responders, law enforcement, really incredible. the speed that they got the victims over to the hospital — in one case 20 minutes, in one case 19 minutes, from the time of the shots. it's an incredible thing.

thank you very much. do gun our laws need to be changed, mr president? short time ago we spoke to our presenter from outside of 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 the constitutional order‘. ethiopia only fully lifted its last state of emergency in august. 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 on friday. 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 government has given the military full control to oversee security in rio dejaneiro — in response to growing gang violence. rio‘s governor issued an appeal for help after the annual carnival celebrations were marred by violence. stefan levy reports. carnival singing and music plays. from this...

gun fire. ..to this, just a week on from the beginning of this year's rio carnival. despite thousands of police on the streets during the annual celebrations, a series of armed robberies and confrontations between rival gangs shown a spotlight on the city's deteriorating security situation. tourist areas usually considered safe transformed into a hot bed of crime and violence. on friday, brazilian president michel temer signed a decree giving the military full control of security operations in rio. translation: organised crime has virtually taken control of the state of rio de janeiro. it is a matastasis that has extended throughout the country and threatens the tranquillity of our nation. for that reason we have just called for a federal intervention in the public security

for rio de janeiro. the army already patrol some of the most dangerous areas of the city, where drug gangs operate but now that presence will be felt all over rio. a situation unheard—of since brazil's return to democracy in 1985, after 21 years of military rule. rio‘s police budget has been slashed, in recent years, 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 levels of alleged corruption. mr temer‘s decree is expected to be approved by brazil's national congress next week and, with it, hope amongst local people that something is being done. stefan levy, bbc news 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 three hundred kilometres away. many people said they feared a repeat of the devastating quake in september which killed nearly four hundred 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 seventeen people were killed. the new south african president, cyril ramaphosa,

has delivered his first state of the nation address to parliament in cape town, a day after being sworn into office. he set out his plans for the economy and for ending the corruption scandals that forced his predecessor, jacob zuma, to resign. 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. switzerland's roger federer has become the oldest player to top the 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 semi—finals of a tournament in rotterdam. federer, a 20—time grand slam champion, said being number one at his age is a "dream come true". when you're older, you know, you feel like you have to do double the work.

this one maybe means the most of my career, getting to number one, 36, almost 37 years old, it is an absolute dream come true. cannot believe it. applause. let's head to south korea now — and the winter olympics. mikaela shiffrin‘s hopes for a second gold will have to wait until next week. the american was edged out of the medals in the slalom. but it was double delight for the home fans — as south korea celebrated a history—making gold at the turn of the lunar year. austin halewood rounds up the action. they call him the iron man, and with the weight of the nation on his shoulders, the south korean produced a superhuman performance in the men's skeleton. it was too easy for

the home favourite. instead he finished in style with a new track record, the first asian to win and olympic sliding centre all. he finished ahead of an olympic athlete from russia, and dom parsons in third, great britain's first medallist of the games. mikaela shiffrin won herfirst medallist of the games. mikaela shiffrin won her first gold on day six, but the defour hours later the american couldn't make it two from two. it was the swedish competitor who won gold in the women's slalom. one finished fifth, but she still has two events to come. for me it is a dream come true, she is a really talented girl, so to me it is fun to be here today but it doesn't matter who was second or third or fourth. just two years after breaking his back, an outsider for the just two years after breaking his back, an outsiderfor the men's superg, back, an outsiderfor the men's super g, the austrian one downhill

gold in sochi four years ago and pyeongchang was no different. he took gold 30 years after his father w011 took gold 30 years after his father won silver in the same discipline. snowboard cross is one of the game's most spectacular events. but it can also be one of its most struck it. six competitors start each race, but all of them rarely finish. in the women's final, it was an exception, all six in contention to most of the race. but as two were wiped out on the line, it was italy who won their second goal of the games. —— gold. 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 flight is the right word, is expected to take place later this year. here are some pictures we wanted to show you, there is a japanese and american astronaut floating outside the international space station, they went on spacewalk at an altitude of 408 kilometres to service a outpost. they were up there for 6.5 hours in total. the spacewalk is the 208 in support of

the space station, but it is also a first for the japanese astronaut. a reminder of our top story this hour. senior us officials have charged thirteen russians with interfering in the presidential election that brought donald trump to power. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @nkemifejika. thanks for being with us. 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. clouds are gathering already 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.

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. the opposition has blamed austerity measures for the collapse of rio's economy. in a few moments it'll be time for newswatch. but first, here's click.