this is bbc news, i'm ben bland. our top stories: several strong earthquakes have shaken parts of hawaii after a volcanic eruption. hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes. president trump rallies his base at a meeting of the national rifle association and makes this vow. your second amendment rights are under siege. but they will never, ever, be under siege as long as i'm your president. palestinian leader mahmoud abbas apologises for remarks he made about jewish people and the holocaust. he later insisted he condemned it as "the most heinous crime in history." the swedish academy vows to reform after this year's nobel prize for literature is cancelled over a sexual harassment scandal.

it's on hawaii's main island where dramatic video showed fountains of lava bursting up under a road and streams of molten rock incinerating trees. 1700 residents have been evacuated and a state of emergency has been declared. bill hayton reports. a roadblock, hawaii style. this neighbourhood is 2a miles from the crater of mt kilauea, but the ground cracked open on thursday and molten lava poured out. i smell it and i

ran into the lava poured out. i smell it and i ran i;£,; and if .. iii described a feeling as if a giant snake - moving under the described a feeling as if a giant snake. moving under the houses. snake was moving under the houses. you could feel the heat coming from the ground... yeah, there is heat coming out of their. and that wasn't the only danger. the air was filled with potentially toxic fumes. as a result, the state governor ordered an evacuation. there was little time to gather possessions. some escaped with what they could. residents are now waiting to see when they will be allowed home. mt kilauea is spewing smoke from one of its side vents, but at the moment scientist don't believe there is a major risk of an explosive eruption. laver has been flowing from the volcano crater and

cracks on its slopes ever since it became active in 1983. but with earthquakes getting stronger, no one is relaxing just yet. on the line is janet snyder from the mayor's office of the county of hawaii. she is at the civil defence centre in hilo on the big island. good to have you with us, just bring us good to have you with us, just bring us up—to—date with the situation as you are aware of it at the moment? it is kind of hard, i almost have to start from a couple of days ago, but let me give you the latest on the event for us, this afternoon our time. we had a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on the south flank of mt kilauea volcano, 6.9 is quite large, we do not have a depth for it, we have a number of road closures as you know, we had mandatory

evacuations of two of the subdivisions in the area, in the vicinity of the eruption. and i wonder whether this was anticipated, the eruption and the earthquakes, and weather systems in place to warn about this as they should? —— weather systems. i can tell you that two weeks prior to the initial eruption, we did get the hawaiian volcano observatory advice that there was a lot of seismic activity at kilauea, and a cluster of earthquakes that would indicate that in eruption could be imminent. so that was that, and i can tell you as far as the systems being in place, i can tell you that on the island of hawaii, we have a very well oiled

machine as far as civil defence goes. we are no stranger to disasters, and our mayor was the civil defence administrator the 25 yea rs. civil defence administrator the 25 years. and i can say that he pretty much wrote the book on civil defence. and he has trained these quys defence. and he has trained these guys so well, i am with the mayor ‘s office so imo prejudiced, but he really knows his stuff. —— i am a bit prejudiced. i was hearing from some weather reports that sometimes the wind direction changes quite sharply in hawaii. with that in mind, and given the toxicity of what is in the airfrom the mind, and given the toxicity of what is in the air from the volcano, is there any concern about a change of wind direction affecting the people who have been evacuated? that is a very good question. we do have elevated levels of sulphur dioxide, which prevents people from even contemplating going back to their

evacuated areas. it is quite toxic, and in fact even oui’ it is quite toxic, and in fact even our first responders find it too hazardous at this time to go back into the subdivisions without heavy protective equipment, they are just not going in right now, it is very dangerous. 0k, janet sardar, thank you very much. —— dangerous. 0k, janet sardar, thank you very much. —— janet snyder. and for more on that story head to the bbc news website, where as well as the latest updates on the volcano, there are also eyewitness accounts of the moment lava erupted through the streets, and interviews with some residents who are refusing to leave evacuation areas. you'll find that and more from bbc.com/news. president trump has vowed to defend american‘s right to own guns americans' right to own guns in a speech at the national rifle association's convention in dallas, texas.

he was back among his core supporters after a tumultuous week in which he's faced growing scrutiny about his alleged affair with stormy daniels, an adult film star. at the nra convention he seemed to dismiss the idea of tighter gun control laws after february's mass shooting at a high school in florida. gary o'donoghue reports from dallas. there he is. there is donald trump. travelling to the nra's convention is becoming an annual pilgrimage for president trump. but recent mass shootings have put the organisation on the back foot. today, the president remained staunch in his defence of them and their constitutional right to own a gun. your second amendment rights are under siege. but they will never, ever be under siege as long as i am your president. cheering and applause. but after the shooting of 17 students and teachers at a school in parkland, florida on valentine's day, the mood has

changed, with young people around the country keeping gun control at the forefront of the debate. my daughter has no voice. she was murdered last week. shortly after the shooting, the president seemed prepared to stand up to the organisation, though little action followed. let's talk about guns, shall we? cheering and applause. but there was no such tough talk to the nra today. the president also suggesting that just having tight gun laws, like those in london, did not stop people being killed in other ways. even though britain's murder rate is a fraction of that of the united states. i recently read a story that in london, which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds. yes, that's right.

they don't have guns. they have knives. lindsay falcon was one of those close by, urging tighter controls. her nephew was one of four people killed in a waffle house shooting in tennessee last month. please stop calling us stupid for wanting to protect our children. this was an uncompromising speech by the president. and in a year of congressional elections, there is unlikely to be any more republican compromise. the palestinian leader mahmoud abbas has apologised for comments he made earlier this week that were widely criticised as being anti—semitic. at a meeting in the west bank on monday, mr abbas suggested the historical persecution of europeanjews had been a reaction to their financial activities, not by their religion. in a statement today, he condemned anti—semitism and called the holocaust the "most heinous crime in history". our middle east correspondent yolande knell has more.

well, already from the israeli defence minister there has been a rejection of this apology from mahmoud abbas. he called him, in message on twitter, "a wretched holocaust denier" and said he had written a book on holocaust denial, published a doctorate on the subject. this reference is often pointed out byjewish groups, the doctorate thesis that mr abbas wrote when he was in moscow in the 1980s — the title of his thesis was "the secret relationship between nazism and the zionist movement." this has really stirred up an unwanted debate for mahmoud abbas in what is already a very tense time. next week is when the us plans to move its embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem, breaking with decades of international consensus. and since it recognised jerusalem

as israel's capital last december, the palestinians have broken off their relations with the us. the remarks that mr abbas made in a long and rambling speech at the palestinian national council, they did attract notjust criticism from israel but also from a lot of international figures as well. the european union said that these remarks were unacceptable. the un special envoy here said that they were deeply distressing and the us picked up on them as well. the ambassador to israel saying that they marked a new low for mahmoud abbas. hundreds of palestinians have been demonstrating along the border fence with israel for the sixth consecutive friday. reports say a number of protesters have been wounded by live and rubber bullets fired by israeli troops. others have been treated for inhaling tear gas. israel says it uses force only to prevent damage to the fence or possible infiltrations.

at least 44 protesters have been killed during the weeks of protest, marking 70 years since hundreds of thousands of palestinian arabs were expelled or fled from the new state of israel. zimbabwe's ruling party zanu—pf has launched its election campaign. president emmerson mnangagwa has made a number of pledges ahead of elections in august. it's the first time mr mnangagwa will go to the polls as zanu—pf‘s leader after ousting robert mugabe. the bbc‘s shingai nyoka reports from harare. thousands of party loyalists have attended the election manifesto launch where president emmerson mnangagwa pledged to raise the standard of living for all zimbabweans. he has also promised to create a middle income country by 2030. by some accounts, this is a measured plan. he says his plan is hinged on opening up closed industries and reviving the economy. we carry the hope of zimbabwe, and zimbabwe is in good hands.

the theme of this yea r‘s manifesto and campaign launch — "unite, fight corruption, develop, re—engage and create jobs." it is a slick election campaign being launched here. dozens of billboards have been splashed across the country and just across from here, a row of brand—new campaign cars are ready to go. even some of these party members also have on the new regalia for the elections. but all of this masks a deep problem within the ruling partly. zanu—pf‘s internal elections were held over the weekend and there were some surprise defeats of key emmerson mnangagwa allies including several ministers as well as war veterans. on one end you have a ruling party that is going to squabbles in terms of primary elections,

disgruntlement. but on the other end, it is a paradox. you have an opposition party that is trying to recover from the death of morgan tsvangirai, the current split that is looming. now that this launch is over, emmerson mnangagwa must get down to the real work and that includes uniting his fragmented party. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: dressing down, a kimono is falling out of favour in japan, dressing down, a kimono is falling out of favour injapan, and why some are trying to revive it. —— wider kimono. —— why. i, nelson mandela will hearby swear to be faithful of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterand.

but the tunnel is still not ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: several strong earthquakes shake parts of hawaii after the eruption of one of the world's most active volcanos, mount kilauea. president trump has told members of america's powerful gun lobby,

the national rifle association, that he won't bow to calls for stricter controls. well, let's stay with that story now. the bbc‘s anthony zurcher says the way mr trump talked about guns almost made it sound like he was fighting an election again. it sounded like campaign trump, talking about the second amendment and how the democrats were going to take away people's guns. it was a sharp contrast from just a couple of months ago in march where he said other politicians were afraid of the nra but he wasn't going to be controlled by them. talking about some new gun control measures, including raising the age to purchase firearms and expanded background checks, that seems to have gone by the wayside. instead, he was talking about knife violence in the uk and gun control in paris, where people not having guns lead to more crime. it was a blast from the past as far as trump goes.

he was talking about his poll ratings, talking about the economy, north korea, and how kanye west is supporting him now and how he is becoming more popular with black voters. there were calls for expanded wall and greater border security, immigration control. this was donald trump in classic form. i think you have to keep in mind that this speech was a rally—the—base type of thing. the reason why he sounds like a candidate and it sounds like an election speech is because he knows in november, americans are going to the polls and at the moment, it looks like they may vote for democrats, dealing a big blow to his party. he needs to rally the base so that they can maintain control of congress. without control of congress, all of donald trump's agenda goes by the wayside. dust storms have destroyed homes and lives across a wide area of northern india. 125 people have been killed.

some reports suggest the figure is higher as buildings collapsed in the intense storm. villages near the taj mahal were the worst affected. more bad weather is on the way. it is now calm in the village. a miracle that more lives were not lost. this is the place where i'm standing here. you can see the house is in the rubble now. the family used to live here. and none of them are alive. and the local villagers had to perform the last rites. the women are in mourning and know it will be hard to rebuild. translation: suddenly, all the people were caught up in it. people say the speed was 150km/h. it was a disaster. we helped one another. three people died in our village. translation: we were inside our house when it collapsed from the high winds. my father was killed. my niece and i were injured. translation: nobody has ever seen such a hurricane. we pray to god that we don't

experience this again. all the farmers' crops have been ruined. translation: i was hiding behind the furniture in the room. the wind blew our wall down and i was stuck in the ruins with my whole family. the villagers say they should have had more notice. but government officials say the storm came out of nowhere. it was the worst in 20 years. and more bad weather is forecast. salman ravi, bbc news, agra. what britain's most wanted fugitives have been caught in spain on suspicion of drug offences. armed officers detained him after he left the metropolitan gym in barcelona on friday. the 41—year—old from south london is wanted by police investigating the large scale supply of drugs. a former suspect in

stephen lawrence's murder in 1993, he has always denied any involvement in the killing. for the first time since the second world war, there will be no nobel prize for literature this year. the swedish academy, which chooses who wins this most prestigious award, is caught up in a crisis over allegations of sexual assault by the husband of one of the academy's judges, and how those allegations were handled. the academy has now decided the damage to its credibility was so serious, it had no choice but to cancel the awards. here's maddy savage in stockholm. churchill, steinbeck, dylan. for more than a century, the nobel literature prize has been amongst the most prestigious awards for authors from around the world. but the institution that hands out the literature award, the swedish academy, has been in turmoilfor months. it is all because of this french photographer, jean—claude arnault, who ran a cultural project that got funding from the swedish academy. he is accused of sexually assaulting at least 18 women and leaking information about prizes.

he is married to katerina frostensen, who was a member of the academy when the allegations came out. she later resigned along with a handful of others amid deep internal rows about how the allegations were handled. it is a big dealfrom the swedish academy and not being able to cope with the scandal. but also the fact that they haven't expressed any remorse or regret about their behaviour in the public in the last few weeks. the swedish academy's decision to postpone the prize is an admission that it has lost credibility, both here in sweden and around the world. in a statement today, it said it will spend the next year looking at how to tackle conflict of interest and communication in future, as well as recruiting new members. this is a scandal that has notjust put the literary sphere in a spin, but upset a lot of people across sweden. —— in a spin, but upset a lot of people across sweden where sex assault allegations are taken seriously and the nobel

awards are a source of national pride. they haven't taken the questions seriously about the sexual harassment. it's such an honourable group of people, and acting like kids. i think it is bad for sweden because a lot of swedes think that the swedish academy are the good guys, the people who do good and want to do good. restoring public confidence in the academy and the prize won't be an easy assignment. maddy savage, bbc news, stockholm. the japan now and the attempt to revitalise an ancient tradition. for centuries, the kimono has been a symbol of the nation. but sales are in decline and the market is shrinking. it seems that the mona is too expensive for everyday use. for some people, they are trying to change that. tim norman reports. —— allman. this is a master craft on. his work

is detailed, meticulous, using techniques that date back to the 17th century. but he knows this is an industry that desperately needs to move with the times. dasha the kimono has become something that is far removed from our daily lives and very few people wear them on a daily basis. 40 years ago sales of the kimono were worth around $17 billion a year. the 2016, that figure had fallen to less than 3 billion. expensive to make, difficult to wear, almost impossible to clean. companies are now trying to use cheaper materials like cotton, wool, 01’ even cheaper materials like cotton, wool, or even polyester. their aim? to create kimono is are both affordable and wearable. translation: we need to make kimonos which are really

pa rt to make kimonos which are really part of people's wardrobe, and out fit in which they can express themselves. and there are high hopes tourism may boost sales, particularly with the tokyo olympics only two years away. ancient and modern, traditional dress revolutionised for the 21st century. tim allman, bbc news. the news just reaching us the newsjust reaching us now, the formerly us president george hw bush has been discharged from hospital. the 93—year—old has been in hospital for nearly two weeks, he was seen recently there at the funeral of his late wife barbara bush. he has been in hospitalfor two weeks late wife barbara bush. he has been in hospital for two weeks the treatment of an infection that spread to his blood. a family spokesman said doctors report he is doing well and is happy to be returning home. reminder of our top story, strong

earthquakes shook part of hawaii after an eruption of one of the world's most at the volcanoes, but fell away. it is on the main island of hawaii, dramatic video show fountains of love of resting up under road —— mount kilauea. 1700 people have been evacuated from their homes. a state of emergency has been declared. don't forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @benmbland. thanks for watching. hello there, good morning. don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed — that's normally what most people say about the bank holiday weekend weather. this weekend, though, could be very different. we saw a fair bit of sunshine around on friday, notjust in york but far and wide. there will be more to come this weekend. apart from the far north—west of scotland at times been some rain. —— apart from the far north—west of scotland at times rain,

it should be dry. it is getting warmer and warmer. high pressure is in charge of our weather. we are drawing in warmth from the near continent. as that builds, it keeps the weather fronts almost at bay, occasionally brushing the far north—west of scotland and the outer isles as well. some patchy cloud across scotland, northern ireland and into england and wales. there will be sunny spells, too. if anything, temperatures a bit higher than they were on friday. getting up to 20 degrees in north—eastern scotland, low 20s in the south—east of england. there is the rain in the far north—west of scotland. it runs away towards the northern isles and peters out. still misty across the irish sea. it could lap up onto the coast again. generally clear skies. chilly in the south—east of england — generally eight or nine degrees. warming up in the sunshine on sunday. again, stronger winds in the north—west of scotland pushing the rain away, once again. more sunshine in northern ireland, increasing amount of sunshine for england and wales. some mistiness through the irish sea that could be heading up towards the channel. temperatures continuing to rise

and getting into the low, and perhaps even mid 20s at best. more sunshine to come on monday, too. again, stronger winds in the far north—west and a few spots of rain not far away. generally a lovely day. not quite as warm in the north—east of scotland and the north—east of england on monday. inland, elsewhere, temperatures at least around 20—23 degrees or so. we could get 27 for the north—west of london on bank holiday monday. that would make it the hottest early bank holiday monday on record. things will start to change after monday. high pressure that has been drawing in this atlantic influence retreats to scandinavia and things start to turn in from the atlantic with pressure falling and we get weaker weather fronts approaching into western parts of the uk. further east, it will still be dry on tuesday. there will be sunshine and still very warm across the midlands and eastern parts of england.

the temperatures into the mid 20s. cooling off further north and west. with the atlantic winds pushing across the uk, there won't be much rain, apart from in the far north—west. temperatures will be on the slide. this is bbc news — the headlines: dozens of people in hawaii have taken shelter from ash, toxic gas and lava flows from the mount kilauea volcano. at least two homes were destroyed when lava bubbled up through fissures in a residential area. several strong earthquakes have shaken the southeastern region of hawaii's big island. president trump has addressed the national rifle association and vowed not to tighten us firearms laws — despite suggesting after the florida school shooting that he was prepared to take on the gun lobby. he again called for teachers to be armed — saying any gun—free zone was an invitation to shooters. the palestinian leader mahmoud abbas has apologised for comments he made that were widely criticised as being anti—semitic. at a meeting in the west bank on monday — he suggested the historical persecution

of europeanjews had been a reaction to their financial activities, not their religion. steven gerrard has been appointed as the new manager of rangers.