welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: explosive eruptions at hawaii's mount kilauea. the volcano spews more ash and toxic gas. thousands of residents are told to find shelter. ongoing investigation or partisan witch—hunt? one year into robert mueller‘s investigation, the white house questions its purpose. it's gone on for over a year they have found no evidence of collusion, and still strongly believe that it's a witch hunt. we have a special report on the refugees selling their eu passports and travel documents prompting fears of a security risk. and meghan markle confirms her father won't be attending the royal wedding to focus on his health. high levels of toxic gas have forced emergency workers

on hawaii's big island to retreat from the latest eruption of mount kilauea. people have been warned to get away from a sulphur dioxide cloud, which is killing large swathes of vegetation. one of the world's most active volcanoes has erupted explosively, sending ash more than five and half miles into the sky. geologists are warning that rocks the size of cars could be ejected over a wide area. mount kilauea, one of five active volcanoes on hawaii, has been erupting continuously for 30 years, but there's been nothing like this since 192a. our north america correspondent james cook reports. in the dead of night, kilauea exploded. by dawn, this webcam was splattered with ash, and a cloud was rising 30,000 feet into the sky. the blast had been brewing for weeks, if not years. kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes. it has been erupting constantly since the ‘80s. it's a real dynamic situation up there.

we could have additional, you know, events like this morning, that punch up and then die back down really quickly. the one this morning was definitely the biggest we've seen so far, just in terms of energy and how high up into the atmosphere it got. on the ground, fissures continue to fizzle and boom. parts of the island have been ablaze for weeks. there is no way to stop the lava oozing from the cracks in the earth. it consumes everything in its path, including at least 26 homes. and still there is no end in sight. the seething magma in kilauea's crater is now draining into the water table, producing steam and, scientists predict, more powerful and dangerous explosions at any moment. james cook, bbc news. police in malaysia are saying they

made a massive seizure of cash, jewellery and designer handbags on raids in homes and offices belonging to the former prime minister. he and his wife were banned from leaving the country after he unexpectedly lost last week's collections. the new 92—year—old prime minister has vowed to bring najib rawak to justice. this is an extraordinary turnaround. it is. we are still getting used to it in malaysia, just over a week after those extraordinary election results. former prime minister najib has, we believe, been confined to his home. there was a picture released of him yesterday, a p pa re ntly released of him yesterday, apparently fast asleep on his sofa, as police spent many hours going through his house, or drilling into

a safe that he said hadn't been open for 20 years. they've been searching six locations all related to the former prime minister, including the former prime minister, including the former prime minister, including the former prime minister's office. they went back to a luxury apartment and came out with quite a lot of designer handbags and luxury watches, and took this stuff away in pursuit of what they say is a revived investigation into the scandal known as 1mdb, a government investment body which under the former prime minister was alleged to have lost millions of dollars, misappropriated, the subject of investigations around the world. that subject was dropped under the najib administration but now it's been revived and all this action we've seen, clearly targeting the former prime minister, is related to that investigation. where is this headed, and if it's possible to say, how is the country asa possible to say, how is the country as a whole reacting to this? the thing about malaysia is that

corruption is nothing new, and indeed the current prime minister, who was prime minister for 22 years in the 80s and 90s, while living personally very modest life, there was plenty of corruption associated with his administration, he wouldn't deny that. but the public was outraged by what they thought was the open and conspicuous both consumption and corruption of the former prime minister najib. his wife was particularly target and various associates, and it became a big subject in the election campaign, a very big issue. there is enormous public demand for this investigation to be continued. people are talking about very significant amounts of what is in effect taxpayers' money in the end, so it is an urgent matter for the government to get this investigation going. it is clearly targeting the former prime minister, a man who ten days ago was the most powerful man by far days ago was the most powerful man byfar in days ago was the most powerful man by far in the country, and dominated it. i have to say, prime minister

najib, in the few public appearances we've seen him, looks like a broken man, and everybody here thinks it's quite likely he will face criminal charges. a year ago, special counsel robert mueller took over the investigation into russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether anyone from the trump campaign colluded with the russians. mr mueller was given sweeping legal powers but twelve months later there are still many questions unanswered. president trump regularly calls it a witch hunt. jane o'brien reports. never a fan of the russia investigation, president trump marked its one—year anniversary by calling it notjust a witch—hunt, but a "disgusting, illegal and unwarranted witch hunt." and he has consistently denied any involvement in attempts by russia to meddle with the 2016 election. the president knows that there was no collusion in the campaign, and he has been quite clear about this. it's gone on for over a year,

they've found no evidence of collusion, and still strongly believe that it's a witch—hunt. the fbi opened the investigation in the summer of 2016, after us intelligence agencies warned that russia was trying to undermine the presidential race. but mr trump fired the fbi director, james comey, a move that prompted the appointment of a special counsel, robert mueller, last may. the first criminal charges came a few months later, against a former adviser to mr trump, george papadopoulos. he was charged with lying to the fbi, and has since been cooperating with the investigation. soon after, former trump campaign chairman paul manafort surrendered to authorities. he has pleaded not guilty to charges including money—laundering and tax fraud. in february, 13 russians were charged with stealing the identities of americans and pretending to be political activists online, in an effort to sway the election. a total of 19 people have now been indicted, four of them trump associates.

three companies have also been charged. so a year on, amid continuing controversy and partisan rancour, an investigation unique for its lack of leaks has no end in sight, and so far, there is no public evidence of collusion. president trump has contradicted a suggestion by his national security advisor, john bolton, that the ending of libya's nuclear programme could provide a model for north korea. that idea had alarmed pyongyang, so much so that north korea's leader threatened on wednesday not to attend the planned summit next month with the us president. there was no deal to keep gaddafi. the libyan model that was mentioned was a much different deal. this would be, with kimjong—un, something where he'd be there, he'd be in his country, running his country. his country would be rich. his people are incredibly industrious. if you look at south korea,

this would be really a south korean model in terms of industry, in terms of what they do. they're hard—working, incredible people. but the libyan model was a much different model. we decimated that country. we never said to gaddafi, "oh, we're going to give you protection, we're going to give you military strength, we're going to give you all of these things." we went in and decimated him. the model, if you look at that model with gaddafi, that was a total decimation. we went in there to beat him. now, that model would take place if we don't make a deal, most likely. but, if we make a deal, i think kimjong—un is going to be very, very happy. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the us senate has confirmed gina haspel as the next director of the cia, the first woman in the job. she faced strong opposition in confirmation hearings over her links to the cia's use of brutal interrogation techniques. she ran one of the intelligence service's secret prisons outside the us, where terror suspects

were subjected to water boarding. she replaces mike pompeo, now president trump's secretary of state. at least two people have died when a school bus collided with a truck in newjersey. a teacher and a student were killed and at least a0 injured. the bus was one of three taking fifth grade students on a school trip. police are investigating the collision on a newjersey interstate. a close friend of khamzat azimov, the islamist shot dead by police after he stabbed a man to death in paris last weekend, has been placed under formal investigation. chechen—born abdul hakim anayev is accused of associating with a terrorist conspiracy. police have also detained two women accused of having links with khamzat azimov. in brazil, police have arrested more than 130 people in a major operation against paedophiles. the suspects had between them downloaded up to 200,000 explicit

sexual images and videos of children. hundreds of police were involved in the raids. andy beatt reports. dawn raids across brazil. the co—ordinated operation by 2,500 police officers saw equipment seized and suspects arrested in 25 of the country's 26 states. translation: this was the biggest ever operation in brazil, and the largest in the world in one single day, against the crimes of child abuse and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. authorities say the suspects include men, women, lawyers, doctors and teachers, ranging from 20 to retirement age. between them, they have downloaded hundreds of thousands of explicit sexual images of children. translation: they all had a considerable amount of files stored, so it wasn't a matter of downloading one or two by mistake. they were individuals who had downloaded at least 150 files.

injust over six months. the first, in partnership with the us, led to 112 arrests. authorities say they have managed to compile a database which will make future arrests and prosecutions easier. police will now examine evidence on computers, mobile phones and hard drives. those charged could face prison sentences of up to eight years. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a picture perfect match. we join the crowds getting ready for prince harry and megan markle's big day. the pope was shot, the pope will live —

that's the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism had come to the vatican. the man they call the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it's the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! this is bbc news. the latest headlines: there have been more explosive

eruptions at hawaii's mount kilauea. thousands of residents have been told to find shelter. let's stay with that story now. joining me now to tell us the latest on this is keith vachon, who is a radio presenterfrom hawaii and also works for the website bigislandnow.com. you have been living there for a while but this volcano has been erupting continuously for 30 years. what's it like living with this? its knowledge knowing that you're here and it's flowing but it's so different from in the us they think of mount st helens as the biggest most of mount st helens as the biggest m ost rece nt of mount st helens as the biggest most recent earthquake of knowledge. it's a bit, different type of volcano where it doesn't load the lava out. they're saying it's different and so what it's been doing continuously since 1983 is go

to the ocean so it's been a huge tourist attraction —— doesn't flow. it is building new land. over the last few weeks it has rained out of the cold there and making its way to the cold there and making its way to the water cable, which they think might have happened today, and it's been going underneath neighbourhoods that have built over the years of the areas that had lava flow back in the areas that had lava flow back in the 50s. you know it's there but at the 50s. you know it's there but at the same time depending on where you build your house, you know you're in zion one or zone to. what it's doing now hasn't been since the 1920s and there is concern about molten lava meeting underground water possibly producing steam powered explosions? that's correct. some sources have said that might have been this morning: i say this morning because it was 4:17am hawaii time when the explosion happened, civil defence

sent the message out and they were worried, they didn't know how far the ash would go so they wanted to be prepared. they called it an explosion but it was quick, a quick explosion. but they did say there would be more, they're anticipating more, and they're basing most of this not only on science but history, like you said, 192a, it went on for 2.5 weeks. history, like you said, 192a, it went on for 2.5 weekslj history, like you said, 192a, it went on for 2.5 weeks. i know you have five active volcanoes on hawaii, you're kind of use to it, but this is something a bit different. is it likely to affect life long—term on hawaii? different. is it likely to affect life long-term on hawaii? it could, we've been talking about that, we've seen the effects... it's a misunderstanding of the geography of hawaii, folks are thinking all of hawaii, folks are thinking all of hawaii is affected by this, but is the southernmost big island and the southern tip of the island so the rest of the island... a lot who, honolulu, kawai who, further north,

they aren't getting the solver and they aren't getting the solver and the smell from it. this island, u nfortu nately the smell from it. this island, unfortunately our tourism has gone down a bit, and even cruise ships have said we're not coming right now. if this continues... if the volcano continues then yes, u nfortu nately, volcano continues then yes, unfortunately, it could have a large impact on the island and its economy. keith vachon, thanks very much for talking to us. mahal oh, thank you. the bbc has uncovered a growing and illegal trade in eu passports and travel documents, many of them being sold by refugees who've decided to leave europe. german politicians have described it as a huge and worrying problem for european security because such documents allow access to europe's schengen zone. within the zone, people can travel between countries with few checks. from the greek—turkish border, nawal al maghafi has this special report. under the cover of darkness, once again syrians are starting a journey. families, together with all their belongings, hoping to make a new life. but these people aren't entering

europe — they are giving up on it. they'd rather face poverty in turkey or the prospect of conflict back home in syria. translation: it's impossible for me to go back to germany. we're muslims, but they say we are terrorists. they look at us and they're afraid of us, like we're monsters, not humans. as these refugees leave europe we've discovered some of them are selling their european ids to people looking for an easy route in. the next stop is here, in istanbul. the crossroads in syria's migration route, and now, as we've discovered after weeks of investigation, this is the centre of a lucrative trade in eu travel documents. as the syrians leave europe, some of them are now advertising their ids online. there are just so many facebook groups where people are buying

and selling passports, travel documents and european residency ids. i've clicked on this one group and it has over 5000 active members. we've put up a post asking for a passport for someone who is around 30 years old and within just a few hours we've received a dozen responses. posing as a syrian couple hoping to go to europe, we're going undercover to buy our eu travel document. we're meeting a smuggler who says he has dozens of passports for sale. it's not long before he pulls out german documents. he says as long as you look similar to the passport picture it's easy to travel. here it is.

i've just been able to buy a refugee travel document, which the germans call a blue passport. i don't think i realised how simple this process is, until now. we went from talking to the broker on facebook, to meeting him a few hours later, and now i'm holding the document in my hand. in theory this enables you to travel across the eu schengen territory. this new trade is worrying security services across the eu. we've come to germany to return the passport we purchased. a spokesman for angela merkel‘s party says he's worried that fighters from the islamic state group could get their hands on an eu passport. for us in germany it's a tremendous problem because our task must be to prevent terrorists to travel

to germany by using stolen or lost documents, or false documents. every night more and more syrians are being smuggled through what they call europe's back door. while they turn their backs on the continent, militants in turkey are thinking about new opportunities. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news, turkey. thousands of people in the north of colombia have been told to leave their homes over fears of massive flooding. there's already been some, on saturday, at the itwango hydro—electric dam, after a blocked tunnel was cleared. now heavy rains are worrying authorities, who fear the banks could breach. lebo diseko reports. evacuate right now — the message from police as they order people to grab what they can and head for safety. nearly 5,000 have been told to leave their homes over fears about massive flooding.

this hydroelectric dam under construction in ituango was to be the largest in the country. but heavy rains have increased water levels in the river which feeds it, leading to concerns its banks could burst. problems with the construction project itself have added to that danger. translation: this is an undesirable situation. a complex one. because that water hitting the base of the dam could erode and possibly destabilise its infrastructure. water levels have been rising by the hour and the state's governor has declared it a public calamity. thousands living in the surrounding towns have started the long walk to safety. many have been placed in temporary shelters like this one. their homes may not be safe, but at least these people are. lebo diseko, bbc news. meghan markle has confirmed that her father will not be

at her wedding to prince harry on saturday. thomas markle had been expected to walk his daughter down the aisle, but in a statement she's said he is staying in the united states to focus on his health. she and herfiance, prince harry, were in windsor on thursday, along with what seems to be a large percentage of the world's media for wedding rehearsals. also there, our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. also there, our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. time to end the uncertainty and focus on the wedding. harry and megan were driven to windsor castle for a private rehearsal in st george's chapel as it was confirmed that the bride's father, thomas markle, will not be at his daughter's wedding. kensington palace issued this statement from miss markle: in windsor, preparations for saturday. a rehearsal for the 250 members of the three armed services taking part.

the most visible element will be the mounted escort by harry's old regiment, the household calvary. they'll accompany what, weather permitting on saturday, will be an open carriage procession through the centre of windsor. also rehearsing has been the choir of st george's chapel, and preparing for his role presiding over the service, the dean of windsor. my impression is that they love one another very much. they are very committed to each other. they are very serious about their relationship. and that's why i think they particularly want to see it grounded in a religious ceremony. the royal wedding can be said to be back on track after three days when even its most committed supporters may have felt a little bemused. but, in thomas markle's absence, who will escort miss markle to the altar?

might itjust be that the father of the groom, prince charles, whose marriage to the duchess of cornwall was blessed in the chapel, might he escort his new daughter—in—law to the altar? we should know tomorrow. nicholas witchell, bbc news, windsor. the bbc is the place to be for all your royal wedding coverage. we'll have lots of build up to the ceremony, and, of course, we will have a special live programme on saturday from windsor castle, starting at 9am gmt right here on bbc news. a reminder of our top story: high levels of toxic gas have forced emergency workers on hawaii's big island to retreat from the latest explosive eruption of mount kilauea volcano. people have been warned to get away from a sulphur dioxide cloud, which is killing large swathes of vegetation. more on that and all the news any time on the bbc website. thanks for watching. hello there.

well, for most of the uk, thursday was a glorious, sunny, dry day. saw so many weather watcher picture scenes like this one, in warrington in cheshire, of a flowerful field and shrubs, with the blue skies above, and a lovely end to the day with some gorgeous sunsets. but, like the last few nights, temperatures really falling away under those clear skies, particularly across eastern scotland. for much of england and wales, close to freezing in one or two places, with a touch of frost in fact, but not so much for the north and west of the uk. in western scotland and northern ireland, here a veil of cloud will continue to move in from the atlantic, so it'll be less cold here to start to friday. a chilly start elsewhere, another lovely sunny one expected for england and wales. more cloud, though, across scotland and northern ireland could spoil things a little bit bit. some holes still, with sunny spells, and those temperatures up a notch, i think, compared to thursday,

around 19 in the south and the east. high pressure still the dominant feature of our weather as we head into the weekend, but weather fronts never too far away from the north—west. so for saturday itself, there's some big football matches going on. top and tail of the country, it looks like it'll be fine and dry for all of them, and, of course, the royal wedding in windsor. a cool start with those temperatures rising quite quickly through the afternoon and we should see a top ten of 20 or maybe 21 with good sunny spells. this is the picture for saturday, a cool start, clear skies to start, lots of sunshine around. a little bit of fairweather cloud just bubbling up here and there. close to the west of scotland, though, these weather fronts will be floating, bringing thicker cloud and maybe the odd spot of rain. most places should be dry, and temperatures up a notch still, maybe 21 or 22. as we get on into sunday, though, looks like these weather fronts will begin to make inroads across scotland and northern ireland. so here a cloudier, breezier day, with outbreaks of rain for northern ireland and western scotland, maybe pushing further southwards and eastwards, but i think some parts of northern scotland should see sunshine.

for england and wales, another gorgeous day on the cards with temperatures reaching highs of 22 or 23, but a bit cooler further north and west, because of the cloud and rain. similar picture as we head on into the start of next week. high pressure still dominant but still these weather fronts plaguing the north and west, so outbreaks of rain in northern ireland into northern and western scotland. the further south and east that you head, it should be dry and bright, with plenty of sunshine. could see the odd sharp shower developing in the south—east later on, and those temperatures even warmer — 23 or maybe 2a celsius. this is bbc news. the headlines: high levels of toxic gas have forced emergency workers on hawaii's big island to retreat from the latest explosive eruption of mount kilauea volcano. people have been warned to get away from a sulphur dioxide cloud, which is killing large swathes of vegetation. the volcano has been erupting for three decades, but there's been nothing like this since the 1920s. a year into robert mueller‘s investigation into russian interference in the us election, and possible collusion

with it by the trump campaign, the president has again called the inquiry a witch hunt. the special counsel has requested an interview with mr trump, but the terms and date have not been agreed. president trump has rejected claims that a peace deal with north korea could be modelled on the agreement which brought an end to libya's nuclear programme. the idea, suggested by his national security advisor, had alarmed pyongyang, which threatened to pull out of the summit planned forjune. now on bbc news, hardtalk.