hello and welcome to bbc news. judge brett kavanaugh is moving closer to being confirmed as a us supreme courtjustice. the senate voted by the narrowest of margins to move to the next stage of the process, setting up a final vote on saturday. nick bryant reports. this uniquely american melodrama is reaching its conclusion. capitol hill now the scene of protests night and day. this is for those who love democracy! donald trump claims these were professional protesters, paid for by the liberal billionaire george soros, but they came to the nation's capital of their own will in a last—ditch attempt to block brett kavanaugh's nomination. there's still time to stop this, please! their pleas directed at his republican backers. so many of the fault lines in american politics converge on the supreme court — abortion, gun rights, gay marriage — which is why this debate is so very passionate. the vote in the senate was procedural, but it had the potential to kill off the nomination. so the republican majority

leader made what sounded like a closing argument. the uncorroborated mud and the partisan noise and the physical intimidation of members here in the senate will not have the final say around here. the senate will have the final say. when the vote finally came, it passed, by the narrowest of margins. on this vote, the yeas are 51—19, the motion is agreed to. america has been transfixed by the allegations from christine blasey ford that brett kava naugh sexually assaulted her as a teenager, a claim he strenuously denied. i am innocent, i am innocent of this charge! tonight, a key wavering female republican senator announced she would back his nomination in the final vote tomorrow. i do not believe that these charges can fairly preventjudge kavanaugh from serving on the court. i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. applause.

who would have thought back injuly, when donald trump first nominated him, that this suburban dad would be the focus of such a fight? but it has ended with a major victory for the white house, donald trump will get his man. the supreme court will soon have a more decisive conservative majority. this brutal and ugly confirmation fight has felt like a clash between two divergent americas. in a washington that is ever more tribal, in a country that is ever more polarised. a white police officer who killed a black teenager four years ago in chicago has been found guilty of second—degree murder. jason van dyke shot laquan mcdonald 16 times in a case that sparked outrage across the us. he claimed he'd feared for his life, but video released by the court showed his victim walking away from officers at the scene. nada tawfik has more. there were really two

competing narratives. this has really rocked chicago. the police chief has been fired. three other officers had been charged with lying and trying to cover up. this crime by officer van dyke. elected officials have essentially been voted out of office. the community is pleased with this verdict. 70 people outside the court chanting justice. they were counting a number of shots, 16 times, and saying his name. there could be mass demonstrations. city hall had 150

page plan in place. businesses plan to shut down if they needed and schools were going to close early if the verdict came in the school day. this is a city on edge to see what could possibly happen. so far there have been orderly, peaceful protest. some saying this will be a model for other places where they can successfully seek conviction against officers. let's get some of the day's other news: the washington post has left a column blank in protest at the disappearance of one of its contributors. it says it's concerned about the welfare of the saudi arabian journalist jamal khashoggi. cristiano ronaldo is to play forjuventus in italy's top league against udinese on saturday. this is despite a us court re—opening an investigation into rape allegations against him, which he firmly denies. the head of an nhs trust at the centre of scores of allegations of poor maternity care says he won't be resigning. his comments come after a former nurse told the bbc that problems on maternity units have not been properly addressed for almost two decades.

the chief executive of the trust, simon wright, who's had the job since 2015, has apologised to any families who've been failed over the past two decades. michael buchanan's report contains some distressing details. forceps used. the baby comes out, there's no cry. i thought, "no, she's dead." i know. julie hughes‘ daughter should be 16 today. but memories and medical records are all that remain. she says staff failed to spot baby elisha was in distress. i can remember saying to the lady who's got the little pink badge... sorry — i get upset. "she's dead." "leave her." "no, no, no." and these people are around her, trying to recover her. they worked on herfor 20 minutes. i said, "please leave her alone."

and that was it. no more. i held her, said goodbye. and. . .went home empty—handed. her daughter's birth was brutal. a forceps delivery that leftjulie needing reconstructive surgery. she says no investigation was carried out into what happened to her baby or to her. this former nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, spent more than a decade at the maternity unit of the trust, and she says mistakes were rarely investigated properly. when i was there, i don't think they learned from it. i think it was a case of, "we will dot the is, cross the ts, and cross our fingers that it doesn't happen again." if you don't learn, you risk repeating errors. eva is three, happy and healthy. but her mother andrea is anything but. her daughter's forceps delivery

left her with an open wound for nine months and ongoing incontinence problems. she has had two major surgeries and may need more, and now suffers with depression. it has just totally changed our life as a family. my daughter is ok, and i am gratefulfor that. but we haven't had any more children. i feel upset, the fact that i am perhaps not the only person this has happened to. more than 100 allegations of maternity errors over nearly 20 years are currently being investigated by an independent review. nhs inspectors have also raised concerns about current maternity services, although the trust insists its care is safe. it's all adding pressure on the trust's chief executive. are you out of your depth, mr wright? he refused our several interview requests, so we went to see him. are you out of your depth, mr wright?

no, not at all. i have a difficultjob to do and intend to see thatjob through. i want to take the opportunity once again to say that for any parent, any mother, who has had any issues to do with their mums, please come and talk to the organisation. we want to make sure we take that learning on board, and we are deeply sorry for any harm that has occurred to any baby in our organisation over the last 20 years. for those families who have been failed by the trust, an apology matters less than demonstrating lasting improvements in care. michael buchanan, bbc news. a criminal investigation is under way after hundreds of tons of medical waste, including body parts, were left to pile up at several sites in the uk. healthcare environmental services has a contract for disposing of much of the hospital waste from england and scotland. the government has been urged to explain why it didn't tell parliament it had convened the cobra emergency committee last month to discuss the problems. here's our health editor hugh pym. one of the main sites at the centre of this medical waste saga,

at normanton in west yorkshire. the company allowed a backlog of waste to build up at centres in england and scotland which should have been sent for incineration. the regulator, the environment agency, told the government injuly, ministers discussed it at a meeting of the cobra emergency committee last month, but it was only revealed yesterday, and the local mp yvette cooper told me mps should have been informed sooner. i think it's irresponsible that the health department and the environment agency still haven't told us the full facts about what on earth is going on, on an issue where there are environmental health questions being raised and we still don't know the full facts. it's completely unfair on the local community. the other main site is at shotts in lanarkshire. the company, healthca re environmental services, is run from here. a new facility was opened only in april by princess anne. the managing director

is garry pettigrew, who wasn't available for comment today. the company had a contract to remove and dispose of medical waste, including body parts, from hospitals. now unions are questioning whether this sort of work should ever have been outsourced. this is a really solid example of what happens when we start to regard services that should be central to our public services, services like cleaning, catering, portering, as those that can easily be contracted out and we can devolve ourselves of responsibility. we still have the same number of incinerators, what has changed is the market price. it fluctuates a lot over the years. over the recent 12 months it has increased considerably. the department of

health and social care covering england said in a statement... the environment agency said as part of its enforcement action it had partially suspended the company's permit here at the normanton site. that means it will not be able to receive any more hospital waste for incineration while it concentrates on trying to reduce the backlog. with the regulator taking action it is not clear what this will mean for the compa ny‘s future is not clear what this will mean for the company's future and the ability of the nhs to dispose of its medical waste. a man who tried to push two people onto the tracks on the london underground has been found guilty of attempted murder. paul crossley said he had chosen his victims at random and hadn't intended to kill them. one of the people he pushed was the 91—year—old former boss of eurotunnel, sir robert malpas, who was left with a fractured pelvis.

richard lister‘s report contains some shocking images. watch the man in the mac, sir robert malpas, aged 90, and he never saw this coming. sir robert is badly hurt. commuters try to raise the alarm. eventually one of them pulls him to safety. a little earlier, another attack at another station. tobias french just avoids the train pulling in, but his assailant escapes. when passengers finally grabbed paul crossley, he said he knew what he had done was wrong. he told the court he'd had an allergic reaction to his schizophrenia medication. this was a most shocking incident and the victims in this case were extremely lucky to have survived. this could easily have been a double murder investigation. and more victims. crossley said the attacks here and at tottenham court road station

were not planned and he didn't intend to kill anyone. the jury disagreed, but the judge says crossley‘s mental state will be considered before he passes sentence. the police stress this kind of attack is extremely rare, but for these two men it could easily have been far worse. richard lister, bbc news. you are watching bbc news. our top stories: key republican senators say they will vote for judge brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. a final senate vote is expected on saturday. let's get more on that now. rebecca hamilton is an assistant professor of law at american university, washington college of law. thanks very much for being with us. so this whole process has been chaotic at best. it clearly doesn't reflect very well on the senate. what kind of impact do you think it

will have on the standing of the supreme court itself? that is the major concern right now. this is the court that gets the most contentious decisions in the country before it and there is a real question about its legitimacy after this incredibly ugly and its legitimacy after this incredibly nd highly its legitimacy after this incredibly ugly and highly partisan confirmation process that we have seen over the past week. yes, brett kavanaugh seen over the past week. yes, brett kava naugh himself seen over the past week. yes, brett kavanaugh himself came up with pretty partisan statements and in fa ct pretty partisan statements and in fact his whole performance during that hearing surprised many, thinking that's not particularly the behaviour of a supreme courtjustice that they would be used to. yes, and we had 21100 law professors around the country signing onto a letter to the country signing onto a letter to the senate judiciary the country signing onto a letter to the senatejudiciary committee saying just that. that based on his testimony last thursday, this was not the demeanour of somebody who should be in alive time appointment on the highest court. so there are

going to be questions coming up now. fine, he's going to be concerned. but what does it mean before every future case that comes before the court? i think we will see many motions for recusal and the standard is that the judge's mind might be questioned, you can imagine on voting rights issues, women's rights issues, any number of points that could be raised about that vis a vis a future just as brett kavanaugh. because of the allegations of sexual assault that he brings into this process and your fear is that they will simply hang over the courts' decisions? yes and i think it is not just at this point the allegation of sexual assault, but it is as you stressed his demeanour during the confirmation process and other... his general approach which has given people concerns about whether he is

fit for a judicial position and whether he can in fact be impartial. just briefly and finally, give us an idea for people not in the united states of the importance of the role of the supreme court. it is vital. it ends up being the final arbiter. if the supreme court loses legitimacy it is a much bigger problem for this country as a whole. it looks like this will be the narrowest vote for a supreme court justice in the history of the nation. interesting times. rebecca hamilton, thank you very much for your insight, thank you. geek is the the united nations says it's urgently trying to raise $50 million "for immediate relief" to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami in indonesia. at least 1,500 people have died — and there fears there could be more. rescuers are still trying to reach remote, cut—off areas

on the island of sulawesi. 0ur south—east asia correspondent jonathan head has been speaking to people in the village of palu — one of the worst hit areas. if you want help in palu, you have to turn up and demand it. and even that doesn't always work. these men have come from a village submerged under a sea of mud. i met them yesterday after their request for government aid had been turned down. but today, when we went to see how they were living, camped in the local mosque, our arrival coincided with that of a police truck carrying some much appreciated rice and noodles, albeit enough only for a couple of days. "they showed up out of the blue", said this man, one of the men i had met in palu just as the supplies were running out. "we're really happy. " it was a welcome opportunity, too, for some community outreach by a police force accused by some locals here of insensitivity to their plight. these officers wanted to correct that impression. "this is actually our own

food", said the colonel. "but we heard about these people and we felt sorry for them." so many of palu's inhabitants are still living like this. day—to—day challenges are hard enough. but their biggest concern is over when and how they can get back to their homes. i was taken to see where the torrent of mud had swept across the village. so they are telling me there were four houses here that have just completely disappeared. yes, totally buried under the mud. there is nothing left of them at all. without heavy machinery, which they don't have, there is no hope of clearing out this much mud. and there is another worry. the bodies of those caught by the mudslide.

well, we have reached a point in the village where there is a really strong smell because of a body that is buried in some of this debris. they cannot get it out. it is really distressing the people who live here and it gives you an idea, with all this mud, just what an immensejob it is going to be to get these villages back to some kind of normal life again. that worry was brought home to them later when a search and rescue team brought a corpse to the mosque. a reminder these people really don't need of the immense human cost of this disaster. jonathan head, bbc news, palu, indonesia. this year's nobel peace prize has been awarded to two people who have campaigned against sexual violence in war. the nobel committee said it wanted to send a message of awareness that women are being used as weapons of war and the perpetrators should be held to account. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports. a peace prize to fight one of the worst weapons of war — sexual violence. 25—year—old nadia murad was brutalised by islamic state fighters.

it all came back when she returned to her village in northern iraq last year — horrific memories of being raped every day for months, her mother and six brothers killed when islamic state stormed into the yazidi heartland, including their village of kojo. we visited kojo just weeks ago — a monument to a massacre, almost everyone killed or captured, women sold as sex slaves. nadia spoke of it when i met her in new york with her lawyer, amal clooney. translation: i went to visit my family home a few months ago. it was completely destroyed. isis had left nothing behind.

it's going to be hard to forget, but at least we are working now to bring those criminals tojustice. at least that is something, a tiny victory. and today, in eastern congo, sweet celebration in a place known for its pain. the clinic where gynaecologist denis mukwege treats victims of sexual violence. translation: the prize has a big meaning that although it took time for the world to recognise us, the world has started listening to women, and notjust listening but getting to know the problems that you face. cheering understanding our problems is not enough. they must realise that when you commit a crime against anyone, it's not right. they call him "the miracle doctor". in congo's war, sexual violence so severe many require surgery. they've used the world's podiums to fight for justice. now they are armed with a powerful prize — to try to end one of the worst crimes of war. lyse doucet, bbc news.

farmers in france are furious after the controversial delivery of two bears into the pyrenees mountains. the french government says the operation is important to reintroduce more species to the region after overhunting. but locals say the apex predators will feed off their sheep. georgina smyth reports. beer drop airdrop. it is not your average delivery as a 150 k brownback, the second this week. with the delivery man saved off the ground, a clever pulley system releases the bear into its new habitat, the mountains. pyrenees as it races up into the woods, its hopes to she will be able to boost their numbers where there are just two males remaining up to the native population was hunted to near extinction in the 90s. but the delivery is controversial in the

area. some farmers fear the bears will prey on their sheep. translation: i know the displeasure of certain people, notably the anger among farmers, and sometimes we can't accept there are threats but dialogues exist. the prefect of the french pyrenees and myself will hold dialogue with everyone. that dialogue with everyone. that dialogue reached a fiery end as the bears were airlifted in. translation: we went up to the mountain to see the helicopter land but we didn't have time to get there because of course it was going fast and the chopper went back into the valley. wildlife experts estimate there are 43 bears living in the pyrenees which straddle the franco spanish frontier. the french government says it will not back down, introducing diversity into the pyrenees set farmers may have to get used to counting their sheep. in many ways — the drum machine is an unsung hero for music lovers across the globe.

along with the synthesiser it helped make electronic music possible. now a group of engineers in germany have built the world's largest drum machine and they're letting pretty much anyone have a go with it. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. this is dance music do—it—yourself style. outside a nightclub in berlin, the world's biggest drum machine, or sequencer, is unveiled to the public. ten metres long and weighing more than half a ton, it was built as a tribute to dance culture. the sequencer was developed so beginners can step up and create music on the fly, or where grown musicians can use it as a proper instrument. and where better than germany, essentially the birthplace of electronic music? it was here that

bands like kraftwerk pioneered a new sound using new technology. these designers and engineers employed the same principles, albeit on a much be a scale. principles, albeit on a much bigger scale. the sequencer has a lot a buttons. it is 427, plus 78 lights, it's built out of aerospace ship materials. and wood. and wood, and glue. and cables, 2.5 kilometres. there are plenty of pop stars who started out in their bedroom with a synth or a drum machine. although with this one, you might need a bigger bedroom. coming up, the headlines.

hello. some of us will have good weather on saturday, for others it is not going to be quite so pretty, in fact cloud and rain and cold weather on the way. the reason for that is a weather front is slicing the uk in half right now. there is a bit of a battle between the cold in the north and warm in the south taking place. this is what it looks like first thing saturday. the milder weather in the south—east and below freezing in scotland, and in between we have a weather front. this will bring soggy weather to wales, yorkshire and parts of the midlands, and the south—west in the morning and then come lunchtime that weather front will sweep into east anglia and south—east london is in for some rain. in scotland, northern ireland, northern england on saturday is looking absolutely fine, it is fresh but at least it is sunny. cloudy across the midlands, it will feel cold with winds blowing out of the north, and then that rain from central southern england to london, all the way to norwich. this rain could be really heavy indeed, really soggy out there.

that also means temperatures will struggle on saturday. we had 23 in london on friday, saturday is looking like 14. in the north of the country there will be sunshine with temperatures around 12—13. the weather forecast for sunday, the wet weather from the south—east clears away and actually a bit of a reversal in fortunes. in the morning it is going to be clear and cold, this is the temperature on sunday morning, 2—3 degrees, a touch of frost in rural areas. and then sunday morning itself, a lot of sunshine across england and wales, and in the north—west of the country, there is a jetstream that is blowing in a weather front, cloud and rain, gusty winds, gale force around the western isles. very unsettled in the north—west of the country on sunday. sunday in england and wales is looking absolutely fine, the temperatures will recover a little bit as well, 15— 16 celsius. not looking too bad across england and wales on sunday at all. sunday night into monday, weather fronts keep pushing in and pushing through the north—west of the country, it looks

like northern ireland, parts of scotland are into some rain. this is monday now, look at the north of scotland, it get some sunshine on monday. then england and wales on monday are also looking fairly sunny, partly cloudy skies, but crucially the winds are starting to blow out of the south—west, so that means the temperatures will be picking up, we are back up to 16 in belfast in newcastle, and the good news is for some of us next week, the week ahead, it is looking like there is a bit of an indian summer on the way with temperatures well into the 20s for some. this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump's controversial supreme court nominee, who's facing sexual assault claims, looks likely to be appointed this weekend after two previously undecided senators said they would back him. susan collins, who was regarded as a republican waverer,

announced she would support brett kavanaugh. a court in chicago has convicted a white police officer of the fatal shooting of a black teenager in 2014. jason van dyke shot laquan mcdonald 16 times in a case that sparked months of protests in the american city. van dyke is to appeal. the united nations says it's urgently trying to raise $50 million "for immediate relief" to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami in indonesia. at least 1500 people are confirmed to have died on the island of sulawesi.