welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. brett kavanaugh is a big step closer to being confirmed to the us supreme court after weeks of bitter debate and allegations of sexual assault. i think if our founders had seen and envisioned this process unfolding like it has, some of them would have stuck with king james. ——george. a white chicago police officer who shot dead a black teenager four years ago, sparking outrage across the us — is found guilty of intentionally killing him. desperate pleas for help in indonesia. a week after the earthquake and tsunami struck — the human cost of this tragedy continues to grow. and the london tube passengers almost pushed to their deaths — their attacker is found guilty of attempted murder.

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. and earlier, republican susan collins — a key vote the white house needed — announced her support. our north america correspondent 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. let's cross to capitol hill now in washington and speak to anneke green. she writes for the website realclearpolitics. she's a former speechwriter in the george w bush administration and has worked with brett kava naugh. thank you for being with us. there are many people looking on who think this process has gone smoothly, but the truth is it has been in paris into the senate and it will take the reputation of the court to, isn't it? it has certainly been very poor, and yes, the way that this has happened has not made a really anybody look good, and! has not made a really anybody look good, and i have been concerned and have written about this, that this is going to cause personal damage to both brett kava naugh is going to cause personal damage to both brett kavanaugh and christine blasey ford. this is not going to be

good for either of them. you have worked with brett kavanaugh, what is he like to work with and do you think he should get that nomination? ido think he should get that nomination? i do think he should get the nomination. i think he is very qualified and when i worked with him, from what i saw on a daily basis, was that he is very careful, very meticulous am a very rigourous and when i worked with him, it was not a happy, everyday roses experience, we were having long hours, we were serving our country, andi hours, we were serving our country, and i saw that even in very stressful moments, he was always focused on that goal, and i think he will bury —— be very focused on interpreting the law. i don't think he will be a politicaljudge. that is interesting because you use the words careful and deliberate in the way he worked, we have not seen that in all -- way he worked, we have not seen that in all —— that at all. in front of the senate he was emotional, he was

rude and he was kind of reckless. we saw it in his interview with fox news for his hearing, when it was the first time he was really allowed to speak publicly about the allegations coming against him. we saw him being very careful, he was criticised for it. and then when we saw the hearing, he was very emotional, because he was being accused of having his being flawed from allegations from his past that he said were not true. and he did react emotionally, which is what you wrote in the wall streetjournal, he says "at times i was too emotional". he had to cut out and clarify an almost apologise for that, he must have realised that as of the behaviour most people expect of judges. you said you do not believe he will be a political partners in judge, why do you believe that, —— partners injudge, big swathes of

the country believe that?” understand the process, i worked in the senate and work commission mcconnell and saw the sort of political things that happen on both. i understand a lot of the personalities that are coming out, and there is a lot of disingenuousness with the questions from the democrat senators that i think most people would not necessarily key into. i don't think he will be a politicaljudge because asi he will be a politicaljudge because as i work from him, we were going through the president's speeches, he was very focused on accuracy i have written about this in one of my columns for realclearpolitics, he was going through speeches line by line and he was really reading and fa ct line and he was really reading and fact taking reports on, can we say this, is it accurate, some of the e—mails they came out in the course of investigating his fitness for being on the court, before these allegations came out, a lot of the e—mails were saying, i'm not sure we can say this, i'm not sure it is

defensible, it is about scoring political points. that is not in that we have heard too much, thank you. —— not an that we have heard too much, thank you. —— notan insight we that we have heard too much, thank you. —— not an insight we have heard. 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 united states. the verdict has sparked celebrations in chicago but the jury has said he will do peel. we find v defendant guilty of second degree is mercer. the moment the police officer was found ill of shooting black teenager laquan mcdonald. the shooting four yea rs laquan mcdonald. the shooting four years ago caused outrage and printed investigations into the treatment of african—americans by investigations into the treatment of african—america ns by police. investigations into the treatment of african-americans by police. this is a gratifying verdict. it provides

validation for many residents of chicago and cook county. and beyond this area, the many communities, the african—american community, across the country. dash cam footage of the incident filmed from the police car was made public in 2015. it showed officers responding to reports that someone officers responding to reports that someone had been breaking into vehicles. a 17—year—old can be seen moving down the road carrying a knife, he walks past police cars. seshan van dyck gets out. —— face and —— jason seshan van dyck gets out. —— face and ——jason van seshan van dyck gets out. —— face and —— jason van dyck. seshan van dyck gets out. —— face and ——jason van dyck. what seshan van dyck gets out. —— face and —— jason van dyck. what happens next is too graphic to show. within seconds the officer opened fire. even after the teenager collapses on the ground, he continues to shoot, 17 times in total. jason van dyck was the only one to fire his weapon. the defence argued he felt threatened, prosecutors said he

showed no regard for laquan mcdonald's life. footage of the shooting parked —— sparked protests over police brutality and demonstrations from black residents over chicago's mostly white police force. the city had been bracing itself for further unrest but fears only does the was delivered. this is a historic chicago, it is historic for these kind of police misconduct cases, i think it gives us a reason to look more closely into the police use of excessive force. officer jason van dyke now faces decades in prison. chicago's police union has promised an appeal. let's get some of the day's other news. the washington post newspaper 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. the newspaper says he went into the saudi arabian consulate in istanbul on tuesday and has not

been heard from since. 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. shares injuventus have fallen by almost 10%, but the club has tweeted that the claims dating back to 2009 have not diminished their appreciation for the star player. 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. 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. 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 rape is still being used as a weapon of war and that 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.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we'll be sampling the delights of the world's biggest drum machine — every young musician's dream and one that definately won't fit into their bedrooms. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more, as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded, and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck taking part in the parade and ran towards the president, firing from kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeletal ribs of henry viii's

tragic warship emerged. but, even as divers work to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: 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. un climate change scientists have been meeting all this week in south korea to decide what can be done to limit global warming, with a report due on monday. until now many countries have agreed

to take steps to limit the rise in average temperatures to two degrees. but scientists are concerned that even that is too high. 0ur science editor david shukman reports from vietnam, one of the world's most vulnerable countries. i'm in the incredibly hot mekong delta in the south of vietnam. this region is described as one of the most vulnerable anywhere in the world to the effects of climate change. i'm on board with a team of scientists, so let's find out what they're investigating. one of the scientists on board is professor dan parsons from the university of hull. just to interrupt for a second, what are you trying to find out here? we're using this acoustic sonar technology to map the flows of water, of sand, silts across this large delta plain. how much is this region changing? it's changing rapidly and changing very significantly. you found out the amount of silt carried by the river has reduced dramatically.

the silt is what actually builds the land up here. how serious is the situation? absolutely right, the silt and the sands that are delivered from the basin upstream are the only thing that is offsetting sea level rise across the entire delta, which is home to 18 million people. i mentioned this is a hotspot for climate change. what makes it so vulnerable? it's low—lying, it's a large delta plain and it's sinking. the sea level is coming up. it's essentially drowning. serious stuff. many, many thanks indeed. let's go see what else is happening. one of the really big concerns is food supplies, because the mekong delta is one of the world's greatest regions for producing rice. professor steve darby, university of southampton, you're looking into this. what are the risks to rice production? well, there are a number. the first and most important

is with rising sea level we are seeing a flow of that salt water onto the agricultural soils in the delta. the sea water's getting into the fields? that's right. during the flooding periods and during the dry season that salt water can flow over onto the rice growing areas and seep into the soils. it can contaminate them for productive rice agriculture. presumably rice can't grow when the water is too salty? that's right. some species or some crop varietals are very intolerant to that salt content. long—term, what are the implications? if you've got the land sinking, sea rising, sea water getting into the fields, what happens? unless there's a switch to some more tolerant varieties that can withstand that kind of salt pollution, then the current system of agriculture will have to change dramatically in order to be able to continue. to try to end on a positive note, what can be done? all of us need to do what we can to limit climate change, but also we need to find ways to learn how to live with the worst impacts. many thanks for that.

professor steve darby there of the university of southampton. we're waiting for a report from the un climate panel looking into the implications of trying to limit global warming in the way vietnam and other countries want. we'll see if that is going to be possible. 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. 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. 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. tim allman explains. this is dance music do—it—yourself style. dance music plays. 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 pro 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 bigger scale. the sequencer has a lot of buttons. it is 427, plus 78 lights, is built out of aerospace ship materials. and wood. and wood and glue. and cables, 2.5 kilometres. there are plenty of popstars who started out in their bedroom with a synth or drum machine. although with this one you might need a bigger bedroom. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. 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 1a. 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 sixteen 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. now on bbc news: hundreds of people are killed by the police in the us each year.