this is bbc world news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. 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 george. a white chicago police officer who shot dead a black teenager four years ago — sparking outrage across the united states — is found guilty of his murder. 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 convicted 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 washington correspondent chris buckler reports. the system is corrupt! four days the senate's corridors of power have been filled with protesters. each one trying to influence the still wavering senators over whether to support brett kava naugh's wavering senators over whether to support brett kavanaugh's domination to the supreme court. he has angrily

denied claims that he sexually assaulted christine blasey ford decades ago when they were both teenagers. after wrestling with her political beliefs and the simple question of who to believe, the republican senator susan collins finally decided she would vote in favour ofjudgement grow one. the fa cts favour ofjudgement grow one. the facts presented do not mean that president, professor ford was not sexually assaulted that night. or at some other time. but they do lead me to conclude that the allegations fail, to me —— meet the more likely than not standard. but another republican broke party lines to say she could not support him. stop this, it's not too late! the tower -- final this, it's not too late! the tower —— final vote now hours away, protesters clear they intend to keep

up protesters clear they intend to keep up the pressure on america's politicians. i am so angry, i do not wa nt to politicians. i am so angry, i do not want to leave this place will leave the streets. they're not listening to women and are not listening to survivors. this confirmation process has been nothing short of a bruising and divisive political fight. has been nothing short of a bruising and divisive politicalfight. but all the indications are that president trump is quietly confident that his nominee is now likely to secure a place on america's hires court. —— higher. —— hi yes. rebecca hamilton is an assistant professor of law at american university, washington college of law. i asked her what effect the chaotic and ugly confirmation hearing process will have on the standing of the supreme court. that is the major concern right now. this is the court that gets the most decision, contentious decisions in the company before it —— country before it and there is a real question about its legitimacy after this incredibly ugly and highly

partisan confirmation process that we have seen partisan confirmation process that we have seen over partisan confirmation process that we have seen over the past week. brett kava naugh himself we have seen over the past week. brett kavanaugh himself came out with pretty partisan statements and his performance during that hearing surprised many, thinking that is not particularly the behaviour of a supreme courtjustice that they would be used to. yes, and we had 2400 would be used to. yes, and we had 2&00 law professors around the country signing a letter to the senatejudiciary country signing a letter to the senate judiciary committee country signing 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 a lifetime appointment on the highest court. so i think there are going to be questions coming up now, fine, he is going to be confirmed, but what does this mean for every future case that comes before the court. i think we are going to see many motions for refusal and the standard there is simply that the judges impartiality might he reasonably questioned. so you can imagine that on women's

rights issues, on voting rights issues, any number of points that could be raised about that these are the future just as breast map —— rhett kavanaugh. that is because of the allegations of sexual assault that he brings into this process, and yourfear that he brings into this process, and your fear is that they will simply hang over all the court's decisions? yes, and i think it is not just at this point that 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. andjust position, and whether he can in fact be impartial. and 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 will stop it's vital, it it ends up being the final arbiter and if the supreme court loses legitimacy it is a much bigger

problem for this country as a whole. and is looking like this will be the narrowest vote for a supreme court justice in the history the late —— nation. we are expecting a final vote on saturday in washington for brett kavanaugh. in the united states still, 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 prompted celebrations in chicago, but van dyke's lawyers say he will appeal. this report from caroline rigby contains images you may find disturbing. we the jury find the defendant guilty of second degree murder. the momentjason van dyke, a white police officer, was found guilty of shooting black teenager laquan mcdonald. the shooting four years ago

caused outrage and printed investigations into the treatment of african—americans by police. this is a gratifying verdict. it provides validation and a sense ofjustice for many residents of chicago and cook county. and beyond this area, for many communities, the african—american community, across the country. dashcam footage of the incident filmed from a police car was made public in 2015. it showed officers responding to reports that someone had been breaking into vehicles. the 17—year—old can be seen moving down the road carrying a knife, he walks past police cars. jason van dyke gets out. within seconds the officer opens fire. even after the teenager collapses on the floor, he continues to shoot, 16 times in total. out of the ten officers at the scene, jason van dyke

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 killing sparked protests over police brutality and heightened mistrust between black residents and chicago's mostly white police force. the city had been bracing itself for further unrest but fears eased as the verdict was delivered. this is historic for 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. officerjason 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 kha—shoggi. 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. france has paid homage to the late singer charles aznavour, at a national ceremony in paris. the french president, emmanuel macron, and the armenian prime minister, nikol pashinyan, led the tributes to one of the masters of french song. mr macron called him a poet who sang as if his life depended on it. 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. our 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. our 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. 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 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. a white chicago police officer who shot dead a black teenager four years ago is found guilty of intentionally killing him. 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. farmers in france are furious after the controversial delivery —— 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. a beer drop airdrop. it's not your average delivery. there's a 150kg bear in there, 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. 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 cannot accept there are threats but dialogues exists. the prefecture of the french pyrenees and myself will hold dialogue with everyone involved. 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, so farmers may have to get used to counting their sheep. crowds have been on the streets of liverpool to watch giants striding through the city. the huge puppets are there as part of a street theatre festival. it's their third and final

visit to liverpool. our correspondent danny savage was there. it was thirsty work walking the streets of liverpool, today, even for giants. this extraordinary, huge mechanical dog went down a storm. operated by a team of nearly 20 artists, the giants here are becoming the stuff of legend. hound and master woke up in the centre of liverpool this morning before setting out. there were huge and they had all these mechanical bits. and the design of the vehicles that drove them is amazing. the dog, whose name is xolo, had a great time, climbing on a bus shelter and stopping to be a pampered pooch. what was it like to manicure a giant dog? very difficult! but we did our best and it was excellent. it was a wonderful experience. we're so happy that they've come to liverpool and included us. there's also a third giant,

involved, washed up ona wirral beach, so the story goes. the operators, known as lilliputians, from the land of tiny people, are mainly french. but some locals are involved, too. so i'm controlling the rope, which is attached to the giant's right hand. so helping him to walk in the most natural way possible. it's quite a physically demanding role, i've never done anything like this before. this is all about a moving spectacle of street theatre on a grand scale. sound, light and vision. for the next 48 hours, merseyside really is the land of giants. danny savage, bbc news, liverpool. the mystery of more than $1,000 us that disappeared from a utah family was solved when they discovered the money in pieces in the home's shredder and found the culprit was their 2—year—old son. ben and jackee belnap had been saving money to pay back ben's parents for the football season tickets, but were left searching

the home when it disappeared over the weekend. he helped me shred all of our bills 01’ he helped me shred all of our bills or things that we don't want, like, things we want shredded. so we normally turn the shredder off, but i must have left it on. most people said their child drew crayon on the wall or something. i never heard of a kid, you know, shredding a grand. there is some hope for the couple though. they've spoken with the us department of treasury, and they may be able to get some or even all of the money back. the process could take up to two years. as for their toddler, he'll be banned from using the shredder. 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 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 1,500 people are confirmed to have died on the island of sulawesi. a criminal investigation is under way after hundreds of tons of medical waste, including body parts, were left to pile up