welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: reports in the us that the cia believes saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the assassination ofjournalist jamal khashoggi, in istanbul. rescue workers intensify their search in california's deadliest wildfire. the number of missing has risen to more than 1,000 and the death toll is now 71. written, but not submitted. president trump says he's finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into alleged russian election meddling. the british prime minister tries to sell her brexit deal, but the bbc understands that five of her top ministers want her to make changes. and — he was the king of rock and roll. now, a0 years after his death, elvis presley is awarded america's highest civilian honor. hello and welcome.

the cia believes that the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi, according to reports in the us. it follows a detailed assessment of evidence by the intelligence agency. however saudi arabia has called the claim false and insists the crown prince knew nothing of the plans to carry out the killing. 0ur correspondent chris buckler is in washington. what do we know? the cia, apparently, according to the washington post, which of course is the paper that jamal khashoggi worked for, they say that the cia has it at a range of different evidence, but specifically phone calls. 0ne evidence, but specifically phone calls. one of these phone calls was a p pa re ntly calls. one of these phone calls was apparently made to jamal khashoggi himself by mohammed bin salman, the

crown princes brother, khalid bin salman. in this phone call he assured her two that he would be safe going to the embassy in istanbul. according to reports, it was a false assurance, but there is a suggestion that it came from the crown princess. there was the claim that it would go to him and for him to go to the consulate himself. there was another phone call a p pa re ntly there was another phone call apparently made to sing a off the ground in —— senior aid. apparently made to sing a off the ground in —— senioraid. and apparently made to sing a off the ground in —— senior aid. and that member was apparently phoned by a member was apparently phoned by a member of the squad going to turkey to specifically carry out the killing of jamal khashoggi. to specifically carry out the killing ofjamal khashoggi. the question is, that phone call came after he was murdered himself. the cia has looked at a range of different evidence and it is very

clear that officials suggest there was no one piece of evidence that directly commence mohammad bin salman, the crown prince, to the murder it self. there is no what has been called, a smoking gun. however, they do believe having looked through the information available, that the crown prince ordered his murder. if these reports are concerned, what are the diplomatic repercussions here? as you can imagine, saudi arabia is denying this, they have already said if you ta ke this, they have already said if you take a look at the statements they have made in the past for example, that this was nothing to do with the crown prince. a will say if america ta kes crown prince. a will say if america takes action against them, it is wrong. america has already taken action against the number of individuals, 17 officials have had sanctions against them. each issue a sense that america is taking action saudi arabia and wants to be seen to be taking action saudi arabia. there isa be taking action saudi arabia. there is a slight distancing of america already has far as concerns of the

war in yemen are concerned. no more refuelling of flight —— aircraft in flight refuelling of flight —— aircraft in flight that is taking place in the conflict in yemen. at the same time, it is still with mentioning that the us regard them as an ally in the us. —— the east. i suspect that the cia will say that they have no concrete evidence that mohammad bin salman was involved in the murder or did order it. nonetheless, i think was involved in the murder or did order it. nonetheless, ithink this will be a sponge —— a subject continues to have a great deal of scrutiny. as far as these reports are concerned, the white house had not made any comment as yet. thank you very much and we will certainly keep across those developments in the jamal khashoggi case. the death toll in the northern california wildfire has risen to 71, after the discovery of eight more victims. authorities say the number reported missing could be as high as one thousand although there are warnings there could be duplicate names on the list. meanwhile, monitoring groups report the area's air quality has become the worst in the world as the state

battles the devastating blaze. the famous golden gate bridge in san franciso is barely visible through this thick cloud of smog which now blankets the region. air quality network purple air says the air is now worse than cities in india or china. i spoke to dave lee a short time ago. he joined me from one of the areas worst affected by the fires. throughout the day here we have seen some of those search teams coming into this area, you probably cannot see it to our right because it is dark, but we are in what used to be a mobile home park, it was called the enchanted forest. as we understand it any elderly people live here seeing out their retirement, and when you look at the list of unaccounted for people from this town, from paradise, that list is overwhelmingly filmed with people in their 70s, 80s and 90s. who it is feared were unable to get

out of this fire quickly enough. that is why this location has been the focus of some of those search efforts, we have seen different teams come through, removing the roofs from some of these mobile homes to make it easier for a second team to come through and search for any remains, and once that happens a third team from the coroner's office will come through and try to identify those remains. that is extremely difficult because the ferociousness and speed of this fire came through here is making dna matching very difficult, in fact some people who fear their loved ones may be victims of this fire have been invited to come into the police department and share belongings that belonged to their loved ones, to see that can speed up the dna matching process. overall it is an extremely tragic scene here, frankly. what is happening with the fires at the moment, are they threatening any other towns? there are still a great number

of people that remain evacuated, more than 50,000 people are not in their homes. not all those homes are being destroyed, we understand around 12,000 structures have been taken by this fire. there hasn't been much progress frankly from where we are today from where we were 2a hours ago. containment is around 35—40% here in northern california, the number of acres burned is around 130,000 acres, an enormous blaze but it has not shifted in the way it has done this time last week when it swept into paradise. this can be put down to the wind level dropping, it is very still where we are now, it is wind that has been the real catalyst with these fires moving through. those evacuees are in

various places. some are in official evacuation centres that were set up as a contingency plan for wildfires, others are in more ad hoc basis, we were in a walmart car park were a tent city has been set up, with clothes, toys, medical supplies, all the things that people with spare clothes, toys, medical supplies, all the things that people need in the short term to at least try and have some comfortin their lives after having to rush out a town so quickly. the bigger question will be for president trump, he is expected to arrive here on saturday, and many people will be asking what is the plan to get people back on their feet. it is a town of 27,000 peoplejust in paradise, they are going to need somewhere to live and they are going to turn to president trump to provide the solutions for what is becoming an enormous problem. president trump says he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the last us presidential election. mr trump said he had not yet submitted the responses because he'd been very busy. he again denounced the investigation as a witch hunt. there should have never been any

mueller investigation because there was never anything done wrong. there is no collusion, there never has been, you would have known about it long ago if there was. they shouldn't have had it. they wasted millions and millions of dollars. there should have have never been a so—called investigation, which in theory, it is not an investigation of me. as far as i am concerned, i like to take everything personally because you do better that way. the witch—hunt, as i call it, should never have taken place. it continues to go on. i imagine it is ending now, from what i hear, it's ending. and i am sure it will bejust fine. do you know why it will be just fine? because there was no collusion. we will get much more on the robert mueller enquiry and how it is going on our website. the british prime minister will try to sell her brexit deal to conservative party members, and the wider public, over the weekend. but five of theresa may's leave—supporting cabinet ministers are likely to press for further changes before a special eu summit

later this month. that's despite the eu saying earlier it wouldn't agree to further ammendments. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. this weekend, theresa may will take to newspapers, television and social media to try and sell her brexit proposal to the public. but she may have a tougher task selling it to her party. if 48 of her mps call for it, she will face a vote of no—confidence. last night she called dozens of leading lights in local parties to try and persuade them to support her. and one of her allies has returned to the cabinet with this message. this is not a time for changing our leader. this is a time for pulling together, for making sure that we remember who we are here to serve and to help, the whole of the country. i worry sometimes that my colleagues are too concerned about the westminster bubble rather than keeping their eye on what ourjob is, to serve people. but other cabinet members are not quite as supportive.

five leading leave campaigners including michael gove, andrea leadsom and liam fox will meet within days to call for further changes to the brexit deal. if the prime minister or the eu will not give away, then further resignations can not be ruled out. so far, theresa may has confounded conventional wisdom by surviving a series of setbacks. any further loss of support could leave her vulnerable. china's president xijingping has told a summit of world and business leaders in papua new guinea that protectionism is "doomed to fail", and hampering global growth. he's joined other asia—pacific leaders in pushing free trade at this weekend's apec summit in the pacific island nation. translation: the world today is going through major development and transformation and change. while economic globalisation surges forward, global growth is shadowed by protectionism and unilateralism.

president trump has stayed away from the summit, instead sending his vice president, mike pence. he's been defending washington's trade war with china, saying it won't end until beijing changes its policies. they have tremendous barriers and tremendous policies and they engage in quotas for technology transfer, intellectual property theft, industrial subsidy on an unprecedented scale. such action has contributed to a $375 billion trade deficit with the united states last year alone. as the president said today, that has all changed now. we have taken decisive action to address the trade imbalance with china. we put tariffs on $250 billion of chinese good and we could more than double that number.

but we hope for better. the united states, however, will not change course until china changes its ways. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: brexit and the border. an exclusive report with an officer on patrol in northern ireland. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election. she has asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself into police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european antinuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening

the country's remaining whites only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds worth of damage. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: the cia believes that the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi, according to reports in the us. donald trump says he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the last us presidential election. in the one people are confirmed to

have died in california's largest wildfires. -- 71. let's return to our top story — the political turmoil in britain over brexit. one key issue is the invisible border between northern ireland, which is part of the uk, and the republic of irealand, part of the eu. the chief constable of northern ireland has rejected claims that threats to security at this border are being exaggerated. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page begins his exclusive report on patrol with an officer based in the south of county armagh. six zero, six zero. two boys made off in a van across the border, windscreen smashed. they have got proof they've taken drugs. 0n the uk's only land frontier, police are on the front line. 0fficers routinely patrol in a convoy of four armoured cars. they are conscious of the risk of being rammed or trapped on narrow roads by cross—border criminals. crime gangs and individuals use the border as a way of evading capture by police. we have good cooperation with our colleagues in the south, but we cannot cross the border

because we're carrying firearms. so, if you are involved in a pursuit and the car goes across the border somewhere like this... that's it. that's us stopped. and then would the police force in the irish republic pick up the pursuit? yes, they would pick it up. even in recent years, paramilitaries have targeted police with murderous intent. you can see the hedge line and the hedge line is the border. they planted a landmine here and they used the border conveniently to get away. the police service of northern ireland says its task is set to become even more demanding. it is recruiting around 100 extra officers to prepare for brexit and is likely to ask the government to fund more. the chief constable is hoping for a brexit deal, but thinks that would not solve all the issues.

even a deal scenario, you know, we would need to try to work out and protect the likely responses to it. there are people in the brexit debate who will say that the threat of violence at the border, or the threat to stability in northern ireland is being exaggerated. what are your thoughts on that? those that say that we or others are overplaying the border of brexit in policing terms, they are simply wrong. history tells us that these issues around identity and people's position, as irish citizens all british citizens or both, all of that plays out at times into increasing tension. and the man in charge of the police in the irish republic says any increase in organised crime like smuggling would benefit dissident republicans who are opposed to the peace process. one of the principal issues might be about driving funding for terrorist groups. but also then they will wish to use any difference in the border arrangement as a rallying call to their campaigns. in spite of the continuing threat, the border beat‘s changed remarkably since the frontier looked like this. no—one is expecting military watchtowers to return, but police who built up relationships with previously hostile communities hope the gains of relative

peace will be protected. i'm not a politician, i'm a police officer. but small decisions that are made can have massive implications for me working along the border. without seeing this, you perhaps don't realise what it's really like. chris page, bbc news, in county armagh. both sides of the conflict in yemen have agreed to go to peace talks in sweden. we were told this could be a crucial moment between the government in houthi rebels. crucial moment between the government in houthi rebelslj received government in houthi rebels.” received firm assurances from the governor of yemen, and the houthi rebels, that they are willing to attend these consultations. i believe they are genuine and they

expect them to continue in that way and to appear for those consultations, and indeed so do the yemeni people, who are desperate for a political solution to a war in which they are the main victims. nada tawfik, at the united nations headquarters in new york, gemasolar at —— gave us her assessment. according to martin griffiths it is a major development, we have to remember that in september there were peace talks planned in geneva, and they collapsed when the houthi delegation did not turn up and made last—minute demands. what martin griffiths said to the security council is that the increased international concern about what is happening in yemen led the parties to recommit to these talks. it was not long ago when the united states and britain and other western powers said they wanted a ceasefire and political talks to get under way. martin griffiths said he will be travelling to yemen next week to finalise logistics. he said he would even escort the houthi delegation to sweden himself to make sure the talks take place. he also said there was a lot of progress made on other issues including the exchange of prisoners and also the critical

issue of the hodeida port which is responsible for 80% of yemen's imports, until a deal is reached. earlier the cnn journalist who clashed with president trump at a news conference and subsequently had his media pass removed, got it back. a judge in washington dc ordered the white house to return the pass tojim acosta who said the decision was good news for freedom of speech and the independence of the media. 0ur north america editor jon sopel reports. they are hundreds of miles away, though. hundreds and hundreds of miles away. you know what, honestly, i think you should let me run the country, you run cnn... it started as a bad—tempered exchange between an angry president and a provocative cnn correspondent. that's enough, put down the mic. the temperature rising when the white house justified removing acosta's hard pass, saying he laid hands on an intern. you are a rude, terrible person, you shouldn't be working for cnn. and released an edited video that had been put out by a right—wing conspiracy theory—rich website. when this was ridiculed, the white house change tack and said it because he hadn't given back the microphone. this spat grew when the president threatened to take away the credentials from other journalists he thought were rude. cnn took legal action

and significantly, all of the other broadcasters herejoined in, including fox news, normally a cheerleaderfor the president. this is now about press freedom and today in court, it was acosta one, trump nil. we are extremely pleased with the ruling today, this is a great day for the first amendment and journalism, we are very excited to have mr acosta to be able to go back and get his hard pass and report news about the white house. i want to thank all of my colleagues in the press who supported us this week, i want to thank the judge for the decision in a today and let's go back to work. today, jim acosta was able to return back to the white house. in this topsy—turvy world, the man who was meant to report the news seemed to be enjoying being the news. decorum, yep, they practised decorum... while the president, has never shied away from a fight, bemoaned the lack of decorum in white house conferences. john sopel, bbc news, washington. let's get some of

the day's other news. ten days after the mid—term elections in the united states, the democratic party candidate who hoped to become the country's first black female governor has acknowledged that her republican rival will be sworn in. stacey abrams says she's run out of legal options to challenge the outcome of the contest in georgia. the official result has yet to be declared. in florida, a manual recount of votes in the race for a senate seat is underway, more than a week after voting took place in the us mid—term elections. an initial, electronic recount revealed that the margin of victory for the republican candidate, rick scott, was less than a quarter of one percent over his democrat challenger. --1%. 0scar—winning american screenwriter, william goldman, who wrote the scripts for butch cassidy and the sundance kid and all the president's men, has died at the age of 87. born to a jewish family in chicago, goldman worked for the pentagon before embarking on a writing career. he also wrote the scripts for marathon man and the princess bride, which he adapted

from his own novels. more than a0 years after his death the king of rock and roll — elvis presley — has been awarded america's highest civilian honor. he's among seven recipients at president donald trump's first medal of freedom ceremony since taking office. gareth barlow reports. # down the end of lonely street at heartbreak hotel. ..# an icon, a legend, the king of rock ‘n' roll: elvis presley led a music revolution, and over a0 years after his death, he's still winning awards. # for brokenhearted lovers...# the man behind hound dog and heartbreak hotel was among seven recipients of the presidential medal of freedom, america's highest civilian honour. elvis presley remains an enduring and beloved american icon.

the united states is honoured to honour this legend. jack soden of elvis presley enterprises collected the medal on his behalf. one of the most beloved artists and most enduring cultural icons that has ever lived. the king of rock ‘n' roll — the true king, and you have to say that — elvis aaron presley. over 15 legendary seasons, babe ruth led the yankees to seven american championships. among the other recipients in the white house were the 20th—century baseball legend babe ruth and the late supreme courtjustice antonin scalia. elvis presley now joins other music legends, like ella fitzgerald and bob dylan, in winning one of the nation's highest awards — a true sign that he remains one of america's — and music's — biggest stars. lots of very happy others pressie

pans out and short. you can get more on our website, including more on the rest of the winners of that award. i'm also on twitter. much more to come. hello. some of us got to see sunshine on friday but for many more the day was spent under cloud shrouded in mist and murk. but as we progress through the weekend, more and more of us will see that sunshine. with that though, it will start to turn chilly. high pressure anchored across the heart of europe, winds moving high pressure around in a clockwise direction, that gives us a south—easterly wind which will bring us some dry air. watch the cloud, it starts to break up. we will see more and more sunshine. let's look at that in more detail. a lot of cloud, some mist and murk and fog to start the day, the odd spot of drizzle. east anglia and the south—east first to emerge into brightness, northern scotland seeing some

brightness, the cloud retreating westwards during the day, more and more of us see those blue skies overhead, so by lunchtime devon and cornwall and west wales might still have some cloud but for east wales, the midlands, east anglia and the south—east there should be some sunshine. similar story for north—west england. north—east england and eastern scotland, particularly around higher ground, may well keep more cloud. it will take awhile to brighten up across northern ireland, but western and northern scotland will see some sunshine. temperatures around 11 or 12 degrees, but a noticeable easterly breeze particularly in the south, making it feel cooler than that. into early sunday with clear skies overhead, it is going to be a cool night, probably too much of a breeze to allow things to get really cold, but your towns and cities will get down to 11—5 degrees, maybe just a bit colder than that in the countryside. getting on into sunday

it is a beautiful looking day for most of us, we will see plenty of sunshine, still perhaps some cloud at times feeding into some of the eastern slopes of the pennines, parts of eastern scotland, and those temperatures, 9—12, just subtly creeping downwards. a sign of what is to come, because going into the start of the new working week, high pressure will still be sitting here, those winds moving clockwise, but that will introduce some colder air from the east and that will also bring back the cloud. more cloud around on monday, perhaps the odd spot of drizzle, still a keen breeze particularly in the south, and the coldest feel will be in southern areas. single digits here, we may get to 10 degrees for belfast and glasgow, but it does look decidedly chilly into the middle part of the week. there will be cloud and the odd spot of drizzle, and over high ground maybe just a flake or two of something wintry. this is bbc news. the headlines: the cia believes that the saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman ordered the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi, according to reports in the us. it follows a detailed assessment of evidence by the intelligence agency. however, saudi arabia has called the claim false and insist the crown prince knew nothing

of the plans to carry out the killing. the number of people missing in california's deadliest wildfire has risen to more than 1,000, but the local sheriff said some of the names on the list might be duplicated. 71 people are confirmed to have died. it's thought many of the people missing are elderly. donald trump says he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the last us presidential election. mr trump said he had not yet submitted the responses because he'd been very busy. the latest headlines. levels of poverty in some of britain's towns and cities are a disgrace, according to a united nations survey. a un envoy concluded that government policies have inflicted unnecessary