this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has renewed his attacks on the mueller inquiry into allegations of russian interference in the 2016 election. speaking to conservative activists in maryland, he said the forthcoming report was part of an attempt to "take him out". the veteran us senator bernie sanders has launched his campaign to be the democratic candidate for president in 2020. vowing to fight against greed, hated and lies, he promised to unseat donald trump, who he termed the most dangerous president in modern welcome to bbc news, i'm samantha simmonds. our top stories: american history. president trump attacks nasa and a private us space company robert mueller saying the probe on alleged russian have launched the first interference is an attempt astronaut capsule from american "to take him out". soil in eight years. the craft, owned by the spacex company, is carrying a test dummy to the international space station. the let's inspect every deal he has it's hoped flights carrying real ever done, we are going to go into astronauts will start by the end of the year. his finances, we are going to check every deal, we are going to check... these people are sick. they are sick. bernie sanders kick starts his campaign for the white house, vowing to fight against greed, now on bbc news, with

the special 0lympics taking hated and lies. 3, 2, 1, zero, lift off. paving the way for passenger travel — nasa and spacex test launch their new astronaut taxi. bushfires sweep south east australia, as the country struggles with the hottest summer on record. and japan's blooming economy — why cherry blossom season has become big business. hello. after a difficult week, including damaging evidence from his former lawyer, michael cohen, president trump has been addressing conservative activists. he used his speech to try to descredit the investigation into russian interference, which is expected to report in the coming weeks. but they fight so hard on this

witch—hunt, this phoney deal they have put together, this phoney thing that now looks like it is a dying so they have nothing with russia. there is no collusion. so now they have morphed into let's inspect every deal he has done, we are going to check... these people are sick. they area check... these people are sick. they are a seat. unfortunately, we put the wrong people in a couple of positions and they leave people for a long time that shouldn't be there and all ofa a long time that shouldn't be there and all of a sudden they are trying to ta ke and all of a sudden they are trying to take you out with (bleep), with vick.. "we will no longer tolerate the greed of corporate america" — that's the message from bernie sanders who's launched his bid to topple donald trump in the 2020 us presidential election. the veteran us senator was speaking at a rally in brooklyn, new york. the 77 year—old is amongst the favourites to secure the democratic nomination, in what's already a crowded field. he's campaigning for policies such

as "medicare—for—all". he also set his sights clearly on president trump. i want to thank all of you by being pa rt i want to thank all of you by being part of a campaign which is not only going to win the democratic nomination, which is not only going to defeat donald trump, who is the most dangerous president in modern american history, but, with your help, we are going to transform this country. our correspondent in washington, chris buckler, has been following political developments today, and bernie sanders launching his campaign. of course, he lost out to hillary clinton in 2016 so what is different

this time? he believes that the party has moved further left towards him and when you hear into the background in new york about issues like access to free education, the free healthcare and tackling inequality, they are things the electorate is interested is. he is clearly going for donald trump. there has been a cautiousness about the way democrats have spoken about the way democrats have spoken about the resident but bernie sanders was determined to make the stage. he called donald trump the most dangerous precedent in modern american history. he wants to be seen amid all of these are the candidates — at the moment there are more than a dozen with more to come with the joe more than a dozen with more to come with thejoe biden and or orc both considering their chances. —— and others. what about his age? we have

bernie sanders at 77 with the election still a year away. if you ta ke election still a year away. if you take a look at the democratic party, there are some younger members of there are some younger members of the party tried to get through. younger politicians who want to be seen. what you could argue, when you look at bernie sanders, he was surrounded in brookland by younger voters. he actually connects with younger voters and that could make a real difference. at the same time, i think it is a very challenging field and it is difficult to look and see and it is difficult to look and see a frontrunner at this time. kamala harris, others that helped train to ta ke harris, others that helped train to take the attention and some within the party that would like to see a woman run. let's get some of the day's other news: the us—backed syrian democratic forces say they're making a final push on the last village held by islamic state militants in syria. they say they expect an offensive in baghouz to be over soon.

the final assault was delayed while women and children were evacuated from the village. german chancellor angela merkel has said she supports school students' protests about climate change. she said students might be frustrated at the time taken to move away from coal—based energy, but asked them to understand it was a challenge. her comments appear to contradict some education officials, who have criticised participants for skipping school and threatened them with exclusion. a memorial stone marking the site of the old synagogue in the eastern city of strasbourg has been reinstated, after it was knocked over by vandals during the night. it commemorates the building that was looted and destroyed by the nazis in 1940. the vandalism comes ten days after president emmanuel macron promised new laws to tackle the problem. a prosecutor in california has decided that two police officers who shot dead an unarmed black man in sacramento last year will not face charges, adding that their use of force was lawful. the two officers — one black, one white —

fired 20 rounds at stephon clark after they had chased him into his grandmother's garden last march. his death sparked a wave of protests in the city. nasa is calling it the start of a new era. when the space x falcon rocket blasted off from the kennedy space centre in florida a few hours ago, it began an unmanned test—flight to the international space station, a flight the us sees as a major step towards once again being able to send astronauts into space. the rocket is carrying the dragon capsule, which could in future be used to transport passengers. this time it was home to a humanoid dummy called ripley. here's our science correspondent pallab ghosh. three, two, one, zero, ignition, lift off. up and away, the spacex mighty falcon rocket. and on top, the dragon space capsule, designed to take four astronauts into space, but not just yet.

instead, just a solitary crash test dummy wired with sensors is in one of these seats. this uncrewed test is part of an ambitious nasa project to send astronauts into space from us soil once more. what today really represents is a new era in space flight, an era where we are looking forward to being one customer as an agency and as a country. it's been eight long years since the country that won the space race has been grounded. the shuttle was withdrawn from service because it was unsafe and nasa had to pay the russian space agency to send its astronauts to the space station on its soyuz rockets. but in 2014, nasa awarded spacex and boeing a combined £5 billion contract so that each could build their own spacecraft. we believe in the future of space, and it's important that we become

a space—faring civilisation and be out there among the stars. we want the things that are in science fiction novels and movies not to be science fiction for ever. we want them to be real one day. nasa hopes to use the vehicles to send astronauts into space by the end of the year. pallab ghosh, bbc news. i will be talking to an expert who was at the launch later in the programme. the american ambassador in london has urged britain to embrace us farming methods, dismissing warnings about chlorine—washed chicken and hormone—fed beef as a "smear campaign". our business correspondent rob young reports. the trade landscape could be about to change. as brexit approaches, the uk is looking to do trade deals around the world. the way food is produced could become a sticking point. the united states says it wants to sell more american food in the uk.

currently, there are eu—wide bans on us chicken, washed in chlorine, and cattle given growth hormones. writing in today's daily telegraph, the us ambassador in london, robert wood johnson, said... british farmers are unhappy. they've rejected the call for them to adopt american farming methods to help secure a trans—atlantic trade deal. we are asking our politicians to put their promises in writing, that they will respect our high standards and they won't sell us down the river by doing bad trade deals that don't respect the fact we have higher standards and higher costs and make us compete against farmers that have lighter regulation and lower cost.

the government has said it's clear that the uk's farming standards would not be compromised in the pursuit of trade deals. eu standards are due to be enshrined in uk law. the american government has made better access for its food products a key aim in various trade talks in recent years. so we can expect the us to push its case hard with the uk. the two governments‘s differing positions on the way some food is produced could mean reaching a trade deal is more difficult. food experts expect there to be a clash of food cultures. the us argues that it's got a problem with salmonella and campylobacter, so let's throw chlorine all over it, cleaning up... let me put it politely... cleaning up faeces that people would rather weren't there. the eu says let's prevent the faeces being on the meat in the first place. that's what the argument is about. if the uk leaves the eu on schedule, trade talks can start in earnest at the end of the month. the outcome of those trade negotiations could affect how

we farm and what we eat. rob young, bbc news. michel barnier says uk does not have enough time to approve mrs may's deal. those suggestions were reject that. —— rejected. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: spectacular scenes in sydney — as hundreds of thousands celebrate the annual mardi gras pride parade. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards, and it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans had successfully

tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang and bang. the constitutional rights of these marchers are their rights as citizens of the united states, and they should be protected even in the right to test them out, so that they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy, i know you don't want to say too much about it, but does it worry you it's going to boil up when you get to the states? well, it worries me, yeah. i hope everything will be all right in the end, as they say. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president trump has launched a fresh attack on robert mueller, saying the probe on alleged russian interference is an attempt "to take him out".

bernie sanders has kick started his campaign for the white house with a pledge to fight against greed, hatred and lies. more now on the news of the spacex launch. i'm joined now by tariq malik, managing editor of space.com, who was at the launch. welcome to you, good to have you with us. tell us what the launch was like. well, it was like something i have not seen before. this is a brand—new spacecraft, untested and it went off without a hitch, lighting up the predawn sky like a second son. it was absolutely dazzling to the thousands of people who will were at the kennedy space centre, and even more along the coast, to see it. it seems to have gone off without a hitch, by all accounts, this debut flight of this new kind of crew capable spaceship seems to be going really smoothly.

we'll find out tomorrow when it is supposed to dock at international space station by gulf, another big test for the spacecraft at right now, it was truly an amazing sight to see but there is a lot more to come. yeah, and the point of this launch is to prove that america can once again put people in space. why is that some portion? right now, it has been eight years, since the thousand 11, that nasa's last space shuttle flew from actually the same launchpad that spacex launched its crew dragon today. currently, in the last eight year gap, nasa has been dependent on its russian partners, they fly at soyuz spacecraft to the international space station in six—month intervals and nasa had to pay millions of dollars each time per seat, i think it was about $82 millionjust one seat. per seat, i think it was about $82 million just one seat. you can see that they can get four seats almost

the cost of one if they can restore this access, and another wants to go on and do other things, explore deep space and to spend their money on that, they want to get these more affordable private ships to kind of do the grunt work of taxing the astronauts to the station. and elon musk, the man behind spacex, has made no secret of the fact that he wa nts made no secret of the fact that he wants the shuttle stalled in ferry ordinary people like you and me the space. —— to sort of ferry. ordinary people like you and me the space. -- to sort of ferry. elon musk founded spacex in 2002 specifically to make private human spaceflight in orbit much more affordable, much more accessible. he has been doing many other things, he wa nts to has been doing many other things, he wants to have: myanmar ‘s, but massa launched this ability of private spaceships to notjust be for itself. —— he wants to have a colony

on mars, but massa launched this. —— nasa. the spacecraft built to carry four people at a time, they could carry up to seven and elon musk says if they get off the ground running with these flights for nasa, they could fly other missions, maybe for passengers over time. they want to fly regular folks and this might be the way to do it. maybe we should book our seats now. good to talk to you, it thanks very much. thank you. —— thanks. china has expressed its strong dissatisfaction over canada's decision to let the us extradition case proceed against huawei's chief financial officer. meng wanzhou is accused of bank fraud to help the chinese technology giant break us sanctions against iran. she was detained in canada in december at washington's request.

firefighters in australia's south—east are battling a numbr of out of control bushfires which have forced residents to evacuate. it comes as the country's bureau of meterorology announced this week that australia experienced its hottest summer on record. sophia tran—thomson has this report. a dangerous combination, hot weather, lightning strikes and unpredictable winds. at least 100 fires across the state of victoria now cover about 1500 hectares of bushland. the main fire emergency warnings for the bunyip state park, are bound by the hundred kilometres from melbourne, dargo in far eastern victoria. more than 300 firefighters are battling the lasers, which officials say are spreading erratically. firefighters on the ground doing their best to protect people's homes. we've got significant resources that we have brought to bear on those fires, whether it is hundreds of firefighters on the ground with

trucks and other appliances, but we also have a significant helicopters that have been plying on these fires. the fires come at the end of australia's hottest summer on record. hundreds of individual hit records were shattered across the country in the par three months and the higher temperatures have been blamed for the spread of fires, mars wildlife deaths, blackouts, and hospital admissions. the bureau of meteorology says the pattern of warmer conditions is consistent with observed climate change. every spring, japan celebrates cherry blossom season, with tourists flocking to the country in droves to enjoy the spectacle. but the cherry blossom is also an economic powerhouse, as catherine karelli reports. their appearance heralds the start of japanese spring. for their appearance heralds the start ofjapanese spring. for many, they area ofjapanese spring. for many, they are a symbol of renewal and happiness. japan's season of cherry blossoms all sakura is in full bloom, but it is more than just a

seasonal spectacle. cherry blossom seasonal spectacle. cherry blossom seasonis seasonal spectacle. cherry blossom season is also big business. locals and visitors have been enjoying all manner of cherry blossom products, from decorations to fabric, even wine. by the end of february, all major shopping mall is based in tokyo major shopping mall is based in to kyo ha d major shopping mall is based in tokyo had launched cherry flower products in a bid to increase sales, and according to one manager, it is working. translation: we try and attract more customers to our stores by selling products featuring cherry flowers, during cherry blossom season, our sales tend to almost double. is not always easy to know when exactly the flowers will be in full bloom, but a few weather agencies are doing their best launching forecasting ups, and for those who just want to enjoy some time outside, there is an app that too. —— it is. it lets you know if there are cherry blossoms flowering

outside. they revving up for the new season, the boys and girls who tour the country performing stunts on motorbikes, including kenny, who is just six. i like doing the fire jumps andi just six. i like doing the fire jumps and i like it that high, and the first time you do it, you get a bit scared but then you really like it. legs in the air, it is hard to believe what i am seeing. children as young as five learning these stu nts o n as young as five learning these stunts on motorbikes. it is incredible, he has only been here for three months training with them, he had never been on a motorbike

before and he isjumping off rounds. it is slightly scary. it is slightly scary, that he is incredible confident. i think that is what is really good for all the kids actually, it gives them an amazing amount of confidence. tigers, along with the rockets and the innards are the only surviving display teams now. the tiger ‘s oldest rider is just 15 and they raise money for charities. —— imps. just 15 and they raise money for charities. -- imps. to see a kid go all out the jumping a charities. -- imps. to see a kid go all out thejumping a car is amazing. the younger they are, the more extreme their bite tricks are. it hurts at first but you get used to it, you strengthen your legs and you eventually do not feel that u nless you eventually do not feel that unless it goes wrong. if you are good and if you concentrate, it is not dangerous but like me, i fall off quite a bit. like others who occasionally fall, it does not stop

her getting back on. like me, the tigers have learned from the now disbanded white helmets team are like back in 2012, this time i would be on my own bike. it is one of those sports in which it really helps to learn at a young age, so i have four—year—old alex who is my instructor, taking me the moves they ta ke instructor, taking me the moves they take around this beginner's track, control, steady speed, perfect. my first attempts to integrate into the tea m first attempts to integrate into the team and doing their criss—cross routine did not last long. itjust shows how technical and the skill. i was rather confused but i was still dissuaded to try my first everjump. i tell you what, if five—year—old can do it, surely, surely i can. although i did not exactly flyover, so they turned up the heat. the likes of kenny setting the pace, as ifi likes of kenny setting the pace, as if i was not sweating enough. don't try this at home, it is done in very

controlled conditions under the supervision of instructors. i needed a lie down, not what i had in mind. please, that is enough. it is all about trust and meticulous training and 39 years, it has never gone wrong, my concerns. and to finish me off, i was told to close my eyes for the show‘s finale. i think i have aged about 15 years. that is a brave man, literally taking his life in his hands for us. hundreds of thousands of people have turned out on the streets of sydney to celebrate the annual mardi gras pride parade — one of the biggest street parties in the world. this year was just as colourful as ever. more than 12,000 people took part, including drag queens, surf lifesavers and members of the armed forces. among those enjoying the fun was australian singer, kylie minogue. the theme for this year's parade was " fea rless", recognising organisations which continue to work across a range of lgbtqi issues.

while gay marriage was legalised in australia in 2017, some say much more needs to be done to change attitudes in the country. the legislation has gone through but there is a lot more acceptance to be donein there is a lot more acceptance to be done in our society, in no what they mean? just because the law is passed as not mean that people are living friendly and happy because some people still holds mixed opinions about that. blog is about heart, not parts, and everyone should be able to love who they want and without being judged. —— love. to love who they want and without beingjudged. -- love. just to love who they want and without being judged. -- love. just before we go, a reminder of our top story. president trump has used a speech at a conference to try to discredit robert mueller. mr trump said the special counsel's forthcoming report was part of an attempt to take him out, as he put it. and the veteran us senator bernie sanders has

launched his campaign to be the democrats's residential candidate in 2020. addressing a crowd of supporters in his home city of new york, bernie sanders promised to unseat president trump, who he said was the most dangerous president in modern american history. he said he would fight for economic, racial and environmentaljustice. that is it for me, you can reach me on twitter. headlines are coming up. hello, we already had one area of low pressure affecting the this weekend. there is another on the way for sunday, the first is away from northern scotland during sunday. he comes the second rapidly deepening area of low pressure coming right out of storm freya and things are returning stormy across parts of england and wales in particular late on sunday. it is a very windy start to sunday, northern scotland still that first area of low pressure, some dust up to around 70 miles an

hour and plenty of heavy showers moving in. a course at for many of us, moulded and southern england and outbreaks of rain. during sunday, heavy showers and very strong winds in northern scotland are going to ease. to the south, we see the rain and pushing north across more of england and wales as we go through the day, eventually into parts of northern ireland and southern scotland, then a bit of hill snow as well in the pennines, northern uplands, it clears away as we go to sunday night and monday morning, do not be surprised by that. still fairly mild into the south but then again, the wind is becoming more significant as we go further into the day. this black arrows indicating some of the wind gusts we going to see as the day goes on, they are getting stronger late in they are getting stronger late in the day. initially and parts of wales in the west of england, feeling the force of these isobars, the strongest swathe of winsome storm freya as we go into the later stages of the afternoon and evening. let's ta ke stages of the afternoon and evening. let's take a look at that, some

gusts around 60 to 70 miles an hour. some gusts of around 80 miles an hourfor some gusts of around 80 miles an hour for a some gusts of around 80 miles an hourfora time, some gusts of around 80 miles an hourfor a time, the very some gusts of around 80 miles an hour for a time, the very strongest gusts. we could see gusts else aware of 60 miles an hour, as we going to monday, those winds will gradually ease. but there could well be some damage in some disruption, so it is worth keeping in touch with travel situation the eu as we go to sunday night but i think especially before you head out on monday morning. a slight improvement on monday, it will still be very windy as the day begins across eastern parts of the uk in particular, going to push away the early rain here. then for many of us, some sunshine, a few showers start to push into the west during the day. it stays quite breezy, just a gradual improvement in terms of the strongest winds easing down. it will be a caller feeling day though, thatis will be a caller feeling day though, that is a sign of things to come as we go through the week. —— caller. showers to start the week, it looks

like another spell of wind and rain will be coming our way mid week. 00:29:04,878 --> 2147483051:51:18,453 that is your latest forecast. —— 2147483051:51:18,453 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 cooler.