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. hello and welcome to bbc news. vowing to fight against i'm reged ahmad. it's been a busy weekend in us politics. greed, hated and lies, at a gathering of conservatives in washington, president trump —— hatred and lies, he promised to unseat donald trump, furiously condemned the investigation by special counsel robert mueller who he termed "the most dangerous president in modern american history." into russian meddling. nasa and a private us space company have launched the first astronaut capsule from american soil in eight years. meanwhile, in brooklyn, the craft, owned by the spacex senator bernie sanders officially launched his 2020 campaign to be company, is carrying a test dummy the democratic candidate to the international space station. for president, adding his name to a crowded field that now numbers at least ten candidates. kim gittleson has the latest. it's hoped flights carrying real astronauts will start by the end will the second time be of the year. the charm for bernie sanders?

in a fiery speech at the frigid brooklyn launch of his 2020 it's 2:30am. now on bbc news, dateline london. presidential bid, the independent senator from vermont promised to advocate for economic, racial and environmentaljustice. he also positioned himself in direct opposition to current us president donald trump, who he called "the most dangerous president in modern american history." unlike donald trump, who shot down the government and left 800,000 federal employees without income to pay their bills... crowd booing. ..i know what it's like to be in a family that lives paycheque to paycheque. for his part, mr trump, at a major conservative gathering, also on saturday, took indirect aim at mr sanders, who identifies as a democratic socialist. mr sanders has been seen as one factor pushing the democratic party

further to the left. democrat law makers are now embracing socialism. they want to replace individual rights with total government domination. mr trump also used his speech to try and discredit robert mueller, who's investigating allegations of russian interference into the 2016 presidential election. the collusion delusion... so now we're waiting for a report and we'll find out whether or not and who we're dealing with. we're waiting a report, by people that weren't elected. robert mueller never received a vote, and neither did the person that appointed him. mr mueller‘s report is set to be completed this week and it will almost certainly energise democrats and those who oppose donald trump. the question for bernie sanders is if, four years later, he still stands out to liberal voters in an increasingly crowded field of democratic presidential hopefuls. kim gittleson, bbc news. a new capsule for sending astronauts to the international space station

has launched successfully in the united states. the craft, owned by spacex, has a dummy called ripley on board with built in sensors. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh reports now on what nasa is calling the start of a new era. 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,

and 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 i think 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 forever. 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. you can get a lot more on all of our stories

on our website. that's at bbc.com/news. in—depth analysis by our correspondents around the world as well. you're watching bbc news. a 17—year—old girl who was stabbed to death in a park in east london on friday night has been named by her grandmother as jodie chesney. in an appeal for witnesses on facebook, the grandmother said the stabbing had been an "unprovoked attack. " the teenager is the 18th person to be killed in the capital this year. 0ur correspondent jon donnison reports. london's latest victim of knife crime. 17—year—old jodie chesney, described by those who knew her as a bright and lovely girl. this evening, herfamily named the teenager on social media, as they appealed for information. her grandmother wrote:

earlier, friends came to lay flowers. among those paying their respects, a young, local councillor. was i shocked about this today? no, because you're hearing of continuous crime happening, you're hearing of serious youth violence, and that's scary, the fact that it didn't shock me. i'm a young councillor, i'm 23 years old, the fact that this didn't shock me, that's quite sad. it shouldn't be... that should not be our reality. that shouldn't be young people's reality. police say no arrests have been made and are appealing for information. a 17—year—old girl lost her life and i want to express my deepest sympathies to her family and herfriends. her death is a tragedy. this afternoon, forensic officers searched a nearby wooded area. as another murder investigation is launched in london, the mayor sadiq khan encouraged anyone with information to come forward. i've got a daughter aged 17 years old, many londoners, many people around the country will have children or will know people who are young,

and but for the grace of god, it could have been one of our children who lost their life last night. there are people who know who's responsible and my message to them is to please contact the police. it's really important that justice is done. tonight, a children's playground in a small east london park is a crime scene, something that for many is becoming all too familiar. the murder rate is actually down in london on what it was at the same point last year, but in the last two weeks, there have been six fatal stabbings in the capital. and behind each one, grieving families, lives destroyed. jon donnison, bbc news, in harold hill, near romford. and meanwhile, a 17—year—old boy has died after being stabbed in greater manchester. police say they were called to an incident in hale barns. the teenager was taken

to hospital, but died later. two other boys, also aged 17, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. the government has rejected suggestions that food standards could be relaxed to try to secure a trade deal with the united states after brexit. earlier, the us ambassador to the uk said britain should embrace american farming methods to help seal an agreement. 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're 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, clean 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. the eu's chief brexit negotiator michel barnier says he doesn't believe the uk has enough time to approve theresa may's brexit deal and leave the european union as planned on the 29th march. mr barnier said that a technical extension of up to two months may be necessary, but ministers have rejected

the suggestion. let's go back to our top story. those very furious criticisms from donald trump on robert mueller and his special investigation, and of course, bernie sanders launching his presidential campaign. we can speak to eric ham, a political analyst and author based in washington. thank you very much your time. let's start with —— president trump that his conservative gathering, do you think those criticisms were harsher than usual? the president has had a very debilitating week with michael cohen testifying before the congress, his inability to get a deal with kim jong—un, and congress, his inability to get a deal with kimjong—un, and so the president was at home around his base and so, that really helped the

president. do you think that given some of the really harsh things he had to say, saying that mueller was an unelected official, is that telling is that donald trump is a little more scared than usual or just that he has had a rough week and as you say, he likes being around his supporters? well, i think what that is telling us is that the president knows this support could very well be damning, so what the president is doing is making a political play that he could possibly discredit bob mueller and the findings in the bob mueller report. we have seen that take place not only from the president and the president's lawyer rudy giuliani as well, so they are actually making a political play because if you look at what is taking place particularly in the house of representatives right now, these investigations we are seeing taking place by house democrats are potentially leading to an impeachment, and so that is a political ploy and the president is

making efforts to try to stave off a possible impeachment, which could see coming, because already you are seeing a number of rank—and—file democrats push nancy pelosi and her leadership on this issue. let's move on to bernie sanders, he has launched his 2020 campaign. does he have a chance of winning? absolutely, he does. in fact, the day by announcing an entering into the race officially, i think bernie sanders has gone to the top of the race because he has the universal name recognition having run in 2016 and of course, it cannot discount his ability to raise large swathes of money from individual donors and thatis of money from individual donors and that is going to keep bernie sanders in the race through the entire nomination process. —— you cannot. it is part of the really crowded field this time, some of whom have really similar messages, messages inspired by bernie sanders. —— but

he is part. it kind of a little lost generation? well, yes, it is a crowded field that he is in but again, bernie sanders has the name identification. what will be really challenging to bernie sanders is not so challenging to bernie sanders is not so much the fact that you will have other candidates who are espousing the same message, he runs into two images. 0ne the same message, he runs into two images. one is bernie sanders refuses to become an official member of the democratic party and are still questions about it bernie sanders can actually engage with and bring aboard the african american community, because that community will be very influential and very critical to the success of any democratic nominees. now, we saw in the last presidential contest that controversy the last presidential contest that c0 ntrove i’sy over the last presidential contest that controversy over how the democrats chose their candidate. —— democratic nominee. the understanding that officials favoured hillary clinton animated really difficult for bernie sanders, do we have the same problem this time? no, because what you are

going to see this time around is a very transparent process in a very open process, and even if bernie sanders does not get the nomination, i think that there is enough energy and a ground swell behind democrats that they will unify behind one candidate because again, the all—important golfer candidate because again, the all—importa nt golfer democrats candidate because again, the all—important golfer democrats in 2020 is defeating president donald trump. —— goal for. 2020 is defeating president donald trump. -- goal for. thank 2020 is defeating president donald trump. -- goalfor. thank you 2020 is defeating president donald trump. -- goal for. thank you very much. thank you. this is bbc news, the 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". the 17—year—old girl stabbed to death in a park in east london has been named as jodie chesney. she's the 18th homicide victim in the capital this year. a rare fish, thought only to live in the southern hemisphere, has been found washed up on a beach in california. it took researchers several days

to identify the hoodwinker sunfish, which is named for its elusive nature. the species was only discovered in 2014. now marine experts around the world are wondering how it ended up so farfrom home. let's speak to marianne nyegaard from murdoch university in australia, who first discovered the species. thank you so much for your time. tell us about how you discovered this species, and why it is silly this species, and why it is silly this it? first of all, thank you for having me. —— why it is so elusive. i discovered it in 2013, and the two months into my ph.d.. i was still in population genetics, in indonesia, andi population genetics, in indonesia, and i was sampling in australia and new zealand to compare with the population is there. and as i did the analysis, i found there was something there that we didn't know what it was. from then i had to try

to actually find the fish. it took several years to track it down before we finally found it and could describe it formally. it is pretty extraordinary to find a new species of fish. i believe this was the person new species identified for 130 years. —— first new species. what has brought this particular fish so hard —— so farfrom home? what has brought this particular fish so hard —— so far from home7m is hard to say. it is newly described, so we have onlyjust started identifying it. we don't really know exactly where it occurs. it looks like it is a southern temperate, a southern hemisphere temperate, a southern hemisphere temperate species, so it is quite intriguing what made it crossed the equator and go into californian waters. i think perhaps it could just be an individual that got lost. it does happen in the ocean, with other animals. but of course it opens this kind of question, whether this could link to climate change. u nfortu nately this could link to climate change. unfortunately it is too early to say and we need much more data to be able to speculate. so this

particular hoodwinker sunfish, obviously found it washed up on the beach, are they going to be done on it, to figure out why it might have perished? the university of california at santa barbara, they went and did a beach necropsy, and they took a large range of different types of samples from it, and those have been distributed to research is with various interests. —— resea rchs. with various interests. —— researchs. my with various interests. —— resea rchs. my interest with various interests. —— researchs. my interest is in genetics, so i have secured a sample which at the moment is on its way to denmark, with my sister who is a geneticist at a university there. she will do the genetics, and we will then compare it to the sunfish here in new zealand to see how they relate to each other. that is really exciting. so you are actually trying to figure out if it is the same species? we know it is the same species, we can see that really clearly from how it looks like. but how closely related it is to the new

zealand individuals of the same species, that is what i am interested in. so what's you do that genetic testing, what happens next? how will it help you understand species? sunfish, we don't really know very much about sunfish in general, any of the species of sunfish. we have onlyjust started to be able to distinguish between the species reliably. so now, of course, it is interesting to look at population is to breed of each other —— populations who breed with each other. we don't really know anything about that in the sunfish world at the moment. it will be extremely interesting to see how closely related the californian hoodwinker is with the ones from here. well, good luck with your genetic testing. thank you so much for your time. thank you so much for your time. thank you so much for your time. thank you to having me.

firefighters in australia's south—east are battling a number of bushfires which have forced the evacuation of residence. this week the bureau of meteorology announced it had experienced a hot summer on record. 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 are all be bunyip state park, about 100 kilometres from melbourne, dargo, infar eastern victoria, and budgie and eunos south. more than 300 firefighters are battling the blazers, which officials say are spreading erratically. i know firefighters on the ground and india are doing their best to protect people's loans. we have significant resources we have wrought to bear on those fires, literally hundreds of firefighters on the ground, with trucks and other appliances, we have also got a significant aircraft and helicopters

that have been flying on these fires. the fires come at the end of australia's hottest summer on record. hundreds of individual heat records were shattered across the country over the past three months, and the higher temperatures have been blamed for the spread of fires, mass wildlife deaths, blackouts, and a rise in hospital admissions. the bureau of meteorology says the pattern of warmer temperatures 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 many, they are a symbol of renewal and happiness. japan's season of cherry blossoms, or sakura, is in full bloom, but it is more than just a 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 malls based in tokyo had launched cherry flower products in a bid to increase sales, and according to one manager, it's 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. it isn't always easy to know when exactly the flowers will be in full bloom, but a few weather agencies are doing their best launching forecasting apps, and for those who just want to enjoy some time outside? there is an app that too, which lets you know if there are cherry blossoms flowering outside. catherine karelli, bbc news.

in the aftermath of the second world war many british families were sent to germany to help to rebuild. it was a difficult time, with much anger and resentment between the two sides. now the memories of one young boy who moved from wales to berlin have been turned into a film. boy who moved from wales to berlin have been turned into a filmlj remember it very surprisingly and vividly. ken brooke was only eight yea rs old vividly. ken brooke was only eight years old when his family moved to germany in 19117. his father, captain walter brooks, was charged with rebuilding the shattered city after the second world war. starring jason clarke and keira knightley, the aftermath is a film loosely based on his memories. —— the aftermath. aftermath is a film loosely based on his memories. -- the aftermath. my dad used to talk about here is a bit, and he used to say a number of times, you know, it's not about revenge or anything like that, or retribution. myjob is to rebuild.

this house is requisitioned for british use by order of the control commission. and despite advice to the contrary, kim struck a close friendship with his seven—year—old german housemate heika, earning himself the nickname the icebreaker. and it was the children that broke down the barriers between the two families. it was a very, very important turning point, which happened the following christmas. we decided that all the children, all six of us, would get together and pretend we were a choir. and we sang silent night and we all did it in german. it was a very moving moment for my parents, and indeed for that family, and the tears were rolling down theirface by family, and the tears were rolling down their face by the time we had done it. the love affair between

kim's mother and the german father is fictional, but it is a key element in both the film and the novel that inspired the screenplay, written by kim's son. it is a strange feeling, but it is exciting, too. it is nice that the essence of the story, which is really about forgiveness and reconciliation, is there. all the way through. the production team have stayed in close contact with the brooks throughout the filmmaking process. meeting the stars has been one of the highlights of this artistic journey. what was it like to see ciaran knightley portraying your mother? it was great, i gave her a peck on the cheek and said, higher, mom. hello. we have already had one area of low pressure affecting the uk this weekend. there is another on the way for sunday. the first eases away from northern scotland during sunday. here comes the second rapidly deepening area of low pressure,

coming right out of storm freya, and things will be turning stormy across parts of england and wales in particular, later on sunday. that said, it's a very windy start to sunday. northern scotland, from still that first area of low pressure, some gusts up to around 70 miles an hour and plenty of heavy showers moving in. a cooler start for many of us, milder in 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 pushing north across more of england and wales as we go through the day, eventually into parts of northern ireland and southern scotland. you can see a bit of hill snow as well in the northern highlands, the pennines and uplands. it clears away as we go through 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. these black arrows indicating some of the wind gusts we are going to see as the day goes on, they are getting stronger late in the day. initially in parts of wales in the west of england, feeling the force of these isobars. the strongest swathe of winds from freya as we go into the later stages of the afternoon and evening. let's take a look at that. some gusts around 60

to 70 miles an hour. maybe some of the coasts of wales up to around 80 miles an hour for a time, the very strongest gusts. we could see gusts elsewhere of 60—65 miles an hour, a hint of hill snow, as we go into monday, those winds will gradually ease. but there could well be some damage and some disruption, so it's worth keeping in touch with the travel situation near you as we go through 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, we're going to push away the early rain here. then for many of us, there'll be some sunshine, a few showers start to push in from the west during the day. it stays quite breezy, it's just a gradual improvement in terms of the strongest winds easing down. it will be a cooler feeling day though. that's a sign of things to come as we go through the week. temperatures lower compared with last week. sun and showers to start the week, it looks like another spell of wind and rain will be coming our way mid week.

that's your latest forecast.