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 welcome to bbc news, activists in maryland, i'm reged ahmad. he said the forthcoming report was part of an attempt our top stories: to "take him out". president trump attacks robert mueller, saying the probe on alleged russian interference is an attempt the veteran us senator bernie "to take him out". sanders has launched his campaign to be the democratic candidate let's inspect every for president in 2020. deal he has ever done, vowing to fight against we're going to go into his finances, we're going to check his deals, greed, hated and lies, we're going to check... these people are sick. he promised to unseat donald trump, who he termed they're sick. "the most dangerous president in modern american history". bernie sanders kick starts his campaign for the white house, vowing to fight against corporate nasa and a private us space company have launched the first greed, hatred and lies. astronaut capsule from american soil in eight years. mission control: three, two, one, the craft, owned by the spacex zero, ignition, lift—off. company, is carrying a test dummy to the international space station. paving the way for passenger travel it's hoped flights carrying real astronauts will start by the end of the year. 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. it's been a busy weekend in us politics. at a gathering of conservatives in washington president trump furiously condemned the investigation by special counsel robert mueller into russian meddling. meanwhile, in brooklyn, senator bernie sanders officially launched his 2020 campaign to be the democratic candidate for president, adding his name to a crowded field that now numbers at least ten candidates. kim gittleson has the latest. will the second time be the charm for bernie sanders? in a fiery speech at the frigid brooklyn launch of his 2020 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 pay cheque to pay cheque. 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. eric ham is a political analyst and author based in washington. he says president trump's criticism of the mueller investigation, was even harsher than usual.

this is the first time we've ever seen this. 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 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 us that donald trump is that telling us that donald trump isa is that telling us that donald trump is a little more scared than usual, or is itjust 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 well, i think what that is telling us is that the president knows this report could very well be damning, so report 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 from the bob mueller report. we've seen that take place not only from the president

but also the president's lawyer, rudy giuliani as well, so 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's a political ploy, and so that's a political ploy, and the president is making efforts to try to stave off a possible impeachment, which we 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's launched his 2020 campaign. does he have a chance of winning? absolutely, he does. in fact, today, by announcing an entering into the race officially, i think bernie sanders now has catapulted to the top of the race, because he has the universal name recognition having run in 2016 and, of course, you cannot discount his ability to raise large

swathes of money from individual donors, and that is going to keep bernie sanders in the race through the entire nomination process. but he is part of the really crowded field this time, some of whom have really similar messages, messages inspired by bernie sanders. isn't he kind of a little last 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 for bernie sanders is not so much the fact that you will have other candidates who are espousing the same message, he i’u ns the same message, he runs into two images. 0ne runs into two images. one is bernie sanders refuses to become an official member of the democratic party and there are still questions about if 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 over how the democrats chose their candidate. the understanding that officials favoured hillary clinton animated —— and it made it 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 , 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—importa nt candidate because again, the all—important goal for democrats in 2020 is defeating president donald trump. let's get some of the day's other news: the us and south korea have confirmed they are going to end large—scale joint military exercises in an effort to improve relations with noth korea. smaller—scale drills will continue, but major, planned war games

will now not go ahead. north korea has always regarded the exercisies as preparation for a military invasion. 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. the venezuelan opposition leader, juan guaido, who's in ecuador, has called for new protests against the government of nicolas maduro. the self—declared interim president says he would return home to take part in the dissent. mr guaido is visiting several latin american countries to try to generate support for a change of leader in venezuela. germany's chancellor angela merkel has come out in support of weekly walkouts by schoolchildren calling for urgent action on climate change. in a video statement,

she said she welcomed the sight of the students taking part in the demonstrations, which have spread around the world. her latest statement contradicts voices from within her own party who have criticised pupils for missing school. the test flight of america's latest astronaut capsule will see it attempt to dock with the international space station in the next few hours. the dragon vehicle, which blasted off from florida on saturday, is carrying a test dummy, but could begin transporting astronauts by the end of the year. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh reports now on what nasa is calling the start of a new era. mission control: 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. we will bring you the stocking from the space station when it happens. fire fighters in australia's south east are battling a number of out—of—control bushfires, which have forced the evacuation of residents. this week the country's bureau of meterorology announced that it had experienced its hottest summer on record. sophia tran—thomson reports. a dangerous combination — hot weather, lightning strikes and unpredictable winds. at least 100 fires across the state of victoria now cover about 1,500 hectares of bushland. the main fire emergency warnings are for the bunyip state park, around 100 kilometres from melbourne,

dargo in far eastern victoria, and budgeree in the south—east. more than 300 firefighters are battling the blazes, which officials say are spreading erratically. i know our firefighters on the ground and in the air are 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 literally hundreds of firefighters on the ground with trucks and other appliances, but we also have significant 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 rash of hospital admissions. mass wildlife deaths, blackouts, and a rise in hospital admissions. the bureau of meteorology says the pattern of warmer temperatrues is consistent with observed climate change. sophia tran—thomson, bbc news.

there has been another incident of anti—semitic vandalism in france. 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. 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. 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. 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, bang, 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. the battle to claim the last pocket of territory from the so—called islamic state group is raging on. it had been held up as thousands of civilians remained trapped in the area of baghuz. the us president had hinted he would declare the defeat of is weeks ago, although an announcement is yet to be made. earlier, i spoke with joshua landis, the director

of the centre for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma. and i began by asking him what's been happening in the battle for baghuz and why it's taking so long. well, the — there are lots of civilians. we don't know how many isis fighters are still left there. they have tunnels they built and have occupied for close to four years. it's very difficult to wipe them out. the coalition would like to use tons of firepower, but there's still lots of civilians, there's wives, there's children. so they're negotiating, they're working slowly, and they're trying not to leave behind a massacre of these civilians. it sounds like it is still going

to take some time for that battle to be over. but we are anticipating at some point, the us president wanting to declare the end of the caliphate in syria, the islamic state caliphate. what do you think, at that point, syria is going to look like as a country? the war is far from over. first of all, this is the end of isis as a state, but it is not the end of isis as a terrorist organisation. in iraq, we are seeing isis attacks on a regular basis. 30% of syria is occupied by foreign forces. in the north, there is a us zone, which is ruled by the ypg and the syrian defence forces, democratic forces, which the americans have put up.

there is a turkey zone and a rebel zone in idlib. the syrian government is insisting it will reconquer the territory. so this war is far from over. that's just one of them. what about syria's future economically? what will happen to the country, which has really been destroyed in many ways? well, it's interesting that you should ask. the real struggle that is going to continue is an economic struggle. bashar al—assad has won the battle in many ways for syria. but economically, he can't reconstruct the 2019 budget that he's put together. it's a little bit less than $9 billion. that's smaller than the budget of lebanon orjordan, which are much smaller countries. only $1 billion has been allocated for reconstruction. now, most international agencies are saying that it will take about half $1 trillion to rebuild syria. so that give you some inkling

about the terrible situation syria is in. the western countries, they are putting crushing sanctions on assad in the hope that they can bring him down economically, where they could bring him down militarily. this means that the war will continue in an economic arena. and the syrian people are going to be left under a brutal regime and under brutal economic sanctions, so they're going to be the losers. 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're a symbol of renewal and happiness. japan's season of cherry blossoms, or sakura, is in full bloom, but it's 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's 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 apps, and for those who just want to enjoy some time outside? there's an app for that too, which lets user know

if they're nearby to a flowering site. catherine karelli, bbc news. the seals had been shot dead in recent yea rs the seals had been shot dead in recent years to protect their crop fish numbers. sherman's iconic landscape that we are not here for the rolling, windswept hills or even the rolling, windswept hills or even the ponies, we are in the middle of a debate about seals and simon and shooting. —— salmon. they have much more personality, the grey seal. here we look after sick and injured seals and otters, we keep them until they are well and ready to be raised back into the wild. -- released.

shooting a seal is legal, if you are licensed to do so. these seals were not shot that they have lost their mums. we are seriously concerned about the health of the seal population, there are many environmental challenges out there for the common seals may do not need that extra challenge of the industry shooting them. the salmon industry moved into the environment weatherseal is already were, and it is not really fair to move into an environment and just destroy the wildlife that is fair because it is a threat to your industry. —— where the seals already were. it would be greater shepparton could set an example to the salmon industry around the world, and certainly in scotland, there is absolutely no need for them to shoot seal is. we are heading to a salmon farm in the waters just off shetland. each cage holds thousands of fish until recently, seals would try to break

in and steal what they could. we found the interactions with seals over the years that since we have installed this netting on our side, the seals have left us alone. it is a small change that could have rippling effects. the shooting of seals was always a last resort, because in time to time, a sealed actually attacked the salmon cause a lot of damage and stress and disturb the welfare of the fish. we would use other means to try to deter that seal from use other means to try to deter that sealfrom coming onto the use other means to try to deter that seal from coming onto the fish farm but ultimately, sometimes that was not possible on that seal may have to be shot. we do not want to shoot any seal, we would much rather be in any seal, we would much rather be in a position where we do not have the shoot any at all and if this is able to achieve that, we will be very happy with that. by installing these nets, salmon farmers can promote their product as being more ethical. while campaigners are happy that

seals will not get shot in the population will not decline, at least not as a result of the salmon farming. as for the seals, they will just have to work that extra bit harderfor just have to work that extra bit harder for their just have to work that extra bit harderfor their next just have to work that extra bit harder for their next meal. 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 of 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 done in our society, you know what i mean? just because the law is passed doesn't mean that people are living freely and happy, because some people still hold mixed opinions about that. love is about heart, not parts, and everyone should be able to love who they want and without being judged. finally, carnival turns canine in rio as pet lovers parade their four—legged friends in the city's annual pooch parade. the event is a favourite with rio's residents, and attracts dogs of all shapes and sizes. it's one of the hundreds of carnival celebrations that bring more than 6 million people to the streets of the brazilian capital. do stay with us here on bbc news. you can get a lot more on all of our stories

on our website, as well as in—depth analysis. that's at bbc.com/news. 0r download the app. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. we've 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. it's a cooler start for many of us, mild though in southern england, with outbreaks of rain. during sunday, those 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. and we could see a bit of hill snow as well in the northern uplands, the highlands, the pennines, and grampians. it clears away as we go through sunday night and monday morning, so don't 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 sunday evening. so let's take a look at that. some gusts around 60 to 70 miles an hour. maybe some of the coasts of wales could be up to around 80 miles an hourfor a time, the very strongest gusts. we could see gusts elsewhere of 60—65 miles an hour,

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. now, 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. and that's a sign of things to come as we go through the week. temperatures lower, well, certainly compared with last week. sun and showers to start the week, then it looks like another spell of wind and rain will be coming our way mid week. that's your latest forecast.