this is bbc world news, i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: finally finished: the special counsel's report into alleged collusion between president trump's election campaign and russia has been submitted to the department ofjustice. this is bbc news, the headlines: there are reportedly no new indictments but the content a 2—year investigation is under wraps — how much will be by the us special counsel made public in the coming days? into alleged collusion between president trump's election campaign and russia is now complete. australia's biggest ever evacuation from a storm — key findings are expected to stay under wraps for a few days — thousands flee their homes as two butjustice department sources say powerful cyclones threaten coasts. that robert mueller‘s report does not recommend further indictments. another twist on the road to brexit — theresa may tells mps the planned third vote on her withdrawal deal may not happen. and the first glimpse of sperm australia is, for the first time whales hunting in the darkest depths since 2015, experiencing two of the ocean. tropical cyclones at the same time. cyclones trevor and veronica are causing high winds and have forced more than three thousand people in the northern territory to leave their homes. many remote indingeous communities are particularly affected. here in britain, prime minister theresa may says

she might not bring her brexit deal back for another vote, if it appears there is not sufficient support. the european union has agreed to delay brexit, but only by two weeks if british mps reject the agreement. a former ira bomber has named the people whom he believes were responsible for the 1974 birmingham pub bombings. the man — known as witness ‘0‘ — was giving evidence during the inquest into the deaths of the 21 victims. he said he'd been given permission to reveal the names by the current head of the ira. sima kotecha reports. it was an evening in november 197a. two explosions in two pubs in birmingham. 21 people were killed and more than 200 were injured. six men were falsely imprisoned for the crime. after spending almost two decades in jail they were acquitted, and that's when some of the families of those killed began calling for fresh inquests. four weeks in and today a former

volunteer of the ira told the court who he thought was responsible. he said he'd been given permission to do so by the head of the ira in dublin. the man known as witness 0 gave four names. he said seamus mcloughlin was the officer commanding the ira in birmingham at the time, and was in charge of selecting targets. mick murray, he said, was one of the bombers. another member of the bombing team, he said, was michael hayes. and then when asked about a james gavin, witness 0 said, "well, he was involved." all are dead apart from michael hayes, seen here two years ago. in court, my brother and my sisterand i, we were all sobbing, hearing what witness 0 had to say about one of the bombers who, quote,

said, "he's harmless now". that's because the damage has already been done. what makes what was said in court today so significant is that for 18 months there was an ongoing legal battle between some of the families of those killed and the coroner over the scope of the inquests and whether it could include the potential perpetrator issue. the court of appeal ruled that it could not. but today, for hours, the court discussed suspects. when asked about a michael patrick reilly, witness 0 said he didn't recall him at all. reilly has always denied playing any part. 21 killed 44 years ago, and now the names of the potential perpetrators have been mentioned for the first time in a formal setting. the inquests continue. now on bbc news,

our world. in australia's iconic out that, an environmental disaster on bowling. when he threatened my family, my future, in the future of feeding our nation and other nations around the world, you can't get more personal than that. the darling river, a main artery of australia's murray darling basin, is drying up. some blame climate change. others, the growth of industrial scale cotton farming. whatever the cause, the result is sparking outrage on social media. look at these iconic fish of australia being treated like this. you have to be bloodied disgusted with yourself, you politicians and cotton grower manipulators. these lakes should never be drained.

national election is due in may and the recent royal commission report containing revelations of government bungling, corporate greed and corruption is thrust of the issue to the forefront of australian political debate. with politicians ducking for cover, the worst environmental catastrophe in australia's history looms large. the empty rivers are threatening not only the nation's food security but more than 40,000 years of subsistence living by its native people. it's a man-made drought we are living in now. wejust won't suffer it. and it's notjust black people, it's everyone. white people, everyone. and it's got to stop. ten yea rs everyone. and it's got to stop. ten years ago after the worst drought in living memory, itravelled years ago after the worst drought in living memory, i travelled to australia's outback to investigate a water crisis that was described then as exceptional. a decade later, i

returned to find communities on the edge of disaster. they sing the possibility of a water crisis — — that the water crisis is permanent. this landscape is at the heart of the battle over australia's scarce water supply. a nation which likes to call itself the lucky country is endowed with a fabulous wealth of natural resources. but when it comes to one of the essentials of life, the country is in deep trouble. water has never been plentiful here but growing demand, mainly from farming, and higher temperatures linked to climate change, have collided to create the country's worst ever water crisis. the murray

darling basin drains more than a million square kilometres of south—eastern australia. a network of tributaries flow into the darling river which crosses the region to join the murray river. australia's longest at more than 2500 kilometres. the darling river also feeds the menindee lakes, australia's most important agricultural region relies on these rivers and lakes but after the hottest summer on record, most of the darling river has run dry and the darling river has run dry and the lakes are virtually empty. form a linear, the menindee lakes system has been a flourishing ecosystem on the driest continent on earth and a vital lifeline for the outback. but that has all changed. just a few

yea rs that has all changed. just a few years ago, these lakes were almost 90% full but after a decision by the new south wales state government to decommission the lakes for water storage, they were drained dry, and this is the result. as australia's drought has worsened, and with nothing in reserve, the darling river is now reduced to a few stretches of stagnating water. in december and january, at the peak of summer, a series of massive so—called fish kills, when more than a million fish died, left the country reeling. this is nothing to do with drought. this is a man—made disaster brought to you by the new south wales government and the federal government, and the murray darling authority of the basin authority. this is the result of draining the menindee lakes twice in four years, killing the system.

these are just two of the many. this is the most disgusting thing i've ever seen in my life. in nearby menindee, population 550, residents are being forced to rely on bottled water and watch the local wildlife disappear. with each new fishkill, local fishermen graham mccrabb disappear. with each new fishkill, localfishermen graham mccrabb has witnessed the devastation. there we re witnessed the devastation. there were fish all the way down here in clu m ps were fish all the way down here in clumps and it was pretty well conducted over 50 — 30 kilometres of river. they were just scattered everywhere here. we had a stinking hot week, probably seven or eight days over 45, a couple of days over 50 and we dropped about 20 degrees overnight that night, and it's hard to say, really. it's still emotional now for a lot of people, probably two or three months' time. within

untie species of native fish under threat, government fisheries staff mounted a desperate last—minute rescue bid. but there was little left to salvage. with the water level continuing to drop, graham travels the few remaining stretches looking for fish travels the few remaining stretches looking forfish in travels the few remaining stretches looking for fish in distress in water made toxic by algae. i'm angry that we haven't got any bargaining, irrigation has got to come first and then they will look to see if they will embargoed the water coming down the river. surely there should be in bargo on the water to get connection of the bar when river all the way through the darling to the murray. that should be first and then visited if there is enough water for irrigation. i can't believe anyone can sit there and say an embargo isn't in station at this stage. it's the nursery of the golden perch on the nursery of the golden perch on the silver perch for the whole murray darling basin. 80% of the

golden perch come from here. it's a nursery, they are recruited here and it's just been smashed by these fish kills and no help and no real political desire to take the environment with any decisions and policies going forward. in 2009, i first travelled along the darling and murray rivers. already in crisis, the murray river no longer made it to the sea. the mouth of the river in south australia had run dry. setting off alarm bells across the country. a $7 billion project, the country. a $7 billion project, the murray darling basin plan was drawn up with the hope it would help manage the scarce water resources for everyone. ten years on, the plan appears to have failed. both the state and federal governments have been eager to label this crisis is a natural ecological event that's been exacerbated by the big drought.

there is growing evidence that systematic mismanagement and the uncontrollable theft of water resources has played a huge role in this outback river disaster. in 2018, the south australian state government ordered a royal commission report into the effectiveness of the murray darling — murray darling basin plan. the federal government refused to give evidence and prevented its agricultural officials from appearing before the enquiry. the report was published in february, just weeks after the death of an estimated million fish. it found gross maladministration and negligence at both state and federal levels along with unlawful activity have undermined the integrity of australia's greatest river system.

100 kilometres upstream from menindee, the town of wilcannia, the darling river has long ago run dry. more than a century ago, this town was one of australia's busiest inland ports. with hundreds of paddle steamers applying the river laden with produce from the land. more than 60% of the town's residents are aboriginal, most of them from the barkindji tribe, known as the people of the river.l them from the barkindji tribe, known as the people of the river. a long time ago, the tribe was born, my mum was a young girl, my grandmother cut a canoe out of beer, see? in this. out of this year. took the bark

away, and that's how big the canoe was. with his family history edged along the banks of the darling, badger bates, a barkindji elder, shares his people's intimate connection with the river. see, even animals are dying. and one of our can earn is the muscle shells. they arejust dying. — one of our concerns. it shows the water sharing plan is not worth the piece of paper it's written on an hourjust a bunch of liars. look what they've given us. they make the mess, they clean it, and they fix it. you can drink it. it is a little bit blackish but it is a good water. although the barkandji have the

rights to the land, it does not extend to the water. in 2015 they gave us the native title, recognition that we are barkandji the people and we say what is a good in giving us the native title and ta ke in giving us the native title and take the water. the river is our mother, it owns us, we do not own at the river. according to legend, it was created by a dreamtime serpent. for barkandji the people the imminent death of a river they consider their mother is a catastrophe that is difficult to comprehend. it is notjust black people. white people and all. it has to stop. under the government's murray darling claim, public money

is spent buying back water from farmers but the last release of so—called odd backwater was almost year ago. with billions of dollars allocated to fund the buyback scheme, questions are being asked about how the money is being spent. this march, a peer—reviewed study produced by the australian national university found that the federal government had grossly exaggerated the amount of water that had been fought back and return to the environment. in fact, fought back and return to the environment. infact, it found fought back and return to the environment. in fact, it found that less tha n environment. in fact, it found that less than 10% the water the government claimed was being returned ever reached the river. it is said that modern australia was built on the sheep ‘s back, 150 kilometres downstream from badger bay's home, sheep farming is on the

verge of collapse. at the the station here, the future is evaporating as the water crisis worsens. it seems a big corporate and big industry are killing the murray darling basin and we are just one of the many who have been absolutely devastated by what they are doing. we are borrowing the country from our kids. we. it is being destroyed. for his son, james, the stakes are hard. i am going to find as much because i do have a future here. i love this place, i know every inch of it. i love every

pa rt know every inch of it. i love every part of it. i love writing down the river and seeing beautiful eucalypt, kangaroos and wildlife everywhere. we cannot have that if things keep going the way they are going. for more than a decade, state governments have developed a complex system of water trading with most water going to the highest bidders, leaving less for the environment. it isa leaving less for the environment. it is a system many believe has encouraged corruption. you need a broader scope. each state is only looking at itself when you need to looking at itself when you need to look at the big picture, spreading water equally among the states rather than one state bringing in all of the water and not worry about the other states. they do not worry about the other states just themselves. james's sister has taken themselves. james's sister has taken the battle on line. communities and people on the river need to be put before opportunistic crops like cotton. we need people getting onto the politician and encourage them to place embargoes. she has been

documenting the devastation. 2019 is of the year where our vote will count. climate change seems to get largely avoided by a number of the parties. i think it is a set to become a larger issue. right now, it is not put on the radar but it is inevitable that our climate is changing. we got flooding in queensland. tasmania is on fire. with the rivers running dry, the focus has turned to the upper reaches to the north where massive irrigated farms are mostly growing cotton, a famously thirsty crop. irrigated farms are mostly growing cotton, a famously thirsty cropm is heartbreaking to see this water should be going down the darling. is heartbreaking to see this water should be going down the darlingm is the controversial practice of floodplain harvesting where rain water is diverted from rivers which

has become highlighted. in particular in queensland, where it is almost completely unregulated. on the new south wales queensland border, this town is thriving. this is cotton country and the wealth the industry creates is clear to see but scratch the surface and it is clear that water, and lots of it, underpins that success. i have travelled to the giant floodplains of southern queensland to meet a cotton farmer turned whistleblower who decided to speak out after he says he is a livelihood and that of his neighbours was nearly destroyed by industrial scale cotton farming. i really put myself out there. i fronted lobby groups, neighbours,

friends. that is where i went to first. i believe my problem letting the river run could have been dealt internally but that... i received no help. no—one bothered to lift a finger. this is the mcintyre river. new south wales on one side, queensland here. those trees that are new south wales. the river is very small. it has to flat out over this country and i want it to be protected. this water is being intercepted. it is being intercepted, taken. intercepted. it is being intercepted, ta ken. the intercepted. it is being intercepted, taken. the longer you hold it, the more you can take. my family has been held, our crops are destroyed and the water does not continue into the river so for us to survive as farmers we just want the river to run. my neighbour cannot

get stop to water. —— stock. they have been there for four generations. for years, as cotton crop relied on rainfall, he says industrial scale cotton farmers was diverting water into a network of chosen dams. you cannot turn communities off. you have to look after people, the environment and extraction should always come last. over the last ten years, as hundreds of kilometres of giant levies and channels were built, chris took his concerns to the authorities and other cotton growers but he was ignored and ostracised. my moral

compass will not let me stop. i have been called a crusader, i am on a crusade are trying to fix the problem with a neighbour but it is so much bigger than that. cotton is a franchise. it is like owning a mcdonald's. every crop is a prescription. add water and you can run out huge acres, that is the difference. applause . with public awareness gaining traction, the mcbride family have decided to take their fight to save the darling river to australia's largest city, sydney. the darling river to australia's largest city, sydneylj the darling river to australia's largest city, sydney. i have been told i speak with too much emotion but when you see the river dying, it is heartbreaking. this people need to come out and see a million dead fish at your doorstep and speak to the people living off the river and

seeing it die. i have a great connection to the land just as many barkandji do, and that includes the river that sustains it. that is why i speak of it with emotion. with state and national governments failing to provide answers, events like these are raising awareness in the city of the crisis in the bush. we have to have the guts to stand up to politicians, to say why you're not listening to nation people? just like my sister over here. she belongs to the land. she has connection to the land and she cries when she speaks and i cry when i speak. it is where we stamp our feet. our feet are speak. it is where we stamp our feet. ourfeet are part speak. it is where we stamp our feet. our feet are part of the earth. i am from cotton australia...

big irrigators now firmly under the spotlight, industry body, cotton australia, is keen to deflect blame. ido australia, is keen to deflect blame. i do welcome the comments that people understand it is not about the crop that grows, it is about the water. unfortunately some of the rhetoric is aimed at our growers and thatis rhetoric is aimed at our growers and that is disappointed because they are hard—working farmers just like all our rural producers and they have been demonised. i spent a day in the box of the royal commission and we're not afraid of telling our story. it is a natural disaster but we do need to towards solutions and thatis we do need to towards solutions and that is what we're looking. the one i would say is, coming up to the questions, is that we are fully supportive of the recovery of the water as the water was rage, there

are water as the water was rage, there a re calls water as the water was rage, there are calls to establish a federal royal commission. right now, demands foran royal commission. right now, demands for an immediate suspension of all water trading and an embargo on further irrigation across the eastern states of australia grow louder. this means a lot to us, barkandji as people. our river, our culture, our life. without a river, there is no life. if they could help us there is no life. if they could help us get our water back, please, the water means a lot to us black people andl water means a lot to us black people and i do not think we are going to have the same life as our dad did, drinking out of the river, because it is all dirty now, not clear.

hello, welcome to the weekend, one which will deliver a fair amount of dry weather around. it's going to be a bit cooler than it's been, though, we've seen this when the front move on through so behind the temperatures are lower but it is fresher, clear air and that means more of us are going to get to see some sunshine. this is how we start saturday. they will be a touch of frost in parts of northern england, especially northern ireland and scotland were its been clear overnight. the further south you are in southern england, some of the cloud will hold on during the day. elsewhere in england and wales, high cloud making some hazy. some cloud building, some showers, particularly moving into north—western scotland. it will be wintry on the hills, with a brisk wind. these are average speeds. gusts are going to be higher.

maybe in excess of 60 miles per hour before winds gradually ease during the day. temperatures mostly in the range of 9— 12 celsius. this is our look through saturday evening and night. elsewhere it looks mainly drive. some cloud around, particularly parts of england and wales. we have the cloud, temperatures hold up. indicating there is also the potential for a touch of frost if you are cleared for any period of time going into sunday morning. on sunday, the bulk of england and wales will stay dry with sunny spells, maybe a few showers reaching the finals fitting when later. one or two showers for northern ireland. most of the showers in scotland may emerge from a longer spell of wet weather. showers can be heavy, bunbury and wintry on higher ground. showers can be heavy, thundery and wintry on higher ground. similar tempjust for part two of the weekend, mostly in the range of 9—12 degrees. let's take a look into next week and high pressure. it is going to be settled the much if not all of the week that there may be

a few weak weather fronts rushing north and scotland times with more cloud and the chance for a little rain. most places will be dry, variable cloud and sunny spells, maybe a touch of frost overnight. it looks like temperatures by day and night look like going up as the week goes on. rather cool by day, chilly nights. you may see a touch of frost, mostly dry and sunny weather blustery showers, most of these and scotland. blustery showers, most of these in scotland.