this is bbc news. the headlines: the report by us special counsel robert mueller says there is no evidence that president trump or his campaign team colluded welcome to bbc news, with russia to influence broadcasting to viewers the 2016 election. in north america but it stops short of completely and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. exonorating the president on accusations of our top stories: obstruction of justice. a pro—military political party in thailand has performed better than predicted in the country's first election since the army took the mueller report says there's no power five years ago. evidence the trump campaign colluded with russia over the 2016 us election. the president claims victory. preliminary results show that the palang pracharath party won about 500,000 more votes there was no collusion with russia, than the main opposition. there was no obstruction and none stock markets in asia have fallen sharply during monday morning trading. the falls are being put down to growing fears of a global economic slowdown, whatsoever. and it was a complete and are linked to the us yield curve, that is seen as an accurate and total exoneration. predictor of recessions. but as calls grow for the release tokyo's benchmark nikkei index dived more than 3%, of the entire report, while hong kong's hang seng a senior democrat says president trump still faces serious questions. this report does not amount to a so—called "total exoneration". index slumped by 2%. special counsel mueller says that this "does not

a pro—military party takes a shock lead in the thai elections. we'll be live in bangkok as results come in. growing fears of sickness and disease in southern africa as the death toll from cyclone idai passes 700. and, soul—searching in australia as the mosque attacks in neighbouring new zealand put multiculturalism in the spotlight. a long—awaited report by the us special counsel robert mueller has cleared donald trump of colluding with russia in the 2016 election. but the mueller report draws no conclusion as to whether or not mr trump illegally obstructed justice. the president has welcomed the findings as a complete and total exoneration.

0ur washington correspondent chris buckler reports. for almost two years, robert mueller scrutinised the actions of president donald trump and his campaign to become president. the special counsel was asked to investigate whether russia are interfered in the 2016 election, and whether they conspired with the trump campaign. while robert mueller says the russian government did try to influence the vote, he says he has found no evidence of collusion. there was no collusion with russia, there was no obstruction and none whatsoever. and it was a complete and total exoneration. robert mueller‘s investigation did lead to charges being brought against some

of mr trump's charges being brought against some of mrtrump‘s in charges being brought against some of mr trump's in a circle, including his former campaign chairman paul manafort, and his one—time lawyer and fixer michael cohen. but those executions weren't connected to the keyissue executions weren't connected to the key issue of whether there was collusion with russia, and after months of speculation and allegations here in washington, what has been found is very good news for this president and this white house. but robert mueller has left one question unanswered, and that is whether the president is exonerated. he wrote... president trump is wrong. this report does not amount toa wrong. this report does not amount to a so—called total exoneration. special counsel mueller was clear that his report "does not exonerate" the president. questions are being asked about this man, attorney general bill barr. he was left not

only to interpret robert mueller‘s findings, but also to decide whether the president should be prosecuted. he concluded there wasn't the evidence. but democrats are asking how he could be independent, given he was appointed by donald trump. they are also demanding the publication of the full report. they are claiming it could be used for their own investigations inside congress, and are insisting the shadow of suspicion has not been lifted from over this white house. however, for now, president trump is celebrating. he will return to the nation possible capital with relief, rather than rage. america is the greatest place on earth, the greatest place on earth, the greatest place on earth, the greatest place on earth, thank you. and he may have seen off one of the greatest threats to his presidency. wendyj 0lson, former us attorney for the district of idaho from 2010 to 2017 joins me now from boise. wendy, much is being made of this

issue of obstruction ofjustice. the mueller report doesn't exonerate donald trump. but the us attorney general is being criticised for not pursuing that charge. is that a fair criticism kwesi ——? pursuing that charge. is that a fair criticism kwesi --? i don't think it isafair criticism kwesi --? i don't think it is a fair question. we have rod rosenstein and bill barr looking at this, and underjustice department guidelines in order to charge a case you can't just have guidelines in order to charge a case you can'tjust have probable cause. the prosecutor has to reasonably believe that they can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and i think that the presence of rod rosenstein as part of this review means there might not be confidence that they can reach that standard of

review. given that there was not evidence of the underlying criminal charge, that there was not a finding that donald trump or anyone in his campaign had conspired with the russians, that there was no actual pending proceeding that they were obstructing. i think robert mueller, bill barr and rod rosenstein are people who have been devoted to the justice department for many years, andi justice department for many years, and i think they were confident in this matter. importantly, they did not exhilarate donald trump or excuse any not exhilarate donald trump or excuse any of his conduct, and they said there were significant legal and factual issues but they didn't rise to something that experienced prosecutors thought they could prove in court. is there something to be said for the democrats to get the full text of the report and see if there is still wrong doing?” full text of the report and see if there is still wrong doing? i think there is still wrong doing? i think there is. robert mueller said there we i’e there is. robert mueller said there were significant legal and factual issues, and i think it will be

important, the american people, not just to the democrats or republicans, but important to the american people to know what those significant legal and factual issues are. i think if we see what robert mueller, and rosenstein and bill barr, people who know how the institution ‘s work, donald trump is not someone who understands the rule of law or how our institutions work. i think it is fairfor the of law or how our institutions work. i think it is fair for the people to be able to make judgements on those in the political realm. thank you so much for your time. the stockmarket in asia have fallen sharply during monday morning trading. the falls are being put down to growing fears of a global economic slowdown. 0ur correspondent mariko 0i is in singapore. why other markets so jittery? low as you say, japan post —— japan ‘s

nikkei is down, because of something called the yield curve, which has accurately predicted all of the recessions in the 19th and 20th centuries. it is the difference between the ten year treasury bond and the two year treasury bond. generally you would be compensated more to wait longer and get your money back. so a ten year bond yield should be higher than that of the two—year bond, but that is now reversed, meaning investors are willing to wait longer because they have less confidence in the economy.

the last time that happened was back in 2007 before the global financial crisis. now to thailand, where in just a few hours' time we expect the official results in thailand's first election since a military takeover five years ago. sharanjit leyl is in bangkok for us. we will be getting more details when the electoral commission has a press conference in the afternoon local time, but at the moment indications are that the pro— army party has done much better than expected. they got a larger share of the vote than expected, because going into these elections they were seen to be not doing incredibly well, to be a third runner—up, in fact. it was a day that had been promised, and then repeatedly postponed.

thais by and large participated keenly, despite an electoral system that tilts the odds heavily in the military government's favour. the man who deposed the last elected government in a coup and has run thailand ever since cast his vote early. general prayuth is bidding to keep hisjob as prime minister, but many younger voters, 7 million of them eligible to vote for the first time, looking for something different. i am happy there is a voting at last, we have been waiting for this election for some time and i hope it brings good things for the country. we need some younger or newer generations in the government to bring a more modern policy, less corruption, a cleaner government. that hunger for fresh faces has driven a groundswell of support for a brand—new and radical party, future forward, under the leadership of a telegenic young businessman. as the polls closed and voting began, many thais gathered around the polling stations, eager to ensure the transparency of the tally.

here at the headquarters of the largest opposition party, pheu thai, cheers greeted every result going their way. theirs was the party ousted by the coup, they were hoping for a comeback. but the results then took a surprising turn. general prayuth's party, which had aroused little enthusiasm during the campaign, went ahead in the popular vote. future forward was also polling strongly. but thailand's oldest and once governing party, the democrats, had been wiped out in bangkok. its leader 01:14 years forced to resign. and, the pheu thai vote, once by far the largest, had fallen sharply. a mystery compounded when the election commission inexplicably delayed its announcement of the final result until monday.

so what are we to make of these preliminary results? many thais will want to know how this pro—military party had done so unexpectedly well, and why the pro—thaksin party, winner of all recent elections performed relatively poorly. but the questions asked about this vote would be whether it would help thailand to move on from the crippling political conflict of the last 12 years. and at this stage it is not easy to see how this flawed and highly manipulated election could do that. lots of questions about this somewhat unexpected result, and to a nswer somewhat unexpected result, and to answer some of them i am joint by

one expert. it is surprising that the party has done so incredibly well, and now lots of questions about potential irregularities. yes, andi about potential irregularities. yes, and i think is the day wears on as we and i think is the day wears on as we get to our initial announcement of preliminary results, we are having more reports of concerns about irregularities, and the number of ballots not really tallying with the number of votes, and in one province, 800,000 registered voters, somehow less than 300,000 voters. in parts of bangkok, we are seeing more ballots tha n parts of bangkok, we are seeing more ballots than there were voters, and i think through the day we will see an increasing number of questions on the parties that lost out. this election is being compared to previous elections, whereby why there has been a lot of vote buying in the past, most of the irregularities were institutional lack of preparedness or under capacity. this time it is i think

serious questions about how the ballots were counted and how many ballots were counted and how many ballots there were compared to the number of voters. there is a hashtag that has been going around, which has been shared by many people, about how they are calculating its popular social media has been very active questioning how it has been calculated. there is always a built—in time delay because of the coronation in may, so there will be an argument about results but no formation of government until after

the coronation, which allows a period of time for haggling, and some elections can be rerun. the election commission could call new elections in certain areas where there are complaints or credible concerns. there will be a long period of negotiation and haggling and bargaining and argument about how fair the election was and then at the end of that period, sometime around the middle of may, the formation of some kind of government. thank you forjoining us and giving us some insight on that. injusta and giving us some insight on that. injust a few and giving us some insight on that. in just a few hours we will get that preliminary official result of what is expected. that may make things clear for the vote, but it is not clear for the vote, but it is not clear yet what will happen in thailand's political future. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: in the wake of new zealand's mosque attacks, politicians in neighbouring australia are accused of making racist ideology mainstream.

let there be no more war or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. very good. applause so proud of both of you. applause with great regret, the committee have decided that, south africa should be excluded from the 1970 competition. chants streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. onlooker: wow!

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the investigation into alleged links between donald trump's election campaign and russia has cleared the president and his team of colluding with moscow. a pro—military party in thailand has taken a shock lead in the country's first election since the army took power five years ago. 11 days after cyclone idai hit southern africa, there are growing warnings about the risk from sickness and disease. field hospitals are being flown in to help medical staff but some areas are still cut off because roads are unusable. several hundred people are known to have died in mozambique, zimbabwe and malawi but the final death toll will only be known once the flood waters have receded. 0ur africa editor fergal keane reports from nhamatanda in mozambique. jozuejulio daniel, aged six,

died march 22nd, 2019, in the hospital of nyamatanda. seven days after the cyclone, disease taking lives. when we visited this ward, there were sick children sleeping together, all suffering from severe diarrhoea. adults, too, in the room next door, where the roof is now open to the elements. the mozambique staff work relentlessly, but with inadequate medical supplies, and aware that beyond these wards there is vast need. you can cry, stop crying, get sad, and then get disappointed, because you cannot help. you just can help the patient. their families are suffering.

maybe these young born can die. rosa antionio was sick with severe diarrhoea, and her three—year—old daughter azaria has died. her husband works nights, so she worries for the six—month—old baby left at home. but when we went to the family home, we found the baby being cared for. delphine answered a call for help from rosa's husband. translation: the father was my friend, so when i came here i saw the situation. it was night. i went inside the house, and i found the baby was there and there was no one to care. when i saw her, i felt pity. in the family's hour of need, rosa's husband, ezekiel, has found kindness. translation: the neighbours are the ones who are helping, and my former partner. she felt she had to come and help me. with the world around so broken,

ezekiel feels like a man at the of endurance. let's get some of the day's other news. mali's president, ibrahim boubacar keita, has replaced senior army officials following the killing on saturday of more than 130 fulani villagers. the military has long been criticised for failing to protect villages from attacks by rival ethnic militias and jihadists. two students from a florida high school where 17 people were shot dead last year have killed themselves within a week of each other. they both attended the marjory stoneman douglas school in parkland where students launched a campaign for tighter gun laws after the tragedy. boeing says it has invited more than 200 airline pilots, technical experts and regulators to its factory as part of its efforts to restore the grounded 737 max to commercial service. boeing said the session would give information about software

and training updates for the aircraft, which has been involved in two fatal crashes since october. reports in the british media say the prime minister, theresa may, is considering whether to hold indicative votes in parliament to explore possible ways to break the brexit deadlock. members of her cabinet have been publicly expressing their loyalty after intense speculation that senior ministers want her to resign. it's not the time to change the captain of the ship. i think what we need to do is to chart the right course, and the prime minister has charted that right course by making sure that we have a deal which honours the referendum mandate. and which also allows us to leave in a way which means that we can strengthens our economy and also take advantage of life outside the european union. i don't think that i have any wish to take over from the pm. i think she is doing a fantasticjob. i tell you this, one thing that working closely with the prime minister does

is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task. keep across the bbc for all coverage of brexit. the attack on worshippers at a mosque in new zealand in which fifty people died, has sent shockwaves around the world. nowhere more so than australia, the home country of the alleged gunman. it's opened up a debate over whether some in australia's political class have dragged racist ideology into mainstream public life. but many dismiss this — pointing to the large number of flourishing migrant communities. the bbc‘s stephen mcdonell in sydney, looks at both sides when people are getting attacked in their own... fraser anning, when people are getting attacked in their own... fraseranning, a senator from the fringe of australian politics had an egg

cracked onto his head by a protesting teenager after the politicians that immigration was to blame for the mass murder in new zealand. these diffusive comments have opened big wound here. anyone who has been to an australian city would have seen the sea of faces from diverse backgrounds yet, the paradox here is that while it is one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world, it seems there is there are still votes to be gathered from right wing views. from opposition, an allegation of making milage out of anti—muslim sentiment. my milage out of anti—muslim sentiment. my record with working with the muslim community in sydney speaks volumes for my track record and any suggestion to the contrary i find utterly offensive. whether he made those comments or not the issue of race in australia is boiling over. this is cronulla, in many ways the

quintessential australian beach subject. unlike other parts of sydney, the proportion of known anglo celtic migrants living here is pretty small. i know this because i actually grew up in the area and i can tell you that for decades, an undercurrent of racism was building up undercurrent of racism was building up here and one day it exploded onto the streets. in 2005, urged on by a well—known talkback radio host, the mob sought to attack those who looked middle eastern. yet for many, these were minority views. conservative think tanks say this mostly harmonious society would not be possible if racism was a mainstream value. the argument has been made that australia is a racist country and you can draw a straight line between mainstream attitudes and the christchurch killer but i think that argument is absurd. but

there are plenty of people who do not feel this way. we have given permission to the ordinary citizen in australia to think they can say whatever they want. that we have given them a license to say whatever they want. australia's largest mosque is in sydney's lakemba. christian high schools of new zealand maori heritage come to perform the haka. the horror in christchurch has caused untold pain but it has also brought people together. before we go... a kenyan secondary school teacher has won a million dollars after being given the 2019 global teacher award. peter tabichi teaches science at a school in kenya's rift valley. mr tabichi, who is a member of the franciscan religious order, says he gives away more than three quarters of his salary to help poor students go to school.

stay with us here on bbc news, much more coming up. hello there. we saw mixed fortunes of the weather across the uk on sunday, with breezy, windy conditions, with showers across the north. further south unbroken sunshine. we saw 15.1 celsius in stjames's park, in london. the windy showering conditions across the north of the country has been attributed to this area of low pressure, which is continuing to push out into the near continent, and allowing this big area of high pressure to topple in across the uk. so it will continue quite windy for the early hours of monday, across some eastern areas, perhaps a few showers. but elsewhere lighter winds and lengthy clear skies. so it's going to be quite a chilly start to the day today, with low single figures across the south and a touch of frost out of town, across more northern areas. so a chilly start to monday but at least largely dry and bright with plenty of sunshine. the winds will be light too because high pressure

will be dominating. so lots of sunshine across england and wales, and across scotland and northern ireland to begin with, but then skies will gradually turn cloudier through the day as we see a weak warm front pushing off the atlantic. so it will blot out all the sunshine. we'll see a little bit of showery rain across the north and the west. but some milder air moving in — 10—11 degrees, in fact, milder than it was on sunday. for england and wales, down into the channel islands a glorious afternoon with widespread sunshine, light winds and temperatures around 13 degrees after what was a cool start. and then high pressure dominates the scene for the week ahead. slap bang on top of us, in fact, we will be drawing some drier air off the near continent. this is why we shouldn't see too many problems with clouds and we should potentially see quite a bit of sunshine. so it's looking pretty good for the rest of the week. mainly dry. quite warm by day but night will continue to be chilly, with a touch of mist and fog. this is the picture then for tuesday: chilly start, any mist clearing away quickly and then we'll see plenty of sunshine. but into the afternoon a bit

of fairweather cloud tending to build up here and there. and to the very north of scotland, here we'll have a frontal system which will bring outbreaks of rain, mainly to the northern isles, where it will be quite breezy. a nice mild day, temperatures 13 or 1a celsius. a similar picture on wednesday. we start off quite cool, a little bit of mist and fog around and that should clear quickly. and then three's lots of sunshine through the afternoon. again, a bit of fairweather cloud building up here and there. the best of the sunshine will be across england and wales. a little bit warmer on wednesday. 1a degrees in aberdeen, 15 degrees across central, southern and eastern parts of the country. and if anything it turns even warmer towards the end of the week. we could be looking at 17, 18, maybe 19 degrees across the south—east. but like i mentioned, warm by day but still quite chilly at night.