welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: robert mueller‘s long awaited report on russian interference says there was no collusion with russia by the trump campaign in the 2016 us election. the heavily redacted report doesn't exonerate him and it also raises questions of obstruction of justice. but president trump says it's game over. they are having a good day. i'm having a good day as well. it is called no collusion, no obstruction. hundreds of thousands of people in sudan demand a civilian run government.

a fourth day of climate protests in london, now activists threaten to target heathrow airport on friday as hundreds of thousands fly off for easter. and, questions are raised about the real motives behind big donations for the reconstruction of notre—dame. mr trump feared the mueller report would be the end of his presidency, now it's out, he's claiming victory. the 4a8 pages reveal the trump campaign thought it would benefit from information stolen by russia. there's no finding of a conspiracy between the campaign and moscow. but the report doesn't exonerate the president on obstruction ofjustice — and details

how he tried to get the special counsel fired. our north america editor jon sopel reports. hail to the chief plays a watershed moment for this president and maybe the presidency itself. donald trump was at the white house today, meeting wounded warriors. but from his two—year long battle with robert mueller, he feels he has emerged unscathed with reputation intake. he said his guests were having a good time. i'm having a good day too. it was called no collusion, no obstruction. before publication of this long—awaited report, the president tweeted this with its game of thrones styling. his team, confident, putting out this video. no collusion. the 400—page report is riveting and dramatic. it describes the fallout from the firing of the fbi director james comey.

the then—attorney generaljeff sessions goes in to see the president to tell him he has decided to appoint a special counsel to investigate russian collusion and obstruction of justice. donald trump is furious and uses very strong language. the report conveys an image of a white house in total meltdown with the president angrily demanding that robert mueller be fired. don mcgahn is repeatedly told to arrange for mueller to be sacked. mcgahn refuses. of the president's attempts at influence, the reports says, they were mostly unsuccessful, largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests. the new attorney general has weighed in sympathetically, almost saying the behaviour of the president was justified. as the special counsel's report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation

was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fuelled by illegal leaks. on the other question of whether there was collusion between the trump campaign and the russians, a clean bill of health. the mueller report is being devoured on capitol hill and debated online. democrats are not buying the line that the president did nothing wrong. even in its incomplete form however, incomplete because part is redacted, even in this incomplete form, the mueller report outlines disturbing evidence that president trump engaged in obstruction ofjustice and other misconduct. donald trump has left washington to travel to florida for the easter weekend. his aides say he is jacked, happy, pumped up. his good thursday before good friday. i'm joined now by richard painter, former chief white house ethics lawyer and now

law professor at university of minnesota, and sebastian gorka, former deputy assistant and strategist to president donald trump. thank you forjoining me. first of all, richard, there is the conspiracy, the criminal conspiracy that so many of president trumps to wanted. as at a fair statement? nobody wanted a conspiracy with russia, russia as a country that has been trying to undermine western democracies for 100 years since the russian revolution in 1917. i was republican for 30 years stop the notion of anyone tolerating russian interference in america is com pletely interference in america is completely unacceptable. and this is an investigation that was conducted by mueller, also a republican, loyal american who was concerned about russian interference in tracking down anyone who collaborated with

the russians and it is good notes that we have nobody in the united states who can be proven guilty for conspiring with the russians. that being said, it was very, very tragic that the president of the united states would 65 mueller after trying to o bstru ct states would 65 mueller after trying to obstruct the investigation for months when russia is a country that has consistently tried to interfere with western democracies so long. this is a serious to the united states of america, it goes well beyond donald trump. this is not about democrats versus republicans. this is about the united states and oui’ this is about the united states and our independence. to conduct our own elections, free of foreign interference. and this was a critically important investigation, never should have been attacked by anyone, democrats or republicans. this is not a part is an issue. it is not a witch—hunt. russia should never be allowed to do this again.

clear the russians engaged in criminal activity, a number of donald trump ‘s closest associates have... let's bring in sebastian, we don't have ages. sebastian, on the wood, donald trump did not put america first, ditty in this? in trying to obstruct this investigation? he did not obstructed. what you have is mueller in an underhand and absolutely unregistered —— outrageous counter. he goes on to say, a special prosecutor, absolutely scandalous that he cannot, cannot exonerate the president stop he has no understanding therefore of the law. it is notjudge dread. he doesn't get to be judge, jury and executioner. his —— he has onejob and one job only. he needs to

ascertain whether there is a requisite level of evidence to charge somebody with a crime. it is not mueller '5 charge somebody with a crime. it is not mueller 'sjob charge somebody with a crime. it is not mueller '5 job was to —— charge somebody with a crime. it is not mueller 'sjob was to —— in the anger saxon system, and the western civilisation, a jury qeis anger saxon system, and the western civilisation, a jury gets to exonerate somebody, not a prosecutor. we are very happy to thank everyone to support the agenda and he has been utterly and completely vindicated and it's time to get to the original... sebastian, he hasn't been vindicated, has he? those examples of how donald trump and how the white house tried to derail this investigation, he put the evidence out there, whether congress was to pick it up on not, is another matter. but he put it out there. what happened as a result of there. what happened as a result of the one report, he prompted, this is

incredible, he prompted on the fact that there was no evidence of collusion but not going to make a decision of their destruction. the attorney general who is his boss, sat down with his deputy who actually appointed mueller and is no fan of donald trump, together with the team and the council at the department of justice said, the team and the council at the department ofjustice said, there is i'io department ofjustice said, there is 110 case department ofjustice said, there is no case to be brought on obstruction ofjustice. what mueller did was leave breadcrumbs, political breadcrumbs for the democrats and they will continue to spin it. they will pay the price of the elections in 2020. go ahead with your fever dream of obstruction ofjustice, it is absolutely facetious. richard, what sebastian just said about the democrats in 2020, should this be the end of it should they keep with this? what do you think? i couldn't

ca re less this? what do you think? i couldn't care less about what the democrats do in 2020. this is not a partisan issue. mueller is a loyal american. he was there at 911 when we were attacked. i was there, robert muller has been a rabaul american city served in vietnam. with anyone, anyone attacking mueller, he has been in our country since... a man who hired 13 democrats. -- fired. out of 14 investigators. richard, finish your point for us. mueller fired 13

democrats donors out 14 members of his team. utterly disgraceful. that isa his team. utterly disgraceful. that is a lie. we're going to have to leave it there, we're up against the clock, thank you both very much. arguments on both sides. we do appreciate hearing them. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. a 29 year old woman has been killed following disturbances in northern ireland. police say it is being treated as a terrorist incident and a murder inquiry has been launched. shots have been fired in londonderry and petrol bombs thrown at police. the disorder broke out after police searches in the city and officers have appealed for calm. the prime minister of libya's unbacked government, fayez al—sarraj, has condemned what he called the international community's silence in response to the deadly attacks on tripoli

by the military strongman khalifa haftar. more than 200 people have been killed in two weeks. several black footballers in the english premier league are boycotting social media for 24 hours from friday to highlight racism. using the hashtag enough, the campaign organisers say they want social media networks and authorities to do more about racial abuse, on and off the pitch. hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in khartoum in one of the biggest protests so far to push sudan's ruling military council into accepting demands for a civilian—run government. as we speak the streets around the miltary headquarters are packed with demonstrators. alaistair leithead reports from khartoum. marching for more on the streets of khartoum. it's been a week since

president 0mar alba she was removed from power. but the protest goes on. a lot of the voices, the more chance they believe they have of achieving lasting change. this is the obvious face of a protest that has already achieved so much but the real hope for sudan lies with the negotiations going on behind the scenes. the protest organisers call them a million people to come of the street of the capital and there are groups like these, these other lawyers coming from every street, gathering in the central area. and it's really important for the opposition figures who are trying to negotiate with the military over the future path for sudan. this pressure is maintained. the military council has been meeting opposition politicians and groups that make up a movement known as the forces for freedom and change. there is disagreement within the opposition as to who should be

involved in this process. professors of as darkly independent university of as darkly independent university of khartoum have an initiative to guide the process and secretly began preparing plans for a switch to civilian rule months ago. if they can come together in one or two days, they can decide who's going to be the prime minister. 0r days, they can decide who's going to be the prime minister. or how many ministers that we want, they can do it. what we want is of course, all the other parties that ruled being pa rt the other parties that ruled being part of the ruling, before or even older parties, we don't want them interfering. this is a process that's been driven by young people. they want civilians running this country. international opinion is split between those backing the stability of military rule and those encouraging democracy. sudan is in a moment of historic change, what

we're looking for is for this change to be positive and that means rule and sudan returning back to civilians was of the military is in control but we are keen to see civilians take over this transition. the call for people to come here today in huge numbers appears to have been heated. the largest protest so far, it is a symbol of the determination for real change. more than 500 people have now been arrested following days of illegal climate protests in london. campaigners from the group extinction rebellion are continuing to block sites including oxford circus. the protestors have been warned the'll face the "full force of the law" if they target heathrow airport on friday. 0ur correspondent, tom symonds is at waterloo bridge, one of the main protest sites. the police attempted to raise the pace of their attempts to clear these protest camps today.

this afternoon, about 20 people were arrested and then about 30 protesters took their place and as you can see, the bridge is still closed and this man has been playing a cello where the traffic would normally be. it's a problem for the police. they say they can only use reasonable force to clear these protests but this is a peaceful protest so all they can do is remove the protesters one by one. there have been some messages going around today, a fairly well worked—out plan to raise the bar and close down heathrow tomorrow. we can't be sure that that will happen but the mayor of london, sadiq khan,

has said if it does, that will be dangerous, illegal and put more pressure on the police. it'd certainly be disruptive and the police are under pressure to clear protests and reduce the amount of disruption they are causing in the centre of london. many of these protesters say they will stay here for days to come. coming up: controversy in france over big donations for the reconstruction of notre dame. the stars and stripes at half mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off, the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. one of the most successful singer songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince has died at the age of 57. he was a great musician and, you know, a genius. for millions of americans, the death of richard nixon, in a new york hospital, has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate.

and liftoff of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the report into russian interference in the 2016 us presidential election shows that donald trump tried to sack robert mueller, fearing the investigation could end his presidency. mr trump declared a political victory, saying "game over." hundreds of thousands of people in the sudanese capital khartoum protest on the streets demanding a civilian run government. some of france's richest companies have vowed to give hundreds of million euros to help rebuild paris's notre dame cathedral after it was partially destroyed by fire earlier this week.

but the generosity is raising questions in france and abroad as to what the real motives are behind such donations — notably because of the sizeable tax deductions attached to corporate gifts invested in philanthropy. well, for more on this we're joined by anand giridhardas, whose book winners take all: the elite charade of changing the world looks at the motivations for philanthopy by the rich and powerful. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. so people with money stumping up news. so people with money stumping up to help build this incredible cathedral, what's so bad? well, it was so cathedral, what's so bad? well, it was so interesting. you have this horrible, tragic story in a city that i spent some of my childhood in in the world's hearts went out to the people of paris and then you have, as you say, these people

stepping up and saying, $100 billion here, $200 million there are, and they get into their contests with each other and before long, you have a lot of money on the table but the questions it started raising work, first of all, how come these folks who often claim to not be able to afford the high taxes that france has and can't afford to pay for social inequalities or some of the demands of the yellow vests and others, how come they suddenly have money to throw at this kind of causes and there was also the issue of the tax deduction. first there is normally a tax deduction for giving this kind of charitable donation which means while you may get credit for 100 million euros, the government might be paying a fraction of that, the public is subsidising that, even though you get credit and the thing that pushed it over the edge, a former culture minister of france went so far as to suggest on twitter that with great

urgency, they pass a law giving them a 90% tax reduction and itjust sort of crystallised this notion that the global plutocratic class that i write about in winner takes all wa nts to write about in winner takes all wants to privatise the reputational benefits of stepping in on a moment like this. in defence to the pinot family, they said that they are maxed out and won't be getting any tax deductions from these from this. that is what is happening now but that wasn't a statement that was made by a representative of the family urging parliament to pass that. in the case of france, which isa that. in the case of france, which is a higher tax on society than the united states where i live, what was striking was that many of the names

showing up offering this money are names that french people widely know to be names associated with tax avoidance and tax evasion cases over the years. you can look up any of those families names and there have been legal cases and shell companies and all kinds of other investigative reports on tax avoidance so it is very interesting and raises this question that i have been exploring in the united states which is, why are rich people so profoundly unhappy about paying their damn taxes but delighted to do philanthropy and the differences, control. when you pay your taxes, no—one gives you a balloon or put your name on anything, you are doing your name on anything, you are doing your duty. they don't like that, doesn't make them feel special but when you give philanthropic leave, you can decide where it goes, you can advise the effort, where a construction hardhat can advise the effort, where a construction hard hat and can advise the effort, where a construction hardhat and be photographed in the middle of the restoration project, have your name on things and so rich people have gotten used to a kind of privatised

way of solving public problems that gives them esteem. in fact what they should do isjust... i'm afraid gives them esteem. in fact what they should do isjust. .. i'm afraid we are up against the clock but it's a fascinating respect on one of the biggest stories of this week, sorry i've had to cut you off there. no problem, the message is simple, pay your taxes. facebook has announced that it's banning a dozen british far right campaigners and organisations who it says have been spreading hate and encouraging violence. they include the british national party and its former leader, nick griffin, the english defence league, and britain first. the ban also applies on instagram, which is owned by facebook. here's our media editor amol rajan. masters of modern communication they may be, but, according to facebook at least, these members of britain's hard right groups and organisations often spread hate or promote violence. the full list includes the british national party and its former leader, nick griffin. britain first, its leader paul golding and former deputy leaderjayda fransen. the english defence league

and its founding member paul ray. knights templar international, a militant christian group, and its promoter, jim dowson. national front and its leader, tony martin, and jack renshaw, a convicted neo—nazi who plotted to murder a labour mp. but how exactly did they violate facebook‘s rules? facebook, who declined to be interviewed, says simply that they:. posts endorsing these individuals or groups will also now be banned. it is good that the police have actually taken action finally. the hard right have been stirring on and off—line for years, so why is this happening now? upcoming european elections, amid a rising tide of populism across the continent. there's also been a recent spike in activity on the platform by the hard right. and the drip, drip, drip of scandal around the company in recent years

must be taking its toll. i think that what will happen is that yes, they will still have a space, yes, they will still have those supporters. but it is about stopping it from going to the mainstream, and i think that that is really where the key issue is here. 0h, tommy, tommy! in february, facebook banned stephen yaxley—lennon, better known as tommy robinson. the social media reach of the hard right is unclear because the tech giants don't always release the figures. thank you, every single one of you... but millions across the world and many in the united kingdom like and enjoy access to views that they don't see on traditional media. we don't need the media to report that, because we are the media! facebook is being dragged into uncomfortable terrain. the company wants to be impartial, but there's no getting around the fact that today saw a californian corporation, whose upper echelons are liberal, clamping down on parts of the british hard right. and the company says it is not in the truth business, but today's decision was based on the application of subjective criteria to public opinion. there is an old—fashioned word for that — it's journalism. wary of accusations of censorship, the danger is that global tech giants end up creating

national martyrs who simply congregate elsewhere. amol rajan, bbc news.

hello there. for all four nations of the uk, thursday was the warmest day of 2019 — so far, that is. 23.3 was the top temperature, that was recorded in west sussex but over the easter weekend, those temperatures are set to climb a little further. widely into the 20s but towards the south—east corner on saturday, 25, possibly even 26 degrees and with that, high pressure keeping things predominantly dry and holding these weather fronts at bay in the atlantic for the most part, as i will show you in a moment

but for good friday, we don't have to worry about those weather fronts. in fact, after any early fog has cleared, most of us are looking at a blue sky day with lots of sunshine. we may see patches of cloud drifting into northern ireland and western scotland but as far as the temperatures go, widely up into the high teens or low 20s celsius, 22 in glasgow, for example. somewhere further south, we could get up to 24 degrees. friday night will be fine for most of us. we may see one or two fog patches developing they'll be quite isolated but if they do form where you ara, the fog could be quite dense. also some cloud you will notice, creeping into the far west of northern ireland in north—west scotland associated with one of those weather fronts i showed you. the fronts trying to make inroads on saturday, the odd spot of rain in northern ireland, the far north—west of scotland, certainly more cloud here. come further south and east, predominantly sunny. we may see fog patches lapping onto north sea coastal areas

but in the sunshine on saturday, this is likely to be the warmest day of the week and 20—24 degrees, maybe 25, 26 in the south—east corner. contrast that with the so—called holiday hotspots of southern spain. here, a wet weekend to come, persistent heavy rain which could bring flooding and even further east to the mediterranean where it is drier, northerly breeze in cool weather, 17 degrees in athens, much cooler than for many of us at home and the second half of the weekend, that area of high pressure mostly holds on. these weather fronts will always be there to the north—west, wriggling around and threatening to move in, some uncertainty about the extent to which these fronts will make progress, always the chance of some cloud into northern ireland, north—west scotland, may some rain in the far north—west but away from these areas, again, a lot of sunshine

on easter sunday. this is bbc news, the headlines: the long awaited report into russian interference in the 2016 us presidential election shows that donald trump tried to sack robert mueller, fearing the investigation could end his presidency. the report did not find evidence of an actual crime but did not exonerate the president. mr trump declared a political victory, saying, "game over." a week after president 0mar al—bashir was deposed in a coup, tens of thousands of people have protested in the sudanese capital, khartoum. they are trying to keep up the pressure on the transitional military council to hand over to a civilian administration. as climate change protests in central london enter their fifth day, police say more than 500 demonstrators in total have been arrested.