welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories. a crowd ofjubilant supporters greet brazil's former president as he leaves jail after a court decision that allows prisoners to be freed pending appeal. could new york's former mayor take on trump for the white house? michael bloomberg files papers paving the way for a presidential run. australia battles a record number of bushfires. two people die as rescuers struggle to reach people in the east of the country. a woman's swept away to her death as parts of england get a month's worth of rainfall in a single day, with warnings of more floods to come.

welcome to bbc news. the former brazilian president, luiz inacio lula da silva, has been released from prison after a year and a half behind bars for corruption charges. he was greeted by a crowd of supporters outside the police station in the southern city of curitiba where he had been held. his release comes after brazil's supreme court ruled that convicted criminals should not go to jail while their appeals are heard. katy watson reports from the former president's traditional heartland of sao paulo. lula walked out of prison to an emotional crowd. "free lula", these people had been chanting, keen to witness what has been an extraordinary day for brazilian

politics. translation: extraordinary day for brazilian politics. translationi extraordinary day for brazilian politics. translation: i cannot tell you the importance of me being here with you. after spending a lifetime talking to the brazilian people, i never thought that today i could be here talking to men and women who, for 580 days, shouted "good morning lula, good afternoon lula, organised lula". you were the source of democracy that i needed. —— or good night. for lula supporters, this is an indication. in their eyes, it has been a political witch—hunt from the very beginning. but he is a politician who stirs emotions. his detractors see him as a corrupt politician who should stay behind bars. lula's freedom comes after brazil's supreme court ruled that convicted criminals should only go to prison after they have exhausted all their appeals. it overturned a previous ruling requiring convicts

to start serving their sentence after losing their first appeal. lula was accused of receiving kickbacks from a construction company in connection with a beachside apartment on the coast of sao paulo. the accusations were linked to brazil's biggest ever corruption investigation, operation car wash. he started a 12 year prison sentence in april 2018, after an appeal against his conviction was upheld. lula will now remain free while he appeals to higher courts. he also has several other cases against him for corruption. and being out of prison will no doubt strengthen the left in brazil, who didn't stop campaigning for their leader. but it will also strengthen the right. president assad bolsonaro has been pretty vocal in his criticism of lula, and millions

agree. ——jair criticism of lula, and millions agree. —— jair bolsonaro. criticism of lula, and millions agree. ——jair bolsonaro. they criticism of lula, and millions agree. —— jair bolsonaro. they see him in his workers' party is responsible for the political and economic problems visual has suffered in recent years. this deep hatred towards him is what propelled far right mr bolsonaro to power in the first place. michael fox is a freelance journalist. he was at former president lula da silva's release from prison. he's in curitiba brazil now. so, pretty jubilant scenes so, prettyjubilant scenes there when he came out. his supporters certainly very happy. what do you think he is going to do now? well, what he says, he is on his way, if he has not already in sao paulo, in his home town, which is where he kind of got his start there at the abc metal workers union. he is expected to hold a bigger rally there tomorrow, do a longer speech. he spoke this evening for about 15-20 he spoke this evening for about 15—20 minutes. he is expected to speakfor 15—20 minutes. he is expected to speak for much longer tomorrow. and he says he is planning to tour the country. that is what he was doing in early 2018, until he was jailed, in the lead up to the election. and

i think he really wants to keep that momentum going against the bolsonaro government, and tried to push to get the rest of his cases washed clean. and what do you make of katie's assessment there, in her report, saying of course this is a boost for the left, but it may also be a boost for the right and bolsonaro to? well, that is exactly what some of what bolsonaro's advisers and top aides have been talking about. now, bolsonaro over the past two days has been completely silent. in fact, he kind of scurried away from a press scrum earlier today, but some of his top people, they are kind of split on the issue. some of them do say that this is going to be a boost for bolsonaro, because he is going to have someone to rail against. he is going to have a big, major enemy that he can fight and rally his own troops behind. other people say this is really not going to be so good for him, because lula is such a charismatic figure in brazil. he is so charismatic figure in brazil. he is so important in the country. he

lifted millions out of poverty. one of the most highly approved of presidents in history. and in fact, he was the man who was pretty much going to be swept into power last year until he was blocked because of this corruption charge. and so some of his other advisers fear having lula out, and really rallying his own troops in favour of the left. michael, of course, we have to remember, he is charismatic, yes, he is free, but he hasn't been exonerated, has he? no, he hasn't. and that is an important point. he is free because of a supreme court ruling which goes back, it is a constitutional issue, and in fact that was an issue, the way that the constitution of 1988 was written, it said that all defendants could exhaust all their appeals before they would have to be sent to jail. that was flipped over in 2016 and 110w that was flipped over in 2016 and now it has been returned. it has been turned back, just by this latest ruling. but his corruption conviction still stands and he had several different cases against him.

now, those are also coming under fire because of the recent revelations from the intercepts, which has shown thatjudge sergio moro, his jailer, was biased in his own right. he was the lead anticorruptionjudge, own right. he was the lead anticorruption judge, who has own right. he was the lead anticorruptionjudge, who has really been pushing the fight against corruption in brazil. but these really massive lea ks corruption in brazil. but these really massive leaks from the intercept, which began to roll out injune, has intercept, which began to roll out in june, has really intercept, which began to roll out injune, has really tainted his image. if you remember, he is now justice minister under higher bolsonaro. —— jair. so that is calling into question many of the cases he had against lula. we will see how that plays out in the coming months. for the moment, michael fox, thank you for bringing us up to speed. the former new york city mayor and billionaire businessman, michael bloomberg, has given the strongest signal yet that he intends to enter the us presidential race for the democratic party. he's filed the paperwork needed for the democratic primary in alabama just before deadline expired.

he's said to be worried that the current field of candidates isn't good enough to beat donald trump. nada tawfik reports. just when it seems like the crowded field of democratic presidential candidates was finally narrowing, michael bloomberg has thrown the race a giant curveball. the billionaire businessman and former mayor of new york city has long teased a possible run, both in 2016 and earlier this year. i think there is an awful lot to be said for experience and accomplishment. bloomberg is said to have grown concerned thatjoe bloomberg is said to have grown concerned that joe biden‘s bloomberg is said to have grown concerned thatjoe biden‘s lead is fading. the former vice president was asked about today on the trail. in terms of, his running because of me? last polls i looked at, pretty farahead. me? last polls i looked at, pretty far ahead. as a centrist, bloomberg doesn't believe left—leaning candidates like bernie sanders and elizabeth warren can be to president donald trump. i have my reservations about the people running, and the way they are campaigning, and the

promises they are making but they can't fulfil. those progressive candidates welcomed michael bloomberg to the race, with tweets attacking his wealth. the businessman has poured his money into liberal causes such as climate change and gun—control. once himself a republican, he has called donald trumpa a republican, he has called donald trump a threat to the nation. at the white house, the president had his own words for his fellow new yorker. you will not do very well. and if he did,i you will not do very well. and if he did, i would you will not do very well. and if he did, iwould be you will not do very well. and if he did, i would be happy. you will not do very well. and if he did, iwould be happy. there you will not do very well. and if he did, i would be happy. there is nobody i would rather run against an little michael. normally in political races, time is money. bloomberg will self fund this campaign. nevertheless, he is going to have to announce a final decision $0011. the premier of new south wales in australia has confirmed two people have been killed and several are still unaccounted for as bushfires wreak havoc across eastern australia. firefighters have been struggling to reach people in a number of remote locations and have described the situation as unprecedented.

with me is our news reporter, freya cole. just stand by for one second, we have just been hearing from scott morrison, basically, a couple of new lines confirming, sadly, those two deaths. but also saying they are expecting similar conditions to hit western australia in the next few days. essentially bracing for worst news to come. how bad are these fires? i mean, those comments from scott morrison confirm what we already knew from firefighters, and as for western australia, basically, it just goes to as for western australia, basically, itjust goes to show how much at risk the entire country is, coming into what is expected to be another very hot and dry summer. the bushfires that we are seeing at the moment, on the eastern side of the country, conditions have eased ever so country, conditions have eased ever so slightly overnight. but conditions are still labelled as severe. so they are looking at around 100 firefighters, sorry, 100 bushfires still burning in new south wales and dozens more in queensland.

just seeing these extraordinary pictures now, turning the colour of the sky completely transforming it. we have got some other aerial pictures now, where we are seeing the scale of everything, but i think there are some pictures we have got from inside a firefighters' engine. talk us through what is happening? this is from the new south wales rural fire service, a crew of firefighters literally driving through flames. it is just astonishing to see what they go through to help people and to help people protect their lives and their livestock. it is incredibly dangerous, what they do. i myself have been a reporter in bushfires in australia, and it is remarkable and it is inspiring that they put their lives on the line. they are literally driving into incredibly, very warm situations, you are looking there are trees which are half burnt, you don't know when they are going to drop down. so, yeah, i

mean, power to them and our thoughts are definitely with those fire crews. there are currently 1200 firefighters, some have even come across from new zealand to help tackle this natural disaster. thank you for that for the moment, freya, i know you are keeping a crosscut and we will come back if there are any new dominance. —— keeping across that. here in the uk, a woman has died after being swept away by floodwater, following the torrential rain which has hit parts of the north of england and the midlands. her body was found in the river derwent in derbyshire. this report from our correspondent danny savage. as floodwaters rose rapidly across the east midlands, derbyshire and yorkshire, a woman died after being swept away in rowsley, near matlock. she went missing in the early hours near here, and her body was recovered from the river derwent in darley dale this morning. in doncaster, the main river through the town burst its banks and overflowed into nearby streets. anything and everything was used as a huge community effort to save belongings swung into action. locals are angry and say they weren't warned.

it has happened down here a couple of times. i've had no warning from the council or anything. they should have been out last night, giving sandbags out, all that sort of stuff, but we had nothing. nearby, i met linda. her home has been flooded before, but the timing now couldn't be worse. iam here, 26a, the one with the for sale sign — in fact, sold, subject to survey. they were due to come out on monday to do the survey. are you worried now this has happened? i am very worried. i doubt anybody is going to want to go ahead and buy this now. from above, the flooding can be seen for miles, from sheffield, through rotherham, and to doncaster and beyond. this is worksop in nottinghamshire, where a wide area was left underwater. this caravan park in doncaster was completely overwhelmed and people living

here were evacuated. what has happened to your caravan? they are all — every one of them is knackered, every one of them is finished. are you insured? no. because you can't get insurance? no, i'm not entitled to it. so you've lost your home? yeah, oh, aye, yeah, we've lost our home. it's mid—afternoon and it's started raining heavily again. all this water flowing past us here is the overflow from the river don and it's going straight down this residential street, where the water's getting deeper and deeper. how much warning, if any, did you get? none, as far as i'm concerned. just in the space of 20 minutes, it all came and started coming flooding through. the house is wrecked from bottom up, carpets, laminates gone, the tv's gone, everything, electric's been cut off. we're hoping to get it sorted. like, as long as we are all out and safe, that's all that matters, really. in mansfield in nottinghamshire, a cliff gave way. the landslide led to 35 homes being evacuated. transport has been badly disrupted, too, roads and railways closed, stations left as islands.

tonight back in matlock the prime minister visited to meet emergency service personnel and see some of the damage. in doncaster the rescue boats will be on standby all night, although water levels are slowly dropping. spencer bull eagle putt is making last—ditch efforts to persuade voters ahead of elections on sunday —— spain ‘s political parties. they're hoping to see off challenges from their traditional centre—right rivals. opinion polls suggest no party is likely to get an overall majority. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come, a big day for big bird as sesame street celebrates 50 years on screen.

the bombastic establishment outsider, donald trump, has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the result. i voted for him because i genuinely believe he cares about the country. i's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not only on public display but on the noble campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. berliners from both east and west linked hands and danced around their liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long has died. palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning. after 17 years of discussion, the result was an outburst ofjoy when ministers who long felt only grudgingly accepted in the ranks of clergy suddenly felt welcome.

welcome back. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the latest headlines: brazil's former president luiz inacio lula da silva has walked free from jail, after a court decision freeing prisoners that have not exhausted their appeals. michael bloomberg has filed papers to be a candidate for president. he registered just before the deadline closed in the state of alabama. it's emerged that two 15—year—old boys were among the 39 people from vietnam who were all found dead in a refrigerated lorry, east of london, last month. police have now released all their names. daniel sandford reports. some of the faces of the 39 people who died in the refrigerated trailer 6,000 miles from home. all were from vietnam and were being smuggled into britain. the oldest was 44, but ten of them were teenagers and the two youngest were just 15 years old.

one of the 15—year—olds was nguyen huy hung. his relatives say he had been trying tojoin his parents who live in britain. hoang van tiep was 18. he'd been living in paris for a year. he told his family he was getting a taxi to the uk, but they'd not heard from him since. bui thi nhung was one of two 19—year—old women in the lorry. she'd posted pictures of herself sightseeing in brusselsjust days before she died. and pham thi tra my was the 26—year—old woman who tragically texted her family to say she was suffocating in the sealed trailer. detective started this investigation with 39 unknown people dead in the back of a refrigerated lorry on this industrial estate. now after more than two weeks of intensive work they've been able to give those people names and faces, and to tell their worried families that they

won't be coming back. father simon thang duc nguyen has been helping those grieving relatives who are in the uk. it is really very, very painful. very sad to know about this tragedy. many of them escape from a very poor area. two lorry drivers are being held, accused of manslaughter. mo robinson is thought to have collected the trailer when it arrived in essex. eamon harrison is thought to have dropped it off in zeebrugge 11 hours earlier. yesterday, police and the republic of ireland raided properties linked to ronan and chris hughes, two brothers still wanted by a essex police. daniel sandford, bbc news. india's supreme court is due to rule on saturday on a controversial case relating to a religious site that's been disputed between hindus and muslims for decades.

hindus believe that the piece of land in the holy town of ayodhya is the birthplace of their revered deity lord ram, while muslims say they have worshipped there for generations. our correspondent arunoday mukharji reports. ayodhya, a city that clings to its ancient past. this is where one of hinduism's most revered deities, lord raam, is said to have been born thousands of years ago. it is also where hindus and muslims have lived together for generations, until one incident changed that forever. in 1992, a 16th century mosque was demolished by hindu fundamentalists. thousands were killed in religious clashes across the country, sparked by the incident.

this man is one of the many hindu religious leaders who has been at the forefront, demanding a temple. his extreme views suggest why he needs protection. in his eyes, muslims must prove their patriotism. for a country where faith plays such an integral role, a lot hinged on the court verdict. people here are apprehensive

that the riot from 27 years ago should not repeat itself. just down this lane, a few hundred metres away, is the disputed side, contested by both hindus and muslims. we are not allowed to take our cameras beyond this point. many here feeljust as the mosque was destroyed, so was india's secular structure, leaving behind a deep divide between both communities. the majority of muslims feel the current political atmosphere is of an aggressive brand of hindu nationalism, pushing them to the margins. those arguing the muslim side in court say hindus have no legal ground. but the younger generation here wants to move on.

jobs over religion, they say. but the flames of a decades—old conflict similar beneath the surface. the judgement is likely to define the future relationship between hindus and muslims in india and the nature of its secular democracy. this weekend marks the 50th anniversary of sesame street — the american television show that set out to entertain and educate younger children.

to mark the occasion, new york's empire state building was lit up in yellow and green. and there was one very special guest at the event — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. applause . hi, everybody, it's me big bird. they were never going to celebrate sesame street without celebrating big bird. in so many ways the heart of the show, the towering yellow feathered style looked right at home in the empire state welding. also there was carol spinney, the man who had voiced him an oscar the grouch for most of the last 50 years. a special moment for a special programme. sesame was founded on some fundamental values, but eve ryo ne d ese rves some fundamental values, but everyone deserves respect, opportunity kindness, all with a little bit of very fine. and those are fundamental sort of human attributes and needs for all people, but particularly children. sesame

street premiered in november 1969. the brainchild ofjim henson, the man behind the muppets, a preschool programme that aims to broaden the mind. race, culture, homelessness, autism, hiv, and aids, no topic was to boo, no issue was ignored. there is no doubt that what is so unique about sesame is that it is a multigenerational appeal. about sesame is that it is a multigenerationalappeal. but about sesame is that it is a multigenerational appeal. but you have kids growing up with it, you have kids growing up with it, you have their parents. and at this point, 50 years later, you have grandparents. the star-studded special will be broadcast this weekend to mark the 50th anniversary. big bird promises he will be back for the 100. tim allman, bbc news. good stuff. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. i'm lewis vaughan jones

i'm lewis vaughanjones and you are watching bbc news. bye—bye. hello. the recent slow—moving heavy rain that we saw across much of northern england has now eased away, but we are left with the legacy of some very high river levels, quite a lot of flooding, too. so still several flood warnings and even severe flood warnings in force, particularly across parts of northern england. river levels will slowly come down through the course of the weekend. there's a bit more rain on the way for saturday but it will be heaviest in the places that are not affected by the flooding. a dry day likely by the time we get to sunday. but it's a cold weekend. first thing saturday morning, temperatures widely subzero. about —2, —3 in towns and cities, colder in the countryside. a touch of frost, certainly. also fog or freezing fog patches to start off your day as well. we can see this weather front

making its way in from the west. that will bring a mix of rain. also some sleet and some snow over the highest ground, only across parts of wales through the day on saturday, but certainly down at low levels it will be falling as rain. parts of northern ireland, south—west scotland, wales, western england, seeing the arrival of that rain. eastern england and northern and eastern scotland staying dry through the day, after the morning mist clears away. should be some sunshine around, but it will feel pretty chilly wherever you are. we're mainly going to be stuck in single figures, maybe just squeezing 10 celsius towards plymouth, but for most, about 6—9. that area of rain, with a little bit of sleetiness and snow over the high ground, starts to ease away towards the south as we move through saturday night and overnight into sunday morning. with all the cloud around in the south it won't be such a cold night. certainly not compared to first thing on saturday. temperatures mostly above freezing. still a cold night to come for northern england, northern ireland and scotland as well. sunday, remembrance sunday, we're looking at some decent conditions. lots of dry and fairly sunny weather. there will be some rain working in from the west later on in the day, but much of remembrance sunday is looking fine and dry, with light winds, temperatures somewhere between 6—10,

for most of us on sunday. then we start to see this frontal system heading in from west to east, through sunday night and into monday. you can see a bit of light. some sleet and snow over the highest ground, parts of northern england and scotland as well. that main band of rain should clear away gradually on monday, perhaps lingering longest towards the south—east. then we're back into sunny spells, scattered showers, some of them a little bit wintry over the highest ground. in the sunshine, though, top temperatures around 6—11. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: brazil's former president luis inacio lula da silva has walked free from prison where he'd been held for a year and a half on corruption charges. he was met byjubilant supporters as he was released, which came after the supreme court decided convicts should only go to prison if they have exhausted their appeal options. the former new york city mayor michael bloomberg has given the strongest signal yet that he intends to enter the us presidential race. he filed the paperwork needed for the democratic primary in alabama just before deadline expired. he's said to be worried that the current field of candidates isn't good enough to beat donald trump. two people have been killed and several are missing as bushfires wreak havoc across eastern australian. firefighters in new south wales have been struggling to reach people in a number of remote locations and have described the situation as unprecedented.