aleem maqbool, bbc news, in boston.the president of nigera, muhamma—du buhari has arrived back home in abuja, after spending the past three months receiving medical treatment in london. mr buhari has had three spells of medical leave since june last year. the 74—year—old is due to address the nation on monday. there had been widespread protests demanding his return or resignation. the government of sierra leone says the number of victims from the mudslide in the capital freetown has risen to 441. about 600 more people are missing. attempts continue to dig out more bodies from the debris in the regent district of the city. the authorities are warning of the dangers of water—borne diseases. at least seven people have been stabbed in the russian city of surgut. the attacker was then shot dead by police. investigators say they‘ve identified him as a local man, and they‘re checking for information about his mental health. the white house says president trump and his wife, melania, will not take part in one of america‘s top a

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in boston.tish paramedic severely injured while trying to save the life of a woman stabbed in finland on friday has told the bbc he‘s not a hero. hassan zubier said he did his best and no more. i saw the severe injuries she had in her throat. i got hold of her artery, stopped the bleeding. but the man came back. he tried to stab me, i kicked him. he ran away. he came back. and then i felt like someone hitting me in the back. people screamed. i was trying to save her life. well, two women died in what‘s being described as finland‘s first terrorist attack. police say the attacker, who was shot and then arrested, is moroccan. four more moroccan men have been arrested and an international search warrant is out for a fifth. tom donkin has more. in the wake of the dual attacks in spain, another european community is coming to terms with the horror of terrorism. the city of turku, a business and cultural hub on the south—west coast of finland is now calm with quiet remembrance. on friday afternoon, it

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in boston.ter in the programme. at least 23 people have been killed and more than 60 injured in india when a train derailed in the northern state of uttar pradesh. the accident happened at muzaffarnagar, which is north of the capital new delhi. nitin srivastava gave us this update. the pictures coming to us are horrifying. it looks like a nasty accident. there has been devastation. but, yes, this is something that has been a major source of something that has been a major source of concern something that has been a major source of concern for the indian government with one of the biggest train networks in the world. more than 20 million people travelled by this mode of transport every day. we have seen horrible accidents in the last two months. at least 200 people, more than that, have lost their lives in train accidents. incidentally, most of these accidents happened in the northern bed of india where at this accident happened. -- where this. stay with us on bbc news. still to come. a beautiful

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in boston.erailed in the northern state of uttar pradesh. the accident happened in —— the accident happened in muzaffarnagar, north of delhi. —— north of the capital new delhi. nitin srivastava gave us this update. the pictures coming to us are horrifying. it looks like a nasty accident. there has been devastation. but, yes, this is something that has been a major source of concern for the indian government with one of the biggest train networks in the world. more than 20 million people travelled by this mode of transport every day. we have seen horrible accidents in the last two months. at least 200 people, more than that, have lost their lives in train accidents. incidentally, most of these accidents happened in the northern bed of india where this accident happened. let‘s take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the iraqi prime minister has announced the start of the ground operation to drive the islamic state group out of its last major urban stronghold in the country, tal a

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in boston.ns savings could soon face fines of up to half a million pounds. the government will introduce new measures to protect older savers, such as a ban on cold calling and tougher rules for those setting up pension schemes. criminals tricked savers out of nearly £5 million in the first five months of this year. here's our business correspondent joe lynam. for thousands of pensioners, a ringing phone has become something to dread rather than look forward to. that's because fraudsters are preying on older people on an almost industrial scale, trying to get their hands on their pension savings. the government is acting, though, by introducing new laws. banning anyone calling you without express permission to sell you an investment. you'll soon only be able to transfer large sums to proper companies with up—to—date accounts. and convicted fraudsters could face fines of up to half a million pounds. the government is reacting to a situation we have found by way of consultation and evidence gather

lets go straight to our north america correspondent aleem maqbool. what do we know about why and how steve bannon has left? very little at the moment except we have had it confirmed in the last ten minutes or so confirmed in the last ten minutes or so that today is steve bannon‘s last day in thejob so that today is steve bannon‘s last day in the job as chief strategist at the white house. as you say, he was widely credited with formulating the strategy that got donald trump to the white house. he came in some time into the election campaign actually. but since then he is also seen to have been someone who shaped donald trump's policy moves on things like the muslim than. other foreign policy initiatives as well. over the last few days there have been rumours, certainly, but his position was under threat. there was a lot more focus on his position as somebody who was seen as having right—wing tendencies, as someone who gave a platform for those who we re who gave a platform for those who were from the right wing forming the breitbart news agency befor

aleem maqbool, bbc news, washington. now to washington and our correspondent, gary o'donoghue. what's gone on here — is this a u—turn? it's certainly a u—turn from the president's rhetoric when he was a candidate, when he talked about afghanistan being a waste of money, by bringing the troops home etc. you heard in his analysis last night the reason why. once you get behind the desk in the oval office, things look different. he is now surrounded by xxx marine corps generals with serious afghan war fighting experience. and the one man, his chief strategist, who was against the involvement in afghanistan, steve bannon, he has been fired. you can see the confluence of events has come to this moment. it is short on detail. there are key differences from the obama era. the metrics are different. no specific number on troops, no specific number on when and where drawdown happens. and the one big difference you will see is that he has devolved a lot more power down to the pentagon. president obama ford a lot of his wards from t

our washington correspondent aleem maqbool reports.sis—ridden white house was no mean feat. but steve bannon may just have managed it. now, though, after months of tension among the president's staff, he is gone. all sounds very amicable. but, throughout, steve bannon was at loggerheads with many of his colleagues. he came from a background of running a news agency which became a mouthpiece for the far—right. it is widely acknowledged he played a huge role in the strategy that got president trump elected, based on a platform of nationalism and a sentiment of taking back the country. he's going to continue to press his agenda. and, as economic conditions get better, as morejobs get better, they're going to continue to fight. if you think they're going to give you your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken. every day — every day it's going to be a fight. the violence at a far—right rally in charlottesville brought back into focus accusations steve bannon, the president's chief strategist, had white—nationalist sympathies,

our north america correspondent, aleem maqbool, is in boston now.ast week, one imagines that things might be rather tense. it is looking pretty relaxed there. how is the mood? all the talk ahead of today was about the potential for violence, about that free speech rally. a lot of the speakers have also been involved in far right rallies elsewhere in the country. the real story of the day has been the thousands and thousands of stony and is who have flooded boston common to surround those very few free—speech protesters in the bandstand. they have been charting antiracism slogans, even andy trump slogans, very upset with the fact that their president did not unequivocally condemn the far right protesters from last week in charlottesville. protesters from last week in cha rlottesville. there protesters from last week in charlottesville. there has been a lot of discussion, a lot of shock about what happened in charlottesville, about what happened in cha rlottesville, with about what happened in charlottesville, with the sight of swastikas and nazi salu

aleem maqbool, bbc news, washington. to washington and our correspondent gary 0'donoghue. is this a u—turn, is that hows is being talked about? certainly a u—turn being talked about? certainly a u-turn in being talked about? certainly a u—turn in the president's own sense. during the campaign he talked about afghanistan being a waste of money and bringing the troops home. so, a u—turn for him. is it a and bringing the troops home. so, a u—turn for him. is ita u—turn and bringing the troops home. so, a u—turn for him. is it a u—turn in terms of american foreign policy? partially it is, in the sense there we re partially it is, in the sense there were metrics that were used before to measure the us involvement in afghanistan, how many people you had there, how long they were staying. he says that's no longer going to be used. it is not going to be about how long or how many. so that's a change. the other change that is taking place behind the scenes is that much more power is being devolved down to the pentagon to ta ke de

aleem maqbool, bbc news, washington.live now to washington and our correspondent gary o'donoghue. president trump has found his reverse gear? he has. it is a turnaround no question in what he said asa turnaround no question in what he said as a candidate, even describing it in the campaign as a waste of money and the base thought as well about foreign adventures. but you heard him giving thejustification for why he changed his mind with things look different behind the desk of the oval office. what has changed? a desk of the oval office. what has changed ? a couple desk of the oval office. what has changed? a couple of things. the metrics that have been used are being dropped, in other words how long and how many? those of the things that were constant during the time of president obama and president bush. he wants to drop those kinds of measurements from the discussion. the other thing that has changed, more gradually, is the pentagon has been given more flexibility, more of its own decision—making power. president obam

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in boston. at the protest yesterday. he's on the line for us from washington. a very good morning to you. this comes a very good morning to you. this co m es after a very good morning to you. this comes after violent protesting in charlottesville. comes after violent protesting in cha rlottesville. you comes after violent protesting in charlottesville. you were there. can you describe what happened in boston? this is a very different scene to charlottesville. the story of the day was a huge counter—demonstration. they are saying 40,000 came out. half of those marching through boston to boston common. a different scene to the violence we saw in cha rlottesville last weekend. the violence we saw in charlottesville last weekend. what happened with the police? again, we are hearing reports of rocks and even year—end being thrown. are hearing reports of rocks and even year-end being thrown. -- urine. that is correct. boston police said there were isolated incidents. we saw pockets of violence outside

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington.e hours since he made his speech, we have been getting reaction from around the world, not least from afghanistan. let's talk to our correspondent in kabul, sekunder kermani. at the moment we are waiting for the afg ha n at the moment we are waiting for the afghan president to address the nation and give his response to president trump ‘s announcement. i've been speaking to the former head of the afghan army and he told me he welcomed what president trump had to say. the afghan foreign minister has also said he welcomes it. as you say, security has been steadily deteriorating in afghanistan. last year saw nearly 3500 civilians die as a result of the violence. there had been concerned here that if america were to make a complete withdrawal from the country, then that could boost the country, then that could boost the taliban. instead, president trump seems to be quite clear that he doesn't want to see the taliban ta keover he doesn't want to see the taliban takeover afghanistan. at the

from boston, aleem maqbool reports. crowd chanting: we can't hear you!ican‘s far—right. this was their so—called ‘free speech‘ rally. and after recent violence, many had been worried about. but this was the city's response — a massive counter protest of bostonians condemning hate—speech and racism. crawd chanting: the people united will never be defeated! i am outraged. we have to make a difference. i can't believe in 2017 that we are still marching for rights. when faced with the option to stand and say what is right and wrong, i cannot sit home when there is hate out there. they have the right to speak but we also have the right to congregate and to show that we do not support what they have to say and i think the numbers bear that out. the two demonstartions, one outnumbering the other by many thousands, were kept apart to prevent trouble, but the far—right demonstrators, often wearing from trump hats, were unapologetic. that defiance often angered those around. just one of those so—called free—speech protesters have come out into the crowd and has ha

let's cross live to washington now and speak to the bbc‘s aleem maqbool.d this region of course for a long time, this is a speech that started with a very different tone from what we've heard from the president recently. there we re from the president recently. there were soothing words of national unity and he then went on as we were saying to depart from his election campaign rhetoric, saying his original instincts were for total and speedy withdrawal, no word about the increase in troop numbers that was much mooted before, no word about russian or iranian actions in afghanistan, more pressure on pakistan, a possible new opening for india. what did you make of all that? it was interesting. everytime donald trump speaks the first question is did he sound presidential or not? it's often down to whether or not he stuck to a script or not. this time he was very sober and sombre at points and he did stick to that script. it was interesting he started by directly confronting the fact that he has changed his opinion on afghanistan pretty much 180 degrees throug

the bbc‘s aleem maqbool in washington said trump has not previously directly addressed the war sinceell, not in an address like this. he has tweeted about it occasionally, talking about the fact that he had inherited a mess in afghanistan, and saying he was going to make it a bit less messy. so let's see what he is going to announce today. what we are likely to hear is a couple of things. an increase in troop numbers, which is certainly something of a departure from the way he saw things in the 0bama years, and even during the election campaign. but the other thing we are likely to hear, potentially, is more pressure being exerted on neighbouring pakistan, saying that that country, that does of course receive american aid, needs to do much more. now, on the first point, about troop numbers, there are around 8,500 american troops in afghanistan still, and donald trump is likely to increase that, we hear, by a few thousand. he has left this decision somewhat to military experts, to the generals, against the wishes, i have to say, of others in his team. those he campaigned with on their

from boston, aleem maqbool reports. was a day of targeting america's recent violence, many had been worried about it. but this was the city's this was the city's response — so—called free speech rally but after recent violence, many had been worried about it. iam i am outraged. we have to make a difference. i cannot believe in 2017 we are still marching for rights. faced with the option to stand, a cannot sit home when there is hate out there. they have the right to speak what we also have the right to congregate and so we do not support what they have to say and i think the numbers bear that out. one outnumbering the other by many thousands, the two demonstrations we re thousands, the two demonstrations were kept apart but the far—right demonstrators, wearing from pats, we re demonstrators, wearing from pats, were unapologetic. —— donald trump hats. just one of those so—called free—speech protesters have come out into the crowd and has had to be escorted by police through this very angry crowd who have been chanting an

critics have accused him of having ties to white supremacists. 0ur washington correspondent aleem maqboolite house was no mean feat. but steve bannon may just have managed it. now, though, after months of tension amongst the president's staff, he's gone. "white house chief of staff john kelly and steve bannon have mutually agreed today would be steve's last day. we're grateful for his service and wish him the best." it all sounds very amicable. but throughout, steve bannon was at loggerheads with many of his colleagues. he came from a background of running a news agency which became a mouthpiece for the far right. it is widely acknowledged he played a huge role in the strategy that got president trump elected, based on a platform of nationalism and a sentiment of taking back the country. he's going to continue to press his agenda. as economic conditions get better, as more jobs get better, they're going to continue to fight. if you think they're giving your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken. every day, it's going to be a fight. the violence at a far right rally in charl

it comes just a week after violence occurred during protests in virginia. 0ur correspondent aleem maqboolwe're expecting the rally to take place? and also, what exactly is this rally all about? yes it gets under way in this rally all about? yes it gets underway ina this rally all about? yes it gets under way in a couple of hours. it's called a free speech rally. but a lot of the people attending and organising the rally, some of the speakers, have attended white nationalist rallies around the country in the past. so at the moment, there are none of those protesters here. the bandstand over there, there are police officers around there. that's where the so—called free speech rally is due to ta ke so—called free speech rally is due to take place. given what happened in cha rlottesville last to take place. given what happened in charlottesville last week, there isa in charlottesville last week, there is a great deal of security around. can you see the barriers around that area and all of these people here area and all of these people here are counterprotesters, those who are against white su

from boston, aleem maqbool reports. the organisers wanted to spark debate over the future of the nhs.eting american‘s far—right it was a day of targeting america‘s recent violence, many had been worried about it. but this was the city ‘s this was the so—called free speech rally but after recent violence, many had been worried about it. but this was the city ‘s a massive counterprotest of bostonians condemning hate speech and racism. massive counterprotest of bostonians condemning hate speech and racismlj am to make a difference we have to make a difference. i cannot believe in 2017 were still marching rights in 2017 were still marching rights in 2017 were still marching rights in 2017 were still marching for and say what is right and wrong, i cannot stay at home and keep my views to myself when there is hate out there. we also have the right to speak but also to congregate and shall we do not support what they have to say. i think the numbers will bear that faced with the option to stand and say what is right and wrong, i cannot stay at home and keep my views to myself when there is h

new military strategy in afghanistan i spoke a little earlier to our correspondent in washington aleem maqbool interesting. every time donald trump speaks the first question is did he sound presidential or not? it's often down to whether or not he stuck to a script or not. this time he was very sober and sombre at points and he did stick to that script. it was interesting that he started by directly confronting the fact that he has changed his opinion on afghanistan pretty much 180 degrees. through the 0bama years he was talking about ending that war, now he's talking about in a sense prolonging it until objectives have been achieved. it was interesting that he made all these points but without spelling out the details, as he often does with military strategy, it's a big policy of his, he said it right through the last year or so, even through the presidential campaign, that he would not be signposting military strategy. so he sort of outlined what he was going to do in afghanistan without telling us precisely how it was going to work. so we're still a little bit in the dark about what it's go

our washington correspondent aleem maqbool reports. man who always said he didn't wa nt to the man who always said he didn't want to intervene abroad came to announce the intervention in afghanistan is going to ratchet up. he said it was for the right reasons. we are not nationbuilding again. we are killing terrorists. he announced the lifting of a cap on the number of us troops in afghanistan, and that there would be no time limit on them staying there. my no time limit on them staying there. my original instincts was to pull out, and historically, i like following my instincts. but all my life, i've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the oval office. a very different donald trump to the one who said this kind of thing right through the obama years. and that is the basis on which she campaigned asa and that is the basis on which she campaigned as a presidential candidate, that he wouldn't spend american resources abroad, but here at home. he says he now realises that pulling out american troops fro

aleem maqbool, bbc news, in boston.packaging warehouse. around 100 firefighters were called to the blaze as it tore through the building on festival way in basildon. eight fire engines remain at the scene. the warehouse was "completely alight" and a neighbouring industrial unit was also affected. essex police said there are not believed to be any casualties. a british man has been charged with the murder of a hair stylist in chicago. 12—year—old rahul doshi from north london has been crowned child genius champion. the channel 4 competition tests 20 youngsters aged eight to 12 on their spelling, maths, memory and knowledge of science and history. rahul took the title ahead of his nine—year—old fellow co ntesta nt rona n. in the first five months of this year, scammers have managed to trick pension savers of almost £5 million from their pension pots, with victims losing on average of 15 thousand pounds each. in an attempt to stop people being ripped off, the government is proposing a ban on cold calling in relation to pen

aleem maqbool, bbc news in washington. our correspondent gave us the latest from kabul.esponse will be given to president trump's announcement. i've been speaking to the former head of the after began army and he told me he very much welcomed what donald trump had to say, the after began foreign minister's also taken to twitter to say he welcomes it. as you say, security has been steadily deteriorating in afghanistan. last year it saw nearly 3,500 civilians die asa year it saw nearly 3,500 civilians die as a result of the violence. so there had been concern here that if america were to make a complete withdrawal from the country, then that could boost the taliban; instead president trump seems to be quite clear he doesn't want to see the taliban take over afghanistan. at the same time, he says he believes eventually some form of political settlement with the taliban will be necessary in order to bring about peace and that's actually pretty much the position of the afghan government here. so overall, things are being very much welcomed in afghanistan. we'll talk more abou