>> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea.

nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> and now, "bbc world news." laura: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i'm laura trevelyan. the organizer of today's protests in russia is sentenced to 30 days in prison as hundreds take to the streets to demonstrate against the government. >> police have been telling the crowd that people don't have the right to protest here, that they don't have permission. the protesters say that russia day is their day, too. laura: heading to the hill, u.s. attorney general prepares to testify on his dealings with russian officials. what are the key questions he will face from lawmakers? ♪

laura: and how singing helped a community heal. the orlando gay chorus has become a leading voice one year since the pulse nightclub attack. laura: welcome to our viewers on public television and around the globe. the white house has strongly condemned a crackdown on antigovernment demonstrators in russia. hundreds of people have been detained in separate protests across the country. the bbc saw riot police grabbing protesters seemingly at random. opposition leader aleksei navalny has been arrested. sentenced to 30 days detention. moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has more. steve: one mile from the kremlin, a public holiday turned into a public battle.

russia day is supposed to be a national celebration. but riot police were sent into to clear antigovernment protesters from moscow's main street. thousands had come to accuse the russian leadership of corruption. "putin is a thief," they shouted, and "one, 2, 3, putin, it is time to leave." families accidentally caught up in the violence fled. police detained hundreds of protesters. police have been telling the crowd that people don't have the right to protest here, they don't have permission. the protesters have been saying that russia day is their day, too. there were anticorruption demonstrations in more than 100 russian towns. as for the man who had organized this nationwide protest, opposition leader aleksei

aleksei navalney, he was detained as he left home. president putin played tour guide at the kremlin to a group of children. this is how president putin would rather be seen, not as a corrupt leader, but his father of the nation. and certainly not everyone today was in the mood to criticize the government. in moscow, this patriotic festival on the same street as the protest was celebrating russian military might. "protests don't make life better," he says. "not one revolution has ever brought anything good." up the road, this was no russian revolution, but it was a display of defiance from those people, many of them young russians, who believe their country needs change. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. laura: tense day in russia. the drama is building yet again

on capitol hill in washington. the u.s. attorney general will testify in front of a senate committee on tuesday. he will be asked about his contacts with russian officials and the firing of fbi director james comey. at the daily briefing, sean spicer declined to say whether sessions would invoke executive privilege -- that is, the right not to answer certain questions. mr. spicer: it depends on the scope of the questions and to get into a hypothetical at this point would be premature. i think the president has been clear last week in the rose garden that he believes the sooner we can get this addressed and dealt with, that there has been no collusion, he wants this to get investigated as soon as possible and be done with so he can continue with the business of the american people. laura: sean spicer there. for more on what we can expect, i spoke earlier with north america reporter anthony zurcher. we don't know exactly what the the attorney general will answer all the questions, but what are

you expecting lawmakers to ask him? anthony: the first question they are going to have is did he have any more meetings with russian ambassador sergey kislyak. during the confirmation hearings he said he did not have meetings and then it later came out he did have meetings and now even more meetings. one of the first questions, and that is one of the reasons he recused himself from overseeing this russia investigation. also, i'm interested to hear whether he was in that room with james comey and donald trump and then asked to leave before donald trump cornered comey and pressed him to back off of michael flynn. does sessions give evidence to back that up? laura: the former fbi director hinted in his testimony last week that there could be more to come regarding the attorney general and russia. any clues as to what that could be? anthony: he hinted that, and the rumor is when he went into the closed meeting with the senators was that perhaps there was a third meeting between sessions and kislyak that took place when

donald trump gave his big foreign policy speech during the campaign. i was at that speech at the hotel and i remember seeing sergey kislyak in the front row. everyone thought that was kind of interesting. but now perhaps they had some sort of communication around that as well. laura: meanwhile, the president himself has been slapped with a lawsuit under the anticorruption clause of the constitution. what is that about? anthony: it is about donald trump's business empire, and the provision of the constitution says people in political office cannot take gifts, a cannot take titles -- the queen cannot make donald trump a lord. but then there's the question of business enterprises that exchange services with foreign governments also falls into that. it is really uncharted legal terrain and it will be interesting to see -- of course, let it proceed, and then decided on the merits. it is something we have not seen before. laura: speaking of lawsuits, the

president suffered another setback with his controversial travel ban. anthony: the ninth circuit court of appeals struck down the original travel ban and said that the second one has the same sort of problems the first one had. the ninth circuit was not the only one to say this. we already had the fourth circuit put it on hold. basically, we are getting a certain amount of consensus at the lower level that the second travel ban shouldn't be implemented until a trial on the merits. the supreme court could step in and be the final arbiter to decide whether this travel ban can go into effect. laura: so much going on. anthony: busy. news, the jury in the bill cosby case has begun deliberating after defense lawyers rested their case without calling him to the stand. the american entertainer, who is charged with sexual assault, confirmed to the court in pennsylvania that he did not want to testify. andrea constand claims that mr. cosby attacked her after drugging her in philadelphia 13 years ago.

he has strenuously denied the allegations. qatar has started bypassing sea, land, and air transport restrictions to carry cargo. the first cargo ship has arrived omani port.m an it will head to doha directly from oman. puerto rico has voted in favor of becoming america's to the first state, on a turnout of less than a quarter. and ite is nonbinding would require approval from the u.s. congress in washington. the move is supported by the territories governor, who hopes it might help solve the island's economic crisis. the british prime minister has told her conservative colleagues that she will serve them as party leader as long as they want her. theresa may said she was the person who got them into this mess and will be the one to get them out of it.

her position is a fragile one, having lost a majority in last week's vote. our political editor laura kuenssberg has more. laura k.: band played on in theresa may's backyard. strangely, business as usual. at the front tonight, even after her personal disaster of the election, the prime minister seemed relieved enough to chat. after she had fessed up her mistakes to mp's. >> theresa may said she had got us into the situation and will get us out. >> humble in recognizing the difficulties but forthright in tackling the problems the country faces. laura k.: can the prime minister stay on, do you think? does she have confidence of her party? >> of course she has. laura k.: theresa may knows that power has shifted from her and her cabinet. >> do you have confidence in the position? >> excuse me, laura. laura k.: do you have confidence

in the prime minister? you have confidence in the prime minister after the election? arriving after the first meeting they were not all quite ready to , give a full throated support. do you have confidence in the prime minister? >> absolutely. laura k.: having lost the tories' majority, she needs to convince cabinet colleagues she is still right for the job. they look like they need to convince themselves. the tories' hopes of getting anything done lie in a deal with northern irish mp's. it is unclear if the queen's speech, the official start of the government's business, will go ahead as planned next week. >> i think the substance of the queen's speech is what matters. it has been known for some days that we are seeking an agreement with the democratic unionist party. that will provide a stability in parliamentary votes that will allow us to do the many important things we need to do. laura k.: some loyal supporters were trying to cheer theresa may up.

but the fact that scores of newly elected labour mp's are arriving here and old tory mp's are departing means theresa may will have to change, whether she likes it or not. she is a weakened the prime minister, with no majority in this place, and that means the controversial ideas in her manifesto will bite the dust. it is probably goodbye to more grammar schools, an end to the idea of tightening pension or benefits. the simple truth, theresa may cannot guarantee she will get her way. >> i think it would be great if she gets the government in place , which she started to do yesterday. and starts the negotiations. and then she herself can make any decisions about the future. laura k.: there are demands, too, to shift on her approach to the biggest policy of all, how we leave eu. cabinet ministers told me there has to be a change of town, and

are open calls for a change of priority. >> there is a lot to discuss but we have to make sure we invite other people in. this is not going to be just a tory brexit. this will involve the whole country. laura k.: she was putting forward one vision and you and others are now telling her it has to change. >> majority conservative government was putting forward a vision. and now we are no longer a majority conservative government. we are going to have to work with others and invite people in and try to take more people with us. i think that can be a positive thing. laura k.: the immediate sense of danger to theresa may seems to be slowing, but she is vulnerable, having to answer to colleagues in parliament, having failed to persuade the country. the routines and rhythms of this place stay the same. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. laura: a precarious moment for theresa may with great uncertainty about the brexit negotiations. security officials in libya have told the bbc that the bomb attack in manchester last month had been planned since december. for more than a month before the attack, they said they had the

bomber, salman abedi, under surveillance. officials complain of poor security cooperation with britain, which they say must be improved to prevent further attacks. from tripoli, our correspondent orla guerin sent this report. orla: an abandoned house on the outskirts of tripoli links to mass murder in the u.k. this is where the manchester bomber spent a quiet month with his family, leaving days before the attack. the bbc has been told that throughout his stay, salman abedi was under surveillance here, along with his father and his brother. it is unclear if britain was informed. security officials say the brother, hashem, has admitted he and salman joined i.s., and he bought parts for the bomb. the spokesman for libya's

special deterrence force, which is still interrogating hashem and his father, said the attack was being planned since december. such is the insecurity here, he prefers not to show his face. >> we have information about salman's friend in england and here in libya, and what did they buy to make the boms. -- bombs. orla: so far, manchester police have not set foot in libya, where power often lies in the shadows. militias vie for influence here, along with three rival governments. the key question for britain is whom to deal with and share intelligence with. that issue is increasingly urgent. but even now after the manchester bombing, libyan officials tell us they have far better security cooperation with the cia than with london.

this general works for the u.n.-approved government in tripoli. he told us there are difficulties exchanging intelligence with britain. "my message is clear," he says. "this crime has happened. we don't want it to happen again, in britain or anywhere else. we want strong cooperation with british security agencies as soon as possible to avoid similar attacks." the bbc understands the british officials feel it will take time to build cooperation because of instability on these shores, but officials say that delays will favor i.s. orla guerin, bbc news, tripoli. laura: trying to investigate links between libya and the manchester attacks. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come, up close and personal with russia's president

. director oliver stone interviews vladimir putin and tells me all about it, just ahead. aviation officials are investigating an incident that force a chinese plane to make an emergency landing in sydney with a large hole in one of its engines. passengers on board the china eastern airlines flight bound for shanghai described a burning smell and a loud noise shortly after takeoff. it landed safely and there were no reports of injuries, as shown in this report. reporter: the plane, which was due to fly to shanghai, backed down on the tarmac at sydney airport after a midair emergency. this was the problem -- part of the left engine ripped away, leaving a gaping hole. for the passengers who had been on board, everything had been normal until suddenly about an hour into the flight, it became

clear there was a major problem. down -- >> it took off like normal, and then all of a sudden our friends smelled burning, i didn't think of it really, but then all of a sudden it got really loud. >> i hear the noise, and i'm not sure what the noise -- the cabin crew went out and they told us to fasten our seatbelt, and they tried to calm us down. but we were actually very, because we had no idea what was happening. >> it was a little shocking. i couldn't tell what it was at first. reporter: so what could have caused such serious damage to the engine? ,he plane is an airbus a330 like this one. it has a engines, and the company says it will help with the investigation, which is likely to look at all potential factors, including maintenance records and whether some kind of

object got inside the engine. meanwhile, there are reports that this kind of engine damage on the china eastern airlines plane has also occurred on other aircraft. laura: filmmaker oliver stone likes to push boundaries. in films like "platoon" and snowden," he challenges conventional wisdom. his latest is an interview with the vladimir putin for the channel showtime. when they met in february, they talked about allegations of russian hacking of the election. oliver stone has been telling me about his close encounters with russia's president. oliver stone, you had unparalleled access to vladimir putin for a western filmmaker. what do you hope all the access

is revealing about him? oliver: i hope it would lead to a serious, interesting discussion about world affairs, particularly u.s. and russia. he lays out a world that we don't know for the most part. we know about the latest crisis. russia is referred to rather malevolently in the western media, but let's get beyond those images, those caricatures. laura: you spent a lot of time with him. you went to his summer house and film him playing ice hockey. what was your impression of vladimir putin? oliver: i would say hugh is a very disciplined man. he answered every question, no editing involved. he was quite open. he is an unpretentious man, and the image of him as a built-up macho sportsman, dominating, just not true. laura: is it your impression

from those hours of interviews that vladimir putin genuinely wants a better relationship with the west? oliver: absolutely. there is just no doubt in my mind. if you watch the 4 hours, you cannot doubt it. he wants good relations. he referred to the united states consistently as our partner. i never heard a bad word. laura: vladimir putin is a former kgb operative. he understands the importance of television -- oliver: yes, everybody does. laura: are you concerned he's using you to send a message -- oliver: perhaps he is -- laura: that isn't really a true one? , butr: an elaborate ruse he knows i'm not going to change american policy, but what i would like to do is contribute to a consciousness of what he is saying. laura: you asked vladimir putin directly, did russia hack the u.s. election, and he told you it is all lies. do you accept that? oliver: he didn't put it that way but he thought it was a preposterous statement. laura: but do you believe him? oliver: absolutely. i absolutely believe it is all smoke and no fire there.

laura: was there one moment that you feel is so revealing that you would like everyone to see it or one moment that stands out? oliver: laura, for me, if you were really open-minded, it is all revealing. from the get-go, it is what he talks, how he talks, his view of the world is something we need to hear. laura: oliver stone on his interviews with russian president vladimir putin. today is a sad anniversary in orlando, one year since the attack on the pulse nightclub in which 49 people were killed. as the community reels, the city's gay chorus played an important role in helping people come together. the group sang at the memorial today. they have become a symbol of hope and recovery. even the city's mayor singled out there contribution. rajini vaidyanathan has the story. ♪

rajini: they were named ambassadors of hope, love, and healing in orlando. >> this is what we are here for. we sing songs of love, hope, to the world. and at that moment it was the call. these are the victims. rajini: josh lost his friend in the attack at pulse. as he was dealing with his own loss, he was called upon to sing in the choir at a memorial for the victims. ♪ >> i did not know it was going to turn out to be the biggest event that i would ever sing at. and at that moment was when, for me, i started to heal. rajini: one of the founding members of the chorus was also singing that night. >> in my head, i was thinking, i

would give up my own life to bring back any one of those kids. i'm 57 years old. i've lived a rich, vibrant life. i've done things in this world that these kids are never going to have the opportunity to do. rajini: it was after that concert that the group took on an unlikely role, a rapid response team sent to vigils and gatherings to sing. >> i think the chorus recognized that we had an important role to play in the community. both representing the gay community as well as using our music to heal and bring hope. ♪ >> the timing had us reeling, because it was right around the year anniversary of gay marriage being legalized nationwide. it was a slap in the face, and it was a huge wake-up call that

we have a lot of work to do. rajini: she left home after her family refused to accept her sexual identity. one place she did feel welcome was pulse. a gayay club isn't just club. it was not just a club, it was a haven. but i'm really glad that i joined the chorus when i did, and i'm really glad that went when pulse happened, i had this group of people who felt exactly how i did. >> they are my brothers and sisters in song, and they fill my heart with love so that i can go out and fill the world with love. rajini: rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, orlando. [applause] laura: helping orlando heal after the heartbreak a year ago.

remember, you can find more on all the day's news at our website. to see what we are working on at any time check out our facebook , page. i am laura trevelyan. thank you for watching "bbc world news america." and please tune in tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the

island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, protesting the kremlin-- hundreds of demonstrators are detained during massive opposition rallies across russia. also ahead, i sit down with the former senior american diplomat in china, who resigned in protest after president trump's withdrawal from the paris climate accord. and, inside the islamist militant group, hezbollah-- a look at the movement's roots in lebanon, and its future in a shifting political landscape. >> the trump administration talked tough about containing iran, but given little explanation of how it would play a role in curbing iran and its