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[applause] >> and now, "bbc world news." jane: this is "bbc world news america. w reporting frhington, i am jane o'brien. president trump unleashes on special counsel rort mueller and vents anger at accusations he was helped by russia. d not helpp: russia me get elected. you know who got me elected? i got me elected. russia didn't help me at all.ja : intense fighting in northern syria puts tens of rthousands of children atisk as president assad's forces close in on the last opposition stronghold. and how do you spell success? students are vying for the top prize, but even parents have problems with some of those words.

jane: welcome to our viewers on public television inmerica and around the globe. robert mueller has broken his silence, and a day later, president trump is taking his turn, unleashing fury on the special counsel. called mr. mueller deep conflicted and a never-trumper. the russia investigation, he says, was a scam. in an early-morning tweet he seemed to acknowledge that russia interfered in t i electihis favor. minutes later he was asked about it on the south lawn. pres. trump: you know who got me elected? you know who got me elected? i got me elected. russia never helped me at all. bi never thought that wou possible to be using that word. to me it is a dirty word, the word impeach. it is a dirty, filthy, disgusting word. i think mueller is a true

never-trumper, somebody who dislik donald trump, somebody that did not get the jobe requested that he wanted very dly, and that he was appointed. and despite that, and despite $40 million, 18 trump haters, including people who work for hillary clinton and some of the worst human beings on earth, they got nothing. it's pretty amazing. jane: for more, i spoke to former advisor to george w. sh ron christie. the president has seemed quite reticent when it comes to criticizing robert mueller. why has he decided now that it is ok to take the glff? oun: well, good evening to jane. i think he really believes he has been vindicated. he believes there has been no collusn, no conspiracy with the russian government to help him gain election as president of the united states. given that robert mueller is exiting the stage, the president is never one toea that sort

of vacancy, so he decided to take it himself and take shots at the former special counsel. jane: and yet he is also seeming to admit that, yes, russia did interfere in the election and ih 've benefited mr. trump. ron: here's the thing that mosta of trican people and folks around the world need to recognize, vladimir putin didy his best to tr undermine the integrity of america's electoral system. that is what we should be talking about. the notion that the president talks about no collusion, no conspiracy, you thinis would -- i think this would be a bipartisan opportunity for the president an congress to say that there was an effort by someone who was an adversary, why don't we address that. but instead we get into the personal insults and the back-and-forth that we have seen from the president on his twitter tirades. jane: why is he taking so long tockwledge this? ron: again, if i were in a position to advise him legally, i guarantee you his lawyers were to tell him, mr. president, you need to be very careful, you don't want to poke the bear, you don't want to poke the

prosecutor who could find a grand jury to return an indictment, notwithstanding that notion you have heard that youa cannot indictting president. they could issue a report that talked about criminality and culpability. i believe that is why the president through perhaps his legal coun lower profile.keep a such as it is. jane: on that subjiet, in an intetoday, the attorney general william barr said there was actually nothing to stop robert mueller from reaching a conclusion if he had, do you think that would have put to rest the bipartisanship that this report has continued to generate? ron: i look back to when i worked on capitol hill in the 1990's, and then the independent counsel ken starr did come out with very specific allegations of criminality towards then-president clinton. if in this instance robert mueller had returned a report that tal with the trump administration, i think it would have found a

bipartisan caucus and chorus, perhaps opening impeachment hearings similar to what we saw in the 1990's and 1970's with president nixon. jane: very briefly, to impeach or not to impeach, that is the question for democrats. what would you advise the present right now for her parent for all eventualities -- preparing for all eventualities? ron: i find it very unlikely that the democrats would move articles of impeachment. there is a small vocal wing of democrats in the house who want to impeach him. nancy pelosi, the now again speaker of the house, is veryt. sm she recognizes that politically this might not be a good issue for the democrats to pursue. if i was advising the president, i would tell him to keep hiswd dry, stay away from twitter and stop talking about 12 angry democrats and stopg insulte special counsel. jane: for joining me.ank you ron: good to see you. jane: the united nations is warning that tens of thousands of children syria are at risk of

being killed or forced to flee for their lives. there is intense fighting in the north of the country where president assad's army is stronghold of opposition forces. syrian government troops backed by russian airpower are attackinidlib province, where rebel islamist fighters are making a last stan our middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. you may find some of thema iges disturbing. jeremy: this is life and death in idlib, the last province in syria controlled by rebels. civil defense workers the white helmets are digging civilians out of buildings, destroyed, it seemsm certain, by attacks fro the regime side. this boy survived. his three siblings did not. unicef, the u.n. children's agency, says tens of tusands r of children are in dange once again syria's war escalates. this should be no surprise to the world. syria's slow death follows a

pattern. in january 2017, walked through the ruins of a hospital in east aleppo. the rebel enclave had just fallen to the regime and its russian and iranian allies. thousands of casualties were treated here during the siege.me dics had left in a hurry after shells hit the building. this whole area is damaged. hospitals, civilian buildings are protected under international humanitarian law. so there are major questions to be answered about whether war crimes were committed. wars are less chaotic than they appear. pain and death are inflicted, on someone's orders, and wars have laws. some are supposed to protect civilians. in syria they have mostly been ignored. one of the doctors says he

witnessed war crimes every day that killed and maimed civilians. two years on in london, he would like to see the perpetrators i urt. >> the syrian regime and thens russno one else has the airplanes to take the sky -- raining cluster bombs, explosive barrels, chlorine gas. no one else can dohat. toremy: what would you lik have happen to them? >> justice. just justice. jere: syria's war has destroyed a country, killed perhaps half a million people, and left overwhelming evidence of war crimes by all sides, according to u.n. investigators. all the countries involved in the multilayered war have questions to answer. this is raqqa, once thofbeating hearhe jihadist islamic state.am

the ericans, helped by britain, leveled it.y, am the human rights group, condemned them for not acknowledging how many kivilians theyled. rebels, now mainly jihadist extremists, continue to fight out of idlib. but the president's side has almost won the war. was this regime airstrike a war crim possibly -- it buried this child and killed another. but turning evidence into prosecutions is difficult. syrian wounds would have a better chance to heal if criminals would face the law. s tovictim's justice te apply when the fighting stops. it looks as if the regime and its allies, for now at least, will be safe. jeremy bowen, bbc news. jane: a tragedy in syria that

has been going on for the best part of a decade. have gathered in saudi arabia for an emergency summit following recent attacks on oil assets in the gulf, whict riyadh blamed ran. the saudi king has spoken, urging states to work together to counter what he called iran's criminal actions in the region. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is following delopments from jeddah. earlier she told me how this summit reveals divisions in th arab world when it comes to iran. lyse: turkish president erdogan is not here. minister se foreign not here. the qatari emir is not here. it is the most senior official, but not the emir. for countries like iraq and lebanon, which he had long-standing historical n lations with iran and whose relations with ie so intertwined in the politics and security, this is a very uncomfortable moment. last night one foreign minister

said to me that there are people who are aying with fire because they don't want these tensions to keep escalating. the one thing that unites all of leaders of the arab andslamic is that a solution must be found to this problem, because it just doesn't go away. some would say that iran is part of theve region and you o make space for it. some say that iran isn't listening but it must be send the strongest of messages that its behavior must not be tolerad. jane: lyse doucet there. in other news, r. kelly has been charged with 11 was se offenses. court records show they relate to sexual assault of a minor between the age of 13 and 16. arrlier this year the r&b st was charged with 10 counts of crimal sexual abuse, to whic he pleaded not guilty. he is due in court next week. next week the special relationship will be on full display when president trump

travels to the u.k. for a state visit it will be a trip for love -- full of pomp and ceremony but also remembrance. between the state dinner and meetings with the prime minister and commemorations of the d-day anniversary, what will looking for? i spoke to victoria nuland, who served as assistant secretary of state for european affairsng duhe obama administration. thank you for joining me. what does trump need to get out of this visit? victoria: i think he wants toat demonsthat he is a statesman. i think he is going to enjoy very much his time with the queen. i think he considers his own dysty somewhat royal, all those kinds of things. and i hope that when he goes to portsmouth and then goes on to normandyhe can feel the importance of this very special relationship and he will be imbued a bit with the allenge of maintaining the liberal world

order that so many americans and brits gave their lives for. jane: a lot of people in europe and britain would say that trump has personally put some of that world order under threat. how do you reconcile these opposing factions in a state visit? rgctoria: well, again, i hope that this will be y ceremonial and historic and give both sides of the atlantic boost in terms of their commitment to the valueshat everybody fought for. i do think that there are perils in this visit, in the sense that our president has not once but multiple times injectehimself into the very fraught british politics that we see now. he is talking about potentially doing that again on this visitby eeing some of the contenderspr

foe ministership. also, ialso, -- he hasth k, not done enough, his administration has not done enough to help the u.k. and the eu have a velvet divorce or think about their relationship going forward. it is important for the united states that the u.k. and eu, out of this in a stronger position. what what do you would -- to you would make this a successful state visit? victoria: a successful state visit would be one where the president focuses on what we have been through together as missions and what we bills that what we havelt b -- and what we have built together on this planet that needs to be preserved in terms of open markets, open liberalism, defending our citizens from autocracy and dictatorship, and where the solemnity of the moment is front and center. a less good visit would be oneit

whers all about divisive aspects of british politics, american politics, or tries to rip us apart across the atlantin or across the l. let's hope the better angels prevail. jane: victoria nuland, thank you very much for joining me. victoria: thank you, jane. watching "bri world news a." still to come on tonight's program -- >> i won in the end. it was a war, and there are casualties and wars. jane: pardon by the president. thepeak tconrad black , media mogul who spent yeree s in jail for fraud. rescue teams in budapest say there is little hope of finding more survivorssi. 21 are m after a vessel carrying south korean tourists capsize. ple are confirmed dead.

the rescue effort continued this morning with little hope of survival for the 21 people still missing. according to eyewitnesses, the 26-meter pleasure boat capsized and sank within seconds after she was struck by a large river cruiser. video has emerged allegedly showing the incident. i what we can see on the cctv footagethe small boat, the mermaid, is heading, nor is the bigger vessel, the viking. the mermaid turns in front of the viking for some reason, there was a collision. the mermaid got turned on its side, and withinse about seven nds it sank. there were 33 south korean tourists on the pleasure boat at the time and t hungarian crew. this is a busy stretch of water, often crowded with large and small craft. weeks of heavy rain and snow melt up river in the alps mean

the river is swollen and flowing faster than usual. mr. efforts were hampered by continuous downpour -- rcue efforts were hampered by continuous downpour. >> we have 17 units in different lotions. so far we have hospitalized seven people after their condition had been stabilized, since their body temperature had dropped dangerously. reporter: as the investigation starts ine earnest, there many questions to answer, first and foremost about the experience and level of training of the cruise. the wreck of the tourist ship must be rsed from the bed of the river. it is expected to contain the bodies of many of the missing bbc news, budapest. jane: donald trump is nothing if not unconventional in how he wields presidential power, especially hisonse of the

pa the most recent beneficiary is former business associate and ad black,porter co who spent three years in prison for fraud and obstruction of justice. the bbc's michelle fleury spoke to mr. black in toronto about how the pardon came about. michelle: when did you first know you were going to get a pardon? when did you get wind of this?: conrwas advised by a friend who has a lot of contacte with the wouse that i was under consideration. the president telephoned. michelle: so you get this call. conrad: my first impulse was it was "the daily mail." i took the call and said hello and was going to say "is this a and the person in that very polite but somewhat authoritative voice said, "please hold for the president." inwo or three seconds he came

on. i still thought it would be an impersonator, but he said things about material that had been sent to him by one of myounsel that i knew it had to be him. chelle: what do you say to people who think you were pardoned because you wrote veryi nices about the president? conrad: they will say what they will say. i don't really feel the need to respond to it, but since you ask me, i take the president and his word that his motive was not at. we have known each other a long time, and not that i have written supportively of him -- not uncritically, but supportively. his motive was that the white house counseand legal team concluded that it was something that should never have been charged and he was putting right an injustice. i take him at his rd that that was his motive. he said toe, "there is going to be criticism. e you tter at responding to this stuff than i am, so i will leave it to you."

michelle: you left jail seven years ago -- conrad: i don't want to overstate -- officially in the united states i have never been charged, and i won in d. it was war, and there are casualties and was. i lost time and money, but my standard of living is it that -- isn't bad. i am rebuiing. michelle: your codefendants did not receive a pardon. conrad: they haven't asked for one, as far as i know. in my opinion, i don't see why they don't apply for one and i e why it would be withheld from them. michelle: what is next for lord black? conrad: ah. well, the one good thing about the legal problems is it gave me a chance to write more. i'm astounded at the number of readers i have of the things i write in the u.s. and canada. michelle: will we see you owning a newspaper again?nr : i don't think it is a good business. when i first got into it it wass a goodess, high profit margin.

of course, it is interesting. the news by definition is interesting. ddon't need to tell you that. but it became a veficult business. the fragmentation of the media makes it extremely competitive. michelle: do you have any plans to return to the house of lords? conrad: yes. i expect to. michelle: is that somethinthat -- sort ofa more more reality since your pardon? conrad: well, i was going to do it anyway, but i suppoas it makes itr. but the truth is, these last 15 ar i haven't been as interested in british politics as i was before in the thatcher days and john major. teit could be sting again. as of right now it is interesting. michelle: brexit could lure you back to the house of lords? conrad: well, i wouldn't put it

quite like that, but as it turns out, it is my good fortune that at a time when it is feasible, it happens by happy conce that it is a time of great fermentation in public affairs. k chelle: lord black, thanu very much for your time. conrad: thank you, michelle. jane: do make sure you tune into bbc world this weekend for e full interview with conrad black. if you are anything like me, you use spellcheck tget through life. but right now some of america's battling students a to be named the winner of the scripps national spelling bee. we know they are good, but we wanted to see if the parents were equally impressive when lining up the letters. >> the first word. ♪

>> and the 2018 scripps national spelling bee champion. >> parochialism. parochialism. >> that is not right.[l ghter] yes!

>> you have to work really hard u have to work efficiently. when i was studying for the b spelli, i studied for about 35, 36 hours a week. i studied by typing, like i typed up words like a spreadsheet. justsing that muscle memory, it helps me recollect. horripilation -- you learn something new every day. not sure you will find those words on our website, but check it out anyway. to see what we are working oat any time, do find us on twitter.

i am jane o'brien. thanks very much indeed for watching "bbc world news icamer" >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so you can swipe your way throughf the news oe day and stayit up-to-dateh the latestu headlines yocan trust. download now from selected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and judy and peter blum-kovler foundation, pursuing sns for america's neglected needs. >> what are you doing? >> possibilities. your day is filledith them. >> tv, play "downton abbey." >> and pbs helps everyone discover theirs.

anytime, anywhere. pbs. we are with you for life. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> brangham: good evening. i'm william brangham.f judy woodr away.ia on the newshour tonight: the fight over abortion moves to thssouri. a judge decides w the state's only clinic will be allowed to continue providinglo the service.se en, for the first time the country's history, israel will hold a second election, aso prime mister benjamin netanyahu's attempt to form aat coation government collapse and, three-star general russelno hoé led the effort to rescue new orleans after hurricaneed katrina.ne aw he's back, and taking new challenge-- saving his state from industrial waste. >> i spent 37 years, three months and three days defending this country. i spent 9.5 years overseas. and to come back to my ho c state and see it controlled by multinational corporations, is a crying damn shame.