his vice president is more explicit. we have no tolerance for hate and violence. from white supremacists, neo—nazis on the kkk. hundreds of people are feared dead and others remain trapped after a mudslide on the outskirts of sierra leone's capital, freetown. a 50% rise in the last year in the number of airline passengers arrested on suspicion of being drunk at british airports or on flights. and no more bongs for a while — big ben will fall silent next week for nearly four years because of urgent repair work. it's five o'clock. our main story... this week, india and pakistan mark 70 years of independence from britain — independence which created two states, but also a bloodbath of sectarian slaughter in which a million people died and up to 12 million moved country. one of the largest mass migrations the world has ever seen. in 1947, the muslim—majority state of pakistan was born, with muslims travelling in one direction, hindus and sikhs in the other. reeta chakrabarti is in lahore for us tonight as pakistan celebrates its 70th birthday. that celebration has been continuing throughout the day, with a parade, flags, horns and now with the general street ratty. the whole city feels alive with celebration. —— street party. pakistan are celebrating the end of colonial rule and splitting from india to form the new nation of pakistan. that partition in 1947 brought with it mass migration and terrible bloodshed, as our correspondent now reports. 70 years ago, britain pulled out of india, seen as the jewel in its imperial crown. british rule, the british raj, had been unravelling in the 1940s amid increasing sectarian clashes. lord louis mountbatten, india's last viceroy, worked to transfer power as quickly as possible. the british even brought forward the deadline for withdrawal by almost a year. india then was home to almost 400 million people. hindus were in the majority, muslims made up about a quarter of the population. but no way could be agreed to keep them in a single, undivided nation. so independence also meant partition. creating not one but two self—governing countries. at the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, india will awake to life and freedom. the new borders were drawn up in just five weeks. 0n the 14th of august 1947, british india was heading to its end. over the course of two days, partition was also launched. a new largely muslim state of pakistan was born while the new india was celebrating its independence. but millions of people, muslims, hindus and sikhs, found themselves on what they regarded as the wrong side of the new borders. 12 million or more refugees fled from one newly created country to the other. fleeing from their looted, bloodstained towns comes a new exodus. a million displaced persons. independence has not yet brought them peace. rejoicing turned quickly into horror and mourning. the new governments were ill—equipped to deal with such a panicked mass migration, one of the largest in history. there was a wave of massacres, each one sparking a revenge attack. whole villages divided on sectarian lines, tens of thousands of women were abducted, many raped. between half a million and a million people of all communities were killed. bbc correspondent winford vaughan thomas witnessed some of the slaughter. what we saw was a town soaked with the stench of death. we came to a row of one—storey houses. i simply shut my eyes. lying on the pathway and over the furniture and in the rooms, there were the dead. cut up, carved up, sprawling. after the optimism of independence, the upheaval and violence that followed cast a long shadow over the next 70 years. borders drawn in haste by the british government have repeatedly been a source of tension between neighbours. relations between india and pakistan have never recovered from the trauma of partition 70 years ago. james robbins, bbc news. we can speak to our correspondent in the pakistani capital, islamabad. what do you think pakistanis are celebrating most today? independence from britain splitting from india?” put this question to a number of pakistanis. while some certainly do see themselves as having achieved independence from britain and india, many particularly younger people who have no first—hand recollection of life under colonial rule c it primarily as independence from india. that is because people here in pakistan are taught from a very young age that although hindus and muslims used to live together side—by—side under british rule and indeed for many years before that, they were always two separate nations. and so, according to the official version of history, in pakistan at least, it was necessary to great pakistan in other to guarantee the rights of the muslim minority in the subcontinent from the hindu majority that lived here. and so despite the horrors of partition and the violence that took place there, today and pakistan, it is not about remembering the past but really about celebrating the birth of our country and looking forward to what pakistan can achieve in the future. thank you. correspondent in islamabad. there was great optimism following independence but the years that came after an pakistan where turbulence. i have been to the city of karachi, independent pakistan's first capital and the birthplace of the country's founding father. it is pakistan's birthday, and at every street corner there are flags and celebration. but its 70 years have been very mixed. it was founded as a democracy but has had military rule and people argue whether its founder, mohammedjinnah, wanted a secular state or an islamic one. i went to one of karachi's universities to ask students what they think of mohammed jinnah and pakistan today. mohammedjinnah, it is the biggest name for pakistan and even every nation of the world, he is like a father, father of the nation. and he created pakistan. and do you think mohammed jinnah would be happy with pakistan as it is today? he would be happy, he would be really happy seeing pakistan today progressing every day, every second. on this 70th anniversary of independence, the country is doing very well and it is flourishing day by day. and i hope it will get more prosperous day by day. and mansour, do you think that jinnah would be happy with pakistan as it is today? basically he had seen the basic needs of the people, and they are not being fulfilled right now. much of the problem lies in religion. because people nowadays, they're not tolerant. they are too emotional. crowds come tojinnah‘s mausoleum to pay their respects. the country he founded was rocked again last month when the prime minister was forced to resign over corruption charges. finding political stability remains one of pakistan's many challenges. the voices of some young people there in karachi. i am joined by another young pakistani. she is a social media comedian. thanks for joining me. you only in your 20s. what does independence from india... independence from britain and partition, the splitting from india, what does it mean to you? jo independence does not necessarily mean freedom. we are independent in the sense we have our own cultural values that are separate from the british and indians. however, ifeel that there is still a bit of a problem here in terms of not being able to speak freely and do things really. although that is changing now. in most aspects of pakistani politics and social awareness, there has been a bit of a change. it means having a separate identity but also striving more for freedom. many people have said that the horrors of partition have caused an abiding mistrust and suspicion between india and pakistan, which we see played out of the political level all the time. what about amongst the people? do you have indian friends? have a lot of indian friends and a lot of my friends have indian friends. we share cultural and traditional values. indian traditions of deeply embedded in pakistani culture as well. i have severalfriends in india, friends from bangalore and bombay, delhi. they are pretty much like us. they speak our language and eat your food. at least, like us. they speak our language and eat yourfood. at least, most like us. they speak our language and eat your food. at least, most of the vegetarian food that they share with us. vegetarian food that they share with us. it is worth pointing out that you cannot meet them here in pakistan or india. yes. it boils down to the politics of india and pakistan. the people themselves who wa nt to pakistan. the people themselves who want to still be friends and able to go to india with it so many restrictions and vice versa. people from india wanted to pakistan to visitors as well but it is not that easy. —— what to come to pakistan. we meet in places like dubai. thousands of miles away. thousands of miles away but closer than other places. we get to meet but not as often as we would like. many thanks for talking to us. this is a country that often feels like it gets a bad press internationally. it has many challenges with security, poverty and political instability at times. 0thers optimism. you heard some of that this evening and you can still hear the streets around me. —— but there is optimism. with that, back to you. joining me now, his excellency syed ibne abbas, the pakistan high commissioner to the uk. welcome to you. happy birthday to your country. what are your thoughts 70 years on, after partition and independence? thank you very much. we're independence? thank you very much. we' re really independence? thank you very much. we're really upbeat. 70 years, although not a long time in the history of a nation, we are still heading in adoration of maturity. —— in the direction. just looking back for a moment, so plus 70 years ago, we have seen for a moment, so plus 70 years ago, we have seen some for a moment, so plus 70 years ago, we have seen some of the set here in slaughter there was, this mass movement of people. terrible human suffering. didn't to be like that after colonial rule? was that inevitable, that kind of violence and partition? could it have been different and more peaceful if the british had handled things differently? it was very u nfortu nate. differently? it was very unfortunate. 0n differently? it was very unfortunate. on both sides it was very u nfortu nate. unfortunate. on both sides it was very unfortunate. it could have been much better. but as you said, it was the largest mass migration ever. these things were bound to happen because with any incident, there was a reaction and that is what happened. in hindsight, if we say, yes, it could have been better and planned better, the transition could have been much better. but that is not the case now. it is history. so let's move on. there are those that say partition is a wind that will not heal between pakistan and india. you have been in three wars since 1947. relation between the countries is still tense. i would say that there are things which appear to be difficult but not impossible. so i think in terms of our relations with oui’ think in terms of our relations with our neighbours, we are very determined to have a friendly relationship with all our neighbours, including india. if we talk to each other, rather than talking at each other, which has been going on, i think there is a solution across the table and we can discuss. we can resolve issues, which we have been wanting in our two countries. again, there are those that say perhaps if more people travelled from pakistan to india and vice versa, that would encourage relationships. but that doesn't happen too much. from our side, we have never looked at that asa side, we have never looked at that as a challenge. if someone wants to visit, we encourage because there are sacred places for hindus and sikhs in pakistan today. we very much encourage and welcome the sikhs and hindus coming for pilgrimage or otherwise. but i cannot speak for the other side. but there are some difficulties at the moment. i am hopeful we can work on those. you talked about pakistan being a strong country. but observers watching from the outside might say that it is quite fragile, still. we havejust seen quite fragile, still. we havejust seen the prime minister forced quite fragile, still. we havejust seen the prime ministerforced out because of allegations of corruption. there has been instability, has only a question mark a lot of political instability. it was a challenge but you must have observed that a peaceful democratic transition has ta ken observed that a peaceful democratic transition has taken place. we had upbeat about it because, you know, maybe a few years in the past, this might not been the case. but time around, we have overcome that blip and moved on. now there is a prime minister and cabinet in place and things are back to normal. what do you foresee for the next 70 years for pakistan? 70 years, much before that, we're very hopeful about things taking place in a positive direction. if i refer you to the pwc projections of pakistan and country's economy, according to them, by 2030, we will be one of the top 20 economies in the world. if thatis top 20 economies in the world. if that is happening, we are on the right direction. of course, in the china, pakistan economic corridor. we will become a hub connecting china to the rest of the world. great pleasure to talk to you and thank you very much forjoining us in the studio. the pakistan high commissioner. and tomorrow at five, we'll be speaking to the indian high commissioner to the uk, mr yashvardhan kumar sinha. this is bbc news at five. the headlines... india and pakistan mark 70 years of independence from britain — a moment of freedom that sparked one of the largest mass migrations the world has ever seen. president trump returns to washington amid criticism over his refusal to directly condemn white supremacist protestors over his refusal to directly condemn white supremacist protestors in virginia. the red cross say more than 300 people have died after a mudslide on the outskirts of sierra leone's capital, freetown. cristiano ronaldo has been banned for five games by the spanish football federation after pushing the referee in the real madrid victory over barcelona. he has ten days to appeal. the striker was told by antonio co nte the striker was told by antonio conte is not part of his plans this season. diego costa says he wants to return to atletico madrid. rory mcllroy says that he might not play again this year because of a rib injury that has been plaguing him all season. he finished tied for 22nd at the uspga. plenty more on those stories just after half past. we will see you then. the us vice president, mike pence, has specifically condemned far—right groups when asked to respond to the violence over the weekend in virginia. a woman was killed and 19 people were injured when a car was driven into a crowd protesting against a far—right rally in the city of charlottesville. president trump has been criticised for not identifying any specific group when he condemned the trouble, as our correspondent richard lister reports. president trump returned to washington from his newjersey golf resort to focus, he said, on trade and military. but the rest of the country has a very different focus at the moment. across america, people have been holding vigils to remember the young woman killed in charlottesville on saturday as she protested against a white supremacy rally. many here see the far right as emboldened by donald trump. they have been back on the streets, too. in seattle, a group calling itself patriot prayer was quickly surrounded. saturday's violence in cha rlottesville has become a defining moment in the trump presidency. the gathering of hundreds of white supremacists was, for many, shocking enough. but then this. a car driven into a group of counter protesters. these new pictures show the terror and chaos that followed. oh, my god! people are badly hurt. oh, my god. badly hurt! we need paramedics right now. 19 people were injured. 32—year—old heather heyer was killed. donald trump condemned what he called the violence on many sides but did not mention the far right hate groups involved. that was left to the vice president last night. we have no tolerance for hate and violence. from white supremacists, neo—nazis or the kkk. these dangerous fringe groups have no place in american public life and in the american debate and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. but many in the president's own party are angry at his reluctance to explicitly condemn the far right. their cause is hate. it is un—american. they are domestic terrorists and we need more from our president on this issue. he called for unity in ourcountry... the attorney general is due to update the president on charlottesville today. he has defended the president's response. he was strong about that. it was shortly after the event happened. within a couple of hours, actually, from him knowing about it. so i thought that was strong and yesterday, his spokesman explicitly condemned by name, the nazis... that was a spokesman, not the president. but it is the president's spokesman. 20—year—old james fields appeared in court today charged with the murder of heather heyer. he is alleged to be a long time sympathiser. murderer! nazis go home! outside the court in cha rlottesville, an indication for the president that the nation's attention will not easily be diverted. 0ur correspondent, laura bicker, joins me now from charlottesville. what is the mood here? people are still bringing flowers and trying to pay tribute to heather heyer. this is the spot she was killed on saturday afternoon. —— where she was killed. people were holding vigils and trying to have a moment of calm and reflection. but people were angry as well. they're angry and not just what happened people were angry as well. they're angry and notjust what happened but the fact that their own president is failing to call this people who came to their streets to cause, in their view, violence by the name. they believe this was the fault of white supremacists and they want to hear from the president that he condemns their actions. we know that president donald trump is about to speak within the next few minutes. everyone here will be watching that press c0 nfe re nce everyone here will be watching that press conference closely. i have certainly had from heather's friends. i have heard from leaders across charlottesville. 0ne friends. i have heard from leaders across charlottesville. one of the things they keep saying is that neo—nazis, the kkk, white supremacists are not welcome here. but some of them we know and hearing are still in the city and refusing to go home. there is still that simmering tension and worry that something might happen. laura, for the moment, thank you. we are expecting to hear from laura, for the moment, thank you. we are expecting to hearfrom president trump in the next few minutes. here is the scene where we're waiting for him to come and talk to the press. and perhaps say a little bit more about that violence in charlottesville. criticise very strongly by many people for not being explicit in his condemnation of the far right and white supremacists involved in the run—up to the violence that we saw in charlottesville. although we have had from his vice president, mike pence, much more specific in his criticism of neo—nazi and other far right groups. but the president on this book about many sides being to blame. —— only spoke about. it will be interesting to see if he will be more specific in his condemnation. we will bring you that live soon the president appears. the red cross say more than 300 people have died after a mudslide on the outskirts sierra leone's capital, freetown. dozens of houses were submerged after a waterlogged hillside collapsed. over 2,000 people have been made homeless as residents desperately search for survivors. 0ur reporter umaru fofana is in freetown and explained what the scene was like on the ground. i'm right on the ground, the road itself is almost impassable, massive rocks. this area called mount sugarloaf, the mountain caved in in the early hours of this morning, and has covered literally dozens of houses and hundreds of people are feared dead under the rubble. there are some ambulances parked here, but it is basically now a recovery mission instead of a rescue mission. there is a thick fog that has covered the entire area. i can't see anything beyond 10 metres, and i'm standing just next to where this accident happened this morning. the managing editor of sierra express media in freetown can speak to us now on the phone. thank you very much being with us. it sounds like an absolutely desperate situation. tell us what you think is possibly the death toll. how many people might have died in this disaster. it is hard to tell how many people have died because as i taught you know, they just picked up one body right in front of media. —— me. there are three orfour front of media. —— me. there are three or four ambulances right front of media. —— me. there are three orfour ambulances right in front of me. they are trained to put the body in the ambos. it is hard to tell at this time. so far, i can tell at this time. so far, i can tell you the death toll is over 300. i think that you helped pull some of the bodies out of the mudslide? well, some of the bodies were not from the mudslide by the rain itself. the flood. the flood washed some of these bodies down. they might have died from the mudslide but we are seeing bodies found in this small environment here. it is ha rd to this small environment here. it is hard to tell what actually caused the deaths but i know that last night there was heavy rain that cause floods and resulted in all this mess. presumably, a water rescue workers at the scene trying to save people? there are hundreds of rescue workers here at the moment. there are hundreds of them. many ambulances here at the moment. people searching for bodies. and there is collaboration elsewhere to find more bodies. thank you so much for being with us. at such a difficult time. it is just approaching half past five. let's check the latest weather prospects. thank you. many of us had some rain today but not all. in fact, some sunshine around in the south—east. that listed temperatures in one or two places close to 25 celsius. so we will continue to see some sunshine at times through this week but equally generally quite a cool feel with outbreaks of rain at times. we will see pulses of wet weather continuing to drift north of the beatles as we go through this evening and tonight. dry weather, clear spells elsewhere and thunderstorms creeping into south—east england by the end of the night. despite cool and fresh in the north—west. pretty warm in the south—east. tomorrow, are the reigning places but mostly clear is quite smartly and it will not be a bad day. sunshine around and show us as well. they could be heavy and fundy, especially the north. some places they can bully dry. still someone places they can bully dry. still someone in the south—eastern areas. central and eastern areas should be largely dry with some spells of hazy sunshine. further west, rain spreading, some heavy. a mixture of sunshine and showers for the end of the week. hello again. this is bbc news at 5 — the headlines: 70 years since the end of british colonial rule, india and pakistan mark the anniversary of their independence. partition led to sectarian violence, and one of the largest mass migrations of people the world has ever seen. president trump returns to washington amid criticism over his refusal to directly condemn white supremacist protestors in virginia. hundreds of people are feared dead and others remain trapped after a mudslide on the outskirts of sierra leone's capital, freetown. and, a 50% rise in the last year in the number of airline passengers arrested on suspicion of being drunk at british airports or on flights. let's cross to the bbc sport centre and join reshmin. hello. thank you very much. we start with cristiano ronaldo. he has been banned forfive games, after pushing the referee in last night's first leg of the spanish super cup. he'd already scored after coming on as a substitute in real madrid's 3—1win over barcelona at the camp nou. the first booking came after taking off his shirt in celebration. the second, for diving in the box — and then reacting to being sent off. he'll automatically miss wednesday's second leg. but the spanish football federation added an extra four, after what they describe as his "sign of disapproval". ronaldo has ten days to appeal. it is an acceptable to push a match official. we've got to have a respect for authority. we want to have respect and harmony but there has to be some distance for authority. there is nothing to excuse what ronaldo did. i can understand the ban but i wouldn't understand the ban but i wouldn't understand if the ban was overturned, because the message that would send out is that is now a cce pta ble would send out is that is now acceptable to do that to a match official, which i think anybody in the game, any player, any manager, any referee would say we cannot accept this, at any cost. diego costa has been fined by chelsea after failing to return to pre—season training last month. the striker, who was told by antonio conte that he isn't part of his plans for this season, is currently in brazil. in a recent interview, the spanish international threatened to sit out the remaining two years of his contract — unpaid if necessary — if chelsea don't allow him to leave the club. costa says he wants to return to atletico madrid. brazilian international and former tottenham midfielder paulinho is set to join barcelona. paulinho willjoin barca from chinese club guangzhou evergrande in a deal worth £36 million. he played a significant role in evergrande winning last season's chinese super league, and has established himself as a regular in the brazil side. he'll have a medical in spain on thursday. police have received complaints over neil lennon's conduct during hibernian's victory over rangers at the weekend. the complaints relate to his goal celebrations. the former celtic boss cupped his ears and appeared to raise a fist towards the rangers supporters. police are also investigating "offensive and threatening comments" made to lennon on social media. england's cricketers are gearing up for a "step into the unknown", as they prepare to face the west indies at edgbaston later this week. the first test in the three—match series in birmingham will be the first day—nighter to be played in england, and also the first involving england. west indies have already played — and lost — a day—night test, when they faced pakistan in dubai last year, but it's a whole new experience for the home side. ijust don't i just don't know what to expect. ijust don't know what to expect. i mean, the australian guys i know say the kookaburra ball nips around, but then the pink ball county round, the quys then the pink ball county round, the guys said the ball went quite soft quite quickly. we're just going to have to be so adaptable on the day, i think. the exciting thing as a player is we are going in with a completely clear mind, we're completely learning on thejob, almost. ithink mind, we're completely learning on thejob, almost. i think the mind, we're completely learning on the job, almost. i think the team that will come out most successful this week is the team that reacts quicker. rory mcilroy says he might not play again this year because of the rib injury which has plagued him all season. he'll make a decision in the new few days, before the end—of—season fedex cup play—offs get underway next week. mcilroy remains 4th in the world rankings, despite finishing in a tie for 22nd at the us pga championship at quail hollow yesterday. it's the third year in a row that he's failed to win one of the four majors. you can keep up—to—date with all of the sports news on our website. i'll have plenty more in sportsday at 6:30pm. see you then. thank you, see you later. back now to our top story, that india and pakistan are marking 70 years of independence from britain after nearly 200 years of colonial rule. the partition of one country into two independent nations led to one of the biggest mass migrations ever recorded. communities that had co—existed for centuries turned on each other, leading to an estimated 12 million people fleeing the violence for many, the horrors of the partition are not forgotten, as secunder kermani reports. in 1947, as britain decided to divide india along religious lines, hindus, sikhs and muslims — who had lived in relative peace — tore each other apart. amongst those involved in the violence was mohammed akram, just a teenager at the time. he helped attack a hindu politician, who had been calling for calm after a muslim man was killed. translation: someone struck him on the head with a brick. then a cry went up, "whoever does not hit him isn't a real man". me and the rest of the crowd beat him to death. do you ever regret your role in the killing? translation: our people were being murdered. how could we tolerate that? we wanted to kill even more. i am still proud of what i did. up to1 million people were killed in 1947. many of the most brutal attacks were on the trains carrying refugees into and out of pakistan, across the divided province of punjab. naseem begum is the eldest of five generations of her family living together in the city of gujranwala. the train she and her five—day—old baby were travelling on to pakistan was targeted by sikhs. translation: we hid under the luggage. they came on board, slashing everyone. cutting their faces, their legs, gouging their eyes. there were piles and piles of bodies. we were just silently praying. naseem lost nearly all her immediate family in the unrest. the horrors she witnessed continue to haunt her. translation: the fear of never leaves you. i still clearly remember how they used to strip people and cut them up. even now i feel scared that any time someone might come and kill me. atrocities were committed by both sides across the country. even here in these beautiful valleys north of islamabad, hundreds of sikhs were killed. but amidst the horror, there were heroes too. mehboob and his father secretly hid their sikh neighbours from a rampaging mob. translation: one night there was a knock on our door, a sikh girl was outside. she said, "for the love of god, save us. let us in or we will be killed". we sheltered them for two days. mehboob is proud of what he and his family did. he remembers fondly the time when sikhs and muslims lived here side—by—side. in pakistan, though, many prefer to look to the future rather than at the past. but each anniversary of partition, there are fewer left who lived through it. secunder kermani, bbc news, islamabad. we're waiting for president tramp and a news conference... waiting to hear what he has to say in charlottesville. i went today to meet with my economic team about trade policy and major tax cuts and reformat. we are renegotiating trade deals and making them good for the american worker, and it's about time. our economy is now strong. the stock market continues to hit record highs, unemployment is at a 16 year low and businesses are more optimistic than ever before. companies are moving back to the united states and bringing many thousands ofjobs with them. we have already created over1 millionjobs since i them. we have already created over1 million jobs since i took office. we will be discussing economic issues in greater detail later this afternoon, but based on the events that took place over the weekend in charlottesville, virginia, i would like to provide the nation with an update on the ongoing federal response to the horrific attack and violence that was witnessed by everyone. ijust met everyone. i just met with the everyone. ijust met with the fbi director christopher ray and attorney general jeff sessions. the department of justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the deadly car attack that killed one innocent american and wounded 20 others. to anyone who acted criminally in this week and's racist violence, you will be held fully accountable. justice will be delivered. asi will be delivered. as i said on saturday, we condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. it has no place in america. and as i have said many times before, no matter the colour of ourskin, we times before, no matter the colour of our skin, we all live under the same laws. we all salute the same great flag and we are all made by the same almighty god. we must love each other, show affection for each other and unite together in condemnation of hatred, bigotry and violence. we must rediscover the bonds of love and loyalty that bring us together as americans. racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the kkk, neo—nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as americans. we area as americans. we are a nation founded on the truth that all of us are created equal. we are equal in the eyes of our creator, we are equal under the law and we are equal under our constitution. those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very co re name of bigotry strike at the very core of america. two days ago a young american woman, heather heyer, was tragically killed. her death fills us with grief and we send her family our thoughts, our prayers and our love. we also mourn the two virginia state troopers who died in service to their community, their commonwealth and their country. troopers who exemplified the very best of america and our hearts go out to their families, theirfriends and our hearts go out to their families, their friends and and our hearts go out to their families, theirfriends and every member of american law enforcement. these three fallen americans embodied the goodness and decency of our nation. in times such as these, america has always shown its true character. responding to hate with love, division with unity, and violence with an unwavering resolve forjustice. as a candidate, i promised to restore law and order to our country and our federal law enforcement agencies are following through on that pledge. we will spare no resource infighting, so that every american child can grow up free from violence and fear. we will defend and protect the sacred rights of all americans and we will work together so that every citizen in this blessed land is free to follow their dreams in their hearts, and to express their love and joy in their souls. thank you, god bless you, and god bless america. thank you very much. well, the president not taking any questions, but he was very explicit there, after a lot of criticism about the fact that he hadn't seemed to be very explicit about the far right groups in charlottesville. he was this time very, very specific in his criticism. he said that the kkk, neo—nazis and white supremacist and other hate groups were repugnant, in his words. he condemned all sorts of bigotry and violence. he said racism is evil, and those who carry out attacks in the name of races are criminals and thugs. so, the president clearly hoping to go some way with that press conference there, which he didn't ta ke conference there, which he didn't take questions to, to reducing some of the criticism of him that there has been since that violence in charlottesville. joining me now from philadelphia is matthew lyons, an independent researcher on the far right in america who has studied the origins and development of the far right in america. let's talk about the far right in just a moment. i don't know if you just a moment. i don't know if you just heard what the president was saying, but he was now very, very explicit in his condemnation of the far right. yes, andi far right. yes, and i think, as you pointed out, this was a real departure from earlier statement that he has made. it's kind of the latest chapter in a very kind of conflicted relationship that he's had with at least certain sectors of the far right, known as the alt—right, who have been some of his staunchest supporters during the campaign and forthe his staunchest supporters during the campaign and for the early part of his presidency but have also been, in recent months, rather disenchanted with some of his policy decisions and appointments. this certainly is not going to endear him to those far rightists. the criticism of him initially was, as you said, that he was equivocal, really. he said there was wrong committed on many sides in charlottesville. he didn't specify the far right or the kkk or the neo—nazis. the far right or the kkk or the neo-nazis. yes, yes, and that was characteristic of a number of state m e nts characteristic of a number of statements that he had made previously, where he was equivocal or quite vague in his response to far right statements of support. at one point denying that he knew who david duke was, things like this. so it's quite striking now to hear him being much more explicit, as you say. i'm sure he's had some stern talking to from some people in his own party, who criticised his equivocation earlier. and when he was equivocal, when he was vague, if he was just being vague initially, was that deliberate, in a sense? do you think he was deliberately not wanting to alienate some of his supporters, who are frankly on the far right? well, i can't read his mind, of course, but that certainly seems to be the case. it seems to me that he was aware that the alt—right and other far was aware that the alt—right and otherfar right was aware that the alt—right and other far right elements who supported him were actually quite useful in his campaign, for example in ridiculing some of his opponents within the republican party, and also the kinds of white nationalist sentiments they represented spoke to a portion of his support base in the electorate. not to say that all trump supporters are white nationalists, but the kind of sense of... being threatened from below or threatened by historically marginalised groups is something that resonated with some of his supporters. so i think he has recognised that. good to talk to, thank you very much matthew lyons, independent researcher on the alt—right in the united states, thank you. back to our main news this evening. the 70th anniversary of the partition of india. the division of the indian subcontinent into hindu—majority india, and muslim—majority pakistan resulted in one of the largest migrations the world has ever seen. nisid hajari is the author of midnight's furies: the deadly legacy of india's partition, which chronicles the partition of india and the riots and violence that followed. we can speak to nisid from bangkok. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. just looking back 70 years, was all that the violence and that huge upheaval that saw millions of peoples uprooted from their homes, was that all inevitable? was it the force of the british, was it the rush to d: i is in 1947 or if decolonisation happened earlier, could it have been avoided?” decolonisation happened earlier, could it have been avoided? i think it clearly wasn't inevitable. there's plenty of blame to go around. obviously the british at the time were still in charge of law and order and i think they underestimated the potential for violence and overestimated their ability to control the various groups that were threatening violence openly. they believed that the mere threat of military force would intimidate them. but of course the two governments that took over from the british, the indian and pakistani governments, also have to ta ke pakistani governments, also have to take their share of blame. politicians on both sides whipped up hysteria and sentiments against the opposite communities. those demons they unleashed came home to warn them on the 15th of august. the blood—letting on all sides were terrific, wasn't it? neighbours that had lived alongside each other for yea rs had lived alongside each other for years and years suddenlyjust murdering each other. exactly. the savagery was stunning. journalists at the time who covered the violence, many of them had covered world war ii as well, and they said what they saw rival to the horrors they had seen in the nazi death camps. it did affect ordinary people, but i think what's also important to remember is it wasn't entirely spontaneous. it's not that neighbours suddenly woke up one morning and decided to go and attack the neighbour they had lived next to for decades. there were small groups of militias, death squads that were roaming around and pulling together large mobs of people and then a mob hysteria took hold. a lot of people, if you interview them now, say they don't even know what came over them, it was a sort of temporary insanity that cause them to pick up arms and conduct this violence. we talked about the rush of decolonisation. the border between the new india and the new pakistan was created by the british in just five weeks, and by an architect who had never even been to india. no, exactly. although, this is one element that is often brought up, radcliffe is often blamed for the violence itself. the fact is eve ryo ne violence itself. the fact is everyone sort of knew about where the border was going to run. it had to be drawn along population wind, with muslim majority areas on one side and non—muslim majority areas on the others. the basic line of the border had been known about year before independence. the real problem is politicians on both sides hadn't prepared their people for this. they hadn't really explain to them what this would mean, what kind of border they in should, whether people would have to move... they hadn't been reassured if they were a minority on the wrong side of the border that they would be protected, no matter who they were. that caused a lot of fear and anxiety, which led to the movement of people stop white just briefly, the madness, the insanity you have described. to what extent has that coloured relations between india and pakistan in the seven decade since question frankly they are still pretty bad, aren't they, relations between the two countries? exactly. they goes back to partition. the relations between india and pakistan were set in this crucible, this violence, at their birth. many things have happened since then to exacerbate those tensions, but the basic relationship between them is still haunted by this original sin. and the fact that both sides have narratives about what happened that are almost mutually exclusive. they haven't been able to come together and agree upon what actually happened, who was to blame and how to share blame so they can move on to a more positive future. nisid hajari, thank you for being with us. here, the chimes of big ben will be heard for a final time next week, before major conservation work begins on the westminster tower which houses the bell. the clock won't resume its regular time—keeping duties until 2021, although specialist clock makers will ensure that big ben can still bong for important national events, such as new year's eve and remembrance sunday. our political correspondent leila natthoo has the story. we are right at the top of the elizabeth tower, above the clock face. and here it is, big ben, all 14 tonnes of the great bell that rings out every hour. and here are the four smaller quarter bells too. it's absolutely deafening at this close range. they have given us protective headphones to be this close to it, but from next monday the bells will fall silent to allow for renovations to take place. it's not actually the bells themselves that need repairing, it's the mechanism that causes the clocks to tick and the hammers to hit the bells that need to work. and there's also a wider programme of renovation under way already on the tower itself, dealing with issues like damp and condensation, putting a lift in so the silence is really for the workmen too. so, in the coming weeks and months, scaffolding will be going up right to the top of the tower. but it's hoped that at least one clock face will be visible and working at all times, and the bells will still ring out on special occasions like new year's eve and remembrance sunday. but next monday afternoon at noon will be the last time for some time to gather to hear those regular sounds. and for us here in westminster, a strange silence will descend in the absence of such familiar and reassuring sounds. we have had big ben, ben brown, ben rich with the weather. thank you. one thing that hasn't been running like clockwork is the summer. been running like clockwork is the summer. today we have had the highest temperature this august, all the way up to 25 degrees. that is it and it was recorded in kent at gravesend earlier today. we saw some sunshine, and where we had some sunshine, and where we had some sunshine there is some warmth but generally speaking, quite a cool week in trust that with outbreaks of rain at times. a lot of cloud and looks quite cool in harrogate. the cloud has produced some rain and will continue to do service that you can see quite a lot of heavy rain pushing into wales and thunderstorms clipping into northern ireland. all of this wet weather will continue to journey northwards and eastwards across wales, northern england, northern ireland and sliding into eastern scotland overnight. further thunderstorms in the far south—east of england later on but by the end of england later on but by the end of the night most places dry with clear spells and it will be a little bit chilly up towards the north—west. a cool start across scotland my morning but a bright start with sunshine. some showers in the west first thing and persistent rain across shetland for the early morning, perhaps clipping into aberdeenshire as well. northern ireland, northern england, some sunshine and a few showers to get us going tomorrow morning. across east anglia and the saudis, largely dry by eight o'clock, perhaps just some drain clinging onto the kent coast. spells of sunshine, 15 degrees for the morning commute in exeter. tomorrow, essentially a day of sunshine and showers. most of the showers will be found across northern areas, scotland, the far northern areas, scotland, the far north of northern england and northern ireland, where there could be heavy with an odd rumble of thunder. further south, most be heavy with an odd rumble of thunder. furthersouth, most places staying dry and still some warmth across parts of the south—east. during tuesday night and wednesday, this little ridge of high pressure trying to take control of our weather will hold on for long enough in central and eastern areas to give a largely fine day on wednesday, with some spells of sunshine, although that sunshine turning a little hazy as high cloud increases from the west. the cloud bringing some rain into northern ireland, western scotland, eventually wales and the west of england. 17 in glasgow, still up to 22 in london. generally as they get to the end of the week, quite a cool feel to the weather, a mixture of sunshine and showers and for some on friday some pretty strong winds as well. a mixed week of what about a little bit of sunshine and warmth to be found if you're lucky. tonight at six. a humanitarian disaster in the west african state of sierra leone. more than three hundred dead. after torrential rain, a mudslide has buried a part of this area outside the capital. thousands more have been left homeless. emergency workers are stretched to the limit. this is a country still recovering from the ebola crisis. we'll bring you the latest... also tonight... seventy years since british colonial rule in india ended and pakistan was born. a nation created — a home for muslims — but amidst the celebrations there are memories of a darker past. the partition into pakistan and india was followed by violence between muslims, hindus and sikhs. i'll be reporting live from lahore — asking people here whether the high hopes of independence have been realised.