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 am laura trevelyan. The russia investigation gets closer to the white house. The attorney general and cabinet member have been interviewed by the special counsel. Life below the ice. The bbc gets exclusive access to rare ecosystems within the antarctic. The question is how to preserve this unique part of the world. I mean, look at it here. It is absolutely beautiful. No one can deny that the region needs protecting. But what is the best way to do it . Laura and leading the oscar pack is the shape of water, a fantasyromance with 13 nominations. To our viewers on Public Television and around the world. The u. S. Attorney general has been questioned as part of the special counsels investigation into links between the Trump Campaign and russia. It is the first time we have learned that a member of the president s cabinet has been quizzed. According to u. S. Media, Jeff Sessions spoke to Robert Muellers team last week. This is just the latest twist involving mr. Sessions and investigations into russia. Earlier i spoke to Josh Kraushaar of national journal. How significant a development is this, the president attorney the president s attorney general being interviewed by Robert Muellers team . Josh this is a significant development, because Jeff Sessions has been by Donald Trumps side both from the early days of the campaign and as his attorney general and one of his closest confidants early on in the administration. The fact that he is seeking an interview with the attorney general suggests that there are leads that could lead mueller to conclude that obstruction of justice took place. Laura right, well, on that point, the Washington Post has reported tonight that muellers team want to question about the departures of michael flynn, the former National Security advisor, and as you were just mentioning, james comey, the former fbi director. How serious a line of inquiry is that for the president . Josh it is a real risk for the white house because the president has a tendency to exaggerate and even outright make things up, which would put him under quite a bit of legal jeopardy if he was on record and being taped giving testimony to the special counsel. Trumps lawyers, i think, are trying to come up with a bargain were some of the statements could be in written form, some could be perhaps done persontoperson. This is a real challenge for trumps legal team in avoiding trying to avoid the president from having further legal exposure. Laura what does it tell you, the fact that so many big names have been interviewed by mueller , that he is going to speak to steve bannon, Jeff Sessions, that he interviewed james comey last week . Josh the walls are closing in on the Trump White House. We dont know what they are going to say, but these are serious players in the Trump White House that go to trumps inner circle. They are looking to big fish. Robert mueller thinks there is something there and not leaving any stone unturned. Laura is Jeff Sessions foldable is Jeff Sessions vulnerable because of what he could not recall in his hearing . The reason Jeff Sessions has been under such scrutiny is he gave testimony that turned out to be inconsistent about revelations that came out about it contacts with russian representatives. Whenever you are not telling the full truth to congress, it always raises questions about your credibility on other issues. Robert mueller will put the threat of the law on Jeff Sessions and he probably got more direct answers than Jeff Sessions was willing to give before congress. Laura the president said today that he was not concerned about the interview but his tweets would suggest otherwise. Josh the president s best interest is to stay out of this and not comment on the legal maneuverings of robert mueller, but sometimes he cannot help himself. Laura you cant indeed, he cant indeed, and back here on earth, the government is tried to stay open, but there is another drama looming. Josh we punted the spending battle, and democrats took a political hit in washington. They tried to use government funding as hostage to get concessions on immigration, concessions on daca, children of undocumented immigrants. That battle will be going to the first week of february. We will have a similar battle over government funding and immigration and hopefully the three weeks can buy some time for compromise. Laura lets hope. Josh kraushaar, thank you for joining us. On wednesday, judges in brazil will decide whether or not to uphold the corruption conviction against former president lula da silva. Yes has been found guilty of accepting a penthouse apartment as a prize, but he has millions of supporters who say that the charges against him are politically motivated. Our south america correspondent katy watson reports from brazil. Katy jose points out his old house. For more than 20 years, he lived here. But thanks to a Housing Program created when lula was president , he moved into a brandnew block of flats next door. He is grateful, but pragmatic. His government was good when it comes to housing, because lots of people had no means to live well, and now they live in their own house. But in general, politicians are pretty dirty. I will not judge whether he is innocent or not, but if he has not done anything wrong, he will prove it. Katy on the other side of sao paulo, tome is angry. He owns a construction company. He is ashamed of the corruption scandals that have engulfed politicians and Business People in recent years and feels look is the biggest symbol of all that has gone wrong. Brazilians are fed up with the political class. We cant put up with any more. They are all rich millionaires and billionaires. Lula started his career as a trade unionist, man of the people fighting corruption. He managed to institutionalize corruption. Nobody has robbed as much in the history of brazil as during the period of the Workers Party. Katy members and supporters of the Workers Party are out in force. Lulas face and presence is everywhere. People arriving at this camp have come from all over brazil to be here for lula. They are not just here to support his court battle, they are here to voice support for a run for president later this year, a race he is currently leading. Elections without lula are fraudulent, reads this banner. His supporters say there is no evidence against him and it is just a way to stop him becoming president again. What he is presenting nowadays, maybe the only option, political option, that the working class has in brazil. I am pretty sure he wont be sent to prison, but if lula is found guilty, he will become a martyr. Katy nobody knows which way the judges will vote on wednesday, but whatever the decision, authorities are preparing for strong reactions on both sides. Katy watson, bbc news, brazil. Laura big day in brazil tomorrow. In other news from around the world, french president Emmanuel Macron is to visit the white house in late april, says a senior u. S. Official. This will be president macrons first state visit to the white house, and will include the first state dinner hosted by donald trump and his wife, melania. President trump was welcomed by mr. Macron in paris last year when he joined the bastille day celebrations. A regulator has ruled that foxs proposed takeover of sky is not in the public interest. The regulator said the deal would give the Murdoch Family too much control over the news in britain, but suggest it could go ahead if sky news could be protected. People living on a small island off the coast of alaska were woken up very early this morning by this. [siren] warning rangami out after a powerful earthquake in the gulf of alaska struck around 160 miles off the coast. The warnings extended down the west coast of canada and the United States, but theyve since been lifted. There has also been seismic activity recorded in indonesia, the philippines, and japan. For more come i spoke earlier with michio kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the city college of new york. Tell us, what is the connection between all the seismic activity we are seeing . Michio it looks like a specific like the pacific ring of fire is having a temper tantrum and living up to its reputation as the most seismically active area on the planet earth. If you draw a circle from chile to mexico to california up to alaska down to japan and indonesia, you begin to realize that this pacific ring of fire is the most active area on the planet earth, creating a 7. 9 earthquake in alaska, a rupture in japan. And also in japan. Laura but, michio, what is making the pacific ring of fire so active right now . Michio well, we dont know. We think it is a coincidence. I should also point out that the 7. 9 earthquake that hit alaska recently is enough to devastate a major city like san francisco. So we dodged a bullet on that one. It turns out it was an offshoot of the main fault line that shook alaska, but back in 1964, they had a 9. 2 earthquake there that was in fact the biggest earthquake ever to hit the United States of america. And so you begin to realize how active the area is. However, we dont think there is a correlation between this activity. Laura even so, how worried are you about the possibility of a major earthquake in a densely populated area of the United States west coast . Michio i think it is inevitable. Many seismologists say perhaps northern la could be one of the week links in the whole chain. We know more about the cycle time along the san andreas fault, and according to one study done by reputable seismologists, we are overdue for another big one. It is inevitable that in our lifetime we may see a major city in california destroyed. Laura is there a link between our changing climate and the volcanic activity that we are seeing . Michio some people think so. I dont. However, it is like a coincidence that we have had these massive destructions in the weather at the same time we have had rumblings in the pacific ring of fire. But i think they are largely independent. Laura could we be doing more to protect ourselves against the possibility of a volcanic activity in the United States . Michio that is a big one. We have a super volcano in the middle of the u. S. Of a. In yellowstone, and when it are reps when it erupts, we dont know when, it could destroy a huge chunk of the Central Region of the u. S. Of a. But again, earthquake prediction, volcanic prediction, is like black magic. We simply have no way of predicting these phenomena. Our science is not that advanced. Laura michio kaku, thank you so much for joining us. Michio thank you. Laura from the pacific rim to the antarctic, where researchers have discovered ecosystems living below the ice below the sea. They say the environment is so rare that the area should have special protection. The bbcs Claire Marshall went sailing on a greenpeace ship and ve down inwn do a submarine to see for herself what the scientists have found. Here is her exclusive report. Claire antarctica, the most remote continent in the world. It is still largely unexplored, and we know even less about the icy seas that ring it. Now machines are making it possible to catch a glimpse. A minisubmarine is taking this marine biologist down into the antarctic deep. Above is a land of frigid ice. Below is a thriving mass of life. Oh, that is really pretty. Claire no light penetrates the penetrates this deep. Plants cant grow. These are all animals. Then it was my turn to go down with the pilot. We dropped much deeper. More than 1000 feet down, we find a wall of life. Sponges and corals. See stars. All thriving in complete darkness. A robot arm captures samples. Some of these species have never been filmed before. They are threatened by an increase in fishing in the region. Too soon we have to leave. 22, we have a visual, over. Claire we surface very close to some icebergs. Chunk of ice. Claire at last, the diver gets a hook in our sub. But then the crane brakes. Breaks. We are stranded for an hour. It feels good to finally be down. We gathered evidence of a unique ecosystem that deserves protection. Its really exciting, really dense seabed, full of life, huge diversity. And also, organisms living together and creating a structure so more organisms can live. These can be very vulnerable to disturbance, and they need special protection. Claire no one can deny that this region needs protecting, but what is the best way to do it . Is a line on a map going to make much difference . Who is going to Police Anything out here . The proposal to protect all of these creatures and their world will be heard by the antarctic nations in october. Claire marshall, bbc news, the antarctic peninsula. Laura a stunning part of the world in need of preservation. You are watching bbc world news america. Still to come on tonights program laura his music portrayed the struggles of south africa during apartheid. Jazz trumpeter and campaigner Hugh Masekela dies at the age of 78. We will have his extraordinary story just ahead. A court in myanmar has denied that the bail request for 2 journalists who were detained. The pair from the Reuters News Agency are accused of violating the countrys colonialera official secrets act. They had worked on coverage of the crisis in Rakhine State when the Government Forces cracked down on insurgents will they could face a sentence of up to 14 years in jail. Our correspondent Jonathan Head has more on the case of the 2 journalists. Jonathan this is journalism on trial. They have already spent six weeks in custody, and if convicted, could end up with 14 years. Today they were hoping for relief on bail their alleged crime, little more than dogged investigation in the wholesale destruction of many Rohingya Muslim villages. The government has blocked access to northern Rakhine State for journalists and the u. N. Except on rare official tours like this one. They had been offered documents about the conflict by a Police Officer when they were arrested. These may have related to this village, seen here before last and after itence with all the muslim homes burned. The army has admitted for the first time that its soldiers wrongly killed people here. Has attracted an extraordinary amount of international concern, not just over the fate of the 2 journalists, but the climate of openness and freedom that began in myanmar six years ago in bringing so much hope to the country, which now seems to be closing down. Case has cast a shadow over what was already an increasingly intimidating local media. At the end of the day, the 2 journalists remain in custody. Laura the Legendary South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela has died. His family says he had been battling cancer. The man called the father of south african jazz was also influential outside the music world. Masekela played a pivotal role in the fight against apartheid. A look back on his life. Reporter the trumpet has fallen silent. Haspassing of Hugh Masekela a many across the country and around the world. Been described as the eptiome of a life lived in full. He was a family man, a worldrenowned artist, a philanthropist, and political activist. The 78yearold was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2008. He put up a fierce fight. But last october he was forced to cancel all of his concerts. A fellow musician and friend says africa has lost its greatest treasure. I think uncle hugh was a living legend. He made be gone, but his music will always be there. The world has lost a great icon. The world has lost a leader. The world has lost a comedian, because he was hilarious. When there was uncle hugh, there was laughter all the time. And i dont know what to say. Im just heartbroken, im upset. But i will remember all the good things that he did. Whether you were young, a king, a leader, or a street person, we were all equal in hughs face, and he would greet everybody and talk to anybody. I lived in guinea, i lived in liberia, i lived in senegal reporter at the height of white oppression in south africa, for many black musicians, jazz became the soundtrack of the resistance. Masekela was forced into exile, but once he returned, he was determined to make a difference. I got somewhat from africa, and so much from africa, and i need to pay back, and the only way to pay back is by making the people see how wonderful they are. Reporter Hugh Masekela described himself as a troublesome child, and spoke of the many times music saved his life, even later on at the height of a drug addiction. This picture marks one of the began, when a missionary stationed here in south africa gave him his first trumpet. With that, the music legend was born. He was an unlikely ally at the height of racial oppression here in south africa. Masekela continued to use his voice over the years to speak truth to power. Laura the legendary Hugh Masekela. Now, the Oscar Nominations are out, and leaving the field with 13 is the fantasyromance the shape of water. The best actor category is dominated by the brits, with gary oldman, daniel daylewis, and Daniel Kaluuya nominated. And meryl streep, who has three 21sts already, gets h