and — why so many people are heading to this london pub for a "swift" drink. donald trump has returned to court in new york to hear the opening statements in his criminal trial over the alleged cover up of a hush money payment to the porn star stormy daniels. prosecutors told the jury the case was about a criminal conspiracy and a cover up. but the defence said donald trump was not personally involved. mrtrump, how are you feeling, sir? how is he feeling? uncharacteristically nervous, you would imagine, as he makes his way to the opening day of his criminal trial. first, his usual claims

that this is a politically motivated witch hunt orchestrated by president biden. these are all biden trials. this is done as election interference. everybody knows it. i'm here instead of being able to be in pennsylvania and georgia and lots of other places campaigning, and it's very unfair. inside the court, we see a man accustomed to being in charge now not in control. forced to sit and listen to the prosecution's allegations, whether he likes it or not, with the jury carefully watching his reactions. the story of the porn star stormy daniels is central to the case. the prosecution said that paying her $130,000 in hush money was election fraud, pure and simple, orchestrated by donald trump. the court will hear evidence from trump's former fixer, now sworn enemy, michael cohen. he'll describe making that payment on mr trump's instructions. the defence will brand him an admitted liar and convicted criminal, who's now obsessed

with his former boss. mr cohen was earlier involved in paying off a playboy model, karen mcdougal, who also said she'd had an affair with donald trump. he even recorded a conversation with mr trump about that deal, which the prosecution will use to show a pattern of behaviour. it will be a dramatic moment when michael cohen gives evidence as the prosecution's star witness, and there may be some rather more salacious testimony as well. donald trump's lawyers believe stormy daniels herself will be called to the stand. the first witness was david pecker, from the national enquirer magazine, who the prosecution claim conspired with donald trump to stop harmful stories being published that could damage his presidential campaign. donald trump will be back in court tomorrow in a case that's expected to last around six weeks. sarah smith, bbc news, new york.

i'm spoke to our washington correspondent, gary 0'donoghue. i think we got the sort of broad brush, if you like, the broad brush statements of the the cases for the prosecution and the defense and the prosecution, as you said, suggesting that these payments to stormy daniels state's defendant, stephanie clifford, were really designed to keep her quiet before the 2016 election. her story was threatening to come out at that time. and the allegation is that the campaign, donald trump, his advisers, all wanted to stop that happening just weeks before the election. and that this is really about the way in which that money was reimbursed to michael cohen, the lawyer who actually arranged the payments. so donald trump is, in fact, accused of falsifying business records, but it's been turned into a felony rather than a misdemeanor, if you like, by this added accusation that it was done to interfere with the election to prevent this information coming out before the election. the defence, for their part, said, "look, don't forget, you might not like it, but it's no crime to pay a porn star. we're all allowed to do that if we want to do that".

and that donald trump wasn't involved in these accounting processes of which he's been accused of falsifying business records. they will also say that the reason the money was paid was to protect the family rather than to interfere with the election. so we're looking at a series of witnesses, the first of which has come today to the stand, just really getting going. not much said by him. this is david pecker, who's the former publisher for the national enquirer, which is a tabloid newspaper here in the united states. and they were involved, really, in in helping donald trump kill various damaging stories. a process called catch and kill, where they would buy the stories off people who had damaging things to say about donald trump — they did it for others, too, and then simply not publish them. he's been on the stand and will be back on the stand tomorrow. the other thing, stephen, to bear in mind is that thejudge will also have a hearing before the jury goes to court tomorrow on a gag order that

donald trump is subject to, where he's not meant to talk about witnesses in public, which he has done, according to the prosecution, at least seven times. and he did again today in the clip you heard there where he laid into michael cohen, who was his formal lawyer, who's going to be one of the main prosecution witnesses and who arranged those payments to stormy daniels. to china now where more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in guangdong, after days of heavy rain caused massive flooding in the country's most populous province. four people have died so far, while ten have gone missing, according to state media. weather forecasters say the situation�*s "grim". laura bicker has more from beijing. powerful storms across southern china turned rivers into raging torrents. roads became fast flowing rapids cascading down village streets as hail the size of golf balls fell

from the sky. watch the right hand corner of the security camera. the bridge simply couldn't withstand the sheer force of the flood. the destruction became clearer in daylight, as did the number of people left stranded. some almost managed to sleep through their rescue, cradled from the worst of the rising floodwaters. but others cried for help as their streets were submerged. rescuers had to navigate their boats through a flooded urban landscape. tens of thousands of people were evacuated across the province. several regions stayed on alert as water levels rose over the weekend, drowning dozens of crops. 61—year—old huangjing rong couldn't save his farm

from being swamped. translation: it was not my home. translation: it was my home. everything is gone or the seedlings are gone. i lost over 13,000 us dollars. 0ur fields over there are all flooded. guangdong is prone to floods, but not this early in the year. weather events in china have become more intense and unpredictable due to global warming. in guangdong, the clean—up can begin. officials will continue to monitor water levels in the hope that for now the worst has passed. laura bicker, bbc news, beijing. i spoke to roger falconer. he's a professor of water and environmental engineering at cardiff university and foreign member of the chinese academy of engineering. he explained how unusual this

funding is. flooding. well, these i've never seen floods as bad as this. i've seen many floods in many parts of the world and i've never seen floods as bad as this. and... these are going to need large scale engineering solutions. i mean, there is considerable enthusiasm in europe now to try to solve our flooding or reduce flood risk considerably with nature—based solutions. the european union, sorry, the european environment agency, for example, has a policy of "think green before grey", in other words, plant trees or vegetation to reduce flood risk. but you only have to look at that tree in that flood video you've got and the tree has no impact. so we're going to have to turn to real hard engineering solutions to address these problems. now, engineers put a man on the moon in 1969. engineers have today designed autonomous vehicles that can be driven around the states without the driver touching the wheel, so engineers can address these problems, in my view. and what do you think china is doing, or what is china doing to protect these highly populated areas like these from being affected 7

well, firstly, i've been going to china for a0 years — since 1982, and no country has put more effort into mitigating floods than china. the chinese academy, just to give you one example, the chinese academy of engineering are supporting biennial workshops and conferences, bring in international experts from around the world. this is led by academicians from the the nanjing hydraulic research institute and hohai university. and that is a major contribution by them. if you look at academic papers, for example, in the top journals, most of those papers on flooding now are written by chinese academics. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.... an independent review of the un agency for palestinian refugees has found that it needs to improve standards of transparency and neutrality. the report also says israel has yet to provide evidence to support its allegations that many locals employed

by the agency belonged to the hamas militant group. meanwhile, dozens of protesters have been arrested at yale university as demonstrations against the war in gaza hit us campuses. speaking to the bbc, the ivy league university said that protesters had occupied a square and ignored requests to leave. it comes a week after 100 people were arrested at columbia university for staging similar actions ecuadorian police have arrested a high profile gang leader who escaped from prison injanuary. fabricio colon pico lead the los lobos gang which is thought to have over 8,000 members and is complicit in the attempted murders of several high profile politicians. the former news anchor huw edwards has resigned from the bbc saying he was leaving on the basis of medical advice from his doctors. he worked at the bbc for a0 years — the highest profile and highest paid news presenter, who also fronted major national events — most recently the king's

coronation. but he's been off air since lastjuly after newpaper reports emerged claiming that he had paid a young person for sexually explicit images. our culture editor katie razzall reports. that's all from bbc news at ten here in edinburgh... this was the last time huw edwards appeared on air, back in july last year. he'd been at the helm of the bbc�*s flagship news at ten for more than two decades. good evening. it's been a day of turmoil on the world's money markets. and we're live in washington, as donald trump celebrates a stunning victory over hillary clinton. tonight at ten, one of the biggest military operations of the past 20 years... today, the presenter resigned and left the bbc, nine months after allegations about his private life made headlines. the bbc said: "after a0 years of service, huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors. the bbc has accepted his resignation, which it believes will allow all parties to move forward." the moment of crowning

has arrived. huw edwards was more than just a regular presenter. he's been the face of the bbc through some of the nation's landmark moments. for the fourth time in the space of five years. he presented elections... and we're live in downing street, where borisjohnson... ..and held our hands through royal and state occasions, even announcing the death of queen elizabeth. the palace has just issued this statement. but a newspaper headline changed everything. last summer, the sun published a series of articles alleging that an unnamed bbc presenter had paid a young person to send what the paper described as "sordid images". within days, lawyers representing that person said it was totally wrong and there was no truth in it. but speculation about who the unnamed bbc presenter was ended when huw edwards�* wife issued a statement revealing his name. she said he was suffering "severe mental health issues". police said there was no evidence anything illegal had taken place.

but huw edwards remained suspended, and the bbc said its internal investigation into the presenter�*s behaviour would continue. there are 650... resolving the issue of whether he would return to screen has taken months, during which, it's believed huw edwards — the bbc�*s highest paid news presenter — continued to receive his salary, around £aa0,000 a year. welcome to windsor for this celebration... today, his a0—year career at the bbc is over. from reporting on politics for bbc wales to his prestigious role bringing the news to the nation, this is now the end of an era. katie razzall, bbc news a bring your breaking news from the uk, where the time is about 15 minutes past midnight, and the last few moments, we understand the rwanda bill has now formally passed after the lords decided not to table any further amendments. let's get

to work political correspondent ben wright in westminster for more on this. we understand it isjust been more on this. we understand it is just been passed so i guess in a night of long debates has finally come to an end. fix, in a night of long debates has finally come to an end. a long evenin: finally come to an end. a long evening of— finally come to an end. a long evening of wrangling - finally come to an end. a long evening of wrangling between| evening of wrangling between the lords and commons is over, and it appears they have conceded, the lords, they have thrown in the towel and exited the elected house of commons will get its way and the governments safety of rwanda bill will get royal assent under common law, and it takes the government a huge step closer to seeing planes take off for rwanda in the next ten or 12 weeks, and the first asylum weaker —— seekers will be sent to that east african country. it's a big moment for rishi sunak. it was two years ago the government came up with the idea of sending asylum—seekers to rwanda, and it's been bogged down and derailed with legal challenges and the court decided and it was unlawful i'd massive

opposition from opposition parties and peers across the house of lords in the last few weeks but the government bill becomes law and flights will take off. that does not mean there would not be other legal challenges to slow the process down, but the government is much closer to seeing the planet realized that it has been since it was conceived. the conclusion of this debate and itjust moments ago, gets us up—to—date on the final hurting that managed to be crossed. ., , ., ., , crossed. the house of lords wanted extra _ crossed. the house of lords wanted extra assurance - crossed. the house of lords wanted extra assurance is i crossed. the house of lords. wanted extra assurance is put into the bill concerning the safety of rwanda. they had wanted an independent panel to assess how swift rwanda was and for the home secretary to make a statement to parliament asserting that was the case. the government rejected that and rather than continue the battle with the house of commons, the peers, the unelected chamber, the unelected chamber, the unelected part of parliament, decided they made their

rejections clear enough but they would not persuade mps of their argument, which is why they are folded, really, and said the will of the commons is clear, the bill must become law. �* , , , ., law. and the premises at the fli . ht law. and the premises at the flight sticking _ law. and the premises at the l flight sticking asylum-seekers flight sticking asylum—seekers to rwanda could take off ten or 12 weeks from now. why is this such an important bill for him? it is a central pledge he made to voters, one of the five priorities he made when he became prime minister, that he wanted to stop the boats. at the moments, there's a huge number, thousands of people since the start of the year, traveling across the channel in small boats and risking their lives to try to get asylum in the uk. the government believes that this bill, the threats and deterrence of having some asylum—seekers sent to rwanda, where the asylum claim will be looked at with no prospect of returning to the uk, would act as a deterrent and stop people crossing the channel and the numbers we have seen in the last few years. that is a great

political gamble that rishi sunak is taking, and with the general election expected in the autumn, not long to go, he doesn't have long to prove to voters that this very controversial plan will do what she has promised.— controversial plan will do what she has promised. thank you for caettin us she has promised. thank you for getting us up — she has promised. thank you for getting us up to _ she has promised. thank you for getting us up to speed _ she has promised. thank you for getting us up to speed with - getting us up to speed with that breaking news. ben wright, our political correspondent in westminster. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's get two more on the opening day. more now on the opening day of donald trump's criminal trial in new york, where it's shaping up to be a busy week for mr trump and his legal team. while he's been in criminal court for his hush money trial — his lawyers have also been in civil court — for a hearing on whether or not the $175 million bond he put up so he can appeal against the huge fine for fraud is acceptable. on wednesday — his team will be sifting through the grand jury testimony of his former aide, walt nauta — about the

discovery of classified documents at his mar—a—lago base in florida. and on thursday — the supreme court will hear arguments about his claims that he has presidential immunity from any federal prosecutions — though the ruling could be several months away. earlier, i spoke to formerfederal prosecutor neama rahmani. he told me more about the severity of the case for donald trump. well, it's very serious. a hush money payment by itself is not illegal, nor is having an extramarital affair. but what the prosecution is trying to do is prove that these false business records were in furtherance of or to cover up another crime. in this case, a campaign finance violation or election fraud. the reason that's important is under new york law, false business records by themselves are just a misdemeanor. the prosecution needs more to get to that more serious felony level. now, the defence's opening statement seems to be to attack the credibility of key witnesses like michael cohen, stormy daniels and david pecker.

is that the key to their strategy? i do believe so. we know that we're going to come after michael cohen, the key witness for the prosecution, by saying that he is a convicted felon and an admitted liar. and stormy daniels, they said that really the affair doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the elements of the crimes charged in this case. we're talking about false business records, not her allegations. and of course, she previously said in writing that the affair never happened. and david pecker, that first witness, they came after him saying that he was doing all this because he's testifying under a grant of immunity and because is trying to sell magazines. do you think trump himself will take the stand in this case? i do believe so. he testified in the new york civil fraud case. and this case is as much for the courtroom as for the court of public opinion. trump has addressed the media almost every day after court, and i fully expect him to take the stand and testify in this case as well. he's going to be speaking to american voters. in the past, trump's lawyers have tried to keep him away

from such situations due to being cross—examined by prosecution. is there a risk for him if he does do this? oh, there is a risk, and i believe the cross—examination will be very aggressive. but trump isn't the type of client that any lawyer can control. we've seen this time and time again in every one of his cases, whether it's a gag order or whether it's his attorney's advice. donald trump marches to the beat of his own drum and he does whatever he thinks is in his best interest. and what are you looking out for in this trial? is that trump to take the stand? is that perhaps something that will sort of could make or break this case? i do believe so. donald trump is going to say that the affair never happened or that if it did, the payment was just to protect him and his family from embarrassment. that would, of course, be a misdemeanor, not a felony. and i think it's going to point the finger at his account. and that's something that came out during the defence opening. he's going to say that the account booked the payment as a legal expense.

so that's something that trump also alluded to in a statement after court today. three people — including a married couple — have been arrested in germany on suspicion of spying for china. investigators arrested three german nationals in the west of the country who are accused of passing on secret information on maritime technology that was used for military purposes. they will appear before judges in the coming days. the london metropolitan police have charged two men with spying for china after an investigation by counter—terrorism officers. christopher berry from 0xfordshire and christopher cash from east london are both accused under the 0fficial secrets act. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera has the latest. the two men who were arrested

about a year ago were charged today after what was described as a complex investigation by the metropolitan police. christopher berry, 32, christopher cash, 29, charged under the official secrets act of 1911 section one, which refers to obtaining or passing documents or information which might be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy. that's the language that was used in that 0fficial secrets act, which has actually now been replaced by a new piece of legislation, a national security act. but the alleged offences in this case took place before that new act took place, so they come under this 0fficial secrets act. now, the men were arrested nearly a year ago, and news of their arrest emerged last september. at that time, christopher cash was identified as a parliamentary researcher working with the china research group, a body set up by conservative mps in parliament to promote what's called fresh debate on china. now at the time, lawyers for

him maintained he was innocent. and as you've heard, the chinese embassy have also dismissed these reports as "malicious slander". music star taylor swift's new album — the tortued poets department — was released on friday and has already been streamed hundreds of millions of times. it has also sparked huge interest from her fans in a certain london pub that she alludes to in her lyrics: "i watch as you walk into some bar called the black dog". and this is it! this pub in vauxhall has been mobbed my swifties going in for a swifty. the pub's manager is naturally delighted it's been pretty crazy, but amazing. like, so overwhelmingly positive. everybody�*s been so lovely, the swifties have been amazing. endless photos, lots of questions about which ex attends frequently. i don't think we can

speak too much on it, so i'll leave it a mystery. always nice to have a bit of a mystery, bye for now. hello there. we had some big weather contrasts across the uk on monday. now, for central and eastern parts of england, it was a cloudy day with outbreaks of light and patchy rain around. it was a cold day. temperatures just seven or eight degrees, well below average for this time of the year. and actually, these kind of temperatures are much closer to the averages you'd see in february. so, if you thought it felt a bit wintry, well, you weren't too far off the mark, but it was a different story further north. in scotland, we did have some brighter skies and some sunshine and we had temperatures 16—16.5 degrees or so in glasgow, so was actually warmer than average here. now, the reason we've got these kind of contrast at the moment is we do have some slightly milderair coming in off the atlantic into generally western areas of the uk.

but this trough in the jet stream across europe is dragging in cold northerly winds across a good part of central and eastern england. really, there's not going to be a huge amount of change in that over the next few days. for many areas, particularly in the east, the weather is going to stay on the cold side. next few hours, we've got some clouds and patches of rain drifting southwards across england and wales. nothing too heavy. it might be a few mist patches along with that. clearing skies further north for scotland, northern ireland and northern england means it will be a bright, sunny and cold start to the day on tuesday. now, through the rest of the day, there's patchy rain slowly fizzling as it works its way south eastwards. plenty of sunshine across the northern and western areas of the uk. and again, it's probably west scotland through the central belt into northern ireland and western fringes of england, wales, that will do the best for the temperatures. highs probably reaching 16 or 17, but cold for eastern scotland, central and eastern parts of england once again. now for wednesday, probably a bit more cloud coming in off the north sea, maybe bringing a few

patches of rain, the winds a bit stronger as well. so that will make its impact felt across the east coast of scotland and england. temperatures nine degrees, but with those winds, it will feel cooler than that. again, some of the highest temperatures and some of the sunniest weather will be out west. now, heading towards the end of the week and into the weekend, it looks like we will see something of a change in that an area of low pressure looks set to move up from the south. so, this is going to be bringing more general outbreaks of rain. so for those that have got quite chilly weather at the moment, we're swapping the chilly weather for wet weather as we go into the weekend. maybe something drier and warmer next month.

mark zuckerberg's meta is doubling down on its virtual reality push, allowing hardware companies to build headsets with its own operating system. from price cuts to lay—offs — tesla is facing some serious troubles, ahead of the release of its quarterly report card tonight. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. meta is making big strides in mixed reality, announcing it will allow hardware makers to make headsets powered by its own operating system. 0ur north america business correspondent — erin delmore has more.

it looks like the iphone versus android wars are making their way from the cell phone world and coming to virtual reality headsets. meta executive mark zuckerberg says his company will offer its virtual reality operating system called meta horizon to hardware companies like lenovo and microsoft. what it means for consumers is new headsets that run on the same software and operating system as meta's own headsets, the quest three and the quest pro. mr zuckerberg talked about wanting customers to be able to run content on quest or any meta horizon operating system headset. that's akin to android's flexibility to integrate with other products. in contrast, he characterized apple's i0s models as being closed. that is only functioning with other apple or apple enabled products. apple is offering its headset the vision pro for 3,500 usd and that's expected to remain the costlier product. but the entrance of new products into the field and at

different price points could threaten to give apple a run for its money.