live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the program. we begin in new york where the first criminal trial of a former us president is now underway as the jury heard on opening statements. donald trump is accused of trying to cover up a 130 thousand �*hush—money�* payment to adult film star stormy daniels leading up to his 2016 election win. he pleaded not guilty to sa counts of falsifying business records and also denies having an affair with ms daniels. the prosecution alleges the payment was "election fraud, pure and simple." our north america editor, sarah smith, reports. 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 joined by north america

correspondent. gas up to speed with some of the key things to know about today's opening arguments? we know about today's opening arguments?— know about today's opening an uments? ~ ., ., , arguments? we had the opening statement from _ arguments? we had the opening statement from the _ arguments? we had the opening statement from the prosecution | statement from the prosecution and defence, pretty brief actually. 0nly around hour in total a really. the prosecution already setting up at these were, these charges and falsifying business record charges were notjust charges were not just misdemeanours charges were notjust misdemeanours but felonies and the reason they argue they were felony is because they were designed to cover up another crime and that crime being illegal campaign contributions ahead of the 2016 election. what they say effectively is this money was paid to this porn star to stop her story coming up and to stop any damage to donald trump campaign before the election. the defence argued that donald trump never had sacs with stormy daniels, they also argue

that any money paid to her was to protect donald trump's family from bad publicity and that he was not involved in the accounting process, he was not involved in these things that led to the falsified business accounts, charges. the first witness we had was david becker was from the national inquirer, long—term brand of donald trump who has been involved in effectively what is called catherine hill operations paying people in negative stories about donald trump and then not publishing the story. he started to give evidence and will be back tomorrow to give more. will see some fireworks i think during the trial, not least from donald trump's former lawyer michael cohen who in many ways is the prosecution's star witness but himself a convicted felon. someone that donald trump has been going after time and time again in the last year or so. thank you very much for getting us across that, our washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue.

earlier i spoke to neama rahmani — a former us federal prosecutor. he told me more about the severity of the case for mr trump. hush money payment by itself is not illegal, but neither is having an extra marital affair per what the prosecution is trying to do is prove that this was not to cover up another crime. in this case in campaign—finance election or finance fraud. under new york law, these by themselves were misdemeanor, the prosecution needs more to get to that serious level. the defence opening statement seems to attack the credibility of key witnesses like michael cohen, stormy daniels and others, is that key to their strategy? we know that would come after michael cohen, the key witness for the prosecution, by saying he's a convicted felon and lion, liar, and stormy daniels, they say they affair has nothing

to do with the elements of the trial, false business record, and she had previously said in writing that the affair never happened, and the first witness, david becker, they came after him saying he testified under a grant of immunity. and because he's trying sell magazines. do you think donald trump himself would take the stand in this case? i believe so, he testified in the new york civil fraud case, and this is much for the courtroom and the court of public opinion. donald trump has addressed the media almost every day after court and i expect he will take the stand and testify as well to try and speak to american voters. in the past, donald trump plus michael lawyers have try to keep them away from such situations, being cross examined, is there a risk for him if he does this? there is a risk and i believe the cross examination will be

aggressive, but donald trump is not the client that any lawyer can control. and everyone of his cases, whether a gag order or some other advice, donald trump marches to the beat of his own drum and does whatever he thinks is in his best interest. what are you looking for in the trial? is it for donald trump to take the stand as something to make or break the case? ido i do believe so. donald trump will say the affair never happened, or that if it did, the payment was just to protect him and his family from an embarrassment. that would be a misdemeanor, and he would point the finger at his accountant, it's something that came out in the defence opening. he would say the accounting books the payment as a legal expense, which is something donald trump alluded to in a statement after court today. let's turn our attention to china now — where dangerous floods across southern china have destroyed homes, bridges and crops. reports say four people are now dead and 10 are still missing.

the area dubbed the "flood factory of the world" typically experiences summer flooding but the unusually heavy rainfall and raging storms started earlier than expected. rescuers evacuated thousands of citizens who were forced to trek through rugged terrain to escape the floodsscientists say the unpredictable and destructive storms are caused by climate change. the bbc�*s china correspondent laura bicker has more. 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 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. the government has passed a controversial rwanda bill after the lord decided not to make a must. it took two years of legal battles and wrangling but while it is now passed through parliament the quickest flight can take office 12 days after the king has given royal assent which will then formally turn the bill into law. i spoke to ben wright shortly after the bill was passed and he explains what happens next. they have thrown in the towel, except that the elected house of commons

that the elected house of common- that the elected house of common , ._ ., commons will get its way and the government _ commons will get its way and the government safety - commons will get its way and the government safety of - commons will get its way and - the government safety of rwanda bill will now get royal assent and become law. it takes the government a huge step closer to seeing planes take off for rwanda in some point in the next ten, 12 weeks and the first asylums will be sent to the east african country and it is a very big moment for rishi sunak, it was two years ago that the government first came up that the government first came up with the idea of sending asylums to rwanda and it's been completely bogged down and derailed with legal challenges, supreme court deciding it was on lawful, massive opposition from opposite parties and piers from opposite parties and piers from across the house of lords in the last few weeks. the government's bill becomes law and flights will take off, that does not mean they will be no other legal challenges that may slow the process down but the government is much closer to seeing the plan realised that it has been since it was conceived.— it has been since it was conceived. , , ., , , .,, conceived. gas up to speed, was the final hurdle _ conceived. gas up to speed, was the final hurdle that _ conceived. gas up to speed, was the final hurdle that is _ conceived. gas up to speed, was the final hurdle that is now- the final hurdle that is now panache to be crossed? the

lords wanted _ panache to be crossed? the lords wanted to _ panache to be crossed? tue: lords wanted to have panache to be crossed? tte: lords wanted to have extra assurances put into the bill concerning the safety of rwanda, they wanted an independent panel to assess how safe rwanda was and for the home secretary to make a statement to parliament to set “p statement to parliament to set up was the case. the government rejected that and rather than continuing the battle with the house of commons, the piers, the unelected chamber part of parliament decided that made their objections clear enough but they were not going to persuade mps of their argument and that is why they have folded really and said that the will of the commons is clear, the bill must become law. in the bill must become law. in the bill must become law. in the prime ministers has flights taking some asylum seekers that rwanda could take off 12 weeks from now, why is this such an important bill for him? tt is from now, why is this such an important bill for him?- important bill for him? it is a central pledge _ important bill for him? it is a central pledge that _ important bill for him? it is a central pledge that he - important bill for him? it is a central pledge that he has i important bill for him? it is a i central pledge that he has made to voters, one of the five priorities he made when he became prime minister that he wanted to stop the boats. at

the moment there is a huge number, thousands of people since the start of the year travelling across the channel in small boats, risking their lives to try and get asylum in the uk. the government believes this bill, the threat, the deterrence of having some of those asylums said to rwanda where the asylum claim will be looked at with no prospect of return to the uk will act as a deterrent and stop people crossing the channel in the numbers we have seen in the past couple of years. that is the great political gamble that rishi sunak is taking here and with a general election expected in the autumn, not long to go. he does not have long to go. he does not have long to go. he does not have long to prove to voters that this is a controversial plan that will do what he has promised. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

you are life with bbc news. we

have been bringing you the story of a baby girl in gaza who was delivered basis aryan after her mother was killed in an air strike saturday night. doctors saved sabrina but her mother, father and old sister were killed. the health ministry in gaza run by hamas says at least two—thirds of those killed since the war began and children. 0ur correspondent reports now on the story. out of this hell, a new life was struggling to be born. the bomb israel dropped here would kill her father, sister and mother. doctors had only minutes to rescue the baby from her dying mother's womb. tapping to stimulate breathing. air pumped into tiny lungs.

the fight to live, the strongest instinct at any age. they've called her sabreen, after her mother. "the baby is under medical care," says dr mohammed salama. "she'll stay here for three to four "weeks in the nursery and after that, "we'll see about her leaving." baby sabreen al—sakani's parents and younger sister lay among the other dead of the air strike. her uncle, riam, a survivor in a broken family. translation: | swear| to god, this is enough. this is enough. we are tired. this was the family before the war. mother sabreen, father shukri and sister malak, who told her parents she looked forward to having

a baby sister. surrounded by relatives in mourning, three—year—old malak was buried with her parents near the hospital. one of 16 children killed by israeli air strikes in rafah at the weekend. the family lived here in rafah. israel says its operations targeted terrorist compounds and armed individuals. as so often in this conflict, civilians appear to have borne the brunt of the suffering. today the bbc met sabreen�*s maternal grandmother, mirvat, in the refugee tent where she now lives. mirvat speaks to her dead daughter.

sabreen�*s baby is in a stable condition. but rafah may soon be invaded by israel. who knows what will happen in the life of this little survivor. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. you are watching bbc news. 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. 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. it comes three months after a wave of brutal gang violence sweeping across the country. taiwan is is coast was struck by more than 80 earthquakes monday night into tuesday morning. the strongest a 6.2 magnitude quake had rumbled buildings in the capital of taipei alsojolting a rural area where at least 1a people have died on april three from a strong 7.2 dude earthquake. we can show you life edges now of taipei which seems to show a minimal damage so far, we are

waiting for more assessments to be done and we will update you on any news from the earthquakes as we get it. let's move to germany next. 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 official 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". 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 40 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 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 £4a0,000 a year. welcome to windsor for this celebration... today, his ito—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.

you will hear more about him on our website. goodbye 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. 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 wards are making their way from the cell phone world and coming to virtual reality meta executive mark zuckerberg says he will offer his sister met a horizon to hardware companies like lenovo and microsoft. what it means for consumers is you headsets that run on the same software and operating system as meta because �*s own headsets, request three and pro. mr zuckerberg talked about wanting to run on quest or any operating handset. that is a kenta android's flexibility to integrate with other products. in contrast, he compromised —— he called apple's i0s system is closed. apple is offering its headset, the vision pro, 3500 us dollars, and that is

expected to remain the cost of their product, but the