welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm mariko oi. the headlines: a key witness at the criminal trial of donald trump tells of how he suppressed negative stories about the former president to help him win the 2016 election. more universities in the united states extend remote classes for the rest of term, amid tense gaza war protests that have spread to colleges across the country. tens of billions of dollars in military aid for ukraine are expected to be approved by the us senate after months of stalemate in congress. and $1 billion for tigers and their habitat — it's the ambitious pledge made by ten tiger range

countries in asia. we'll hear how the money will help in a moment. voice-over: live from our studio in singapore, - this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. we begin in the united states where a key witness at the hush—money trial of donald trump has told the court in new york how he suppressed negative stories about the former president to help him win the 2016 election. the court heard today how the then candidate picked up the phone and called this man, david pecker, former publisher of a tabloid, the national enquirer, to discuss whether to pay off a playboy model who was shopping around a story of having a year—long affair with trump. before the trial resumed

though, thejudge held a fiery hearing to determine if mr trump violated a gag order, which bans the former president from verbally attacking the jury and witnesses. this was donald trump's response. well, i think the gag order is totally unconstitutional. can't even allow articles to be put in. for example, these were articles over the last day and a half. they're very good articles. they tell you the case the sham, it shouldn't even have been tried or submitted. and, i don't even know if we are allowed to put them in. we have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional. i'm not allowed to talk but people are allowed to talk about me. and they're keeping me in a courtroom that's freezing, by the way. in a courtroom all day long, sitting up as as straight as i can all day long. because, you know what? it's a very unfair situation.

our correspondent gary o'donoghue has been following today's proceedings from new york. here's his report on mr pecker�*s testimony. this is part of the prosecution's basic case here, that this money that was paid to stormy daniels, the porn star, was paid to her for reasons of keeping the story quiet because of the election. now, that's why they say the payments were dressed up as something else, because they would they could look like illegal campaign contributions. now, what they're trying to do is to establish the background here and say that david pecker, the publisher, the then publisher of the national enquirer, was involved really in a sort of plan with donald trump and his lawyer, notjust to stop those negative stories about donald trump, but to promote positive stories before the election — and indeed to promote smears about some of his opponents, hillary clinton, the republican opponents like ted cruz. so, what they're trying to say

is that this was part of a pattern that led to the situation with stormy daniels, which, of course, is the subject of this particular case. i also want to ask you about the gag order, which mr trump wasjust responding there. he was scolded somewhat by the judge for his social media posts, and the judge generally seemed rather frustrated. what was your take on that? well, the prosecution have said that donald trump has effectively broken this gag order, which means he shouldn't be talking about witnesses. he shouldn't even be talking aboutjurors, families ofjurors or families of court members. and the prosecution say, "look, he's broken this gag "order about ten times", according to them. and really, new york law says that he should be fined $1,000 each time he breaks that. now, thejudge has heard those representations. he's waiting to make a decision.

he listened to donald trump's lawyers, and when he listened to them this morning, he was heard to say that they were losing credibility with the court. so, it wouldn't be surprising, i don't think, to see which way his decision goes. but we'll have to wait to see what that is briefly before we let you go, mr trump faces multiple charges, some of which are civil cases but this one is a criminal trial. civil cases but this one is a criminaltrial. can civil cases but this one is a criminal trial. can you talk us through the difference? this is one of four _ through the difference? this is one of four criminal _ through the difference? this is one of four criminal trials - through the difference? this is one of four criminal trials or i one of four criminal trials or cases he is facing, but the first one to come to court. what he is arguing is look, paying a porn star is not a legal, which is also true. also he argues he was not involved in the accounting processes that led to this money being transferred to his lawyer who had paid off stormy daniels before the election. he says

look, don't blame me, this is one for the accountants. the problem is that donald trump notoriously looks at every dollar and dime in his accounts and, of course, he signed about nine of those checks. staying in the united states, protests over the war in gaza have taken hold at a handful of elite american universities, as officials scramble to defuse demonstrations. police have made more than 100 arrests at new york university, while columbia university has extended remote classes at its main campus for the rest of term. dozens of arrests were also made in rallies at yale, while harvard has restricted access to the campus. 0ur north america editor sarah smith has the story. people chant. police clashed with students outside new york university last night — with over 100 arrested when they wouldn't leave. people scream. creating another flashpoint in

the spreading pro—palestinian campus protests. please leave the plaza now. free palestine! free, free, free palestine! today, nyu students took up their placards again, eager to show their defiance. the police raided and caved in on the protesters in an extremely aggressive manner. they pulled one of our student organisers to the ground by her hair. they maced and pepper sprayed protesters. somejewish students have complained that the protests are intimidating, and say they've faced harassment and anti—semitism on campus. i'm scared to wear a jewish star here. i've gotten very nasty anti—semitic comments at me and ijust don't understand how this is accepted. many of the protesters are wearing masks as they say they've been bullied online when they've been recognised. we are facing very good, very well organised zionist agitators, right, who weaponise their claim

ofjewishness in order to shut down what is legitimate protest. accusations of intolerance from both sides are a common feature of these demonstrations. it looks like this may now be growing into a nationwide movement, because every time one of these protests has been broken up, it has simply inspired more demonstrations on more campuses right across america. protests have spread to campuses right across the us, from the east to west coasts, including yale university, where almost 50 students were arrested last night, and california state university, humboldt, where students barricaded themselves inside a building... people scream and shout. ..where the university summoned the police, a highly controversial move on any campus, where students demand their right to protest. it was at new york's columbia university that the first arrests were made last week. many classes there have now been taken online. universities across the country are braced for protest to disrupt graduation ceremonies this summer. sarah smith,

bbc news, new york. meanwhile, the un's human rights chief has said he is "horrified" by the destruction of gaza's nasser and al—shifa hospitals and the reports of mass graves being found at the sites after israeli raids. volker turk called for independent investigations into the deaths. palestinian officials said they had exhumed the bodies of almost 300 people at nasser. it is not clear how they died or when they were buried. israel's military said claims that it buried bodies there were "baseless". let's turn back to the us now because the senate is debating the final passage of four foreign aid bills that would send billions of dollars in military assistance to ukraine, israel and taiwan. on saturday, the house of representatives ended months of stalemate to pass the aid package. earlier, my colleague

sumi somaskanda spoke to senator tim kaine ahead of the ukraine vote in washington. he told her how quickly he thinks the bill will pass and get to the president's desk. in february was a 70—29 vote and i think you will see something similar tonight, it could be as early as seven or eight o'clock or close to midnight. 30 hours of debate is allowed before the final vote, it does not have to be taken, but i think we pass the motion at about three o'clock this afternoon so i suspect a number of the republicans who are opposing it will take the floor for a few hours but we will get this done before the sun comes up this done before the sun comes up tomorrow morning and this aid is a very needed right now, it has taken too long to get there but we are doing something really important with his vote and i am anxious to get it to the president. i want

to ask about _ get it to the president. i want to ask about the _ get it to the president. i want to ask about the ukraine - get it to the president. i want to ask about the ukraine age. the biden administration is preparing a larger than normal package of military aid for ukraine as soon as the bill passes. tell us more about what that will involve and what impact it will have?- that will involve and what impact it will have? the impact will be significant. _ impact it will have? the impact will be significant. we - impact it will have? the impact will be significant. we started i will be significant. we started to talk about this in september and the idea was to try to provide ukraine and of aid from the us to get through early 2025, we do not want to do this every few months but september was a long time ago and there was a long time ago and there was a long time ago and there was a necessity. everything we hear from was a necessity. everything we hearfrom ukraine is this particular aid package will be very valuable and obviously we are working closely with them and to make sure it is put to its best use, we have been treating ukrainian militaries is 2014. we have a tight relationship. it will be very important. breaking it down between different weapons systems, i do not micromanage that, i leave that to the

ukrainian military to decide what is most needed. mitch mcconnell— what is most needed. mitch mcconnell has _ what is most needed. mitch mcconnell has been - what is most needed. mitch mcconnell has been a - what is most needed. mitch mcconnell has been a big i mcconnell has been a big supporter of the bill and said it was a test of america's resolve and i want to play you a clip of what he said earlier. in providing ukraine the weapons to defend itself, the prospects of defeating russian aggression. prospects of defeating russian aggression-— aggression. you had it there, he sa s aggression. you had it there, he says the — aggression. you had it there, he says the delay _ aggression. you had it there, he says the delay has - aggression. you had it there, | he says the delay has allowed russia to make gains and a rush is attracted to lodge an offensive. are you confident this aid can reverse the trend? i am because we saw what the aid did in the early stages of the war. russia rolled over a lot of territory in the early stages in february 2022 and ukraine took the overwhelming percentage of a back lastly degrading russian military might. with the us in the assemblage of allies we have cobbled together, ukrainian currajah resolve has done wonders, the us being fully

with this a package of together with this a package of together with what other nations are doing. we expect to see ukraine succeed. we are not investing in a stalemate. we are investing in the ukrainian ability to win. a court in moscow has rejected the latest appeal by the american journalist evan gershkovich, to be released from prison ahead of his trial on spying charges. the wall streetjournal reporter has been held in prison for a year. mr gershkovich was arrested in march last year. the court has extended his detention until the end ofjune. the us government denies that mr gershkovich was spying. for more, here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. well, this was the first time in six months or so that we've been allowed into a moscow courtroom to see evan gershkovich. this was an appeal court hearing — an appeal against his continued detention. so there he stood in the glass and metal cage that's known as the aquarium in russian courts. he looked in pretty good

health and good spirits, considering that he's been in a moscowjailfor more than a year now. just to remind you that evan gershkovich, the wall streetjournal reporter, was arrested in russia in march 2023. he was accused of spying, a charge which he, his employer, and the us government fiercely deny. now, the wall streetjournal has said that their reporter is being held hostage. he's being held as a bargaining chip. and the wall streetjournal has accused russia of stockpiling americans in russianjails in order to trade them later. among those americans is the former us marine paul whelan. he's currently serving a 16 year sentence for espionage, and as in the case of evan gershkovich, the us authorities have designated mr whelan wrongfully detained. and last yearjournalist alsu kurmasheva was arrested. now, she holds russian and american passports. she works for the prague—based radio free europe radio liberty.

she's been accused of spreading false information about the russian army and could face up to 15 years in prison. as for evan gershkovich, his appeal was rejected. he will remain in pre—trial detention in moscow's la foret of a jail. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

just hours after rishi sunak�*s flagship rwanda bill was passed in the uk parliament, five people — including a child — have died while trying to cross the sea from northern france to britain. you can see the chaotic scenes on a beach near calais just before daybreak on tuesday. the incident happened as migrants tried to launch a boat and cross the channel to england. 0ur correspondent andrew

harding was on that beach. let's take a look at what he witnessed — as that ill—fated crossing began. there's a real battle going on on the beach here. must be more than 100 migrants trying to get to the water. they're letting off firecrackers to try and keep the police away from them, but the police are moving in. they're trying to stop them from getting to the water. let's go ahead and see what we can see. you can see the smugglers here. some of them have sticks. they're trying to protect the migrants as they head towards the sea. to bhutan now, where the urgency of protecting tiger habitats has become a key aspect of political life. a conference hosted by the south—eastern nations gathered leaders and conservation ngos to alert on the key role tigers

and their habitat play of sustainable funding to carry out this task. and in its final statement, the signatories from ten tiger range countries pledged $1 billion commitment over 10 years to maintain the current global efforts in increasing the big cat's population, now finally recovering after years of decline. in fact, scientists realised in 2010 that in a century, the tiger population plummeted from around 100,000 to only 3,000. back then, asian countries decided to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022. have a look at the situation as of lastjuly — with nepal, china, russia, bhutan and india all increasing their population, making the overall tiger population in the region at 5,574 individuals according to estimations from wwf.

for more, i am joined by stuart chapman, chair of the tiger conservation coalition, who concluded the summit hours ago. thank you forjoining us today. a great achievement in bhutan as well as other countries to increase the target population but they are still vulnerable, and you are looking to raise $1 million over ten years? that is a lot of money. can you explain how the money is spent?- how the money is spent? tiger conservation _ how the money is spent? tiger conservation is _ how the money is spent? tiger conservation is an _ how the money is spent? tiger conservation is an expensive i conservation is an expensive business, they are very big cat and they need a large area to live. as a top predator they come into conflict with people and livestock so when order to conserve tigers we need to have the finance in place to ensure they have a future in the wild.

the population decline, while it has been recovering in recent years, used to be 100,000. in your view, recent years, used to be 100,000. in yourview, is recent years, used to be 100,000. in your view, is the crisis not over yet?— crisis not over yet? what we have seen — crisis not over yet? what we have seen in _ crisis not over yet? what we have seen in the _ crisis not over yet? what we have seen in the last - crisis not over yet? what we have seen in the last 12 - crisis not over yet? what we | have seen in the last 12 years as a recovery of weld tigers, an all—time low of 3000 but the last 12 years, the number of tigers has creeped up to about five and a half thousand. that is a huge conservation success against a backdrop of climate change and declining populations of other species. we know what to do for tiger conservation, we know what works, and we can have a place with more tigers in more places. in order to do that we need to secure new sources of funding, particularly from the private sector and as the conference concluded yesterday, we set ourselves a goal of trying to raise $1 billion of new funding over the next ten years. pa,

new funding over the next ten ears. �* , ., , new funding over the next ten ears. ~ , ., , ., years. a problem for wildlife in general — years. a problem for wildlife in general is _ years. a problem for wildlife in general is urbanisation, . in general is urbanisation, human settlements crowding out animal habitats, but cohabitation between big cats and humans seems tricky? living with a big cat _ and humans seems tricky? living with a big cat is _ and humans seems tricky? living with a big cat is not _ and humans seems tricky? living with a big cat is not easy, - with a big cat is not easy, they are a top predator and they are a top predator and they can appreciate farm livestock and occasionally they kill people. as a conservationist we need to put in place measures that make it possible to live alongside the tigers and that might be fencing for livestock, it could be compensation schemes to pay when a cow is killed. whatever it is, tigers need large spaces and need to be protected because they are still hunted for the illegal trade in tiger parts and tiger skin and bones. tiger conservation is an expensive business but ultimately people and the planet will be added benefit because the more tigers we have, we know we have healthy

forests and polices that will play their part in absorbing carbon dioxide, which we urgently need at this time. before we let you go, are you hopeful you will raise the amount of money you need is like what has been the reaction from the private sector? aha, from the private sector? historic coming together of tiger conservationists, bankers, and the conference was hosted by the queen of regards so we have a fantastic platform to raise money over the next ten years i confident we will do so. ., ~ ten years i confident we will do so. . ~ ,, ten years i confident we will do so. . ~ i. ten years i confident we will doso. . ~ . ten years i confident we will doso. . . ., do so. thank you so much for “oininu do so. thank you so much for joining us- — do so. thank you so much for joining us. congratulations i do so. thank you so much for| joining us. congratulations on coming to the conclusion. generative ai models like chatgpt have been getting better at a breakneck pace, but ai still struggles with some simple tasks that a two—year—old would have no issues with. a team of scientists is trying to solve that problem — by putting headcams on their own young children to better train artificial intelligence. one of those scientists is brendan lake, associate

professor of psychology and data science at new york university. i asked him what he hoped to learn from this. mainly, i wanted to see what it would be like to learn language, to learn about the world, through my daughter's eyes. there is currently a tremendous data gap between the experience the ai system has to learn about the world and experience a young child gets. talk about language acquisition for a moment. in order to reach the amount of language input an ai system has in order to learn to speak, a young child would have to listen to their parents speak for about 100,000 years, so that would be far more experience than any person can get in their lifetime. so we wanted to learn why children need so much less and, in a way, we wanted to run this ideal test. train an ai system not just on massive amounts of data from the web, butjust on the experience, a subset of the experience that a single child would get.

some people would be uncomfortable with this type of experience. firstly, was your wife on board with it? how did you suggest it? yes. it is a rather personal data set in a lot of ways, but first of all it's not the most interesting video recordings that you can imagine. parents can usually bore their friends and relatives with photos of their babies, so i don't think there will be lots of people who want to watch all of the hours collected so far, but on the other hand, it could be this remarkable opportunity. hopefully, my daughter would appreciate it years from now when we could look back and see some of these key experiences in herfirst years of life, or even search back based on what we might be talking to her about. all this, it could be possible we have modules

that learn about the world through the experience she is getting. a computer vision model trained from the child's point of view is more effective than one train from the parents perspective, why do you think that is? there has been some very nice studies that looked at that. children playing with toys in the lab, and there's a camera, a head mounted camera on theirforehead and on their parent's forehead. children — that work isn't for my lab in particular, but children tend to play with objects in more varied ways. they test lots of different orientations of the objects, they touch them in different ways, they put them in their mouths, and this process provides really interesting training data that that might help support some of these amazing learning abilities they come to have in the first

years of life. that is of an hour, thank you for watching. hello there. it's not a particularly inspiring weather story at the moment, is it? but we still got that west—east divide across the country. on tuesday, we had the highest temperatures across south wales with 16 degrees, and there was some glorious sunshine at times with a little bit of shelter from the breeze. but out the east, it was disappointingly cool. a brisk northerly wind, temperatures struggled — only around seven degrees across the east yorkshire coast. we're going to keep quite a lot of cloud as well over the next few hours that will prevent temperatures from falling too far. lowest temperatures to start the day on wednesday morning will be in the far north and west of scotland. we could have some thicker cloud and a little bit of drizzle first thing wednesday morning, easing away from south wales and south—west england. but again, west will be best in terms of sunshine.

a brisk northerly wind feeding in cloud from time to time, few scattered showers, and keeping those temperatures pegged back to single figures. so a top temperature of nine degrees along east coast, further west we'll see 12 or 13 degrees. now, clear skies will continue through wednesday evening and overnight, and that's going to allow those temperatures to fall away to low single figures. so thursday morning, perhaps a chilly start quite widely across the country. and temperatures low enough in rural areas further north and west for a touch of frost, so gardeners and growers take note. but into thursday, this little weather front here could introduce a slight change. it will certainly bring more in the way of cloud as we go through the latter stages of the morning into the afternoon, and maybe some dribs and drabs of showery rain pushing its way steadily south. so there'll be more cloud a little bit further west, and the temperatures really disappointing for the end of april, 9—13 degrees once again. moving out of thursday into friday, sees low

pressure starting to push in from the south. that will introduce some wetter weather across central and southern england, but potentially a little less cold. so as we close out the month of april, perhaps temperatures in the south back to where they should be for the time of year. but don't expect anything dry, settled and sunny. it's going to stay pretty unsettled. but we could see temperatures back up into the mid—teens for some.

tesla's profits tumble after the ev giant introduces deep cost—cutting measures as it faces stiff competition. a bill to ban tiktok in the us is making its way through congress. we take a look at the battle it could face in the courts. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko 0i. let's start with tesla — because the electric carmaker has posted a sharp fall in its profits and revenue for the first three months of the year. profits are down 55%, and revenue is also lower by 9%.

it's been tough several months for elon musk�*s firm —