a collapsed building in south africa. and floral extravagance on the red carpet, as stars attend the met gala in new york. the chinese president, xijinping, has been urged by european leaders to use his influence to halt russia's war against ukraine. mr xi has been attending talks in paris with the head of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, and the french leader. president macron welcomed renewed assurances from his chinese counterpart that beijing would not sell arms to moscow, and would strictly control the export to russia of dual—use goods that can be turned to military purposes. we will be live in beijing with david rennie from the economist shortly but first let's firstly speak to our paris correspondent hugh schofield. welcome. tell us what has been happening so far on this visit in your assessment of it so far.

yesterday was day one, the day of substantive talks in paris, and the ceremonial aspects, then two rounds of talks between xi and micron. the first round with the european commission president there as well. during the talks, which seem to be pretty frank, both sides will set out their cases. whenever a chinese president travels, there is a huge amount of protocol, and it's very difficult to really read between the lines, to discover what exactly has been agreed, or if there has been any movement on the big issues which divide them. it would seem very little, but on the face of it, both sides are fairly entrenched in their views on the big issues of ukraine and trade. even though there is lots of smiles and handing over gifts,

and so on, when you read the declarations at the end of yesterday's session, there was not much that has budged, as far as i can see. certainly, china is still very angry, all sort of staunchly defending its position on ukraine, saying it is not providing weapons, it is not its war, it is not party to the war, so don't accuse us of having anything to do with it. that was the tenor of his response. on theissue was the tenor of his response. on the issue of trade, there we have emmanuel macron and the europeans taking this new, strong line, saying that we are going to be more assertive, start to look at stopping the world's patsy and start saying we are going to stand up for our interests, that means asking china to remove a lot of its aid and dumping in the european view its goods, like solar panels, on the word to lecroq world market. he said he stated that, but there doesn't seem to be much given the opposite direction with president xi saying, no, chinese overcapacity is not the

root of these problems, in fact, we could be the solution of your problems, because if we could use more, we can bring down inflation. it is hard to see how, beyond expressions of goodwill, these leaders have done much more than simply talk at each other, really, rather than having a proper constructive dialogue. {lila rather than having a proper constructive dialogue. ok, for now, thank yom — constructive dialogue. ok, for now, thank yom let's _ constructive dialogue. ok, for now, thank you. let's go _ constructive dialogue. ok, for now, thank you. let's go to _ constructive dialogue. ok, for now, thank you. let's go to beijing - constructive dialogue. ok, for now, thank you. let's go to beijing and i thank you. let's go to beijing and talk to david rennie from the economist. good to have you on the programme. what is it that you think president xi once from this visit, his first to europe in five years? he has a message for europe, a message for the public yeah and a message for the public yeah and a message for the wider world, the countries that china wants to line up countries that china wants to line up in an anti—american, anti—western blot. the message for europe is stay open to chinese exports, and that is in part because the chinese economy is slowing here, for all kinds of domestic reasons, and then they are making a bet on selling things that your correspondent mentioned, solar

panels and electric cars. if the european markets were too close to chinese exports in the way that america's markets are starting to close, with ever higher tariffs, that would be a big problem for china. he also wants to send a message that the west is not united, thatis message that the west is not united, that is a message for his public at home in china and for the whole world. he wants to find countries in europe that represent, from the chinese point of view, a resistance to american leadership. france, it is not an accident that he chose france, which the chinese have been talking up for days now as dispirited french leaders like general de gaulle, who did not want to be bossed about by the americans, that china and france share an independent foreign policy. he is going to serbia and hungary, european countries that take a and pro—chinese view of the world, that is shooting the chinese message that the west is not divided and america does not run europe. h0??? the west is not divided and america does not run europe.— does not run europe. how does he balance the _ does not run europe. how does he balance the need _ does not run europe. how does he balance the need to _ does not run europe. how does he balance the need to secure - does not run europe. how does he

balance the need to secure trade | balance the need to secure trade deals with the relationship and support that he has for russia? it’s support that he has for russia? it's a ve support that he has for russia? it�*s a very good question. one of the countries you hear asking the question fairly sharply at the moment is the americans. we just had the american secretary of state here a few days ago and he told xi jinping that if he wanted a good relationship with europe, and that includes openness to trade and selling europeans lots of things like solar panels and cars, that you can't do that if you are also propping up vladimir putin's arms industry. the american charge is that up to 90% of some of the high—tech components of tanks and drones are coming from chinese companies. this means that for all of china's protestations that it is neutral in this war, and the war is the fault of american and nato for bullying the russians and pushing them into a corner, the american message is that the europeans are very angry at you for propping up vladimir putin's war machine,

because this war in ukraine as an existential threat to europe. the interesting thing is to then pay attention to what european governments say, if they follow the american lead and essentially agree with the warning being delivered very clearly and loudly from washington that china cannot have a good relationship with europe if it is propping up vladimir putin, and clearly, for the moment, china thinks that actually it can call europe's bluff, it's too important a trade partner, and it can get away with just denying it is helping vladimir putin in the way that the americans insist that china is. i americans insist that china is. i wanted to ask you about that. while many western countries see china as a threat on many levels, how does china see europe?— a threat on many levels, how does china see europe? china is obsessed with america- _ china see europe? china is obsessed with america. america _ china see europe? china is obsessed with america. america is _ china see europe? china is obsessed with america. america is the - china see europe? china is obsessed with america. america is the only . with america. america is the only country that could stop china's rise. but it's very interested in europe, and particularly because american markets are closing to chinese goods, first under donald trump, and joe biden has kept in place many other trade barriers from the trump administration. also

because america is denying china the right to buy some high—tech inputs. china looks around the world, and the next very important trade partner that it has investments in technologies that china needs is europe. although china's interest in europe. although china's interest in europe comes and goes, china fundamentally thinks of europe as old and tired, and we could, and not particularly militarily impressive, they do need a europe of�*s markets. so it's a really interesting game that the chinese are playing at the moment, where they clearly are not the neutral player in the uk telegraph ukraine war that they are claiming, they are clearly helping vladimir putin and do not want him to lose in ukraine because it would be a win for the americans. china is generally better vladimir putin winning. xijinping is close to vladimir putin. he is testing to his limits the extent that you can have it all and you can still be friends with europe, and is trying to play european countries often, one

against the other, as the chinese always do. against the other, as the chinese alwa s do. . , against the other, as the chinese always tin-— against the other, as the chinese alwa s do. ., , , ., always do. really interesting to get our always do. really interesting to get your analysis- _ always do. really interesting to get your analysis. thanks _ always do. really interesting to get your analysis. thanks for _ always do. really interesting to get your analysis. thanks forjoining - always do. really interesting to get your analysis. thanks forjoining us| your analysis. thanks forjoining us from beijing. south african emergency services are working to rescue over 50 construction workers who are trapped after an apartment building collapsed. at least five people are known to have died in the accident in the coastal city of george. heavy lifting equipment and specialist dogs have been brought in to help with the rescue operation. our correspondent shingai nyoka is at the scene and had this update. as you can see, the rescue effort is well and truly under way. and it has been since yesterday, monday afternoon, when this accident happened. and the rescue workers have been working through the night. you might be able to see behind me that we have figures that are pulling up some of the scaffolding, because this was very much a construction site. we also have diggers that are trying to bore through the rubble. this was a five story apartment

building that was being constructed, and they are still trying to dig through this to recover some of those workers that are still trapped under there. 50 people, so far, are unaccounted for. there were 75 people in total that were on the site here. and we heard from sources that rescuers had managed to make contact with some of those people under the debris. so it's not clear how many are still alive and how many have passed away. but really frantic efforts, over 100 rescue workers and emergency services, some from as far away as cape town, about 400 kilometres away from here, have all come here to try to find these workers. this area has been cordoned off and so are the people are standing quite far away. the families of the workers are at a municipal building which is just a short distance away from here. they are still hopeful that this rescue mission will yield results and that there will be survivors coming out of here. but there are still a lot of questions about what happened,

how an accident like this could happen, building collapses are very rare in south africa and those investigations will continue to find out how this could have happened. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

an australian woman has formally pleaded not guilty to the murder of three relatives who allegedly died over mushroom poisoning at a family lunch last year. erin patterson is facing three murder charges and five counts of attempted murder. police allege she tried to kill her ex—husband on three other occasions. ms patterson has always maintained her innocence. our correspondent, katy watson, is following the trial. erin patterson has always maintained her innocence, but this was the first time that her legal team said she would be pleading not guilty

to all charges against her. now, the charges relate to a lunch that she put on at her home in leongatha, which is a town a few hours drive from here in melbourne. at that lunch she served a beef wellington with mushrooms, and attending that lunch were her in—laws, as well as her mother—in—law's sister and her husband too. now, after that lunch, all of the guests fell ill and three of them subsequently died. the fourth guest, ian wilkinson, he was in a coma before recovering, but the police said that it was alleged that she fed them death cap mushrooms. now, also invited to that lunch was her former husband, simon patterson. he did not attend. now, the charges against her are three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, and they also include previous alleged attempts against simon patterson's life. now, also decided at the hearing was that the case will be fast tracked to the supreme court. that means that a trial will come sooner rather than later, and the next hearing is expected

in this court here in a few weeks' time. two british women accused of being part of a global monkey torture network will appear in court today. they are facing charges under the obscene publications act and for causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. rebecca henschke reports. from their homes in the quiet worcester suburbs, the women are accused of consuming, causing and facilitating the torture of baby monkeys over the internet. take your jacket off. 55—year—old grandmother adriana orme was arrested in october 2022. her phone and computer were confiscated. the second woman is 37—year—old holly legresley from kidderminster. the charges they're facing relate to their alleged involvement in a global monkey torture ring. a bbc eye investigation uncovered private groups, where westerners were paying people

in indonesia to kill and torture baby monkeys on video. i've been investigating wildlife crime for 22 years, and it sickens me to see it. this is stand—out, unequivocally the worst case that i've ever investigated, or ever seen. in the united states, michael macartney — the ringleader of the group — is facing up to five years in jail. he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to create and distribute extreme animal—abuse videos. he called himself the torture king, admitting his role to the bbc. i'm the man. you want to see monkeys get messed up, i can bring it to you. but everything comes at a price. you ran one of the biggest groups in this community. correct. not proud of that. did you think about the monkeys, the pain? not at that point.

all i thought about at that point was money. at the heart of the monkey torture ring led by macartney was baby mini. she was one of thousands of monkeys being abused and filmed. two years after she was rescued, she's undergone a remarkable recovery at a sanctuary in indonesia. translation: mini was very young when she arrived here. _ and now she has a new family and the monkeys in it are teaching her how to interact and survive. mini is set to be released back into the wild later this year. rebecca henschke, bbc news. the actor and disability rights campaigner liz carr has turned documentary—maker, fronting a new bbc documentary on the debate surrounding assisted dying in the uk. her view is that any moves to change the law will leave vulnerable people — including those with disabilities — at much greater risk. our health correspondent

dominic hughes has this report. liz carr's acting career took off relatively late in life. but away from the red carpets and award—winning roles, she's long been an ardent campaigner for disability rights. and it's the prospect of changes to the law around assisted dying that is the focus of her bbc documentary. her opposition is based on concerns about what it may mean — not just for those suffering from a terminal illness, but also for those who are vulnerable, including people living with disabilities. if you think this is just about terminal illness, think again. this is about disability. and for me and others, that is terrifying. these laws, i believe, will put lives like mine — marginalised lives — at risk, and those risks will be fatal. her documentary sees her take on some of those who've been pushing for a change in the law — including the former lord chancellor charles falconer.

we have to do something about the law, because if you want to take your own life because you are terminally ill, you've either got to do it yourself without any help, or you've got to go to switzerland, do it earlier than you might otherwise have to. and i am very in favour of changing the law to allow people who are terminally ill to be assisted by a doctor to take their own life. but only subject to safeguards because for disabled people, one needs very much to ensure that there are appropriate safeguards. liz carr travels to canada — one country where the law on assisted dying has already been changed to allow those with a terminal illness to end their own life. but the law has also since been expanded to take in those with long—term conditions, but who may not have what the legislation calls "a reasonably foreseeable death". that's led to canada having some of the highest rates

of euthanasia in the world — more than 13,000 deaths in 2022. and it's that kind of development that worries those in the uk who are against any change to the law. so i think the big concern for me is safety. it's ensuring that those who are perhaps more vulnerable in our society to being coerced into an assisted death are protected from that. a classic example would be talking with someone about going to a care home. patients will say to me, "well, i don't want to go to a care home really, but i know my family want me to do it and i know it will be easierfor them, so i think i'm going to say yes." now, that example doesn't intrinsically worry us, but substitute the words "go to a care home" with "have an assisted death" and i think it's a completely different picture. but liz also meets others who are living with disabilities, but who do want the law on assisted dying changed to allow them to have a choice on whether to end their life, should it come to that.

hello, liz. thanks for this. come on in. i'm so sorry about the weather. come on in. when she was in her 50s, melanie reid had an accident while horse riding, and says she wants to control her future. i have a human right to decide what happens to my body. mm—hm. and i rather sort of resent the fact that it is almost like one small group imposing its values upon a larger group. well, i would see the small group as those wanting medically assisted suicide. there's two lines here. for some people, if they ever got in that position, it acts as an insurance policy. it's helpful to know it's there in case. and many people won't even use it, but they want to know it's a possibility. and then there's another group of people for whom the fact that it's a possibility is frightening.

the covid—i9 pandemic showed how vulnerable those living with disabilities, and the elderly, can be. new laws on assisted dying are being debated on the isle of man, and the government injersey is considering a change. there are still very real concerns about what this all means, and the consequences that could follow. dominic hughes, bbc news. you are watching bbc news. a safety issue has prevented the launch of boeing's space flightjust hours before it was due to launch. astronauts butch wilmore and suni williams were already in position inside the starliner when the decision to halt was made because of a potential issue with an oxygen relief valve. it was due to be the second privately operated craft to send

astronauts to the space station. yeah, rodger. so, the engineering team has evaluated that the vehicle is not in a configuration where we can proceed with the flight today. so, we are going to initiate our scrub and recycle operation. but all i want to say first is that good things are worth waiting for and we'll get a chance to see that rocket and spacecraft lift off the pad here soon. it was really impressive to watch the launch team as the issue popped up. the count had been going very smoothly, and they spotted the issue. they followed their flight rules and made the decision to scrub so that they could do some more troubleshooting and decide what we were going to do next. we still have to gather more data. we don't have a definitive plan for you yet. that will come as soon as we can provide. but the team will be working through that really soon. to new york now, where the biggest night of the fashion year has come to a close. guests at the met gala put on a show reflective of this year's theme —

the garden of time. flowers in every colour and shape, have appeared on the red carpert for this year's event. a—list celebrities, like zendaya, jennifer lopez, bad bunny and chris hemsworth, have joined vogue's anna wintour as hosts of the gala. paige skinner, associate reporter for the huffington post, told us more about who stood out. yeah, this was full of a—list celebrities and really great fashion. but, for me, who stood out was tyla. she was wearing a beautiful balmain gown, completely made out of sand. and it fit her so perfectly she actually couldn't walk up the steps, she had to be lifted for each step. she was a real standout for me. and, of course, kendalljenner, who was wearing givenchy, she always looks great at every red carpet event. yeah, it was a spectacular night forfashion. the dress code was garden of time. so, of course, a lot of celebrities and designers were going to take that and probably wear some florals. yeah, that clip from the devil wears prada has definitely

going around tonight on social media. but, you know, i think it was a cool theme and designers could take a lot of leeway with it. and we saw that with the balmain dress that tyla wore. she kind of nodded more to the "time" aspect of it. lets ta ke lets take your life to moscow and these shots of president putin, beginning the long walk through the grand kremlin palace, to the st andrews throne hall, where he will take the oath of office and be sworn in very shortly as russia's president for a new six year term. while his quarter of a century rule over russia is being formally extended today, injust over russia is being formally extended today, in just a few moments, by another six years. in march, he won practically unopposed,

another term in the most controversial of his elections yet, condemned by the west as glaringly unfair and undemocratic. washington and the european union are actually boycotting today's ceremony, although france and some other eu states are expected to have sent envoys, despite a plea not to do so by ukraine. of course, russia launched its invasion of ukraine more than two years ago now and has a lot of support from western countries which have condemned russia, and specifically vladimir putin, for his actions. the bbc�*s russia editor has said vladimir putin began his role by pledging to preserve democracy, only to end up waging this war on ukraine. he is, of course, also jailing many critics and has removed all checks and balances on his power. just weeks before the election in march, alexei navalny, his arch critic, died in a

siberianjail. his family navalny, his arch critic, died in a siberian jail. his family said he was in fact murdered by vladimir putin. well, we continue to watch those pictures as vladimir putin heads towards that official ceremony at the grand kremlin palace, where he will be sworn in as russia's president for a new six—year term. a bit of welcome news in the forecast after what has been a wet speu forecast after what has been a wet spell for many areas. at the isle of portland in dorset, we've already exceeded our main rainfall in the first seven days. contrast that with kinloss on the moray coast where, we've not seen a drop of rain recorded yet. we'll switch things round a little bit through this week and when we need a bit of rain, the north and west of scotland,

the will be some at times. still some dry weather here and warm with the sunshine out later. but where we've seen the wettest conditions, a largely dry picture, only isolated showers and feeling warm as the sunshine develops more widely. and even today, an improving picture. the weather front which brought the rain in the southeast has cleared through. one weather front, though, still tangled and across parts of scotland, producing lots of cloud and a few spots of light rain or drizzle. a few light showers possible across western england and wales, but nowhere near as many or as widespread as yesterday, or indeed as heavy. and it does mean that more of you will spend the bulk of the day dry, if not the complete day dry. and temperatures responding into the high teens, if not low 20s. always cooler where that thicker cloud is in parts of scotland. that'll be there tonight. fairly cloudy in northern ireland too, for a while. a few mist and fog patches possible, but low cloud and sea fog will lap into eastern parts of england, and around western coast of wales, north coast of devon and cornwall too, to make for a murky start tomorrow. but temperatures fairly similar to this morning. now, as we go into wednesday, the middle part of the week, that high pressure, which is going to bring the dry conditions, becomes more established

to the south and east. weatherfronts, though, scooting around thatjust to the north and west, which is going to bring some rain later on across the western isles, northern and western scotland and, into the evening, maybe across some parts of northern ireland. only the odd isolated shower across some western areas. most places though, having a dry day on wednesday, and with a little bit more sunshine around after that murky start, temperatures will be more widely high teens and low 20s. as you go through into thursdaym overnight patchy rain or drizzle in northern ireland clears. still a bit damp in the far north of scotland. many, though, will have a dry day. very few, if any ,showers around at all for most of you. and a lot more sunshinem so we could see temperatures by this stage 22 or 23, and creeping into the low 20s in parts of scotland and northern ireland too. and they will climb further as we go through towards the end of the week and into the start of the weekendm with most dry until we see some showers develop on sunday. take care.

live from london, this is bbc news. in the next hour, vladimir putin is due to be sworn in as russia's president for a fifth time. the ceremony will extend his quarter—of—a—century rule over russia by a further six years. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. a very warm welcome. president putin's quarter—of—a—century rule over russia is today being formally extended by another six years. these are live pictures coming to us from moscow,

where the russian leader will take the oath of office in st andrew's throne hall. there he is, just arriving to salutes and applause from those in attendance. let's listen in. triumphant music plays, commentators speaks in russian. this is what has become known as the long walk as vladimir putin walks through the grand kremlin palace to the st andrew's throne hall. back in march vladimir putin won practically unopposed another term in the most controversial of his elections yet.