and secure the safety of her family byjust i getting the story out. the people call stormy daniels. the adult film star who slept with donald trump and was paid for her silence, takes the stand in manhatten. it has been a salatious day in court. we will get the latest from our correspondent in new york. israel launches another operation in rafah. not the real thing it says. but the main crossing is closed. we'll hear from the un's point man in rafah, who is trying to keep the aid operation afloat. and a plot to assassinate president zelensky — foiled. but what does it tell us about russia's intent and the enemies within? good evening. stormy daniels was paid 130,000 dollars for her silence. but that's not what this case is about. it's not the act of paying the adult film star, that is under legal scrutiny here,

the prosecution allege it is the manner in which she was paid. and how it was ultimately covered up. daniels was paid by donald trump just before the 2016 election. the defence say to protect his family. but the prosecution alleged she was paid — through his adviser michael cohen — who was later reimbursed for legal services by the trump organisation. an attempt to falsify business records in that way, is typically classified as a misdemeanor, in new york. but the prosecution argue that because it was paid right before the 2016 election — that then constituted a campaign finance crime. a felony. for which michael cohen pleaded guilty in 2018. that is what stormy daniels testimony is central to this case. what was she paid for, and why was it so urgent? the former president says there is nothing to see. let's speak to nada tawfik, our north america correspondent,

who's in new york. there have been questions in recent days about whether this is actually cutting through. i mentioned the evidence we have heard today will make headlines everywhere tonight. absolutely. stormy daniels was a hotly anticipated witness, if not the most highly anticipated one. she, of course is at the centre of all of this and her account is extremely salacious. just in terms of the headlines that will come out of the headlines that will come out of this and how it may affect the presidential election is certainly at the top of mind. no doubt donald trump's who focuses intently on how he is portrayed in the media. her testimony really verged on explicit details that even the judges said went too far. she talked about that sexual encounter that donald trump denies back in 2006 at lake tahoe.

testifying that donald trump greeted her in silk pyjamas, she swatted him on his but with a rolled up magazine and that he posed on the bed before they had sex while she stared at the ceiling. the defence actually called for a mistrial saying her testimony was unduly prejudicial. thejudge set a mistrial was not warranted, though, he agreed, some of the things were better left unsaid. did she no things were better left unsaid. did she go into the motivation she had to take the payment? i she go into the motivation she had to take the payment?— she go into the motivation she had to take the payment? i think this is where the testimony _ to take the payment? i think this is where the testimony really - to take the payment? i think this is | where the testimony really becomes more relevant to the key parts of this case. stormy daniels said she really did not tell many people about the alleged sexual encounter because she was ashamed. and that in 2011 she did try to sell her story, but she said, she was actually threatened by someone in the orbit

of donald trump who she later found out was michael cohen, his fixer. saying to essentially leave the story alone and leave donald trump alone, what she testified. but she says donald trump then began his run for office, she then decided she wanted to get the story out, for her safety and also to be paid. she said that was her motivation before ultimately deciding to agree to stay silent in exchange for that $130,000 payment. silent in exchange for that $130,000 -a ment. ., ., , silent in exchange for that $130,000 -a ment. . ., , , silent in exchange for that $130,000 -a ment. . ., , ., payment. that really comes to the oint i payment. that really comes to the point i was — payment. that really comes to the point i wasiust — payment. that really comes to the point i was just setting _ payment. that really comes to the point i wasjust setting out. - payment. that really comes to the point i wasjust setting out. it's . point i was just setting out. it's why she was paid. and the timing of the payment. did she make the connection between the timing and the election? she connection between the timing and the election?— the election? she absolutely did. she said that _ the election? she absolutely did. she said that donald _ the election? she absolutely did. she said that donald trump - she said that donald trump previously had never raised concerns about her keeping quiet about the affair and as about her keeping quiet about the affairand as far about her keeping quiet about the affair and as far back as 2011, again, there was no effort to buy

her silence. again, there was no effort to buy hersilence. she again, there was no effort to buy her silence. she said, again, there was no effort to buy hersilence. she said, in again, there was no effort to buy her silence. she said, in fact, again, there was no effort to buy hersilence. she said, infact, she knew it was down to the election because michael cohen kept delaying paying her and she knew if she did not get paid before the election, she never would. so she is yet another cooperating witness for the prosecution that this was all done to prevent embarrassing information getting out to influence donald trump. the intelligence service in ukraine have uncovered a russian plot to assassinate president volodymyr zelensky. two colonels from the governments protection unit suspected of passing on secret information to the russian fsb have been arrested. the bbc has obtained this footage from the ukrainians, which claims to show the two agents admitting to the plot. it's claimed they brought drones, explosives and mines to kyiv from other ukrainian regions to use in an attack. the plan was to follow mr zelensky, abduct him and then murder him. they were reportedly recruited before the russian invasion two years ago.

the assassination, according to the statement, was to be timed for president putin's inauguration, which took place today in moscow. here's what the spokesman of ukraine's security service had to say. translation: the network whose activities were overseen _ by the fsb from abroad, including two ukrainian state security administration colonels, who leaked secret information to the russian federation. the enemy was actively developing plans to eliminate president volodymyr zelensky. one of the most important task of the fsb agent network was to find executors among the military close to the president who could take the head of state hostage and later kill him. matthew scmidt — an associate professor of national security and political science at the university of new haven. thank you for being with us. it puts the focus on the security circle

around president zelensky. how will as he protected?— as he protected? thank you for havin: as he protected? thank you for having me- _ as he protected? thank you for having me. he _ as he protected? thank you for having me. he is _ as he protected? thank you for having me. he is obviously - as he protected? thank you for| having me. he is obviously very as he protected? thank you for- having me. he is obviously very well protected and we know it is not to to security service, but the cia, british intelligence and probably the polls are looking for him outside of ukraine as well. it is art of outside of ukraine as well. it is part of the _ outside of ukraine as well. it is part of the composition in our office today about what would happen if he was killed. would it harden resolve in the west, would it lead to a collapse in ukraine, is there someone with the same charisma as president zelensky that could take them out? i president zelensky that could take them out? ~' , , ., , them out? i think the russians arossl them out? i think the russians grossly miscalculate _ them out? i think the russians grossly miscalculate if - them out? i think the russians grossly miscalculate if they - them out? i think the russians i grossly miscalculate if they think as i sending zelensky will better their position in the war. i think it would absolutely embolden western support and may be the kind of event that would draw in western troops and it would certainly increase the resolve of the ukrainian people. this was a ham—handed plot looking at it so i don't know what the

russians were thinking. that is interesting. — russians were thinking. that is interesting, we _ russians were thinking. that is interesting, we have _ russians were thinking. that is interesting, we have this - russians were thinking. that is interesting, we have this fear l russians were thinking. that is i interesting, we have this fear and respect in some instances for russian intelligence in what they are capable of, but again, this looks a little bit like the military and just how inadequate some of it is. and 'ust how inadequate some of it is. , , , . ., and 'ust how inadequate some of it is. yes, this is another instance where the _ is. yes, this is another instance where the west _ is. yes, this is another instance where the west had _ is. yes, this is another instance where the west had a _ is. yes, this is another instance| where the west had a perception is. yes, this is another instance - where the west had a perception that the competency of the russian military was much greater than it turns out it is and it turns out it is the same with their intelligence services although we had evidence of this in the uk with plots in the uk, the failed plots against aleksei navalny to this just continues on in this line. an interesting thing here was this was a hit for hire. this was this was a hit for hire. this was about money, it was not about ideology and that speaks well of the people around zelensky that you do not have people who are doing this for putin, they do it for cash. those people tend to get caught. it

was also long distance. the idea was that they would use a drone and a missile which again suggests that fsb are not that close to zelensky. they can't seem to find somebody close enough. remember, these are two kernels in the protected units who still cannot get close enough so they had to come up with this plan to bring in drones and a missile like you said. there are lots of points of failure here. obviously they were caught but suppose they had not been. there's every reason to believe that those drugs or missiles would be shot down by air defence. so thisjust missiles would be shot down by air defence. so this just did not seem like a very professional operation —— of these drones were missiles. aha, —— of these drones were missiles. a final thought is a put a spotlight on the corruption problem within the ukrainian military? i on the corruption problem within the ukrainian military?— ukrainian military? i think this is a latent corruption _ ukrainian military? i think this is a latent corruption problem. - ukrainian military? i think this is i a latent corruption problem. you've seen a lot of firings going on in the last year to route the things out and remember, these two accused

kernels i think him on early on before 2014 to have had long military careers when it was a lot more corrupt, the military. so i'm not sure it is a present a problem as much as there are some people left in the system who would do things like this for hire.- left in the system who would do things like this for hire. thank you for coming — things like this for hire. thank you for coming onto _ things like this for hire. thank you for coming onto the _ things like this for hire. thank you for coming onto the programme . things like this for hire. thank you l for coming onto the programme and good talking to you. we are told that the situation in ukraine was one of the subjects xi xinping raised today in his meetings with the french president emmanuel macron. the chinese leader was on the second day of his state visit to france and was taken this morning to a spa town in the pyreneen mountains. in metaphorical terms that is where soft diplomacy meets unmovable obstacle. there are major concerns in europe that the chinese are dumping their overproduction and that state subsides are undercutting european industry. here in britain there are fresh concerns about chinese spying with new today that chinese elements hacked the payroll of the ministry of defence. china said the claims were "absurd".

for more on xi's meeting with macron and what was discussed let's speak now to senior europe correspondent at the south china morning post, finbarr bermingham. good to have you with us. let's start with the focus on ukraine. there was some rumour today that president xa mac has this embryonic plan for some peace talks with regards to ukraine —— president xi jinping. interesting because as we were discussing last night, it feels as if the europeans have gone past that point. i as if the europeans have gone past that oint. ., i. ., that point. i would say you are robabl that point. i would say you are probably right- _ that point. i would say you are probably right. i— that point. i would say you are probably right. i think - that point. i would say you are probably right. i think i - that point. i would say you are probably right. i think i saw i that point. i would say you are | probably right. i think i saw the same rumours you did on social media. it has not been substantiated and frankly, i would be quite surprised looking at the rhetoric that came out of this trip. they do seem as far as part as ever. both sides say they want to earn peace to ukraine, but very different point of use and how they would do that. xi jinping reiterated his point in

paris that the legitimate security concerns of all parties in the conflict would have to be respected. and for the europeans and the ukrainians they see russia as the aggressor they don't tooth the security concerns of the russians as legitimate. so while there is no intel on that specific point seems to jar with the rail of the of what we have seen and the diplomacy leading up to this. —— reality of what we have seen. bo mats have been travelling up for months now pushing for example for peace talks in switzerland and told eu officials they wanted the west to stop shipping weapons to ukraine. you see an influx and increase in that. so i would hasten to say that a may be wrong, but those rumours seem quite far—fetched. wrong, but those rumours seem quite far-fetched-— far-fetched. president macron has welcomed today _ far-fetched. president macron has welcomed today a _ far-fetched. president macron has welcomed today a chinese - far-fetched. president macron has - welcomed today a chinese commitment in a converted converse to abstain from selling weapons to brush and to closely control the export of dual usage equipment. there is a big

difference between a commitment and actually following through on it, but i wonder if that does reflect a cooling of the relationship between beijing and moscow which is also been discussed. i beijing and moscow which is also been discussed.— been discussed. i don't think so. putin is going — been discussed. i don't think so. putin is going to _ been discussed. i don't think so. putin is going to china _ been discussed. i don't think so. putin is going to china next - been discussed. i don't think so. l putin is going to china next week. been discussed. i don't think so. i putin is going to china next week. i don't necessarily see that much of a cooling in that relationship. president macron said he had a commitment from xi jinping that i think he also said that last year when he went to beijing in april. the proof will be in the pudding, particularly on the dual use groups. the europeans notice a dramatic increase in the intensity in which china is shipping things like circuit boards and microchips and surveillance equipment and satellite imagery. these dual use items that they say are rocking up on the battlefield in ukraine and killing ukrainians. so the proof will be in the pudding. one thing we did see come out of this meeting is that the chinese supported the french pushed

to have an olympic truce which would be a cease—fire in all global conflicts during the paris games in july and august which sounds great, of course, but again, i don't think the russians, many parties at conflict would pay heed to the timing of the olympics in terms of when they were going to have a cease—fire. when they were going to have a cease-fire— cease-fire. trade, a big part of the discussion today. _ cease-fire. trade, a big part of the discussion today. we _ cease-fire. trade, a big part of the discussion today. we know - cease-fire. trade, a big part of the discussion today. we know the - discussion today. we know the european commission is wrapping up its anti—subsidy investigation into chinese electric cars but what the chinese electric cars but what the chinese are good at is divide and rule. i don't think the germans are keen on this investigation because of course they have a close relationship with the chinese when it comes to cars. not so, the french. �* , , ., , ., french. it's true. the germans and the french — french. it's true. the germans and the french are _ french. it's true. the germans and the french are quite _ french. it's true. the germans and the french are quite far— french. it's true. the germans and the french are quite far apart - french. it's true. the germans and the french are quite far apart on i the french are quite far apart on how they see this. the french were the ones who sponsored the commission's investigation on an official basis. what we saw it this week was the french double gain in

motion. with a want to see anti—subsidy duties put on the import of chinese cars into europe but they also want the chinese to set up electric vehicle factories in france. this is quite clear, they said this on the record that this is what they want. the germans don't like any of this. so we do see that the two european meechan powers are pulling in opposite directions whereas the french really love the tougher trade stance that brussels has taken, the french diplomats here in brussels joked that brussels itself is becoming more french whereas it is and to the germans who as you say are far more exposed to the chinese economy. aha, as you say are far more exposed to the chinese economy.— the chinese economy. a few more stories i the chinese economy. a few more stories i want _ the chinese economy. a few more stories i want to _ the chinese economy. a few more stories i want to touch _ the chinese economy. a few more stories i want to touch on - the chinese economy. a few more stories i want to touch on outside | stories i want to touch on outside of france of course the story in the uk that china is thought to be behind the hack of the uk ministry of defence's payroll which is embarrassing for the mod, but of great concern notjust for the uk. there are other european governments who have these concerns as well. it

is part of a trend, i would say. in the last month we have seen a patching up in these cases of alleged espionage on the part of the chinese intelligent services. in the morning in brussels the far right in german from the afd lead candidate in the european elections, and np called maximilian croft, his office of the european parliament was rated by german police investigating his fork spying for china. we saw four german nationals including his assistant arrested last month for the same charges. of course you recall and i'm sure you have covered the mp5 recall and i'm sure you have covered the mps in the uk who have had their phones hacked by china. so the head of the belgian foreign affairs committee had the same problem. the former urgent prayer minister said his phone was hacked by chinese intelligence services. so there is a big uptick in this. i don't know what western authorities will do

about it because it seems to be a bit of a problem. find about it because it seems to be a bit of a problem.— about it because it seems to be a bit of a problem. and they have been re eatedl bit of a problem. and they have been repeatedly exposed _ bit of a problem. and they have been repeatedly exposed by _ bit of a problem. and they have been repeatedly exposed by it. _ bit of a problem. and they have been repeatedly exposed by it. one - bit of a problem. and they have been repeatedly exposed by it. one last i repeatedly exposed by it. one last thought, tiktok, as expected have announced they are quick to challenge a us law that could force a nationwide ban on the act, not entirely surprising, they said they would sit presumably with the backing of the chinese state. the backin: of backing of the chinese state. he backing of the chinese state. tie: backing of the chinese state. ti2 backing of the chinese state, i don't know if that would help very much. it is often quite humorous to see, for instance, chinese diplomats and chinese state journalists going on twitter to relieve voice support for tiktok when the company itself is trying to convince everyone that it has gotten no connections to the chinese state. it is no surprise that they are going to challenge this, as he said, and europe actually we heard a story last week when president for the commission said she did not rule out banding tiktok here, i think that is a long way away but it seems to be on a highway to nothing in the us. like

many chinese companies, it is a tough environment for them. always aood to tough environment for them. always good to talk — tough environment for them. always good to talk to _ tough environment for them. always good to talk to you, _ tough environment for them. always good to talk to you, thank— tough environment for them. always good to talk to you, thank you - tough environment for them. always good to talk to you, thank you for i good to talk to you, thank you for coming on. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's have a look at some of the headlines here in the uk. john swinney will become scotland's seventh first minister after being nominated by parliament. snp leader six skeets humza yousaf who resigned from office earlier today. his appointment will be rubber—stamp of the king before he is officially sworn in on wednesday. there have been no trains on some of the busiest commuter routes in the country today due to strikes by as lift train drivers. disruption is expected to continue throughout the week. tomorrow a different set of operators which will be affected, among them great western. it has been revealed that prince harry will not meet the king during his visit to the uk this week. a spokesman for

the duke set a meeting between father and son was not possible because of the king's busy schedule. prince harry is in london to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the infected schemes which he set up of course to rehabilitate wounded or sick service personnel. you are watching bbc news. the white house said this afternoon it is still hopeful israel and hamas can close the �*remaining gaps' on a ceasefire agreement the palestinians have accepted, but israel has rejected. so why did the israelis appear blindsided by a negotiation the cia director bill burns was so involved in those close to the talks say director bill burns was so involved in. those close to the talks say the us invited the israelis to cairo over the weekend but they declined to send a team. one israeli official told axios this morning that was a mistake that led to israel to having less visibility on the final stages of the talks. the talks have begun again today in cairo. and the israelis have now sent a mid level delegation. hamas say the ball

is in their court. hamas, a prescribed terrorist organisation by the uk and other organisations. translation: we emphasise that the ball is now _ in benjamin netanyahu's and the extremist pillars of his governments court. their behaviour after hamas's approval is an indication that he is insisting on obstructed the efforts of mediators, including the us administration, and also he does not care about the lives of his hostages, who face death everyday. without an agreement, the fighting continues. and things are escalating inside rafah. the americans say they have been assured this is a limited operation designed to cut hamas's ability to rearm. but the israeli's have cut off the main crossing point in rafah which severly limits the aid operation. before we came on air i spoke to sam rose, unwra director of planning who is in rafah and trying to keep the operation going. a couple of days ago,

we woke up to the news that israel had enforced to evacuate an evacuation orderfor a kind of a three mile area or so in the eastern side of rafah. they estimate that about 100,000 people live in that area and the evacuation order told people that they had to move. so it's tantamount to forced displacement, which is illegal under international law. and it's a similar pattern to what we've seen in other parts of gaza, starting in gaza city on, i believe, the 13th of october. so two days ago, that evacuation order was was issued. we heard almost, i guess it was almost this time last night, about 24 hours ago, that hamas had announced it had accepted the ceasefire agreement. so there was a sense of relief and a sense of respite. and there were even celebrations in the street. i mean, they turned out to be premature because the news following that was that the deal had been rejected by by israel. and we woke up this morning

to the sound of heavy bombardments, a lot of people from within side that evacuation area have have left, but a lot of people outside that area have left as well. i mean, rafah is home to about 1.5 million people. five out of six of those people are displaced. so most people here are living in tents and some of those people living in tents outside the evacuation area or the area that was subject to an evacuation order have just decided to move now. so a lot of movement on the streets, a lot of fear, quite a lot of panic and severe anxiety amongst an already exhausted population. i've worked in rafah, so i do know that either side of the crossing, which has now been closed, there's this sort of corridor which tanks can move up and down. is that is that the situation now that effectively the israelis have control close to the wall, close to the egyptian border, such

that, what, that aid can't get in at all now? yeah. i mean, since october and for many years, actually, the only entry point for aid and commercial supplies to gaza has been in rafah, the kerem shalom border crossing, which you know is in the south—eastern corner of rafah. that closed on sunday following a palestinian attack on an israeli military point. but yeah, i mean, we woke up this morning to the news that israel had taken control of the palestinian side of the crossing. you may have seen the the video clips, the video footage taken by idf soldiers fairly gratuitously mowing, you know, driving tanks over lawns and and vandalising the crossing point. but more fundamentally, from a kind of humanitarian perspective, it means that that crossing point is closed.

we are going to speak tonight to someone from the israeli knesset, and i know from a briefing conversation with her that she's concerned unwra is part of the problem in gaza. it's a criticism we've heard before from the israeli government. i wonder what you make of that, officially? i mean, we've heard this a lot. unwra is not part of the problem. unwra is the largest aid entity operation on the ground in gaza. we're the ones who are essentially keeping people alive. we're providing flour. we're providing food to almost 1.9 million people, 85, 90% of the population. we're providing 25,000 health care consultations for, you know, for people, refugees and non—refugees inside gaza. historically, palestinian refugees have enjoyed some of the highest rates of literacy, the best health outcomes in this part of the region. unwra is absolutely not part of the problem.

and whereas what's keeping gaza going sadly right now and we have a collective responsibility and israel has a responsibility as per the findings of the the international court ofjustice. asi as i say we will speak to a member of the israeli parliament to get some answers on the cease—fire, why it is currently stalled and how long the operation and raffle will last. stay with us. hello there. despite some cloud across northern areas, especially across scotland, much of the country had a pretty decent day today with a good deal of sunshine around. it felt quite warm through the afternoon. that's how we're keeping things for the rest of this week. always a bit more cloud across this northwest corner with some rain at times, particularly the north and west of scotland. by far, the bulk of the dry, sunny weather will be across england and wales. there may be the odd isolated shower here and there, but most places will stay dry. in fact, a pretty good looking week coming up all in all,

thanks to high pressure which has been building in, killing off the showers, pushing away the weather fronts. it's left a legacy of cloud, though, and that's what we're going to see again across parts of the north of the uk and also some sea fog, some mist and murk here and there across north sea coasts in towards the irish sea as well, but generally dry for most with a few clear spells. temperatures 6—20 celsius. high pressure then dominates the scenes, gets a bit stronger across the country, so i think we'll see fewer showers for england and wales. but these weather fronts will bring thicker cloud, more of a breeze. outbreaks of rain to the northwest of the country, most places starting dry, a bit of mist and murk to start off with plenty of sunshine, england and wales, southern and eastern scotland, northern ireland. then we'll start to see splashes of rain with increasing breeze across the north and west of scotland into the afternoon. so, 13—14 degrees here, up to 20 for southern scotland, 21 or 22 in the warmest spots in england and wales, and winds generally light coming in from the south. wednesday night, most places dry again with clear spells, variable cloud. stays quite cloudy, breezy with outbreaks of rain across the northern half of scotland through the night and temperatures again six to around ten degrees.

so, for thursday, then i think we'll see more sunshine around across england and wales. bit of a cloudy start, then the sunshine really gets going and i don't think there'll be any issues with the showers whatsoever — should stay completely dry. a bit more cloud for northern scotland. the odd shower here, but southern scotland, northern ireland doing pretty well. temperatures 19 or 20 degrees here, 22 or 23, the warmest spots across england and wales. high pressure continues to bring fine weather on friday and into the weekend as well, but it starts to retreat towards the continent and allows low pressure to take over initially from the west as we head through the latter part of sunday. so it could be quite warm friday and certainly into the weekend across the south of the country. by the end of sunday, we start to see a few showers, i think, pushing into western areas. take care.

you are watching the context. now — it's time for europe votes 2024. welcome to the programme. we are nowjust a month away. from june sixth tojune ninth, millions of people will be voting to elect the next european parliament. 720 politicians from 27 countries. in what many consider to be a pivotal moment for the future of the european union. and if you have been following this series, then you will know that for several weeks now, we have been moving

from country to country as we try to get a better idea of what people will voting on. we have been to the netherlands, to spain, to france. tonight, we are in italy, the eu's third biggest economy, and the european frontier when it comes to migration across the mediterranean. in 2023, 157,000 refugees and migrants reached italy via sea, marking the fourth consecutive year of increasing arrivals. a 50 % rise on the previous year, and the third highest year for sea arrivals since 1998. the right—wing government of giorgia meloni was elected to deal with this problem, she has been leading the reform of asylum rules in brussels, and more recently has signed a deal with a third country, albania, to build two new detention centres, where they will process italy's backlog. not so long ago meloni's post fascist government would have been snubbed in europe, perhaps seen as an outlier. but there has been a drastic realignment, and in every country

we have visited thus far, it is the hard right