leverkussen were declared champions with five games to spare in what has been an incredible season. they are still unbeaten in all competitions, with the potenital for more trophies in the german cup and europa league. at the moment, we have to enjoy this one. from tuesday we will focus on the next one but this is a big enough moment not to think about what's happening in the future. we've had so much intensity and preparation, always thinking about the next game, but now it is time to stop and to enjoy the moment. well, he might not have enjoyed this moment. a post—match news conference was interrupted as the players poured beer over xabi alonzo. continuing their celebrations of winning the title for the first time. i don't think the journalists minded, giving them some fantastic pictures.

the party, presumably, is still on—going. while bayer leverkusen are the clear german champions, the english premier league title race is a far tighter affair and there were a couple of slip—ups over the weekend. liverpool were defeated by crystal palace and arsenal lost 2—0 to aston villa at home. it's their first defeat in the league since new year's eve. arsenal could have returned to the top of the table, but remain in second, two points behind manchester city. leon bailey and ollie watkins scored villa's goals inside the final ten minutes at the emirates stadium. that gives them a three point cushion in fourth. arsenal saw their title challenge unravel at around the same time last season, and they also have to win at bayern munich on wednesday to stay in the champions league. but arteta says this loss is a blip. we should have scored three, four,

five goals and it would have been a completely different game. the impact is now how you react to that. it was going to be always a bump in the road. we won ten, drew one. unbelievable. everybody is on board. as we mentioned, liverpool lost 1—0 to crystal palace — it's their first premier league home defeat since october 2022. their loss at anfield comes three days after a 3—0 home defeat to atalanta in the first leg of the europa league quarterfinals. sunday's loss was at the hands of palace�*s eberechi eze�*s who's 14th—minute goal was the only one of the match. head coach oliver glasner, said he enjoyed watching his side respond to the repeated liverpool attacks. while managerjurgen klopp felt his side weren't clinical enough in front of goal. good chances we had, if you don't use them then it's really difficult. if you stand here and...see the same game, just ball goes in — the balls go in — and then we talk about a 4—1 and it's exactly the same first half and the same second half,

but — i know — the world is not like that, life is not like that. so, 100%, the first half caused us the problems. we couldn't solve any more in the second. he was the favourite and scottie scheffler lived up to his billing, wining golf�*s first major of the year, the masters. the world number one started the day one shot clear of the field and — though he briefly dropped back into a four way tie for the lead — scheffler finished on 11 under. victory by four strokes ahead of ludvig aberg. it's the 27—year—old's second major, he also won the masters two years ago. it's... it's hard to put into words how special this is. it's been a long week, a grind of a week, the golf course was so challenging, and to be sitting here wearing this jacket again and getting to take it home is...is extremely special. and that's all the sport for now. 2024 is the year of elections with at least 50 countries around

the world going to the polls. but when it comes to the numbers, one stands above the rest. india's general election — to be held over six weeks between 19 april and 1june — is set to be the biggest the world has ever seen. 969 million people will be taking to the polls — roughly one in eight of the global population. prime minister narendra modi is hoping to win a third successive term. our correspondent samira hussain has more from rajasthan. first of seven phases in voting in india's general election is due to take place on friday. prime minister of narendra modi and the bjp are likely to win a third consecutive term in office. nevertheless, you see that they are campaigning hard. just take this swing state of rajasthan and you see posters and flags for the bjp and the ruling party on several street corners. dozens of opposition parties have banded together to form an alliance

to try and counter some of the prime minister's popularity so what are theissues minister's popularity so what are the issues that matter to voters? one, of course, is the economy and theissue one, of course, is the economy and the issue of unemployment, especially among young people. the main opposition party say that under the prime minister's leadership over the prime minister's leadership over the last decade, there has been an erosion of democratic principles, especially when it comes to india's largest minorities, muslims. ultimately, what will happen in this election will be decided in the ballot box with results coming out at the beginning ofjune. donald trump is currently in a courthouse in new york, charged with 34 courthouse in new york, charged with 3a counts of fraud relating to hush money allegedly paid to the former aduu money allegedly paid to the former adult film star stormy daniels.

and as he arrived at court, the former us president briefly spoke to the media. this is an assault on america, there has been nothing like it before, every legal scholar says it should not have been brought. there is no case. they have said, people that don't necessarily follow or like donald trump, have said this is an outrage that this case was brought. this is political persecution, this is a persecution like never before, nobody has ever seen anything like it and it is a case that should have never been brought. it's an assault on america and that's why i'm very proud to be here. this is an assault on our country, a country that is failing, a country that is run by an incompetent man who is very much involved in this case. this is really an attack on a political opponent, that's all it is. i'm very honoured to be here.

donald trump speaking a few minutes ago. you can scan the qr code on the screen to follow this on the live page on the bbc news website. we will have more on this story throughout the day. sir salman rushdie has spoken in chilling detail to the bbc about the knife attack which almost ended his life. he was speaking to the bbc s alan yentob in new york. august 2022. one of the world's most famous authors is left fighting for his life. it has shocked the entire world. author salman rushdie attacked. he was dressed in dark clothing and he had, like, a black covid mask, and hejust came sprinting up the stairs. in a major tv interview, he tells me what he remembers. i actually thought he'd punched me very hard. i didn't realise there was a knife in his hand. and then...

then i saw the blood, and i realised there was a weapon. and then he just started... i think he was just slashing wildly at everything. so there was a very big slash here across my neck, as well as the stab wound here. and there were wounds down the middle of my torso — one, two, three — like that. and there are two on the side over here. and then there was the wound in my eye, which was quite deep. it looked terrible — i mean, it was very distended, swollen, and it was kind of hanging out of my face, sitting on my cheek, like a...like a soft boiled egg. and... and blind. while this was happening, something extraordinary happened, in that the audience jumped onto the stage and... saved my life. talk about heroism — that's heroism. i was lying there on the ground, bleeding profusely, and i'm thinking, "i want my house keys."

and i think that was that survival instinct that was saying to me, "you're going to live. live." ijust remember the sounds of the machines and the ventilator breathing for him. that's... that's what i remember. and i thought, you know, at least he's come through this surgery. i thought... "at least i'm not a widow," is what i thought. shouting rushdie�*s life has been threatened before. in 1989, after the publication of the satanic verses, the iranian supreme leader, ayatollah khomeini, issued a death threat — a fatwa — calling the book an insult to islam. i had come to think of that whole episode as being ancient history. as i say in the book, i felt like a time traveller — it felt like somebody coming out of the past to attack me in the present. and so one of the first things i thought when i saw him

coming at me is i thought, "oh, it's you." you know? "so it's you." the man accused of carrying out the attack is hadi matar from newjersey. he pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. he took very little trouble to inform himself about the man he was planning to kill. he'd said he'd read a couple of pages — he didn't say of what — and that he'd watched a couple of youtube videos and decided that i was disingenuous. disingenuous. disin. .. and therefore right to kill. donald trump is now inside the courtroom ready for the first day of his trial. we will have more coming from new york. with us. —— stay with us.

live from london. this is bbc news. donald trump arrives in court in new york — for the first criminal trial of a former us president. protestors take to the streets — chanting �*no one is above the law�* —

as the former president faces 3a charges of fraud. new pictures of the barrage of missiles and drones launched by iran at israel — as tehran rejects western criticism of its attack. and i'm injerusalem as media reports — and i'm injerusalem as media reports that opposition parties have been invited to a real security meeting — been invited to a real security meeting raising questions about israel's — meeting raising questions about israel's plans. another mass stabbing event in sydney — a church is targetted just days after six people were killed by a lone knifeman in the city. hello, and welcome to verified live. we start in new york — and history being made —

with a former us president, standing trial in a criminal case.