hello, i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join us. monday marked the first day of an historic trial against donald trump. arriving at court in new york, mr trump became the first us president, current orformer, to face criminal charges. donald trump has been charged with falsifying business records to cover up a �*hush money�* payment he made to adult film actress stormy daniels a month before the 2016 presidential election. he made the payment to keep ms daniels from publicly discussing an alleged affair the two had in the 20005. mr trump denies falsifying records — and denies any relationship with ms daniels. but today in court, 60 of 96 potential jurors said they could not be

impartial in a case involving the former president. speaking after day one of the trial — mr trump sought to cast doubt over the legitimacy of the court. it's a scam trial. if you read all of the legal comments, from all of the legal scholars today, there's not one that i see that said that this is a case that should be brought to trial. it's a scam. it's a political witchhunt. it continues forever and we are not going to be given a fair trial and it is a very, very sad thing. 0ur north america correspondentjohn sudworth has more from new york. when donald trump's motorcade left the precinct here in a man well used to breaking the norms of political life hit another milestone, this time a legal one, becoming the first us president to face a criminal trial. when it did get under way, as is often the case, the business was pretty humdrum, procedural discussion, the

defence raising a number of issues and discussions over the timing. donald trump suggesting he needed a day off at some point to attend his youngest son is high school graduation but that is what makes this also remarkable, it is a criminal trial and donald trump has to be here. this is one of the most powerful people in the world being judged according to the letter of the us law and by 12 of his peers, 12 ordinary citizens and it's with that in and he has to be here, this is a criminal trial and when i got under way the real business of the day was trying to select the day was trying to select the jury. the day was trying to select thejury. the the day was trying to select the jury. the court faces over the jury. the court faces over the next few weeks the car —— task of sifting through hundreds of potentialjurors in order to find those who do not have strong preconceived

opinions about a man who has wielded significant influence over american life for a decade or more and that in itself is no easy task. i spoke about the case with temidayo aganga—williams, former federal prosecutir and senior investigative counsel on the house january 6th committee. let 5 start with jury selection. it seems finding 12 new yorkers who can swear they will be fairand impartial is quite a challenge. how do you go about asssesing something like that? i think how you go about it is exactly what it is going on here. he's asking extensive questions to get against political bias and how media consumption and where people get their information from and giving the government and defence counsel lots of information points to gauge whetherjurors will potentially be fair and i think today the fact so manyjurors raise their hand and said they could not be fair is a good sign.

it shows people are taking it seriously which in my experience jurors do. they take it as a solemn duty and i suspect they will find it hard to find a fairand impartialjury. donald trump has to agree to the jurors and has been present at the side bar conferences, the initial examination of the jurors. what do you make of that? he has a limited call of four of strikes with his lawyers believe that durin cannot be fair because of something they said or cannot be present for the trial they can get that juror struck but there are also peremptory challenges which means whatever reason assuming it is not race or something else not permitted, they can have an additionaljuror struck so it doesn't mean the remaining jurors will be people he affirmatively wants but it means he has the opportunity to get rid of those he strongly

feels against. when you look at this case through your legal lens, this is about business fraud but amounting to campaign financing violations. how strong do you think the case is? i think it's far stronger than a lot of people in the legal community have given it credit for. the prosecution here doesn't have to prove the underlying campaign finance crime. they have to prove donald trump engaged in falsifying business records and hid it for the purpose of concealing another offence and i think here they have a lot of strong evidence. they have michael cohen and stormy daniels, people who can narrate what happened and why the former president would have done this but they have corroborating evidence and can show the payments on how the money transferred. and when you put that together there is a high chance the former president could be convicted.

certainly some star witnesses. donald trump has said he is ready to testify and he has in civil cases but this is the first criminal case. what do you think the chances are that we see him take to the stand here? i think it's incredibly unlikely he will testify. he can be cross—examined on his history of not telling the truth because his credibility will be at the centre of the testimony and when you testify, to some degree you take on a burden that you have has the prosecution has to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt but when the defending gets on the stand you are in a sense presenting your own counter narrative and that will be put to the test, so i strongly doubt he will testify. i think he is bluffing, which defendants do all the time here. whatever happens here, how do you think the american public will react? do you think that they have faith in the justice system?

i think today is part of restoring faith in the justice system and restoring faith in american institutions. donald trump again and again has tried to tear down many sacred american constitutions but today was historic, a sad day but in a historic day because someone who has disregarded the law again and again is now facing accountability. he walked the halls of the courthouse like any other defendant. he was asked when to speak and told when to speak and had to sit there and be quiet while thejudge controlled the room and not him, so what we are seeing today is a restoration of the faith in the justice system that he can try is to tear down but it's still strong so far. briefly if you don't mind with 30 seconds on the clock, officials in australia, say a stabbing attack at a church service on monday is now being treated as a terrorist incident.

four people have non—life—threatening injuries, including a bishop, after the incident at a church outside of sydney. a fifteen year old boy has been arrested — police say the suspect was known to them, but was not on any terror watch lists. there is no suggestion the event is linked to a stabbing attack at a sydney shopping mall that saw six people killed this weekend. the assailant, was shot dead by police. his father says he wants to apologise for his son's actions, adding his mental health problems made him quote a �*very sick boy'. the commissioner of new south wales police gave this update about the church stabbing a short while ago. the things that influenced my decision to declare this a terrorist incident was the actions of the individual who attended. we allege that he attended that church with a knife, armed with a knife and stabbed the bishop, the priest and others were also injured. we believe there are elements that are satisfied in terms of religious motivated extremism, and, of course, the intimidation of the public

through that person's acts. i spoke to our correspondent phil mercer in sydney for more. as we heard from the police they believe that the alleged attacker was motivated by religious extremism and the incident at the syrian orthodox church in the western part of sydney was being live streamed, and what the video shows his individual wearing a dark jacket calmly walking up to the altar before apparently repeatedly stabbing a bishop. members of the congregation rush in to help and the upshot of all of this is for people have been taken to hospital with nonlife threatening injuries and a 15—year—old boy was also detained. he's been taken to a secure location and

there are now two investigationsm the first into the alleged act of terror perpetrated by what the police believe as a teenage boy. and also a police investigation of serious disturbances outside of the church, a large crowd having gathered, very angry at what had happened inside the church and there were clashes with the police so now to investigations into this alleged stabbing at a church in sydney. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. the former british prime minister liz truss has told the bbc she hopes donald trump is re—elected as us president and she would welcome nigel farage becoming a conservative mp. 0ur political editor chris mason sat down with her and asked her what she would say to those who think her time as leader left the uk an international laughing stock. well, i don't... i don't think that's true. but you lasted... all the stuff about lasting less time than a lettuce... this is just pathetic

point—scoring. would nigel farage be a welcome addition to the party? i think it would be good if hejoined the conservative party. and became an mp? if you join the conservative party i support him becoming an mp. why? i think he believes in conservative values and it's a shame he's not in the conservative party. ms truss added that she can't see a purpose for the united nations — saying it's had a �*positively damaging' effect on dealing with international situations. israel says iran "will be met with a response", as retribution for the islamic republic's attack over the weekend. israeli officials had said they reserved the right to respond, but today's remark — by israel's army chief, is the strongest indictation yet that they will go ahead. prime minister benjamin netanyahu's war cabinet met on monday

for the second time in as many days to discuss specifics. an attack would fly in the face of warnings from many of israel's allies, including the united states, which have urged retraint. tehran, meanwhile, asked western leaders to "appreciate iran's restraint" towards israel, given what it calls �*war crimes�* being committed by israel in gaza.but he added the overwhelming success of israel's air defenses made the attack �*an embarassment�* for iran, leaving israel �*in a far stronger strategic position�* than before. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale has more from jerusalem it�*s clear now that israel is going to retaliate against iran for the missile and drone attack that it launched over the weekend. the question only is how and when. the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, issued a statement on social media in which he said that iran was conducting a full scale campaign of aggression that threatened not only israel, but also the whole of the middle east. and he urged the entire international community to stand united in resisting that aggression. earlier, the head of israel�*s army visited neveteen air base, the one that was hit, one of the two bases

that was hit during the attack. and he said in terms that there would be a response to that attack. israel�*s cabinet, its war cabinet, has been meeting to discuss its options. it�*s still not clear what the final decision, if any decision has been made. but the mood music, the noises that we�*re hearing from that meeting are that, a) yes, there will be a response, but b) it will be a response that will be calibrated. people are saying that, yes, it will be clear and decisive, but it will be a decision that will be wise and quotes, "not from the gut." to discuss the situation in the middle east, i spoke to david hale —

previously us undersecretary of state for political affairs, as well as ambassador to pakistan, lebanon, and jordan. he�*s now a global fellow at the wilson center, he�*s now a global fellow a think tank partly funded by the us government. we know israel is weighing its response. what do you think we could see? will this be a diplomatic response, a military one? thank you for asking me tojoin you. we don�*t know. israel is a democracy and has a complex cabinet and a coalition government and the prime minister is first amongst equals and we will see what they decide. i think if i were advising them i would suggest a pause for now but not declare their intentions. if you�*re going to re—establish a deterrent which is what is necessary now for israel and the us, a certain level of security about how we behave is important. so the iranians understand there could be further costs to aggression. what is your assessment of benjamin netanyahu�*s intentions here. for example there was a recent opinion editorial in foreign policy saying that benjamin netanyahu had been seeking to have a broader war with iran for two decades, and we know this is a time where he is embattled at home.

what do you make of that? 0ver my career i�*ve worked with the prime minister and while the us and benjamin netanyahu have not always seen eye to eye i don�*t believe he is a person who actually seeks aggression. i think he is a cautious leader in fact and i also believe any plausible prime minister of israel today would be acting more or less the same as prime minister netanyahu is. first and foremost they have to account to the israeli people as to why the catastrophe of october the 7th happened and what they will do and our way to prevent it from happening again. that is what i think is guarding the political leadership today and i think they are going through enormous debates about what that means an entirely military approach the problem is not going to resolve it. they also have to take into account political and diplomatic equations as well. internationally we know that the united states has said in the wake of what we saw

from iran, support for you is ironclad but at the same time urging restraint. i wonder what position you think it puts washington in if benjamin netanyahu does go ahead with a military attack, then where would it leave washington in its support for israel? we are not there yet. if it happens. i would say public support and private advice is the way to go about it and privately encouraging israelis to consider all options and how the game will play out in the end is important, but if we signal publicly that we encourage the israelis to exercise self restraint, we are signalling to iran they can do whatever they want so this is a time we need to work together. i wonder if you think there is a riskier that this goes one step further. iran has said it will respond and that was put out by the revolutionary guard,

and there is the riskier of the us being drawn into a broader war in the middle east. i would advise a pause at this stage but not a public signal of a pause but i look also at what the iranians have said, and they want this phase to end, not because they want the conflict to end but they want the conflict to continue but at the level it was before this weekend. they want a proxy war to continue because that�*s an area where they have a comparative advantage and the area where the iranians don�*t pay the price, their proxies do and that is why i would advise ambiguity about how we will proceed right now. what do you think it all means for the war in gaza? it�*s not good. if we were all focused on a ceasefire or hostage exchange release, then i don�*t think in the current climate that is very likely right now, and i also believe the israelis remain determined to put an end

to hamas, whatever that means. our goal should be less about how to conduct a war but how to conduct peace. how do you transition from the military operation to help influence the political and diplomatic landscape after and that is where we have our best influence. briefly, is that the kind of advice right now you think benjamin netanyahu will heed? i think he will listen to that more than how to conduct his war. david hale, thank you so much forjoining us here. we appreciate it. its been one year since civil war broke out in sudan. thousands have been killed and millions displaced since fighting broke out between the sudanese army and the paramilitary rapid support forces. both sides are accused of war crimes as sudan has become the site of one of the world�*s worst humanitarian crises. but earlier at an aid conference in paris, donors pledged more than two billion dollars to assist

the war—torn country. bbc arabic�*s sudan correspondent mohamed osman takes a look at the state of the war, one year on. nearly 20 million people faced insecurity according to the programme officials. people who have escaped violence to safe areas like it are the lucky ones. they are stuck in the conflict areas and facing the danger of death every minute. the conflict erupted in april last year and was described as the most complex and inhuman crisis in the world. it led to the deaths of more than 14,000 people and forced i million of those seek refuge in neighbouring countries. there is no indication that the wall will be over soon given that

both warring parties are settling in on the battlefield. as the war continues middleton is of sudanese people are worrying ref worst fears would come true and there war will continue for years like it had been for other countries in the region. mohamed 0sman, bbc news. thanks forjoining me. todayis news. thanks forjoining me. today is a grim milestone. today the conflict in sudan enters its second year. this is the largest displaced population in the world. people are facing severe hunger. reports of ethnic violence and sexual violence and disease spreading. how would you characterise the situation? i think months ago i was here and

i said that the situation in sudan is terrible and now i would say that the situation in sudan is a ticking time bomb. 0ther humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in real time. and this comes through with different strengths. there is no state institutions and the humanitarian, access to humanitarian, access to humanitarian aid represents a political topic to the violent actors who use it as a tool to suppress and create more suffering to the humanitarian civilians in the country and, yes, it is the sudanese aid was severely underfunded. but the question is not having the money but also having a

conversation of how to actually give it to the people and what tools and mechanisms could be put in place for those of us who need it. we saw the pledge of around 2 billion euros in paris. , , ., i. paris. firstly do you feel confident _ paris. firstly do you feel confident that _ paris. firstly do you feel confident that those - paris. firstly do you feel - confident that those pledges will be fulfilled, but also as you mention, it�*s not about just having the aid, it�*s having in and there�*s been real restrictions there as well. the key question _ restrictions there as well. the key question is _ restrictions there as well. iie: key question is finding restrictions there as well. tie: key question is finding ways and because of the situation, it is very most fast unfolding and it is real now. it is not a prospect of happening, it�*s already happening. people are buying in with hunger —related disease and is —— disease there is cholera and malaria and

other diseases and i think the age now, although it is late, the biggest question is, how to limit that being initiated. there is a lot of havoc from the government side using the de facto power to hindle —— hinder the humanitarian access and the they are passed the masters of looting and pillaging and on the other side they are creating hindrance and suffering to people and making the access to aid really difficult in both ways, citing the key question is, yes, there is money now to buy this, so how it could happen, but question means you have to have decent humanitarian negotiations and to be able to at least find ways and also have actors that are hindering

or targeting the humanitarian access through different routes that are negotiated. i access through different routes that are negotiated.— that are negotiated. i want to ask more _ that are negotiated. i want to ask more about _ that are negotiated. i want to ask more about that - that are negotiated. i want to ask more about that in - that are negotiated. i want to ask more about that in terms| that are negotiated. i want to i ask more about that in terms of accountability. there are reports of sexual violence, ethnic violence. is it possible to collect that violence and have the thought of accountability and also do the sudanese people, even in these desperate situations feel they have hope left?— have hope left? yes, and the aood have hope left? yes, and the good thing — have hope left? yes, and the good thing is _ have hope left? yes, and the good thing is i _ have hope left? yes, and the good thing is i would - have hope left? yes, and the good thing is i would say, - good thing is i would say, despite this crisis in the middle of this very dark situation, the sudanese young people really represent a beacon of light that flickers and continues to flicker through the resilience, working on the aid, and utilising the hope for peace and democracy and these are the groups where

the actors are closely working with keeping their hopes alive, not only for democracy and peace but also hoping for accountability and justice for crimes committed that are still ongoing. indie crimes committed that are still onuaoin.. _, crimes committed that are still onuaoin.~ i, ,, crimes committed that are still onuaoin.~ i, ~' i ongoing. we could talk so much about this _ ongoing. we could talk so much about this for _ ongoing. we could talk so much about this for longer _ ongoing. we could talk so much about this for longer on - ongoing. we could talk so much about this for longer on this - about this for longer on this issue but thanking you so much for coming in on this anniversary and speaking about it. i, ~ , i, anniversary and speaking about it. i, ~ anniversary and speaking about it. thank you so much for askin: it. thank you so much for asking me- _ stay with us here on bbc news we will have more at the top of the hour. hello there. it was a very unsettled day on monday, very windy for many of us with widespread gales and a whole mixture of weather conditions. tuesday looks a little bit quieter. it�*ll still be quite blustery. there�*ll be sunshine, a few showers around, but it�*ll stay on the cool side for the time of year. in this cooler air mass, which was introduced across the uk by monday�*s area

of low pressure, will be sitting to the east of the country for tuesday. so it�*s here where we�*ll see most of the showers, the strongest of the winds, the further west you are, closer to this area of high pressure, then it�*ll be a little bit quieter. so we start off on a chilly note for tuesday morning. quite a bit of sunshine around. a few showers from the word go across northern and eastern areas, and these showers will affect northern scotland, wintriness on the hills. into the afternoon, some heavier showers, perhaps some hail and thunder affecting the midlands into southeast england. and a fairly breezy day to come, not as windy as monday — those are mean wind speeds. temperature wise, probably a little bit better than monday, up to 13 celsius in the south. so with some light winds, some sunshine, it won�*t feel too bad, but cooler along north sea coasts, single digits there. tuesday night, we continue to see clear spells, further bands of showers, especially across northern scotland, where it�*ll turn quite windy again and stay cool as well with some snow on the hills there. touch of frost in some sheltered glens, otherwise, it�*s quite a chilly night, i think, to start wednesday morning. so wednesday itself, we�*ll have some showers draped across eastern areas.

these weather fronts may bring some cloud and rain to the far west of the country. and once again, we�*re in a slightly cooler air mass. wednesday, could be a little bit cooler than tuesday. so we start off on a chilly note, plenty of sunshine around. there will be showers again across northern and eastern scotland, eastern england, more cloud here. and these weather fronts could bring cloud outbreaks of rain to northern ireland. a bit of a question mark to how far eastwards it moves, but it could affect parts of wales and south west england through the afternoon, the best and the brightest through the spine of the country. temperatures range of nine to 11 or 12 celsius, so a bit below average. thursday into friday, we see a spell of wet, windy weather across the north of the uk, something drier in the south. and then this area of high pressure wants to build in in time for the weekend. so that will bring a very much needed quieter, drier spell of weather as we push towards the end of the week. and with a bit more sunshine around, light winds, it�*ll feel a bit warmer as well.

voiceover: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.

there�*s a story behind every egg freezing. egg number two. i didn�*t really think that i would necessarily be going through a fertility journey but, like, here i am at 37 now freezing my eggs. this is for your future babies in there. come on! egg freezing — one of the fastest—growing fertility treatments in the uk. think we should do it? social media feeds are full of women sharing their stories... it�*s just like a horrible waiting game of, like, has it worked, has it not? like, how many eggs do you get? ..including celebrities. i thought what i was doing, right, was showing young lasses that there�*s, like, alternatives. that we don�*t just have to rush into things with potentially the wrong bloke. it�*s increasingly becoming a choice to try and have a baby later in life. i can�*t afford it, but i see it as an investment in my future. you can keep making money but you can�*t keep making eggs. but there are worries patients are spending thousands on something they may never need, or that might not work...