thousands on the streets of tiblisi as the parliament in georgia passes its foreign agents bill. protesters fear it will stifle dissent, kremlin style. a dramatic day at donald trump's hush money trial in new york as his former lawyer is cross—examined on the stand. a man—hunt across france after a gang kills two prison officers in an ambush to free a convict. welcome to the programme. we begin in georgia, where there've been violent clashes between riot police and thousands of protesters after the parliament in georgia voted through a so—called foreign agents bill after weeks of protests.

critics are likening the bill to legislation in neighbouring russia, used to stifle dissent and silence criticism of the kremlin. they say it will make it harder — if not impossible — for georgia tojoin the european union. georgians have been assembling for the past month, trying to sway the governing coalition against passing the legislation — ultimately to no avail. let's hear now from two protesters on why they decided to take a stand. i feel like this law is going to destroy the european future that my country has been fighting for and the values that our ancestors have been fighting for for ages, fighting forfor ages, basically. if you look at georgian and literature, as depicted everywhere. translation: depicted everywhere. tuna/mom- depicted everywhere. translation: ., , translation: our government is t in: to translation: our government is trying to pass — translation: our government is trying to pass a — translation: our government is trying to pass a law— translation: our government is trying to pass a law that _ translation: our government is trying to pass a law that will - trying to pass a law that will send — trying to pass a law that will send us _ trying to pass a law that will send us to russia. we know it happened _ send us to russia. we know it happened in 2012 in russia when this law— happened in 2012 in russia when this law was adopted. state

institutions collapse, human rights — institutions collapse, human rights were not respected and so on — rights were not respected and so on we _ rights were not respected and so on. we know the same scenario_ so on. we know the same scenario is repeating itself in georgia _ our correspondent rayhan demytrie is in georgia — she sent this report. they marched in with a warning against the protesters who have been demonstrating outside parliament for weeks. protesters stood defiantly, refusing to move away... ..and then violence... ..all in the name of a contentious law which protesters fear will mark the end of georgia's democracy. you get a sense, now, they are moving more intensely. and the protesters are beginning to boo. they're being pushed away from the square. we will be in the eu. freedom to the georgians!

georgian people are standing for their rights, to make a decision, which is to be against this law. we do not wish it. it is dragging us back into the same hole that we finally crawled out of. a similarforeign agents law exists in russia, used there to crack down on the government's critics. georgians worry the same thing might happen here. they are liars, they are putin's guys, you know? they are doing russian work here. earlier, mps from the governing party passed the law after a debate turned into a brawl. authorities defended the bill, saying it would help protect georgia from foreign interference. critics suspect the government is trying to defend the interests of one man, bidzina ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his fortune in russia. that is also intrinsically very russian — to defend

the interests of one man against the interests of one nation. these mass protests have been driven by georgia's youth, standing up to defend the national dream of a future in europe. the us has since weighed in on georgia's new law, with the white house expressing concern over the legislation, which it said runs counter to democratic values. my colleague caitriona perry spoke to former us ambassador to georgia ian kelly. here's his take on the impact of this bill. my my view is that it is yet another tool that the georgian dream ruling party wants to have in order to suppress opposition and of course the russian federation did pass a similar law in 2012 which they did use to not only suppress

the opposition but to destroy it or force it overseas, so the vast majority of georgians do want to see georgia joined the eu, joined the west, as your correspondence that, and this of course, this law in addition to other moves by georgian dream of the last couple of years it takes the children are very different direction.- very different direction. does it ut very different direction. does it nut eu very different direction. does it put eu membership - very different direction. does it put eu membership out. very different direction. does it put eu membership out of| it put eu membership out of reach, do you think? i it put eu membership out of reach, do you think?- reach, do you think? i think that you've _ reach, do you think? i think that you've seen _ reach, do you think? i think that you've seen some - reach, do you think? i think that you've seen some very| reach, do you think? i think- that you've seen some very dire warnings coming from the eu that such legislation is inconsistent with the kind of integration steps that georgia will have to take, the kind of legislation it will have to pass to encourage pluralistic

voices, not try to stifle them. i think georgians understand quite clearly that this is going to take them away from the european union, away from the european union, away from the west and closer to illiberal regimes like those of russia and belarus. we illiberal regimes like those of russia and belarus.— russia and belarus. we will kee a russia and belarus. we will keep a close _ russia and belarus. we will keep a close eye _ russia and belarus. we will keep a close eye on - keep a close eye on developments in georgia. to the us now and donald trump's legal team have begun their cross—examination of his ex—lawyer, michael cohen, at the former president's hush—money trial in new york. mr cohen has already testified that he's lied many times fortrump, including under oath, out of "loyalty" and to "protect" the president when he was his personal counsel. sarah smith has been following proceedings in new york. they were once so close, michael cohen said he would take a bullet for donald trump. now, he could be providing the evidence that convicts the former president. these days, mr cohen appears on social media like this.

he even sells the t—shirt showing donald trump behind bars — demonstrating just how biased is, claims the defence. convinced his former fixer is now set on revenge, donald trump brought along a very large entourage — his lawyers, ready to take on michael cohen, as well as relatives and a cast of supportive political allies. mr trump, will you testify? i do have a lot of surrogates and they are speaking very beautifully. and they come from all over washington and they are highly respected and they think this is the greatest scam they've ever seen. in court, michael cohen was confronted with many of the insults he has hurled at donald trump. his lawyer, todd blanche, said, "you referred "to president trump as a dictator "douche bag, didn't you?" "sounds like something i would say," he replied. he was also asked repeatedly if he wants to see donald trump convicted. "sure," he said. some of these very blunt replies were making the jury smile. donald trump's kept his eyes closed for all of this testimony. he's not allowed to hit back,

but his friends can. this is a man who is clearly on a mission for personal revenge and who is widely known as a witness who has trouble with the truth. he is someone who has a history of perjury and is well known for it. earlier today, mr cohen appeared to seal the prosecution case when he said he paid hush money to stormy daniels so her story about having sex with mr trump would not affect his chances of becoming president. susan hoffinger for the prosecution said, "if not for the campaign, mr cohen, would you "have paid that money?" "no, ma'am," he said. "at whose direction and on whose "behalf did you commit that crime?" "on behalf of mrtrump," he said. the star witness for the prosecution and donald trump's nemesis will be back on thursday to face more cross—examination. he will again be accused of lying to try and send his former boss to jail. sarah smith, bbc news, new york. the first report by investigators into the collapse of a bridge in the us city of baltimore says the ship that

crashed into it had suffered multiple electrical blackouts before the collision. the dali lost power both before and then after leaving port. the report issued by the national transportation safety board is the first detailed look at what went wrong, although it says investigators are still exploring what caused the failures. our correspondent in washington, helena humphery, sent us this update. this is a preliminary investigation, it offers us that first glimpse into exactly what happened in the early hours of the morning on 26 march, it's a 21p—page report. looking through it, the top line here is essentially that those electrical power outages happened twice in the early hours of march 26, but then also about 10 hours earlier, so the day before, there were also two power failures. essentially, it says one was due to human error,

a crew member working on a diesel tank, and then another one with regards to the fuel pressure, just losing pressure, and so then when this vessel set out on 26 march, headed for sri lanka, it then saw two further power outages and it was not connected to a back—up generator which it had onboard, which meant they could not kick in, and so instead of course what we saw, though since that went right around the world, is this vessel veering towards the bridge and the bridge collapsing, almost instantaneously. we've also got a few more details with regards to the crew on board and their actions. they did radio for help and infect one member was engaged in dropping anchor, but then had to suspend that and get out of the way due to the fact that the bridge was collapsing towards them. all of the crew on board were tested foralcohol, drugs, there found to be sober. the person piloting the vessel at the time was an apprentice but was being supervised by a senior member of crew but this is just that for luminary look at exactly

what happened, and the investigation continues, and investigators will be looking into how often you see these kinds of ocean faring vessels come into contact with bridges like this and also protection measures for these kinds of large pieces of infrastructure, things like peers and bridges. thanks, helena. of course, with the power outage, the steering would have been affected, which may have led to that collision. there are efforts to reflect the ship. what do we know about progress being made to do that and reopen the waterway? presumably traffic has not been able to pass through that area. it has not, and this is one of the busiest waterways for trade here in the united states. on monday, we saw a controlled explosion — this is part of the bridge and part

of the vessel which had essentially fused together — and baltimore says, the city of baltimore says that was very successful. there will be further investigations looking at the vessel and then it will be towed out of the area, authorities say, hopefully by the end of may. in terms of reconstruction, eyes are on that, because you've got trade coming through there, heir also 30,000 commuters on a regular basis as well. president biden said at the meaning of this, in the aftermath of this disaster, that federal funds would be used to pay for it, $1.2 billion in insurance estimates. he has seen some pushback from republicans in congress on that issue, in an election year, as you might expect, but all of this goes to illustrate the point and questions that have been raised about the safety of ageing infrastructure on the east coast of the united states and renewed focus on that as well.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

you're live with bbc news. rescuers have recovered more bodies in indonesia after weekend flash floods and cold lava flow on sumatra island killed at least 57 people. another 22 people are still missing. hours of heavy rain caused large volcanic rocks to roll down one of the country's most active volcanos into six districts on the island saturday evening while flooding inundated roads, homes and mosques. for more, we can speak to francisco fernando — disaster management managerfor the world vision indonesia ngo. many thanks for coming on the programme. this must be pretty unprecedented for the population and your team. what's the situation like an

hour on the ground? ma; what's the situation like an hour on the ground? my heart noes hour on the ground? my heart aoes out hour on the ground? my heart goes out to — hour on the ground? my heart goes out to those _ hour on the ground? my heart goes out to those who - hour on the ground? my heart goes out to those who are - goes out to those who are affected directly from the past disasters. at the moment we are working with the government and other ngos to monitor and respond to disasters going on at the moment. we have sumatra's lover situation and volcanic eruptions in other parts of indonesia, and floods. we are talking about one of the most active volcano volcanoes in the world. what more can be done to protect locals? we believe done to protect locals? - believe preparedness is the key. at the moment our organisation works with the communities to implement

programmes like village resilience towards disaster programme, safe schools. we also have community and support in government programmes to put in government programmes to put in contingency plans. that's where we can improve and learn from past experience they have two make sure that there preparedness and contingency plan is updated to the current context. ., . ., , context. how much of this catastmphe _ context. how much of this catastrophe is _ context. how much of this catastrophe is due - context. how much of this catastrophe is due to - context. how much of this catastrophe is due to the l catastrophe is due to the colder lover and howard differ from more traditional flooding? we believe that this is not really common in indonesia. the cold lover in sumatra, usually because of the regulation of leftover materials from past eruptions, with more rain in the past few weeks, all the materials that are regulated on top of the mountain are quickly

flowing down. we saw it quite destructive because sumatra includes people's volcanic ash is and stones that are quite devastating and destructive whenever it hits the ground. and from very high speed from the top to the ground. this is quite different and not really common in indonesia. hopefully ou'll be common in indonesia. hopefully you'll be able — common in indonesia. hopefully you'll be able to _ common in indonesia. hopefully you'll be able to carry _ common in indonesia. hopefully you'll be able to carry out - you'll be able to carry out those rescue efforts safely in the days and weeks ahead. francisco fernando from world vision indonesia, many thanks for your time.— let's take a look at some other stories making news around the world. floodwaters are again rising in southern brazil after three more days of heavy rain. 148 people are known to have died across the state of rio grande do sul, and 600,000 have been forced to leave their homes.

thousands of residents in the northern canadian town of fort mcmurray have been ordered to evacuate their homes as a huge wildfire moves towards it. another large blaze is threatening the remote northern town of fort nelson in british columbia, where residents have also been ordered to evacuate. ukraine's energy operator has rolled out emergency blackouts around the country after weeks of russian strikes on power plants left them unable to deal with a sharp drop in temperatures. it comes as ukraine is struggling to hold back a major russian incursion near its second biggest city of kharkiv — one of the most significant russian ground attacks since the start of the war. jonathan beale is near the front line. he sent this report. gunfire there was some ukrainian resistance when russian troops first

crossed the border. this video shows ukrainian border guards trying to stop that advance. but others simply walked in, and russia's taken more than 50 square miles of ukrainian territory in a matter of days. russian troops have now entered vovansk. this recent drone feed shows a fierce fight for the town. even ukraine's most senior commanders admit the situation is critical and tense. one reason why they're now restricting access to the front. people living close to the fighting taking everything they can, by any means possible, are leaving in their hundreds. the local officials are trying to dispel any sense of panic. translation: no, i we were not surprised by this attack. we just didn't know where exactly it would happen. we knew that some kind of attack was expected and that they would look for a place

to find the weakness. he said the situation had stabilised, but that's not how it felt to valentina, who had to be rescued from her home. translation: it wasn't 'ust loud, it was very loud. h we hardly had time to get out. the russians were already close. really close. yana had already packed her belongings before this latest russian attack. yes, we were ready because all the warnings were just clear- that that could happen. and do you think the ukrainian army was ready? i don't think so. this is what the russians left behind the first time they were here in 2022 — a village completely destroyed and deserted. and just a few miles up there, the russians are doing exactly the same again in this latest assault. kharkiv city is where

thousands are taking refuge, but it too is only 20 miles from the russian border. many here have already endured occupation, then liberation, and they're having to live through the trauma once again. also in ukraine today: america's top diplomat, secretary of state antony blinken, made an unannounced visit. he said the war with russia was at a critical moment, and promised unwavering us support — with this message for moscow. there's one more crucial step that we can take, making russia pay for ukraine's recovery and reconstruction. what putin destroyed, russia should and must pay to rebuild. in france — a huge man—hunt is under way for the armed gang who helped a prisoner escape, shooting dead two guards as they did so. it happened near the northern city of rouen. three other prison guards were injured when their van was ambushed. several shots were fired

near the toll booth plaza. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake has the details. an unremarkable tollbooth in northern france, and the scene of a swift and brutal ambush. cctv footage shows the moment a dark car veers into a white prison van, and at least two masked attackers start shooting. terrified passengers on a passing bus throw themselves to the ground, as the bullets ring out. 0ne assailant is seen strolling calmly among the other vehicles on the motorway. then, here, you can make out the prisoner himself, wearing white trainers, as he emerges from the prison van. the gang sets fire to their own vehicle, the smoke only adding to the chaos. some of them run towards another car, a white one, to begin their escape. the aftermath, carnage.

two prison officers dead, others gravely injured, as their police colleagues begin a painstaking search for evidence in an attack that's been described as an assault on france itself. translation: they will be arrested, - they will bejudged, and they will be punished commensurate to the crime that they have committed. this is the man who was freed in the bloody assault — 30—year—old mohamed amra, a convicted local burglar. but he was also the suspect in a fatal kidnapping in the southern city of marseille, which is facing an onslaught of gang violence. amra and his accomplices are now being hunted by hundreds of police officers, from here in rouen, as well as french special forces from across the country. the burnt—out vehicle that initiated the killing, a starting point for clues.

at the parliament in paris, a minute's silence to honour the victims. the prime minister conveying the sense of grief. translation: our grief is that of an entire country, _ an entire country shocked by this attack of unprecedented violence, by the brutality and cowardice of its perpetrators. forensic and other specialist investigators spent hours at the scene of the ambush. a violent attack on security staff is relatively rare in france, so many have found the level of indiscriminate violence used today chilling. nick beake, bbc news, rouen, france. before we go, as we've been reporting, the us secretary of state antony blinken has been visiting kyiv. after he'd finished his diplomatic mission, he went out to relax and ended up on stage, playing guitar with a band in an underground bar. his choice of music —

the neil young classic rocking in the free world. take a listen. # rocking in the free world... the song was written in 1989, just before the fall of the berlin wall, which heralded the end of soviet domination of eastern europe. it was the only song mr blinken played with the band who are called 19.99. a spokesman for the band said he was impressed by the secretary of state, saying he played well. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. we've some damp weather out there at the moment, and there's also some rain

in the forecast for wednesday — not an awful lot. here's the outlook for the rest of the week — a bit of a mixed bag, a little bit of sunshine, some scattered showers, but at least it'll be relatively warm. now, on the satellite picture, you'll notice this swirl of cloud — that's an area of low pressure. this is the weather front, and this low pressure will stick around really for the rest of the week. so actually, the overall weather pattern won't change an awful lot across the uk, but there will be some regional differences from day to day, of course. here's the morning, then — around 7am, we will have had temperatures between 12—14 celsius, some damp, if not at times wet, weather from east anglia into lincolnshire and along these eastern counties. but elsewhere, it's a bright and even sunny start to the day, and through the afternoon, i think our best weather will be in the north of scotland. some sunshine there in the highlands, and temperatures could reach 23 celsius. that's the exception, though — for most of us, it'll be in the range of 18—20 celsius. now, with this low pressure not really moving away anywhere, the weather front�*s

still in the same place, so thicker cloud and, at times, outbreaks of rain from east anglia and across northern england, and elsewhere, we'll see some clear spells. and here's thursday morning — again, the weather front still in the same place, at least roughly. there'll be some glimmers of brightness between the layers of cloud, but also some rain at times — or at least showers — coming and going. and again, temperatures between around 18—20 celsius — maybe a little bit cooler where the clouds thicker and the rain's just that little bit heavier. into friday, then, you can see the distribution of showers in slightly different places in scotland, maybe the north—west of england, too. i think further south, it should be brighter, and again, temperatures don't really change — it's because that area of low pressure is basically carrying the same atmosphere, and the temperatures won't be changing. high pressure is starting to push in through the weekend, but it'll be a very slow process, so don't expect major changes. so here's the summary for the rest of the week

and the forecast into the weekend — notice that actually more northern parts of the uk fare better as we head into the weekend, with some sunshine on the way for belfast, and really quite warm. bye— bye.

the us imposes steep tariff hikes on china —

hitting goods from electric cars to chips. plus the commercialisation of television channels in india. we will look at the state of press freedom ahead of the election. hello and welcome to business today. let's begin in the us where thejustice department says boeing will be subjected to prosecution. for the fatal 737 max crashes in 2018 and 2019. this is because the company allegedly failed to meet the terms of an agreement made with the doj terms of an agreement made with the d0] in terms of an agreement made with the doj in 2021 terms of an agreement made with the d0] in 2021 which yielded it from criminal charges. boeing told the bbc that it believed it had honoured the terms of the deal. we will keep a close eye on that story and bring any news as it develops.

staying with the us, presidentjoe biden has increased tariffs on $18 billion worth of imports from