and, china's pioneering chang'e—g lunar probe is to touchdown on earth injust over an hour, carrying the first soil and rock samples ever gathered from the far side of the moon. hello. warm welcome to the programme. we start this hour with the news that the wikileaks founderjulian assange has left the uk after being released on bailfrom prison after accepting a plea deal with us prosecutors. it follows a near six—year legal battle. court documents show that mr assange has agreed to plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. overnight, wikileaks posted this video on x, showing mr assange after

he left belmarsh prison in london on monday. he is then driven to stansted airport before boarding a flight. the guilty plea is due to be confirmed on wednesday when mr assange will appear in front of a court in the northern mariana islands, a us territory in the pacific. he is then expected to return home to his native australia. julian assange spent seven years held up inside the ecuadorian embassy in london as washington tried to extradite him over the wikileaks files — which disclosed confidential documents about the iraq and afghanistan wars in what turned out to be one of the biggest leaks of national security in american history. he was arrested in april 2019 over a breach of his bail conditions, and had spent the last five years inside a london prison, fighting his extradition to the united states. last month, a uk court ruled

last month that he could appeal this decision after mr assange argued that he would not receive a fair trial. our north america correspondent, nomia iqbal explained more about the events that have led to this plea deal. the story has been running for well over a decade. his website was to prominence in 2010 releasing more than 90,000 classified military document on the afghanistan war, more than 400,000 secret documents on war and long it has been accused that he endanger the lives of operatives. his charges were under the 1917 as been ichat but now it seems all of that is going to come to a conclusion. according to the wikileaks website he already left prison in the uk and he is expected to

appear at a us distribution court in the northern mariana islands. it seems like a slightly unusual venue. it is a us territory in the south pacific about 2000 miles from australia but looking at the department ofjustice �*s letter the implication is he is unwilling to return voluntarily to the continental us and that is because the activist harbours this deep distrust of the us government. he and his allies have in the past accused america of trying to kill him with a drone, making his allegations which the americans have denied. also the northern mariana islands as i mentioned are close to australia and the department ofjustice has had in this letter they expect him to return back to his home country. as i mentioned, the story ofjulian assange has been playing up for such a long time, his battle against us charges has been dragging on for years in the uk and

publicly it has also been a big dipper maddick headache for president bidons administration. he considers the australians a key ally, a key security ally and he has faced pressure from australia to end his legal limbo and it looks like it is finally coming to an end. let's speak to former federal prosecutor and president of west coast trial lawyers, neama rahmani. thank you for being on the programme. give us your reaction to the deal. i am shocked- _ reaction to the deal. i am shocked. julian _ reaction to the deal. i am shocked. julian assange i reaction to the deal. i —n shocked. julian assange weeded out the department ofjustice. these types of time certain deals don't happen. you are hunter biden or doyle in assigns, to get a deal like this after his co—conspirator chelsea manning was sentenced to 35 years before it being commuted, yet your credit is defence team for wedding at the department ofjustice. find

defence team for wedding at the department of justice.— department ofjustice. and for joe biden does _ department ofjustice. and for joe biden does this _ department ofjustice. and for joe biden does this draw - department ofjustice. and for joe biden does this draw a - department ofjustice. and fori joe biden does this draw a line under this for him or will they be criticism from the other side of the political divide? i think there will be criticism and julian assange is a polarising figure. there are folks that believe he's a hero, a true journalist but republicans in the house are really commending his deal and his impending freedom stop for americans, for someone to hack into the department ofjustice and publish this highly sensitive military information and really beyond the lamb and run and fight extradition for so many years and be hit with a slap on the wrist is really a head scratcher here. the biden administration want to close the book on this before the election but i was surprised and i think a lot of other former prosecutors are as well. and it really took the steel, didn't it, to bring this to a close finally? after many, many

years. it close finally? after many, many ears. ., , close finally? after many, many ears. . , , years. it really did. maybe it was his recent _ years. it really did. maybe it was his recent stroke - years. it really did. maybe it was his recent stroke and i was his recent stroke and health issues and the fact he was able to fight expression for so many years, first arguing that the espionage act carries the possibility of death and altar in the united states and that would be an exodus on crime and he may be held in solitary confinement because of the nature of the charges. the lawyers both in the embassy and now in british prison have done a very good job of fighting extradition and what is clear that was there was no end in sight was the department ofjustice, the us government that finally put this all to an end.— government that finally put this all to an end. thank you very much — this all to an end. thank you very much indeed _ this all to an end. thank you very much indeed for- this all to an end. thank you very much indeed for your i very much indeed for your reaction to this story. let's speak to seth stern, director of advocacy at freedom of the press foundation. good to have you on the programme. is this a victory for the freedom of the press? what are your thoughts? well, obviously it _ what are your thoughts? well, obviously it is _ what are your thoughts? well, obviously it is welcome - what are your thoughts? well, obviously it is welcome news i

obviously it is welcome news that the saga of this prosecution which is really posing in exeter shall threat to the first amendment and is freedom for some time —— existential threat. the outcome is far better than had he gone to trialfor obtaining is far better than had he gone to trial for obtaining and publishing government secrets. what investigative journalists do every day. that being said, the biden administration could have simply dropped the case instead of extracting a plea agreement whereinjulian agreement wherein julian assange pled agreement whereinjulian assange pled guilty to violating the espionage act. an archaic law that scholars, advocates, journalists, everywhere have warned should not be applied against publishers of classified information. even the 0bama administration recognised that prosecuting julian assange was not viable, because any theory that could be used to prosecute

him obtaining and publishing government secrets could be used against the washington post and new york times and any other more traditional news outlets. whether you like or hate julian assange, outlets. whether you like or hatejulian assange, he is a polarising figure, isn't really the point. the point is that the point. the point is that the administration, by pursuing this case to this point and by ending it in a plea deal as opposed to dropping it has essentially validated the theory that routine acts of journalism can be criminalised —— cannot be criminal as it would have the government. -- cannot be criminal as it would have the government. what does this outcome _ would have the government. what does this outcome in _ would have the government. what does this outcome in going forward? going forjournalists who choose to go down this route that wikileaks did and release information, sensitive information? the us argued all along that lives were put at risk. ., , .,

along that lives were put at risk. . , ., ., risk. right, well a plea deal does not — risk. right, well a plea deal does not have _ risk. right, well a plea deal does not have legal- does not have legal presidential value. does not have legal presidentialvalue. it will does not have legal presidential value. it will not be something that will be cited by future courts to pursue future prosecutions of journalists but a case and everyjudge and prosecutor is going to hear about this plea deal. the fact that it got to this point, the fact that it was not dropped and resulted in a conviction whether through a guilty plea or otherwise will emboldenjudges and guilty plea or otherwise will embolden judges and prosecutors to not only charge journalists under the espionage act but to test out other theories to criminalise journalism. test out other theories to criminalisejournalism. they can accusejulian assange of putting lives at risk, they can accuse him of all sorts of things but the indictment under which it was charged is not about putting lives at risk. the plea agreement that you can

read today is not about putting lives at risk. the theory under which this case arose does not hinge on whether or not the journalist put lives at risk. which again, it is a subjective and unproven statement. no—one has ever identified the lives he put at risk. that being said, the exact same legal theory can be used against journalists who don't put lives at risk. 0r journalists who don't put lives at risk. or that the espionage act requires is obtainment and/or publication of classified information. sorry, to interrupt _ classified information. sorry, to interrupt you _ classified information. sorry, to interrupt you but - classified information. sorry, to interrupt you but we - classified information. sorry, to interrupt you but we will i to interrupt you but we will have to leave it there but we do appreciate your thoughts and reaction to this news. director of advocacy at freedom of the press foundation, needless to say we have a live page online as you can see here. julian assange leaves uk after being freed in us plea deal. it's got

the latest there and also analysis from our colleague that we heard from earlier but if you highlight this element here, this is a timeline of julian assange's legal troubles and it talks see—through the story from the very beginning. take a look at that if you wish to dig deeper on this story. let's talk about what is happening in the middle east. israeli defense minister yoav gallant has held talks in washington on the war in gaza and the escalating tensions with lebanese armed group hezbollah. he met the us secretary of state antony blinken who warned israel to avoid any escalation with hezbollah on the northern border with lebanon. the two men also talked about the risk of escalation to the wider region, as well as the protection of humanitarian workers. for more, we can speak to ambassador gina abercrombie—winstanley, president of the middle east policy council, and holder of many diplomatic positions

within the us state department in this region. good to talk to you again on bbc news. the us at pains to stress, they do not want to see an outbreak of war between israel and hezbollah, yet many may argue since the war in gaza began, there has been conflict that more or less daily on that border? ., �* , that more or less daily on that border? . �* , m , border? that's exactly right. this has been _ border? that's exactly right. this has been from - border? that's exactly right. this has been from the - this has been from the beginning an area of conflict and warning. from the united states to israel from the international community in general. and we have seen steps taken from iran and the united states to try and contain the conflict. to ensure that it doesn't get out of hand and broaden in the region and beyond. by mistake. that is why

we have seen the iranians say they were not involved in october seven and be noticed as 0ctober seven and be noticed as medically that they were not involved in the assassination of some leaders. efforts have continued, back channel diplomatic communications have gone on as we know a special envoy has been in the region recently as well as the israelis coming to washington. but the message is very clearly from us to both parties, you must de—escalate. from us to both parties, you must de-escalate._ from us to both parties, you must de-escalate. the problem is benjamin _ must de-escalate. the problem is benjamin netanyahu - must de-escalate. the problem is benjamin netanyahu is - must de-escalate. the problem| is benjamin netanyahu is saying the opposite right now, talking about as the fighting reduces in the south, in rafah, the military will be headed to the northern border?— military will be headed to the northern border? indeed. and there may _ northern border? indeed. and there may be _ northern border? indeed. and there may be something - northern border? indeed. and there may be something to i northern border? indeed. and i there may be something to that and there may be another layer

of the game of chicken. that is being played between hezbollah and the idf at this point with israel. each party has domestic as well as foreign policy constraints and pressures. the prime minister as we all know is fighting against being removed from office for a number of reasons, including what happened before october seven with trying to undermine the judiciary and of course his failure to bring home hostages. a priority we know for presidentjoe biden as well. he is bolted to his right wing and so he continues to talk tough in this region whether it is kaiser, lebanon and hezbollah. resident biden also has domestic pressures as well as foreign—policy inheritance. his force continues to provide support to israel, a long—standing position and one

that he is comfortable with and is the american way. along with wanting to reduce the casualties in the strip and absolutely not wanting conflict with hezbollah and on that border which may bring us forces into danger and will be a terrible thing to have to go into an election with. ambassador gina abercrombie—winstanley a thank you your time. abercrombie-winstanley a thank you your time-— around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's turn our attention the general election in the uk, and the bbc has been told that the gambling commission is considering whether more police officers are involved in alleged betting on the date of the general election. four conservatives and a police officer assigned to the protection of rishi sunak are known to be facing inquiries. scotland yard has denied a report that it leaked the names of some of those

under investigation. here's our political correspondent iain watson. did you have inside information when you placed your bet on the election? it's been nearly two weeks since this age to the prime and as it was a conservative candidate said he made a huge error ofjudgement embedding the date of the general action. another candidate and two members of the conservative party staff are also being investigated by the gambling commission. last night interviewed by the sun newspaper and several readers it was pretty much odds on the government being asked about the issue. he said the party was also investigating the allegations that his frustration was clear. just be careful, there _ frustration was clear. just be careful, there are _ frustration was clear. just be i careful, there are independent inquiries ongoing, those have not concluded and our being done by very serious bodies, the gambling commission. gambling commission and the police. it's important that no—one says or does anything

that compromises the integrity of those investigations. in this morning the telegraph newspaper said a source close to the department suggested the names of those be investigated had been leaked from inside the metropolitan police. in a statement a spokesperson said... labourcall statement a spokesperson said... labour call forthe gambling commission quite simply to make public the names of all of those under investigation. to protect the integrity of the investigation they were unable to comment on any details at this time. labour and the lib dems called on rishi sunak to suspend any candidates who may be involved. there would be gone if they were my candidates. if it would not touch the floor. the gambling _ not touch the floor. the gambling allegations i not touch the floor. the gambling allegations are not limited to those directly involved in politics. 0ne vip protection officer was arrested and questioned last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office. the bbc understands new information has been given to the mat about a handful of other officers.

sources suggested information is sketchy. voters go to the polls are little more than a week. the current opinion polls suggest there are long odds and a conservative victory will stop the prime and still need to find a way to move the focus from gambling to issues that may have a more positive impact. iain watson, bbc news. here in the uk, gareth jenkins — the former fujitsu engineer who helped design the faulty horizon software at the centre of the post office scandal — is set to give evidence later on tuesday. he will be questioned over his involvement in the scandal, which saw more than 900 sub—postmasters wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. the former fujitsu engineer who probably knows more about the horizon system than anyone else. now we are to hear what garethjenkins has to say about the faults. garethjenkins has given evidence over four days, the longest run of questions and a witness in this enquiry has faced.

he has now become a key figure in this scandal. his name keeps popping up. that's because from 2005, he was pivotal in helping the post office defend horizon when he became an expert witness. here is why he is so important. he gave evidence in a number of criminal trials against postmasters and 2013, a barrister called simon clarke told everyone that is evidence was unreliable and should not be used. the post office did not tell anyone that until november 2020. she was found guilty of theft and false accounting in 2010. she was jailed was pregnant. gareth jenkins gave evidence in her case. it is very important because i want to know why he did what he did. that's what i'm looking for — hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, listening from him, the reality might put my mind to rest.

if the problem had been revealed during her trial, it could have stopped all the subsequent prosecutions and helped others to clear their names far earlier. jenkins�* lawyers said it would be inappropriate for him to comment ahead of him giving evidence at the enquiry. emma simpson, bbc news. in ukraine, there are many openly lgbt soldiers serving on the front line. they are challenging people's prejudices in a county where many still hold socially conservative and even homophobic views. but the war has exposed an inequality. gay couples cannot get married, meaning when these soldiers are killed, their partners don't have the right to decide what happens to their bodies. campaigners are now fighting for victory and equality, as our correspondentjean mackenzie reports from kyiv. this is where ukraine's full are remembered. and mourned.

for pride month, the lgbt community have come to leave flags for their dead. this man's former boyfriend was killed during the first month of the invasion. roman was just 21 when a local family which the position of his unit to the russians. he the position of his unit to the russians-_ the position of his unit to the russians. . , ., , ., ., russians. he was really one of the best people. _ russians. he was really one of the best people. the - russians. he was really one of the best people. the deaths i russians. he was really one ofj the best people. the deaths of ca the best people. the deaths of gay soldiers — the best people. the deaths of gay soldiers on _ the best people. the deaths of gay soldiers on the _ the best people. the deaths of gay soldiers on the frontline i gay soldiers on the frontline has exposed an injustice here. lgbt people do not have equal marriage rights. bill lgbt people do not have equal marriage rights.— marriage rights. all of this death and _ marriage rights. all of this death and blood, - marriage rights. all of this death and blood, the i marriage rights. all of this | death and blood, the same, marriage rights. all of this i death and blood, the same, the same. no matter if it's heterosexual or homosexual people, is the same. i don't want to feel like i am not the same as anyone. i pay the same tax and the same pro ukrainian

and rockets can tell me the same way as everyone else. cheering and chanting. this is the first pride march to be held since the start of the war. campaigners are using this moment to back a new law to allow same—sex partnerships. as it stands, partners of those killed in combat not entitled to collect their bodies. the marchers are only allowed to move a few hundred metres. there is a risk of homophobic attacks. this community is still battling against conservative views. even though these soldiers are challenging people's prejudices. we these soldiers are challenging people's prejudices.— people's pre'udices. we are showina people's prejudices. we are showing there _ people's prejudices. we are showing there are - people's prejudices. we are| showing there are defenders people's prejudices. we are i showing there are defenders on the frontline and ukrainians respect that. that's why they became more inclusive to the

community. became more inclusive to the community-— became more inclusive to the communi . . ., community. the celebrations are . uickl community. the celebrations are quickly wrapped _ community. the celebrations are quickly wrapped up. _ community. the celebrations are quickly wrapped up. as - community. the celebrations are quickly wrapped up. as hundreds of protesters make their way to this symbolic square. this group of far right protesters have just turned up to try and counter the pride march and they have been shouting incredibly offensive and homophobic slurs. 0rganisers say they are not reflective of a society and there will be people who are homophobic. as a society is growing more tolerant but this gives you a sense of some of the opposition now up against. there is opposition in parliament as well. the bill on same—sex partnerships has been blocked by conservative mps. and lgbt soldiers worry the war may not provide the window for change they hoped for. jean mackenzie, bbc news.

before we move onto business we want to give a heads up what is happening in what should be over an hours time. china's chang'e—6 lunar probe is due to return to earth, bringing with it samples from the unexplored far side of the moon. the re—entry capsule is set to land in the deserts of inner mongolia and scientists will then start analysing the rocks and soil that have been gathered from the moon. we should hope to catch that and i will be back with business today, next. hello there. we saw the heat really building to start the new week in the sunshine. let me show you the picture from earlier on on monday in aberdeenshire. aboyne saw temperatures of 27 degrees on monday, making it the hottest day of the year so far in scotland. we also had our hottest day in northern ireland and in england — it was only wales that was missing out. temperatures reached 28 celsius in london — could get even hotter in the next few days. not so for scotland, northern ireland. tuesday will be cooler, and in the next few days, cooler, fresher air will push

in from the northwest with a few showers. but the heat and humidity will linger for longer in england and wales. and into tuesday, we've got more sunshine for england and wales. this cloud in the west tending to break up, but the cloud in northern england could trigger one or two showers over the pennines. looking mostly dry but cloudier in northern ireland. some rain or showers in scotland, some heavy showers in the afternoon in the east in particular. temperatures will be lower in scotland, but still could reach 22 in the central belt and the southeast. it's nearing 19 in northern ireland. hotter for england and wales, especially the midlands — towards the south east, potentially 30 degrees around london. more sunshine for england and wales on wednesday, this time a bit more cloud towards the east coast and some cloud in scotland but fewer showers here. should see a bit more sunshine in northern ireland, picking the temperatures up just a little. but again, the higher temperatures, the heat is going to be across england and wales. and again, london and the southeast could hit 30 degrees. but we're all going to be changing by the end of the week.

this low pressure is going to drive this weather front eastwards. there's not much rain on that at all, but it's all about the timing because following that weather front, we've got cooler, fresher air coming in from the atlantic, pushing the heat and humidity into continental europe. so this is the picture for thursday. you can see our weather front here, is just a narrow band of cloud, little or no rain on it. sunshine follows, blustery showers coming into scotland and northern ireland, and making it feel cooler here. even with some sunshine for england and wales, temperatures will be lower, but there's still some heat across east anglia and the southeast — temperatures could be higher than 26 degrees here. but even here, things will change by the end of the week. cooler, fresher weather for all of us, i think, for friday and into the weekend, but mostly dry with some sunshine.

kenya's controversial new tax bill returns to parliament for a vote after another weekend of protests. the former fujitsu engineer who helped design the faulty horizon software at the centre of the post office scandal is to start giving evidence today. a royal welcome: japan's emperor naruhito to meet king charles as the uk looks to strengthen trade ties. tough at the top:

nvidia shares slump for the third day in a row. is the ai tech frenzy cooling? and europe's beautiful game is booming as the big five football leagues rake in record revenues. welcome to business today. i'm sally bundock. you are very welcome. we start in kenya where it's a big day for the government as its controversial finance bill returns to parliament today. nationwide protests are expected as many kenyans — and particularly a new galvanised youth — voice their anger about the new tax proposals that they say they can't afford. president ruto has offered to hold dialogue with the protesters. iam very i am very proud of our young people. they have stepped forward, they have stepped forward, they have stepped

forward peaceful and i want to