this is bbc world news today. our top stories. the most senior member of the trump administration so far is charged in the probe into possible collusion with russia. sacked national security adviser, michael flynn, has pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his contacts with moscow. the us media reports he will testify that donald trump's son—in—law, jared kushner, was amongst those who directed him contact with russia. the white house says that nothing about the guilty plea — or the charge — implicates anyone other than mr flynn. we'll bring you all the very latest. the eu will refuse to begin talks on a post—brexit trade deal if ireland is not satisfied with the uk's offer on the northern irish border. pope francis comes face to face with the agony of rohingya refugees in bangladesh and publicly uses the word "rohingya" in recognition of their identity. and coming up in sport... the draw for next year's world cup

finals has taken place. we'll get reaction from moscow. hello and welcome to world news today. we start with news that president trump's former national security advisor michael flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about his contact with russia. mr flynn is the most senior former official to be charged so far in the investigation into alleged russian meddling in last year's us presidential election. a lawyer for the white house has said nothing about the guilty plea oi’ said nothing about the guilty plea or charge implicates anyone other than mr flynn. this is mr flynn

leaving court earlier. us media say that mr flynn is prepared to give testimony that mr trump's son—in—law, jared kushner, was amongst the members of the president's transitional team who directed intimate contact with the russians. aleem maqbool has the latest. it has sent political shock waves through washington. general michael flynn, donald trump's former national security adviser, turned himself in to the fbi, and to a judge admitted lying about his contacts with russian officials. general michael flynn! michael flynn developed a close relationship with donald trump

during the election campaign, and at one point he was talked of as a potential vice—president. a truly great general. mike, thank you. at the republican national convention, he famously led chanting for hillary clinton to be imprisoned. lock her up! all the focus now is on the mistake michael flynn made after donald trump's win at the polls, when barack obama was still in office and had imposed sanctions on russia for interfering with the us election. on 29th december, michael flynn spoke to the russian ambassador on the phone in the first of a series of calls. on 15th january, vice—president mike pence said sanctions were not discussed by michael flynn in those calls. only after 9th february, when a newspaper revealed general flynn did discuss sanctions when he was not organised to do so, did pressure increase and michael flynn lost his job. —— authorised. michael flynn then became one

of those investigated by the special counsel into russia's attempts to influence the election and the potential collusion with the trump campaign. this is unquestionably the biggest moment of the russia investigation. michael flynn is the most senior member of donald trump's team to be indicted, and is accused of lying to fbi agents while still serving the white house. most importantly, we now believe michael flynn will testify that he was directed to talk to the russian ambassador when he was not supposed to by a senior official in donald trump's transition team, bringing this investigation ever closer to the president himself. aleem maqbool, washington. let's get more on this. laura bicker is in washington. a new development, latest development. it is developing quite fast. jared kushner is the latest name to be thrown very squarely into the ring. just take us through the

context. there could be a number of officials certainly involved in this. but this was in regards to who told michael flynn to contact the russians. now according to the charge sheet, there was a senior official and a very senior official. us media here are touting jared kushnehs us media here are touting jared kushner‘s name is one of those who told michael flynn to contact the russian ambassador. now, we have not got that independently confirmed but he is just got that independently confirmed but he isjust one name got that independently confirmed but he is just one name that the us media are putting out there. that would be significant. it takes this trail closer to the oval office. but remember, when it comes to this investigation, it is worth looking exactly what robert mueller is trying to figure out. he is trying to look at whether or not russia couuded to look at whether or not russia colluded with the trump campaign to help donald trump win the election.

and part of that is to see what contact they had with the russians and when. and michael flynn lied about his contact with the russian ambassador. as well as to the fbi. that is why he has pleaded guilty today. the other question is, in return for the guilty plea, what else is he told the special counsel, robert mueller? indeed. the next question is if jared robert mueller? indeed. the next question is ifjared kushner directed flynn, who directed jared kushner? hopefully we will learn more about that. james comey is another name we hear quite a lot during this latest news. he has been tweeting as well. tell us about that. james comey was the former director of the fbi. one of the reasons why, if you're wondering why the name michael flynn sounds most familiar, it's because whenjames

comey was fired, he gave testimony to congress that president trump urged him to drop the investigation into michael flynn. the conversation that he recounted in notes he had taken straight that he recounted in notes he had ta ken straight afterwards that he recounted in notes he had taken straight afterwards was that mrtrump taken straight afterwards was that mr trump asked taken straight afterwards was that mrtrump asked him taken straight afterwards was that mr trump asked him to let the investigation go. to let michael flynn go. james comey has tweeted and has been incognito on twitter for some time, finally using his own twitter handle. you said, like justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing frame. not hiding the fact he is pleased. very quickly, we have still not heard anything on this subject from mrtrump not heard anything on this subject from mr trump but there has been talk of a bit of deflection going on. he has tweeted today but what about rex tillerson. yesterday, we we re about rex tillerson. yesterday, we were wondering if rex tillerson could survive. whether his future was extremely uncertain. there have been tensions between the two for

several months. in donald trump's tweet, he describes reports rex tillerson was to be pushed out the door as fake news. he says rex tillerson is here to stay and admitted that they had differences but they are working on it. it looks like, for the moment at least, the secretary of state will keep his job. 0k, thank you for that. we can cross now to washington dc and talk to elizabeth wydra, a supreme court litigator and legal expert. thank you very much forjoining us. it is all about the deal. how is this deal working, as you understand? absolutely. it is a deal that we have the former national security adviser to president trump pleading guilty to lying about talking to russian contacts. the even bigger deal is what did he agree to give robert —— robert

mueller in exchange that plea deal? we know that he is implicating senior presidential transition officials. rumours have been swirling that perhaps it is jared kushner, even mike pence, even at present himself. —— the president himself. we're getting closer to senior level trump administration officials. you don't make a deal with someone very high level like mike flynn unless he can give you someone mike flynn unless he can give you someone who is an even bigger fish. dairy crest pleaded guilty. what happens next in the investigation? —— he has pleaded guilty. happens next in the investigation? —— he has pleaded guiltylj happens next in the investigation? -- he has pleaded guilty. i am sure robert mueller is meticulously putting together all these bits of information, as was just discussed. michael flynn was key to a lot of what was going on in the potential collision with the russians and attentional obstruction ofjustice with the filing of james comey.

flynn's name comes up again and again. you can be sure that robert mueller and his ace team are putting together how all those dots are connected through michael flynn and with his senior trump characters, like perhaps even the president's son—in—law has vice president, being implicated, we're getting ever closer to the oval office. robert mueller is not going to go there u nless mueller is not going to go there unless he knows for sure that he has got the goods. between the flynn deal and the earlier deal, i think that robert mueller is probably putting together a very damning case. this is a federal crime. what does that mean in terms of the reality of a sentence? what is the likelihood that will be reduced as pa rt likelihood that will be reduced as part of this deal? yes, absolutely. it seems, just from what we known reports, that flynn could have been charged with several other and perhaps even serious crimes that are

lying to the fbi, which is itself a very serious charge and is a felony. it does seem that by only charging him with lying to the fbi, robert mueller and the special counsel decided to lower the charges and potential sentence for mr flynn, and possibly even have either a lord liability for michael flynn's son, michael flynn junior, or liability for michael flynn's son, michael flynnjunior, or perhaps even getting michael flynnjunior of completely. we do not know exactly the terms of how that cooperation deal came about. but it is very likely. what happens in most plea deals is that you get a lower charge and then also the special counsel or i commend in law sentence to the federaljudge. —— i commend in law sentence to the federal judge. —— will i commend in law sentence to the federaljudge. —— will recommend a lesser sentence. you have been watching this. a white house lawyer

has said this guilty plea is only regarding mr flynn. it was not impact on anybody. did the fat "wishful thinking" pass your mind? —— the thought. "wishful thinking" pass your mind? -- the thought. absolutely. i'm sure he would like that to be true but it is not the case. what we have found from the charging information is referenced a very senior transition officials. this is definitely not the end of it. it is indeed wishful thinking if they think that the special counsel investigation will wrap up very soon and without this touching even closer to the heart of the trump administration. interesting. elizabeth, thank you very much. thank you. let's move on and look at the fair is taking place in europe. —— affairs. the eu will refuse to begin talks on a post—brexit trade deal if ireland is not satisfied

with the uk's offer on the northern irish border. that's according to the european council president. donald tusk held a joint news conference with the irish prime minister leo varadkar in dublin. ireland has urged the uk to be clearer on how it plans to avoid a hard border between the republic and northern ireland. mr tusk — who will chair a crunch summit of eu leaders in two weeks' time — said the border within ireland must remain a symbol of cooperation. we have agreed today that before proposing guidelines on transition, i will consult the taoiseach if the uk offer is sufficient for the irish government. let me say very clearly, if the uk offer is unacceptable for ireland, it will also be an a cce pta ble ireland, it will also be an acceptable for the eu. i realise that for some british politicians, this might be hard to understand. but such is the logic can't the fact that ireland is an eu member while

the uk is leaving. this is why the key to the uk's future lies, in some ways," at least as long as brexit mega— sheesh and is are you ongoing. -- in dublin, mega— sheesh and is are you ongoing. —— in dublin, at least as long as brexit negotiations are ongoing. pope francis, who's visiting bangladesh, has met some of the more than 600—thousand rohingya muslims who've fled violence in myanmar. he used the word "rohingya" in public for the first time — a controversial move because the myanmar government doesn't recognise the rohingya as an ethnic group. the refugees had been brought to the capital dhaka from cox's bazar, where more than 600,000 men, women and children from myanmar‘s rakhine state have fled. yogita limaye is following the pope's visit. their plight has overshadowed his visit to myanmar and bangladesh, and today, a group of rohingya

refugees met pope francis in dhaka. one by one, they had a chance to tell him what they've been through. up until now, pope francis had avoided using the term "rohingya", which is how these people identify themselves. but a word that myanmar refuses to recognise. but today, the pope was more outspoken. at a meeting of religious leaders, the pope asked for forgiveness from rohingya refugees for the hurt they've endured, and for the indifference of the world. it's a crisis that has overshadowed the pope's visit to myanmar and bangladesh. regardless of the politics around the pope's visit, for many people from the catholic community of bangladesh, it was a chance to see the leader of their religion in person. they're a tiny percentage of the population of this country, but you couldn't tell that by looking at the crowds here. tens of thousands have come from different parts of bangladesh. and they weren't disappointed. before he said mass, pope francis took a quick tour through the crowd.

for some, it was a moment they'll remember forever. he's the first pope to visit bangladesh in more than 30 years. i'm so happy and so blessed that i got to get here in this space, so there are lots of people that couldn't come over here. so i'm so lucky! i can see the pope so near. i was in tears when i saw him. when i saw him, i thought i'm seeing jesus. i was saying, "god bless you, papa. god bless you. i'm so happy to see you again." for this small community, the pope's visit is reassurance that they're part of something bigger. but for another minority, it brought hope that one of the most influential leaders of the world could help them. yogita limaye, bbc news, dhaka. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come... prince harry and his fiancee meghan markle

are on their firstjoint official public engagement in the uk. we'll find out why the city of nottingham in the english midlands has a special place in the prince's heart. iam i am feeling so helpless. the children are dying in front of me andi children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the leader of the hippie cult who called sharon tate and at least six others in los angeles. —— killed. at 11

atiia:m., at 11 a:m., just half a metre of rock separated britain from continental europe. it took the drills just continental europe. it took the drillsjust a continental europe. it took the drills just a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. and then this mine was shaking hands and exchanging flags with his opposite number. —— miner. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines... president trump's sacked national security adviser, michael flynn, pleads guilty to charges that he lied to the fbi about contacts with russia. us media reports he will testify that donald trump's son—in—law jared kushner was amongst those who directed him to make contact with russia. dutch pathologists say that an

autopsy suggests the former bosnian croat leader died of cyanide poisoning. he swallowed the floyd wells in the dock at the yugoslav war crimes tribunal on wednesday. the child bruno has begun an internal investigation which it hopes to complete before the court as wind up at the end of the year, focusing on how he got hold of the poison. now for all the sport. now the planning can really begin for the 32 teams preparing for the world cup in russia. the draw for the tournament's group stage has taken place in moscow, so let's show you how the balls came out. the hosts will open their world cup with a match against saudi arabia onjune 14th. the first game of the tournament. group b has paired portugal with neighbours spain while argentina have been drawn alongside iceland, who have qualified for the tournament for the first time... that's in group d.

the task for brazil and germany is to win their groups. or they'll be playing each other in the last 16. and belgium, with their host of premier league stars, are in the same group as england. who are also joined by panana. another team making their tournament debut. it's a fairly even distribution of talent across the eight groups with plenty of coaches and players relieved to have avoided each other. perhaps with the exception of portugal and spain, together in group b, with the european champions the seeded team of course. but not necessarily the favourites. their defenderjose fonte told us they'll make sure not to focus too much on just that match. we have to look at the moroccan side with exactly the same respect as france. there are no easy games, as we found out in the group stages. we look forward to the first game. it will be fiery. you had better put

your shin pads on. exciting. i am excited. i'm sure everyone in portugal will be excited. it is not an easy grip. but we look forward to it. -- an easy grip. but we look forward to it. —— group. italy a notable absence in the world cup draw. but their two best club sides are playing in serie a. leaders napoli and defending champions juventus are first and third in the current table. and it'sjuve who lead through gonzalo higuain's goal against his former club. they'll move second and reduce the gap to napoli to just a point if they win. earlier, roma beat spal 3—1 and stay fourth. it's just a few hours until the second ashes test starts in adelaide. it will be partly played under floodlights as the experiment with day—night test cricket continues. england are one down against australia and have concerns over all rounder moeen ali, who may not be able to bowl because of a finger injury. the decision was to give him an

extra day of trying to wrest it and make sure that it is as ready as it can be. have another look at things after practice and see how he is then and see if there is any more damage to it, then we will make a decision from the. we will have a clear indication of whether he will be fit to tet—mac three. his batting has been strong for some time, so you would still close the batting. we know these wickets well. making sure we adapt accordingly to whatever the wicket. and whatever england's plans throw up. ensuring that we are on from the first ball. hopefully we can get into the game early and take some momentum from the last game as well. tiger woods continues to impress in his first competitive golf for more than 300 days as he remains in contention after two rounds of the hero world 68 on friday to add to his challenge in the bahamas. a 68 on friday to add to his

opening round 69 has him on seven under par, five shots off the lead held by fellow american charley hoffman who's three ahead ofjordan spieth. woods is one of four players on seven under and admits he's still got a long way to go after more than 10 months out. and that's all the sport for now. prince harry and his fiancee meghan markle have taken part in theirfirst official engagement together. they were greeted by crowds of well—wishers in the city of nottingham as they visited world aids day charity fair. as an actress, she's been used to a public stage. she's accustomed to meeting crowds and dealing with fans. little surprise, then, that meghan markle handled her first official public appearance in her new role with considerable confidence. husband—to—be was on hand, solicitous and supportive, with a lot of eye contact between them and supportive arms going around each other‘s backs.

at times, they met the crowds together, but then meghan branched off on her own, stopping and taking time with people. while harry did the same thing on his side of the street. moments later, they were reunited, the cue for more back—rubbing. this clearly is a team effort and the new recruit seems a natural. she will do hundreds and hundreds of events like this in the years to come, but she will remember this one, her first official encounter with the british public. and the verdict on her performance? i think she's great. a good addition to the royal family. definitely. yeah. an american. go, mixed kids! yeah, mixed kids in the royal family now. it was just fabulous and we're just so excited that they've come to nottingham for their first public appearance and we're very excited about the wedding in may. the couple heard about the work of the terrence higgins trust, the charity which has worked for years to help people suffering from hiv—aids.

it's a cause harry, now with meghan, wants to take forward in tribute to his late mother. at a local college, they heard about the effort to help young people keep out of trouble, serious issues to which harry, through a charitable trust, is devoting serious attention. but for all that, there was no doubt who sparkled the most today — the woman with the diamond. i saw her ring and the diamond is massive! it's absolutely gorgeous. just knowing that you're sitting near meghan and prince harry, it'sjaw—dropping, it's really nice. a glittering future, then? it certainly seems to augur well. there is more coming up on bbc world news. stay with us. hello once again. after a dramatic

speu hello once again. after a dramatic spell of weather, selma for tomorrow and eastern parts of the british isles, we will see something quieter pushing into the weekend. this will become quite a familiar pattern. high pressure to the west, feeding in relatively milder air than many of us have seen of late. that does not mean we will see a heat wave by any means. it will take time before the mildly pushes down across the british isles. such that initially it is all the north—western parts of and northern ireland that see the benefits. much more in of cloud on saturday the real scene of late. some sunshine in a few areas. generally speaking, more cloud in northern and western parts of the uk. the rain in the north, scattering of showers across wales and south—west of england. in the evening, you will be tried, save for scotla nd evening, you will be tried, save for scotland in the far north of england. here this sunday. remnants of the front still dragging cloud into the southern half of the british isles. it is a brighter scene for the north. —— further

north. now on bbc news, the 100 women challenge is in london and nairobi, investigating assaults on women using public transport. we are challenging themes of women infour we are challenging themes of women in four locations around the world to tackle everyday from up like their lives. in the workplace... in education. and public transport. and on the sports field. using bbc outlets, the teams can appeal to help from around the world. they have just one week to find a modern solution to a long—standing issue. welcome to the bbc‘s 100 women challenge 2017. millions of women experience street

harassment around the world. there is an ocean of viral videos from groping to wolf whistling, street harassment can be verbal or physical. rush hour in this transport hub. around three and a half million commuters every day swarm in. cramming into packed trains. a survey found 51% of women in london felt at risk of harassment on public transport. the global problem is so vast that it does seem insurmountable. but is it really unsolvable? i'm here in central london to host a hackathon. for girls like me, not quite clued up on their urban dictionary

definition, it's where experts come together, form teams around a problem and collaboratively find unique solution. can bright minds actually sold harassment on public transport? we've gathered a team of experts from very different fields to find ground—breaking solutions, and tackle street harassment head on. today they will brainstorm with an audience from around the world, then they've gotjust one week to design, test and implement solutions. let's meet the team. at the london transport museum, we've invited an audience to participate in this hackathon which will be broadcast live on bbc radio around the world. in the crowd, i meet our team of experts. each bring a unique superpower to the table which, when combined, have the potential to make real, lasting change. ellie is an engineer. she lectures in urban innovation

in policy, working and making spaces safer for women. laura is the founder of advertising agency, mr president. you are all so eager, i'm just going to go on for a bit longer. anne—marie co—founded an organisation inspires the next generation of girls in science, technology, engineering and maths. from a wish to control. academic liz co—chairs the end violence against women coalition in the uk. and last but by no means least, hannah, she's a retired london tube driver and mouth a power lifter. she's competed in world's strongest woman. don't mess with her.