today at five: the uk and eu have agreed there should be no hard border in ireland, but are at odds over how to achieve it. theresa may urges the eu to address the issue without falling back on what she called previous, unworkable positions. early in the process both sides agreed a clear desire to find a solution to the unique circumstances in northern ireland. we have now developed proposals and put an approach of the table which does precisely that. it is now for the eu to respond. i am working for a deal, not for no deal. you do not need a negotiator for no deal, you need a negotiator to reach a deal. with mr barnier saying many questions remain unanswered about the prime minister's brexit vision we'll be live in belfast and brussels. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: two fifteen—year—old boys who plotted to murder teachers and classmates at their school in north yorkshire have been given custodial sentences

of ten and twelve years. donald trump has invited vladimir putin to visit the us later this year — to the surprise of many in washington, including his intelligence chief. the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. say that again? laughter geoffrey wellum, the youngest spitifire pilot to fly in the battle of britain, has died aged 96. and 10 years after the original — mamma mia 2 is out. mark kermode and i will be singing along to that, and talking about the week's other cinema releases, in the film review. good evening and welcome

to the bbc news at 5. the european unions chief brexit negotiator michael barnier has said many questions remain about theresa may's vision for future links with the eu. after a meeting with eu ministers he stressed that time is running out for a withdrawal agreement which could avoid a hard irish border. in speaking in brussels, mr barnier said the uk's white paper opened the way to a constructive discussion, but questioned whether the proposals for future economic relations were in the eu's interest. well, his comments followed the prime minister's speech in belfast where she urged the eu to avoid ‘unworkable solutions‘, as our political correspondent chris mason reports. selling her brexit vision over breakfast.

the prime minister, meeting young people at the crescent arts centre in belfast this morning. from there to her next stop at the waterfront hall in the city, and a message for the eu. i have compromised, now it's your turn. the white paper represents a significant development of our position. it is a coherent package. early in this process, both sides agreed a clear desire to find solutions to the unique circumstances in northern ireland. we have developed our proposals and put an approach on the table which does precisely that. it is now for the eu to respond, not simply to fall back on two previous positions which have already been proven unworkable. strong words, then, from theresa may, but what about reflections from others in northern ireland? there is no good news in brexit. i am sure she will hear from businesses of the catastrophic

implications of brexit in terms of trade and business. i thought it was a very wide—ranging speech and the commitment to the union is to be welcomed, which she reiterated on a number of occasions that that was not to be a hard order in the island of ireland and also not within the uk. that was the strong message that she kept repeating. and yes, visiting northern ireland matters because of that crucial sticking point of the border with the republic — how to keep it open in the long term after brexit. the uk and the eu cannot agree, and they need to if they are to sign a withdrawal agreement in the coming months. gathering in brussels today, europe ministers, meeting to talk about brexit, and they know how turbulent things have been at westminster. we are extremely aware of the current situation. nobody wants to punish the british government or the british people, not at all. but in the end, we are negotiating

on the basis of the guidelines. now we know that there have been amendments to different provisions in britain, it makes it even harder for us to discuss with our british partner. but we really want to have an ambitious partnership with britain, provided our opinions are respected. and shortly, once the polishing is finished, we will hear from the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier. he welcomed the white paper, even if his own ended up all over the floor. he questioned whether the british idea for a common rule book for goods and agri— foods practical. translation: the uk wants to be free to diverge on the rules for services. in any product that we

have, take for example. telephone, between 20 and 40% of the value of this good is linked to services. how will we avoid unfair competition via the services, because the uk will be free to divergent services? keeping the irish border open in the long—term remains the biggest challenge to sorting a deal, but mr barnier tried to be reassuring to the uk. we are not asking for a border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. but we need checks on goods, checks on goods, because the uk wants to leave the single market, the customs union and oui’ single market, the customs union and our common policies. and he pointed out never only 13 weeks left before the eu summit in october, when the withdrawal agreement is due to be finalised.

chris mason, bbc news. in a moment we'll hear from gavin lee in brussels, but first chris page is in belfast. the irish border has always been a huge issue in these brexit negotiations. do we think we have heard anything from theresa may today that shifts the dial on this? there will be more talks next week in brussels about the irish border, in particular this issue of the backstop, an insurance policy, a full—back or fail—safe arrangement which would come into play if and only if the irish border issue could not be resolved by some kind of overarching free agreement. the eu's interpretation of that is well, northern ireland would stay in the customs union and large parts of the single market but not the rest of the uk. theresa may in belfast today very much but the emphasis once again on the fact she thinks that would be. she said if any british

prime minister could not agree to a customs border between northern ireland and the uk, a border within the country itself, she said that would be in breach of the good friday agreement occurs unionists we re friday agreement occurs unionists were cut off in her words from the rest of the uk. she has made it very clear that is a red line. she also said that as regards previous proposals, the government have that to the eu regarding for example the use of new technology to mean a goods could be electronically monitored as they crossed the border, she described those as being non—negotiable with the eu. in other words, the eu had rejected them said the government had on for a third way, way, in this white paper. the idea of a common rule book for goods and agricultural products which she said would mean there was no need for any checks on goods that crossed the border anyway, basically rendering the backstop irrelevant. now, the problem with that is, as you heard from chris mason that, the

eu are concerned about the integrity of the single market. they say if you have the uk including northern ireland out of the customs union and the republic of ireland inside it, you must secure the single market somehow. it remains unclear how this particular backstop issue will be resolved. there will certainly be more talking about it in the coming months. for now, thank you. gavin lee is in brussels. what is your reading of the response to everything theresa may has been laying out here? first of all, there is this extraordinary unified silence for 12 days until today by all of your's leaders, even though governments, diplomats and apartments who usually brief quite happily to us. they are waiting for a collective response. today we have had it. the meeting between michel barnier and the europe ministers

lasted for four hours, we are told the press conference was longer and later because it was so impassioned that ministers had to have their say. what michel barnier was saying isa say. what michel barnier was saying is a unified position. he was not discounting everything, he said there are bits you could take from this paper but went theresa may talks about her of position, as we heard from your correspondence, we have the position from the eu saying this is not going to be your paper, you can add bits from it, the other bit of hope is michel barnier saying he is using the superlative, the clock is ticking. he thinks if they cancel the irish issue out, there is enough time to get a deal for the key october summit when the leaders next meet. clock ticking, the phrase we often use. thank you. two fifteen—year—old boys who plotted to murder pupils and teachers at a school in north yorkshire, have received custodial sentences of ten and 12 years. the teenagers planned to re—enact the columbine school massacre in the usa, in which 13 people died almost 20 years ago. let's get more from our news

correspondent fiona trott. imean, so i mean, so much that is disturbing about this case. what we said there reminds you that the columbine massacre happened before these two we re eve n massacre happened before these two were even born. exactly, and yet they were completely fascinated by they were completely fascinated by the perpetrators of the attack because they could read all about it on the internet. we learned that from the age of on the internet. we learned that from the age 01:14, they had already downloaded a bomb—making manual. they were so interested in that attack and idolised the perpetrators of the columbine attack, we learned, that like them, they also kept a diary, a journal of what they planned to do. that was kept by the eldest, thomas miley. in it, he apologised in advance for committing

one of the worst atrocities in british history. the youngest of the two, alex volland, confessed that he told a teacher that what their plan was he said he would become forming a service to society because potential targets were infecting the gene pool. —— performing a service to society. these children did not give evidence in court so lots of questions being asked about their motivation, what was happening in these teenagers lives. all we know is when he made back confession to the teacher, he said some students we re the teacher, he said some students were making his life intolerable. thejudge today said were making his life intolerable. the judge today said this was a firm plan intended to cause terror on the scale seen in america. the 215—year—olds sat motionless as she handed down the sentence. thomas miley sentenced to 12 years in custody and alex bolland to ten yea rs. custody and alex bolland to ten years. —— thomas wiley.

an al qaida bomb—maker who plotted a knife attack on mps and police outside the houses of parliament, has been handed three life sentences with a minimum term of a0 years. khalid ali had three knives when he was arrested by armed police in parliament square last april following surveillance by counter—terrorism police. donald trump has invited vladimir putin to visit the us this autumn — in a move which has taken many in washington by suprise. it follows the meeting between the two men in helsinki earlier in the week for which the us president has been heavily criticised. in a us television interview, president trump has rejected suggestions that he'd failed to stand up to russia. our correspondent chris buckler sent this report from washington. america's intelligence agencies have never wavered in their belief that the kremlin interfered in the 2016 presidential election and that, through cyber attacks and campaigns of disinformation, russia remains a threat

to democracy in the us. but donald trump's own view has been a little harder to pin down. he said he misspoke when he appeared to back vladimir putin's denials over the word of his own intelligence chiefs. but it is clear that he still wants a relationship with russia. getting along with president putin, getting along with russia, is a positive, not a negative. that being said, if that doesn't work out, i will be the worst enemy he's ever had. but his recent actions have unnerved donald trump's political friends and foes in washington. the resolution is agreed to. the senate unanimously passed a motion opposing president putin's proposal for russia to question us officials, after mr trump seemed to briefly consider it. yet, despite all the fallout from that controversial summit in helsinki, the white house press secretary revealed on twitter that president trump has already asked his national security adviser to invite president putin

to washington, and those discussions are ongoing. however, that came as something of a surprise to america's own director of national intelligence. we have some breaking news. the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. say that again? laughter you... vladimir putin... did i hearyou...? yeah, yeah. ok... that's going to be special. laughter questions remain about what donald trump and vladimir putin talked about in helsinki, particularly during their closed—door private meeting. and democrats say until they get clarity on that, there should be no further one—on—one sessions between the presidents, in washington or anywhere else. chris buckler, bbc news, washington.

jane o'brien is in washington. fairto fair to say that people are still stunned the president has made this offer? obviously as we saw there, even members of dan —— his own administration were caught off guard. this is classic trump. he a cts guard. this is classic trump. he acts quickly with no game plan, trying to drive the narrative. he has been saying the meeting on monday was a great success despite the fake news media's criticism, and what better way to show that mantle immediately start planning the next one in the fall? i think this is creating a storm, but when you see it and think about donald trump, it fits right in with the way this

president has operated. it leaves members of his own administration scrambling to try to figure out what to do next or how to cover for it. do people actually think it will really happen? a good question. now one is going to say now at this point, when donald trump announced that he was going to have a summit with kim jong—nam, meeting face—to—face, there were lots of doubters at the time. —— kim jong—un on. what is wagging fingers. the summit happened after all. you cannot rule anything out. vladimir putin after the helsinki summit has been very effusive in his praise of donald trump, railing against his critics, so it's perfectly possible that he would accept the invitation. it will be interesting to see the timing of it because there is a mid—term election here in the us in the first week of november. if it is any time around that, that could

really make russia campaign issue. i would not be surprised if they tried to avoid that kind of political fallout. interesting fallout. we will be talking more about that story just after half we will be talking more about that storyjust after half past, i will be talking to a former nato massacre about that meeting between trump and putin. -- about that meeting between trump and putin. —— former nato ambassador. the headlines on bbc news... the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has said many questions remain about theresa may's vision forfuture links between london and brussels. two fifteen—year—old boys who plotted to murder teachers and classmates at their school in north yorkshire have been given custodial sentences of ten and twelve years. donald trump has invited vladimir putin to visit the us later this year — to the surprise of many in washington. in sport, kevin kisner extends his lead at the open championship to two

shots, currently three under for his second round, eight underfor the tournament. tommy fleetwood is the best brit brit on on five under in the clubhouse. ryan thomas retains the clubhouse. ryan thomas retains the leader's jersey after stage 13 of the tour de france. and max verstappen is the surprise pa cesetter verstappen is the surprise pacesetter in practice for sunday's german grand bree, just pipping lewis hamilton and valterri bottas. more on those stories after half—past. theresa may has insisted that the chief whip, julian smith, made an "honest mistake", when he broke parliamentary convention earlier this week. mr smith has apologised for telling the conservative party chairman, brandon lewis, to take part in a key brexit vote, despite a "pairing" agreement with a liberal democrat mp on maternity leave, which means brandon lewis shouldn't have voted. the new health and social care secretary has said he's horrified at the level of bullying reported by nhs staff. matt hancock said it was

heartbreaking to hear how undervalued many staff feel. he made the comments in his first speech since being appointed, and also announced the latest tranche of funding to try to transform technology in the nhs. dominic hughes reports and then you have to wash your hands. isee, 0k. it's a clean start for the new health and social care secretary. for matt hancock, this is set to become a familiar ritual, meeting staff and getting an insight into the front line of the nhs. it is all part of his newjob and today he set out what his priorities in the role will be. more than £1180 million will be spent on technology to improve patient care and reduce medication mistakes. there will be a renewed emphasis on preventing ill health in the first place and a strong statement of support for the workforce, with mr hancock expressing horror at the level of bullying reported by staff. it's heartbreaking to see how undervalued you often feel. the sense of duty and public service

that motivates you to go into health care is one of the things that makes the nhs the institution it is, and i am determined the commitment you show to your patients is matched by the commitment we show to you. matt hancock looks like he's trying to reset relations with the nhs workforce after some difficult periods under his predecessor, jeremy hunt. while his words have been welcomed, health unions will want to see action, too. it is good having a new secretary of state who is willing to engage with the workforce, as long as he can match his words with the appropriate funding to sort out things that are causing the low morale he talks about, the lack of beds in the nhs, the years of below inflation pay increases. all that kind of thing is contributing to the morale and it needs to be dealt with. his words are very welcome and i hope he follows up with funding to sort things out. so far, so good for mr hancock, but despite a change at the top, the nhs still faces some familiar and tricky problems.

the new health secretary will know he has one of the toughest jobs in government. dominic hughes, bbc news. at least 17 people have died after an amphibious "duck boat" carrying tourists sank in stormy weather in the us state of missouri. the vessel was carrying about 30 people when in capsized in table rock lake — a popular tourist attraction in the state. authorities say children are among the dead. ben ando reports. ba rely barely making headway, shocked tourists watch as one of the so—called duck tour boats struggles against the swells of a sudden storm. another vessel further out did not make it back and sank beneath the choppy waters of table rock lake in misery with 31 people on board. —— in missouri. rock lake in misery with 31 people on board. —— in missourilj rock lake in misery with 31 people on board. -- in missouri. i saw two people way off in the distance. i

believe they may be actual workers that jumped in after others, believe they may be actual workers thatjumped in after others, trying to save them. 17 are dead and seven people were rushed to hospital. our thoughts and prayers are with the families and the victims in this tragic event that has occurred down here. it's a sad occasion, a lot of people involved, and the families involved down here on vacation trying to enjoy time, and ending up with an incident like this. us president donald trump took to twitter to express his deepest sympathy for those involved. the so—called duck rides are a popular attraction on table rock lake, billing themselves as the area's only land and water adventure with children themselves allowed to steer the vessel on the lake. the vessels which can go by land or sea were originally designed during world war ii. more than 20,000 were built and many took part in the d—day landings where they carried nearly half of

the allies supplies onto the beaches. but there have been fatal accidents before. five students were killed many years ago when abe duck collided with a bus in seattle. one of the axles had sheared off. the cause of this latest tragedy is not yet known. locals say the storm came suddenly, and authorities say there we re suddenly, and authorities say there were life jackets on board and everyone. it's not clear whether the passengers had been ordered put them on. german police have arrested an attacker who wounded 1a people in a knife attack in the northern city of luebeck. witnesses say the man forced his way on to a bus and stabbed people with a kitchen knife. two people are believed to be seriously injured. the prince of wales is giving an insight into his home life this summer, in an exhibition to mark his 70th birthday. more than a hundred items, including personal photographs, private paintings and soft furnishings, have been selected by prince charles to go on display at buckingham palace from tomorrow, as part of its summer opening to the public. now, those

of us of a certain age remember buying the original ‘now that‘s what i call music‘ album — today, the 100th edition is released. 35 years ago, the opening track on that first compilation was phil collins, with "you can‘t hurry love". since then, the albums have sold more than 120 million copies, and featured hits from bob marley to bob the builder. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson charts the history of the biggest—selling music compilation series in the world. now that‘s what i call music! 1983, and the compilation album changed for ever. no more dodgy cover versions of the latest hits. on now, it was the real thing. 11 number ones from duran duran... nows came out at a rate of three a year, so 35 years later, here we are at now 100, and this is their london base. how many of you are there here?

there‘s only eight of us. steve pritchard has been with now since now 20, and has a theory why it‘s survived. it‘s that strange mix of current music, because now is always about currency, and nostalgia, because mums and dads remember their first now and maybe want to buy it for the kids or for the family in the car. now 44, with number ones from steps... # tragedy! now 44 was the biggest selling now album ever. released in november 1999, people bought it for their millennium parties. robbie williams has made the most now appearances with 31, and now 48 even became a crucial plot point in peter kay‘s car share. # you can‘t hurry love... most music fans seem to remember their first now album. this was mine, the originalfrom 1983. so i thought i would go out and about and hear people‘s memories. oh, this was literally the first one we got, on cassette. # karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon...

karma chameleon, can‘t argue with that. too shy, kajagoogoo. slightly dodge. # too shy, shy, hush hush, eye to eye... every christmas, i get one. every birthday. who would give you it? grandma, or my dad. had grandma ever heard of anyone on it? definitely not. but my grandad liked the sugababes. # cos i know how i feel about you now... it would always be the best side of it as well. usually, the first disc was the best disc. # ooh, ijust wanted to get your name... liam payne appears on now 100 and thinks the series was ahead of its time. that was almost the world‘s first playlist a little bit, which is now the theme of the industry for all the different platforms that you listen to music on. it‘s all about playlists, so they kind of kicked that off. and now believe they will survive because, with so much choice out there, many consumers actually like the simplicity of it all being done for them. # one kiss is all it takes...

the next goal — to make it to now 200 in the year 2053. now, that‘s what i call a long way in the future. colin paterson, bbc news. i love that, though itjust does make me feel a little bit old. i remember the original. chris with the weather. you are much younger than me. i think it was now five, with freddie mercury... now ten, apparently. maybe i am a bit younger! as all the weather. we have seen some welcome rain. two weather systems coming in to the uk in a pincer action, with a band of rain working across northern england and wales, another one down across parts of kent and sussex for much of the day. between these, we have seen

some heavy showers just starting to form. we are keeping a close eye on that because there is potential for heavy rain from those downpours. through the rest of this evening and overnight there will be further showers, and pretty big ones across england and wales. one of those nights where temperatures will be very slow to ease down. temperatures and eventually finishing at about 17. looking at the picture for saturday, not entirely dry, showers to start the day across the south, some of those on the heavy side. further north west, the cloud could begin to bring rain meat rain across the western isles. otherwise some sunshine, temperatures around 27 but it is set to get warmer through the weekend and next week we have a hot and humid weather for many of us. this is bbc news. the headlines...

the eu‘s chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has said many questions remain about theresa may‘s vision forfuture links between london and brussels. two 15—year—old boys who plotted to murder teachers and classmates at their school in north yorkshire have been given custodial sentences of ten and 12 years. donald trump has invited vladimir putin to visit the us later this year, to the surprise of many in washington. at least 17 people have died after an amphibious tourist "duck boat" sank in stormy weather in missouri. the film is coming up but right now it is time for the sport with lizzie greenwood—hughes. good evening and we are going to start with golf and

the second day of the open could not have been more different in terms of the weather but kevin kisner is still at the top of the leaderboard. he is having a wonderful round yet again. john watson is following the action. not much sun today but kevin kisner is still making those birdies? he is indeed. he set himself up beautifully heading into the second day. he was the overnight leader on the five. he has picked up three further shots today to lead on eight. two shots clear of the field. it is worth pointing out, though, two brits playing really well as well, tommy fleetwood and rory mcilory. tommy fleetwood has history with this course, here at carnoustie, and he‘s showing just oi, once again. he put in a really impressive round of 65 today, six birdies, no bogeys. he came into this with form as well publicly calling the course record at the us open finishing one shudder behind the winner, brooks koepka. and he

set himself up for a tilt at the title heading into the weekend. rory mcilroy, well, in those wet conditions he can play aggressively with the ball sticking a little bit more on the greens and fairways and he finish on “i! for the round. back—to—back scores of 69. the open champion back in 2014, no major title for him in 13 attempts. but like fleetwood he has set himself up nicely heading into the weekend. but it is kevin kisner, an unlikely name at the top of the leaderboard, the 34—year—old american from south carolina, who‘s playing really well yet again. picked up three shots so far today as i say. really impressive when you consider that his best finish here at the open was tied 54th and that was last year. so, let‘s have a look at the leaderboard. zachjohnson,

so, let‘s have a look at the leaderboard. zach johnson, a so, let‘s have a look at the leaderboard. zachjohnson, a to time major winner, he is riff shots further back. and then tommy fleetwood on five. —— five. jordan spieth is putting a little crushed together butjustin spieth is putting a little crushed together but justin rose spieth is putting a little crushed together butjustin rose is struggling. justin rose will really need to get his game together heading into the end of his second round. we can hearfrom tommy fleetwood now after that impressive round today. it was a very strong round today. it was a very strong round of golf and i hit a lot of good golf shots and probably —6, when you are out there you hit those shots and when you come in, you think, that was really, really good. if you went out you would not really fa ncy if you went out you would not really fancy beating —6 out there so i think that is a good indication of how good it was. yeah, really

impressive when you consider that the birdied the last, the 18th which is notoriously difficult here at carnoustie, as kevin kisner hasjust found out. he has found the burden, so his two—shot lead is under threat. i was just watching that thinking, that could be quite crucial. on his final hole and he goesin crucial. on his final hole and he goes in the burn. yes, it is the perils of discourse of! john, we will have a full update for you at half past six. —— of this course. in cycling, geraint thomas still holds the overall lead in the tour de france. the 13th stage was won by peter sagan, who just held france. the 13th stage was won by peter sagan, whojust held off france. the 13th stage was won by peter sagan, who just held off the charge of alexander kristoff. peter

sagan is the runaway leader in the sprint tournament, one of the only sprint tournament, one of the only sprint specialists really left in the tour. geraint thomas finish safely in the main pack and leads chris froome by one minute and 39 seconds. max verstappen has set the pace in practice for sunday‘s german grand prix. the dutchmanjust edged out lewis hamilton in second practice in hockenheim. hamilton made a mistake on his best lap but was still clear of sebastian vettel, who leads the championship by eight point. that is the sport for now. some breaking news which isjust coming through in the last few moments from salisbury. we are hearing that charlie rowley has been discharged from hospital. you will remember he was being treated in salisbury district hospital after

novichok poisoning and you will remember that his girlfriend dawn stu rg ess remember that his girlfriend dawn sturgess died after the pair were hit with a nerve agent. just to bring you some specifics which are just coming through. coming from the district hospital, which says it is pleased to confirm that he was discharged earlier today. he has been through an appalling experience that most of us could never imagine, says the hospital. both of them had been poisoned by a powerful nerve agent, the statement goes on to remind us. as part of their care that we gave to charlie and to the other victims of this nerve agent, we decontaminated them. we did this both to help them get better and to ensure that there would be no remaining contamination that could affect them or anyone who came into contact with them. the statement goes on to say... we continue to work closely with public health england, who have advised that

charlie poses no risk to the community. so, charlie rowley, discharged today from salisbury district hospital. his girlfriend, dawn sturgess, you will remember, died on the 8th ofjuly. and all of this happening three months after the attempted murder of the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia. they spent a long time in hospital and were eventually discharged. charlie rowley now out of hospital. no further details given about his condition. breaking news coming from washington as well. various media in the united states in the last few minutes have been reporting that president trump‘s former lawyer michael cohen secretly recorded a conversation during which he and president trump discussed payments, making payments, to a

former playboy model. these are reports that are just coming through from various us media. let‘s find out what is known from our correspondent, who in fact we were talking to just a few minutes ago about different matters. but this is emerging in the last few minutes — what is the us media saying?m emerging in the last few minutes — what is the us media saying? it was the new york times which broke this story. two months before the us presidential election in 2016, michael cohen reportedly had a conversation with donald trump about a payment to karen mcdougal, a former playboy playmate who was alleging that donald trump had an affair with her. the new york times reached out to rudy giuliani, donald trump‘s personal lawyer who said that no payment was made and donald trump talked about if a payment were to be made, there would be a paper trail because it would be made by cheque and not cash. but what ended up cheque and not cash. but what ended up happening was that a tabloid

magazine here in the united states whose chairman is friends with donald trump ended up paying karen mcdougal $150,000 for the rights to her story and then they decided not to publish the story whatsoever in what is called a catch and kill tactic by some tabloid magazines. so there have been some allegations that there was a connection between michael cohen and donald trump and the national enquirer‘s decision, rather than any direct payment. we also have to keep in mind that there is evidence that michael cohen made a 6—figure payment to stormy daniels, another former adult film actress who was alleging an affair with donald trump. that is something that donald trump has denied any knowledge of as well. so at the moment right now we have allegations ofa moment right now we have allegations of a technical and between michael cohen and donald trump that was ca ptu red cohen and donald trump that was captured in an fbi raid earlier this year as part of an investigation into michael cohen. so, this tape is reportedly in the hands of federal

prosecutors. the reason that is noteworthy is that if there is evidence of coordination between donald trump and michael cohen in making any sort of payments, that good violate campaign finance laws as an undisclosed campaign expenditure. the federal investigators could be looking at bat in particular. staying with other matters in the us. as promised we can talk more about flooding of putting. donald trump has invited vladimir putin to visit —— about vladimir putin. the us this autumn — in a move which has taken many in washington by suprise. it follows the meeting between the two men in helsinki earlier in the week for which the us president has been heavily criticised. he was later forced to correct his words. so there has been some surprise in dc. this is the moment that the us director of national

intelligence learnt of the potential vladimir putin visit. we have some breaking news, the white house has announced on twitter about vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. say that again? you... vladimir putin coming to... , yeah! ok! that's going to be special gel well, vladimir putin has been invited to the united states before, in the aftermath of the septum of the 11th attacks. he met the then president george w bush, that was in 2001. although they praised each other at a news conference, president bush said they had a difference of opinion about missile defence. vladimir putin remarked... we differ in the ways and means we

perceive which are suitable for reaching the same objective. so, what do we make of this latest visit? let‘s go to washington, potential visit, i should say! i‘m joined from washington by douglas lute, who was appointed the united states ambassador to nato by president barak obama in 2013 and served until 2017. a very good afternoon from london. what do you make of any potential visit by vladimir putin? well, i think there is nothing wrong at all and infact think there is nothing wrong at all and in fact it is very natural for us presidents including president trump to engage his russian counterpart. it is the most natural thing in the world. there are a lot of things which should draw them together, common interests and so forth. the challenge here would be to set up this next engagement, if there is one in the fall as is being reported, much differently than last monday in helsinki. i say this because i think any diplomatic

engagement should arm the president for a position of strength, he should engage from a position of strength. and i‘m afraid that last monday is not a good example of that. the president in his disruptive style created divisions at the nato summit in brussels just four days before meeting putin. based on disruptions in his visit to the united kingdom, perhaps our closest ally. and frankly based on the lack of alignment even inside the lack of alignment even inside the us government. so, among allies, among partners and within the us government, you should be aligned and solidified so that the president engages from a position of strength. so, let‘s hope that the next engagement he is able to put these pieces together. as it happens we are seeing pictures which include

angela merkel right now, and it is striking that the jumble german chancellor has said that the fact that talks are held at all is basically good for everyone. she is in essence saying it is good to talk. i mean, i could not agree more. i think that is exactly right. it's more. i think that is exactly right. it‘s natural to talk. we have common interests that we should be talking about, to see if we can move together and resolve some of these issues. syria, ukraine, internet meddling, cyber meddling in the us elections are at the top of the list. so that‘s very natural. elections are at the top of the list. so that's very natural. but the timing of this potentially could be striking, though, we are building up be striking, though, we are building up to the mid—term elections in the us and this is a presidency that has been dogged by questions about russia‘s potential involvement in the 20 16th russia‘s potential involvement in the 2016th presidential election? that‘s right. and again that is why

the president should structure the next engagement with president putin so that he enters that engagement, that diplomatic talk, from a position of strength. and that means first and foremost aligning with our allies and different agencies of the us government. after all the president right now is in dispute with his own intelligence agencies with his own intelligence agencies with regard to the degree of russian meddling in the 2016 elections and the risk of further meddling in the 2018 elections. so we need to get our own act together before we engage on the dramatic stage. very good to talk to you, thank you for your time tonight. the headlines on bbc news... the eu‘s chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has said many questions remain about theresa may‘s