is the this is bbc world news today. i'm kasia madera our top stories. european ministers deliver their verdict on britain's brexit blueprint. with just months left to conclude a deal, the eu's chief negotiator says he's working to reach agreement but there's still plenty of work to be done. eat if you want to reach a deal, it is also our responsibility to be prepared for all denials including no deal. donald trump's former lawyer is reported to have secretly taped a conversation with the future president, discussing payment to a former model. how a new stage production is telling the story of the two million africans who served during world war one. hello and welcome to world news today. the verdict was never going to be

a wholly positive one. so the eu's chief negotiator raising questions about the uk's plans for brexit hardly come as a surprise. michel barnier said the proposal for a future trading relationship could weaken the single market — and create burdens for business. as mr barnier delivered his verdict, the british prime minister was in northern ireland — whose future relationship with the eu is itself a key sticking point. theresa may urged brussels to evolve and embrace the uk's proposals. our deputy political editor, john pienaar, reports. the protesters often turn out for theresa may, but the problems of brexit follow her everywhere. today, she was in belfast, with a plea and a promise. a promise it would be no hard irish border when the uk leaves and a plea to the eu. she had compromised on her brexit plan, now it was brussels' turn. the white paper presents a significant

development of our position. it is a coherent package. it is now for the eu to respond. not simply to fall back on previous positions, which have already been proven unworkable. in brussels, the stage was set for an important moment. how would the british compromise is go? eu foreign ministers had met and set the tone, wary, not convinced, at least not yet. i will remain an optimist. but it is hard to be an optimist in these challenging times. we will work on the basis of principle and see to what extent are british partner fully gets it, including the british parliament. then it was the negotiator‘s turn. he was not ready to buy written‘s offer as it stood, but he was willing to talk. there are several ways elements that open the way to constructive discussion, he said, but his doubts and questions piled up. how could britain trade with europe's single market without following the same rules?

what about protecting eu consumers? and, in plain english, the eu was ready to contemplate the outcome many fear most. talks ending and no agreement. even if we want to reach a deal, it is also our response ability to be prepared for all denials, including no deal. the open counsel said we have to step up preparations at all levels for all scenarios. this was no moment of breakthrough and was never likely to be. there'll be some relief in government that the british plan was not dismissed out of hand, but now the going gets really tough. brussels will want more concessions, and there are some mps who are already plotting mutiny when and if those concessions are made. as things stand, senior figures on all sides are telling me it is hard to see mrs may's blueprint getting through parliament in the autumn. as mps prepare for their summer break, brexit looks like a crisis waiting to happen. it also ensures that

there is a border effective to be seen. if only all talks were as freely as this. but nothing is easy just now, not her party, not parliament, not brussels, not brexit. certainly not brexit. john pienaar, bbc news. we can get more now from westminster, our political correspondent, jonathan blake is there. so, no breakthrough, but how much closer it is theresa may to having a constructive discussion with the eu? by constructive discussion with the eu? by the nature of this process, theresa may managed to get agreement with inner cabinet, not without a couple of resignations along the way, and a print rebellion by members of her own party in parliament. this was for his first response to the british government's white paper, its policy in black and white of it is in poor brexit from the european union. i think you could summarise it through the

phrase, there is some interesting ideas here but we need to talk. michel barnier responded as you heard, with a series of questions, it was not dismissed out of hand, which will be something of a relief for the government, but there are big issues, as far as the eu is concerned with what the british government has put forward. they are preparing for their summer break. what are the next steps? the big date in everyone's diaries is the end of october. they agree a deal needs to be done, at least the basis ofan idea, needs to be done, at least the basis of an idea, a broad outline of an agreement to be signed off by the parliament in here in the uk and also the eu parliament as well as the 27 other remaining eu states. so do you have got 13 short weeks between now and then for the uk and eu negotiators to sit down and hammer out the details and it looks

like they will be working hard over the summer between now and then to start work on that. because brussels say there are parts of this blueprint that they do not understand. talk us through them. there are a few areas that michel barnier outlined, namely the facilitated customs arrangements, which is a key part of the prime minister's plan, and to explain that, it would see uk authorities collecting tariffs on goods coming into the uk that were bound for the eu as well as those which were staying in the uk as well. we will also see other eu countries collecting uk tariffs for goods which were coming here as well as eu ta riffs which were coming here as well as eu tariffs which work going into those countries or elsewhere in the eu. problems in terms of how that will work as far as michel barnier in the eu 27 countries are concerned, he said it will be open to fraud, and there is also the issue of the

common rule book put forward by the uk. how would that be maintained? because the uk wants to seek exemptions for agricultural and food and farming goods and then there is theissue and farming goods and then there is the issue of wanting to do a trade deal on goods, but not on services. the show bernie eaker suggested those two were linked. a bit of a way to go then. thank you very much. talking us through this. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. officials have said that the death toll, when a duck boat capsized on a lake in missouri, has now risen to 17, but added that all those on board have now been accounted for. president trump has offered his "deepest sympathies" to the families of the people who died. 1a people have been wounded in a knife attack on a bus in northern germany. local police say a man forced his way on to the vehicle in the city of l beck and started attacking passengers with a kitchen knife. the attacker has been detained. it's not thought the incident is connected to international terrorism. the israeli army has launched a number of bombardments on what it

describes as military targets across the gaza strip in response to what it says was gunfire aimed at israeli troops. health officials in gaza say four palestinians have been killed in the latest violence. the new escalation of fighting comes as palestinians have been holding another friday of protests in gaza beside the israeli border. the new york times is reporting that president trump's former lawyer, michael cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with mr trump before the 2016 presidential election, in which they discussed payments to a former playboy model who claimed she had an affair with him. the paper says the fbi seized the recording when raiding mr cohen's office. prosecutors are looking into whether alleged payments by mr cohen on mr trump's behalf violated campaign financing laws. our correspondent, anthony zurcher, told me this latest revelation was made by the president's current personal lawyer. rudy giuliani told the new york

times that this recording actually did exist, although giuliani was phrasing it in a way of it being exculpatory, that there was no payment that was made and that donald trump did not have any sort of advance notice of the national enquirer tabloid magazine making a payment to karen mcdougal, to arrange for silence, $150,000 payment to arrange for silence. rudy giuliani, he was former mayor of new york. he's an interesting character, but he tends to defend trump no matter what the story is. i think we are seeing it again. but he has a way of making some news. but if he is saying this puts donald trump in the clear, then one begs the question, why on earth are you asking, talking about, in fact, making payments to former playboy models, bearing in mind that michael cohen has previously made payments to adult film stars. yes, that is the real point here.

that this could be evidence, this tape, which giuliani has acknowledged the existence of, this could be evidence of donald trump and michael cohen, before the election, discussing payment to this woman in particular, but this is something he would do. now, if you remember, there was an actual payment that was made, a six figure payment to stormy daniels, and adult film star, who is also alleging an affair with donald trump. donald trump said he had no idea about the payment beforehand, although he has since come out, through rudy giuliani again, saying they knew about it after the fact, and they reimbursed michael cole and for those payments. but that he was not involved in these sorts of things prior to the campaign. here, if you have a recording it shows he was involved in discussions with a different woman, that could undercut that defence, and all of this, the question about whether there is legality in this or illegality in this, if donald trump was coordinating with michael cohen to make payments to women before the campaign, as part of a way of helping him become president, helping defuse possible explosive

stories coming out before he became president, that could be a violation of campaign finance law, if it was not properly disclosed. antony zurcher. another controversy swirling around president trump is his inviting valdimir putin for a summit at the white house. on friday, the russian ambassador to the united states said moscow will consider any proposal from washington for another russia—us summit. anatoly antonov said dialogue would be helpful, despite what he called the anti—russian hysteria. gary o'donoghue reports. one week on and still we don't know what these two men agreed to behind closed doors in their two—hour long meeting with the only translators present. but after that joint public appearance, and donald trump seeming to side with russia over his own intelligence services, he's faced a whirlwind of criticism, being forced to clear up and clarify his support for his own side.

getting on with russia is a positive, not a negative. now, that being said, if that doesn't work out, i will be the worst enemy he's ever had, the worst. we have some breaking news, the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. and now this, even catching the man who runs the entirety of us intelligence off—balance. say that again? laughter vladimir putin... did i hear that right? yeah, yeah. 0k... that's going to be special. on the face of it, the invite to president putin is baffling. why risk another humiliation on home soiljust weeks before key congressional elections? the answer is that around 70% of republican voters believe the summit was a success and getting

them out to vote will be crucial. but the president has faced scepticism on both sides of the political divide about his whole strategy to russia. some opponents have called it a betrayal. i found it shocking, one of the most disgraceful, remarkable moments of kowtowing to a foreign leader by an american president that anyone has ever witnessed. and it wasn't just that it was a kind of surrender, it is that it was dangerous. the president stood there and did not defend our country. and while the politicians get stuck in, the comedians can't resist either. second meeting, because the first went so well! it'sjust like the exciting sequel coming out this summer, titanic two: here we go again! all coming to a television screen near you soon. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: we report from lahore

as more than 100 million pakistanis will head to the polls next week to choose their next leader, but the build up has been farfrom smooth. the surviving victim of the novichok poisoning in amesbury in wiltshire, charlie rowley, has been discharged from hospital. his partner died from the contamination a fortnight ago. it's been a life—changing three weeks for charlie rowley. contaminated by a nerve agent, but now well enough to leave hospital. i'm pleased to confirm that earlier today charlie rowley was discharged from hospital. charlie has been through an appalling experience most of us can never imagine. the news of his release comes nearly two weeks after the death of his partner dawn sturgess from novichok poisoning. dawn and charlie came

into contact with the novichok here at charlie's home. the source of the poisonous liquid was a small, glass bottle found here. police today released these pictures of a park in salisbury were it's possible charlie or dawn picked up that bottle. four months after yulia and sergei skripal were contaminated, charlie was able to leave hospital today. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines . with just months left to conlude a brexit deal, the eu's chief negotiator says there is progress, but there's still work to be done before reaching agreement. donald trump's former lawyer is reported to have secretly taped a conversation with the future president two months before the election, discussing payment to a former playboy model. more than 100 million pakistanis will head to the polls next week to choose their next leader.

the former cricketer imran khan is running to become the country's next prime minister on an anti—corruption platform. but the build up to the election has been overshadowed by claims pakistan's powerful military is trying to propel mr khan forward , cracking down on his political rivals and on press freedom. secunder kermani reports from lahore. they have come to see the man they hope will be the next trimester. cricketer turned populist tales the crowd he will create a new corruption free pakistan. but he has been forced to deny allegations the elections are being fixed in favour of his party. what you are seeing is all these status quo parties suddenly saying the election is not free and fair. the reason is all

things impose, and so they already see the writing on the wall. the reason why they will lose is because of their track record. pakistan has been directly ruled by the military rather than politicians for nearly half its existence. the country is now had ten years of civilian rule, one of the longest periods in its history. but there is growing concern that behind the scenes, the pakistani military still pulling the strings and trying to minute delay to results of this election. former prime minister and his main rival was sentenced to ten years in jail by an anti—corruption court. he can prove money came from to buy these central london flats. many believe he was once corrupt but has only been punished now because he clashed with the army when in power will stop ijoin him as he flew back to

pakistan last week. he was down about the build up to elections. might party workers are being arrested. our party men are forcibly changed and they were asked to lead our party andjoin changed and they were asked to lead our party and join his party. this amounts to a massive already. minutes later, he was arrested. they dismiss his claims. but many pakistani journalists say the military is not allowing them to air his side of the story. if you have sound bites expressing people's anger, the sound bites do often not make it to the screen. i have not seen anything like this in journalistic career. even under military dictatorship. his party is

being led by his brother in his absence. they still have sizeable support, but whoever wins this election, many fear more political instability awaits. lizzie has all the sport. young we are halfway through the golf championship and the americans are still leading the way. zach johnson and kevin are tied at the top of the leaderboard with six under par. england's tommy fleetwood. young conditions, the golf was lighting up the course. if you were to look. in the early morning, drizzle, tommy fleetwood set off like a train, three birdies on the front nine, an englishman matched it on the way back. a birdie on the last, and a share of the

lead. tommy fleetwood. not far behind, rory mcilroy, it can the second round of 69, four underfor the championship. he is in the hunt will stop but while he wore, tiger started with a whimper. his opening few holes wide of the mark, his ball into the crowd. but back—to—back birdies at four and then five steadied the ship. tiger finishing on even par and headed for the weekend. the world number one dustin johnson will not be there after five over par opening round, a double bogey on the last ended his challenge. sometimes, you just need luck on your side. it hits the wall and comes right back. but of all the early starters, it was zach johnson who made the best of the conditions.

the american's six under and in the clubhouse as the leader. but not for long as the rains stopped, he took advantage. at home in the sun, and making it look easy. until the 18th, beaten by and into the water. yum at it was one of the few mistakes he made. a double bogey at the last and becoming a 4—way tie for the lead. perhaps it was not that easy after all. young river he took up right last year but we are back here and what a fantastic weekend is going to be. we have artie had a lot of action both on and off the track. the mercedes drivers re—signing their contracts, ona drivers re—signing their contracts, on a multi—million pound deal, and

signing up for another year with an option for an extra year. good news for mercedes but on track, it was red bull who dominated the day. the fastest in the first section, however, there is a slight problem with that. danny ricardo has to change some elements in his engine. the power unit change meet a grid penalty and he will start from stone cold lassos up is good for the race, there'll be lots of overtaking, however, for qualifying, whatever he does, he will start from the back. he still hasn't healthy overall lead. he finished safely in the main pack on stage 13, while peter crossed the line first to keep well ahead in the sprinters points race. . one ahead in the sprinters points race. .0ne| ahead in the sprinters points race. . one i the strongest of them all, the great slovakian has won three world titles on the road and he made

ita world titles on the road and he made it a hat trick at this tour as he came past norway's alexander k rzysztof , came past norway's alexander krzysztof, at that depth on a hot humid afternoon in it. the welshmen still in the lead, his yellow jersey, his advantage over at one minute and 39 seconds with eight of the 29 stages still to come. and thatis the 29 stages still to come. and that is all the sport for now. a major work by the renowned south african artist, william kentridge, telling the little known story of two million africans who served, often unacknowledged, during world war one, has had its work premiere in london to critical acclaim. our arts editor, will gompertz, went to see the show called the head & the load at tate modern gallery. singing. a huge william kentridge collage fills this hall. made of sculpture and video. singing and dancing, shadows and shouting. it tells a largely unknown story of the millions of

african soldiers, porters and civilians who were caught up in world war i. the provocation that led to the project, i suppose is a provocation of our own ignorance, being how little i've known of its history. the first world war was the kind of crucible of colonialism. all the paradoxes and contradictions and pressures of colonialism got heated in this, and political conditions of war under the pressures of expectation, of duty. and for some parts of africa, it was kind of as devastating as the slave trade indeed. today is the final day. the piece allows all of the characters to speak in their own mother tongue as well. so that, that is where the point

of expression comes from. you don'tjust go into english, you start with your own language! and then when you're comfortable enough and brave enough to cross the line, you can cross the line. the play is all about crossing the line. singing. so relevant. it is so freshly relevant. because the minute you look at it, and look at the things today, things haven't changed that much in this world. it's still the same problems. this is a work of disorder to suggest a new order. to set the record straight and recognise the extraordinary contribution and sacrifices made by africans during the first world war. will gompertz, bbc news. lights were on our website. thank you for watching.

good evening. some rain, but many parts of the uk has seen a little bit of rain during today. that is how it looked at manchester today with the cloud overhead. you can see district of clout, which is been putting seeing its way south and east. also this area of clout, spreading them in your comment. that is ringing some rain across the far south, and then in between, there has been some sunshine but a few heavy showers and the odd thunderstorm breaking out, which will continue for a time over the next few hours and then as we go through the night, most of the showers on the south will fade, just one or two continuing. elsewhere a lot of clout, misty for parts of ireland and not an especially cold not by any names. we go into tomorrow, that will tend to break up the times. we'll see some spells of sunshine, still a chance for a shower into the south and a bit of

patchy rain in the far northwest. let's ta ke patchy rain in the far northwest. let's take a closer look. this is saturday afternoon, generally light winds, the odd shower across parts of southwest england, maybe into south wales, if a shower does crop up south wales, if a shower does crop up what you are, it could be on the heavy side but most places will them. some extra clout for northern ireland and western scotland, the odd splash of rain here. for easter in scotland, things are starting out why cloudy but if we look at the forecast for the golf, watch the sky. you will see the clouds begin to thin and breaks as we get on into the afternoon. we will see some spells of sunshine, and getting into the low 20s celsius. the look ahead to sunday, a lot of dry weather around, clout bringing some patchy rain into northwest scotland and perhaps northern ireland, and there will be some spells of sunshine, the best of that sound was a cell. look at the temperatures. up to 28 or 29, perhaps 30 degrees. that is a sign of things to come. as we get into the early part of next week, weather fronts will sneak around, closed the

northwest of the country, so a little bit of cloud and rain here but elsewhere, we've got to tap in on some very hot and humid air. tem ptress on some very hot and humid air. te m ptress by on some very hot and humid air. temptress by day could get as high as 33 degrees, some very warm and muqqy as 33 degrees, some very warm and muggy nights as well. in the south, the temperatures generally hover around 30. always cool or further north, with a little bit of cloud and some rain. this is bbc world news, the headlines. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has reaffirmed his commitment to making a brexit deal if possible. but he says he still has questions about britain's plan for a future trade relationship. president trump's former lawyer is reported to have secretly recorded a conversation with mr trump before the 2016 presidential election, in which they discussed payments to a former playboy model. prosecutors are looking into whether the alleged payments violated campaign laws. russia says moscow is open to a proposed second meeting

between president putin and president trump. donald trump issued the invitation following fierce criticism of his actions at his first summit with mr putin in helsinki. here in the uk the surviving victim of the novichok poisoning