hello, this is bbc news. i'm alpa patel. our top stories: questions surface after reports that michael cohen, donald trump's former lawyer, secretly taped him discussing payments to silence a former playboy model two months before the us election. police confirm nine members of same family were among those killed when a tourist duck—boat sank during a storm in missouri. with just months left to finalise a brexit deal, the eu's chief negotiator says there is progress, but there is still work to be done before reaching agreement. former cricketer imran khan remains the frontrunner in pakistan's elections next week. but why is his campaign being overshadowed by his links to the military? and remembering the high—flying heroics of geoffrey wellum, the youngest pilot at the battle of britain, who has died aged 96. donald trump's former lawyer

michael cohen secretly recorded his client discussing payments to a former playboy model. that is according to a us media report. the tapes were reportedly discovered during an fbi raid on mr cohen's property. the new york times reports that on the recording mr trump and mr cohen discuss paying karen mcdougal. she says she had a ten—month affair with donald trump in 2006. the tape was reportedly made two months before the election. for more on this, our correspondent chris buckler joins me from washington. tell us exactly what is being alleged here. yes, the allegations

ofan affair alleged here. yes, the allegations of an affair date back a decade before donald trump ran for president here in the united states. however, the question is really about the timing of payments to karen mcdougal, who is a former playboy model, and that apparently took place in 2016, just before the presidential election took place. now, the payments were made either national inquirer newspaper here in america. they bought her story, effectively, so she told them about the allegations of the affair with donald trump. however, they never published it. and the national enquirer newspaper is owned by a personal friend of donald trump. enquirer newspaper is owned by a personalfriend of donald trump. it has led some here to claim that it was a case of what is known as catch and kill. effectively what you do is you buy a story and then you choose whether or not to publish it, and if you don't publish it you effectively kill the story. now, the questionnaires was that done specifically to stop her speaking, which could be damaging allegations ahead the vote taking place. now,

that would be one thing for a magazine, but of course it is different for the campaign itself. and it seems on this tape that michael cohen and donald trump discussed the potential of buying that agreement from the national enquirer newspaper, so as effectively they would gain the right to the story, and it would stop karen mcdougalfrom being able to talk about it, and that they would hold the control about this. now, the wall streetjournal is reporting that this was a relatively small conversation that took place, lasting somewhere in the region of two minutes, and it seems like the actual tape recording stops at some stage before the conversation actually finishes. so chris, could there be criminal implications here? yes, the simple question is it depends. first of all, we don't know if they did that story from the national enquirer. but the questions about the payment to the former pawn actress stormy daniels, and in this particular case as well, are really to do with the timing of it. if

money was paid to stop a damaging story being published, it could rake campaignfinance story being published, it could rake campaign finance rules. so effectively it is not illegal, but it could breach campaign finance rules, and then it would be illegal. now michael coen, his own lawyer has been speaking. we should just put this in context with whom michael coen is. michael coen was the personal lawyer for donald trump, but it really went beyond that. he was regarded as a mr fixit. he essentially stopped problems from donald trump, a stop them from being issues and in some cases it seems he made payments in orderfor things to go away. now his own lawyer, this is michael coen‘s lawyer, has released a statement in which he says there is an ongoing investigation and we are sensitive to that, because at this stage michael coen has not been charged with anything, although his offices were raided as part of an investigation into allegations of bank and tax fraud. however, he goes on to say that suffice it to say that when the recording is heard

will not hurt mr coen. any attempt at spin cannot change what is on the tape, and of course that has only led many people to ask what exactly is on the tape? absolutely, chris. and has there been any response from the president himself? well, we have had a comment through the new york times from rudy giuliani, who is donald trump's current lawyer, and i know we talk a lot about different lawyers here, but essentially rudy giuliani is the man who is representing donald trump in a personal capacity at the moment, and he has clarified to the new york times, after initially seeming to suggest to them that this was about a conversation in which allegedly they were discussing a payment to karen mcdougal, he now seems to have confirmed that it was actually a conversation about buying those rights from the national enquirer about the story that could have been damaging to donald trump. interesting stuff. thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news: 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. a man who became seriously ill after being exposed to the nerve agent novichok, in the uk last month has been discharged from hospital. charlie rowley is thought to have found the substance in a perfume bottle. his partner, dawn sturgess, who was also poisoned, died earlier this month. 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 lubeck and started attacking passengers with a kitchen knife. the attacker has been detained. it is not thought the incident is connected to international terrorism. the french president, macron, has

sacked one of his bodyguards, more than two months after he was filmed hitting a protest are well dressed asa hitting a protest are well dressed as a policeman. the bodyguard was given a 15 day suspension shortly after the incident in may but was allowed to be returned to his job protecting the president. he has now been arrested. it has emerged that nine members of the same family were killed when when a tourist boat sank during a storm in the us state of missouri. in total 17 people died, including several children. 31 people were on board the amphibious vessel, known as a duck boat, when it overturned in strong winds on table rock lake near the town of branson. 0ur north america correspondent james cook reports. passenger: this is not good.

this duck boat made it back to the shore. the passengers, not wearing life jackets, apparently unaware of quite how much danger they were in. further out, a second duck boat was in bigger trouble, unable to cope with the blast from a severe thunderstorm. anybody that can read me, i need a rope on the back. of the 31 on board, just 1a survived, brought ashore in shock. among the dead was a one—year—old baby. emts, tell one of the emts, please. it's been a long night, a very trying night. and please keep all of the families involved, and all the first responder personnel, in your thoughts and prayers. now the questions —

a weather warning had been issued, so why were the boats on the water, and were the passengers wearing personal flotation devices, or pfds? it happened so quick, i guess everyone should have had a pfd, i don't know. they were up over our head when we rowed in. you don't think stuff like that's going to happen, and then, man, it happened. based on the amphibious landing craft of the second world war, duck boats are popular with tourists, but their safety record is now under scrutiny. worldwide, a0 people have died in accidents involving them in the last 20 years. this is just the latest in a long line of tragedies. james cook, bbc news. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has questioned whether the british prime minister's latest proposals for trade after brexit are workable. earlier, theresa may used a speech to urge the eu to evolve its position on the irish border issue. 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar has the latest. 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 there 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 represents a significant development in 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. as for the border, her plans sees goods moving freely between the uk and the eu, including ireland, with no customs or other checks. so no special status for northern ireland, no undermining the union. the solution that we have put forward is a practical, workable solution to do that, which respects the vote of the british people, protects jobs, but also ensures that we don't see a hard border between northern ireland and ireland. in brussels, the stage was set for an important moment.

how would the british compromises go down? eu foreign ministers had met and set the tone — wary, not convinced, at least not yet. i will remain an optimist, but it's hard to be an optimist in these challenging times. we will work on the basis of our principles and see to what extent our british partner fully gets it, including the british parliament. then, it was the negotiator‘s turn. he wasn't ready to buy britain's offer as it stood, but he was willing to talk. "there are several elements that open the way to a 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 in no agreements. even if you want to reach a deal, it is also our responsibility to be

prepared for all scenarios, including no deal. as the european council said, we have to step up preparation at all levels for all scenarios. this was no moment of breakthrough, and it was never likely to be. there will be some relief in government that the british plan wasn't dismissed out of hand. but now the going gets really tough. brussels will want more concessions, and there were some mps who are already plotting mutiny when and if those concessions are made. as it stands, seniorfigures on all sides are telling me it is hard to see mrs may's blueprint getting through in the autumn. as mps prepare for their summer break, brexit looks like a crisis waiting to happen. it also ensures that there isn't a border effectively down the irish sea. if only all talks are as friendly as this. but nothing is easyjust now —

not her party, not parliament, not brussels, not brexit. certainly not brexit. john pienaar, bbc news. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has urged members of the un security council to maintain economic pressure on north korea until it acts on its promise to give up nuclear weapons. mr pompeo said pyongyang was still evading sanctions by smuggling fuel into the country, mainly by transfers at sea. the countries of the security council are united on the need for final, fully verified denuclearisation of north korea as agreed to by chairman kim, strict enforcement of sanctions is critical to achieving this goal. members of the un security council, and by extension all un member states, have unanimously agreed to fully enforced sanctions on north korea, and we expect them to continue to honour those commitments. when sanctions are not enforced, the prospects for the successful denuclearisation of north korea are diminished. right

now, north korea is illegally smuggling petroleum products into the country at a level that far exceeds the quotas established by united nations. —— united nations. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we meet nine—year—old meghan, who is helping to keep 250,000 london commuters safe on the underground network. 0k, coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm

quantity and an increase in malfunctioning sperm, unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime, as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: questions surface after reports that michael cohen, donald trump's former lawyer, secretly taped him discussing payments to silence a former playboy model two months before the us election. police confirm nine members of the same family were among those killed when a tourist duck boat sank during a storm in in missouri. 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. but campaigning has been overshadowed by claims that pakistan's military is backing mr khan, by cracking down on his political rivals. secunder kermani reports from lahore. they've come to see the man they hope will be the next prime minister. cricketer turned populist politician imran khan tells the crowd he'll create a new, corru ption—free pakistan. but he's been forced to deny allegations elections are being fixed in favour of his pti party. what you are seeing is all these status—quo parties certainly saying that, you know, the election is not going to be free and fair. the reason is all the opinion polls now show pti is going surging up,

and so they're already seeing the writing on the wall. the reason why they're going to lose is because of the track record. pakistan has been directly ruled by the military, rather than politicians, for nearly half its existence. the country's now had ten years of civilian rule, one of the longest periods in its history, but there's growing concern that behind the scenes, the pakistani military is still pulling the strings and is trying to manipulate the results of this election. former prime minister nawaz sharif, imran khan's main rival, was sentenced to ten years in jail earlier this month by an anti—corruption court. he couldn't prove where the money came from to buy these central london flats. many believe he was once corrupt, but is only being punished now because he clashed with the army when in power. ijoined sharif as he flew back to pakistan last week. he was damning about the build—up to the elections.

0ur party workers are being arrested by the thousands. and, er... the loyalties of our party men were forcibly changed. and they were asked to leave our party and join mr imran khan's party. this amounts to a massive pre—poll rigging. minutes later, he was arrested. both khan and the military dismiss his claims. but many pakistani journalists say the military isn't allowing them to air sharif‘s side of the story. if you have soundbites expressing people's anger and frustration, those soundbites often don't make it to the screen. i honestly have not seen anything like this in myjournalistic career. even under military dictatorship? even under military dictatorship, no. nawaz sharif‘s 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. secunder kermani, bbc news, lahore. hackers have stolen the personal data of 1.5 million patients from singapore's government health database. in the island nation's worst ever cyber attack. the communications ministry says they do not know who was behind the attack but that it was sophisticated, deliberate, targeted and well—planned. the hackers stole personal details and prescription records, but not full medical records. prime minister lizzie a new was one of the victims. —— lee hsien

loong. the battle of britain was a pivotal moment in world war ii, when the uk stood alone against hitler's seemingly unstoppable military power. sadly the youngest pilot in the battle has now died at the age of 96. geoffrey wellum joined the royal air force when he was only 17 and just over a year later was engaged in a ferocious dogfight. robert hall has been looking back at his life. archive: the british met the challenge by throwing in everything they had. a fortnight after leaving school, i walked through the gates of my elementary flying training school to learn to fly. the chap said to me, he said, "go and fly it," he said, "but don't you dare break it." it was the start of a true partnership. afterjust a few months‘ training, geoffrey wellum was in the cockpit of his first spitfire. by the summer of 1940, he was a veteran. day after day, he and his young friends scrambled to meet german attacks. the moment the telephone rang, you were absolutely het up.

that was a difficult time. once you were strapped in your aeroplane and airborne, then it was up to you. flying an aeroplane is a knack. taming the beast, making it do what you wanted it to do, it's a great satisfaction. this is red 2, are you receiving me? in later life, geoffrey's experiences were dramatised in the film first light. for much of the battle, british aircraft were heavily outnumbered. dogfights were chaotic and often short, the spitfire only carried enough ammunition for a few minutes of combat. i can remember the controller coming on, "150 plus coming in over dungeness, 150 plus." my goodness, it looked it too. and we went into it head—on. like a lot of gnats on a summer evening. the losses of pilots and aircraft were unrelenting. when i spoke to geoffrey earlier this year, he said survivors had to shut out their emotions. you just accepted it. it was a dangerous game and it was a dangerous war. if you lost a particularly

close friend, yes, there was a little bit of... "but let's go out to the local pub." you accepted it, you had to. geoffrey wellum eventually suffered an emotional and physical breakdown and he left active service “119113. but his memoirs ensure that we never forget that short period in our history. we were, after all, young fighter pilots doing a job, defending our country against the king's enemies. remarkable man. remember boaty mcboatface a few years ago, the online poll to find a name for a research ship heading to the arctic and antarctic? well, now there's a new search, this time to name a european rover that will head to mars in 2020. astronaut tim peake is leading the hunt for the name. it's currently called exomars. all ideas will be put before an expert panel who will make the final choice.

we all have our own experiences of hearing announcements, or not, over the loud speakers at railway stations. some are easier to understand than others. for the last six months, one of london's busiest underground stations has been trying an unusual way to get passegners attention. dougal shaw reports. around a 250,000 people use victoria station in london each weekday, and for the past few months, they've been hearing an unusual voice. meet the station's newest and youngest safety announcer, nine—year—old megan. are proud parents both work at the station. i said to my colleague my wife was bringing down the two kids to meet me after work. and they said del miguel diaz—canel max said, does make an want to do a bit of an

announcement? she loves acting so i knew she wanted to do it offer the sake —— an a said it does megan. megan's recorded announcement is designed to tackle a serious problem. around ten people a day get injured on the underground network. what we have noticed is when people injure themselves it's typically because they're not taking enough ca re because they're not taking enough care when using stairs and escalators. at victoria alone, on average 15 people a month are injured as we. for some passengers at least, megan's message seems to be getting through. gets your attention straightaway. everyone takes notice when a child says something, they always mean it. what does someone who studies the psychology of the human voice make of this? research shows the per aduu of this? research shows the per adult voices are perceived by humans as having more authority than higher voices —— deeper. the trial‘s voice

wouldn't have that authority, but perhaps it's the shock factor of using the trial‘s voice. perhaps it's the shock factor of using the trial's voice. but maybe the short—term result for kings park of —— using the trial's voice. —— using the child's voice. do you think adults listen on two children? no, they should listen more to children because sometimes children are right —— do you think adults listened enough to children? a reminder of our top story: the new york times says prosecutors have seized a recording of conversations between donald trump and his former lawyer, michael cohen, in which they discuss a payment to a former playboy model in the run—up to the 2016 presidential election. if you want to get in touch with me, you can. i'm @alpapatel. that's it, bye for now. hello.

some areas have been lucky enough to see some rain today, others just had the cloud and hardly anything fell from it. a bit of a range of weather across the uk but yes, some useful rain in places gone for the weekend as it becomes dry once again as we see this finger of high pressure pushing back in across the uk behind that rain bearing weather system as it clears. for early risers saturday morning, a lot of cloud around, for england and wales anywhere in the day there's the chance of a hit and miss shower. most will avoid them and stay dry with warm sunny spells developing. warm anywhere where you get to see sunshine, not a lot of cloud around for northern scotland and north—east scotla nd for northern scotland and north—east scotland and thickening in the day. versus apm, south to north across the uk, at this stage parts of southern england and south wales most favoured for an isolated shower. most stayed right —— this is apm. warm sunny spells in england and wales, southern and eastern scotland. in the north—west the

breeze is picking up, patchy light rain is starting to move in. the golf at carnoustie for the open, lots of cloud particularly early, lots of cloud particularly early, lots of cloud particularly early, lots of sunny spells developing. looks like a sunny and warmer day on sunday and at that stage it looks like the breeze will be more significant. as we go on through saturday and overnight, the showers that pop up in england and wales will die away. a few patches of mist and fog around, though most will be with clear spells. more cloud starting to filter into western scotla nd starting to filter into western scotland and again a bit of patchy rain the further north you are, a warmer night to come for scotland and northern ireland compared with friday night and some spots in the high teens overnight, especially in south—east england. 0n high teens overnight, especially in south—east england. on sunday, a weather system moving in will give patchy rain towards parts of northern and western scotland, perhaps later in the day into northern ireland as the cloud feeds in from the north—west. breezy in northern scotland compared with elsewhere but for much of south—east

scotla nd elsewhere but for much of south—east scotland and england and wales, warm sunny spells to come and it's becoming very warm to hot once again as those temperatures get close to 30 celsius across eastern and south—eastern england. early into next week, this weather system will bring patchy rain into scotland and northern ireland. ahead of that, though, we draw up even hotter at two england and wales and the heatwave is absolutely back on. anywhere getting to see some sunshine next week will be very hot carfor sunshine next week will be very hot car for you sunshine next week will be very hot carfor you doing sunshine next week will be very hot car for you doing —— sunshine next week will be very hot carfor you doing —— we draw up even hotair carfor you doing —— we draw up even hot air two england and wales. this is bbc news. the headlines: there are reports that us prosecutors have seized a recording of a conversation between donald trump and his former lawyer michael cohen, in which they discuss a payment to a former playboy model. the conversation is believed to have ta ken place just before the 2016 presidential election. 17 people including nine members of one family are now known to have

died when their tourist boat capsized and sank during a sudden storm on a lake in the us state of missouri. another two members of the family were among the 1a people aboard the amphibious vessel who survived. the eu's chief brexit negotiator says the british govenrment‘s proposals have opened the way to a constructive discussion, but it must be workable. michel barnier questioned whether the plans for a common rulebook for goods were practical. earlier, theresa may urged the eu to evolve its position on brexit. now on bbc news, hardtalk.