a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: president trump attacks his former lawyer michael cohen and insists he's done nothing wrong. but cohen's lawyer hits back. he committed a crime. he should be indicted. he was not president he would be indicted and jailed for that crime. australia's prime minister clings onto power, but for how long? malcolm turnbull faces another leadership challenge. two million and counting. ever increasing numbers flee venezuela's economic crisis. and "pray the gay away" — we take a look at the new film tackling the controversial issue of gay conversion therapy. president trump has now acknowledged that hush money was provided

before his 2016 election for two women claiming they'd had affairs with him. but contradicting tuesday's sworn testimony from his former personal lawyer michael cohen, he's now claimed the pay—out was made with his own money, that election campaign finance was not illegally used. he's previously insisted he knew nothing about the payments. the president's been speaking to fox news. did they come out of the campaign? they didn't, they came from me. i tweeted about it. i don't know if you know but i tweeted about the payments. but they didn't come out of the campaign. my first question when i heard about it was, did they come out of the campaign? because that could be a little dicey. well, michael cohen's own lawyer has been in tv studios declaring his client is more than happy to tell everything about donald trump that he knows to robert mueller, the special prosecutor investigating russian interference in the presidential election, and allegations of

collusion with the trump campaign. mr trump has argued that michael cohen is making up stories to get a lighter prison sentence. in a moment, we'll hear from his lawyer. first, the bbc‘s paul wood on what there might be to tell. donald trump's twitter feed was oddly silent as news came that his former campaign manager and his former campaign manager and his former lawyer were going to jail. this was virtually a catatonic state from a president who tweets reflectively about everything. instead he slipped into a warm bath of affirmation at a rally in west virginia. this was perhaps therapy for troubled president. fake news and the russian witch—hunt, we've got a whole big combination. where is the collusion? fake news, the deep state conspiracy, the old slogans may continue to play well

with loyal supporters, but the president is facing a relentless legal process. five of trump's associates have now admitted to crimes or have been convicted. paul manafort, his campaign manager, ricky gate, his deputy, michael cohen, his personal lawyer, michael flynn, his national security advisor and george papadopoulos, a campaign aide. paul manafort is the only one of the five who hasn't rolled over. he rejected a plea deal. paul ma nafort he rejected a plea deal. paul manafort is a good man and this has nothing to do with russian collusion. on the face of it president trump is right, paul ma nafort‘s president trump is right, paul manafort‘s tax fraud predates the campaign, but if the russians knew about it, would they have had a hold over trump's campaign manager? the president will be far more worried about michael kolar. for years the keeper of his most important secrets. —— cohen. he was trump's these at a bad man. he paid off

models and pawn stars and told troublesome journalist where to get off. no one in america will be shocked if donald trump slapped with a porn star or two but the hush money was paid just before the election. cohen's indictment says this was an illegal campaign contributions an at the request of a candidate. what cohen might know about russia could be far more interesting to the special prosecutor. the former mi6 officer christopher steele wrote in his dossier that during the election campaign michael cohen went to prague to meet russian officials. cohen has always vehemently denied that, tweeting a picture of his passport for emphasis. some american media reports say robert mueller has evidence to the contrary. and one source in the intelligence community

told me there was an electronic trail that put cohen in prague. there is no corroboration of that claim, but if true this is the collusion president trump's enemies have long imagined. cohen also knows about an interesting meeting in trump tower during their campaign. donald trump jr sat down trump tower during their campaign. donald trumer sat down with a lawyer from the kremlin and donald trumer sat down with a lawyerfrom the kremlin and promised dirt on hillary clinton. one former trump campaign aide told me, we couldn't even co—ordinate with the rnc in pennsylvania let alone with russian intelligence, but if there was not exactly a highly organised conspiracy it does leave open the possibility of collusion — that's what cohen's lawyer hints at and he says trump might have known ahead of time of russian hacking. donald trump has never been in such a serious trouble. his presidency might now hang on what cohen has to

say. michael cohen's lawyer is lanny davis. he's been speaking to the bbc‘s evan davis on newsnight. i have to be very careful because my client is going to be, and will continue to be, in conversation with the special counsel robert mueller, who is investigating this very matter, so i can't reveal to you exactly what my client knows, but i gave a pretty good hint that my observation, my opinion, is that what he knows about mr trump's knowledge of the computer crime called hacking, what my client knows should be of interest to mr robert mueller. do you know, do you happen to know, whether your client visited prague in 2016 and met with russians there? thank you. the answer is 10096 no. never has he ever been in prague and the 13 other references to my client in this so—called dossier of false. some people are saying the

special counsel robert mueller doesn't really need to speak to your client to come to a deal with him andi client to come to a deal with him and i suppose it raises a question as to why they haven't come to a deal already. what is going on? don't assume that he hasn't met with mr robert mueller but don't assume that he has is a topic i can't comment on. i can tell you this — what he knows about mr trump's behaviour, including the issue of the hacking by a russian government agency called wikileaks, and the notification of that hacking ahead of time, which any ordinary citizen would immediately say a foreign government, doing what, well, iam calling in the police — there is a possibility that my client will help contribute to mr robert mueller‘s enquiry about that subject. look, a lot of people are going to say your client is a crook, definitely a crook, he's going to go to jail. your client has lied consistently about all the things that robert

mueller or anyone wants to talk about. he lied about the stormy daniels payments in the pretty recent past. why on earth would anyone believe a word your client says? don't believe, michael cohen my client, simply look at what was written by the prosecutors, in which the prosecutor said, and my client repeated, "the candidate", referring to donald trump, "directed and co—ordinated the payment of this money legally," because it is way above the limit, $100,000, "for the purpose of effecting an election". that is a statement endorsed by the prosecutors, my client pled guilty, referring to mr trump, don't believe me, don't believe mr cohen, that is the prosecutor's findings of evidence. the only thing they didn't do is indict and take the trial president trump and when he gets out of office which i believe will be in about two years or less, he will

then be subject to criminal prosecution. lennie davis talking to evan davis newsnight and more on that come in the bulletin. a strong earthquake has struck the northern coast of venezuela. the latin american country is already reeling under an unfolding economic crisis. the introduction of a new currency two days ago has failed to curb massive inflation. venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but that hasn't stopped more than 2 million people fleeing to neighbouring countries since 2015. that's 7% of the population. many have crossed into colombia over the simon bolivar international bridge which straddles the border in the eastern andes. from there, our correspondent katy watson. the sun hasn't yet risen but rush—hour has begun. this bridge has become a lifeline to buy food, get medical treatment, or to escape, once and for all. this woman says the economic crisis has taken its toll. she and her family are heading to columbia's capital bogota

to find work. translation: we are leaving lots of things behind. you lost everything you ever worked for. we have to start from scratch. for many, venezuela has become unliveable. erica is just 17 and a single mother of three. translation: when my baby was born, the hospital had no needles, nothing. hospitals are contaminated, too. when i gave birth, i wanted to leave so badly because all i saw was children and adults dying. it was terrible. amid severe food shortages, long queues like this have become the norm in venezuela, but even then people are going hungry. businesses have shut, the economy is in crisis. so, this week, president maduro announced sweeping changes to the currency in a bid to turn things around. mr maduro talks about having come up with the magical formula,

knocking five zeros off the currency and increasing the minimum wage by 3000%, but people here just don't buy it, and they are worried that their lives at us going to get far more difficult. an estimated 1 million children are unvaccinated in venezuela. columbia's set up a health centre at the other side of the bridge to offerjabs to those who need them. this woman travelled from caracas to get here. 12 hours by bus with five—month—old juan carlos. translation: it's so hard. there's no medicine, nothing. i have to suffer to get the things i need. for cecilia, escaping venezuela means leaving everything behind, including her locks. the hair extension trade is doing well off cash—strapped venezuela ns. the £13 she gets will pay for the bus fare to get the other

side of venezuela. translation: the government says everything is fine, but it isn't. even with this new currency, it's the same old thing. the president removed a few zeros, but that's it. today, like every other day, thousands more venezuela ns start their journey across south america. they have a long way to go to find a better future. many look exhausted already. australia's prime minister malcolm turnbull could face a second leadership challenge in a week from the same liberal party colleague. former home affairs minister, peter dutton, seen as a hardline conservative, failed in his earlier challenge and resigned from the cabinet. but he now says he has the numbers and wants another party meeting, another vote. the prime minister, though, is refusing to contest the vote. our correspondent hywel griffith joins us now live from canberra. hywel, i know there is a bit of a delay in kim indications between us.

what is happening now with the prime minister refusing to contest any vote, if there is a vote? well, malcolm turnbull is effectively a lame—duck prime minister. he is refusing a vote so far but it looks like he is only doing that in order to anointa like he is only doing that in order to anoint a successor. malcolm turnbull doesn't probably wants peter dutton, the man who has already challenged him wants to become prime minister so he is finding an alternate candidate. by the minute we've seen resignations from cabinet ministers who have told malcolm turnbull he no longer have their support. so malcolm turnbull will probably not... well, he won't end this month, maybe not even today as prime minister. it might take a few months to work out who the successof few months to work out who the successor is and if there is to be a formal race to the leadership and a vote involving peter dutton. how are the australian public feeling, hywel, about the various leadership

challenges, they've had a lot of prime ministers recently?” challenges, they've had a lot of prime ministers recently? i think the aussie voters are just as boom yea rs the aussie voters are just as boom years as the rest of the world as to how their politicians behave. if we have a new prime minister pretty soon they will be the sixth within a decade, equalling the turnover rate of somewhere like italy which is famous for the spin cycle of politicians. i think some people would argue that all of the infighting with thing in australian politics is maybe a symptom that the rest of a country can look after itself. it is a country with great economic success. it is a country thatis economic success. it is a country that is in many ways thriving and yet its politicians, well, it hasn't had a prime minister that has lasted a full term for a decade now so that tells you something about the nature of politics here and how nasty the infighting can become. because, remember, all this leadership contest is within one party, we are not talking about rival parties squabbling, these are all members of the liberal party who are all meant to stand behind one prime minister. so, hywel, what is the beef between

the politicians, what are the dividing lines? so, the key policies in play here after him is like energy and climate change. malcolm turnbull, on the progressive side of the ruling liberal party, he wanted to introduce tariffs on emissions. he was also looking at bringing in big changes to the tax system. however, people on the right of the party, including the man who has challenged him, peter dutton, they don't want to see tariffs on carbon emissions, they don't want the same tax reform as malcolm turnbull. they wa nt tax reform as malcolm turnbull. they want hard lines on issues such as immigration. peter dutton was the immigration minister who was very clear about not wanting to accept people into australia unless they are invited. so those are the issues at play. arguably they are not the issues that govern day—to—day life in australia and that's where we see the disconnect. remember, australia,

many parts of australia, are in the grip ofa many parts of australia, are in the grip of a terrible drought. farmers desperate for rain or for support and yet here we have a government effectively now in limbo because they can't decide who they want as prime minister. hywel, thank you very much indeed for that. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the second separation for korean families briefly reunited after decades apart. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed, i did have a relationship with miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last ten days, 500 have died. chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners

who died on board the kursk. we're all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 million people, in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope, "so you want me to desert rome?" this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump has attacked his former lawyer michael cohen — and claimed campaign finance rules have not been broken. australia's prime minister is facing a second leadership challenge in less than a week — but he is refusing to contest any new vote. well, let's stay with our top story, and as the pressure intensifies

on donald trump and the white house, what does all this mean, if anything, to his core supporters? nick bryant, has been to the republican stronghold of staten island in new york, to assess the impact of these latest allegations. across the waters from lower manhattan, the trump stronghold of staten island. the only borough of new york to vote for the hometown presidential candidate. from here you can almost see the court complex where michael cohen made the explosive claim that donald trump directed him to commit a crime. but do people here care? you know, he is what this country needed at this time. local businessmen steve believes donald trump is making america great again, and yesterday's bombshell allegations don't trouble him. so yesterday, donald trump's personal lawyer stood up in court and implicated the president and said, "he told me to break the law." that doesn't worry you? no.

the people that hate him are going to use it and that's all you're going to hear for the next six months and through the elections. that's all you're going to hear. the people that like what he's doing, whether or not they like him as a human being, going to care less. on the beaches of staten island, what is widely viewed by donald trump's critics as the darkest day of his presidency casts few shadows. i think he's great. he's doing wonderful for the country. and for the world. and i can't find anything wrong with him. yesterday his lawyer has said he told him to break the law, does that worry you? no, not really. they all break the law, you know? millions of people break the law here. but he's the president of the united states. well, he's human too. but in these affluent suburbs, we also found lifelong republicans that field donald trump is bringing shame on their party and shame on their country. donald trump is a con artist. he is running the country for himself. he doesn't understand that he is there to serve the people, to serve the american people. you are republican?

yes. but do you reject him? of course i reject him. donald trump once claimed he could shoot somebody on 5th ave and his supporters would still vote for him. an extravagant boast maybe, but one that speaks of his unshakeable belief in the unwavering devotion of his loyalists. nick bryant, bbc news, staten island. nearly 90 south koreans have been visiting the north for a series of visits with relatives they haven't seen since the end of the korean war, 60 years ago. this report by laura bicker contains flash photography. this is why some call these reunions ‘the second separation‘. after brief moments together, they're once again torn apart. "let's meet again when our countries are reunited," she says. but north and south korea are still at war, divided —

and look likely to remain so. earlier, the families were given one extra hour over lunch. they've had 12 hours in total together over three days. precious time for this 82—year—old to spend with her sisters, or this uncle to teach his niece this about the family tree. and for a father to hear one last story from his daughter. "i hope whenever i pray for you, you will hear it" says his mother. but when they leave this resort, all further contact will be impossible. it was a moment few thought about when they were first reunited, especially this 92—year—old who flung herself in her estranged son's arms. in the chaos, there were trapped

on opposite sides of the border after the war. 68 years is a long time to be apart. now, she is inconsolable. and despite this cry of hope, north korea is usually unwilling to allow more contact between these families. until that changes, these first meetings will also always be their last. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. saudi arabia is reported to have called off plans to list its vast state oil company, aramco on domestic and international stock markets. the kingdom's leadership had mooted the idea of selling a 5% stake in the company to fund ambitious economic plans designed to reduce to kingdom's reliance on oil.

but some experts said the valuation was unrealistic. the controversial issue of gay conversion therapy is the subject of a new film that's already receiving critical acclaim. it's called the miseducation of cameron post, and stars chloe grace moretz. she plays a gay teenager sent away to a christian camp that uses prayer and therapy to try to change her sexuality. it's a subject that hit home for the actress herself. her two brothers went through a similar experience. she's been speaking to our correspondent chi chi izundu. rick is such an inspiration. you know, he used to struggle with same—sex attractions? really? yeah. legal in 41 states, conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation from homo or bisexual to heterosexual, using psychological and often spiritual interventions. and being brought up in a strict baptist town with two gay brothers, the making of the miseducation of cameron post was very personal for chloe grace moretz. they dealt with a lot of self hate

when they came out and they tried to — which is very common within the community that we grew up in — pray the gay away. and in the town that you grew up in you actually knew of people that went through gay conversion therapy? yeah. so there's. .. well, there's people in our town that had come out and gone to the church and found... you know, they've consulted with the church. and that's the thing with conversion therapy — it takes on many different iterations and a lot of different labels and it can be as simple as therapy. it's as simple as consulting with your church. i know we're throwing a lot at you. how are you feeling? chloe has been acting in hollywood since she was five. she starred in big blockbusters like kick ass, but took some time—out recently to reassess her priorities. try and reconfigure and kind of realise who i am as a young woman and what i want to do with my platform. and the content i'm putting out isn'tjust entertainment but is also

some form of activism and social justice. so this film was really the one that ticked all the boxes. but for now, chloe's hoping her award—winning film does more than just tick the box for those going through conversion therapy. chi chi izundu, bbc news. to the main story, president trump has attacked his former lawyer, michael coen, and claimed that by net debt a campaign financials had not been broken. that story likely to run for not been broken. that story likely to runfora not been broken. that story likely to run for a while yet. more on the news any time on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching. good morning.

the bank holiday weekend fast approaching and there is a change to come with the feel of our weather over the next few days. but just look at what we had yesterday. beautiful blue sky and sunshine in lincolnshire. highs of 27 degrees, 81 fahrenheit. we are not going to see temperatures like that certainly over the bank holiday weekend. a cooler and fresher feel. the reason being is these weather fronts pushing in from the atlantic. they are cold fronts, behind it introducing slightly fresher air with it. that said, first thing this morning in the south—east it will still be quite a humid start to the day, with overnight lows still sitting at around 16 or 17 degrees, and there will be some rain. but further north and west, it is already a cooler start to your thursday. let's try and put the detail on it, then. behind the second front is when the really cool air starts to push down from the north and west, and that is going to move its way across the country as we push into the bank holiday weekend. so, for thursday, we start off with some rain that was slowly clear away from the midlands, the south coast, east anglia, the south—east corner.

some brightness behind, a scattering of showers into wales and north—west england and rain pushing into the north—west. so, in terms of the temperature profile, it is going to feel cooler here, with the greens, the yellows, the warm russets in the south—east, 23 degrees the high, and in the showers we are looking at 1a to 16 degrees for much of scotland and northern ireland. now, those showers will continue into the north—west overnight, but elsewhere we will see some clearer skies, and the cooler air starts to push further south, so it is going to be a much more comfortable night for sleeping in, that is certainly the good news. we will see single figures into the north at perhaps around nine to 12 degrees in the south—east corner. now, on friday, it looks as though we are going to see a rash of showers developing into northern ireland, down through north—west england — anywhere south of the midlands and wales will see dry and bright weather. look at the feel, 1a to 19 degrees the overall high. we start off the weekend on a dry and sometimes sunny note, but the temperatures will still be set to struggle, 13 to 20 degrees, way down on what we've been used to just recently. a little ridge of high pressure that builds overnight saturday into sunday, that's going to allow temperatures to fall away overnight.

a chilly start on sunday morning. a touch of frost in sheltered glens of scotland before the next whether front pushes in from the atlantic. so it looks likely sunday into bank holiday monday will see some rain around, drying up, but not particularly warm with it. take care. this is bbc news, the headlines: donald trump has strongly denied using election campaign finance to make payments to two women who say he had affairs with them. on tuesday, his former lawyer, michael cohen, told a court the president had directed him to hand over the money with the principal purpose of influencing the 2016 presidential election. australia's prime minister malcolm turnbull is clinging

to power and facing a second leadership challenge in under a week. former home affairs minister, peter dutton, seen as a hardline conservative, said he was confident he now had the numbers to unseat turnbull. venezuela's economic crisis has seen more than two million people, 7% of the population, fleeing to neighbouring countries since 2015, according to the un. the government introduced new currency on monday to try to curb hyperinflation. critics say it could make matters worse. now on bbc news, hardtalk.