welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is martin stanford. our top stories: the us senate gives the woman who accuses supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault until friday to decide if she will testify. the us says it's ready to restart negotiations on completely denuclearising north korea, after north korea promised to close a key missile test site. britain's prime minister theresa may asks her fellow european leaders to drop what she says are unacceptable demands to get a brexit deal done. president trump visits the carolinas to speak to those affected by hurricane florence. the pressure is mounting on christine blasey ford to come

forward and testify about her accusation that us supreme court nominee brett kava naugh sexually assaulted her in high school. ford's lawyer says her client isn't prepared to go before the senate judiciary committee on monday. she wants an fbi investigation to be conducted first. it's rapidly turning into a bitter partisan standoff, as the bbc‘s katty kay reports. christine blasey ford says she's received death threats and has had to move house since her allegation against brett kavanaugh was made public on sunday. mr trump's sympathies today seemed to be more with the accused than the accuser. as you know, justice kavanaugh has been treated very tough, and his family, i think it's a very unfair thing what is going on. dr ford's lawyers have written to the senatejudiciary committee to say she doesn't want to appear with the judge and wants an fbi investigation. that refusal to testify has angered even sympathetic republicans like senator bob corker,

who now says there should be a vote to confirm the judge on monday if dr ford doesn't appear. but one other important voice is recommending a pause. anita hill went through similar hearings in 1991 and was widely seen to be treated badly. my advice is to push the pause button on this hearing, get the information together, bring in the experts, and put together a hearing that is fair, that is impartial, that is not biased by politics or by men. the memory of that hearing looms large. and there is clearly frustration among some women in the senate. i just want to say to the men of this country, just shut up and step up. do the right thing. there is political peril on both sides here. and no goodwill between democrats and republicans, which means that truth and fairness will be hard to find. peter bowes is our north america correspondent. the fbi are wanting to be involved

at least by one lawyer for this lady —— wanted. any comment from the fbi yet about whether they're prepared to get involved 7 there hasn't been any significant comment from the fbi as to whether they will start an investigation, whether it's possible to hold an investigation into something that really amounts to a he said, she said situation many decades ago. in fa ct, said situation many decades ago. in fact, we have a new statement in the last few hours from a lawyer representing doctor ford. it says... it doesn't say categorically whether she will appear next monday at the senate hearing, but it implies she is thinking she won't. it says, fairness and respect for her situation dictate that she should have time to deal with this. the rush to a hearing, it says, is

unnecessary and contrary to the committee discovering the truth. that gives us an insight into what she's thinking, she needs a new more than a few days to prepare for any hearing, if indeed she is to appear. this is all very partisan exchanges, peter, because if there were a pause it could go right through the november the sixth election cycle? well, that's the key thing. all along since the initial announcement of president trump's choice for the next member of the supreme court, the democrats have wa nted supreme court, the democrats have wanted to delay these proceedings as long as possible knowing that the midterm elections were coming in november, and the results of those elections could mean that a different political balance in the senate, and that could have a bearing on whether this judge or any future nominees are confirmed by so, yes, very, very political. it seems, certainly as far as the republicans are concerned, right now

they are mindful they want to push forward with this indeed whether or not she appears. she's been given the opportunity in public or private to appear. they say they've been fairto to appear. they say they've been fair to her, if he refuses that opportunity they've may still go ahead with the vote on the confirmation of this judge. ahead with the vote on the confirmation of thisjudge. peter bowes, thank you. —— they may. the united states has confirmed it's ready to restart negotiations with north korea immediately following the news the north is prepared to dismantle a missile test facility with outside experts watching. the offer came on the second day of a three day summit between south korean president moon jae—in and kim jong—un. while being welcomed internationally, the offer from the north does need corresponding measures from the us. our correspondent laura bicker reports from seoul. pyongyang's mass games are meant to awe and inspire. usually it's because of their elaborate routines. but tonight, a special guest from the south earned the applause. president moonjae—in, the son of north korean refugees, has spent decades dreaming of this moment. translation: we have lived together

for 5,000 years and been separated for 70 years. i propose that we should completely end the past 70 years of hostility and take a big stride of peace, to become one again. cheering and applause the visit has brought a bit of a breakthrough. north korea has agreed to let experts watch a missile launch site being dismantled. mr kim said he would do more if the us also made concessions. translation: we have agreed to make the korean peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threats. applause but the deal doesn't go as far as the us had hoped.

it doesn't mention the north's current nuclear arsenal, or if they'll even stop building weapons. but he may have done enough to persuade president trump to offer this peninsula a peace deal. "we'll meet again", sing the north koreans to this leader from the south. kim jong—un has said he'll visit seoul later this year, another first. this careful choreography has been designed to dazzle their visitor. he can only hope this show of warmth is not a smoke screen to hide the north's nuclear ambitions. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. duyeon kim is adjunct senior fellow with the center for a new american security. she's in seoul. do we think this denuclearisation of

isa do we think this denuclearisation of is a genuine one7 you know, that remains to be seen. i will actually say i'm sceptical for now, i hope i'm proven wrong but based on what we know publicly, the ball has not been moved forward at all. now, that said, what's important is what president moon tells president trump later in new york on the sidelines of the un general assembly, and even more important is what the north koreans will end up telling washington in private channels. and so, you know, we really need to wait and see. but, that said also, it is notable or noteworthy that the north has said there willing to dismantle their nuclear plant... site, and there are difficult ways to interpret that. on

the one hand, it's not nothing, it's something, but they've got some old reactors, they've got a processing line. if those two are dismantled, it constrains their plutonium producing facilities as long as they don't have other facilities outside. they have a uranium enrichment plant, which, as you will remember, they showed an american scientist several years ago. but that plan, we suspect, was only meant to show to trade away eventually during negotiations when the us believes it has at least two other in richmond plans outside of punggye—ri, so it depends on how you place these negotiating cards —— in richmond. based on the negotiation, i don't think the needle has moved any further —— enrichment. we have to see what the negotiations are like

with washington. how influential can president moon be with this, can he move the dial a bit? the reality of the situation is despite his effort, it really comes down to the us and north korea. so in that sense, seoul is constrained in how much they can influence the needle or the ball that i mentioned before, because they are playing a mediator role. now his role, his mission was really to try and convince or persuade kim jong—un to offer something to the us so jong—un to offer something to the us so that nuclear negotiations can move forward. and his other mission now in new york in a few days will be to try and convince president trump to meet kim jong—un halfway and try to keep negotiations alive. and so i don't think very realistically and practically that seoul can cause or create a

breakthrough. that's really for the two sides involved. duyeon kim, thank you. britain's prime minister, theresa may, has asked herfellow european leaders to drop what she said were unacceptable demands to get a brexit deal done. speaking at an informal summit dinner in austria, mrs may again rejected the proposal that northern ireland should remain temporarily in the eu's customs union. with just six months to go, time is running out to get a deal in place. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is at the summit. stuck, looking for a way out. the prime minister and other leaders have eight weeks to agree what happens to northern ireland after we leave. her plan says... it's the only credible and negotiable plan on the table that delivers no hard border in northern ireland and also delivers on the vote of the british people. but what we cannot accept is seeing northern ireland carved away from the united kingdom customs territory. but the eu club's plan

is very different. they say northern ireland might have to follow eu rules if the big brexit deal can't be done. i don't think we are any closer to the withdrawal agreements than we were in march. so i can't report any progress at this stage unfortunately, but we'll keep on working on it. what if the eu doesn't budge on brexit border issue in ireland? well then united kingdom shall have to. leaders landed to hear the prime minister explained as proposals for how we leave. the so—called chequers deal. they don't like how parts of our economy would stay closely tied to the eu to guard against disruption, and avoid going back to an old—fashioned border in ireland, like those of years ago.

these talks were always going to be complicated, but at summit, after summit, the biggest obstacle always becomes what happens 1,000 miles away or so from here. when we leave the european union, the border between northern ireland and the rest of the island will become the line between europe's huge trading club and another country, the uk, on the outside. the two sides in the talks have very different ideas over how to handle that change. and despite lots of chatter about tweaks from the eu negotiator, or tucks at home, there's no question, the tussle over the irish border is a very real block on progress. some of prime minister may's proposals from chequers indicate a positive evolution in the uk's approach, as well as a will to minimise the negative effects of brexit. on other issues, the uk's proposals will need to be reworked and further negotiated. today, there is perhaps more hope, but there

is surely less and less time. the prime minister hopes by asking her peers directly, they will budge. they believe, in time, she will realise she has to move, but with a time set for deal day, something, or someone, will have to give. laura kuennsburg, bbc news, salzburg. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: singing for recognition. a choir of men and women with albinism tour south africa. 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. well, there is people alive and there is people not alive. we just can help and give

them whatever we've got. it looked as though they had come to fight a war, but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case is being forcefully presented by monsieur badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year, hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she's become a saint, it's expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businessmen regard the anticipated boom as yet another blessing of st elizabeth. this is bbc news. the latest headlines:

the us senate has given the woman who accused supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault until friday to decide if she will testify. the us says it's ready to restart negotiations on completely denuclearising north korea, after north korea promised to close a key missile test site. president trump has gone to north carolina and south carolina today to see for himself the damage caused by hurricane florence, which made landfall on friday. the storm has claimed 37 lives, and more than 10,000 people are living in shelters having fled their homes. 200,000 are without power after epic flooding. parts of north carolina received nearly three feet of rain in just a few days and the flooding's not over yet. laura trevelyan reports. the president touched down in north carolina, promising to help the hundreds of thousands of impacted by

hurricane florence and her treacherous floodwaters. at a briefing with federal and local officials, he praised the relief and recovery effort in his trademark manner. we are ready and they are ready to do whatever we have to do to make this perfect. that means u nfortu nately to make this perfect. that means unfortunately the money will be a lot, but it will come as fast as you need it. north carolina's democratic government praised the efforts to help you stay, but under —— underlined the scale of the task ahead to. our they took a gut punch, mr president, and our people are still reeling. we have weathered storms before in our state and mr president, we have never seen one like this. this one has been epic, it has been disastrous. president trump saw for himself the damage done to the area, where hundreds had to be rescued as the rivers flooded after the torrential rainfall in the hurricane florence's aftermath. he was criticised or his response to

hurricane maria and puerto rico in 2016, where last week he was disputing the death toll. but today, he was the console in chief. that is my house over their! this little boy see even got a hug when he asked for one. 16 rivers in north carolina are in major flood one. 16 rivers in north carolina are in majorflood stage one. 16 rivers in north carolina are in major flood stage and the cape fear river is due to cross today four times its normal height, bringing even more flooding. evacuees had been told not to return homejust evacuees had been told not to return home just yet. two years after harry kane you flooded parts of north carolina and the aftermath of florence has dated a one in a thousand year flooding events of the border people the president met who are trying to rebuild their homes and lives, the road to recovery will bea and lives, the road to recovery will be a long one. laura trevelyan, bbc news, washington. as president trump returned to washington, he again cast doubt on the future of his attorney generaljeff sessions. mr trump has already criticised him for stepping aside from the inquiry

into alleged russia interference. now the president has gone further, saying he doesn't have an attorney general. to discuss president trump's relationship with his attorney—general, we'rejoined by yens david 0hleen, professor of law at cornell university in new york. what do you make of that expression, ido what do you make of that expression, i do really have an attorney general7 i do really have an attorney general? i think what he really means is that he doesn't have his own personal attorney general. he has made it clear that he expects jeff session to act as a very loyal individual who will have trump's back and oversee the russia investigation and of course, that is precisely whatjeff session didn't do. he immediately reduced himself from the russia investigation and i think that really enraged trump, because he was expecting sessions to act as his personal attorney general. in one sense, if you understand his statement as a kind of statement about not having a personal attorney, then i think he is right. why doesn't he just fire

at him? he is eager to fire at him, he would love to fire at him, but his advisers told him it would be legally and politically quite perilous, certainly before the mid—term elections. it would be legally problematic because he might be accused of obstructing justice by firing sessions just too can be accused of obstructing justice by firing sessionsjust too can —— just to control the russia investigation and shut it down. because his advisers have told him this and he is actually listening to his advisers for once, he decided instead he will rate sessions over and overagain, instead he will rate sessions over and over again, humiliate him instead he will rate sessions over and overagain, humiliate him in public, with the goal, i think, of getting sessions to resign, if he resigns then he avoids this tricky legal problem of firing him might be an extra option ofjustice. if he did go down that road, it could lead to impeachment7 —— structure and. did go down that road, it could lead to impeachment? —— structure andm could. the past two impeachment is

collocated. robert mueller is already investigating him of construction ofjustice already investigating him of construction of justice in already investigating him of construction ofjustice in firing james comey, if he goes further and fires sessions it will open up a new structure and enquiry and we will see a separate section about obstruction of justice see a separate section about obstruction ofjustice related to the sessions firing and it would make his legal problems at worst. when that is sent to congress, at some time it will, it will make impeachment more likely, although it is unclear at whether or not the democrats would have enough vote is to put forward impeachment. thank you then much indeed. thank you. -- very much. the issue of albinism is being highlighted this month in south africa. the un say 600 people in the last ten years across africa have been killed, mutilated or traumatised after surviving attacks. now a choir made up of boys and girls with the condition is moving around the country in a bid to empower those with the condition but also raise

awareness and change attitudes. iam the i am the guy behind the binos, they area i am the guy behind the binos, they are a group of people with albinism and it was formed around 2014. we are seeing a need to teach about albinism. for all these myths that we have been seeing around us are becoming a reality now. from 2016 to 2017 we have seen 17 albinos killings now in south africa. some of these are not even put down, not dated, because those are things that happened in rural areas. for those reasons we see a need to go out there and try and push the idea that

we are also one of them. one, two, three, go! albino killings are so hugein three, go! albino killings are so huge in our country right now, especially in the rural sites of south africa. so what i will do is, i would go around looking for them, not only for singing, the aim is to actually build their confidence and to teach about the condition itself. and we have a goal, by 2025, people of the condition will be free. those who do not know about the condition, why 2025 will know about the condition and at least by 2025 we will have zero outliner killings of. that is the aim. the aim is not only to sing, but the aim is to also educate about the condition out there to get out of their comfort

zone and live life for what it is. if anyone thinks about killing and outline a child, remember. —— albino child. (singing) arthur mitchell, one of the first black american

ballet dancers, has died at the age of eighty—four. mitchell rose from a childhood in harlem to dance leading roles for the new york city ballet under the renowned choreographer, george balanchine. the dance school he set up in the sixties grew to include the dance theatre of harlem. a reminder of our top story. pressures mounting on christine forward to testify about her accusation that the us supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh sexual assaulted her in high schools to her lawyer says her client isn't willing to go before the senate to do cherie commissionaire —— commission on monday, she wants an fbi investigation to be conducted first. that is how news is so far. —— our. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @martinstanford. thank you for watching.

hello there. storm ali brought damaging winds across parts of the uk on wednesday. wind gusts of more than 90mph for parts of northern ireland. you can see this hook of cloud on the satellite picture, that's the storm pushing off towards scandinavia, but that doesn't mean things will be quiet over the next couple of days, far from it. and that means what we have on thursday is this wriggling frontal system bringing pulses of moisture from the atlantic, so through the day ahead we are going to see heavy rain at times and still the potential for some strong winds. a windy start certainly across northern scotland, some heavy showers here, and some rain across wales, the midlands, parts of eastern england, which will fizzle for a time before returning with a vengeance from the west as we get on into the afternoon. now, as the day wears on, the winds will ease a little bit across northern scotland, but still hefty showers blowing in on the breeze. some sunshine as well, 15 degrees for aberdeen. for northern ireland, calmer than it was on wednesday, but still breezy with a fair amount of cloud, but look at the afternoon in north—west england,

the midlands and into wales, very, very heavy bursts of rain with the risk of disruption and localised flooding. windy to the south of that but warm as well, 21 or 22 degrees in the south—east, where we may well stick with some sunshine. and then we go through thursday evening into the night, we take this wet weather across northern england, wales, the south—west. we push it eastwards, and with that, the winds strengthening across the southern and particularly south—eastern areas with gusts of 40, 50 or maybe 60mph, or even a touch more in some places. the strongest of the winds during the night into the early part of friday will always be in these southern areas. so, if you have travel plans, really over the next 24 hours or so, through thursday, on into friday, some heavy rain, gales at times. there is the potential for disruption. your bbc local radio station will keep you up to date. friday starting windy in southern and eastern areas too. but this area of low pressure responsible will be sliding awau to the east, and in its wake,

it will leave us all with some much cooler air, which will be coming from a long way north. a messy start to the day, outbreaks of rain windy down the east coast as we go on through friday. the worst of the rain will ease, the winds will tend to ease as well. then we'll be left with sunshine and heavy showers, and a cool feel. 11 degrees in aberdeen, perhaps 18 or maybe 19 in parts of the south—east. then the weekend, very mixed. some sunshine, yes, but rain at times, most especially in the south. this is bbc news. the headlines: the judiciary committee of the us senate has given christine blasey ford until friday to decide whether to give evidence against president trump's nominee for the supreme court. she says brett kavanaugh sexually assaulted her — a charge he has denied. her lawyers said the rush to a hearing was unfair. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has said

that he is willing to resume negotiations with north korea immediately, following its agreement to shut down an important missile testing facility. the announcement was made during a meeting of the leaders of north and south korea. at the eu summit in salzburg, the british prime minister, theresa may, has again rejected the european commission's proposal that northern ireland should remain temporarily in the eu's customs union. she's called on her fellow leaders to show greater flexibility in the negotiations. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.