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 blazey 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, very tough, and his family, i think it's a very unfair thing what's going on. dr ford's lawyers have written to the senatejudiciary committee to say she doesn't want to appear before 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. our north america correspondent, peter bowes,

says it's not known if the fbi will investigate the allegations. 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 fact, we have a new statement in the last few hours from a lawyer representing dr 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 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 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 senators. 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 fair to her, if he refuses that opportunity they may still go ahead

with the vote on the confirmation of thisjudge. peter bowes, thank you. 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 kimjong—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. a short while ago we spoke to duyeon kim, adjunct senior fellow with the center for a new american security. she'sjoined us from seoul. i started by asking her whether she thought these new promises of denuclearisation were genuine. 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 they're willing to dismantle their yongbyon nuclear plant... site, and there are difficult ways to interpret that. 0n the one hand, it's not nothing, it's something, but on the other hand, they've got some old reactors, they have a re—processing line. if those two are dismantled, 0k, you know, it constrains their plutonium—producing facilities, as long as they don't have covert facilities outside of yongbyon. they have a uranium enrichment plant, that, as you may remember, they showed an american scientist sieg hecker several years ago. but that plan, we suspect, was only meant to show to trade away eventually during negotiations when the us believes they have at least two other enrichment plans outside of yongbyon. so it really depends on how

you price these negotiating cards, but really the bottom line is, based on the negotiation, i don't think the needle has moved any further, but 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, you know, his role,

his mission was really to try and convince or persuade kimjong—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 kimjong—un halfway and try to keep negotiations alive. and so i don't think very realistically and practically that seoul can cause oi’ create a breakthrough. that's really for the two sides involved. duyeon kim, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. the musician and politician bobi wine is due back in uganda on thursday after undergoing medical treatment in the united states. he's been there for over two weeks

after allegedly being tortured by the military. security forces have increased deployments in parts of the capital and the main highway leading to the airport. police have banned bobi wine's supporters from holding processions on his return. malaysian officials have confirmed that the former prime minister najib razak has been arrested in connection with alleged embezzlement after more than $600 million linked to the state investment fund imdb were allegedly found in his bank accounts. he's expected to appear in court on thursday afternoon. the pope has met the u2 front man bono to discuss the sexual abuse crisis in ireland. the pair spoke for more than 30 minutes with the irish rock star saying he found the pope to be an extraordinary man. during his trip to ireland last month, francis begged forgiveness for the multitude of abuses suffered by victims in ireland at the hand of the church over decades. britain's prime minister theresa may has asked her fellow 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're 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. taoiseach, 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 much 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: colombia's problem with cocaine — production has risen to its highest level. 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. and that means unfortunately the money will be a lot, but it's going to come as fast as you need it.

north carolina's democratic governor was careful to praise the efforts to help his state, but underlined the scale of the task ahead. our state took a gut punch, mr president, and our people are still reeling. we have weathered storms before in our state, but 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 new bern area, where hundreds had to be rescued, as the rivers flooded after the torrential rainfall in the hurricane's aftermath. the president was criticised for his response to hurricane maria in puerto rico in 2017, where even last week he was disputing the death toll. but today, he was the consoler in chief. that is my house over there! how's it doing? will this little boy see even got a hug when he asked for one. 16 rivers in north carolina are in majorflood stage, and the cape fear river is due

to crest today at four times its normal height, bringing even more flooding. evacuees have been told not to return home just yet. two years after hurricane matthew flooded parts of north carolina and the aftermath of florence has created a one in a thousand year flooding event. for the people the president met who are trying to rebuild their homes 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, effectively saying he "doesn't have an attorney general". i asked professorjens david 0hlin of cornell university what he understands by the expression "i don't

have an attorney general". i think what he really means is that he does not have his own personal attorney general. he has made it clear that he expects jeff sessions to act as a very loyal individual who will have donald trump's back and oversee the russia investigation. and, of course, that is precisely whatjeff sessions did not do, you recuse himself from the russia investigation. ithink not do, you recuse himself from the russia investigation. i think that really enraged donald trump. he was expecting jeff sessions to act as his personal attorney general. in one sense, if you understand his statement as a statement about not having a personal attorney, then i think he is right. why doesn't he justify him? i thinki is think he is right. why doesn't he justify him? i think i is eager to fire him, he would love to buy him, but his advisers have told him that it would be politically and legally quite perilous to fire him, certainly before the elections. it would be legally problematic because he might be accused of being

shutting down the russia investigation. because his advisers have told in this and he is listening to his advisers for once, he has decided instead that he is going to brate jeff he has decided instead that he is going to bratejeff sessions over and overagain, going to bratejeff sessions over and over again, humiliate him going to bratejeff sessions over and overagain, humiliate him in public, with the goal of getting jeff sessions to resign, because if he resigns then he avoids this tricky legal problem of firing them that might be obstruction ofjustice —— irate. that might be obstruction ofjustice -- irate. if he did go to down the line of firing him, that could lead to impeachment? keep up to impeachment is a little bit complicated. i think this much is certain. robert mueller is already investigating donald trump for obstruction of justice investigating donald trump for obstruction ofjustice related to the firing ofjim cooney, the former fbi director. it donald trump goes further and fires jeff sessions, fbi director. it donald trump goes further and firesjeff sessions, it will open up a new obstruction enquiry. you will see a separate

section in the report of obstruction of justice with the section in the report of obstruction ofjustice with the sessions fiery. it will make the problem is even worse that make firing. jeff —— jeff sessions. i think it would make impeachment even more likely, although it is unclear whether the democrats would have enough votes to accomplish on impeachment. cocaine production in colombia has risen to record levels — that's according to the united nations. it's the world's largest producer of the drug and the increase comes despite the recent peace deal with farc rebels. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. the coca leaf is a way of life here will stop for generations they have grown it, it used it to make tea, to make medicine, and sometimes to make cocaine. a new figures show columbia is now producing more of the drug than ever before —— colombia. translation: one of the reasons for the increase is the perception that

this illegal activity is less of a risk. as a result, coca cultivation increased, investment with agricultural inputs like fertilisers increase, and productivity in plantations has improved —— increased. so what kind of figures are we looking at? the un's offers on drugs and crimes of the total area of the country where coca leaves can be cultivated has risen 1796, leaves can be cultivated has risen 17%, to more than 107,000 hectares. production of the coca leaf, the main ingredient in the game, rose by one third, from 2012 to 2017. that means potential coking production in colombia reached nearly 11100 metric tons last year. and all this comes despite the historic peace deal between the government and farc rebels. they were heavily involved in coca production, and some say their demise as lescay vacuum filled by gangs and other armed groups. a

dilemma for the new president, who was considering using aerial herbicides to destroy the coca crop, despite fears they could cause cancer. translation: algol, within the next four years, is to have strong results. —— algol. we can set ambitious goals of eradicating more than 70% of the crop. that may the plan, but while colombia's civil war is over, it's cocaine problem anything but. tim allman, bbc news. arthur mitchell, one of the first black american ballet dancers, has died at the age of 8a. 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 60s grew to include the dance theatre of harlem. have a look at this week from cathay pacific. see if you can spot what is

wrong. the compa ny‘s pacific. see if you can spot what is wrong. the company's name was misspelled. eagle eyed travellers spotted the mistake at hong kong international airport and contacted the airline. but the whole thing spotted many a joke on social media. many others find it an inexplicable mistake. a reminder of our top story. 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. that is the way our world looks so far. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @martinstanford. 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 2a 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 away 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. the commission said a deal remained far off. now on bbc news it's time for click.