this is bbc news i'm ben bland. our top stories: us prosecutors say donald trump's former personal lawyer lied about a business project in russia to protect his client. a top executive from the chinese telecoms giant, huawei, appears in court in canada facing fraud charges for allegedly breaching sanctions against iran. french students clash with police as the country prepares for more anti government protests this weekend. and a british sailor rescued from the southern pacific ocean, after being cast adrift during a storm. hello and welcome to bbc news. us prosecutors have called for president trump's former

personal lawyer to be given a substantial jail sentence. michael cohen has pleaded guilty to crimes including tax evasion and paying money to an adult film star on the president's behalf. in papers filed with the courts, special counsel robert mueller also said mr cohen lied about a potential property deal in moscow that could have brought the trump organisation millions of dollars from russian sources. rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. bought rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. bought rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald bought rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump bought rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and bought rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was bought rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known bought rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is mr rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is mrfix rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is mrfix it rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is mr fix it and rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is mr fix it and would rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is mr fix it and would take rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought is mr fix it and would take a rajini vaidya nathan is in washington. donald trump and was known as bought donald trump and was known as is mr fix it and would take a bullet for donald trump. he pleaded guilty to lying to wrong gross and is part of his plea deal has been cooperating with the ongoing special counsel investigation and we have had the sentencing document from robert mueller which reveals some very important developments and information about that investigation and just to remind viewers, the

investigation is looking into whether the trump campaign colluded with the russian government. one of the biggest takeaway series that these documents as, the defendant michael cohen, lied about a business project called the moscow project, a plan to build a trump tower in moscow and one of the biggest ta keaway moscow and one of the biggest takeaway is in that is that it says here the defendant, michael cohen, admitted he lied to congress in order to minimise links between the time —— the trump tower project and interviewed —— individual one. individual one in these documents is donald trump. this document is implying that michael cullen lied to protect donald trump. it is hugely significant. i was talking to legal experts in washington dc and she said the revelations in this document could point to possible collusion. also, other things that stand out in this document. it says

michael cohen continued to work on the trump tower project and kept working with him well into the election campaign. this is material information, the ongoing investigations, because it occurred ata time investigations, because it occurred at a time of sustained efforts by the russian government to interfere with the us presidential election. this is really explosive developments here, especially because michael cullen was so incredibly close to donald trump. the prosecutors talk about there should be a substantialjail term. do we know what they mean by that in terms of duration? how long can he be locked up for? that came in a separate document from new york federal prosecutors, 60 —— seeking substantial terms of imprisonment and also violations of campaign finance and tax violations including a payment to the porn star stormy

daniels. here, 42 months but crucially, the robert mueller investigation did not ask for any additional sentence and i will pull out the reasons why. they say that in recent months, a defendant has taken significant steps to mitigate his criminal conduct. he has gone to, they quote, significant lengths to, they quote, significant lengths to assist the special counsel's investigation. the corporation he was given means that robert mueller has not asked for additional sentence time. it shows the information he's been giving them is clearly very valuable. he is not the only person once close to donald trump assisting the ongoing special counsel. earlier this week, we got information that is former national security adviser michael flynn has been meeting with the special counsel investigation, meeting with them well over ten times and we have

documents that, much of them redacted, showing he has been considerably —— giving them considerable help as well. meanwhile, the former director of the fbi, james comey, has said he is concerned about president trump's attacks on thejustice department. a clearly frustrated mr comey made the remarks after taking part in a closed door house of representatives hearing in which he was questioned about hillary clinton's emails. i think the president's attacks on the justice department i think the president's attacks on thejustice department broadly i think the president's attacks on the justice department broadly and the justice department broadly and the fbi are something that no matter what political party you are in, you should find deeply troubling and continue to speak out about, not become numb to attacks on the raw law? the firing of sessions particularly? that's not something i can comment about. earlier in the day, president trump announced his new nominations for attorney general and ambassador to the united nations. the bbc‘s gary o'donoghue reports from the us capital. these two pretty significant nominations, if you take them in

turn, william barr replacing jeff sessions who was fired by the president after the mid—term elections. william barr has done thisjob before elections. william barr has done this job before under george elections. william barr has done thisjob before under george bush in the early 90s so he has a track record and he knows what he is doing and the senate, when it comes to looking to his confirmation, will have that to examine. he also in terms of president trump has been supportive on questions of the robert mueller investigation. he says it should be as partners and as it was. and he supported the president's sacking james comey, the former head of the fbi. he is a good pick from the president's point of view and with a decreased majority in the senate, the republicans hope to get in through easily. whether he is there to see —— to oversee the robert mueller enquiry remains to be seen. heather nauert is an unknown

quantity. she was a fox news anchor, a spokesperson, and that is where she has impressed the president but she has impressed the president but she doesn't have any diplomatic experience, direct diplomatic experience, direct diplomatic experience so she will end up in new york really as a newbie in terms of a diplomat. that will send a message to the united nations if she doesn't have that cabinet level authority. a top executive in the chinese telecoms giant huawei has appeared in court in canada. meng wanzhou was told she faces fraud charges in the united states. she is the daughter of the company's founder — and also huawei's chief financial officer. ms wanzhou now faces prosecution in the us, for allegedly trying to get round sanctions on iran. details of the charges against her were revealed in a bail hearing in the canadian city of vancouver. our business correspondent dave lee is there and has been following events. this hearing is still going on in the court today

was whether ms meng should be granted bail, those proceedings could take an awful long time, years maybe, and if she is extradited to the us, she faces multiple charges of bank fraud, prosecutors in the us believing they have found evidence that huawei was using an unofficial subsidiary called skycom in order to do business with iran, in violation of those sanctions. and that they intended to deceive financial institutions in order to do it. politically this comes at a tought time when us— china relations are rocky, particularly on trade. beijing has made it clear that it is incensed about this arrest. it says it is a breach of ms meng's human rights and they have demanded she be released immediately. dave lee, bbc news, in vancouver. let's get some of the day's other news. a british paedophile has been

ordered to pay more than 100 thousand pounds to five men in the philippines after a judge decided he abused them as children in the 1980s. douglas slade was never convicted of the offences. the men's lawyer described it as a landmark case for the london high court. the chief executive of the international fashion chain ted baker — ray kelvin — is to take a voluntary leave of absence, after the company was made aware of "further serious allegations" about his conduct. last week, an online petition launched by employees accused 62—year—old mr kelvin of inappropriate comments and behaviour, including forced hugging. the father of a young british backpacker missing in new zealand has made an emotional appealfor help in finding her. david millane said his family is "extremely concerned" about his 22—year old daughter grace, who was last seen in auckland on saturday. she was backpacking after graduating from university in september. in france a massive security

operation is underway in preparation for more anti—government protests this weekend. fears of a repeat of last week's violence on the streets has led to shops and some major tourist attractions being closed. student protesters have already clashed with police. they have blocked access to high schools around france in protest against education reforms. large scale security measures are being put into place around france for the weekend. close to 90,000 police will be deployed across the country along with 75.000 emergency and security personnel. extra security and armoured vehicles will be in the capital as the demonstrations, dubbed the yellow—vest protests, have broadened beyond a fuel tax rises to general dissatisfaction with president macron. the champs—elysees is again preparing for battle — a consumer paradise twinkling behind bars. some shops still have reminders of last week's violence scrawled on their walls. translation: it makes

sense to close. we've lost a lot of money, me and my fellow shopkeepers. it's enough. almost 90,000 security forces are being deployed across the country, and tourist sites including the louvre and the eiffel tower will close. the government has released a video on social media. "protesting is a right", it says, "but attacking property or the state is not". translation: the gilets jaunes include pacifists with good intentions, but also people who have been radicalised, exploited by extremist groups and who want to topple the republic. faced with systematic organised violence, our forces will respond with firmness. tonight, the city is bracing itself. the heart of france's economic and political life has become a target for those who feel they've lost touch with both. the threat tomorrow is from extremist groups

and violent saboteurs, but the disillusion touches poorer working families across france. jacqueline is part of a new splinter group called the free yellow jackets, who met the prime minister tonight for talks. translation: if we don't structure ourselves, we will fail. it's urgent that we choose people to represent ourselves, or else we will have done this for nothing. it won't work if there are 10,000 people shouting at the same time, just making a racket. students across france have joined their own demands to the gilets jaunes campaign. the interior minister said they had been infiltrated by radical groups — the reason, he said, these pupils were made to kneel outside their school by police. last saturday saw the worst violence here in decades. what began as a protest over fuel tax rises has broadened into a leaderless movement that includes violent and extremist groups. to some, this protest is a cry of anger, to others the start of a new populist opposition. the government says it's a monster that's escaped its creators' control.

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: germany's ruling party votes for a new leader to replace angela merkel. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building, in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here, standing in more or less silent vigil, and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible

for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: us prosecutors say donald trump's former personal lawyer has given them information on how russian nationals tried to affect the 2016 presidential election. a top executive from chinese telecoms giant huawei appears in court in canada on charges linked to skirting sanctions on iran. ports in the english channel could face disruption for up to six months if the uk leaves the eu without a deal —

that's according to the british government. it's being described as a worst case scenario if there are delays to customs checks. meanwhile, ministers have travelled across the uk today to try to convince the public to get behind the prime minister's brexit deal. here's our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. not easy, this, apparently — though nothing like as tough as selling mrs may's brexit deal. for the chief secretary to the treasury, that meant doing time on the business end of the black pudding line. once you're in there... not sure if this is fully quality controlled! for once, mrs may was out of sight in her constituency, but her orders were to get out, promote, defend, try to save her plan, and maybe with it, theresa may herself. ministers obeyed — dozens of them. among ministers, many privately believe the government should delay the big vote next tuesday, rather than face a crushing defeat. for now, they're making their case around the country and hoping mps listen to worried people and companies. they will hear those voices saying

"we want this sorted", "we want this deal accepted", because we need to move on as a country, both to negotiate a good trading dealfor the future with the eu, and to deal with the pressing domestic agenda of the nhs, schools, housing and all the other things people want their politicians to focus on. and now, tougher warnings from government of the danger of ending up with no brexit deal at all. up to six months of delays at dover for cross—channel traffic, emergency plans to fast—track and fly in medicines if supplies run short. but the brexiteers are coming — they're calling it all a scare story and they're convinced the rebellion won't melt under pressure. no chance whatsoever. and it seems to me they'd be better off knocking on doors and talking to people, finding out what people want, not preaching to them. are you worried, though, that theresa may's deal mayjust be the hardest brexit available? you can't be serious? it's not brexit, it's not even brexit in name only. anything, any other brexit deal would be better than what she's putting on the table. labour's hoping it ends up the big winner, if the decision goes back to the people.

we've put forward a new approach, which we're hoping that mps from all political parties will vote for, and if they do, that will enable us to go off with a strong mandate, to negotiate with our european partners. if that doesn't happen, we have to, in the interests of the country, be prepared with fall back positions and that is a general election. or, if we can't get that, yes, options on another people's vote. here, behind the posturing and the campaigning, the private talk is about power. the tea rooms and the corridors have been humming with the sound of plotting and scheming. for some, it's about how to take control of brexit. for others, it's about how to grab the keys to number ten. talk to anyone, parliamentary newbies or political veterans, and there's one thing on which everyone can agree — no—one has seen or lived through times quite like these. angela merkel‘s protege annegret kramp—karrenbauer has been elected the new leader of germany's governing christian democrats. the 56—year—old, who's known as akk, won the most support in two

rounds of voting by party delegates in hamburg. the closest other candidate was friedrich merz, a fierce critic of mrs merkel. mrs merkel had received a standing ovation earlier after delivering a farewell speech at her party conference. she'll remain as german chancellor until the end of her fourth term in 2021. jenny hill has more from hamburg. annegret kramp—karrenbauer is not a name that exactly trips off the tongue, it is why germans refer to her as akk, but it is a name to remember because you will hear a lot of it. she has notjust been elected here as the leader of the cdu, she is now widely considered to be a chancellor in waiting. she was that referred candidate of angela merkel, the preferred candidate of the wider cdu party. she is seen as a continuity candidate, likely to continue mrs merkel‘s brand of

centrism. she shows a lot —— shares a lot in terms of style and politics with mrs merkel, the commentators say she tends to be more decisive than approachable, rather than more direct. she has a lot of work on hand as she needs to win back voters to the cdu and is going to have two entity wings of the party which are concerned i the rise of the success of the german greens party and the rise of the afd. and she will have two deal with those who think angela merkel‘s migration politics were too much. she will also have two deal with those who want to take this party back to its conservative roots. she has a lot on her hands, she will be sharing power with angela merkel, the two women have worked together before, she has been the party's general secretary for some time. but today she struck a chord with most in this room when she said she wanted the party to come together. translation: i accept this vote and thank you for your

confidence. i thank you from the bottom of my heart. especially friedrich merz and the other candidate for this fair competition we have conducted. the big question todayis we have conducted. the big question today is what does this mean for angela merkel. the suggestion is perhaps at some point there could be a smooth transition of power between mrs merkel and the new chancellor candidate, mrs merkel herself she would like to stay in the post of chancellor until the end of her term in 2021. today she relinquished a huge amount of power to annegret kramp—karrenbauer, as people in this room still hold the chancellor in very high esteem and very high in affection to, and believe it is likely she will not survive as german chancellor until the end of her time. a british yachtswoman has been rescued in the southern pacific, two days after her boat capsized, 2000 miles west of cape horn. susie goodall, who's 29, had been taking part in the golden globe race. andy moore has the story. safety at last.

the cargo ship that rescued susie goodall used its crane to winch her on board. she's reported to be uninjured and in good spirits. it was an ordeal that began 50 hours earlier, when this distress call, in the teeth of a ferocious storm. her yacht had lost its mast and water had to be pumped out. in one of the remotest remotest places on earth, she had a long wait for help to arrive. she was tossed about, seasick, in a disabled boat, in heavy seas. she's had her time filled getting prepared for this, for this lift—off. so, the adrenaline will have been running and she'll be elated now. it was a difficult rescue right to the end. the engine on susie's yacht kept cutting out,

as it manoeuvred alongside the rescue ship, the tian fu. and then the first news of success in a brief tweet. "on the ship", she wrote, followed by three exclamation marks. in the time waiting to be rescued with a broken cooker, she said she been longing for a cup of tea. so, it was no surprise that in the second message she said she had enjoyed a very good hot drink. her friends welcome to the good news after an agonising wait. it was an absolutely huge relief, a massive relief, and i think everybody in our sailing community was just absolutely overjoyed by the news. susie is now on her way to chile. her dream of sailing solo around the world is over, for now, but at least she's safe. we heard barry pickthall the co—ordinator of the golden globe race in andy's report there. i asked him how susie is doing now. we had a text from her, she said she

had a hot drink in her hands, and i think she was going to bed. she, we arranged to speak to her tomorrow at some point. but i am sure she is extremely happy and relieved. indeed, and perfectly understandable she would want a hot drink and arrest after that ordeal. what exactly happened because i read that the yacht pitch polled, to us non— sailors, what does that mean? that is where the boat is going along like this and it goes down a wave and itjust carries on and goes right over like that. and that is the worst possible scenario, no rig will ever stand that sort of pressure, and that is what happened here, the rig was ripped away and so was just about everything else on deck. so she would normally have

been able to build a jerry reed from spinnaker poles and they went as well. —— jerry rigged. spinnaker poles and they went as well. ——jerry rigged. she spinnaker poles and they went as well. —— jerry rigged. she had nothing left to sail with, and she managed to recover herself. nothing left to sail with, and she managed to recover herselflj nothing left to sail with, and she managed to recover herself. i also gather the distress signal was pick up gather the distress signal was pick up by gather the distress signal was pick up by the coastguard in falmouth in the uk, thousands of miles away despite the fact that she was in the southern pacific ocean will stop covers that work? they are very good! (laughs). they are one of the best, we should be really proud of them. it is a worldwide organisation, that is linked, but falmouth is key, they picked up signals, notjust falmouth is key, they picked up signals, not just in falmouth is key, they picked up signals, notjust in the pacific, but the indian ocean as well, and they are often first to pick up a day or emergency signal like this. —— may day. day or emergency signal like this. -- may day. we said the rescue was

tricky, why so tricky was back weather conditions were improving, but they were still very rough. they are long swells, about five metres, 4-5 are long swells, about five metres, 11—5 metres high. but they were cross waves as well, and that makes it really u nco mforta ble waves as well, and that makes it really uncomfortable and difficult to steer the boat, especially one without a mast, because it isjust figgfing without a mast, because it isjust jiggling around quite viciously at times. don't forget you can reach me and most of the team on social media. if you would like to find out more about the stories and others we have covered, it can find that online on oui’ covered, it can find that online on our website, or you can download the bbc news at. —— app. the last 2a hours have been quite

turbulent weatherwise, we have had gales, heavy rain, and as we go through the weekend things only quietened down a little bit. it will stay windy, as showery day to come on saturday, sunday should be a little more dry but equally it will start to turn a bit chilly. look at this, this beautiful swell of cloud on the satellite picture, this is the deep low that passed to the north of scotland on friday. you can see some showers circulating around the low are still got some strong winds out there. across northern areas of the country their wins will ease but further south it will stay quite windy and we will see some showers pushing from the west. dressed in areas it will be a quiet start but these heavy downpours pushing them are becoming quite widespread by the afternoon, some of them contain the odd flash of lightning and the odd rumble of thunder. as we go through saturday night we will continue to see some

downpours coming and going at times. it will also stay windy particularly in the south, this some southern and western coastal areas we could see gusts through the night of 50— 60, possibly in the most exposed spots 70 mph wind gusts which could score some disruption, and look at all the white lines, the ice above squeezing together on the charts, a sign of how windy it will be. this frontal system likely to bring some showers but as it slides away southwards in the shower is clear we are going to be left with some chilly air working its way from the north, the winds of switching around two more north or north—westerly. early on sunday some showers in central and southern areas should clear away, most areas by the afternoon dry with some sunshine, a few showers and spot exposed to this north—westerly winds. temperatures a little lower ranging from 5—6 in the north to maybe just double digits across the south. those to riches will drop away during sunday night, particular for eastern and northern parts where the winds for light and we keep

clear skies, we could get a touch of frost as signified by this blue shading, creeping across the map. not quite as cold was the south—west, seven degrees in plymouth as we start monday morning, freezing in glasgow and newcastle, but we start monday with high pressure trying to take charge, you can see this bump in the isobars. the winds will be lighter and we will get some spells of sunshine. frontal systems lying in wait out west, so after a quiet start to the wea k west, so after a quiet start to the weak things are likely to turn a bit more unsettled from midweek onwards. this is bbc news, the headlines: us prosecutors say donald trump's former personal lawyer has given them information on how russian nationals tried to affect the 2016 presidential election. it comes as a court in new york says michael cohen should serve a substantial jail term for crimes including tax evasion. a top executive from the chinese telecoms giant, huawei, will remain in custody over the weekend, after appearing

in a court in canada on fraud charges. meng wanzhou, the daughter of the firm's founder, is accused of breaching sanctions against iran. french students clash with police as the country prepares for more anti government protests this weekend. now on bbc news, a special investigation into the hidden world of neo—nazi recruiters.