this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: the supreme court rules donald trump can't hide his tax returns — he's not above the law — but it's unlikely voters will see them before the election. police in south korea say the mayor of seoul has been found dead, hours after his family reported him missing. park won—soon is thought to have killed himself. singapore's coronavirus election: voters head to the polls as the country's economy faces its worst—ever downturn. and the actorjohnny depp tells the high court he did not assault his ex—wife in a drink— and drug—fuelled rage during a trip to australia.

welcome to the programme. starting in the us. prosecutors in new york want to see donald trump's financial records. they can, says the supreme court — much to the anger of the president. also, democrats in congress want to see those documents. they can't. those were the results of two separate rulings today from the highest court in the us. they mean that prosecutors can have access to the president's financial records, including his tax returns. but the documents, which will go to a grand jury in new york, will not be made public. a request for access by congressional committees was referred back to a lower court. an important political point — the rulings make it likely mr trump's financial records won't be made public before november's presidential election. speaking at the white house, the president criticised the decisions.

this is a political witch—hunt, the likes of which nobody‘s ever seen before. it's a pure witch—hunt. it's a hoax. just like the mueller investigation‘s a hoax that i won, and this is another hoax. this is purely political. at her weekly press conference, house speaker nancy pelosi dismissed the president's reaction. i don't know what they're even saying about it. i hear he's tweeting one thing and then other people are saying another. but whatever it is, it's not good news for the president of the united states. a little earlier, i spoke to kelly richmond pope, a forensic accountant and an associate professor in the school of accountancy at depaul university. i asked her to explain what a forensic accountant does. well, we investigate. we love documents, we love asking questions and we follow the money. we follow the story that the money tells. and what do you make of the rulings today?

the inquisitive mind of mine makes me want to know what are in these documents, what are in the returns? you just have a lot of questions. you want to know what is someone hiding if they don't want to show? so the numbers tell a story, like i love to tell my students, and you want to know what are the business dealings? what are the charitable donations? what is the net worth? so there are a lot of stories in those returns and i am just asking what is it? are they stories just because you are interested in them? that does not necessarily mean there is a public interest in knowing them. well, i do think there is a public interest, because i think that when so much has been made to keep something a secret — especially when the people before you have disclosed the returns, it just makes me want to know more. so i do think there is a public interest. and what do you make of the fact that donald trump said he would release,

for example, his tax returns and then apparently changed his mind and said he would not. the vast majority of presidents do, in recent history, release their returns. shouldn't it be a matter of law that everyone has to release their financial affairs before they become president? —— to release their financial affairs if they become president? i think that is an interesting question. matter of law is debatable. sometimes you just do what other people have done before you, and there is just an expectation. so i don't know that being a matter of law is necessary, but you just sort of do it because that is what is expected of you. it is almost like the difference between thinking of doing something ethically correct versus legally? so i don't know that it needs to be a legal mandate but i do think that precedent has set what the public has expected to see. we do not expect to see his financial affairs being made public before the election. how optimistic, from your point of view, are you that they will become public at some point?

i think what we have seen over the past two or three months is the power of the public. —— is the power of the public voice. i think there is enough demand to see them. perhaps we may see them before november. our thanks to kelly richmond pope. the long—serving mayor of the south korean capital seoul has been found dead after a 7—hour search for his body. authorities believe park won—soon took his own life. mr park had been subject to a sexual harassment complaint, reportedly by a former staff member. the bbc‘s freya cole reports. stretchered out of parkland north of seoul, the body of a man known to many. mayor park won—soon was reported missing by his daughter earlier in the day. she told authorities he had left a text message that resembled a will. his disappearance prompted a wide—scale search.

authorities traced his last phone signal and found his body. translation: a detailed investigation will be needed, but there was no sign of foul play so far. an in—depth investigation will be conducted. the high—profile death has attracted mass media attention in the city of almost 10 million people. mr park had been mayor since 2011. he was facing allegations of sexual harassment, reportedly by a former secretary. translation: it is true that the complaint against mayor park won—soon was filed with the seoul metropolitan agency. it is under investigation. park won—soon was a prominent human rights lawyer in the 1990s. he won one of the country's earliest cases on sexual harassment. he was also an advocate of the #metoo movement in 2018. authorities have now moved his body to the seoul national university hospital,

where his supporters were heard grieving the loss of their leader. a post—mortem investigation will now be carried out but his death will leave more questions than answers. freya cole, bbc news. people in singapore are taking part in what's being called the ‘pandemic election‘. the virus has affected everything, voting included. unsurprisingly, the disease and its impact is a key issue, particularly it's effect on the economy. growth is expected to be harder hit than in neighbouring countries because of singapore's exposure to trade and travel. the government, led by the long—ruling people's action party, or pap, has unveiled no fewer than four big—spending budgets to try to cushion the impact but not everyone is confident that will work. our correspondent sharanjit leyl, who's in singapore, says the nation is well prepared for holding an election in a pandemic. what they have done

is the morning slot between 8am to noon has been reserved for the elderly, who seem to be the most vulnerable population. they will vote first and then through the day, we have 2.65 million singaporeans casting a vote. i should add, i will be doing the same. and we have been sent a list of precautions of what to do when we enter these polling stations. for instance, everyone has to wear a mask. that is a given. you must be socially distant. here it is about one metre apart. your temperature will be taken, you will be screened and literally, you have your national ids card scanned. but is through a contactless system. —— that is through a contactless system. you are then given disposable gloves to cast your ballot with a pen. so essentially, these precautions have been put in place to reassure everyone that, yes, the poll will be conducted safely. singapore has managed its number of coronavirus infections. it does have amongst the highest in the region — some 115,000 people, in fact —

but essentially the spike —— some 115,000 people have been infected but essentially the spike was really seen in the migrant worker population, the group of mainly south asian workers who were brought to singapore to build its skyscrapers. they live in crowded dormitories. so the spread went quickly through there, but we have been assured by authorities that it has been somewhat contained and everyone is isolated. there is a great healthcare system here as well because, despite the 115,000 or so infections, only 26 fatalities so far, so singapore has been seen to do a reasonably good job in doing this, but many concerns still about an election being called around the pandemic like this. but singapore is not the first country to do this in the last few months, as you know. yeah, it will be a memorable election for all those reasons. let's touch on the politics. the governing party has been in power for quite a while. pretty much always, as far as i have known.

i mean, singapore gained independence in 1965. it's actually 1959 when they gained self—rule, and that is when the people's action party, led by a very young lee kuan yew, came to power. they have always ruled and singapore has always been seen as a one—party state. there is an opposition though but institutionally, critics say the odds are very much stacked against them. the opposition really want to be there to be a check and balance on the power of the pap. many singaporeans here who i have spoken to over the last week have been saying, yeah, it is great that they've managed the economy so efficiently, but this often comes at the cost of the local population. for instance, in the last couple of decades, there has been an influx of immigrants that have really taken jobs away from singaporeans and driven up the cost of living. so lots of these issues will be on the minds of voters including how the government has handled the pandemic.

sharanjit leyl in singapore. let's get some of the day's other news. donald trump's former personal attorney is back in federal custody. prison officials say michael cohen had "refused the conditions of his home confinement" and was returned to a prison facility. the president's self—described fixer was released less than two months ago over coronavirus concerns. he was serving a 3—year term for financial crimes and lying to congress. bolivia's interim president jeanine anez says she has tested positive for coronavirus. on a video posted online, she said she was feeling well and would continue to work from home, in self—isolation, for the next two weeks. ms anez said she decided to take a test after several members of her cabinet became infected. politicians in the philippines are due to vote on whether to grant the country's top broadcaster a 25—year license to continue operating. abs—cbn was ordered to stop operations in may, when a congressional

panel accused it of bias against president rodrigo duterte and tax evasion, and refused to renew its licence. the united nations in the democratic republic of congo say two people were shot dead by police during protests against the appointment of a new head of the electoral commission. it condemned the use of lethal force and the death of a police officer, who was lynched after shooting at protestors in the capital kinshasa. at a time where mass protests have become a global backdrop, greece has passed a law regulating public demonstrations. while the debate went on inside parliament, thousands gathered outside in protest. tanya dendrinos has more. a street ablaze and people scrambling. athens once again the scene of violent clashes between protesters and police as petrol bombs were met with tear gas. but violence was the

minority approach. around 10,000 people gathered peacefully at syntagma square, opposite the greek parliament, opposing the bill to regulate public protests in the country. translation: no to the bans, to the terrorism, to the provocations! they will not cripple the workers' popular movement or hinder their struggle! the right to protest is protected by the constitution in greece, the so—called birthplace of democracy, with scenes like this anything but uncommon. but prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis, whose conservative government introduced the bill, is adamant they should not come at the cost of the freedoms of others. translation: the freedom of someone to demonstrate is just as precious as the freedom for someone to get to the hospital, to get to hisjob, to his home or be able to go out for a walk with his children. in a democracy, the right

of the one does not overrule the right of the rest. but the opposition labelled the measures as undemocratic. translation: we believe that you are attempting to make a reactionary incision, an institutional incision into democracy, and the goal is to target the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest, to rally, to demonstrate. the new legislation was passed in parliament, mandating restrictions on demonstrations and giving parliament the right to ban them altogether if they are deemed a threat —— and giving authorities the right to ban them altogether if they are deemed a threat to public safety. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: music and politics. what artists make of the black lives matter movement after the death of george floyd.

central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup. they've pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. a man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom. then he asked her for a cigarette, and, on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. can change the world. education is the only solution.

applause this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump has said he's the victim of a political witch—hunt after the us supreme court ruled that his tax returns could be released to new york prosecutors. police in south korea say the mayor of seoul has been found dead, hours after his family reported him missing. park won—soon is thought to have killed himself. police in southern california say actress naya rivera is missing presumed dead after her four—year—old son was found alone, in a boat, in the middle of a lake. the 33—year—old is best known for playing cheerleader santana lopez in the musical tv comedy glee. paul hawkins has more. naya rivera and her four—year—old son. this tender moment between

the two was the last tweet shared by the actress before she went missing. it simply said, "just the two of us." her four—year—old son was found alone in a boat in the middle of lake piru some three hours after they hired it on wednesday. the boy told the police he had been swimming with his mum, but she wasn't able to get back to the boat. we've had no indication that, after talking to her son, that ms rivera made it to shore, so the focus of our search efforts are in the water at this time. at this particular lake, in that area, there's a lot of trees and plants and such that are under the water, that can cause entanglements. in 2014, naya rivera married actor ryan dorsey, with whom she went on to have a son, but the couple divorced in 2018. performing is something i love to do... she is best known, however, for playing the cheerleader

santana lopez in the musical tv comedy glee. her co—star heather morris has thanked the authorities who are working right now in the search and recovery for naya rivera, while another glee colleague, harry shum jr, simply said, "praying." with its currents and deadly waves, the lake, which spans five square kilometres, has claimed lives in the past. search teams with more than 100 rescuers, two helicopters and multiple dive teams will continue to search the lake on friday. british government advice for travel against all countries has now been lifted for a majority of countries. it now means that british visitors will be able to visit without having to self isolate upon return and visitors from these countries to the uk will not have to enter quarantine.

the high court in london has heard how the hollywood star johnny depp denies assaulting his ex—wife in a drink and drug—fuelled rage during a trip to australia. the actor said amber heard had thrown a vodka bottle at him, which severed his finger. the court was told that he then completely destroyed the house covering the walls in blood and paint and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. johnny depp is suing for libel over a sun newspaper article that called him a "wife beater" allegations he denies. david sillito reports. johnny! johnny depp arriving at court for a day of questioning about his struggles with drink and drugs. this libel trial against the publishers of the sun was provoked by this article that called him a wife—beater, something he strenuously denies. but he doesn't deny that the relationship with amber heard was deeply troubled. he also admits he was struggling with addiction. the court was shown this appearance at an awards ceremony in 2014. that's the weirdest microphone

i've ever seen in my life. look at this... laughter i know, right? johnny depp was asked if he was drunk. he said no. this was, he said, a sick man, a drug addict coming off some very unpleasant medication. johnny depp was questioned about their volatile relationship. 0ne incident resulted in him having part of his finger severed. he said it was caused by amber heard hurling a vodka bottle at him, something which she denies. the court was shown images of the wreckage where the incident took place, butjohnny depp said there wasn't an assault on amber heard. 0ne witness said he feared for their lives. johnny depp said... and, when part of his finger was severed, he said... and amongst the images that have been released is this of him lying injured on a hospital bed. but he was also questioned about a text message to ms

heard. it was put to him... news group newspapers claims there is overwhelming evidence thatjohnny depp assaulted his wife during their marriage. johnny depp has made no secret of his battles with addiction, but says, while he may have taken his anger out on inanimate objects, he did not assault amber heard. david sillito, bbc news. after the death of george floyd in the us, a powerful national discourse on race is taking place in the country. aleem maqbool has been meeting artists and activists in washington to hear their thoughts on the black lives matter movement. # now, stay woke...#

you know, we're driving and we see, you know, maybe a police officer or a cop car pull out. our first reaction is, "oh, god. is today the day?" music there was, like, a visceral reaction when a lot of people saw the george floyd tape. and a lot of people took to the streets, and there was a lot of outrage. and still, people are marching and things like that. but for me, sometimes i get a little frustrated, because i don't know if things are actually going to change. so i think a lot more people are taking the time to actually educate themselves now, which is good. ijust — once again, ijust hope that it's going to actually have a lasting effect, rather than, "0h, black lives matter is possible. let's put it on a t—shirt, let's sell." you know what i mean? can i ask you about black lives matter, the organisation?

i think the initial inception of it was very much so what we believed in, and we were marching behind. but i think, after a while, it's — the leadership and things have kind of morphed a bit. and i think now it's, you know, a multilayered thing, with feminism and lgbtq, and i think that the focus needs to be refocused, ina sense. this is the message we've been trying to get out through our art and music the entire time anyways. and now, with these incidents, it's giving us kind of like the springboard, or the platform, to show what we're already about. music this is the first time we saw in dc a majority—white right. how did that make you feel to see that? um...it was very emotional. one of my first protests that

i was actually a part of, they actually came past. i was working on a piece similar to this one, and i actually became part of the protest. and it was very emotional, just to see all the different cultures, and everyone up for one cause. and, you know, just to see everybody standing up and fighting for what's right, it was a beautiful thing. music i don't think it is unusual for me and a lot of other people to feel sceptical about this, only because, like i said, it's happened throughout our community for so, so long. but the one good thing about this time is we have so many incredible allies — corporations and different businesses who, you know, in the past, may not have been as vocal. these times are just changing. a lot of corporations are saying, "hey, you know,

let's cater to this movement." it's a trend now. and that's why i feel like the black lives movement — it's become a trend. at first, it was about changing the situation at hand, but now it's trending. now, all the corporations, "0h, we support black people, we support people's rights" and everything like that, and hoping to gain more customers and more money. and that'sjust how america is. it's about money. conservationists are warning that a third of all lemur species are "one step from extinction". the international union for the conservation of nature has been updating its ‘red list', which details animals that are under threat. it shows that 33 lemur species are classified as critically endangered. deforestation and hunting have driven the decline of the primates, which only live in madagascar.

you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. hello. we've had a real mix of weather across the uk so far this week, but things are now beginning to settle down. and certainly by the time we get to the weekend, it should be dry for the vast majority, with some spells of sunshine, because high pressure is going to build its way in. now, that area of high pressure is currently down to the south—west of the british isles. and for friday, well, we've still got low pressure fairly close by, so that means we have got one more showery day to contend with in many areas. now, those showers could crop up just about anywhere. they're most likely across northern and eastern areas, so through parts of scotland, northern england, down the eastern side of england as well. some of the showers here could be heavy and thundery, some being blown into northern ireland on this north—westerly breeze.

for parts of wales and the south—west, yes, one or two showers, but most places here should be dry, with some spells of sunshine. but i mentioned the north—westerly breeze. that's going to make it feel fairly cool, 15—20 degrees. now, some of those showers will continue during friday evening. into the night, while northern scotland will continue to see some, most other areas will turn dry, with some clear spells, light winds as well. it's going to turn into a rather cool night for the time of year. temperatures for many spots getting down into single digits — seven or eight degrees quite likely. but, as we head into saturday, here comes our area of high pressure building its way in. now, notice the way in which the high pressure is focusing itself to the south of the uk, so that's where we're going to see the best of the sunshine. the further north you are, there will be more cloud, and perhaps just one or two showers. north—west england, northern ireland, particularly scotland, you could catch a shower. but most places won't, most places will be dry. i think by the afternoon, we'll see a fair amount

of cloud bubbling up in the sky, and temperatures, if anything, still just a touch below par for this point injuly —16—21 degrees. now, on sunday, temperatures are set to climb, particularly across england and wales, where we'll see long spells of sunshine through the day. dry to start for northern ireland and scotland, but cloud and rain will then spread from the west. temperatures — 18 degrees in glasgow, but 211—25 possibly down towards the south—east. and monday is going to be another dry and warm day the further south you are across the uk. some rain further north and west, and it looks rather cloudy for most of us on tuesday.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the us supreme court has ruled that prosecutors in new york can see donald trump's tax returns. he's the first president since richard nixon in the 1970s not to publish details of his finances. mr trump dismissed the investigation as a political witch—hunt. police in south korea say the mayor of seoul has been found dead, hours after his family reported him missing. park won—soon appears to have killed himself. police say that a female employee filed a sexual harassment claim against mr park shortly before his disappearance. people in singapore are voting in a general election which is partly being seen as a referendum on the government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. the city state has recorded only 26 deaths from covid—19 but is facing its deepest economic recession. now on bbc news, hardtalk with stephen sackur.