this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories. donald trump becomes the first former us president to face criminal charges after investigation into a payment made to a pawn star. trump denies any wrongdoing. a cricket disciplinary hearing decides it cannot prove michael vaughan used racist language against asian players in 2009. president zelensky attends the ceremony is being held

in bucha. and king charles attends ceremonies in germany commemorating those who died in world war ii. welcome to the programme. we start in the us. donald trump has become the first former us president to face a criminal prosecution. the precise charges against him have not yet been made public, but they're thought to relate to falsifying business records to hide a payment to a porn star during the 2016 election campaign. it's alleged stormy daniels was paid off in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair. mr trump denies any wrongdoing, calling the indictment political persecution and election interference. 0ur north america correspondent, john sudworth, reports.

the masssed ranks of the media say it all. donald trump's provided plenty of big moments in american politics, but few bigger than this — his own imminent arrest. this is an abc news special. now reporting, david muir. we are coming on the air early because of breaking news at this hour. a grand jury here in new york city has handed up an indictment against former president donald trump. the news was confirmed in an angry statement from the former president, blaming his political opponents. the democrats, he said, have done the unthinkable. the case against him centres on this woman, the porn star known as stormy daniels. ahead of trump's 2016 election win, she was paid $130,000 to stop her going public with claims she had had an affair with him — something he denies. his fixer and lawyer, michael cohen, was convicted over that payment, along with other charges, back in 2018.

since out ofjail, he's been giving evidence to the grand jury that's now decided charges are warranted. this is not revenge, right? what this is is about accountability. i don't want to see anyone, including donald trump, indicted, prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated, simply because i fundamentally disagree with them. this is all about accountability. he needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds. the big question is whether mr trump knew about the hush money. although his organisation ultimately footed the bill, he's always denied any knowledge. did you know about the $130,000 payment to stormy daniels? - no. unless he refuses to comply, at some point in the next few days, donald trump will have to come here to new york. he'll be booked and fingerprinted in the building behind me there, have the charges read to him and enter a formal plea in front of a judge. it's an extraordinary moment — the first president in us history to be arrested.

the charges have been brought not by federal prosecutors, but by the manhattan attorney alvin bragg, a democrat — now a key figure in the trump campaign's claim that this is politics, notjustice at work. as he eyes the white house again, donald trump may see electoral advantage in all this. his opponents, though, will be hoping that a man who's long overridden the usual rules of the political game is about to be brought down with a bump. john sudworth, bbc news, new york. live to washington with barry moore, who is an alabama republican congressman. the same party as donald trump, of course. thank you for coming on the programme. i course. thank you for coming on the programme-— programme. i appreciate you having me on. programme. i appreciate you having me on- what _ programme. i appreciate you having me on- what is _ programme. i appreciate you having me on. what is your— programme. i appreciate you having me on. what is your reaction - programme. i appreciate you having me on. what is your reaction to - programme. i appreciate you having | me on. what is your reaction to what has happened? _ me on. what is your reaction to what has happened? i'm _ me on. what is your reaction to what has happened? i'm certainly - me on. what is your reaction to what has happened? i'm certainly not - has happened? i'm certainly not surprised. _ has happened? i'm certainly not surprised, the _ has happened? i'm certainly not surprised, the way _ has happened? i'm certainly not surprised, the way the - has happened? i'm certainly not surprised, the way the left - has happened? i'm certainly not surprised, the way the left in . has happened? i'm certainly notl surprised, the way the left in this country has gone after donald trump, but i'm disappointed. it makes the

american people question the fairness of the justice system in our country. it hurts the process going forward to give a fair trial in a lot of cases. people are worried about the weaponisation of the doj against conservatives, and donald trump is the tip of the spear in that respect. donald trump is the tip of the spear in that respeet-_ in that respect. what about the other argument _ in that respect. what about the other argument that _ in that respect. what about the other argument that no - in that respect. what about the other argument that no one - in that respect. what about the other argument that no one is. in that respect. what about the - other argument that no one is above the law, these are criminal matters, nothing to do with politics, and he should have to answer for the? if they hadn't of called russia and collusion and accused him of doing some things that were illegal against ukraine, and then hunter biden had a laptop the whole time we knew about it, that was never reported, it kind of falls on deaf ears over here when you say nobody is above the law when it seems like the democrats are always above the law. �* ., ., ,., , the democrats are always above the law. and what about where this goes, because politically _ law. and what about where this goes, because politically there _ law. and what about where this goes, because politically there are - law. and what about where this goes, because politically there are those - because politically there are those who are saying that what happens next week, the images that come out

of that, plays into donald trump's narrative and could potentially help him? �* ., , ., ., ., him? and glad you mentioned that. you see the — him? and glad you mentioned that. you see the prosecutors _ him? and glad you mentioned that. you see the prosecutors over- him? and glad you mentioned that. you see the prosecutors over here | him? and glad you mentioned that. | you see the prosecutors over here in this part of the country, but that spot of blue is going to mobilise the entire country of red, and i believe the donald trump it will bring a mobilising... we believe the donald trump it will bring a mobilising. . ._ believe the donald trump it will bring a mobilising. .. bring a mobilising... we might 'ust have some — bring a mobilising... we might 'ust have some interference * bring a mobilising... we might 'ust have some interference on i bring a mobilising... we might 'ust have some interference on the h bring a mobilising... we mightjust have some interference on the linej have some interference on the line there, some strange audio came through, but i hope you can still hear me. ijust want through, but i hope you can still hear me. i just want to through, but i hope you can still hear me. ijust want to move to a slightly different point now. what about the idea that there are potential criminal investigation is now happening and charges next week? the argument would be that actually, whatever they are, this is a political matter from supporters like you, and there isn't anything that could change your mind? i agree with that. that could change your mind? i agree with that- if — that could change your mind? i agree with that. if it _ that could change your mind? i agree with that. if it hadn't _ that could change your mind? i agree with that. if it hadn't been _ that could change your mind? i agree with that. if it hadn't been that - with that. if it hadn't been that they were so convinced that the

walls were closing in on trump during the russian collusion into ukraine, and the impeachment and the raid at mar—a—lago a few weeks ago, we are going to stand with the president and encourage the president and encourage the president to stand, and the american people will rally behind him. it unites our party. find people will rally behind him. it unites our party.— people will rally behind him. it unites our party. and on the details here, unites our party. and on the details here. peeple _ unites our party. and on the details here. peeple who — unites our party. and on the details here, people who don't _ unites our party. and on the details here, people who don't know - unites our party. and on the details here, people who don't know the i here, people who don't know the process, a grand jury process isn't something that is familiar to many around the world, but basically that is ordinary americans have heard privately in the case, and have decided there is potentially a case to argue here. you by discrediting that i'm discrediting a lot of what is important to the independence of the usjustice is important to the independence of the us justice system, is important to the independence of the usjustice system, potentially. i have a story to tell. i was a conservative that was indicted, and i tell everybody we won the race, and donald trump will do the same thing. he will win this case and win

the race, because the indictment comes from a grand jury who just present their side of the story, and when you get the lawyers in the room, and put a defence forward, then you clear your name, and that is what is going to happen with donald trump. we see it as weaponised political persecution. it is a rogue prosecutor going after a presidential candidate and it will backfire. we presidential candidate and it will backfire. ~ ., ., presidential candidate and it will backfire. ., ., ., backfire. we have to leave it there, thank ou backfire. we have to leave it there, thank you very _ backfire. we have to leave it there, thank you very much _ backfire. we have to leave it there, thank you very much for _ backfire. we have to leave it there, thank you very much for your - backfire. we have to leave it there, thank you very much for your time. | it's been ruled that allegations made against the former england cricket captain, michael vaughan, that he used racist language while speaking to a group of players haven't been proved. it follows a hearing of the cricket discipline commission. the claims stem from a meeting between vaughan and a group of four players of asian descent representing yorkshire back in 2009. here's our sports editor, dan roan. as a former ashes winning captain turned commentator, michael vaughan became a high—profile figure. but for 18 months, accusations of using racist language hung over him after

an allegation by his former york team—mate, azeem rafiq. he denied the claim and after hearing earlier this month, today he was cleared. a disciplinary commission ruled... "the panel is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that these words were spoken by michael vaughan at the time and in the circumstances allege. charged by the icb for bringing the game into disrepute and his reputation on the line, michael vaughan stepped back from his commentating for bbc]. he was accused of saying, there are too many of you lot to other asian team—mates. michael vaughan said... he urged reconciliation

but condemned what he called an inappropriate, inadequate and backwards approach by the ecb saying there had been no winners from the saga. today his lawyer gave this reaction. one of the criticisms that can be made around having to use the proceedings as it is adversarial, it will invite claim and counterclaim, it invites people to call each other liars, because that is the adversarial process that us litigators operate in and that can be very damaging and a very harmful process. the panel said its findings did not undermine the wide assertions of azeem rafiq. yorkshire admitted four charges over its original handling of allegations of racist abuse. gary ballance also accepting a charge. the panel upheld charges against five other players, matthew hoggard and tim bresnan, who withdrew from the disciplinary process. today, rafiq gave me his reaction.

the hearing was very much closure for me and today, i feel very vindicated, seven out of eight charges. for me, it is very important we don't get hung up on individuals, because that is not the way we will solve this issue. yorkshire, which has been trying to prepare for the start of the season, said it needed to accept and take accountability for what it called cultural issues which allowed racist and discriminatory behaviour to go unchallenged. 0ur our thanks to dan for that. we are going to take you to ukraine now. the president, volodymyr zelensky, is leading ceremonies in bucha, to mark the first anniversary of its liberation from occupying russian troops. he and and several european leaders have listened outside an orthodox church while the names of ukrainians who were killed were read out. the town has come to symbolise atrocities carried out by russian forces. bucha, a suburb in the northwest of kyiv, was the focus of fierce fighting. 0ur correspondent hugo

bachega is there now. hugo, what's been happening there today? president zelensky came here to bucha to mark a year since the town was captured by ukrainian forces, and bucha will forever be remembered as the site of one of the worst atrocities committed. we have come to this street where bodies were found after the russian forces left, and people were killed here as they were trying to visit a relative, as they were trying to feed this town. russian forces are accused of executing, torturing, raping civilians here, and moscow has denied that russian forces committed crimes here in bucha. there is now a massive effort to collect this

evidence here. many activists have come to bucha to collect the evidence and interview survivors, evidence and interview survivors, evidence of possible war crimes. there is also an effort to rebuild this town, houses shops and roads have been rebuilt, but perhaps one thing cannot be rebuilt, and that is the trauma of the memories of the events that happened here, and i think president zelensky earlier today said that the victims would not be remembered, and that those who were behind these crimes would be brought to justice. and just on that thought, how are the chances viewed of those who perpetrated those crimes being brought to justice? perpetrated those crimes being brought tojustice? is perpetrated those crimes being brought to justice? is there a great deal of optimism there that that can ever happen?— ever happen? well, it is a massive challenge- — ever happen? well, it is a massive challenge. prosecutors _ ever happen? well, it is a massive challenge. prosecutors here - ever happen? well, it is a massive challenge. prosecutors here have l challenge. prosecutors here have recorded thousands of allegations of possible war crimes, not only here,

but they are captured by —— ukrainians were captured by the russian army, and it is going to be impossible to fully investigate every single allegation, but they say it is important to recall those allegations, and president zelensky has been saying that a special court needs to be set up, an international tribunal to prosecute those who have been behind those crimes that have been behind those crimes that have been committed during this invasion here in ukraine.— here in ukraine. hugo, thank you very much _ here in ukraine. hugo, thank you very much for— here in ukraine. hugo, thank you very much for that. _ the 0scar winning actress, gwyneth paltrow, has been awarded a symbolic sum of one dollar after winning a two—week court battle over a skiing collision in utah, in 2016. terry sanderson, who's 76, had accused her of crashing into him at a resort, and sued her for nearly a quarter of a million pounds. sophie long reports from utah.

the oscar—winning actress has been present throughout this trial that's been streamed around the world like a reality tv courtroom drama. a "he said, she said, who hit whom" on the slopes of a luxury ski resort — and at what cost? this is hard because i don't like going through this scene. he said he broke four ribs and has permanent brain damage, but she said she suffered, too. he has deterred you from enjoying the rest of what was a very expensive vacation? well, i lost half- a day of skiing, yes. right, 0k. he said he was hit from behind. i heard something i've never heard at a ski resort and that was a bloodcurdling scream. just can't do it, it was... aaagh... and then, boom. but she gave a different version of the collision. i was skiing, and two skis came between my skis, l forcing my legs apart. and then there was a body

pressing against me, - and there was a very. strange grunting noise. so, my brain was trying to make sense of what was happening, . i thought, "am i...? is this a practicaljoke? is someone, like, doing something perverted? i this is really, really strange." late—night hosts turned the case into comedy. he's a bumbling optometrist. she's a celebrity mogul. they collide on a ski mountain and neither one can remember what happened? this christmas, see hallmark�*s newest hit, goopsy daisy, a ski accident of the heart! applause and cheering. thank you. but no—one was laughing here. mr sanderson�*s lawyers tried to paint a picture of an entitled celebrity lacking in care for the little people. and ms paltrow�*s legal team said he wanted to hold her accountable for the unwanted effects of ageing and exploit her high profile and wealth. was gwyneth paltrow at fault? no. after a trial lasting nearly two weeks, it took the jury just two hours to decide that it was not

ms paltrow but mr sanderson who had been responsible for the crash. as the actress and influencer left court she went to see the man whose accusations had brought her here and said, "i wish you well." sophie long, bbc news, park city, utah. king charles is in hamburg today to remember those who died in the allied bombing of the city in the second world war. the monarch and the queen consort laid a wreath at hamburg's saint nikolai memorial where a church was destroyed by british and american air raids in191t3. the trip to hamburg wraps up the royals' three—day state visit to germany. earlier we heard from the german ambassaddor to the uk, who told us how the visit has been received. let me say that it has been an extremely successful visit, so it has been very important i think not only for the british german relations, but we have seen this also and have interpreted as a

signal also to the european union to reach out three years after brexit to europe, and i can tell you here in hamburg despite the pouring rain, a remarkable reception by the german public. inspectors have found widespread bullying, harassment and discrimination, in every fire service in england. a new report includes examples of male firefighters telling a female colleague they would rape her, and a senior officer using a racial slur. the home office has described the findings as "deeply concerning". our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, has that story. the majority of firefighters are dedicated to helping the public, says today's report. but the inspectors also found bullying, harassment and discrimination in all of the tilt fire and rescue services in england. and in a quarter of them, there was racist, homophobic and misogynistic behaviour. the scale of the problem is no surprise to gareth dawes.

he served for 21 years with london fire brigade which was criticised in a previous report. it says it has already brought in changes. the problems came from the top, it came from a lack of awareness, it came from a lack of ability to self reflect and see how they played their part within the harm that is caused. it came from again pointing downwards and looking for bad apples instead of looking how the part they played in the system allowed this behaviour and sometimes promote this behaviour to happen. the report, which covers areas across england, found that in one case a senior officer used a racially offensive word when talking about a colleague, describing it as having a laugh. in what was said to be anotherjoke, two male firefighters told a female colleague they were going to rape her and the three of them acted out a rape together. and homophobic abuse was written on one firefighter�*s locker.

we found that people felt unable to report those sorts of things. they were worried that if they did report poor behaviour or they raised concerns, they would be ostracised or vilified or their careers would be limited. better background checks, tougher penalties for offenders and a more diverse workforce are just some of the changes the inspectors want to see. the home office described the report as deeply concerning and said reform was urgently needed. june kelly, bbc news. i'm joined now by matt wrack, general secretary for the fire brigades union in fire brigades union headquarters in norbiton. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on i the programme._ how the programme. good afternoon. how are ou the programme. good afternoon. how are you feeling. _ the programme. good afternoon. how are you feeling, sitting _ the programme. good afternoon. how are you feeling, sitting there - are you feeling, sitting there listening to that?— are you feeling, sitting there listening to that? are you feeling, sitting there listenin: to that? ~ . ., , listening to that? well, clearly the re ort is listening to that? well, clearly the report is very _ listening to that? well, clearly the report is very alarming. _ listening to that? well, clearly the report is very alarming. it's - listening to that? well, clearly the report is very alarming. it's not. listening to that? well, clearly the report is very alarming. it's not a i report is very alarming. it's not a complete surprise. i think there have been warning signs of this for many years, and indeed as a union we

take these cases. most of the victims are members of our union, and every year we win thousands of pounds in compensation for cases of bullying, harassment and discrimination from fire service employers. so while it is always shocking to read such details, the existence of such problems is not a complete surprise at all. so existence of such problems is not a complete surprise at all.— complete surprise at all. so what is auoin complete surprise at all. so what is going wrong? _ complete surprise at all. so what is going wrong? if _ complete surprise at all. so what is going wrong? if you _ complete surprise at all. so what is going wrong? if you have _ complete surprise at all. so what is going wrong? if you have a - complete surprise at all. so what is going wrong? if you have a good i going wrong? if you have a good experience of this and you know this has been happening for awhile, is going so wrong? irate has been happening for awhile, is going so wrong?— has been happening for awhile, is going so wrong? we say the problem toes going so wrong? we say the problem noes to the going so wrong? we say the problem goes to the top _ going so wrong? we say the problem goes to the top of — going so wrong? we say the problem goes to the top of the _ going so wrong? we say the problem goes to the top of the fire _ going so wrong? we say the problem goes to the top of the fire and - goes to the top of the fire and rescue service. there is a lot of talk about culture, and that is a vague term. the question is this, the person in charge of the fire and rescue service, is the chief fire officer, and behind them normally sit politicians who employ them. if incidents happen and are reported, and we don't know in each case here whether the employer was aware, or the chief officer was aware or

wasn't aware, but if incidents are reported, and those are then brushed under the carpet, then that problem rests with the managerial structures at the very top of the organisation, and i'm certainly aware that that is the case in some incidents at least. that is why we end up in court each year against individual fire and rescue services. i’m year against individual fire and rescue services.— year against individual fire and rescue services. i'm not quite clear what ou rescue services. i'm not quite clear what you think _ rescue services. i'm not quite clear what you think would _ rescue services. i'm not quite clear what you think would change, - rescue services. i'm not quite clear what you think would change, what | what you think would change, what you want to change, what needs to change, to stop this. first you want to change, what needs to change, to stop this.— change, to stop this. first of all there needs _ change, to stop this. first of all there needs to _ change, to stop this. first of all there needs to be _ change, to stop this. first of all there needs to be some - there needs to be some responsibility from those running fire and rescue services rather than simply passing more policies. there are many policies on equality and diversity in place, and my concern about this report, it seems to ask for yet more policies. that is not really the issue. the issue is, frankly, looking at each of the cases reported in this document, and finding out where they happened and who was aware, and taking action

appropriately. the one thing that is missing is the voice of the workforce. again, if you look at the figures, many of the cases identified seem to be against subordinates, so they seem to be discrimination or bullying directed downwards, and again, the tone of that has got to be set at the very top by the chief fire officer. what sort of managerial structure, what sort of managerial structure, what sort of managerial structure, what sort of tone and example that they set within their organisations? so those are the sorts of things that we need to hear. but in our union, we need to hear. but in our union, we have sections for black and ethnic minority members, for lgbt members or women members. if you went back 15 years, those people would actually quite regularly meet the fire minister. none of that happens today, because in 2010 the new government decided that they would abolish all targets within the fire and rescue service. their words were, we won't tell you one who to

recruit or how to recruit or who to promote, and it was clearly seen as taking the eye off the ball on equality, and this is one of the consequences of that. qm. equality, and this is one of the consequences of that.- equality, and this is one of the consequences of that. 0k, we must leave it there. _ consequences of that. 0k, we must leave it there. matt _ consequences of that. 0k, we must leave it there. matt wrack, - consequences of that. 0k, we must leave it there. matt wrack, thank . leave it there. matt wrack, thank you for your time and becoming on the programme. thank you. ijust want to thank you. i just want to bring you thank you. ijust want to bring you some breaking news that we are just receiving in the few minutes. the jailed south african paralympic star 0scar pistorius has been denied parole by the parole board. that is according to the department of correctional services. the parole board hearing was considering whether he might be freed early, halfway through his sentence. he has so far served half of his 13 year sentence for murdering his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, a decade ago. the hearing took place

just outside the city of pretoria at a facility there. there was considerable attention on that hearing, and there were emotional scenes from the family of the murdered girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, as well. but the latest we are hearing from afp news agency is that 0scar pistorius, the paralympian, has been denied parole. a us court has dismissed a defamation case brought against the duchess of sussex by her half—sister, samantha markle. the duchess was accused of spreading "demonstrably false and malicious lies" to a "worldwide audience" in the royal couple's televised interview with oprah winfrey in 2021. a florida judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying the former suits actress was expressing "an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half—sibling" and a statement of pure opinion was "not capable of

being proved false". that's it. i'll be back in a couple of minutes. this is bbc news. hello there. it has been a stormy start to the day across southern britain and the channel islands, a deep area of low pressure has been bringing wet and windy weather here. as we head into the weekend, this area of low pressure will pull away, and things will turn a little drier and things will turn a little drier and brighter, but with our air source coming in from the north, it will turn cooler too. here it is, this is storm mathis, named by the french weather service. this heavy rain will continue through heavy wales, south—west england into northern ireland, heavy showers to the south—east. further north it will be grey, the wind coming in off the north sea so feeling quite cool,

the north sea so feeling quite cool, the best of the sunshine through the afternoon will be across western scotland. as we head through this evening and overnight, little change, but we start to see the strong winds easing down from the south, and we will have further cloud and rain pushing in from the east coast, and this weather front will continue to bring rain to northern ireland and parts of wales, the south—west of england. rainfall totals really mounting up here. as we head into the weekend, we still have this area of low pressure pulling into the uk, but this weather front will be around almost in situ across west and south—western areas, so further cloud, outbreaks of rain for northern ireland, perhaps into wales, south—west england. this easterly breeze will be pushing cloud and light rain into parts of scotland and england as well, so rather gray and cool as well. temperatures will be down across the board on saturday, even further inland, no higherthan 10 board on saturday, even further inland, no higher than 10 degrees. the wind will be a little light across the far south—west. as we move out of saturday into sunday,

the high pressure starts to come in, the high pressure starts to come in, the wind is lighter, it starts off breezy in the south—east but the wind will ease and we start to import some slightly drier air across the country, so more sunshine with nick on sunday, a bit of cloud for northern scotland perhaps into northern ireland, but they won't really help with that air quite cool really help with that air quite cool, cooler than we have had over the last few days. it is all change as we head into the start of next week, we pick up southerly winds again and they weather front started to encroach from the west, bringing cloud to western areas but we should still see some sunshine in the east.

joining the club... the uk signs a deal to become a member of a trans—pacific trading bloc. we'll have all the important details. and we'll look at us and european inflation data — both trending down, what's going on? welcome to world business report, i'mjagdip cheema. let's start with an important trade deal, because the uk has struck a deal to join a trans—pacific trade pact consisting of 11 countries.