to the wreckage of the titanic. us president biden�*s son hunter reaches a deal to plead guilty to misdemeanour tax crimes. top republicans say he's getting a sweetheart deal. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. time is running short in the race to save five people onboard a submersible missing in the north atlantic near the site of the titanic. on sunday, all contact was lost with the sub, about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive. the us coastguard said earlier that the vessel may have less than a day and a half of breathable air left. the operation to find the missing tourist submersible is now expanding to include more resources with expertise in deep sea rescuing. bbc news is reporting from canada and the us as the search intensifies. our app and website — bbcnews.com — have more details as well.

we've also learned today from the new york times that in 2018, submersible experts expressed concern to oceangate ceo stockton rush, who is on the titan. the authors of the letter expressed "unanimous concern" over the approach taken by oceangate when building the titan, and warned of potential "catastrophic" issues with its design. the marine technology society wrote to rush: i spoke to my colleague carl nasman on the scene in boston in the last hour. you have been following the latest developments, has the coastguard given any indications on signs of the location of the submersible? well, they are looking for this vessel in a specific area but i have to say this is a fairly broad area, about the size of connecticut. this is 900 miles off

the shore of cape cod, so just out towards the ocean from where we are in boston. this is a wide area that's been searched since sunday, a lot of planes traversing over that part of the ocean, we now know there are ships as well dropping some sonar listening devices and there are also some remote unmanned, you might call them underwater drones that are beginning to look beneath the surface of the ocean as well, but a wide area, it is also very deep, about 2.5 miles deep down to where the wreckage of the titanic is. so they have a general idea for this vessel might be but it is not exactly a pinpoint area, this is a large area of ocean be searching. it's very complex comment is an international effort, the us and canada have teamed up in france is assisting, what can you tell us about the different groups helping out? that's right, this is definitely an international effort, it is being organised from right here in boston

with the us coastguard, they are involving all kinds of different agencies because quite simply the coastguard admitted it didn't have the expertise or the equipment to carry out this type of search and rescue effort so they are bringing in canadian officials, us navy equipment and personnel, and there is also some private vessels that happened to be in the area or volunteered their services, they are being looped into this effort as well. there also a french vessel on its way which should be arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon. that will be manned with another one of these underwater drones that can help in the search that way. but we are witnessing a very widespread effort to bring in different types of partners, we know that three american planes have recently arrived in canada bringing more supplies and more personnel and canada also has ships arriving with medical equipment, and a recompression chamber for example in case that is needed for those five

people on the vessel. and what can you tell us about the people on this vessel? we have now been able to confirm their names and identities of all five people on this vessel, it is a small one, only about 25 feet long so can only fit five people. the ceo of the company oceangate, stockton rush, was on board the vessel are believed to be piloting it. there are four other crew members or passengers if you want to call them, three of them are british. two of them are related, shahzada dawood and his son suleman, they were confirmed to be on that vessel. as well as hamish harding, a famous explorer, he is in fact, he has spent plenty of some of the bottom of the ocean and has been up into space, a very experienced adventurer. there is also a french explorer as well that they call

mr titanic, one of these titanic enthusiasts, one of the people who has spent the most time viewing the actual wreckage of the titanic so if you think about this group of five people, fairly experienced adventuresome people, potentially used to taking risks, so that is the group we know is inside that vessel. thank you so much for that update. our nomia iqbal is in newfoundland with more on the conditions of the rescue operation. the search and rescue teams are working in incredibly challenging conditions. officials say this is the worst spring since 1943. visibility is incredibly low. it is so foggy. but the teams are continuing this race against time to try and find the missing submersible. just to remind you of the scale of it — the titanic wreckage is about 400 miles off the coast of newfoundland. and the the area in which

the search operation is taking place is 70 miles wide. so this is about the size of the us state of connecticut. and diving experts will tell you that this depth of the ocean that they're trying to search is less explored than outer space. now, earlier i spoke to newfoundland's premier, andrew furey, and he said to me that this province is sadly used to maritime tragedies, given its history, given its location and given its relationship with the titanic. however, he said this doesn't make it any easier to fathom what has happened. he said to me that as a leader he is feeling helpless but not hopeless, and that he is working with all the officials in us and canada, that that the province is doing that the province is doing whatever it can to try and help find the missing five. we will be here to support this effort in whatever is required.

hard assets, soft assets, emotional support, physical supports in different assets that we have in any way, shape or form we can. i'm confident that the people of newfoundland and labrador understand the significance of this on a world stage and will rise to whatever challenge the next few days or weeks bring. as a leader in these times of tragedy, especially of one often of mother nature's making that you can't control, you feel helpless because you.... my hat goes off to the hardworking women and men out there in the middle of the north atlantic, doing the hard work of trying to find find these people. but as a leader, i can't be out there. so you feel helpless to a certain extent. of course you can have the conversations, you can mobilise the assets, and you can play a small part in that, but not hopeless.

as right now, this is very much still a rescue mission and we live in hope, and our thoughts and prayers are with those people 600 kilometres off our shore and the families that are are waiting for their safe return. let's take a look at what we know about the titan. the missing submersible weighs about 23,000 pounds — or roughly 10,400 kilograms. the titan is about 22 feet long — or 6.7 metres. it's also capable of reaching depths of up to 13,123 feet below sea level — roughly 4,000 metres. and with the help of four electric thrusters, the titan reaches speeds of about three knots, or three miles per hour. live now to oceanographer david gallo. thank you forjoining us. you have said that members of the deep sea community knew that an

incident like this would happen, what did you mean by that? it happen, what did you mean by that? , ., ., , ., that? it is going into the sea, even at the — that? it is going into the sea, even at the surface _ that? it is going into the sea, even at the surface it - that? it is going into the sea, even at the surface it can - that? it is going into the sea, even at the surface it can be l that? it is going into the sea, | even at the surface it can be a dangerous game but when you are diving to several miles, many kilometres deep, you are really in a very hostile environment. so is best, we do our best to protect ourselves from that with engineering and the like, but itjust with engineering and the like, but it just seemed with engineering and the like, but itjust seemed obvious that at some point there would be some mistake because the ocean is very unforgiving, even a tiny scratch in a viewport, we would replace that because the ocean will take advantage of that and crush the viewport. very strong bits of metal, bottles that we put equipment income if there is a scratch on the inside, even if it is titanium, the ocean were crushed an empty paper cup. so wejust crushed an empty paper cup. so we just knew that at some point this was going to happen and we

have had decades into it without it happening, it is happening now and i think we are all kind of stunned that it actually happened as we predicted. 50 actually happened as we predicted-— actually happened as we redicted. ., , ~ predicted. so what they think that mistake _ predicted. so what they think that mistake was _ predicted. so what they think that mistake was that - predicted. so what they think that mistake was that was . predicted. so what they think - that mistake was that was made? what do you think happened? i don't know. i'm living off pretty much a rumour is like many people. i have been wrong, you know, it's hard to say. i do know that more likely than not, this surgeon should begin at the place where it was last known to be. the last known position. they should probably be right over the titanic site. something as devastating as a catastrophic collapse of the whole of the sabbath, or it could bejust whole of the sabbath, or it could be just caught or something. you have to be able

to explain why there were no signals from the submarine so it is complicated, don't think we will know until it is found. how much have conditions affected search and rescue efforts? ,, . , �* efforts? quite a bit. i'm surprised _ efforts? quite a bit. i'm surprised to _ efforts? quite a bit. i'm surprised to hear - efforts? quite a bit. i'm surprised to hear that l efforts? quite a bit. i'm - surprised to hear that though because the weather i looked at don't like it was fairly calm, but it can change in moments in that part of the world. from the air a change is quite a bit because you want visibility to see what's out there although you can use radar. on the ocean, if you get very serious waves or even swells it's very difficult to work in that kind of situation certainly things almost impossible, and time is of the essence right now so the last thing we want to do is give up a day or two because of the weather.— give up a day or two because of the weather. they are searching as ou the weather. they are searching as you said _ the weather. they are searching as you said a — the weather. they are searching as you said a very _ the weather. they are searching as you said a very vast - the weather. they are searching as you said a very vast area - as you said a very vast area with a limited amount of time, how do you assess the chances of finding this vessel and its

crew was yellow well, it comes to me, i'm nota big fan crew was yellow well, it comes to me, i'm not a big fan of this approach to bring all these vessels to one spot, it sounds great and looks great, we have done everything we could, brought all the assets we need, i think what the solution has to be as it has to be done by a few people really thinking this through and taking the steps they think should be taken. but taking the steps they think should be taken.— taking the steps they think should be taken. but it's going to -la should be taken. but it's going to play out _ should be taken. but it's going to play out pretty _ should be taken. but it's going to play out pretty quickly - to play out pretty quickly because we are getting towards the end of that oxygen period right now. it will be found, the question is when. and also i'm just hoping against hope but really still positive that they are alive and they will be found. one of my best friends is on board that,, actually two of my close friends are on that submarine, ifeel of my close friends are on that submarine, i feel horrible for theirfamilies and submarine, i feel horrible for their families and loved submarine, i feel horrible for theirfamilies and loved ones having to go through this kind of thing. so for all different

reasons i hope we can solve this quickly. reasons i hope we can solve this quickly-— this quickly. what did your friends tell _ this quickly. what did your friends tell you _ this quickly. what did your friends tell you about - this quickly. what did your friends tell you about this | friends tell you about this expedition, where they were ready to talk about the risks? i have had several good friends that have gone out and said it was perfectly safe and they wouldn't have gotten bored if they didn't think was safe, they didn't think was safe, they are extremely accomplished people. a french oceanographer who was my closest friend and colleague is out there and he insisted that it was perfectly safe, and you can trust ph, if there was a problem he would have brought out out. it's a remarkable person, the kind of person you would want if you're in a difficult position, he is the one i would want with me. so nothing negative at all, i know they had some issues in the beginning, which is not unusual at the beginning of an expedition filter by her there

were some delays possibly because of the weather but nothing out of the ordinary. final question, we learned that experts voiced concerns in 2018 about this vessel and the design and the approach oceangate was taking. what do you think of these commercial expeditions and the risks that they face deep in the ocean? there is nojudging someone's passion and putting a price on it. and the risk of fulfilling your passion. the titanic is the kind of object for some people, they will go on to whatever risk is necessary, pay whatever risk is necessary, pay whatever needs to be paid to had that experience as i can't argue with that. i think it is important for people to have that kind of experience, not everyone can come up and i think the company i work with has the exhibits in the art of rights and that takes you some way because you can have an

experience there, but they're having tourists going to titanic since at least the early to thousands. despite the early to thousands. despite the early 2000s. someone will have to have a serious look at that industry and what it might mean, we don't want it to be like a mount everest, that the site gets destroyed because there are so much interest in it. ., ~ i. there are so much interest in it. david, thank you for speaking _ it. david, thank you for speaking to _ it. david, thank you for speaking to us. - it. david, thank you for speaking to us. thankl it. david, thank you for - speaking to us. thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. the county durham community of stanhope replete with pubs, cafes, shops. but what this town no longer has is a bank. barclays was the last branch open here until it closed in april, and that's made local people and businesses very angry. there's a lot of people still don't have online banking like myself. ba rclays says the closure

was a response to changed customer behaviour, with fewer people relying on the branch, more banking online. so with many other banks closed or closing is this part of the answer? a banking hub? if you can't use online banking, that service is really important, particularly in communities like newton aycliffe, where there's lots of people that we know use cash and don't use internet banking. but with so many branches shutting up shop, many are still left feeling short—changed. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. hunter biden, the son of presidentjoe biden, agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanour tax offences and admit to illegaly owning a gun. the two tax charges stem from a failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes in both 2017 and 2018. the gun charge stems from a possession of a firearm as a drug user. technically, he faces a maximum penalty of a year in prison on each tax charges

and ten years in prison on the gun charge. however, the agreement will likely keep him out ofjail. he is expected to agree to drug treatment and monitoring if it's approved. hunter's lawyers say he is taking responsibility for his mistakes. the deal brings an end to a five year investigation by the justice department. earlier i spoke to sarah krissoff, former assistant us attorney in the southern district of new york. can you explain to us what these misdemeanour tax crimes are? yes, the two tax offences are misdemeanour, they relate to simply the failure to pay taxes for two years, 2017 and 2018, i believe. they carry a maximum one year in prison for each count, but it is expected that hunter biden will only receive probation in connection with those charges. so for those two misdemeanour charges, he's admitted to illegally possessing a gun while a drug user,

do the charges usually warrantjail time? no, you are not expecting someone to be facing a period of imprisonment. that just won't be likely to happen. so the judge was appointed by former president trump, but we have seen prominent republicans saying that this play is a sweetheart deal for the son of a president. do you think that hunter biden could have faced a stiffer penalty? it's really hard to know what the investigation uncovered and where it led as part of the charges they were deliberating about, what is clear is that the us attorney was a holdover from the trump era, he was a trump appointee who stayed on after president biden came into power.

this has been a long—running investigation and this was the negotiated resolution, so we just don't know what else was being investigated in the scope of the information that they found, but this is where we ended up. do you think there is the chance that they were more lenient because he is the son of the president? i don't really see that. in my experience, there really is, particularly with a federal prosecutor, a pressure to bring the most serious charges available, but when the charges are not appropriate to bring, they are not brought. so i think that it's hard to see political pressure that was imposed here to bring us to this outcome.

what do you make of republicans equivocating this to what the former president is facing in his federal charges? it's really hard to compare these two cases. the fact that one relates to a former president and one is the son of the president really is the only relationship between these two investigations. the fact that the conduct underlying the investigations was entirely different, that they were handled differently, one was handled by the department ofjustice, one was handled at the us attorney's office, it is really apples to oranges that we are comparing and it's hard to really draw much comparison between the two cases. we have to look at each one independently and the evidence supporting the charges in each case independently. what comes next for hunter biden? his case will be assigned to a judge who will enter a plea, he still needs to do that, and also the judge will endorse the outcome

related to the gun case, then he is essentially under supervision for a period of time where he has to do all of the things he is supposed to do, he needs to stay on the right side of the law and if that happens, he will likely not face any term of imprisonment. and quickly, what is your sense of how this might affect president biden going forward, especially as he ramps up his campaign? i think he made clear today in these very limited statements about this that this for him is just a personal matter, an issue on which he wants to support his family member, as any parent would. and he doesn't seem inclined or interested at all in speaking about the merits of the case. and frankly it wouldn't be appropriate to do so. obviously he is going to have

to fend this off, those allegations such as we heard earlier in the programme, that this has been politicised, he will try to keep this a personal matter. sarah, great to talk to you. british social media influencer andrew tate was indicted in romania. andrew and his brother tristan are accused of rape and human trafficking. investigations into the tate brothers date back to april 2022, when andrew tate's home was raided by romanian police for the first time. in august 2022, andrew was banned from social media platforms due to hateful and misogynistic remarks. the tate brothers were then arrested in december 2022 as prosecutors pursued claims of human trafficking and rape. however, the tates have been on house arrest since march 31, 2023. that brings us to today, when the brothers were indicted with rape and human trafficking charges. a romanianjudge will decide whether to prolong the brothers�* detention for another 30 days. our correspondent lucy williamson sent in this report. the man accused of targeting

women across several countries. now the target of romanian prosecutors himself. andrew tate, his brother tristan, and two female associates formally charged with crimes including human trafficking. the indictment filed at the bucharest court this morning, the result of six months of investigation by romania's organised crime unit. prosecutors say all four defendants formed an organised group to commit human trafficking, notjust within romania, but in the us and the uk. the charges involve seven alleged victims, who the indictment says were forced to produce pornographic material after being recruited by the tate brothers with false promises of love and marriage. the charges also include rape, illegally accessing a computer system, and violence against one alleged victim. it would be an overstatement to say we're happy, but we do welcome it, because this means we have the opportunity to submit evidence, we have the opportunity to build a defence. we're looking forward to clearing the brothers�* names

as soon as possible. the arrest of andrew tate and his brother here in december shone a spotlight on his online influence around the world. teachers, police and rights organisations in the uk have all warned about the impact of his views on women and their relationship to men. earlier this month, we interviewed andrew tate as prosecutors were wrapping up their investigation here, and asked him about similar claims of exploitation being made against him by women in the uk, including one woman who spoke anonymously to the bbc under the name sophie. if any female on the planet has a problem with me, i strongly recommend her to go to the police and try and pursue me for criminal charges. i'm actually such a nice person that i've never had anyone come... the bbc has spoken to somebody since your arrest who says exactly those things, that with you, it's all manipulation, there's an ulterior motive... is this sophie? is this "sophie"? this sophie, which the bbc has invented, which there is no

face of, nobody knows who she is... the bbc did not invent her. of course not. and she... cos you never invent anything. and she has not filed criminal charges against me. what are we talking about here? what is she saying? we're talking about emotional manipulation into the sex industry for your financial gain. absolute garbage. last week andrew tate was served with notice of a separate civil action by four uk women, alleging rape, assault and coercive and controlling behaviour, claims he denies. tomorrow, he and his brother will enter bucharest�*s main court for the first time. the two conflicting narratives around andrew tate, masculine icon or dangerous misogynist, are about to be tested in court. thank you for watching bbc news. hello. june has certainly been a warm month for many of us and at times it has felt

like the middle of summer. talking of which, the 21st ofjune marks the first day of astronomical summer or the summer solstice, and it will be the longest day of the year. but let's get to the forecast then. this is the satellite picture from the last day or so, and that's where the front that brought the rain to many parts of the country in the last 24 hours. it will be moving away northwards. but in its wake, we'll see an area of high pressure developing towards the south and west, but we will also be brushed by weather systems over the next few days in north western areas of the uk. but the high pressure to the south is also going to open up the doors to much warmer weather streaming our way from spain, portugal and france. so, it does look as though it's going to get hot towards the weekend. that's still to come. let's have a look at the forecast for wednesday then, and starting on a clear note for many of us. and temperatures will be on the mild side first thing, between around 13 and 16 degrees celsius. so, a dry morning for most, but certainly not for everybody,

right from the word go. a few showers possible across northern ireland and scotland, and showers will also develop across wales and other parts of england, but not too many of them further south. most of the showers will be further north and this is where the heaviest of the ones will be, possibly one or two thunderstorms across eastern scotland, maybe one or two in the borders as well. later in the afternoon, the weather's actually going to improve in northern ireland. the sun should come out for everybody, and across england and wales, just a scattering of showers here and there, and it'll be warmest in eastern parts of england with temperatures up to about 25 degrees celsius. that takes us into thursday. and thursday is also going to be another warm day with temperatures widely into the low or the mid 20s. and again, one or two scattered showers are possible on thursday, and it's going to be every bit as warm i think on friday too, with generally fine weather, at least across the bulk of the uk. however, in the north—west of the country, as we head towards the weekend, we are going to be brushed by weather systems. so, there's always a chance of some rain across parts of scotland and northern ireland.

but further east and south, the weather will be drier and brighter. so here's the outlook into the weekend, and you can see these climbing temperatures to nearly 30 degrees celsius in the south by the time we get to sunday, mid 20s, for example, in cardiff. bye— bye.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. demographers reckon india has just overtaken china to become the world's most populous nation. its economy is growing at 6%—plus per year despite global headwinds, and its leader is a populist