district court in dc on thursday, after he was indicted for a third time on tuesday — this time in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the january 6th attack on the us capitol. he's denied all wrongdoing. it's unlikely we will see mr trump in dc thursday, though he is expected to appear in person. he will enter the court from the parking garage and be taken in for processing, then head to the courtroom. he will then turnaround and fly back home to bedminster. the indictment also mentions six alleged co—conspirators, but none of them have been charged. the group, includes four attorneys, a former department ofjustice official and a political consultant, that allegedly aided trump's "criminal efforts". analysts believe they are former trump lawyers rudy giuliani, john eastman, and sidney powell, along with former doj official jeffrey clark and lawyer kenneth chesebro. a sixth co—conspirator, described in the document as a political consultant, has not been identified. the indictment comes as mr trump is leading the polls for the republican nominee for president, far ahead of his leading rival florida governor, ron desantis. the latest new york times — sienna poll puts trump in a head—to—head with incumbent

democratic presidentjoe biden. if the election were today, the polls show biden claiming 43% of registered voters. tying with former president trump, who also sits right at 43%. earlier, iasked pollster and communication strategist frank luntz for his thoughts on republican voters as we inch closer to the start of the primary season. frank, great to have you back on the bbc. you have been speaking with the republican voters around this is an indictment on the januar the six investigation, what have you found? they're willin: what have you found? they're willing to _ what have you found? they're willing to give _ what have you found? they're willing to give him _ what have you found? they're willing to give him a - what have you found? they're willing to give him a pass, - willing to give him a pass, they're willing to... they see this as victimisation, they see this as victimisation, they see this as victimisation, they see this as persecution. in fact, what i found is that every time he gets indicted, his numbers go up. every time he is accused of something that would destroy any other candidate, he becomes more popular, and the same thing is happening right now. he's coming across as standing

up he's coming across as standing up to the government, standing up up to the government, standing up to the government, standing up to washington, and it's making him stronger and stronger at a time when everyone else would have cut. how do you explain that? what makes that message from the former president so effective? they connect to him and they have since the very beginning. i watched as in 2015, the more you criticise him, the stronger he got. the more you challenge him for his language, for his behaviour, for calling people cowards, insulting them and using epitaphs that would get some of the bbc fired. every time trump would go higher and higher he would be authentic. he thinks —— they think they fight for them. and that's the key component. republicans think donald trump speaks for them and that's how he

survived. is them and that's how he survived-— them and that's how he survived. , , . survived. is very concerned that he will _ survived. is very concerned that he will be _ survived. is very concerned that he will be running - survived. is very concerned that he will be running in l survived. is very concerned i that he will be running in the election campaign while going on trial in possibly four cases? , �* , . cases? yes, there's concern, but not put — cases? yes, there's concern, but not put that _ cases? yes, there's concern, but not put that way. - cases? yes, there's concern, but not put that way. when l cases? yes, there's concern, i but not put that way. when they considerjoe biden, that's a moment they freeze and they think maybe this isn't the right decision, and the second weakness is that trump says a lot. but he didn't deliver on many things he said. he promised a while and that's what we paid for. never happened. he promised to repeal 0bama care— —— never happened. he promised to drain the swamp. he promised to drain the swamp. he promised to pay attention to the debt, it's out of control. issue after issue, his rhetoric is dead centre for activist republicans. but the record is not as good as the rhetoric. if

you look at the latest polls, they show the current president joe biden and the former president donald trump are neck and neck. 30% were asked, what do you make of that? in and neck. 30% were asked, what do you make of that?— do you make of that? in the samle do you make of that? in the sample is — do you make of that? in the sample is donald _ do you make of that? in the sample is donald trump - do you make of that? in the sample is donald trump atl do you make of that? in the - sample is donald trump at other 50%. it's... it defies gravity. it defies common sense, but people need to start to consider the absolute potential fact that donald trump could return. what the consequences of that means for the country, for the system of government, and for democracy as a whole. is there anything the other republican candidates could do to break through?— to break through? yes, i believe _ to break through? yes, i believe just _ to break through? yes, i | believe just delivering an attack doesn't work. in fact, i

would argue to that having research this, that you speak of trump's promises. failed delivery at being able deliver what donald trump promised, i can get it done, i can make this happen, i know how to do this happen, i know how to do this and i will never recognise government. not the way the democrats weaponise government. that language absolutely works. as of now, no one is using it and donald trump still has the language of the republican base, which is why he's so popular. base, which is why he's so pepular-— base, which is why he's so --oular. ~ ., popular. do you think donald trump can — popular. do you think donald trump can win _ popular. do you think donald trump can win a _ popular. do you think donald trump can win a general - trump can win a general election?— trump can win a general election? , ., election? yes, i do. i never would have _ election? yes, i do. i never would have said _ election? yes, i do. i never would have said this - election? yes, i do. i never would have said this nine i would have said this nine months ago. i would've said it was absolute impossible. to be candid with you, i didn't see election date may 20. i cannot imagine the things that no

america could ever perceive as happening to the country has happened. and trump refuses to fall. as lesson here and perseverance. it may not be a good lesson, but you only fail, you only lose if you give up, and if we've learned anything about donald trump, he never, ever gives up. about donald trump, he never, ever gives lip-— about donald trump, he never, ever gives up. frank, thank you so much for— ever gives up. frank, thank you so much for your _ ever gives up. frank, thank you so much for your insights - so much for your insights today. so much for your insights toda . y so much for your insights toda. y , us secretary of state, antony blinken, has spoken to niger's president, mohamed bazoum, who is being held by military leaders the state department's spokesman says mr blinken(biv told mr bazoum that, quote the us remains committed to restoring niger's democratically—elected government "finding a peaceful resolution that ensures that niger remains a strong partner in security and development in the region." mr blinken�*s call comes as tensions rise between west african nations. on tuesday night, nigeria cut off its supply of electricity to niger — it accounts for 70% of the country's power. the world bank said it had

suspended all aid to niger. meanwhile, the deputy leader of niger's coup flew to mali's capital to meet with the military leaders who seized power there in 2021. mali and burkina faso, which is also ruled by a militaryjunta, have warned that any use of force by ecowas against niger would constitute a declaration of war against their countries as well. on wednesday night, the united states said it would evacuate its nationals from the country, but that its embassy remains open. paris has confirmed it evacuated nearly 1,000 people, including 560 french citizens, after its embassy in niamey came under attack from demonstrators on sunday. in a televised address in the past few hours, niger's self—appointed military leader, generaladbourahamane tiani, insisted french nationals had nothing to fear. but he said his government would not give in to regional or international pressure. ukraine's deputy prime minister says a russian drone attack has damaged 40,000 tonnes of grain planned for china, israel,

and countries in africa. ukraine's defence ministry says a grain silo was damaged in the danube port of izmail in the 0desa region. as ukraine sustains attacks from russia on the ground, it's also battling a second front, in the form of russian propaganda. moscow has used disinformation to try to win hearts and minds for nearly a decade, but such propaganda has become increasingly targetednow, it's honing in on ukraine's now, it's honing in on ukraine's front line female soldiers — as the bbc�*s 0lga malchevska discovered. small steps on the road to recovery. my name is andriana. i'm a soldier, servicewoman. a female soldier and a special unit markswoman. adriana is one of the best known members of ukrainian armed forces. her unit drove over a landmine last december. russian media reported she had been killed, describing her death in graphic detail and calling her

a "ukrainian nazi". but we have tracked her down in ukraine, in a hospital. we can't disclose its location for her safety. she's alive and not surprised by the russian news. they published that i am without legs and without hands. and like, i was killed by them. they are professionals in propaganda. i am alive and i will protect my country. adriana, like many other ukrainians, joined the volunteer battalion when russia invaded ukraine back in 2014. she spent a year with the battalion, which, like many of the others, was subsequently subsumed into the official army. although not militarily trained she showed strong combat skills, including shooting. when you are on the front line and when you see a target, how do you feel about it?

is it a target or a person? it depends on the situation. sometimes it's a person because they are people. but if it will not be for me a target, i will be a target for them. it's a scenario shared by many in this hospital here. there are worries about the costs of rehabilitation. it can cost thousands of dollars a month for each soldier. but for adriana, the biggest concern is the impact on her family. she hasn't held her son for seven months. two days ago, i was talking with him and he said to me that, "mum, remember when we were a family and when we loved each other?" so, after two years of absence of me, and that he tried

to remember a period when we were a family and we loved each other. and i tried to explain to him that we now are family and we love each other. but the period is such. a normalfamily life is some way off. adriana is now preparing to return to the front line. the price paid is already too high to give up. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bringing you different stories from across the uk. early morning for over a year now, the speed limit through the village has been 20 mph. today, the police were out to check and still find some who are going too fast and pulled them over. i going too fast and pulled them over. ' .

going too fast and pulled them over. , . ., ., over. i find it difficult to do 20 miles — over. i find it difficult to do 20 miles an _ over. i find it difficult to do 20 miles an hour. - over. i find it difficult to do 20 miles an hour. i'm - over. i find it difficult to do - 20 miles an hour. i'm normally doing 23. 20 miles an hour. i'm normally doinu 23. �* 20 miles an hour. i'm normally doing 23-— doing 23. but the police checked _ doing 23. but the police checked the _ doing 23. but the police checked the speed - doing 23. but the police checked the speed of. doing 23. but the police l checked the speed of 190 doing 23. but the police - checked the speed of 190 fine motorist during a two hour period and found 16 were going too fast, with one going 3a mph. 0ne didn't have to pay a fine, but could watch a presentation. are the way the police are trying to get the message across.— police are trying to get the message across. you have a 55% chance of surviving _ message across. you have a 5596 chance of surviving the _ message across. you have a 5596 chance of surviving the vehicle . chance of surviving the vehicle collision, but 20 mph, you have a 90% chance —— 95%. el; collision, but 20 mph, you have a 9096 chance -- 9596.— a 9096 chance -- 9596. by the fact is not _ a 9096 chance -- 9596. by the fact is not a _ a 9096 chance -- 9596. by the fact is not a surprise - a 9096 chance -- 9596. by the fact is not a surprise to - a 9096 chance -- 9596. by the fact is not a surprise to many| fact is not a surprise to many here. head to the bbc news website for more stories across the globe. you're watching bbc news. the united states has suffered a downgrade in its credit rating from one of the three big firms who grade countries' debt worthiness. fitch ratings says its move is based

on a long—term downward trend in the us�*s standard of governance, which it says makes it more likely that us won't be able to pay back its ious. fitch's move has caused fear, consternation and condemnation across the board — as our north america business correspondent michelle fleury explains. just like everybody has a credit report to determine how much they can borrow, the us government has its own credit report and for the first time since 2011 that rating has been downgraded from aaa to aa+ fitch said. the assault on the capital onjanuary 6th was a factor in its decision, contributing to what they perceive as a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years. from wall street to washington, reaction was swift — us markets tumbled, with tech stocks leading the nasdaq lower while bond investors pushed up treasury yields higher. in washington, treasury secretary janet yellen reacted with anger. i strongly disagree with fitch's decision, and i believe it is entirely unwarranted.

its flawed assessment is based on outdated data and fails to reflect improvements across a range of indicators, including those related to governance that we've seen over the past two—and—a—half years. 0ther democrats use the downgrade as an opportunity in the recent debt limit fight — while republicans blame joe biden and democrats for trillions of dollars in new spending. many economists dismissed the downgrade, including jpmorgan chase ceo jamie dimon, who called it "ridiculous" and said the decision ultimately didn't really matter. and he may not be wrong. us treasuries, that is, government ious remain the bedrock of the global financial system, despite this latest knock to its reputation. earlier, my colleague, carl nasman, spoke to mohamed el—erian, chief economist at the financial services company allianz. in your mind?

i'm curious, was this downgrade by fitch warranted? it was not warranted. i agree with secretary yellen, as do the vast majority of economists and market analysts and as does the market itself that has brushed off the fed's decision. both the content and the timing of the announcement were pick your words, strange, surprising, perplexing, whatever word you want to use. itjust doesn't seem right. what's behind it, then? why do you think fitch decided to make this downgrade now? no—one knows. 0ne one argument is that it was just an accumulation of factors. maybe they should have moved earlier and they didn't, but then they felt compelled to move. but that moved at the wrong time. they've moved at a time when economic growth has been improving, when governance has been improving. so it's not clear as to as to

whether that's the argument. there's another argument which i'm not qualified to speak on, which that was a political decision. but the vast majority of people are just perplexed. theyjust don't understand why fitch would do this now. you mentioned that the markets are kind of shaking this news off. could there be any kind of impact onjust everyday people in the us? so i don't think there will be an economic or fiscal impact. by that i mean that this announcement will not reduce investment, will not reduce the attractiveness of the us economy. so that's the economy side.

and then on the fiscal side, this in itself will not increase the borrowing cost for the us. in fact, if you look at what are called credit default swaps, which measure creditworthiness, they hardly move today. and you would expect them to move if the market was worried about that. so, it will not impact the fiscal side or the economic side. what it will do is it will fuel an already polarised political narrative, both domestically and internationally. i did want to ask you about the international impact as well. there are still many countries that are struggling with inflation, the after effects of the pandemic. could there be a domino effect here globally? so, i think fitch has a really tough question to ask to answer, which is if you're going to take governance into account the way you did it for us, what about other countries? and they've got to figure out whether they are creating for themselves a precedent that will see them downgrade many other countries purely on governance, not on whether governance is impacting economic growth of fiscal, butjust how is governance operating in terms of the global situation? we are dealing with a slowing

global economy, and that is not as much issue for the us as it is for china, for europe and for a number of developing countries. now there seems to be a bit of a background message here, a political message even mentioning the current situation in the united states. is there then any way for the us to try to get that rating back up? what should the country do? so fitch was asked that question and their answer was address the three elements economic growth. deficits and debt and governance and act on all three. and you may get your triple—a back, but history isn't kind on this. most of the time when you lose your triple—a is very difficult to get. in fact, as you noted, s&p downgraded the us

in 2011 and has never reversed that decision. looking ahead now, there are some fears that we could see another standoff on capitol hill in september when it comes to the government's budget. could we see more turmoil in the markets? i think whether we see more turmoil is going to be a function of two things. one, does inflation continue to come down in this orderly fashion? and two, does the federal reserve avoid another policy mistakes? these are the two main factors to look at in the short term. with final inflation, i expect the next two readings to be comforting. but then there's a big question mark would inflation turn back up or not? 0n the fed, i'm less comfortable. there's a real risk that the fed may overdo it over—tighten it, because it's reacting to short term data. it is excessively data dependent. and the trouble with being

a data so data—dependent is that its tools operate with a lag. so it's a little bit like driving the car, looking at the rear—view mirror and notjust keeping your eyes on the next 200 or 300 feet. and that's the risk we face. mohamed el—erian, chief economic adviser at allianz, thank you so much for your insights. thank you. a court in edinburgh has ruled that a suspected rapist accused of faking his own death to avoid justice can be extradited to the us to face charges. 35—year—old american nicholas rossi is wanted for allegedly raping a woman in utah in 2008, and for multiple allegations of domestic violence. he was arrested while receiving treatment for covid—19 in glasgow in 2021. mr rossi claims he is a victim of mistaken identity. 0ur correspondent steve godden reports from scotland. from the start it seemed like a story from a hollywood film script, the american fugitive who faked his own death and hid out in scotland. mr rossi...

i'm not mr rossi. nicholas rossi was arrested in december 2021 when staff on the covid ward at a glasgow hospital recognised him from an interpol wanted notice. prosecutors in utah wants to extradite rossi to face rape charges — but the man in the wheelchair has consistently claimed it's all a mistake, that he's an irish orphan called arthur knight who's never been to america. we heard in court, though, that you were identified by tattoos, or scarring. is it worth seeing your left forearm? cos that picture had a tattoo on the left forearm. yeah, but could you just raise it? it's nothing personal, i'm just exhausted. at his extradition hearing, rossi denied lying

about his background or exaggerating his illness. this morning, the same sheriff who had earlier dismissed the claims of mistaken identity ruled he could be returned to america to face charges. i concluded that the evidence of the requested person was unreliable to the extent i would not be prepared to accept any statement of fact made by him unless it was independently supported. rossi wasn't in court to hear the ruling. when he appeared by video link earlier in the morning, he sat slumped in his wheelchair with his face hidden. but as his lawyer was addressing the court, he interrupted, shouting at the sheriff, calling him "a disgrace to justice". at that point, the sheriff's clerk cut the video connection. the final decision on rossi's extradition will now be made by scottish ministers. he faces serious allegations in the us. the end of the scottish chapter of this story is a step closer. steven godden, reporting scotland. the pop singer lizzo, known for her songs celebrating body positivity, is facing claims of harrassment and body—shaming by three former dancers. the legal action against lizzo,

her production company, and her dance team's captain includes accusations of sexual, religious and racial harassment, discrimination, assault and false imprisonment. none of the defendants have commented on the allegations. 0ur entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, reports. # turn up the music, turn down the lights... until now, 2023 had been a triumph for lizzo, winning record of the year at the grammys for about damn time... # ..it�*s about damn time... ..pulling a huge crowd at glastonbury... ..and even helping to bring about a resurgence in flute—playing. what's up, y'all? it's lizzo. her messages of acceptance and body positivity have made her a hero to many, and were a constant theme of her emmy—winning reality tv show, watch out for the big grrrls. girls that look like me don't get representation. it's time to pull up my sleeves and find them myself. but now, three of her former dancers — including two winners on that show, who went on to tour with lizzo — are suing her and her team.

the list of allegations is long and includes weight—shaming, sexual harassment, and having created a hostile work environment. i'm so new to this industry, and for this to be my first first experience is really... ..crazy. arianna davis also claims that, after a show in amsterdam this year, lizzo pressurised her into touching a naked performer in a strip club — while crystal williams says she's speaking out now because lizzo is set to do a second season of her tv show. so, if there's anything that i can do in my power- to ensure that dancers, - or singers, or whoever decides to work with her don't have to go through that same i experience, i'ml going to do that. the two dancers from the reality tv show were sacked earlier this year by lizzo — the third dancer resigned. lizzo has not yet publicly responded to the allegations, which have yet to be tested in court. but in this age of social media, even being found innocent can still not be enough to prevent damage

to someone's brand. colin paterson, bbc news. we'll be back at the top of the next hour. stay with us. hello there. wednesday's weather did not look or feel particularly summer—like across large swathes of the uk, thanks to an area of low pressure, this swirl of cloud on the satellite picture. this was named storm patricia by the french weather service because of impacts it had in france, but particularly on the southern flank of that storm system, we've had some very strong winds. there have been some really heavy downpours, but that area of low pressure is now rolling away eastwards. in its wake, though, we're going to be left with a brisk northerly wind, which will make it feel decidedly cool over the next couple of days. that cool breeze a big feature of thursday's weather, a mix of sunny spells and showers. some quite large areas of cloud, particularly across northern parts

of scotland, where we will see some bits and pieces of rain. but for southern scotland, northern ireland, england and wales, it's a mixed bag — some spells of sunshine, some showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery. but there will be places that avoid the showers and stayjust about dry. temperatures ranging from 16 degrees in stornoway to 22 in london. and then as we head through thursday night, we will continue to see some of these showers. some clear spells here and there. i think out west, it will be mostly dry by the end of the night. temperatures typically holding up at between holding up at between 11—14 degrees. so we head into friday, still feeling the effects of that northerly breeze. some spells of sunshine, some showers too. this time, those showers mostly across central and eastern parts of england. the odd heavy thundery one. elsewhere, more in the way of dry weather, although we will see cloud filling the sky across northern ireland later in the day ahead of this next weather system. and temperatures 16 to 20 degrees at best. and then let me show you what happens on saturday, because this area of low pressure is going to push its way in from the atlantic,

the fourth weekend in a row dominated by low pressure. this one quite a deep affair. a bout of heavy rain, could well be some thunder and some lightning mixing in. northern scotland likely to avoid it, but some wet weather elsewhere and the potential for gales, particularly around some western coasts. and with the cloud, the rain, the strength of the wind, temperatures really will struggle — 1a to 18 degrees. we would expect temperatures higher than that at this point in early august. but as we look further ahead into the middle part of next week, there are some signs that things could turn a bit drier and warmer.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines in all the main news for stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. i wanted to expose the criminality that runs through the heart of this corporation. they very nearly ruined my life. i have certainly seen how they have ruined the lives of others.

it's really difficult for me to sit here and talk about this because... ..the whole point of fighting these newspapers is because i was so keen to have my privacy. i feel a sense of duty to expose them as they've exposed us. prince harry and sir eltonjohn have launched legal action- against the publishers of the daily mail. - action is being taken against the sun newspaper. legal action against the mirror group over allegations of phone hacking. who did you hack? be quicker to say who i didn't hack, wouldn't it? _ be easier. celebrities, politicians... i was living in this sort of superhighway of illicit information. it was exciting. you felt like a spy. i don't know to this

day how many people have heard my deepest secrets, my desires.