christian fraser is in london.onight the president will give his state of the union address to the american people. he won't have a television audience this big again until voting is already underway in the 2020 election. see this then as the kick off for donald trump's

and, it's christian fraser's favourite day of the year.t's international pun day, you have been warned. hello, i am christian fraser in london, jane o'brien is in washington. as it stands, the uk will leave the eu in just under seven weeks, but by the end this one british companies will already be operating in a post brexit world. goods that are being readied for shipping can take as long as six weeks to reach their destinations. and amid the uncertainty there are many companies are now sitting on orders wondering what to do. on sunday mrs may responded to a letter she received from opposition leader jeremy corbyn, in which he set out labour's conditions for backing her brexit deal. he wants her to negotiate a permanent customs union and an agreement that would give the uk a say on future eu trade deals. in her letter she writes: i am not clear why you believe it would be preferable to seek a say in future eu trade deals rather than have the ability to strike our own deals. a question raised again today by the international trade secretary

christian fraser is in london.onight the president will give his state of the union address to the american people. he won't have a television audience this big again until voting is already underway in the 2020 election. see this then as the kick off for donald trump's re—election campaign. these addresses are part policy, part theatre. and this time the scene will be fascinating becuase sitting behind the president will be nancy pelosi, the democratic speaker who has just caused mr trump the biggest political upset of his time in office. on the policy front watch for these themes, the border wall, infrastructure spending plans, plans to tackle the hiv epidemic, what next with north korea and trade. jane o brien is on capitol hill for us. it will be interesting to see where the president tailors his speech this evening to appeal to what is a considerably changed congress. this evening to appeal to what is a considerably changed congressm will indeed but if his early tweets are anything to go by it doesn't look ver

i'm katty kay in washington and christian fraser is in london.get the special counsel's russia probe, that could end up being small compared to what house democrats have planned for donald trump. they've just announced a bigger than expected investigation into his relations with russia, saudi arabia and anywhere else — into issues of possible leverage and into his global business dealings. basically, into all aspects of donald trump's financial and political life. not surprisingly the president is furious. today he tweeted. quick history note — republicans in congress conducted investigations into president obama for four years. it's part of politics. now they're in power, democrats are using the same tactics. in his state of the union address, mr trump warned them not to go too far. if there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. it just doesn't work that way. for the view from capitol hill we spoke a brief time ago with republican congressman markwayne mullin from oklahoma. house democrats have just said th

for more on the upheaval in the state, my colleagues katty kay and christian fraser spoke to larry sabatoctor of the center of politics at theiv sity of virginia, and they started by asking him about the current level of chaos. larry: what is happening here is that the entire elected superstructure of the state is now involved in various d scandals, and we just ade. threpublican majority lead of the state senate. so it is now officially a bipartisan scandal. christia larry, if all these three democrats were to step down, the next in line to become governor would be the house speaker, who is a republican. larry: that is right, and that is why it won't happen. the people of virginia voted overwhelmingly, really in landslide proportions, for democrats in 2017, and that was true for all three of them. that won't happen because it ist contrathe popular will and it would be seen as a kind of sile coup. the people who instigated some of these charges are clearly connected to the republican party and some very conservative websites. so it is just not going to hafien. they wil some way to stagger

with me, katty kay in washington — christian fraser is in london.mps to back her deal, or accept a delay to the uk's exit from the eu. president trump's lawyer calls for regime change in iran, as his secretary of state joins top officials from around the world in warsaw, to discuss middle east security. coming up in the next half hour: one year on from the parkland shooting in florida, we speak to students around the world about their biggest fears, and feelings on american gun violence. plus, details of the first documented sightings of a black panther in africa in nearly 100 years. theresa may is inscrutable when it comes to the brexit plan. talk to the backbenchers in her party and you will find plenty who say she is ready to put her party first and leave with no deal if necessary. there are others who say there is no way she would take the risk. mrs may's chief brexit advisor however, is apparently less guarded. overheard in a brussels hotel on monday night ollie robbins seemed to be suggesting there is a semblance of a plan. the backstop will b

with me, katty kay, in washington, christian fraser is in london.ittee under the microscope — as investigators look for a series of potential crimes. the leader of the taliban's peace negotiations with the us says the insurgents do not want to seize all of afghanistan. coming up in the next half hour: donald trump nominates a top treasury official as the new world bank president, but critics say david malpass is the wrong man for the job. plus the swedish crown jewels stolen from a cathedral last year that have been found ina bin. forget the mueller probe and russia and collusion and focus instead for a moment on balls, and music and beautiful dresses. yes, they are now under scrutiny after federal prosecutors ordered president trump's inaugural committee to hand over documents related to funding for the 2017 inauguration celebrations. prosecutors are reportedly looking at who donated money, how it was used and whether there was any pay to play going on. one question is whether any foreign donors gave money to the inaugural committee — which would v

christian fraser is in london.t often these days that western nations are united behind america's lead — but that is exactly what's happening over venezuela. following big protests this weekend, 16 european union countries today officially recognised venezuela's opposition leader, juan guaido, as the country's interim president. james reynolds reports. the government's most die—hard supporters lined up this morning to pledge their readiness to fight for their president. they dismiss europe's recognition of the opposition. translation: they are mad to endorse guaido. they have to respect our president maduro that was elected by the people. translation: guaido is a sell-out and all his followers are. they don't believe in democracy. but, if you're not a loyalist, things look rather different. this family is part of a venezuelan middle—class which has fallen apart. they are living in a borrowed home and even struggle to prepare dinner. hyperinflation means victoria often has no idea what she can afford to buy. does th

hello and welcome — i'm katty kay in new york and christian fraser is in westminster.r theresa may has suffered a major defeat to her brexit plans with mps voting by a whopping 303 to 258 against the government. the eurosceptics in mrs may's party were opposed to taking no deal off the table and abstained. legally, the vote is not binding, but from a political perspective it's certainly significant and, as it has turned out, damaging for the prime minister. let's just remind you what was in that motion, it said this house reiterates its support for the approach to leaving the eu but that didn't wash in the commons — and the motion was voted down. the ayes to the right — 258. the noes to the left — 303. so, the noes have it, the noes have it. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, said that the prime minister — who wasn't in the commons to hear the result — couldn't keep ploughing on without a coherent plan. the government cannot keep on ignoring parliament are planning on towards the 29th of march without a coherent plan. she cannot keep on just riding down on the clock and

and christian fraser is in london. what a difference a day makes.st 2a hours, both theresa may and jeremy corybn have relented on major brexit sticking points in the face of party pressure. today, mrs may announced that mps will get a vote on ruling out a no—deal brexit, or delaying the uk's departure from the eu, if she can't get her own deal passed by march 12th. jeremy corbyn says he will now support a second referendum even if theresa may's plan is approved. but does that change the dynamics? mr corbyn has made his decision safe in the knowledge there is no parliamentary majority for a second vote. at least not yet. and mrs may is surely calculating that even with the delay, her mps at some point will still be faced with the same decision. without a majority for her plan, or another, the cliff edge still looms. and my extension beyond the end of june would mean the uk taking part in the european parliament elections. what kind of message would that send to the more than 17 million people who voted to leave the eu nearly three years ago now? and

hello — i'm katty kay in washington, and christian fraser is in london. chapo" guzman, the head of the murderous sinaloa cartel, has been convicted in new york on ten counts. the verdicts were delivered in the last hour by a partially—sequestered jury of seven women and five men. they'd heard 200 hours of testimony with evidence from 56 witnesses, some who had worked for guzman and have since turned state evidence. for two and half months, the rise and fall of el chapo took centre stage in the eastern district courthouse in brooklyn. it was described in the media as international drug running 101. a disturbing tale of corruption at nearly every echelon of mexico's government, from police and military commanders, to local and state officials to former presidents who have vehemently denied the allegations. our correspondent nada tawfik has the story. gunshots this raid by mexican marines was the beginning of the end of joaquin "el chapo" guzman's brutal reign as the world's most powerful drug lord. but it was the work of us prosecutors, who secured his extr

a if aif i'm christian fraser live at westminster — where the governement has suffered another defeatver over its brexit strategy. theresa may's motion asked mps to agree that they supported its approach to leaving the eu — it was defeated by 45 votes. a labour amendment which called on the government to allow the commons to vote on a new brexit plan by wednesday, 27th february has been rejected. mps have also rejected an snp amendment which called for the uk's departure from the eu to be delayed by three months. the government cannot keep on ignoring parliament and upon on without a coherent plan. mps have also rejected an snp amendment which called for the uk's departure from the eu to be delayed by three months. we are digesting only those that we have had in the house of commons this evening. the eighth defeat for the government on its mission over the government on its mission over the withdrawal agreement. no legal consequences to that result, but of course, the eu are watching very closely, deciding whether it wants to move and meet some of the government's the and wondering wh

a if aif i'm christian fraser live at westminster — where the governement has suffered another defeatas defeated by 45 votes. a labour amendment which called on the government to allow the commons to vote on a new brexit plan by wednesday, 27th february has been rejected. mps have also rejected an snp amendment which called for the uk's departure from the eu to be delayed by three months. the government cannot keep on ignoring parliament and upon on without a coherent plan. mps have also rejected an snp amendment which called for the uk's departure from the eu to be delayed by three months.

i'm katty kay in washington and christian fraser is on the green in westminster.have a lot to get through today on both sides of the atlantic because it has been a very busy day. here in washington i've been watching two big developments in us politics. on one side of our screens the images of the american president with the leader of north korea — a man he now calls his friend. and on the other side, a congressional hearing at which donald trump's longtime personalfixer, michael cohen, has labelled the president a racist, a conman and a cheat. at the same time, i'm here westminster watching an important series of votes that are under way in the house of commons. they have just gone through the lobby for the first amendment this evening. we will bring you each of the amendments as they come up 7 and the results — in the company of rob watson, who is with me. but, let's start with that dramatic testimony from mr cohen in congress today. here's the bbc‘s nick bryant. michael cohen once said he'd take a bullet for donald trump but on capitol hill today the president'

christian fraser is in london.ndian ocean. britain's labour party says it's prepared to back another eu referendum in order to prevent a so called "damaging tory brexit". coming up in the next half hour: last night, the red carpet was rolled out in hollywood. we'll have the best and the worst from this year's host—free academy awards. and a stowaway makes it from australia to britain. how this reptile slithered in undetected. the uk 5 claim to sovereignty over the remote chagos islands in the indian ocean was ruled illegal today by the united nation 5 highest court. the british held onto the archipelago after mauritius gained independence in 1968. one of the islands, diego garcia, is also home to a strategic us airbase — a vital staging point for bombing campaigns in afghanistan and iraq. at the time, some 1,500 native islanders were deported so that the island could be leased to the us in 1971. they have never been allowed to return home. mauritius argued the decision was in breach of a un resolution, which specif

i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london.ends without agreement after the us refuses demands to lift sanctions on north korea. israel's attorney general says he intends to indict prime minister benjamin netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, just weeks ahead of april's elections. coming up in the next half hour: the number of people killed on american roads last year was the highest in 28 years. experts say smartphones play a big role in the increase. and — the ladbrador sully — president bush's service dog — gets a newjob with the us navy. maybe the failure of the summit in vietnam shows us the limit of personal diplomacy. or maybe, this is the art of the deal. it depends which way you want to spin it. whether or not the talks can be resurrected is now open to question. in a rare press conference in the last few hours, the north korean side said it is possible that kim has "lost the will" for further negotiation. the democratic leader of the house, nancy pelosi agreed the president was right to walk away