New developments in washington as the impeachment inqury against President Trump gathers pace. Mr trumps dealings with ukraine are at the centre of the inquiry, and testimony has now emerged, from a senior american diplomat, whos told congressional investigators the president s personal lawyer ran a Smear Campaign against the former Us Ambassador to ukraine to try to get her removed. George kent, whos in charge of ukraine policy at the state department, accused Rudy Giuliani of spreading what he called lies about marie yovanovitch. She was later recalled from her post. George kent testified last month before the house impeachment inquiry and the transcript has only just been released. The bbcs david willis has been taking a look. And it is a long and comprehensive transcript. He gave a lot of evidence to that enquiry last month and george kent hitting the headlines today for that claim that there was a Smear Campaign orchestrated by Rudy Giuliani against the Us Ambassador to the ukraine, marie yovanovitch. Mr kent said he was also a victim of the same Smear Campaign, a Whisper Campaign on the part of Rudy Giuliani, the president s personal lawyer, seeking to undermine people who were not part of this inner circle, this parallel sort of initiative that was going on in the ukraine to advance, it is claimed, mr trumps own personal agenda, to bring proceedings againstjoe biden and the investigation of his son hunter. Another point we should cover, normally reliable journalists are reporting that william barr, the attorney general who is loyal to President Trump, refused to hold a press conference to declare the president did not break any laws in his call to the ukrainian president at the centre of this impeachment process. Mr trump says none of that is true. That is right. This is something reported by a number of different news organisations here. They claim that william barr was asked by President Trump to give that News Conference basically saying that no laws had been broken, he clearly declined to do so. The justice department, which he heads, did conclude after the transcript of that fateful call between President Trump and the ukraine president was released that no violations of Campaign Finance laws were committed by the president but what is unusual about the fact that william barr clearly demurred when it came to publicly defending the president is the fact that the relationship between the two men has apparently been quite cordial, certainly much more so than the relationship between President Trump and his former attorney generaljeff sessions. One more thing that on any other night we might talk about first. Meanwhile a judge in new york has ordered President Trump to pay 2 million for misusing money from his Charitable Foundation to support his 2016 election campaign. The judge ordered that the money be donated to eight charities to settle a lawsuit brought by the new York Attorney general. Professor sahar aziz is the chancellors socialjustice scholar and the director of the centre for security, race and rights at Rutgers University law school. Shes in new york. This what do you make of this . We should say that the foundation was closed down last year and there were allegations that it was serving, effect of lead, as a sort of cheque book for the personal interests of the president. It was shut down because of this lawsuit. It was part of the settlement deal. Effectively, that the trump family, donald trump and his children, were using this foundation to distribute money to charities in a way that would help his campaign. In other words, the money that they had controlled by his campaign, as opposed to an independent board of directors or independent managers. For example they held a fundraiser in 2016 where they raised 2. 8 million and then his Campaign Advisors and his Campaign Managers determined how to distribute those funds to charities but in a strategic way that would help get him strategic way that would help get hi m votes strategic way that would help get him votes just before the primary elections. And we understand his children will now have to undergo mandatory training on the duty of trustees. He has also been required to admit to misuse of funds but on twitter he has said he is accusing the new York Attorney general of mischaracterising the settlement for political purposes. What do you make of that . This is typical donald trump propaganda. He has become savvier portraying himself as a victim when he engages in blatant breaches of the law, flagrant breaches of the law, flagrant breaches of the law. I think this is just another example of his nepotism and his flagrant disregard. He thinks he is above the law. For example, when he allows his Campaign Managers to manage the Foundation Funds and distribute funds in a way to his political advantage, that is not the victim of a witch hunt, that is violating and exploiting Tax Exemption is a nonprofit loyalty to when he uses the funds of the foundation to pay legal obligations contain contacted to his business, it is misappropriation. Ultimately he was required to pay 2 million in damages in addition to the 1. 78 million that were currently in the foundations funds for a total of almost 4 million that he nil now has to pay to charities to and the charities that receive these funds could have absolutely no connection to donald trump or his family because the attorney general knew that he would just, that he could use the settle m e nt just, that he could use the settlement to perpetuate his political ambitions further. So this tweet is simplyjust another example of donald trump s alternative reality. Thank you very much. We will be hearing more on this later. The president of burkina faso, marc kabore, has called for a National Mobilisation against terrorism, following an attack on a mining convoy that killed at least 38 people and injured 60 others. The convoy was carrying workers at a gold mine owned by the canadian company, semafo, in the capital 0uagadougou. The families of dozens of miners still missing after the ambush say the government hasnt done enough to quell a rise in attacks by islamic extremists. Freya cole reports. The families of those killed, injured or still missing wait for answers. Theyve united in grief to confront government representatives. The very people who they say should have protected their loved ones from this type of attack. Translation we need our parents bodies to bury them with dignity. That is all we are asking. Imagine the stress we are living through. None of us have had any sleep. The victims were in a military lead convoy on their way to work for a canadian owned gold mine in the east of the country. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the bomb blast on the military escort vehicle, followed by a shooting spree, suggestjihadi involvement. The once peaceful nation is grappling with an insurgency of three militant groups, with links to alquaeda and islamic state. This man tells the government they live withjihadists every day in their villages and that death no longer shocks them. President marc kabore has announced 72 hours of National Mourning and has ordered a nation wide effort to combat terror. Translation only a concerted mobilization of the sons and daughters of the nation, regardless of region, ethnicity, political opinion or religion confession can defeat these lawless and faithless murderers. The montreal based company has so far offered no explanation. It was forced to tighten security at the mine last year after two terror incidents. It now flies Foreign Workers by helicopter to the mine, but local workers still go by road. On its website it offers its sympathies, saying, given the scale of the attack it will take some time to properly deal with it and it will do its utmost to support those affected. But its not yet known whether a Company Representative from canada will go to the region, or whether there are plans for compensation for those left behind. Freya cole, bbc news. Lets get some of the days other news. Brazils Supreme Court has ruled that convicted criminals should go to prison only after they have exhausted their appeal options. The decision benefits former president lula da silva, who has been injail since april 2018. Lula was sentenced to 12 years in prison for unlawfully receiving a beachside apartment from a company. An agreement between the United States and china to roll back tariffs is said to be facing fierce opposition at the white house and from outside advisers. Chinese officials said earlier that tariff reductions had been agreed, and a us official confirmed it. But media reports from the us say there is a divide within the administration over whether rolling back tariffs will give away american leverage in the negotiations. British police have released more information on the 39 dead bodies found in a truck in south east england last month. Theyve confirmed that all of the victims were vietnamese nationals. Several people have been arrested in connection with the deaths, in the uk, vietnam and ireland. The Funeral Services have begun for some of the victims of an attack in northern mexico in which nine us citizens were killed. The victims were all members of a Mormon Community based in the mexican state of sonora. Initial investigations suggest the attack was a case of mistaken identity by a drug cartel a version of events disputed by the victims families. From mexico will grant reports. Hand hewn wooden coffins made by their relatives were used to bury the dead in the langford family. The mother dawna in one, her two Young Children in the others. Buried as they had died, side by side. Thank everyone for coming out. Mourners travelled in convoys from mormon communities in utah and arizona, escorted by the mexican military down the same road where their loved ones had been murdered. They struggle to comprehend the massacre of children. I feel that they really need to get on and do something and take it very serious because it is serious. This should not have happened to three women and their children who were all hurt, injured and died needlessly. For decades, the breakaway religious group lived in relative peace in a region controlled by drug cartels. But that changed with these brutal killings. The Mexican Government insists the deaths were a mistake. The gunmen from the la linea cartel confuse the cars full of children with a rival gang. Community elders say that does not add up. Translation the children who witnessed the attack were travelling in the suv and saw their mother get out and raise her arms and that is when she was gunned down. So the question of whether there was confusion and crossfire is completely false. These criminals have no shame. They opened fire on women and children with premeditation and unimaginable brutality. I dont know what kind of animals these people are. The investigation is under way. Although whether this was a mistake or a deliberate act, the effect is the same. The cartel has sown fear in this part of mexico. For now, the mormons insist they are not leaving. Instead, they prepare for more funerals to come. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come the new corridor opening to allow sikhs to cross from india into pakistan to visit one of their religions holiest sites without a visa. The israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin, the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. A 27 year old jewish man has been arrested, and an extremistjewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. At polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. As the results came in, it was clear. The monarchy would survive. Of the american hostages, there was no sign. They are being held somewhere inside the compound, and student leaders have threatened that should the americans attempt rescue, they will all die. This mission has surpassed all expectations. Voyageri is now the most distant man made object anywhere in the universe, and itjust seems to keep on going. Tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms, or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals. This is bbc news, the latest headlines. A senior us diplomat tells investigators that President Trumps personal lawyer conducted a Smear Campaign against the former Us Ambassador to ukraine to get her removed. The families of burkina faso miners still missing after a deadly ambush say the government isnt doing enough to combat attacks by islamic extremists. The french president Emmanuel Macron has described nato as brain dead and accused the biggest contributor, the us, of a waning committment to the trans atlantic alliance. Speaking to the economist magazine, he said you have no coordination whatsoever of strategic Decision Making between the United States and its nato allies. None. You have an uncoordinated aggressive action by another nato ally, turkey, in an area where our interests are at sta ke. German chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the criticism of nato saying the french president has found rather drastic words to express his views. This is not how i see the state of cooperation at nato. Well a little earlier i spoke with James Goldgeier whos a nato expert and a robert bosch senior visiting fellow at the brookings institution. I began by asking why president macron chose to make such a disparaging remark publicly. You can see the anger coming through to but it is shocking that the president of france would actually say these things out loud. And he is angry at the United States, the lack of commitment, he is angry at what turkey has done in syria without Co Ordination. He is clearly had a lot of pent up frustration and he let it loose in that interview. Cynically you might suppose that he also sees an opening for europe here . Well, he does and he clearly wants to leave that effort and he wants to make the case that europe should be developing its serious strategic capability and europe should be able to do things on its own and that the United States is not there for it, it should be able to handle things on its own. The problem is that by speaking in this way he makes it harder for himself to lead that effort. It needs a lot of ground work and state work and working with others in the European Union and instead he blasts this out there and so you have, as you pointed out, a comment coming from Angela Merkel who is also frustrated with the United States but must stand up for nato and say she does not agree. Is he right . Is nato brain dead with a complete lack of Co Ordination . He is specifically frustrated by what happened in the conversation between the United States and turkey and then turkey going into syria at the very end of the interview he said i spoke about brain death. Nato is a system that does not regulate its members. As soon as you have a member who feels they have the right to head off on their own, they do it. He is clearly angry about turkey and the us and so i think that specific case was problematic but on the whole the alliance has been working together pretty well and especially in support of the eastern members. The fact that Angela Merkel and Jen Stoltenberg have rebuffed what he said, do you see there being little likelihood of action on this . I dont think he will get that much and there is a nato summit coming up in london at the beginning of december and this was not a great way to prepare the ground work in the next few weeks. Thank you very much. Thereve been heavy downpours across large parts of Northern England with flooded roads and cancelled train services. The don river in sheffield has breached its flood defences in parts of the city and rsidenents in rotherham have been urged to stay home and not travel. The bbcs tom ingall has the latest. Im standing in the middle of rotherham, this is the river don behind me, it is well and truly burst its banks, it is living with them fourth through what should be a car parked. It is the middle of the night, there is no one around except the Emergency Services who have had a very busy 18 20 hours. That is the length of time that the rain has been falling heavily and steadily here, across the north of england, and it has caused quite severe transport disruption. Earlier this evening the focus was on the famous Meadowhall Shopping Centre in sheffield. It should have been a very busy night for them with the switching on of the christmas light stopping thousands of people due to attend. Just around 5 30pm organisers took the difficult decision to call the event off and thatis dec