The u.s. President as a racist a conman and a cheat but Mr Cohen said he had no direct evidence that Mr Trump colluded with Russia to bolster his White House campaign he alleged that President Trump knew in advance that Wiki Leaks planned to publish hacked e-mails from the Democratic party's national committee Mr Cohen told Republicans on the congressional hearing that they should not protect Mr Trump I'm responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that you're doing now for 10 years I protected Mr Trump for 10 years and I can only warn people the more people that follow Mr Trump as I did blindly are going to suffer the same consequences that I am suffering India has demanded the return of a captive pilot whose fighter plane was shot down by Pakistan in a major escalation between the 2 nuclear armed neighbors over Kashmir Pakistan says it shot down 2 Indian warplanes after launching a raid on Indian controlled territory India says it also downed a Pakistani plane. The former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has appeared as a witness in the trial of 12 Catalan separatists accused of sedition and rebellion he told the court in Madrid everyone he spoke to in the Catalan administration was aware that he would not sanction a referendum on breaking up the country he said the separatists had applied him to reimpose central power James Reynolds is in Madrid in court Marian or a whore sat directly in front of the accused Catalan politicians and activists neither made any attempt to acknowledge the other the former prime minister answered questions for an hour and 40 minutes he defended his actions during the crisis of 2017 Mr Hoyer insisted that he had a duty to uphold the Spanish constitution and prevent Catalonia from breaking away I don't negotiate Spanish sovereignty he told the court representatives of President Daniel Ortega is government in the correct he will have resumed talks with the opposition to defuse the political violence that led to the deaths of more than 300 people over the past year the negotiations are being mediated by the Roman Catholic Church are America's editor Leonardo Russia reports it's nearly a year since the unrest began they were triggered by cuts to patients and social programs but soon grew into mass street protests calling for the resignation of Mr of their god the opposition accuses the sons of Mr Leader of betraying his ideals and establishing a corrupt a dictatorship more than 300 people have died most of them on to government protesters and the Nicaraguan economy has suffered the impact of the political crisis Well news from the b.b.c. . Venezuela's opposition leader one quite 0 has announced he's traveling to Brazil have to failing to return to Caracas He's expected to meet Brazil's right wing leader sharable sonar on Thursday Brazil is one of more than 50 countries that have called for the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro and to recognize Mr Goh I don't know as Venezuela's legitimate leader members of parliament in Britain have held another series of votes aimed at shaping the government's handling of Bracks it with 30 days to go before Britain is due to leave the European Union the overwhelmingly backed an amendment allowing M.P.'s to vote for delay if they reject the deal the e.u. Offered last November the Ethiopian or 37 hours that they are planning a fund raising dinner hosted by Prime Minister Ahmed where people will be charged more than $175000.00 a head this is part of an effort to raise around a $1000000000.00 for infrastructure projects in the capital Addis Ababa our Africa editor Will Ross reports. Defying shake hands the green cover and a slick video showing off infrastructure plans to transform the capital Addis Ababa there are spacious parks and walkways along the city's rivers the $1000000000.00 project is so hugely ambitious you could call it Addison wonderland in order to help raise the money the Ethiopian government is inviting people to dinner a ticket to the event hosted by the prime minister will set you back 175000 dollars perhaps not out of reach for some investors looking to get a foothold in one of Africa's fastest growing economies Brazilian authorities have closed the training ground in Rio de Janeiro where 10 teenage football players died in a fire 3 weeks ago they said Fleming one of the country's biggest clubs didn't have a license to operate the training center the victims died in their sleep after their dormitory was engulfed in flames b.b.c. News. Hello and welcome to News Hour from the b.b.c. World Service We're coming to you live from our studios in central London I'm James Kamar Psammead and we begin with 2 set piece events in 2 different corners of the world both of them featuring President Donald Trump he's only at one of them but he certainly tweeting about both in a moment we'll be discussing the event he'd want to be leading the news his 2nd meeting with the man he calls his friend North Korea's leader Kim Jong un that's taking place in Hanoi but 1st to the event that is leading the news the congressional testimony of someone who was certainly Mr Trump's associate if not his friend but he was very clearly become his enemy his longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen speaking in front of the House Oversight Committee the man condemned to 3 years in prison for paying off an alleged mistress of Mr Trump evading tax and lying to Congress gave what he asserted was a truthful assessment of his ex boss and of his own role in his rise to power never in a 1000000 years did I imagine when I excepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump that he would one day run for the presidency and actively When I regret the day I said yes to Mr Trump I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way I am ashamed of my own failings and publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the southern district of New York I am ashamed of my weakness and my misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr Trump to protect and promote him I am machine that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is he's a racist he's a con man and he's cheat on North America correspondent Anthony's a cast being watching the day's events Well we knew what Michael Cohen was going to say today in his opening statement that was released to media outlets overnight but it's different reading it on paper and seeing the man sitting there under the spotlight with the members of Congress peppering him with questions wearing a dark suit his voice sometimes wavering talking about his relationship with Donald Trump over the past 10 years and he called him a racist a con man and a cheat and he gave a number of specific examples of what he said were presidential misdeeds talking about prior knowledge that the president had of the Wiki Leaks hacked Democratic e-mail revelation that happen in July of 2016 talking about the Trump Tower meeting and how Donald Trump knew that his son was going to be going into a meeting with the Russians who were billing this as a chance to share damaging information about Hillary Clinton and he presented it when what's particularly interesting important he presented documentary evidence supporting his allegation that Donald Trump reimbursed him for payments that Michael Cohen made to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels when she was poised to reveal that she had an affair with Donald Trump and that was hush money that kept her from talking about it that is a crime that Michael Cohen has pled guilty to and part of the reason why he's going to be going to prison later this year and he's saying that Donald Trump had direct knowledge and a direct connection to it you know let's just have a listen to a bit more of what he had to say this is him talking about Donald Trump's relationship with Russia Mr Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it he lied about it because he never expected when he also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project and so I lied about it to Christmas to trump it made clear to me. Through his personal statements to me that we both knew to be false and through his lawyers to the country that he wanted me to live over the years I have been smeared as a rat by the president of the United States I and the I suppose what we go there is just a sort of flavor of his his defense of what he did he said he had to do give us give us give us a bit more on the dealing that he's talking about you know this is interesting because it's Michael Cohen talking about why he lied to Congress this is another crime that he pled guilty to another one of the reasons why he's going to jail he originally said that negotiations for a Trump Tower in Moscow which he was involved in ended in January of 2016 he later confessed that those negotiations continued on to June of 2016 into the heart of the presidential campaign and he said he was doing that at the behest of Donald Trump and his lawyers knowing that it was false in order to protect the president something noteworthy however is that he said the Donald Trump lied about it too but if you go back and look at the record and 2016 Donald Trump was Korea about his Russian business dealings earlier in the year what he was doing however was calling for closer relations to Russia was praising Vladimir Putin at the same time unbeknownst to the public his of his representatives including Michael Cohen were negotiating a business deal with Russia was only later in the year after Michael Cohen says that these negotiations and that Donald Trump started to come out and said Say he had no business dealings with Russia but he was always very careful to use the present tense this is an example Michael Cohen attempting to of to defend himself against attacks that he was lying about these Russia negotiations on his own of course there is the question of his credibility which is front and center here this is someone who is about to serve time for amongst other things lying to Congress now sitting in front of a congressional committee. In saying now I'm telling the truth so perhaps no surprise that the Republicans who are on that committee they were pulling school on the messenger and of course on their political opponents for allowing him to testify just have a listen his mom green a Republican representative from Tennessee my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim that they want the truth they want transparency and fair oversight yet the Democrats witness to testify 4 before Congress today is none other than a scorned man who's going to prison for lying to Congress let that sink in he's going to prison for lying to Congress and he's the star witness to Congress if the Democrats were after the truth they'd have an honest person you're testifying I just wonder how he came across Michael Cohen and I mean will he be seen to be believable Oh that was certainly was the central thrust of the Republicans effort they didn't spend a whole lot of time rebutting his individual allegations but rather were trying to paint him as a liar in fact one member of Congress Republican held up a sign that had a picture of Michael Cohen with Liar liar pants of fire written on it the way Michael Cohen attempted to parry these attacks one to say that as he learned about Donald Trump as president saw his behavior as president he had a change of opinion about him and he realized that he was ashamed of what he had done and he needed to make amends that may not be all that believable because a lot of these allegations that Cohen is making date back to prior to Donald Trump being president but another way Michael Cohen has attempted to rebut these charges is to say essentially that he's he's an example of what not to do that he should be a lesson to people who are defending the president that he defended the president for 10 years defended Donald Trump for 10 years and it has ruined his life and now that his life is essentially in shambles all he can do is to try to tell the truth and that was what he's doing today. One way or the other Michael Cohen has lied whether he was a line in defense of the president over the years or is now lying to protect himself that's something that the American public is going to have to judge and I was one thing when I was joined by Phillip Allen a lawyer who was a counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor he's also served as president of the d.c. Bar Association I asked him what he had made of Michael Cohen's testimony so far a well I think it's been fascinating I must say that the opening statement that Michael Cohen gave which your correspondent summarized was explosive What has surprised me a bit is that Michael Cohen seems to be holding up better as a witness than I might have expected has not been flustered even though every 5 minutes when it comes are around the time for the Republicans to bash him he's subjected to all sorts of cash one day. At a taxi nevertheless has been a pretty safe stand up in resisting the accusations that he must be lying now because he's lied in his past and deed and has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in connection with such things as the you know the Trump Moscow deal and it's a fair question to ask though isn't it it's always a fair question and it comes up a I must say in almost every case in which there is a cooperating witness the defense always tries to divert the attention from the substance of the testimony to the reality that the person who was present and therefore in a position to testify about whether it's a. Conspiracy or a liquor store hold up is a person who is himself a felon and the question is why should we believe that person this stuff goes his crime is in part lying to the very body he's now trying to convince that. He's telling the truth to that certainly ironic but as the chairman and other people pointed out if he is lying now he stands to expose himself to further a prosecution for lying to Congress and so I think if you step back a little bit in apart from the rhetorical argument that having lied once to Congress one shouldn't accept his testimony now the answer is that people who have lied sometimes can change and tell the truth especially if lying again will expose them to further repercussions and as one of the Republicans pointed out Cohen's current 3 year sentence is relatively mild if he commits further perjury before Congress I'm sure they the government would drop the hammer on him so well could the possible repercussions of this testimony be fool President Tom. I think it's serious apart from the fact that Cohen seems to be able to provide some documentary evidence that the president was deceitful in dealing with the American public in denying that he personally orchestrated the payoff to Stormy Daniels one of the alleged affairs that President Trump had and that is they could be a campaign 5 finance violation one of the which is one of the counts that. Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to I think perhaps more so serious for the president is the additional information that Cohen has provided about the ongoing efforts by the President Trump to do it a major deal late multi probably 1000000000 dollar deal in Russia something that required the cooperation of. And that tends to explain what one of the questions that many people in the u.s. And around the world had which is why is Donald Trump been so cozy in Helsinki and elsewhere with President Putin and Cohen explains that Donald Trump had hundreds of millions of dollars in state at stake if he was able to get the Trump Tower Moscow built something that could only happen with Putin's assistance lawyer former d.c. Bar Association president Philip Allen lack of are in a moment we'll be hearing about a another leader the Donald Trump is pretty close to these days Kim Jong un he has met him again in Hanoi will be hearing about that meeting and the hopes for the Summit of the 2 men in just a moment you're listening to News Hour from the b.b.c. World Service. Coming up later on in the program. As Ukraine's chosen entry for the Euro Vision Song Contest but it won't be heard because the country has pulled out of the competition altogether we'll be finding out why the mind of headlines today Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has painted a damning portrayed of the president in his testimony to Congress calling him a racist a con man and a cheat India has demanded the release of a pilot whose fighter was shot down by Pakistan in an escalating confrontation between the nuclear armed rivals and appearing as a witness in the trial of Catalan separatist leaders the former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has defended his actions in putting down the Catalan separatists unilateral bid for independence. You're listening to the b.b.c. World Service and this is news our coming to live from London with James Kamar somee. Let's turn now to events in Hanoi where President Trump is preparing for day 2 of summit 2 with the North Korean leader Kim Jong un day one seemed to go well as Mr Trump outlined his high hopes for their meeting the 1st summit was a great success and I think this what really will be equal or greater than the 1st they made a lot of bread and I think the biggest prize as well as our relationship is really a good one and he talked again about his belief that North Korea could have a bright economic future with a bit of American help so I'd say I say to the face forward I think that your country has tremendous economic potential unbelievable unlimited. The future a future. Leader and I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen and we will help with that if so what would a successful 2nd trump Kim summit look like Steven pumpers a program director with the crisis group as an independent organization working to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world he was formerly a special assistant to President Obama a success for the summit would probably be something along a relatively modest exchange of concessions by both sides so you know the North Koreans in September when they said down the South Koreans put on the table the idea that they might be willing to shutter all or part of the young beyond nuclear facility which is the place where they produce all of the known plutonium that they produce and also produce some highly enriched uranium it's a very significant facility it's not the only place where they produce fissile material but it's very important to their program if they were to allow inspectors in if they were to agree to shut that down and if the United States were to agree on the other hand to concessions maybe some limited form of sanctions relief maybe a declaration. About the end of the conflict that kind of relatively confined deal would be you know a step that both sides could then take back home and say look this is a process that's that's generating progress this is something that we should continue to invest in I think that would really be success in the fact this is happening it's all is progress isn't it I mean given where we were before the last summit we're talking about war now we're talking about waste to find peace I mean it is a remarkable turnaround isn't it yeah I mean when you think about the rhetoric of the president trumps 1st year in office where people were talking about the size of their nuclear buttons and fire and fury and the like I mean it's obviously a much better place to be in I think the you know the concern is that the 1st summit in Singapore you know came out with a joint statement that was fairly thin on details and since then the parties have really struggled to get into some sort of diplomatic rhythm where they're able to make concrete progress and so they're in a