Hello to you. New developments in washington as the impeachment inquiry against President Trump gathers pace. His 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. It is a long and comprehensive transcript. He gave a lot of evidence to that enquiry last month, mike, 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 whispering campaign, if you like, 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. David, another point we should cover, so normally reliable journalists reporting that william barr, the attorney general who normally is very loyal to President Trump, refused to hold a press conference to declare the president did not break any laws in his call with 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 bill 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, i think, 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 general, jeff sessions. Tom maoli is a newjersey entrepreneur who is a personal friend of donald trump and was a member of trumps president ial Campaign Finance team. Hes in newjersey. Good to talk to you. We very rarely get the chance to talk frankly to people really close to the president. Well, youve got one. I am on the air and thank you for having me on. It was an insight view. From the outside, we have the sense that the white house as a building that is permanently on fire with everybody running around screaming and when there is not enough drama, the president gets on twitter and creates more. How does it look when you know the president , when you have his ear . Listen, i think you have just got to peel back the onion and look at what is important and what is important here is the economy and what is going on in the us. I mean, we have the greatest, we a re in the us. I mean, we have the greatest, we are in the midst of one of the greatest economies in the history of this country, Interest Rates are at an all time low, Consumer Confidence is high, people are buying, people are spending, you know, thejob are buying, people are spending, you know, the job numbers are buying, people are spending, you know, thejob numbers are spectacular, they are at all time lows, i mean, look at the stock market today, we are historically high, so to me, we could talk about impeachment all we want and clearly, this is like you are in the middle ofa this is like you are in the middle of a super bowl and you want to take tom brady your star quarterback out when you are winning so i am not so sure i understand why the democrats wa nt to sure i understand why the democrats want to do this but clearly, i would understand that if i was against tom brady in the super bowl and never winning i would clearly want to get him out of the super bowl. Even his opponents would acknowledge some of what you say but you know some of those figures are disputed. But this is also a president who had his personal lawyer running a shallow American Foreign policy designed to help the president politically and smear oi help the president politically and smear or remove help the president politically and smear or remove anyone who got help the president politically and smear or remove anyone who got in the way well, listen. Noone is perfect and i think that. The way well, listen. Noone is perfect and i think that. Noone is perfect . Listen, ithink perfect and i think that. Noone is perfect . Listen, i think thejury is perfect . Listen, i think thejury is out as to the facts and there is no credibility to the witness as we sit here today so we have to get to the bottom of it and we have to, you know, this is america and you are innocent until you are Proven Guilty andi innocent until you are Proven Guilty and i think we need to give the president of the United States was holding the highest office, the same you know, the same stature that eve ryo ne you know, the same stature that everyone else would get, and that is innocent until Proven Guilty. Tom, that takes us to a point, i guess, he must feel and he would know this like you can do anything. He isa this like you can do anything. He is a reality tv star with a chequered Business Career who has got the most importantjob in the world. Despite all that he has said and done things which horrify many people, including now a 2 million fine for misusing for political purposes, money that people thought they were giving to charity. But he can they were giving to charity. But he ca n afford they were giving to charity. But he can afford 2 million, cant he . Is that how he feels, tom, nothing can touch him . I dont think so. If you know him like i do, he is a stand up quy know him like i do, he is a stand up guy, he sticks to his word, he doesnt he says he is going to do, he is doing everything he said he was going to do when he ran to his campaign and was going to do when he ran to his campaign and i do not think he thinks he is invincible, he clearly, he clearly is an honourable man and you know this multi Million Dollar charity issue, you know, you have to, again, peel back the onion on the facts, the facts are that that the facts, the facts are that that the investigation only prove that he did not manage the paperwork properly, the monies went towards charity, he did not manage the paperwork properly, and listen, when you are out of that stature, im an entrepreneur and i run countries and i have companies and hundreds of people work for me, thousands of people work for me, thousands of people working and you rely on them to do the right thing and sometimes they dont and i think that is what you are looking at here. Even if all of that is true, he has a problem, doesnt he which could hurt him . A majority of americans surveyed are telling a pillion pollsters they wa nt to telling a pillion pollsters they want to see the president impeached. And his Approval Ratings among americans as a whole are historically low. Does not recognise he is terrible trouble . Listen, i think he recognises there is an issue with the American Public but i think listen, you know, ithink issue with the American Public but i think listen, you know, i think that you know, there is the undertow which i democrats under trying to impeach him and they want him out but then you have, you know, the people pouring on the beach every day, look at the job numbers, people pouring on the beach every day, look at thejob numbers, look at the economy, you go to a restau ra nt at the economy, you go to a restaurant and it is, you know, historically, it was saturday and sunday nights or friday and nights but the restaurants were packed and the rest of the week they were empty and now it is every day, i mean, everywhere you go the economy is moving, people are happy, people are spending, you know, and really at the end of the day that is how they are going to pull back the voting handle, they are basing it upon their pocketbooks and i really think he is going to get back in and i do not think they will impeach him and i think not think they will impeach him and ithinki not think they will impeach him and i think i going to get back in. What do you think makes it ok that he got on the phone to an american ally in ukraine and while military aid was suspended, this is military aid to an american ally, menaced by russia, he asked the ukrainian leader for a favour, he asked him to do something that mr trump thought would help him when the white house next year. But is an impeachable offence on the face of it. While clearly if he did that, it is, but thejury face of it. While clearly if he did that, it is, but the jury is out. Face of it. While clearly if he did that, it is, but thejury is out. It is clear, tom, he did that. Well, we dont have the facts yet. Even the partial node makes it clear. And the whistleblower, you know, the whistleblower, you know, the whistleblower has not come forward with testimony that is credible, as we sit here today, you know, listen, again. The transcript was done by somebody independent sitting in the corner of the room, tom, you must know that. It is nothing to do with the whistleblower. We have to give the whistleblower. We have to give the president of the United States the president of the United States the same thing that we would give eve ryo ne the same thing that we would give everyone else, the same thing he would want, and that is innocent until Proven Guilty, let them go through the process and figure it out and i dont think they will find anything, i really do not, i think the man is a stand up vanities has what he is going to do under the end of the day he has the American People are his number one priority. You know, and you know the election is coming around the corner and like isaid is coming around the corner and like i said before, clearly the democrats wa nt i said before, clearly the democrats want him out, they want to get back in office and they want to take control and i think, you know, they are going to try anything. Well, you are going to try anything. Well, you area stand up are going to try anything. Well, you are a stand up guy for defending him. Tom, thank you very much for coming on and doing that. Thank you for having me on and like i said, i think everybody out there and you know, i think one of the, if you asked me, you know, one of the biggest risk that american stands for today is not electing this man and putting him back in office because we are, we are, we are on a roll, we are the high stock market is the highest level it has ever beenin is the highest level it has ever been in the history of this country, 401 k are bursting at the scenes. Tom, you kind of said that. You kind of that that already. Forgive me, i would like you to come on again, if you well. I would love to be on again and you well. I would love to be on again and i would love to talk further when we have more time because, you know, i believe the American People are behind the president. All right, thank you indeed. Thank you. Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg is strongly considering entering the democratic president ial nomination race. The former new york mayors spokesman said mr bloomberg was worried the current candidates couldnt beat President Trump in the 2020 us election. Hes expected to file paperwork to enter the race this week. 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 ouagadougou. 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. Suggest islamic extremism. The once peaceful nation is grappling with an insurgency of three militant groups with links to alqaeda and islamic state. This man tells the government they live withjihadists every day this man tells the government that they live with jihadist extremists 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. 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 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. Voyager 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 world 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. 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. Trevor harvey and rogan jay, and the others. Buried as they had died, side by side. Thank you everyone for coming out. The mourners had 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 struggled to comprehend the massacre of children. I feel that they really need to get on it and really do something and take it very serious, because it is serious. This should not have happened to three women and their children that 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 confused 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. The french president Emmanuel Macron has described nato as brain dead and accused the biggest contributor, the us, of a waning commitment to the transatlantic alliance. Speaking to the economist magazine, he said 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 lead 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. Starting on saturday, indian sikhs will be able to visit one of their religions holiest shrines in pakistan without a visa. India and pakistan signed the agreement last month in a rare moment of cooperation. Pilgrims will be able to use a new, special corridor, that will lead straight from the border to the temple in kartarpur, 4 kilometres away. This comes against a backdrop of tension over the kashmir region, close by. India and pakistan both lay claim to the area, leading to two wars between the countries. The bbcs prateek sha ghildial is there. Im at the border point between india and pakistan in punjab. Just across the border from here is the sikh holy shrine of gurdwara darbar sahib which holds a lot of importance for the Sikh Community. As you can see, there is the pakistani flag flying over here. Sikhs from all over india gather here every day to have one glimpse one glimpse of the holy shrine through a pair of binoculars thats fixed over here. It is believed the founder of sikhism, guru nanuk, spent the last days of his life at this shrine and that is why it has such significance for the Sikh Community. On a clear day, they are able to see the white painted dome of gurdwara darbar sahib from here, and they are ecstatic that the government has taken the step to let the pilgrims from one side of the border visit this shrine which is of great significance for them. Translation we have come here to pray to our guru. The guru have ordained it, and now the passage will be opened. I congratulate everyone on the birth anniversary of our guru. Translation we have heard so much about this holy shrine. We really want to go, especially because i have just got married and i want to seek blessings. But reaching a deal on this corridor has not been an easy process. India and pakistan have been trying to reach a deal on it since the late 90s but traditional hostilities kept coming in the way. But at last, the mood here in punjab is of happiness and excitement. The Sikh Community has been given what they have been for years. Hows this for dedication . An eighty two year old man has become the first briton to ride a million registered miles on his bicycle. Russ mantle has been pedalling away for more than 65 years averaging around 15,000 a year. The bbcs tim allman has the story. You know what they say. The millionth mile is always the hardest. Russ mantle clocked up miles 999,995 i million. A very big numberfrom a man who harbours a very big affection for two wheeled transportation. I just love the mobility that cycling gave me. Even now, im stuck with a bike, no longer have a car, no longer have scooters. His cycling odyssey began in 1952 when he got his first bike, a coventry eagle. The crucial thing was he kept a meticulous log of every mile he rode. Russ has travelled the equivalent of two return trips to the moon or a0 circumnavigations of the globe. Lots of people have a bike in the shed or garage that they may not have rode for a while, and really hoping that hearing russs story and that he cycled all the way to 82 will help people get back on their bikes. But he has wound down a little in recent times this year he has only managed a measly 8000 miles, but shows no signs of stopping. Just another milestone, and then onto one one, one two, i should probably finish up very close to 2 million by the time i die, when im 100 so, whats his secret . Just an attitude of mind. An attitude of mind, he says. And presumably, strong thighs. Tim allman, bbc news. Somebody who overtook me the other day said, its all in the legs, son. The chocolatier is celebrating the form of the berlin wall. Nearly seven metres in length. The chocolate maker says customers will be able to chip away at the facade and take their own piece of the wall home. Hello. Thursday brought us a day of heavy and persistent rain across some parts of the country, particularly for parts of northern england. There was 75mm of rain by the end of the day in sheffield and many areas have seen flooding problems and quite a lot of travel disruption too. We still have numerous flood warnings and severe flood warnings in force as well. Although the worst of the rain will be easing away, river levels will be lagging behind the main rainfall, so still a lot of flooding problems through friday morning. Now, the overnight rain has slowly been shifting a little bit further south, but an amber warning was issued from the met office for up to 100mm of rain across parts of south and west yorkshire, derbyshire, and Greater Manchester too. As we head through friday morning, weve still got that rain band with us, it becomes fairly light and patchy and as we head through the day, it will be confined to eastern parts of england. Its cold, quite a frosty start for many of us to friday, weve also got a few wintry flurries across the highest parts of highland scotland. By the afternoon, lots of sunshine developing, away from eastern parts of england where you keep the cloud and a little bit of patchy rain. Temperatures between about 6 in aberdeen to around about i in cardiff. Still on the chilly side. Into friday evening then, that area of cloud and rain slowly clears off towards the east, so under those clearing skies, have a look at the blue colours, that indicates quite a cold start to your weekend, in fact, subzero temperatures for many of us, particularly in the north first thing saturday, but really wherever you are, you could well wake up to quite a sharp frost. After that chilly start to saturday, more cloud and rain work in from the west through the day, so some rain for northern ireland, western parts of scotland, and england and wales with some of that rain of the highest ground could be falling as sleet and snow but certainly rain down at lower levels. Eastern england and scotland should stay dry and bright throughout the day and it will feel pretty chilly, just 5 10 celsius, our top temperature on saturday. Heading into the second half of the weekend, still an unsettled picture, as low pressure just slowly drifts towards the near continent, small ridge of higher pressure in between before the following system moves in from the atlantic but the rain should clear away from the south on sunday, many of us should see a fine, dry day. Again, a chilly start. Quite a bit of frost around first thing and temperatures by the afternoon somewhere between about 6 10 degrees, a little below par for this time of year but at least its looking dry for sunday. The outlook for next week is a fairly unsettled one still, showery rain at times, some sunshine and temperatures rather chilly for the time of year. Bye for now. This is bbc news. The headlines testimony has now emerged from a senior american diplomat that President Trumps personal lawyer ran a Smear Campaign against the former Us Ambassador to ukraine to try to get her removed. George kent accused Rudy Giuliani of spreading what he called lies about marie yovanovitch. 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 left 60 injured. Distraught families say the government hasnt done enough to quell a rise in attacks by islamic extremists. Frances president Emmanuel Macron has described nato as brain dead and accused the biggest contributor, the us, of a waning commitment to the transatlantic alliance. German chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the criticism of nato, saying mr macron used rather drastic words to express his views. Youre up to date with the headlines