new developments in washington as the impeachment inqury against president trump gathers pace. mr trump's dealings with ukraine are at the centre of the inquiry, and testimony has now emerged, from a senior american diplomat, who's 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, who's in charge of ukraine policy at the state department, accused rudy guiliani of spreading what he called ‘lies‘ about marie yovanovitch. she was later recalled from her post. more on that and other developments from our north america correspondent david willis. firstly we should say that he testified last month but a transcript has only just testified last month but a transcript has onlyjust been made public. yes. 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 yovanitch. mr ken said he was also a victim of the same smear man “— said he was also a victim of the same smear man —— 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 trump's own economic —— personal gender, to bring proceedings against joe 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. the 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. thejustice 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 campaignfinance released that no violations of campaign finance laws were committed by the president but what is unusual about the fact that william barr clearly bemused when it came to public cleave defending the president is the fact that the relationship between the two men has a p pa re ntly 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. a $2 million fine for the president and a statement from the president. yes. the donald] trump foundation was set up as a charity but the prosecutors in new york found that it had been used pretty much as president trump and his family's business piggy bank, if you like, it used promote his presidential campaign, to pay off business debt and even to purchase, for $10,000, a portrait of mr trump himself that hangs in his hotel in florida. what is unusual about this settle m e nt florida. what is unusual about this settlement is that it involved —— involved an admission from president trump that there was any hint of wrongdoing. i think... trump that there was any hint of wrongdoing. ithink... we trump that there was any hint of wrongdoing. i think... we have just lost... david, can you still hear me? finish what you are saying. what was unusual about this particular court case is that normally president trump, in this case there was a detailed admission of misconduct. normally president trump tend to be quite aggressive in fighting these things, but not on this occasion it seems. thank you very much for that. let's get some of the day's other news: the brazilian supreme court has ruled that convicted criminals should go to prison only after appealing —— exhausting appeal options. that law is good for the president. british police have released more information on the 39 dead bodies found in a truck in south—east england last month. they've 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 their relatives were used to bury the dead in the langford family. the mother, her two young children and the others. buried as they had died, side—by—side. others. buried as they had died, side-by-side. thank everyone for coming out. mourners travelled in convoys coming out. mourners travelled in co nvoys fro m coming out. mourners travelled in convoys from mormon communities in utah and arizona, escorted by the mexican military down the same road where they 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 a local cartel confuse the car is full of children with a rival gang. community elders see that does not add up. translation: the children who witnessed the attack we re 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 com pletely 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 don't 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 mayor of a small town in bolivia has been attacked by opposition protesters who dragged her through the streets barefoot, covered her in red paint and forcibly cut her hair. the masked men forced patricia arce of the governing mas party to also sign a resignation letter. she was handed over to police in vinto after several hours, who took her to a health centre. there's been a wave of violence across the country over controversial presidential elections last month. let's bring you the story of this man, bosco ntaganda. he's a former congolese warlord known as the terminator. he's now been sentenced to 30 years in prison at the international criminal court in the hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity. it happened in eastern democratic republic of congo 16 years ago when ntaganda was a military rebel leader. bosco ntaganda cut a calm digger in court. a picture of conformity in contrast to the character revealed in harrowing evidence it the overall sentence imposed on you shall therefore be 30 years of imprisonment. as a charismatic commander in the drc he presided over a rebel militia that destroyed communities. as commander he was guilty of keeping sex slaves and raping girls, some as young as nine yea rs raping girls, some as young as nine years old. killings in the conscription of children under the age of 15 to fight a soldiers for his armed forces. they targeted civilians, seen as not belonging to their ethnic group. in one ambush, fighters mutilated and killed 49 people, men, women, children and babies ina people, men, women, children and babies in a banana field behind a village using sticks and atoms, knives and machetes. bosco ntaganda was the first icc suspect to voluntarily surrender, turning up at the us embassy in rwanda in 2013. farfrom doing the honourable thing, this was seen as an act of self reservation. he has flip—flopped between sides fighting for the rebels in the state army so much that his luck in the drc was coming to an end. he came with a ruthless reputation and will go down in history as the first person to be convicted why the icc of sexual crimes, a victory for victims, especially women, in recognition of gender violence and an acknowledgement of rape as a weapon of war. the 46—year—old former rebel leader sat silently as the judge highlighted the fact that his intelligent and military experience suggested he should have known better. the 30 year sentence is designed to act as retribution but also a deterrent for other leaders who may be tempted to commit similar at crimes. next will be the issue of reparations and how much compensation the icc should award to the survivors. many of whom risked their lives to testify in this trial and reveal bosco ntaganda's to face. —— true face. 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." meanwhile, 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, for more reaction on president macron's comments we can now speak to nato expert and authorjim goldgeier who's is also the robert bosch senior visiting fellow at the brooking's institution. thank you for your time. you will know, of course, the privately few senior people say similar things. why has mr macron decided to say this publicly now? 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? he does and he clearly wa nts for europe here? 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 harderfor himself to 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 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. united states but must stand up for nato and say she does not agreem he right? is nato brain—dead with a com plete he right? is nato brain—dead with a complete lack of co—ordination? he right? is nato brain—dead with a complete lack of co-ordination? he is specifically frustrated i what happened in the conversation between the united states and turkey and then turkey going into syria at the end of the interview he said i spoke about rain death. nato is a system does not regulate its members. as soon as does not regulate its members. as soon as you does not regulate its members. as soon as you have does not regulate its members. as soon as you have a does not regulate its members. as soon as you have a member who feels they have the right to head off on their long —— own, they do it. is clearly a ng ry their long —— own, they do it. 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 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 don't 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. a major incident has been declared in sheffield in response to heavy downpours and flooding, which has also affected other parts of northern england. the don river in sheffield has breached its flood defences in parts of the city. city authorities and are monitoring the situation and emergency services are standing by, though there've not yet been compulsory evacuations. hundreds were stranded at the main shopping centre, tom ingall reports. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a new special corridor opens on saturday allowing sikhs to cross from india into pakistan to visit one of their religion's 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 trump's personal lawyer conducted a smear campaign against the former us ambassador to ukraine to get her removed. the first funerals have taken place for members of a mormon community ambushed by gunmen in northern mexico. 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 city of the west african nation. the families of dozens of miners, still missing after the ambush, say the government hasn't done enough to quell a rise in]ihadi revolts. freya cole reports. the families of those killed, injured or still missing wait for answers. they've 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 in 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 al-quaeda 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 kaboe 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 dashcam defeat these lawless and faithless murderers. “ can —— can defeat. 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 it's 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. starting saturday, indian sikhs will be able to visit one of their religion's 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, four kilometres away. this comes against a backdrop of tension over the kashmir region, close to kartarpur. india and pakistan both lay claim to the area, leading to two wars between the countries. the bbc‘s pratiksha ghildial is there. i'm at the border point between india and pakistan. 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 of the holy shrine through a pair of binoculars that's 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. now, how's this for dedication? an 82—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 fifteen—thousand miles a year. the bbc‘s tim allman has the story. you know what they say stopping the million mile is always the hardest. russ mantle clocked up miles 999,995 -1 russ mantle clocked up miles 999,995 — 1 million. a very big numberfrom a man who harbours a very big affection for two wheeled transportation. i just affection for two wheeled transportation. ijust love the mobility that cycling gave me. even now, iam mobility that cycling gave me. even now, i am 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. he kept a meticulous log of every male he wrote. russ has travelled the equivalent of two return trips to the moon or a0 circumnavigation of the moon or a0 circumnavigation of the globe. lots of people have a bike in the shed or garage that they may not have read for a while, and really hoping that hearing russ's 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, this year he has only managed a measly 8000 miles but shows no signs of stopping. ]ust another milestone, and then onto 11, one two, i should probably finish up very close to 2 million by the time i'd... die. very close to 2 million by the time i'd. .. die. what's the secret? ]ust an attitude of mind. an attitude of mind he says, and presumably strong calves. i should c‘est. makes a couple of miles a cycle to work look a bit pathetic. well done russ. the salvage teams as the bottles will be probably sold at an international auction. that's it for now, thanks so much for watching. 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, we've 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. it's cold, quite a frosty start for many of us to friday, we've 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 and aberdeen to around about 11 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. now, heading into the second half of the weekend, and it's still an unsettled picture, as low pressure drifts towards the near continent, a small ridge of higher pressure in between before the following system moves in from the atlantic but that means that the rain should clear away from the south on sunday, many of us should see a fine, dry day. again, it's 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, really, for this time of year but at least it is looking dry for sunday. and then the outlook for next week is a fairly unsettled one still, showery rain around at times, some sunshine too 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 trump's 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 funerals have begun for some of the victims of an attack in northern mexico in which nine us citizens were killed. they were members of a mormon community. initial investigations suggest the attack was a case of mistaken identity by a drug cartel — that's disputed by the victims' families. france's 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. german chancellor angela merkel rejected the criticism of nato,

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