Plus: Israel's military intelligence chief resigns, and the 'slavery camps' behind online romance scams ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. The real work starts today for the 12 jurors sworn in to take part in Donald Trump's first criminal trial, as both parties are expected to make their opening statements. We're also reporting on the romance-scam centres of Myanmar, and the dark reality behind any unsolicited texts you might be getting. We also discuss self-driving buses and promiscuous fish. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Trump's historic criminal trial kicks off | | Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen are potential star witnesses at Mr Trump's trial. Credit: BBC | After a fairly swift jury selection process over the past week, the main act of Donald Trump's criminal trial is due to get under way. Mr Trump is accused of trying to cover up a $130,000 (£105,000) hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with whom he allegedly had an affair. He has pleaded not guilty and denies any affair. Prosecutors and defence lawyers will deliver their opening statements, giving freshly-sworn jurors a summary of the arguments and the testimonies they will hear during the next several weeks. Alongside Ms Daniels, a slate of high-profile witnesses could take the stand. They include Michael Cohen, the fixer who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance crimes over the payment, a loyal money-man convicted of tax fraud and a tabloid newspaper publisher. My colleagues inside and outside court will keep you up to date on our live page.
Weeks out of action: Mr Trump is legally required to be in court, drastically reducing campaigning time for his presidential bid. Find out more in our guide to the trial.
Who are the jurors?: To protect their identity, reporters can't share too much information about the 12 jurors. We do know many of them are highly educated. Here's what we can say.
Seen from abroad: My BBC Monitoring colleagues tell you what Chinese and Russian media make of the trial. | |
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| | | Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand |
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| 'My hell in cyber slavery camp' | In romance scam centres across South East Asia, trafficked victims are forced to trick men into investing money in fake online trading platforms. Scammers themselves face sexual violence and torture from their captors. |
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| | Suneth Perera and Issariya Praithongyaem, BBC News |
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| | Ravi travelled to Thailand dreaming of a better life for him and his new wife. Instead, the 24-year-old Sri Lankan found himself trapped in the Myanmar jungle. He was in a camp run by Chinese-speaking gangmasters, surrounded by tall walls and barbed wires, with armed guards protecting the entrance around the clock. According to Ravi, he and the others were forced to work up to 22 hours a day - getting only one day off each month - and told to target wealthy men, particularly in Western countries, by building romantic relationships using stolen phone numbers, social media and messaging platforms. |
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | The magic Seoul bus |
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| | | The A21 self-driving bus still needs a driver at the wheel. Credit: BBC | Our business reporter Nick Marsh took a self-driving midnight bus in the South Korean capital, and barely flinched when he saw the man in the driver’s seat take his hands off the wheel. Autonomous vehicles are not ready to be unmanned, however, and some experts are sceptical they ever will be. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Plenty of fish out the sea | Millions of grunion fish fling themselves on Californian beaches to breed. | |
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And finally... | Thousands of runners trotted along the Thames in Sunday's London Marathon, breaking a couple of world records in the process. Peres Jepchirchir of Ethiopia finished in 2:16:16, the fastest women's only marathon time - that's when female athletes compete separately from their male counterparts. And Welsh teenager Lloyd Martin became the youngest runner with Down's syndrom to complete the distance. Here's more on his training regime. | |
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In History Newsletter | The past comes to life through the BBC's unique audio, video and written archive, each Thursday. | |
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MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS | | US Election Unspun: Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday. Subscribe. | | Future Earth: Essential global climate news and hopeful developments, every Tuesday. Subscribe. | | Football Extra: Latest news, insights and gossip from the Premier League, weekdays. Subscribe. | |
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– Jules | | | |
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