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.

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• 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.

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• 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 .

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• Seen from abroad: My BBC Monitoring colleagues tell you what Chinese and Russian media make of the trial.

WORLD HEADLINES

• High-profile resignation: The Israeli military's intelligence chief has stepped down, saying he took responsibility for failures before Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October.

• Indian election: Opposition leaders have accused PM Narendra Modi of making Islamophobic remarks after he claimed his opponents would distribute people's wealth to "infiltrators" if they won power.

• Rwanda policy: A bill that would enable the UK to send some asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda - a flagship immigration policy of the Conservative government - will be the subject of a parliamentary showdown. Follow it live here. 

• China flooding: Authorities have evacuated nearly 60,000 people from their homes in Guangdong, as days of heavy rain caused massive flooding in China's most populous province.

• Maldives: President Mohamed Muizzu's party, widely seen as pro-China, has won a landslide victory in a parliamentary election, cementing his grip on power.

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