this is the world today from bbc news, the headlines a new york court overturns harvey weinstein's 2020 conviction for rape, ordering a new trial in the landmark "metoo" case. top us diplomat antony blinken is in beijing — as the two superpowers attempt to repair their relationship and venice becomes the first city in the world to charge day trippers for entry in an effort to tackle over crowding. remember the extraordinary scenes from dubai. a year and a half's worth of rain fell in a day last week. scientists say it's likely the torrential storms were made significantly more intense because of climate change.

the finding comes as heavy rain continues to pummel parts of southern china. our climate editor, justin rowlatt has been looking at how is climate change is altering rainfall patterns around the world. this is a road, but last week, the cars were floating down it. southern china regularly gets heavy rain, but not like this. and it's the same with dubai. big storms do blow in every few years, but they don't normally do this. the city got a year—and—a—half�*s worth of rain in a single day. the storms that hit the gulf states last week killed 23 people and brought dubai and oman to a virtual standstill. the study published today found it was made between 10—40% more intense because of climate change.

the finding isn't certain because rainstorms are so rare in the region. but the trend is clear. the atmosphere has warmed, and that means it can hold more moisture. it's that simple. then that moisture falls as heavier rain. so those storms that might have happened anyway will have heavier rainfall associated with them. and the same is true here in the uk. the met office says the 18 months to march this year were the wettest on record. rainfall has always varied from year to year, but the met office says the trend of wetter winters and drier summers is likely to continue in the long run. and we need to get ready for that. the reason the floods in dubai were so catastrophic is because the city is designed to cope with downpours like this. it shows the world needs to prepare for the climate change we know is coming.

justin rowlatt, bbc news. our climate editorjustin rowlatt told me more. a year and a half of rain in 2a hours in a city that very rarely sees any rain at all. i mean, it will go months without a drop of rain. so the infrastructure to channel that water away from essential infrastructure from homes just isn't there. and that's why we saw those incredible pictures of flooding. and that's just the beginning, because obviously the floods poured into the buildings, damaged infrastructure. there are some amazing pictures, for example, of the airport, where the runway was covered in water and you could see jet planes blowing great clouds of kind of water up as they tried to manoeuvre around the airport. so this study that we got published today says that analysing the data, they find that it was between 10% and 40% more intense. the storm was made between 10% and 40% more intense because of climate change. now, that is a huge range and reflects a deep and profound underlying uncertainty because, again, these rainstorms are so rare, they don't have lots of data to compare how big big storms

are because big storms don't happen very often. so it's uncertain. but what they are saying is the underlying trend of warmer, the global, the warming globe, increasing the intensity of rainstorms. they say that underlying trend is very clear, which is why they can say with confidence that this storm was made more intense by climate change. and of course, in china in the last couple of days, we've seen similar scenes. i mean, china's a big country, but... and southern china is wet and often does get storms. but again, the storms are much bigger than you would normally expect in china. some really kind of shocking pictures of kind of roads becoming rivers and cars washing down them. really extraordinary pictures from china. now, we don't have an analysis that tells us what the fingerprint of climate change is in that. but again, a warming world, the atmosphere can hold more moisture in the air, and that moisture will over time fall as rain.

so we will be seeing more rain, and that's true in the uk as well as everywhere else around the world. has there been any reaction to this study? i mean, these studies are now a regular part of how we report the climate. so there hasn't been any direct reaction. it does seem, doesn't it, that every year we're saying it's the worst storm. it's, you know, it's a freakish weather, but freakish weather is becoming not freakish weather any more. well, but the freakish weather is getting more freakish. so we are breaking records repeatedly. and that kind of shouldn't be happening. i mean, it shows that our world is changing in a really profound way. we had ten months that were the record hottest month ever recorded for that time of year. and that shows us the hottest year ever last year. the sea temperatures around the world are the hottest they've ever been at the moment. and all of this should be profoundly worrying for us because it signifies the degree to which our world is changing.

our climate editorjustin rowlatt speaking to me earlier. the future of scotland's government looks in doubt tonight as the first minister, humza yousaf faces a vote of no confidence. it comes after the snp's power sharing agreement with the greens collapsed today. there'd been growing tensions between the two parties, which intensified last week when the scottish government abandoned one of its key climate change targets. the greens have accused mr yousaf of cowardice, weakness and betrayal. our scotland editor james cook has more. it ended where it began, two green ministers leaving the scottish government nearly three years after signing the bute house agreement. inside the grand edinburgh residence where the deal had been struck, the first minister confirmed it was over. it is now myjudgment that the balance has shifted. the bute house agreement was intended to provide stability

to the scottish government and it's made possible a number of achievements. but it has served its purpose. you were strongly backing this deal with the greens days ago. you have said before it was worth its weight in gold. aren't the greens right when they say this u—turn shows that you are weak and hopeless? quite the opposite. it shows leadership. as leader of the government, leader of the party that elected me, i have to make sure i do what is in the best interests of scotland. the deal began under nicola sturgeon with promises of new politics. of cooperation and collaboration. but it ran into trouble over a failure to meet a key climate change target and and dispute about transgender health services. the future generations of scotland have been betrayed. the progressive policies that greens were working toward were about creating a long—standing vision for a greener and fairer scotland. at first minister's question time, the other opposition parties

piled on the pressure. the people of scotland didn't vote for this first minister. _ the people didn't vote for this mess and this chaos. - so isn't it time to end the circus and call an election? _ presiding officer, i can confirm on behalf of the scottish conservatives i'm lodging a vote of no confidence in humza yousaf. he is a failed first minister. he is focussed on the wrong priorities for scotland. first minister, can you survive a confidence vote? tonight, the greens said they would vote against humza yousaf in that motion. the show down could come as early as next week. i think politics is at its best- where parties seek common ground. and work hard to try to make cwperation— and work hard to try to make cooperation possible. - it is humza yousaf who has decided to tear up the basis on which that co—operation was taking place. i

that was james cook with that report. america's top diplomat — secretary of state, antony blinken, has said washington and beijing should manage their differences responsibly on the second day of his china visit. this is the moment mr blinken arrived in beijing, having spent time in shanghai. he spoke there of the need for direct engagement, saying china and the us must resolve their differences together. ahead of tough talks with senior officials on issues such as russia and taiwan, mr blinken began his visit to shanghai eating steamed buns at a restaurant, and watching a basketball game. although tensions have eased between the two nations since last year, disagreements on issues such as trade and security remain. here's our china correspondent stephen mcdonell. antony blinken now moves into what we might call the business end of his trip to china is meetings here in beijing with his chinese counterpart, wang yi, and even possibly with china's most important leader, xijinping,

although that's not been confirmed, knowing that these serious meetings were coming, if i could put it that way. the first part of the trip in shanghai was all about building trust and goodwill. basketball diplomacy, if you like. he went to a basketball game the eighth, some local food. he met students. he met the business community. and i think the chinese government likes that as much as the us government does. it shows that, after all, we're all human beings and we can get along with one another because they know that the discussions in beijing are to be much tougher. they've got these significant and very sensitive areas where they disagree. the coming ban on tiktok, the us supplying weapons to taiwan. on the other side, the us accusing beijing of supporting vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine. now, these are serious matters and not things that you can easily wave a hand and dismiss.

and then that's before you even start talking about trade tensions or the blocking of the supply of microchips and other sensitive technologies. that said, given that there is an attempt by both sides to find areas where they can cooperate, there is surprisingly an optimistic mood here at a time of tensions between these two governments. so the best we can probably hope for is that they can reemphasise the areas where they can cooperate. climate change, you know, for example, the global narcotics trade, cracking down on that, emphasising those areas where they can cooperate, drawing some lines in the sand, setting up some guardrails in those areas where they frankly have significant disagreements. and then the rest of the world can have some certainty that these two governments can trade freely, that this will encourage more significant economic interactivity between the two,

and that this will give the global economy something of a boost. that was steven mcdonnell in beijing. still to come on the world today — an update on the military horses injured when they bolted through london. and will a tourism tax deter crowds from venice? around the world and across the uk. this is the world today on bbc news.

now to one of the most read stories on our website. more than two million people have read this article about two military horses undergoing surgery, after throwing off their riders and racing through london on wednesday. they remain in a serious condition. chi chi izundu has this update.

this is the event the bolted horses were being exercised for, the major general�*s inspection, which is an annual test of the household cavalry�*s ability to conduct state ceremonial duties for the year. the horses, quaker, tennyson, and both vida and trojan, seen here running through central london, were spooked after building materials were dropped from a height next to them. four soldiers were thrown, and while three needed hospital treatment, it is confirmed one has now been discharged. a cyclist was also treated in hospital. the army has confirmed that all four horses that bolted yesterday are now under veterinary care. three are being looked after at this barracks, the fourth at an equine hospital. in a statement, the army said.

equine specialists say that despite months of training to get used to the different sounds of london, these animals can still get spooked. horses are flight and prey animals, so while there is a lot of training done used to get them used to the sights and sounds of london, if something happens that is different, maybe in closer proximity, or a different sort of noise they are used to, that can trigger a fear response in horses still. vida and quaker�*s injuries are serious, but the army hopes they will make enough of a recovery to join the rest of their regiment on official duties in the nearfuture. the movie barbie may be the highest—grossing film of 2023, but in italy,

it was beaten at the box office by another film: "there's still tomorrow." sofia bettiza reports. there's still tomorrow, which in italian is c'e ancora domani, is the most successful movie ever directed by an italian woman. this is paola cortellesi, the director, and she says she still can't quite believe the success that the movie is having. it's made about 32 euros million at the cinema, beating both barbie and oppenheimer. now, the movie is shot in black and white, and it's about a housewife and mother living in rome in 1946, which is when italy was just recovering after world war two. now, the director also plays the main character. and this is a woman. this is a woman who in the movie suffers violent, emotional and physical abuse by her husband. and her story resonated with people across italy, especially women. and to understand why, let's look at some figures. in italy, 120 women

were murdered in 2023. now, that's about one woman killed every three days. and more than half of them were killed by partners or ex—partners, and a quarter were killed by their children, mostly men. now, sadly, this is nothing new in italy, but a few months ago, the issue of femicide erupted because of this woman. julia was 22 and she was allegedly murdered by her ex—boyfriend just a few days before she was able to graduate from university. now, her killing triggered mass protests across the country. it really felt like a turning point in italian society. and in a way, it was allabout timing. this all happened a few weeks after the release of the movie. so the film came to symbolise the fact that women in italy are angry, they're fed up, and they're asking

for more protection. now, paola cortellesi said she wanted to make a film set in the past to compare what's changed and what stayed the same. so she spoke to the bbc and she said that we might now as women have certain rights, butjust because we achieved something, it doesn't mean that it's going to be there forever. so she said that with her movie, she wanted to start passing the baton to a younger generation. it is one of the most beautiful cities on the planet — and it attracts vast numbers of tourists. now venice has become the first ever city to charge visitors in a bid to control numbers. from venice, here's mark lowen. sometimes beauty can be overshared. venice — glorious, unique and creaking under the weight of mass tourism.

30 million visitors a year, two thirds of them day trippers crowding the same sites at the same times, pushing out the locals. so a new way to tackle it — a five—euro entry fee from today. the world's first such scheme. residents and overnight tourists are among those exempt in controls across venice. so this is how it works. i've entered the city at the main train station. i go to the payment website, find the 5 euros fee for today, click through and enter my name and credit card details. so i get a qr code, i come through and have it scanned and it shows that i paid and i can enter the city and avoid a fine of up to 300 euros. it's a good idea to make money. i don't know if people will like it and want to keep coming to pay. i would try probably try to change my travel dates to make it a little more smooth. avoid the fee? to avoid the fee, yeah. i think if it can help - with their infrastructure or whatever else they may. have a need for, then i think

that would be great. the authorities say it's a trial untiljuly that could be extended in price and duration. it's very important for us to discourage the day—trippers and to know in advance how many people will visit venice so we can arrange all the services, the transport, the cleaning of the city. a lot of cities in europe, most of all are affected by over tourism. so do you think that you will be a guinea pig, if you like, for other cities? yes. it's not the most beautiful role, but i think, yes. but the tide of critics is growing, like environmental scientist jane de mosto. she's lived here for 30 years and seen the number of residents drop to record lows in a city threatened by tourism and climate change. a five—euro ticket is less than the cost of a drink at a bar. i think we know enough about what's happening to not need to do experiments.

we just need to get on and address the real issues of protecting venice and making it a better place to live. so this historic city grapples with an instagram—era problem, as venetians wait to see if this scheme can save their increasingly fragile jewel. mark lowen, bbc news, venice. labour says it expects to renationalise nearly all passenger rail services within five years if it wins the next election. it says a new public body would inherit existing contracts when they expire, taking on responsibility for running services. automatic refunds for train delays and better internet connection on trains are also planned. but transport secretary mark harper said the plans were "unfunded". our political editor chris mason reports. hurtling for the train,

among the throng today the man who hopes that he is striding to downing street. keir starmer once much of the railways to be publicly owned. keir starmer reckons he has a plan to lure more of us on to the trains. i've joined him on a visit to county durham to hitachi's train factory. privatisation has not worked, ourjob is pick this up, fix it and that will require us as the franchises end to bring them into public ownership. will your plan make travel by train cheaper? it will ensure the best price is available for everyone. people have no confidence that they're getting the best fare. this isn't about capping the fares, but making sure that the system overall works.

isn't this the same old labour, a zeal to nationalise, suspicious of profit, driven by ideology? no, this is not ideological fixation. it is ideologically fixated not to do it. to say even it were better run as public entity, we won't do it, is the ideology that gets in the way of the passenger focus that i'm determined that we will have. the scottish national party said they would long argued privatisation had been a disaster. the liberal democrats say they want fares frozen and the conservatives. . ? since privatisation, - we have seen a doubling in the number of passengers on the railway, £100 million| invested in services. _ under british rail, the previous nationalised system, | the number of people using the railways was falling.

so what do people in darlington make of trains in public ownership? we have lived through that before. they didn't have the problems before. every day there is a delay. i almost missed an exam. do you think it would be a good idea to nationalise? with all the strikes, yes. people will say, what about these strikes, we have more strikes coming up shortly and some people might think, a labour government, with their mates in the unions, things could get worse, couldn't they? well, let's look at the record of the last labour government and what is happening now. we have more strikes than we have had for years under this government. but you could be prime minister in months and people will want to know how you would resolve the strike and pay people more to do it?

we will get in the room and negotiate and come to an agreement to settle these strikes. the election nears, the argument sharpens, the scrutiny notches up. chris mason, bbc news. finally this half hour. this is japanese olympic ski champion ryoyu kobayashi and he is on a ski jump in iceland. the 27—year—old has soared to a world record ski jump. coming down the slope he reached a top speed of 107 kilometres an hour and was suspended in the air for eight seconds. he managed tojump 291 metres, shattering the ski flying and ski jump world record by 37.5 metres. coming up next — the context with christian fraser. he has a big guest with him tonight for al decoded. one of the godfathers of al to talk disinformation. stay with us, on bbc news for that.

should be a really great watch. hello there. there were two different types of weather across the country for thursday, neither being warm. across england and wales, there was a lot of cloud around with some patches of rain and these grey skies, the rain, was all tied in with an area of low pressure out in the north sea. you can see the extent of the cloud here. further north, though, we had much brighter weather in scotland with some lengthy spells of sunshine. so if you wanted the sunnier weather, scotland was the place to be. however, we did see some of those brighter skies push in into northern ireland and northern england through the afternoon. now, overnight, we've got a few patches of rain to come and go across southern areas of england, perhaps south wales as well. away from that, most of the uk having clearing skies, especially during the second part of the night, becomes largely dry, and there will be quite a widespread frost in rural areas. so we are looking at a cold and a frosty start to the day for many on friday. but overall, it's a much brighter day with more in the way of sunshine. the exception southern england,

where there is the threat of some rain, especially in the southwest. and through the afternoon we'll see some showers break out. they'll become quite widespread, but especially across northern and eastern scotland and eastern areas of england. wherever you are, we're looking at another chilly day for the time of year, with temperatures well around about 8—11; degrees. now, this weekend will see an area of low pressure move up from the south. and this brings with it the threat of some rain. now, on saturday, the rain will be affecting southern england across parts of wales, the midlands and east anglia. there will be a chilly wind gusting into the 25 miles an hour, not desperately strong, but given those low temperatures, the wind, i think, will make it feel that bit colder. for northern ireland, scotland and northern england, after a cold and frosty start, again, we're looking at an afternoon of sunny spells and passing showers, some of the showers having a bit of hail mixed in and temperatures below average once again. the second part of the weekend, the same area of low pressure threatens some rain across eastern england. now, there is a chance this rain could be a bit more extensive across the midlands and slower

to clear, but away from that area, again, after a cold and locally frosty start, we're looking at some sunny spells and a number of showers, especially across the north and the west of the country. temperatures continue to run below average for the time of year. however, as we get into next week, if you're fed up with this chilly weather, it does look like we'll see something of a change to much milder weather conditions. however, it's not necessarily dry. there will be some rain and showers around next week.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. this is what you're asking us to say — a president is entitled for total personal gain to use the trappings of his office without facing criminal liability. if you don't have immunity, you're not going to do anything. you're going to become a ceremonial president. even before the day began, he kind of held account of workers and basically his campaign saying, since they can't be out on the trail, they're going to bring the trail to them here in new york. trump is claiming absolute immunity, which essentially means that presidents would be inoculated from any sort of prosecution. that's a really sweeping claim of executive power.